Simple Tips To Lose Weight

Looking at the wellness industry right now, you might start to believe that the only way to actually lose weight and keep it off is to put a bike in your living room or go to boutique fitness studios every day. Or maybe do a juice fast?

Even if you’re not up for anything that extreme, there are lots of simple things you can do that cost almost no money to help you lose weight in a simple, sustainable way. Here are three of my favorites.

 Drink more water

Hunger and thirst can send the same signals to your body, so staying well-hydrated cuts down on cravings.

 I know you probably heard this one before. We all know that we should be drinking water, that water hydrates us and that it's better for us and sugary sodas, coffee beverages, or even bottled teas and juices with lots of sugar. But you may not know just how much water you should be drinking. In general, you should be aiming to drink about half of your body weight in ounces of water each day. so if you are about a hundred and eighty pounds, like me you would be looking to drink at least 90 oz of water each day. Then, you’ll want to take into consideration how much you're exercising how hot it is and how dry it is in your climate. in the summer in Florida, I will drink way more water than 90 ounces each day just to stay hydrated. To make sure that you are drinking the right amount of water it's easy to grab a refillable water bottle that holds a certain number of ounces. I use a 32 oz container for my water each day. I know that if I empty that water bottle three times I have more than that my water goals for the day.

Move every 20 minutes

 Many of us spend our days behind a desk or otherwise sitting down. Whether you are a student or a professional, or even if you are just job searching. I mean, I'm a health coach and I still spend most of my day sitting in front of a computer. Our bodies are built for movement much more than they are for sitting, and yet we spend most of our time sitting and almost none of our time moving around. Even if you are just standing up and doing a few stretches every 20 minutes or so while you're still working this is huge for your body. 

Here are a few things that you can try. You can do it simple stretches or yoga at your desk. You can stand up and walk to the bathroom. You get bonus points if you walk to the farthest away bathroom instead of the closest one. You can even take a short walk to say hi to a co-worker or friends. It doesn't have to be big or fancy. Just getting your body up out of your chair for a few minutes is enough.

And this doesn't end when your workday ends! Once you’re home, instead of parking on the couch for the whole night set an alarm to go off every 20 to 30 minutes to remind you to get up and move around. Now that we are watching all our shows on Netflix, we don't always have the luxury of commercials to remind us when it's time to get up and take a break, so using a timer can really help.

Eat your vegetables

 It is really hard to fit vegetables into our day. If you look at what sold at the convenience stores, gas stations, fast-food restaurants and even within the prepared food section of your grocery store, it’s either carbs or meats or some combination of the two. It can be a challenge to fit the right amount of vegetables into your day.

Generally, we should be eating more vegetables than almost anything else in our diet. Leafy greens, squash, tomatoes, onions, broccoli... all of the vegetables. All of them! Instead, even if you order a salad from a restaurant, that salad is normally some vegetables plus meat and cheese and croutons and a dressing that's probably not that great for you. Eating raw veggies is kind of gross sometimes too, and not that appetizing to most of us. But if you increase your intake of vegetables, that's going to do a ton for helping you manage your weight or lose weight and it’s going to increase your energy. So for an easy way to get more vegetables into your day, there are two things you can do one is make sure that you're a lunch has a lot of veggies or your dinner if you eat lunch out. 

Have at least one meal a day that is fully loaded with delicious vegetables. This can be a salad, a vegetarian dish, or maybe it's a veggie soup or stew. I'm a fan of warm vegetables versus raw, but you do what works best for you. Make sure that at least one meal a day is all loaded up with good veggies and this will help manage your appetite and your energy levels throughout the day by making sure your body is getting the nutrients you need. You can follow me on Instagram for more recipes that have tons of good veggies coming up soon!

3 Reasons to Keep Breakfast "Boring"

I’m a morning person by decision, not by design. I’m familiar with the “no time for breakfast” quandary, and in my past (and, tbh, my present) have been guilty of skipping breakfast for a variety of reasons. 

What’s helped? Having a go-to breakfast that I eat mostly every day. 

Keep reading to learn how creating a nutritious, go-to breakfast option can save you time, money, and sanity while helping you enjoy health and happiness throughout your day!

Eating the same breakfast every day saves you time!

One of the strongest tools in your wellness toolbox is meal prepping. But OH MY GOSH it can be so overwhelming! I can barely even decide where I want to go out for dinner, let alone decide my meals for the WHOLE WEEK ahead of time. Meal planning and prepping has always been hard for me. I sit down with a notebook and immediately every food I’ve ever liked disappears out of my brain. 

Have you had that experience?

Having a go-to breakfast means that at least one of my meals each day is already planned. I don’t have to think about it. My meal plan becomes less of a blank slate and more of a sudoku puzzle. This saves me time each week planning my meals, as well as the time each day when I’d otherwise be trying to decide what I wanted for breakfast. 

Eating the same breakfast every day saves you money!

I also save a ton of money on groceries and eating out when I use a go-to breakfast. 

Often, a meal plan with lots of different recipes leaves me needing lots of different ingredients, some of which sit in my fridge and slowly go stale or rotten after I’ve made the meal once. There are several ways around this problem, but one is to eat the same thing several times that week. This way you can buy what you need and use it up over the week making the same thing over and over (or one big batch at the start of the week). If I run out of something I can buy more without guilt, knowing I’ll use any extra next week because I’m eating the same thing!

The other way I save money is by not needing to run to a coffee shop or fast food place halfway through the morning when I finally realize I’m hungry and need something quick! This happens to me frequently if I skip breakfast or don’t get all the nutrients I need. And because I’m hungry and pressed for time, I spend more money than I’d like on food that I probably otherwise wouldn’t really want. 

Eating the same breakfast each day can help you stay healthy and energized!

The biggest way my go-to breakfast has helped me is by ensuring I start the day with the exact nutrients my body needs! It’s taken me some practice and revising to uncover my personal wellness rules, but now I know that for a perfect day, I need to start with protein, veggies, and carbs, and maybe some fruits or healthy fats as well. 

This keeps me from getting hunger pains in the middle of the morning or running out of energy before lunch. AND I’m more productive and more engaged in my work for the morning.

I’m not a fan of counting calories, but I do try to make sure I eat a good mix of different types of food throughout the day. Starting with a well-balanced breakfast helps tremendously, and sets me on the right track for the rest of my meals. I’m more likely to keep making healthy eating decisions throughout my day when I’m full, happy, and have all the nutrients my body needs. 

But what about variety? Don’t you get bored?

Haha! Nope! 

My trick is that I vary some of the details of my breakfast, mostly based on what veggies are in the fridge. I know my breakfast will be a slice of toast, and a 2-egg omelette with sautéed veggies. Which veggies I use changes every week or even daily based on what I still have on hand. It’s a great way to use up leftover veggies that might otherwise go bad!

Below, check out 3 ideas for easy, go-to breakfast ideas you can use to get started. 

One version of my go-to breakfast omelette. This one has no cheese, but has spinach and orange bell pepper, and is topped with a sprinkle of sea salt.

My All-Purpose Breakfast - Omelette with toast

Keep the same: 2 eggs, one slice of toast

Vary: 

• veggie mix-ins -I use spinach, onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and any other veggies that seem fun!

• Healthy fats - I will add ½ sliced avocado if I have a ripe one on hand, or a sprinkle of goat or feta cheese. 

My Hubby’s Breakfast Smoothie

Keep the same: protein powder, almond milk, spinach, banana

Vary:

• Frozen fruits, which might be strawberries, blueberries, mixed berries, or maybe something more tropical like mango or pineapple

• Add-ins, like 2 tbsp of oats to add some carbs, or ½ avocado for healthy fats

(full disclosure, he also adds peanut butter, but I don’t think that always mixes well with all fruit flavors so take it or leave it!)

Easy Oatmeal

This one is great because you can prep a big batch as overnight oats, or make it hot in the morning. 

Keep the same: rolled oats, almond milk, chia seeds

Vary: 

• Fruit toppings - I like bananas, apples, peaches, and berries

• Add-ins - You can put in some vanilla or chocolate protein powder to up the protein content, coconut oil for healthy fats, or peanut butter for some savory smoothness!

Are you a breakfast person? Or not? What is your go-to breakfast? Let me know in the comments or email me at megangillmanwellness@gmail.com

What's Your Yoga Match? (Part 2)

It's the start of a new year, and lots of people are trying yoga on for size as part of their new year's resolutions! It can be a little stressful, though, trying to figure out which yoga class is for you. Over the centuries since yoga emerged in India and made its way slowly to the U.S. lots of different styles and traditions have sprung up. There are also different "branded" yoga styles that have been developed fairly recently and consist of a unique style of teaching or sequencing the poses. So as a brand-new-to-yoga student, how do you figure out which style is the best fit for you?

Well, you could try a lot of trial and error. The best way to figure out which of the styles you like best is to actually try them in your body and reflect on how it makes you feel!

But, in case you want a little help guiding that process, I've included my tips on what some of the different styles are all about.

Also, just as a warning, a lot of these terms are used pretty broadly by many yoga guides and studios. You will want to check with your studio or teacher for confirmation before heading to your first class.

Due to length, I’m posting this one in several parts. You can see last week’s post here. and check back next week for three more styles! In the meantime, maybe try one of the ones I’ve described here, and comment with your thoughts!

Hot yoga is taught in rooms heated up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Just think of it as your own tropical yoga retreat. Photo by Jared Rice on Unsplash

Hot Yoga

Hot Yoga as a genre is relatively new, and also very old. If you think about it, in many parts of India, most yoga would have been hot yoga as air conditioning was not a part of our human experience until only a few decades ago. Now, Hot Yoga is practiced in specially heated rooms either with a traditional heater, space heater, or fancy infrared lights! Depending on the studio, the heat can range from 95-105 degrees Fahrenheit. At both studios I've taught at, we change the heat based on humidity to make sure that everyone can still breathe and move through the whole class without getting too overheated. Humidity makes a huge difference in the hot yoga experience: 100 degrees in Florida is a lot different than 100 degrees in Colorado.

In traditional hot yoga classes, students are guided through the same sequence of poses in each class, starting with standing postures and eventually moving down to the floor. Each pose is done twice, once for 30 seconds, and once for a full minute. There's a clear break in between each pose, and some teachers might even count down to the end of the hold for you.

Because of the heat and the vigorous nature of the poses, Hot Yoga can be pretty intense! The Mayo Clinic recommends avoiding hot yoga if you have heart disease, heat intolerance, dehydration problems, or other heat-related ailments. Also, many teachers recommend not practicing Hot Yoga while pregnant.

You might love Hot Yoga if: you feel like you're not working out unless you are sweating buckets, you like the idea of having basically the same class each time (it makes it easy to track your progress)

You might not love Hot Yoga if: having someone count down your holds makes them feel even longer, you hate being super sweaty, you're looking for a really calm relaxing environment for your yoga practice

Make sure you bring: the biggest water bottle you have, a towel (and not a hand towel either. You know the one you bring to the beach? Bring that one. Maybe bring two.)

Vinyasa yoga embraces the idea of sequencing poses to you can “flow” from one to the next. Photo by Akemy Mory on Unsplash

Vinyasa (aka Flow) Yoga

Vinyasa can mean two things in yoga land, but it generally means "Flow". A Vinyasa yoga class is normally pretty creative in that the guide might design their own sequence of poses and change them up each class. Instead of clear stops in between each pose, students will practice moving easily from one posture to the next. Sometimes you will flow through "a vinyasa". In this context, a vinyasa is a sequence of poses (plank, chaturanga, upward dog, downward dog) done in between two other poses. Most yoga guides will let you know that the vinyasas are optional though, and you'll notice other students (myself included) skipping them from time to time.

Because each guide makes up their own flow for each class, theres a lot of variation in Vinyasa yoga. They can be vigorous and challenging, or relaxing and slow, or somewhere in between. Some studios will help you out by marking their class with levels (i.e. " Intro Flow, Flow 1, Flow 2 " ) but others will not. It's a good idea to ask about the teacher in that case, as different teachers might lean towards different pacing and intensity levels.

You might love Vinyasa Flow if: you want every class to be different - repetition is boring, you love linking poses together without a clear start or finish, you crave more movement and less stillness, you're not afraid of some interesting pose transitions.

You might not love Vinyasa Flow if: you want lots of time to get into and out of each pose to make sure you're doing it right, you like the comfort of having the same class sequence each time you practice, chaturanga makes you anxious and irritable, you

Hot Vinyasa (Hot Flow) Yoga

So if you've read this far you might be able to guess that Hot Vinyasa is sort of a combination of the two styles above. This is the class I teach most frequently. It's a Flow class taught in a heated room. Once again there can be a lot of variation in the pacing and the difficulty level of these classes. It's a good idea to check with the studio or the teacher directly if you have any questions.

You might love Hot Flow if: You want a lot of movement and a lot of sweat! You love the idea of practicing in a hot room, but are not a fan of the traditional Hot Yoga sequencing.

You might not love Hot Flow if: You have no desire to ever practice in a heated room, or you're truly committed to the set sequence of your traditional hot or ashtanga class.

---

So that’s it for part 2 of my yoga styles breakdown. Which ones have you tried? Do you think my descriptions are right on target, or waaaay off? What styles do you still want to hear about? Let me know in comments!

What's Your Yoga Match? (Part 1)

It's the start of a new year, and lots of people are trying yoga on for size as part of their new year's resolutions! It can be a little stressful, though, trying to figure out which yoga class is for you. Over the centuries since yoga emerged in India and made its way slowly to the U.S. lots of different styles and traditions have sprung up. There are also different "branded" yoga styles that have been developed fairly recently and consist of a unique style of teaching or sequencing the poses. So as a brand-new-to-yoga student, how do you figure out which style is the best fit for you?

Well, you could try a lot of trial and error. The best way to figure out which of the styles you like best is to actually try them in your body and reflect on how it makes you feel!

But, in case you want a little help guiding that process, I've included my tips on what some of the different styles are all about.

Due to length, I’m posting this one in several parts. Check back next week for three more styles! In the meantime, maybe try one of the ones I’ve described here, and comment with your thoughts!

Hatha yoga is often beginner-friendly, and moves at a calm pace. Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

1. Hatha Yoga

Hatha Yoga is a really broad, general term encompassing all the yoga you do with your body. Technically, all the styles on this list are Hatha Yoga. It's meant as a contrast to different yoga practices that don't involve poses or movement of the body, and instead focus on meditation, breath work, and devotional practice.

However, when you see "Hatha Yoga" listed on a studio schedule, you can normally expect a fairly slow class that is focused on body position and alignment. It's not uncommon in these classes to hold poses for a while. You'll do standing and seated postures, and will also be taught to focus on your breath as you hold each pose.

You might love Hatha Yoga if: you like detailed instruction on how your body should look in each pose, you want lots of time to get in and out of each pose, you want a slower pace in general.

You might not love Hatha Yoga if: you get bored or tired holding one shape for too long, you crave a faster pace and physical exertion, you love to do yoga with fun and energetic music (Hatha classes normally have relaxing spa-like tunes, if any)

2. Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga is one of those ancient practices handed down the line for generations. In it's most rigorous incarnation, it's meant to be practiced every day in the early morning at your own pace with only your breath or a teacher to guide and offer suggestions. Classes like this are called "Mysore" classes, named for the place in India where the practice originated. It is not a reference to how sore you will be after the class. The alternative to Mysore Ashtanga is a "led" Ashtanga class. In these classes the instructor guides the whole class through the same sequence at once. Less personalized, but more in line with what you might expect from a western yoga class.

In either case, you will do the same sequence of poses in the same order each time. Although most of the poses are appropriate for beginners, some of them get a little pretzel-y towards the end. At the start of class you will do 10 sun salutations (think burpees but for yoga) to warm up, and in between many postures you'll do a mini-sun salutation called a "vinyasa". This makes the class pretty physically exhausting, since you can do the equivalent of up to 76 push-ups in each class.

You might love Ashtanga Yoga if: You have a lot of energy and enjoy moving a lot in your yoga practice, you thrive on structure, you like to see your progress clearly over time (since the sequence is always the same it's easy to see your gains), you want a physical challenge, you're into the tradition and history of yoga.

You might not love Ashtanga Yoga if: You get bored doing the same thing every time you workout, you crave an easy-going pace, you experience a lot of self-judgement if you can't nail a pose the first time, you have no desire to build your upper body strength, thank you very much.

Ashtanga follows a set sequence of postures, and can be done in a group or in a more personalized mysore-style practice. Photo by Artem Bali on Unsplash

3. Yin Yoga

Yin is the opposite of Yang. Where yang yoga styles are characterized by lots of movement and strenuous activity, yin is slow, quiet, and very supportive. It's meant to work the ligaments and connective tissues in your body that can't actually stretch. So, instead of quickly moving from pose to pose, in yin yoga you can hold a pose for anywhere from 2-10 minutes. It's encouraged to support your body with lots of props so as not to over-stress the joints and ligaments, but it's not a "restorative" class. Although, it can be very relaxing.

In yin classes the room is normally cool, so you may want to wear warm fuzzy socks and a cozy sweater. Many classes will also provide blankets and lovely pillows called "bolsters". The goal is to get your body into the "goldie-locks" version of the pose, where it's not too easy but not too hard, and support it there with your props, so you can focus on breathing and releasing tension and maybe slowly getting deeper into the shape over time. Almost all of the poses in yin yoga are seated or reclined.

You might love Yin Yoga if: You enjoy being swaddled in warm cozy clothes and blankets, you stress about getting into and out of poses quickly, you love the idea of chilling in a dim, cool space for an hour or so at the end of the day to relax, you want to make long-term sustainable gains in flexibility and joint mobility.

You might not love Yin Yoga if: You need movement or music to keep your mind from wandering, you have a lot of excess energy to burn off, quiet makes you uncomfortable.

I recommend Yin Yoga for: cross-training for any intense physical exercise like running, tennis, martial arts. Actually, Yin Yoga was developed by a martial artist to help with developing flexibility and range of motion!

I’ll be back next week with a few more styles! In the meantime, I’d love to hear about your experiences with yoga of any kind! You can comment here, or message me on instagram @megangillman.

A Remedy for Stress and Loneliness

I hit my loneliest point in 2013. I had always considered myself an introvert, and sometimes even a loner, so I wasn't expecting living alone to feel so, well, lonely. But when I moved to New Orleans after graduate school for my first full-time job I couldn't help but feel the distance between me and my family, my partner, and all my friends. I ended up living in New Orleans for a little less than a year before moving back to Florida, where I had made friends while in school, and where my partner and his family lived. 

Since then I've spent lots of time reflecting on why I felt so stressed, anxious, and isolated. I had moved away from home to go to college, and I had moved to a whole new state for graduate school. Why was moving out on my own so different? 

Photo by Nik MacMillan on Unsplash

It was so different. Thinking back to my move to college, I was received by a whole mass of other students my age who were all new and all looking to meet new people, make new friends, and find a new community. When I started graduate school I joined a smaller cohort of students in my program who had moved from all over the country, and who had similar interests. They were also hoping to make friends, to meet new people, and to find a community. 

When I moved to New Orleans, I moved in alone. I was the new person in the city, and even the other few new people who had started at my office at the same time had brought their people with them. Their partners and some of their friends were already waiting for them at home. I struggled to connect with people who seemed to have their circle of friends already tightly drawn. 

I tried meeting people through book clubs, events, parties, and classes, all of which had worked for me before, but the friendships were slow to grow. So much slower, it seemed, than the fast friendships that formed when starting a new school. I still felt lonely. 

Since then I've seen lots of people take on the same challenge of moving into a new place or a new office, and I've seen the same thing over and over again: we make new connections and new friends fastest when we are all out of our comfort zone at the same time. 

My closest friends and acquaintances at work are with the colleagues who started around the same time that I did. We were new together, and we bonded fast. I've taken students on retreats and trainings where over the course of a few days friendships are formed and bonds are forged at a much faster rate. There's something about being on our own, in a new place, outside of our comfort zone, that lets us open up more quickly to others who are on the same journey. 

That's what had been missing when I moved to New Orleans. I was looking for connection, but the process of seeking it out on my own was slow going and left me feeling more isolated than I've ever been. And being lonely isn't just an uncomfortable feeling, it can actually have negative health impacts. 

Social isolation can lead to an increase in stress hormones, which cause all sorts of negative health outcomes. And by increasing our sense of satisfaction with our social relationships, we can decrease stress and increase overall health and wellbeing. So why are we talking about just yoga classes and superfood diets and ignoring this important aspect of health? 

When I planned my first yoga retreat, which will take place this October, I wasn't aiming to plan a fancy vacation. I wasn't even looking to do yoga, necessarily. It's just that yoga is what I happen to have the most experience teaching. But what I knew I wanted to create was an environment where we could make friends, and make them fast. The goal isn't to retreat away from our lives, necessarily, but to form new bonds and connections with other people from the same area who have the same interests. To meet the people we see across the yoga studio every week but still haven't met. And sure, we can eat healthy food and nourish our bodies with movement along the way. It's a whole wellness package: nourish the body, nourish the belly, but most of all, nourish the soul. 
 

Photo by Kelsey Chance on Unsplash

Wellness vs. Fitness

“Your body can stand almost anything. It’s your mind that you have to convince.”

“Fitness is like a relationship. You can’t cheat and expect it to work.”

“Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they worked on it every single day!”

So many fitness quotes and phrases seem to be geared towards struggle and hard work. It’s this philosophy of pushing past the pain, sticking to it even when it’s hard, and refusing to give up or give in until you reach your goal. My own personal fitness journey mirrors that of many other women I know: periods of absolutely no exercise and eating whatever I want, interspersed with shorter, intense periods of working out regularly and subscribing to a regimented diet or nutrition plan. I was able to make huge gains that way, but they weren’t sustainable.

A great way to tell if your exercise is boosting your wellness is how you feel while you're doing it! Photo by Matheus Ferrero on Unsplash

For me, working out every day and sticking to a list of foods I can and can’t eat in certain quantities is not how I want to live my life. So when I picked up a new training plan for my first marathon (AH! I’ve gone crazy!) it was important to give myself leeway and flexibility. I found that out the hard way in my third week of training. I’d stuck to every single scheduled run. Long runs, medium runs, fast runs, all of them! And then one day while I was stretching I felt a pop in my foot. It wasn’t much. It wasn’t painful. But I remember thinking “this is a message. If I ignore it, it will get worse.”

I took a path I’m not particularly practiced on: I “gave up”. I took a week of rest, and did some research on running forums about the particular pain I was experiencing. It turns out that running in old shoes, or shoes that were the wrong shape, were probably causing the pain. Or running too much too soon. Or just the shape of my foot. Options for treatment, if it got worse, would be surgery or no more running.  I took it slow when I started back up, got new shoes that fit better, and started listening to my body.

Injuries happen more often when our bodies are tired and not working efficiently. They happen more often when our muscles are tense and tight. Super-intense athletic activity can lead to injury, more often than not, that eventually ends enjoyment of the sport that caused it.

If your primary goal is to stay well and mobile and happy into your old age, then you need to slow down sometimes and listen to what works in your body. You need to have the humility to understand that sometimes when it seems like you’re too tired to work out, you actually ARE too tired to work out. If it seems like your daily yoga classes are triggering your knee injury, that might be exactly the case. You need to ask yourself: When is sticking to a fitness goal compromising my overall wellness?

My new training plan is based on time instead of distance, and my heart rate. There are still days when the run is harder than others, but since I know starting out how long I’ll be running, regardless of distance, I never feel rushed to pick up the pace. I have more room to pay attention to what’s happening in my body. I enjoy my runs now, and I know when I want to skip a run, it’s not because I’m lazy. It’s because my body needs that extra rest.

Wellness isn't just intentionally working. It's intentionally relaxing, too!

Photo by Haley Phelps on Unsplash

So how can you build your fitness routine into a wellness routine?

1.     Set a goal that’s unique to you

Instead of aiming for a pace or a distance or an objective goal, like 50 repetitions, aim for “as much as I can do in x minutes”, and then be gentle with yourself. If you need to slow down, slow down. If you need to stop, stop. Instead of measuring your progress against an objective goal, measure your progress against your last month’s progress. Or, better yet, don’t measure your progress at all! Just pay attention to how you feel when you’ve done some physical activity versus how you feel when you don’t!

2.     Incorporate a relaxation practice.

Stressing and straining your body on a regular basis should be counterbalanced with resting and relaxing your body on a regular basis. This can be a meditation practice, gentle stretching, or restorative yoga, or even a hot bath! Whatever you do to relax your body, try to do it as frequently as you would do your training or strenuous activity. For example, if you run 3 days a week, do your relaxation practice 3 days a week as well. Better yet, you can incorporate rest and work into one session, like a yoga class that balances strength with ease, or a jog that mixes running with walking. Having just one rest day in a week of hard work is about as realistic as pulling all–nighters all week and just sleeping on weekends.

3.     Practice listening to your body.

Our body sends signals that we can pick up if we’re paying attention. Soreness, pain, thirst, hunger, exhaustion: all of these are clues that your body needs more support. If you ignore and push through when the signals are quiet, your body will send you a louder signal that will be harder to ignore. These can sometimes be pretty devastating, and might end up with you stuck on the couch for much longer than you planned.  So get curious about what your body is telling you: Where could that soreness be coming from? Why am I so tired? What do I need more of? Less of? Basically, start listening and responding to these cues from your body instead of tuning them out.

By setting your own subjective goals, prioritizing relaxation as much as exercise, and listening to the messages your body sends you can start moving away from just fitness and toward a more sustainable wellness journey!