Wellness
Eating Well to Nourish an Active Lifestyle
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Whether you’re a seasoned yogi, circuit training fanatic, cycling junkie, or you love taking your workout outside, having enough energy to sustain any type of physical activity is so important. Have you ever felt like you could barely make it through your exercise class—due to lightheadedness or dehydration—or for days after your workout, you felt sore and weak? Among many culprits, it’s possible that all of these symptoms are rooted in one simple fix: proper nutrition.
Reminder: you're unique.
While the health and wellness industry can seem overwhelming and complex, remember that you are a bio-individual. In other words, you have specific nutritional requirements based on your genetics, activity level, intolerances, stress, etc. And although you may want to jump on the latest fad or trend, what works for someone else may not work for you. Therefore, it’s best to get back to the basics and think about nutrition from the lens of your own unique needs.
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Reminder: you're unique.
While the health and wellness industry can seem overwhelming and complex, remember that you are a bio-individual. In other words, you have specific nutritional requirements based on your genetics, activity level, intolerances, stress, etc. And although you may want to jump on the latest fad or trend, what works for someone else may not work for you. Therefore, it’s best to get back to the basics and think about nutrition from the lens of your own unique needs.
Find a balance.
As an intuitive eater—something that I have been practicing for a few years—I’ve learned to find a balance between what I’m truly craving (hello, nightly chocolate habit), what’s available from a local/seasonal perspective, and what my body needs on a cellular level. As someone with PCOS and insulin resistance issues, I make sure that what I’m eating both balances my blood sugar and sustains my fairly active lifestyle. Speaking of an active lifestyle, it’s been so great to use the MINDBODY app to check out new workout studios, beauty services, and wellness businesses in Denver. The app has made finding and scheduling my classes and appointments a breeze.
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Find a balance.
As an intuitive eater—something that I have been practicing for a few years—I’ve learned to find a balance between what I’m truly craving (hello, nightly chocolate habit), what’s available from a local/seasonal perspective, and what my body needs on a cellular level. As someone with PCOS and insulin resistance issues, I make sure that what I’m eating both balances my blood sugar and sustains my fairly active lifestyle. Speaking of an active lifestyle, it’s been so great to use the MINDBODY app to check out new workout studios, beauty services, and wellness businesses in Denver. The app has made finding and scheduling my classes and appointments a breeze.
Fuel your fitness.
All of that said, wellness starts at home. And specifically for me, wellness starts in the kitchen. Both pre- and post-workout nutrition play a major role in ensuring adequate stamina during exercise, as well as a swift recovery process afterward. One of my favorite ways to refuel after exercise is with real, whole foods (preferably with produce I’ve picked up at the Union Station Farmers’ Market!).
After your next fitness class, try out my favorite Soft Scrambled Eggs recipe to keep you energized and ready to take on the rest of the day!
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Fuel your fitness.
All of that said, wellness starts at home. And specifically for me, wellness starts in the kitchen. Both pre- and post-workout nutrition play a major role in ensuring adequate stamina during exercise, as well as a swift recovery process afterward. One of my favorite ways to refuel after exercise is with real, whole foods (preferably with produce I’ve picked up at the Union Station Farmers’ Market!).
After your next fitness class, try out my favorite Soft Scrambled Eggs recipe to keep you energized and ready to take on the rest of the day!
Beauty
Unexpected Looks and Learnings from 2020
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To put it bluntly—2020 was a real bummer. When we entered the year, we all had that “20/20 vision” mindset of making the year one of travel, joy, discovering new hobbies, and conquering our fitness goals. But come March, that vision became a blurry mess of sheltering-in-place and being forced to throw our normal routines and our aspirations out the window.
Who would have thought that something like getting a haircut would be off-limits? Or that those monthly massages wouldn’t be around to help us unwind? 2020 forced us to get creative, and you blew us away with your stick-to-itiveness.
We recently polled you on Instagram to see which beauty and wellness services you missed the most and how you’ve re-vamped your self-care routines to stay sane during this train wreck of a year. And I must say, as I read your responses in my sweats, rocking the messiest top knot of all time, I definitely felt like I need to take it up a notch when it comes to getting ready for the workday.
Seriously—an alarming number of you have been on point when it comes to sticking to your daily morning routines and actually wearing work clothes while on Zoom calls. Kudos to you!
Curious to see what the takeaways were from our Instagram poll? Keep reading.
Takeaway #1: All beauty services are missed equally
According to your responses, you're all sick of your exposed roots and split ends equally, with 51% of you preferring to get a haircut and 49% opting for hair color. The numbers were also pretty close when it came to your nails—with 52% of you opting for a manicure over a pedicure. Due to the pandemic, the state of the beauty industry has been on a rollercoaster of openings and closings—and they need our help and support now more than ever. If you happen to live in an area where you’re able to enjoy beauty services, make sure you show your stylist or nail artist a little bit of extra love when tipping them.
Takeaway #2: You miss massages, but are ready for touchless spa treatments
Anybody who knows me will tell you the thing I miss the most is getting a monthly massage—and 71% of you seem to agree. With most of us working from our beds or hunched over our laptops on our couches, our posture (if not our comfort) has taken a serious hit. While most of us either live in an area where massages are off-limits or we just don’t feel safe going in for one quite yet, there are some touchless spa treatments you're ready to try.
- 69% of you are interested in trying an infrared sauna treatment—no surprise during the cold winter months. This type of treatment uses light to directly warm your body to increase heart rate, help you sweat out the bad stuff (like all that wine we’ve been drinking), and treat chronic health problems.
- 31% of you are willing to brave the cold of cryotherapy. These sessions aim to decrease inflammation and speed up recovery time after an intense workout by standing in an extremely cold chamber of liquid nitrogen or dry, fresh, oxygenated air.
- 52% of you are down to try out salt caves. Turns out, Himalayan pink salt isn’t just for you fancy home chefs out there. By sitting in an entire room made of this salt, you can relax and potentially treat respiratory and skin issues.
- 48% of you are ready to suit up for a float tank sesh. If you love meditating, this is the perfect touchless spa treatment to try. Float tanks are filled with body-temperature saltwater—and they’re lightless and soundproof. You guys—I’ve tried this and it’s definitely the kind of R&R we all need right now.
Takeaway #3: Your self-care routines are admirable
Call it wishful thinking, but I was fully expecting most of you to say, “Zoom camera off” as your go-to beauty tip—but I guess that’s just me. Instead, you've all been pretty consistent with your morning routines—working out, showering, and dressing like you're actually going into an office. Some of you are even going the extra mile and putting on a red lip and some earrings. I’m taking notes.
And even though this year’s challenges put a damper on our normal routines, it's inspired us to get creative with our skincare regimen. Some of you have added new serums and masks to your skincare arsenal, while others have tried out at-home facials for that quarantine glow. By far, one of the most popular answers was the incorporation of Gua Sha to help detoxify, brighten, and tighten your skin.
This year was one for the books. But I think it made us realize there is always wellness—and that taking care of ourselves is crucial. If you're in an area where in-house beauty services are an option, book that appointment (if you feel safe to do so). If your only option right now is to stay at home, keep carrying on with your feel-good, at-home routines.
If you're curious to see what some other wellness trends you should take note of in 2021, check out this blog.
