Tag: healthy living

Weekend Wellness

This weekend, give yourself the gift of focusing on your wellness. Make the conscious decision to take a few actions that just might impact your health in a positive fashion.

ENJOY LIFE

Do something that brings you joy:

Spend some time with people whose company you enjoy: in person or via phone, zoom, etc.

Read a book that you’ve been meaning to pick up, or read a book to your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews.

Get in the kitchen: cook a favorite meal or find a new favorite. Got kids? Let them help you out.

Turn on the tunes and have a dance party.

Listen to a podcast.

Meditate.

Relax: Take time to do nothing.

GET MOVING

Go for a walk. Don’t have a lot of time? No problem! 10 minutes at a time adds up.

Take a hike.

Go for a run.

Hop on your bike.

Do some yoga, tai chi, or qigong.

Here’s another opportunity for a dance party!

Swap an hour of online time for an hour of walking time.

Bad weather? No problem! Walk around a grocery store or a mall or visit a gym and hop on a treadmill. Take an online class.

Set a timer throughout the day so that you’re not sitting for more than 45 minutes without getting up to move around,

Water. Water. Water.

Here are some ways to add water to your day:

Drink a glass of water before each meal.

If you’re feeling hungry between meals, have a glass of water before reaching for a snack. It could be that you’re dehydrated, and your body is craving water.

Feeling sluggish? You guessed it! Have a glass of water.

Fill a water bottle in the morning and sip on it throughout the day.

Going out to a party or dinner where you’ll be drinking alcohol? Limit yourself to one alcoholic beverage and drink water throughout the remainder of the party / dinner.

Do you avoid drinking water because you find it boring? No problem! Boost the flavor of that water by adding:

Lemon slices

Mint sprigs

Strawberry slices

Cucumber slices

Orange slices

CROWD OUT

Crowd out food that’s not serving you well with a healthy, nutritious snack. Instead of that bag of chips or handful of cookies, enjoy:

A piece of fruit: satisfy that sweet tooth with an apple, orange, or banana.

Baby carrots and low-fat hummus: proof that low-fat can taste great and satisfy those hunger pangs! Baby carrots not your thing? No worries – cucumbers, bell peppers, radishes, and more. Experiment to find what tastes best to you!

Curry popcorn: curry adds a pop of flavor to popcorn. Give it a try!

Take note of how weekend wellness impacts you.

Do you feel more relaxed? Less stressed? More energized? Less fatigued? More likely to explore how small steps and small changes can affect your health? Will you continue those activities / actions that suit you? Will you implement a daily self-care practice?

You’re in control. Own your health.

Healthy living starts now.
Weekend Wellness was last modified: September 9th, 2022 by Deb Nelson

Join Me For The June Challenge: Live Well. Eat Well. Be Well.

Put your health front and center for the entire month of June. Focus on taking two positive actions each day to put you on a path to healthy living.

 

What is this challenge, you ask? 

  • Best news evah: the challenge is simple AND painless!!
  • Each morning during the month of June I’ll offer up two tips for the day at 8:00 a.m. EST* via Facebook Live. One tip will focus on living well, the other will focus on eating well. Together, they help put you on a path to being well.
  • Join me each day during June, and at the end of the month we will have explored 60 tips to encourage you to Live Well. Eat Well. Be Well.
  • Can’t join me when I go live? No problem. Tips will be on my Facebook page whenever you’re able to hop onto Facebook.
  • The challenge is designed to fit into your day without overwhelming you – give it a try! See which elements of the challenge resonate with you. Maybe something you thought would be unappealing actually fits perfectly into your life.

How do I join?

  • There are a couple of way@s for you to opt-in. Choose whichever option works best for you. Either way, though, please let me know via Facebook which tips you find most valuable.
  • You can keep it totally informal. Just check in to my Facebook page and watch the Facebook live recording every day in June.
  • Want something a tad more formal? (Because this is low key on formality.) Send me an email at deb@bewellcg.com, and I’ll pop you an email reminder on May 31 and will followup with a check-in email mid-way through the month.

Why now?

  • Take the first stepWe’ve been cooped up for two long months!! This is an ideal time to focus on action we can take to feel better and get (or stay) on track with healthy living.
  • June is the perfect seasonal segue. We’ll be transitioning from spring to summer during the month of June, which presents us with the opportunity to pair new habits with a new season.
  • NOW is the best time to add positive action as a permanent part to our daily routine.
  • Positive action breeds positive action. Taking the first step makes the second step a whole lot easier.

Overcoming Obstacles to the June Challenge

  • Get a challenge partner. That will help to keep you motivated throughout the month.
  • Stay engaged on the Facebook page.
  • Acknowledge that every tip might not make you want to do a cartwheel. Give it a try anyway.
  • Make a commitment to taking action that supports your health for 30 days.

 

Got questions? Let’s connect. I hope to see you in the June Challenge: Live Well. Eat Well. Be Well.

Healthy living starts now.

*Time may vary throughout the month. I’ll keep you posted.
Join Me For The June Challenge: Live Well. Eat Well. Be Well. was last modified: May 29th, 2020 by Deb Nelson

At Peace on the Water

The beach is my place of recentering. It’s quite amazing, actually, the influence water has on me.

A quick visit to Old Orchard Beach as we prepare for the arrival of spring in Maine this weekend left me with:At Peace on the Beach

The ability to finish tasks that previously seemed daunting.

A clear solution to a problem that moments earlier I found overwhelming.

Feelings of optimism and enthusiasm.

Eagerness to implement ideas that have sprung up as I walked or relaxed oceanside.

A sense of clarity about what is important, REALLY important, and what I should let go of. (Let it go…)

The ability to focus.

A sense of calmness.

Overall feeling of peacefulness.

This seems like a pretty good return on my investment of time! Taking the fabricated busy-ness out of my life is always a (self-induced) challenge. Yes, it’s easy to get caught in the weeds of day-to-day living. Going to the beach is a way for me to reset and remind myself to spend time on what’s important to me. This also puts me on the road to healthy living and is an important element of my self-care practice.  How do you reset?

 

At Peace on the Water was last modified: March 20th, 2019 by Deb Nelson

Grab A Book. Get Outside. Feed Your Soul.

Yes, as simple as that.

Grab A Book.

Get Outside.

Feed Your Soul.

No need to complicate the idea.

Repeat.

Turn to activities that bring you joy, and make them a regular part of your life. Those activities that drag you down? As the song suggests, let them go. Then experience the magic!

Grab A Book. Get Outside. Feed Your Soul. was last modified: June 13th, 2018 by Deb Nelson

Welcome Spring: A Great Opportunity to Jumpstart Healthy Living

Never mind that the ground is snow covered and speculation is that more snow is headed our way here in New England. It’s March 20th and Spring has officially arrived! With that pronouncement, many of us automatically feel that the temperature will rise, the sun will shine brighter, and the world will seem a kinder place. Whether that ultimately rings true may depend on your outlook: decide it and it will happen. Put on those rose-colored glasses and sit in that world of which you dream for a moment or two.

Change up a few habits, and sit in that world of which you dream indefinitely. WHAT? You’re in control of your world? You betcha!

Here area few examples of small changes you can make to brighten your world:

  • Laugh more – starting today, fake it ‘til you make it to a belly laugh a day
  • Drink more water
  • Eat more veggies
  • Move (exercise) more
  • Get some fresh air
  • Spend time with people who energize you
  • Call someone whose voice makes you smile
  • Be kind to a colleague or stranger in the form of a random act of kindness
  • Take one step in a project that’s been on your to-do list

Take advantage of this change in seasons to up your game and boost your happiness, health, and productivity. Starting today, put on rose-colored glasses and build the life you’re meant to live. Before you know it, your world will look different to you. Let me know how it goes!

Welcome Spring: A Great Opportunity to Jumpstart Healthy Living was last modified: March 20th, 2018 by Deb Nelson

What Are You Feeding Your Soul?

We talk a lot about what we’re feeding our bodies: healthy food, junk food, some mix of the two. It seems to me, though, that we also have an opportunity to feed our souls – our mind, character, and thoughts – and that those elements will have an impact on our overall health.

Take some time to think about what it is that:

charges you up?

relaxes you?

gives you a sense of confidence?

makes you feel comfortable, happy, at ease with the world?

Then ask yourself a few questions:

  • Are you spending time doing activities, going to places that allow you to experience these feelings?
  • Are you spending time with people who encourage you to be your best self?
  • Do your work and personal lives provide the environment for you to excel?

Starting today, do one thing that gives you a sense of fulfillment. Let me know how it goes!

What Are You Feeding Your Soul? was last modified: February 23rd, 2018 by Deb Nelson

Start at the Very Beginning – and Keep it Simple

Heading into the New Year provides a fab opportunity for each of us to review our lifestyles and identify changes we’d like to make as well as practices we’d like to continue in our day-to-day living.

A bit of unsolicited advice here: Resist. Resist. Resist that tendency to turn your life upside down on January 1. When I think about making changes – whether for myself or a client – I think about where we’re at RIGHT NOW. How can we make changes that will support our goals without overwhelm? And then, I think about Julie Andrews and The Sound of Music. No joke, I really do! Where do we start when making lifestyle changes? At the very beginning, of course, just as the song directs:

Let’s start at the very beginning

A very good place to start

When you read you begin with A-B-C

When you sing you begin with do-re-mi

Making lifestyle changes is equally simple: assess where you are, set goals, execute. BOOM! In this world where immediate gratification is the expectation, of course, our tendency is to go from 0 – 60 in three seconds. Or, to go from visiting the gym once every six months to working out for an hour every day. You get the point.

How about if for 2018 we keep our efforts uncomplicated:

  • Drink more water
  • Eat more vegetables
  • Move more

Put some parameters around what more means to you. Work with the healthcare professionals in your life to make sure the goals you set are appropriate for your current situation. Don’t go it alone: Find an accountability partner who will support you as you make lifestyle changes.

If you’ve ever been a member of a gym, you know the first two weeks of January find most fitness centers filled with people working out to meet their high expectations for the year. February will most likely have a very different look and feel at these fitness centers. Why? Adrenalin is gone; lifestyle changes can be difficult to stick to if you go it alone, particularly if you’re not seeing immediate results.

The solution is to find a cheerleader in an accountability partner who will:

keep you moving forward even when you don’t want to.

remind you of the story of the tortoise and the hare. Slow and steady can be more effective than putting the pedal to the metal and burning out.

help you celebrate each and every small victory on the way to achieving big results.

Don’t have someone to fill the accountability partner role? Connect with me to see if we’re a good fit to work together.

Cheers to 2018 and to your health!

Start at the Very Beginning – and Keep it Simple was last modified: January 1st, 2018 by Deb Nelson