Over the past 4 months, with travel and the holidays, I’ve gained some weight, and my healthy habits have 100% gone to garbage, so it’s time for me to get back on track!
Last year I started working with a functional health doctor and nutritionist to better understand my overall health. Needless to say, I deal with inflammation and higher cortisol levels as I feel like MANY women in their 40’s. So I started making small changes to my diet and lifestyle (or I do my best!). Now, I HATE diet culture, so please know that I am sharing these things, and if it can help you as well, then awesome. If this is not on your radar, then no worries. More fashion is coming soon.
Vuori Top | Siete Chips | Taco Shells | Taco Seasoning | Reeds Ginger Beer | Olipop | Spindrift | Hu Gems | Just Ingredients Protein Shake | 1 to 1 Baking Flour | Magnesium | AG1 | Coconut Sugar
I started last spring with a 3-week gut cleanse by taking out all gluten, dairy, refined sugar, alcohol, legumes, and soy. Since I was majorly addicted to energy drinks, enjoying my wine and mindless snacks, it was a wakeup call. I started replacing my morning energy drink with an Olipop, my evening drink with zero-calorie ginger beer mixed with sparking water, and figured out what has gluten!
I learned all the foods that lead to inflammation and tried to find substitutes that didn’t leave me feeling deprived. I was recommended the Bobby Parish app Flav City, which has a scanner where you can scan a food item, and it will come back with any ingredients that might be concerning. Did I always agree with ingredients that the app flags as red? Nope, but it was a great starting point.
I also started finding more options on Thrive Market, this is where my Siete addiction started! I’m such a Tex-Mex girlie, and taco night is on repeat at our house, so finding these grain-free chips, taco shells, and taco seasoning has been epic, and I’m never going back. But truly, the chips and shells have a lighter feel, and this taco seasoning has the best flavor of any I’ve tried, so I now buy in bulk!
I also like sweets, so my nutritionist recommended Hue Chocolate. It has no refined or cane sugar, palm oil, or gluten, so of course, I thought it would taste like dirt, but boy was I wrong! These dark chocolate gems are great for a quick sweet hit or the bars (I love the salty dark chocolate and seasonal peppermint mocha). I also started to be better about starting my mornings with protein, either a quick egg dish or this protein powder mixed with the LMNT chocolate sea salt that has magnesium, potassium, and electrolytes for a delicious sweet and salty drink.
Once I was done with my 3 week cleanse, my intensive blood and urine testing came back, and luckily, I did not have any markers for concerns with dairy or gluten, so while I still try and reduce those items, it doesn’t affect my body as negatively as it does others.
The big area that I have issues with (and still do) is good sleep. I started tracking my sleep with a whoop over a year ago, and even when I’m alcohol-free, have worked out, and stay off devices, my quality of sleep is hot or miss. That’s when I started taking 240mg of magnesium each night and it HELPED! This is an ongoing issue for me because I am your girlie who wakes up around 4 or 5am to hunt deals to post on Facebook, so I’m still a major work in progress.
Oura Ring Gen 3 | Oura Ring Gen 4
For Christmas, I ended up getting an Oura ring because when I do fashion content, I was taking off my Whoop fitness tracker so much that it wasn’t accurately tracking during the day, and I would forget to put it back on at night. I got the sizing kit first, which helped me figure out what size and finger I wanted to wear it on. So far, I’ve had it for about 2 weeks and really like the information it gives you. With the Whoop, it asks all kinds of questions after each night, which I found annoying. This one is a little more user-friendly, IMO and it can track steps on an easy-to-see screen, which I like.
Weighted Vest | Vuori Top | Similar Top | Leggings | Shoes | Laundry Basket
Speaking of work in progress… exercise. Now that I’m in my mid-40s, I know how important muscle mass and strength training are. I’m not great at making time for myself to do this, so little hacks have made a difference for me. A couple of months ago, I got a weighted vest, and while I know a lot of people walk or run with them, I wear my doing house chores walking up and down a 3 story house!
I am also getting back into lifting weights and tracking my steps, but I’m a work in progress. doing little things has helped me feel better and stronger in my body. This month, I turn 45, and I am really focusing on those small everyday changes I can make to live an overall healthier life!
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Love the healthy tips- especially the foods you have listed- so helpful! As a 57 year old menopausal woman who has gained 10 lbs in the last year since using HRT, Iβm always looking for ways to improve my diet & exercise. Magnesium has helped me tremendously for sleeping! Glad itβs helping you too!