Viable Wellness

Memorial Day- often seen as a kick off to summer, graduation parties, and barbecues but it is so much more.

So many have sacrificed for this great country and many continue to live the selfless life of service.

This weekend we remember those who gave their life for our country and remain mindful of those those who have fought and continue to fight for our country 🇺🇸 ❤️ 🤍💙 🇺🇸

Fort Campbell, KY
'Boots on the Ground' display, with more than 7,000 pairs of boots, represents Service Members who have died since Sept. 11, 2001. 🙏 ❤️ 🇺🇸

#🇺🇸

Interesting- this was in an education class I did today. Social connectedness is so important to health! Take time and connect with people throughout your day- and yes, it has to be more than just social media.

Friday Tip: Live on purpose, not on accident. No one reaches goals or becomes their best without living on purpose. Be intentional in your daily actions. Align them with your goals.

Live life for your eulogy, not for your resume.
-John Mark Comer

(Quote from my morning audiobook. Are you living life to the fullest or just chugging along in the daily grind?)

Just gonna put this right here…..

Friday Tip: Rules won't keep you in line or on track if you don't have the compassion or love attached to it. Show yourself compassion and love while you are on your wellness journey. You will be more likely stick to it, even when you have slip ups.

I’ve been tracking my sleep over the last month so I can try a little experiment. I feel I have a pretty solid month of “average sleep” data so I’ll be starting a new bedtime supplement without changing any other aspect of my day or night routine to see what kind of benefits I get. I will compare and share the data and routine come June 13th. 🤞 for deeper sleep! Right now I average 37 minutes of deep sleep a night.

Poor muscle composition doesn’t discriminate!

Skinny doesn’t always equal metabolic health, just as obese doesn’t always equal poor metabolic health. HOWEVER- poor muscle composition always equals worse metabolic health and increased risk of morality!

A little Monday morning reading- 📖
We know the importance of healthy muscle and this study demonstrates why it’s even more important in the obese person. Obese individuals are often thought to have more muscle, which can be true, but this muscle is often weaker and composed of more fat than lean tissue. This study found that adverse muscle composition was associated with a 70% higher risk of early death in the obese person versus an obese person with better muscle composition. Read the study for more detail👇🏼

❗️Point of the story- muscle health is key no matter the stage of your weightloss/ lifestyle journey! 💪 🫶🏼. Don’t wait to shed the pounds to work on muscle composition!

Study finds poor muscle health is common in people living with obesity, increases risk of early death New research being presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Venice, Italy (12–15 May) has found that poor muscle health is associated with a higher risk of an early death in people living with obesity.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful moms who give their all to their family! 🫶🏼Take time for yourself today ❤️ Loving and caring for yourself will help you to keep giving for a long time to come ❤️🫶🏼

Friday Tip:
Practice a healthy lifestyle if you want to accomplish more in your career/schooling! Studies have consistently linked a healthy lifestyle to higher rates of success. So eat nutritious and move 🫶🏼👊

Last, let's review some supplements that can help with inflammation. My absolute favorites are omega-3, greens supplements, and red supplements. These are handy because I typically don't eat a wide variety of food so it fills in the gaps 🙂. Message if you have any additional questions on inflammation or supplements! I'm here to help you 😄

Many people avoid exercise due to pain and inflammation, however gentle exercise and movement can help decrease inflammation and pain over time! See below for more information 👇.

What you eat can either drive inflammation in your body or help decrease the inflammation! See the images below for more detail 👇Tomorrow we review exercise and inflammation 👀

You have 60-80 thousand thoughts per day.
Up 80% are negative in nature and up to 95% can be repetitive. This is our natural human tendency- we trend toward negative thoughts and rumination.

You can change that.

When you catch a negative thought simply stop and think 3 positives. If you catch yourself in repetitive thought. Stop count backwards from 5 to 1 and think a positive thought or of a pleasant place you enjoy.

Doing this will decrease your tendency to think negative thoughts over time and can improve your self esteem and mood. Studies have even shown an increase of about 11% in performance when there is a more positive mindset.

Take control of your thoughts.

Inflammation affects every aspect of the human body 👇See below. Check back tomorrow as we review nutrition and inflammation 😉

To all my fellow nurses out there- Your unwavering dedication, compassion, and empathy is the heartbeat of healthcare. THANK YOU!

“The longest distance between two points is a shortcut” - John C. Maxwell

For any change in health or lifestyle- be consistent and give yourself TIME!

This week we are unpacking inflammation 👀! See below to review what inflammation is and the various types. Stay tuned this week as we explore affects of inflammation on the body and what can be done to improve inflammation 🙌.

I hope everyone is enjoying a beautiful Sunday! Take time to do something for you today 🫶🏼. Self care should come first and foremost in your daily routine. If you don’t care for yourself you can’t optimally care for others. ❤️❤️❤️

Friday Tip 👇🏼:
Empower yourself by setting boundaries. This isn't selfish, it's a sign of courage and strength. Boundaries encourage personal growth, self-love, and positive relationships 🫶🏼.

Inflammation! It doesn’t have to be a dirty word. While chronic inflammation can cause damage and disease, acute inflammation can help with recovery and healing from an injury ❤️‍🩹.

Stay tuned for next weeks Wellness Series as I unpack inflammation and its impact on the body.

Do you have a topic you want to see discussed? Comment 👇🏼 or send me a message 🫶🏼.

Health and wellness is a journey, requiring daily routines and choices. It involves accepting that not every day will be “perfect”. You will have setbacks- grow from them. It's a process, one day at a time. Embrace the journey 🙌🏼 Keep working 🫶🏼

Do you track your food?
Do you weigh or measure your food?

Calories can add up quickly if you are not careful. This is why I recommend to log your food until you are able to judge amounts with your eyes and the hand method.

The biggest culprits:
1) Condiments and dressings- ranch is so easy to over do!
2) Peanut butter- I bet if I asked each of you to give me a serving of peanut butter they would all be different.
3) Bulk packaged items- it is easy to overindulge in chips, candies, nuts and the like when there are more than one serving in a package.

Tips:
1) Read your nutrition label to see what a serving size is and separate out a serving. For instance- Did you know just one Crumbl Cookie is 4 servings!
2) Measure your condiments or use the hand method- Tip of thumb is teaspoon, whole thumb tablespoon

I have shared the hand method before, here it is again for reference.

Tough Love Tuesday!

Let's be honest. We all have a goal for a healthy life. Many of us have a goal to lose a few pounds. But how many of us are actually honest enough with ourselves to achieve these goals?

It's easy to pass the blame or find an excuse when it isn't going well. The most common I hear-

I don't have time to ....
My body just isn't built for....
or That's too hard, there is no way I can do that...

1- you have time. You just haven't made yourself a priority. Each of us have our own responsibilities that we have to tend to throughout the day and some may have more responsibilities than others. The difference is how we use our time. Pay attention to how you spend your time, what are you wasting time on? You will be surprised how much time we can waste in one day and not even realize it. MAKE YOURSELF A PRIORITY AND PRIORITIZE TIME FOR YOUR HEALTH.

2- You can do it. No one woke up able to run a marathon or able to deadlift 200lbs. We all start somewhere. It will be hard, you will be uncomfortable. But stick with it and you will be amazed of what exactly you can do. DON'T SELL YOURSELF SHORT. Build yourself up. You can do what you set your mind to.

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Planning decreases excuses, gives you direction, and can help motivate you into doing.

When I wake up at 3AM the last thing I want to do is dig for clothes, decide what workout I am doing, and what I am going to pack for lunch. Honestly, if I wake up at 3AM and do not know what I am doing for my workout I am snoozing my alarm and sleeping in.

Don't give yourself that opportunity for an out. BE PROACTIVE!

This is your gaol.
This is your health.
This is your life.

NO ONE IS GOING TO DO THIS FOR YOU.

So what is your plan this week? Review the pic below to see key things to start planning.

Fueling your body post workout is essential, preferably within 2 hours of exercise.

Key nutrients to consider are protein and carbs.
During exercise your muscles use glycogen that is stored within the muscle for energy. Replacing the glycogen (a byproduct of carbs) decrease recovery time and enhances muscle growth.

Protein is essiential for muscle health and when you exercise you breakdown muscle (this is part of muscle growth). Eating protein enhances muscle growth, repair, and improves recovery time.

Personally- I struggle getting a meal post workout most days of the week. My go to is 1st Phorms rapid assimilation protein and glycogen supplement mixed in water for quicker digestion/utilization. This is usually within 20 minutes of finishing my workout. Then I’ll have a protein/carb meal about 1-2 hours later.

Weekends are easier for meals- today was my protein glycogen supplements. Followed by Eggs, sweet potatoes, bell peppers and onions.