Day 30: Pampering

I try to take care of myself. I am able to afford to take care of myself and I prioritize it so that I have the time. I know not everyone can afford such luxuries. Sometimes it is even our environment or our genetics that make it more difficult to be 'healthy'. I've seen a quote "don't find time to exercise, make time to exercise", of course, I feel the same way about healthy eating. We can often find excuses or reasons to rationalize why we're not being active or eating well. We put it off, we put others or other things first.

I aim to inspire wellness in others so that they can keep doing the things they love to do. We all have different goals, we all define health differently. I have mentioned various aspects of health on this blog over the years. Of course, I always remember that poverty and food insecurity exist, disease can be beyond what we can 'control' and a so-called 'healthy lifestyle' may not be affordable/achievable/attainable for everyone.

If you're able to, I suggest you take care of yourself though. For me, that includes occasional pampering, which could be a nice bath, a pedicure, even coffee with a friend can be a treat, and I know they all make me feel better. I actually scheduled time this week to get some work done in my office, to go for a run, and to go to the spa (kid-free). I haven't done that in 11.5 months since becoming a mom. I took a whole day for me, to get things done, but also to pamper myself.

I am grateful for: the ability to take care of myself (and treat myself every once in awhile)

I try to take care of myself each day, and some days are easier than others. Some days I don't succeed. However, if I'm not taking care of myself, who is?!

Sometimes you have to put yourself first, and I know that can be hard.
Cheers to you!
Steph Langdon, RD
www.nutrishus.com

Day 18: So Much to Learn

In less than a year I have learned a lot from my daughter (too much to go through here). I thought I would be teaching her, but she is teaching me. Like my husband, she is also making me a better person. She causes me to slow down, drop what I'm doing and be in the moment; she helps me be mindful. She needs me to put her first. She teaches me patience, since things take longer when I need to get her ready, bring her along, stop mid-way through to help her, or completely abandon what I was doing when she wakes up. It's a new life! I do love it and I always wanted to be a mom, so I am very fortunate that I get to learn the role. I think it may be a lifelong lesson though.

Since I love quotes and don't have much time for this post, I figured I would include a few that speak to patience and learning from our mistakes. I have never really liked making mistakes (or asking for help), but I understand that they are learning opportunities. I hope I can help my daughter to see mistakes as opportunities or challenges to improve. We need to make mistakes to learn, so I am happy to have the chance to learn to be a mom (and learn to be a new version of myself). My perfectionist tendencies want me to succeed right away, but that isn't realistic, and sometimes good enough, is good enough.

I am grateful for: my daughter and all that she has taught me in her mere 11 months of life

What have you learned lately? (or what have you failed at and are attempting to learn from?).

Here's to personal growth and lifelong learning!

Steph Langdon, RD

www.nutrishus.com

6 Words That Currently Define Me...

There may be certain words, phrases, quotes, or terms that resonate with you and stick with you. Sometimes I read a quote and it feels like it was written for me, or that the person was saying it to me; it feels like that's what I needed to read/hear in that moment. Quotes definitely inspire me, give me perspective, and help me stay on my path to becoming the best version of myself. At times I wonder (and my husband wonders) where my ideas/thoughts come from, as he and I think very differently about a few things.

I've been thinking about moderation, minimalism, and mindfulness lately. These words, along with happiness, health, and habits (yes, I like alliteration) seem to be terms that I come back to and that help me focus my efforts, my blog posts, and the work I choose to accept and pursue. These words might not speak to you, but they speak to me. In the 'cheesy' sense, I thought I would actually define them for you today. I say 'cheesy' because it makes me think of wedding moments on television "webster's dictionary defines love as..." (you know what I mean). Since I use these words often, I thought it was a good idea to check out their definitions to make sure they say/mean what I want them to.

1. moderation: (moderate): average in size or amount -neither too much nor too little; neither very good nor very bad; not expensive - not too high in price; avoiding extremes of behavior or expression -  observing reasonable limits
2. minimalism:  a style or technique (as in music, literature, or design) that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity
3. mindfulness: the quality or state of being mindful; the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one's thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis; also :  such a state of awareness
4. happiness: the state of being happy; an experience that makes you happy (*not a surprising definition, but I do appreciate that it says experience - not a thing)
5. health: the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit; especially :  freedom from physical disease or pain; the general condition of the body; flourishing condition (well-being)
6. habits: a usual way of behaving : something that a person does often in a regular and repeated way

I also like the terms inspiration, motivation, etc. but I don't think I need to keep defining things for you, I just thought this would be an interesting activity.

Do you have terms that guide you or help you through your day (or this journey we call life)?

Steph Langdon, RD
something nutrishus
www.nutrishus.com

What's Guiding You?

As stated previously, maternity leave and the transition to spending more time as a mom means that I have lots of blog post ideas, yet don't get around to writing often. I can't complain though, I am really enjoying my time away from technology and screens to watch my little one grow! I do spend time on social media for work (and pleasure) so it's a bit of an internal struggle for me and I continue to work on not comparing myself to the assumptions I have of others based on their social media presence. I am in my 30s and still trying to figure out my priorities and how to live my best life.

I love quotes and find solace and inspiration in them. A few that have hit home for me recently are below:

(*see more on my Pinterest board)

With hiah chat I hope to provide insight to encourage you along your wellness journey. I find that it's great to know how others can succeed and the challenges they face. In the Craving Change program that I facilitate there are lots of examples called "you are not alone" and it's a great way to gain some perspective. I am a busy-body and have a hard time relaxing, yet I look at others online at times and feel that I'm not doing enough - I'm not working out enough or eating healthily enough, etc. but I have a great husband that helps to ground me and remind me of what is important - thus my continued journey to find balance so that I can enjoy lazy evenings with him and cuddles with my daughter without guilt (this may be a lifelong struggle for me!).

I plan to write my guiding principles or personal manifesto as I figure it out as well as writing about the pieces that make up health. I also hope to start some discussion around eating principles as sometimes we have developed rules that may be sabotaging our efforts and other times they may help keep us on track. I'm not one for diets, as the term diet to me just means a way of eating. I don't feel the need to associate with a specific way of eating (be that vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc.) and am fortunate enough to not have allergies, intolerances, or medical reasons that I have to - the world of food is open and available to me and I explore it fully. I hope my blog continue to evolve as I do, and as I learn from others and from science.

Do you have 'rules' that you follow on your path to health and wellness?

Feel free to comment below...
Happy Sunday and have a great week!

Steph Langdon, RD
www.nutrishus.com

Be Inspired Today

As an athlete, my parents were very supportive and very proud.  My father is a very outgoing individual and liked to think of himself as our team psychologist.  He would find inspiring quotes or pictures to try to get us fired up.  I remember him drawing us a version of this "Don't Ever Give Up" picture and handing it out to the team. 

At some point I developed a liking for inspiring quotations.  I like to have them on my nutrishus website, to hopefully inspire you.  I even follow certain quote sources on twitter now.  Today as I'm working, I just felt like I needed some inspiration.  The quote that hit me was:

The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible.
Arthur C. Clarke

Most of us have a comfort zone, I know I do.  The challenge is to go beyond it to find out what is really possible.  I can't wait to be 5, 10 years in the future and see how far Something Nutrishus has come and all the people I have helped reach their goals.  Running a business can be scary sometimes, but most of the time I love the challenge and freedom of being my own boss.  Starting my business was a big step out of my comfort zone, and now here I am almost a year and a half in!

What have you done lately to step outside your comfort zone?
What inspires you today?

Steph Wheler, RD
something nutrishus counselling & coaching
www.nutrishus.com