Thank you Nokia for sponsoring this post. Visit the Nokia Body+ site for more info and start the new year off right!
I mentioned a few weeks ago about my husband’s hospitalization last month. It was a scary time and I felt physically, emotionally and mentally depleted as a wife and especially as a mother of three with a newborn baby. If you’ve ever been a caregiver for someone who is ill you know how challenging that is and while I celebrate the fact that I was strong enough to keep us all from falling apart during that time, I have to share the types of thoughts I was having. See this was my second time that someone close to me was hospitalized and both times I found myself confronting my own self-care and wellness approach. Nothing forces you to confront your own shortcomings more than seeing someone you care for suffering. I’m lucky enough to have three amazing kids and I want to not just be around for them but to be healthy and enjoy life with them as they grow into adults and that would require me making self-care and wellness a priority.
Listen, it’s much easier said than done. Years ago, I had a great routine and ate super clean and remained very active. Once I fell off that routine, I’ve struggled to get back on it consistently but I’ve never stopped trying. I’m now a mom of three and it’s important now more than ever to set a good example for my children of a healthy lifestyle. Fortunately, although I haven’t been as good as I once was I’m healthy based on a physical I did a few weeks ago at my doctor’s office and I want to maintain a clean bill of health. Dieting isn’t an option for me at this time as I’m still breastfeeding but I think that gives me the opportunity to make small changes that can become part of my lifestyle. Here are a few ways I plan to make wellness a priority:
Monitor my Weight to Learn about my Body.
In my late 20s, I monitored my weight checking it several times a week and recording the numbers in a notebook. Then after I had my first child I discovered the MyFitnessPal app and started using it to track weight, calories consumed and exercise. That’s been cool but Nokia Body+ scale is a complete game changer for me. It’s a combination of all of the above thanks to the accompanying app called Health Mate that’s available on Google and iOS. What I love about this app is that it tells you everything from my weight, muscle mass, BMI because it automatically syncs with the Body+ scale. I’ve been able to get all of my overall data including physical activity, sleep, weight, trends, track progress so I can improve over time. The best part it syncs with other apps including my beloved MyFitnessPal. So far I’ve been tracking my post-pregnancy weight-loss and my BMI is slightly 26.6 which is slightly high so my goal is to get it below 25 in a healthy range.
I do wish I had gotten this scale during my pregnancy because there is Pregnancy Mode that includes tips for health prenatal weight gain. Our entire family is taking advantage of this app though and since I’m able to create profiles for each of the kids and the baby in Baby Mode it’s going to make pediatrician visits a lot simpler.
Try new Classes.
I don’t think wellness needs to be boring or redundant it’s important for me to have fun and mix things up. I’ve tried indoor cycling and rock climbing and I plan to try trap yoga, West Indian dancing, and Barre class this year.
More Video Journaling.
I was doing some digital decluttering this weekend and I came across some of my video journal clips from a few years ago. It was incredible because I was able to learn so much more about myself than I do when I read it on paper. I’ve consistently journal most of my life but I stopped video journaling a few years ago and I think it’s a really great way for me to get out thoughts and feelings. There is something about saying it out loud that’s therapeutic.
Kicking my Clean Eating, Dirty Snacking Habit.
The hardest of all will be kicking what my husband teases me about most my “clean eating, dirty snacking” habit. My main meals are usually healthy but I could go HAM on a bag of chips or sleeve of cookies when snacking. I’m not proud of that but it’s true and it’s a huge struggle for me because my self-control is really sad and I do not live alone but I’m hoping that once I start making all of these small changes my family will be influenced and avoid junk too. My daughter already stopped drinking juice at school on the days I would give her and she brings only water these days.
How are you making wellness a priority?
Get 10% off at the Nokia Health store through December 1, 2018 here with this code: NEWYOU-XKY-F9P
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
