Wellness Wednesday: My Wellness Routine

This post contains affiliate links.

Good morning friends! How is your week going? I don’t know about you but the time change always puts me off for a couple of weeks, almost as if I have jet lag. It does the same for my pups because they are getting up at 4 am for breakfast and they are jumping around at 3:30 in the the afternoon for dinner. I’ve been a little sluggish this week, it could be the time change, getting up in the middle of the night with 3 pups or the weather. Whatever the case I have been extra vigilant with my “wellness routine.”

The definition of wellness has changed over the years, it used to be about eating healthy or exercising and that is certainly important but it is more than that, it is all of your healthy habits, including healthy eating, exercise and a good nights sleep combined to form the basis of your “wellness routine.”

I don’t know about you but as I age my mind and body are changing. Things I used to like to eat I no longer do or my body has become intolerant to them, like dairy and gluten. Things I used to like do I don’t have the same interest in. And things that I used to think important, like weight are no longer my focus.  My priorities have shifted to overall wellness so that I can be strong and healthy in mind and body.

This is my wellness routine.

SLEEP

I wake up between 7:00-7:15 every day, I do not set an alarm it is when my body naturally wakes up. I am not a morning person( I am a night owl) and only wake up really early if I have to be at the airport or if I am going to “boot camp.” I go to bed at 10:00 and read for about an hour and it is lights out at 11:00, typically I am asleep in 5 minutes

Morning Routine

I start the day with a hot cup of lemon water, there are some that say it is beneficial  and some that disagree, I just like the taste and it is a great opportunity to start the day hydrated. Remember, you’ve been sleeping for 8 hours, your body is thirsty.

Exercise

I do an hour or an hour and a half of hot yoga 5 days a week, my studio teaches Vinyasa Flow of as my yogi calls it “yoga for athletes.” The classes are challenging for the mind, and the body and in the 6 years that I have been going I have never done the same flow twice. Yoga is a practice, every day that you step on your mat is different and some days “you’ve got it” and some days you don’t. Some poses you may never get because you are not bendy or flexible and some you can work towards.

In addition to working my body, yoga is like therapy for me. It helps me stay focused, it relieves my stress and tension, it makes me feel calm and anxious. My yoga studio and daily practice is the only things I missed(other than my family and friends) during Covid-19.

In addition to yoga I LOVE walking. I will walk in the rain, in the sun, on a beach, in a field, in the dessert or up a mountain. The only think I love more than walking is snowshoeing. In the past I used a  Fitbit Flex but after the third one died I quit using a tracker. I was tired of wearing it and I was getting a little neurotic if I didn’t have my 12, 000 steps for the day. After taking a year off I am back at it and now have the Fitbit Inspire and I strive for 10,00 steps a day, if I don’t get them I don’t stress.

Food and Drink

I practice intermittent fasting and have for years, even before it had a name. I have never been a breakfast person so this way of eating suits me fine. I won’t give all of the details of what I eat but I will say this, not every diet or eating plan works for every person, you have to find what works for you and do that.

I do not eat gluten and rarely eat dairy because I get inflammation when I do so much so that I cannot bend my fingers.

I didn’t eat meat for 23 years and started to eat it again about 5 years ago. When I wasn’t eating meat my hair fell out, my nails were brittle and I was not getting enough protein in my diet, not to mention that 80% of my diet seemed like it came from carbs.

I eat sugar, I know that many think it is bad and that is fine but I eat it. I don’t drink coffee, never have but I love my daily cup of Parisian hot chocolate. I drink water and green tea as well. And I love champagne and cocktails and pizza and pasta. I try to eat everything in moderation.

If you were judging me solely based upon the recipes and photos on the blog you would think the only thing we eat is cakes, candy and cookies. But looks can be deceiving, 95% of all of the treats shown on the blog are in the house for the photos and then they are sent off to friends, family, neighbors, the Fed-ex and UPS man and even my dentist.

Fresh Air and Vitamin D

I make sure to get some fresh air every day, sometimes it is a walk outside, or playing in the yard with the pups and sometimes it is just sitting on the porch in the sun reading a book.

Night Life

In the evening I like to wind down by reading. I don’t really watch tv, I like movies but I am not really into series so most nights you will find me reading a book or reading magazines and articles on the internet. I also like to talk online classes, this keeps the mind sharp and it is fun to learn new things.

I head to bed at 10:00, turn off the phone, write in my gratitude journal,  and will continue to read until it is time for lights out, then I say my prayers and I am off to sleep.

I also make sure to go for wellness exams, yearly physicals, mammograms, etc. My list is by no means complete, but a few things that work for me especially during the last year. I am a person that likes a routine and this has helped me a lot.

How do you take care of yourself? Do you Exercise? What is your favorite way to exercise? Do you try to get 10,000 steps a day? Do you intermittent fast or is there another program that works for you? Please share your health and wellness tips I would love to learn more about taking care of myself as I age.

Have a great day friend!