Our move happened very quickly and didn’t give us much time to plan, and as a result, we really dropped the ball on our sleeping and eating schedules. We started staying up until 3 or 4am trying to pack everything we owned up as quickly as we could, saying goodbye to friends and family, and settling our affairs back in Michigan. We were dragging ourselves out of bed again by 7am to start doing it all over again, and instead of cooking most of our meals at home like we usually did, we almost exclusively ate takeout because we wouldn’t be able to eat at those restaurants again, we didn’t have much time to cook, we were exhausted, and we had packed up our cookware in moving boxes. We need to get back into our healthier habits.
Needless to say, not sleeping or eating well has taken a toll on us, so now that we are settled into our new home, I want to get back into healthier habits, and improve on the good habits we already had. Here are the specific things I plan to get back into doing in the coming months.
Daily Walks
When we were scrambling to pack everything up and prepare for our move to a place we’d never been before, we stopped exercising and going for our daily walks all together. Now that we are back in the swing of things, we’ve been going for our daily walks again and it’s such a great way to unplug from our jobs, get some exercise, and enjoy the fresh air and beautiful spring weather.
My Diet
I haven’t eaten meat in almost a decade, and my gluten allergy that I was diagnosed with a few years back means I can’t eat things like pasta or bread. I’ve been wanting to push a bit farther and rely primarily on a plant based diet, particularly as springtime means much fresher produce is available. I’ll still occasionally eat seafood if it’s fresh and sustainably caught, which is much more common on the East Coast than most places around the country.
I’m also going to cut out added sugars, caffeine and things high in sodium, both of which make me feel bloated and sluggish. We have tons of fresh spices, herbs, and seasoning blends, so I’m going to rely on those to flavor my meals. I rarely drink alcohol, so I’m going to cut it out all together this spring and summer, which isn’t much of a change for me.
Eating dairy makes me sick, so I’m completely cutting out dairy this spring and summer as well. I typically use cashew milk, nut cheeses, and dairy free things anyway, so this isn’t much of a change for me either.
Filler foods, like rice, quinoa, tofu, tortilla chips, and gluten-free breads or pasta used to consist of about half my diet, but they’re not super healthy in excess since they’re mainly empty calories, so I’m going to be limiting how much of these I eat as well.
By focusing on in-season, locally grown fruits, vegetables, and occasional freshly caught seafood, I want to eat healthier, feel better, have more energy, and eat foods that make less of an environmental impact. I know not everyone can do this, but since I am able to do it, I want to do what I can to buy less environmentally impactful foods, while being mindful of my dietary needs and eating healthier, fresher foods.
When I travel, I won’t have much of a choice but to dine out, but I can at least order fresh foods, skip drinks and desserts, and select places with plenty of healthy options.
Supplements
I have tons of vitamins that I packed into one big box during our move, and when we landed in our new home, I placed them on a shelf at eye level in our kitchen, to make them easier to take each day. I’m working on taking the vitamins I used to take irregularly, but staying consistent and taking them every day, including Vitamin A,B-12,C,D, Biotin, Calcium, Iodine, Liquid Plant Iron, Magnesium, and a women’s multi-vitamin. These will help me fill in any nutritional gaps I might have, and were recommended to me by my nutritionist. I notice a huge difference in my energy levels when I take vitamins, and I want to take them daily rather than just taking them when I feel out of sorts or have strong food cravings.
Sleep Schedule
I mentioned earlier that our sleep schedule has been absolutely obliterated by our move, and I’ve found myself wanting to take naps nearly every day, which is not at all normal for me. To combat this, I’m setting an alarm to wake up each morning, and making sure I’m in bed by midnight at the latest each evening.
I think by eating better, healthier foods, sleeping more regularly, getting more exercise again, and being more conscious of my lifestyle decisions, I’ll feel better, have more energy, and and not have to worry about my food allergies bothering me as often. I’ll update you in a few weeks to tell you how it’s going!
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