How are you feeling? How are you eating? Are you exercising? Are you sitting in your home and not getting out?
by Cathy Clements, Nutritionist & Life Coach, NASM CNC, CPT, FNS, WFS
Iknow a lot of you have been keeping your distance from others until you are completely vaccinated. Being alone can be good for you to get grounded. But, being alone for a long time can take you to a point of experiencing loneliness. These are two different things.
Let me clarify, I am not a mental health professional. Depression is real and during this trying time, there are professional people some of us should turn to for grounding.
But, what can we do on our own? Get outside!
The weather has finally turned and it’s warm enough to get out during different times throughout the day.
Do you need to go for a long hike when you haven’t been working out? NO! Start small. The worst thing you can do is start big and hurt yourself. Go sit in the sun, or the shade, and enjoy the warmth of the air and sun.
Eat in a way that fuels your body. For most of us, sweets and heavier carbohydrates bring us down and slow us down. Limit these foods for now. Eat lighter and you will feel lighter; more vegetables, lean proteins. These foods will fill you but not make you feel bloated and heavy.
The days are getting longer, too. Sleeping well will add to feeling well. Try to have less caffeine; it stays in your system longer than you are aware. The half-life of caffeine is three to five hours. That means it takes that long for us to eliminate half of the caffeine we consumed.
I am not saying to cut it completely out, but cut down. Instead of four cups of coffee, try for only two and consume it earlier in the day. You can also substitute another warm beverage for your caffeine. Instead of coffee or tea have herbal tea or water with lemon. Either will fulfill that desire for a warm beverage without giving you the caffeine.
To recap: Get outside in the nice weather, move a little more than you have been, eat lots of vegetables and lean proteins, limit caffeine and get quality sleep.