Making Space for Mental Health + Mindful Eating

I took a little trip this weekend and took some time away from my phone. I know I spend too much time looking at a screen most days, so it was a nice change for me to be in nature, read actual paper books and meditate.

Working from home has me feeling like I need to be available 24/7 so I’m trying to create a little more balance in my day-to-day life with it. When we think about health, it's easy to focus on our food and exercise but forget to take care of our holistic wellness, including mental health. I'm guilty of this myself, especially with a job that requires me to be in front of the computer most of the day.

How do you know if your relationship with your phone or social media is impacting your mental health? It can be harder than you think to identify when it's a part of your routine but if you find yourself feeling more burnt out, it might be time to take a pause. I recommend checking out your screen time report - it might be surprising to see how many hours a day you're logging and where that time is spent.

If you feel like you need to create some better boundaries around this, here are some of the ways I manage this:

• No phones in the bedroom. I put my phone down 30 minutes before bedtime and don’t pick it up again. Also, I leave it in another room so it’s not the first thing I look at when I wake up, which allows me a hot minute to get grounded before the stressors of the day creep in.

• Time limits on certain apps - Hey, we're all guilty of mindless scrolling. You can set limits for groupings of apps and will get a reminder when you’re approaching this timeline for the day. This has really helped me be more conscious of where I’m spending my time. I think you’ll be surprised how much time you spend without realizing it.

• Daily Meditation - I’ve always wanted to be the person who meditated consistently and have struggled to make it happen. This year it seemed more important than ever so I’ve doubled down on this commitment. I found an app that works for me - Balance - and schedule it. I put it in my personal and work calendars and set a reminder on phone so I don’t forget. I don’t get to make it work every single day but I do it a lot more consistently with these reminders in place.

• Get outside - I know not everyone has the ability to do this in their workday but it makes a huge difference. Even if it’s 5 or 10 minutes, breath some fresh air, move your body and you’ll feel the reset, I promise.

• Manage expectations - If you have set a precedent for always being available, it can create a cycle of guilt if you miss something or have a delayed response. Once you clarify when you're available and start sticking to it, people will start to respect those boundaries and you can get back some much-needed mental space from work and screen time.

• Lead by example - If you want to have space away from your device, you have to be mindful of holding space for others to do the same. Don't expect a co-worker to get back to you at an odd hour and consider what's really an emergency. Can this email or chat wait until business hours?

• Eat mindfully - Your gut is regulated by your central nervous system and when your body is stressed, it can slow things down, reducing the absorption of nutrients, and increasing heartburn, indigestion, and bloating. Taking the time focus on the food you're eating means you create space in your body for digestion and calm.

Mindful Eating Exercise

So how do we eat mindfully? What is the special formula? Well, there isn't just one answer because EVERYONE is different! But there are some basic general steps you can think about when sitting down for a meal, yes that’s right, I said sitting- not standing or driving.

1. Find a quiet place without distractions- if you can control distractions, do so. This might be turning off the TV, putting your phone away, and sitting down at the table.

2. Try to make sure your meal looks appetizing. I don't expect you to be a food styler, but add some color, or arrange it in a fun way so that it looks appetizing. Maybe even put it on a special plate and use a fancy cup.

3. Take a few deep breaths. Times are stressful, I get it, especially if you're rushing in the morning or fitting lunch in between meetings. Give yourself a few moments to just be there and take a few belly breaths before taking your first bite.

4. Eat slowly and think about how your food tastes, smells, and feels.

5. Put the fork down once in a while. This will allow you to taste your food more and be more mindful about what you are eating. Finish chewing your food and swallow before taking another bite.

6. Try to take at least 10 minutes to finish your meal- ideally 15-20, but I'm trying to be realistic.
   

As important as nutrition & exercise are, if you’re doing them at the expense of your mental health, you aren’t going to get anywhere. Rather, think about your wellness and health goals as a pie, where nutrition & movement are big pieces but are equally as important as water, sleep, and mental health.

What are some ways you find to carve out space for yourself away from the screen? Do you have any tips and tricks that work for you?

7 Reasons to Drink More Water

Most people know they should be drinking more water, so why don't they? A recent survey showed that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. It's no coincidence that many of us feel tired, sluggish, and foggy as well. While nutrition and exercise play a large part in our overall health, many people neglect to prioritize hydration alongside their other wellness efforts or are drinking too many caffeinated or sugary beverages and diets high in sodium.

Here are some of the best reasons to drink more water and some of the ways you can easily improve your health through getting more H2O.

1. Keep it Balanced

About 60% of your body is made up of water, if you aren't drinking enough, your body doesn't have enough for basic functions like regulating your temperature and digesting food.

2. Weight Loss

Now that I have your attention, most often when people feel hungry, they are actually experiencing thirst. Next time you're hungry, try drinking a full glass of water and waiting around 15 minutes before eating a meal or snack. Water also has zero calories and when swapped with higher calorie drinks, can help you lose weight. Plus, water can increase your body's fat-burning ability and promotes the breakdown and elimination of fat cells. Are you sold yet?

3. More Energy

One major side effect of dehydration is fatigue, next time you have that afternoon energy slump and think about reaching for another cup of coffee, try having a cold glass of water and going for a short walk.

4. Better Focus

Dehydration has been shown to put stress on cognitive functioning and linked to decreases in concentration and short-term memory and even increase anxiety and irritability. Prolonged dehydration can cause persistent symptoms, meaning that cognitive function in some cases was compromised even after adequate hydration was reached.

5. Smooth moves

Drinking adequate water helps your digestive system work more smoothly. It will also help your body break down food more effectively and help boost your metabolism.

6. Clear complexion

Water can help flush toxins out of the body that can build up and lead to skin congestion and acne. Water will also help hydrate your skin from the inside out helping it look more plump and radiant.

7. Rock your workout

Intense cardio and weight lifting sessions can make you break a sweat, which means you are losing electrolytes and fluids that make it harder for your muscles to perform. By replenishing those fluids, your muscles, which are 75% water, won't fatigue as quickly and your body can recover faster meaning you can hit that next workout just as hard.

If that isn't enough to convince you, water is delicious! If you need to mix it up, non-caffeinated beverages can count towards your water total like sparkling water and herbal tea. For even more flavor or an extra boost, tablets like Nuun can help replenish electrolytes to give you that extra boost! Even choosing a fun water bottle, setting reminders on your phone and keeping your water in eyesight can help you stay on track.

Happy hydrating!

Hearty Harvest Salad

I really look forward to fall for the leaves changing, pumpkin everything, and all of the delicious and nutritious foods that are in season during this transition. Or at least that's what I tell myself to cope with the colder, shorter days :)

I love eating salads year round but I don't love just noshing on cold, raw veggies in the winter. There's a reason you crave cooling foods that are high in water in the summer like watermelon and cucumber and warming foods in the winter like soups and certain spices like cinnamon we commonly see in dishes and baked goods. There is also some evidence to show that by eating warming foods, less energy is required to create heat in the digestive tract and thus, leaves more energy for digestion and allows the body to better absorb it's nutrients.

From a nutrition standpoint, this salad achieves balance with a plant based protein (farro), a leafy green (kale), an acid for digestion (vinegar), healthy fats (oil and nuts), warming spices (cinnamon), and seasonal produce (kale, squash and apple). Yay!

This salad comes together easily and can be your main dish or an easy side. Serve this beauty right away or keep in the fridge for a few days. I recommend warming for a tiny bit in the microwave if taking directly out of the fridge (if you're ok with using this, a quick nuke shouldn't affect the nutrients too much) or just letting sit at room temperature for a bit before eating.

Let me know if you make it, and how you like it! Do you enjoy this time of year? What's your favorite squash?

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Hearty Harvest Salad

Prep Time : 10 minutes | Total time : 20 minutes | 4 servings

Ingredients :

1 large bag of pre-washed kale or 2 heads of kale washed and de-stemmed

1/2 large butternut squash

1 honeycrisp or other seasonal apple

3/4 cup farro

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 teaspoon cinnamon

5 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1.5 tablespoons dijon mustard

Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions :

1. Preheat oven to 425. Peel and cube butternut squash into 1/2 inch pieces, toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, a dash of salt & pepper, and cinnamon. Place in oven for about 20 minutes until cooked and browned, stir once.

2. Fill a medium pot with water and bring to a boil, add farro. Boil for 10 minutes and drain excess water, allow to cool.

3. While squash is cooking, place kale in a large bowl and drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil and vinegar and begin to massage. Work the oil and vinegar into the leaves for a few minutes until they soften and darken in color.

4. Chop apple into 1/2 inch cubes and toss with kale. Add cooked farro to bowl and toss to combine. Add chopped walnuts.

5. Remove squash from oven, allow to cool slightly and combine with other salad ingredients.

6. Combine remaining olive oil, vinegar, mustard and salt & pepper to taste and pour over salad, stir to coat.

7. Enjoy!