2012 started out as the worst year of my life. Loved ones died, several family members were hospitalized, a close friendship crumbled and both my husband and I have experienced personal health challenges. Add to that a home break-in, a friend’s suicide, and the death of two dear friends’ mothers from pancreatic cancer over the past 15 months and you can understand why I might say that feeling ‘stressed out’ is an understatement.
These are the kinds of life experiences that make a person question everything. And that’s exactly what I’ve been doing over the past few months. I’ve been asking myself: What’s my purpose? Why am I operating this business? What else do I have to give that I’m not expressing? In fact, I’ve recently come to the realization that, although I love my work, I have more to give. Over the next few weeks, I’ll share more about what that means, but I wanted to give you a heads up that I’ll be introducing new and different programs to the Glow Health Coaching family, and I think you’ll like them!
In the meantime, scroll down to read about what I did to make sure I stayed healthy despite being stressed to the max. You may be surprised to find out that my coping mechanisms have drastically changed in the past few years.
3 Steps to Staying Healthy When Your Life Is Falling Apart
Step 1: Prioritize Your Non-Negotiables
This is a biggie. When it feels like you’re doing everything you can just to keep your head above water, self-care, exercise and healthy eating can go right out the window. Instead of beating yourself up over not eating perfectly or exercising every day of the week, decide what’s going to be non-negotiable when it comes to taking care of yourself. For me, this included going to yoga twice a week and going to my favorite spin class every Saturday morning. Is this enough exercise for me on a regular basis? Not a chance. But in times of crisis, getting in regular exercise and relaxation via my spin and yoga classes became the things I could rely on for stability and to allow me space to decompress.
Step 2: Give Yourself Credit for What You’re Doing Well
Ten years ago, if I had found myself experiencing this high level of crisis, I would have dealt with my emotions by drinking lots of alcohol and chain-smoking. Yes, you read that right – I used to be a smoker, and cigarettes were my very favorite form of stress management.
It makes me laugh now to look back at my younger self and see how stressed out I would get over minor bumps in the road of life, but at the time, it all made sense. And cigarettes used to calm me down and give me a chance to think, which is what I really needed in those hot-headed younger days.
Now, I still need time to think, but I’m definitely staying away from cocktails and cancer sticks. Instead, I’m really aware of when I need a night on my own. When I start feeling my stress levels rise, I increase my self-care by saying ‘no’ to invitations that don’t feel like they’re going to nourish me carving out time to let myself grieve and experience my emotions. This year, I’ve been grateful for the huge imrovements in my stress management skills. It’s not always easy, and it doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s definitely worth it.
Step 3: Cut Unnecessary Stressors From Your Life
I tend to be an overachiever. I always volunteer to help on committees and I’m known for getting things done in my community. When loss after loss started happening to our family, I realized quickly that I needed to re-prioritize and stepped down from the many boards and committees I had joined. That was an easy decision for me. What wasn’t so easy was recognizing that there were certain people in my life who were also contributing to my stress. I drew some boundaries around my own capabilities to support other people in my life during my own personal turmoil. Some of my friends totally understood, and some didn’t. The benefit of doing this was recognizing that I simply didn’t have room in my life for everyone else’s drama. All the complaints about bosses, boyfriends and traffic became ridiculous to me even though they were sources of real pain for my friends. And here’s the thing: I don’t begrude anyone their pain – pain is pain, no doubt about it. But when so many things in my life literally became life and death experiences, all the little things just didn’t matter anymore. Letting go of that helped me focus on what was really important.
Have you experienced a time in your life when you felt overwhelmed? What did you do to stay healthy? Can you relate to any of the experiences I’ve had recently?
I want to pull back the curtain and give you a sneak peek at what my Spring 5-Day Detox looks like. The first thing you need to know is that there is PLENTY of food on this detox. In fact, I believe it’s more beneficial to focus on eating really high quality foods that are rich in nutrients when detoxing than it is to restrict and limit your foods. You can expect to eat lots and lots of leafy greens, drink a daily green smoothie, and to also eat lean proteins like chicken breast and fish plus some grains like quinoa and rolled oats. Scroll down to see 2 of the recipes that are included.
Second, there is a ton of support in this program, so if you’ve never detoxed before, or, if you’ve detoxed before but felt confused about the program, I can promise that you’ll be really clear about what you’re supposed to do and when you’re supposed to do it. I’ve created a really simple daily protocol that allows room for you to detox but also pamper yourself a little. If you’re feeling really worn down and fatigued, this will be a great chance for you to re-charge your batteries. Plus, next week I’ll be on the members-only online forum (as will your fellow detoxers!) so you’ll be able to share what the week’s been like for you and to learn tips and tricks from other detoxers.
Finally, I want to make sure you KEEP GOING with your new healthy habits once you wrap up your detox, so I’m throwing in a 30-minute private coaching session with me. Have you ever tried a program and had amazing results (as you will with the Spring 5-Day Detox) only to slide back into your old habits? That’s no fun, which is why I want to make sure we develop a plan so you can get really clear on your next steps and put the support in place to help you reach your health and wellness goals.
*********************** Beet and Carrot Slaw (I made this for my family last night and they gobbled it right up!)
Serves 4
Ingredients:
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 medium beet, peeled and grated
• 4-5 beet greens or 2-3 collard greens, washed, tough stem removed and cut into thin strips
• Juice of a lemon
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 TB rice wine vinegar
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a large glass bowl and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper if desired, but it’s not needed. This salad stores well for about 5 days and makes a great side dish or light snack.
Daredevil Green Smoothie (This spicy green drink has been my favorite snack this week)
Ingredients:
• 2 cups water
• 2-3 collard green or kale leaves, cleaned and tough stem removed
• 1/2 green apple, cored and cut into chunks
• 1/3 large cucumber or 1/2 small, washed and cut into chunks
• 1 sprig parsley
• Juice of a lime
• 1 small garlic clove (don’t be scared!)
• 1 small green onion
• Dash cayenne pepper
Add all ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Add more water if you’d like a more juice-like consistency
Both of these recipes make an appearance in the Spring 5-Day Detox. Even if you aren’t able to join us for the group detox next week, give these recipes a try! They’ll help support your body and will make you feel lighter and cleaner in no time.
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Detoxes bring clarity not just around food and eating habits, but can often create a space where you begin to see what’s possible for your life. We often get caught up in our routines and find ourselves going through the motions instead of living a really inspired life. If you know that you have more to give, it’s time for you to take a leap and spend 5 days on finding yourself again. Join me April 9-13th on my Spring 5-Day Detox. You can get started here: www.findyourglow.com/springdetox.
Confession time. As you probably know by now, I spend a lot of time encouraging the general public to eat their greens. Personally, I eat kale, cabbage, arugula, and collard greens with abandon, but one vegetable that I’m not big on is broccoli. It’s really a shame – fresh broccoli can be really delicious, and has twice the Vitamin C of an orange and nearly as much calcium as milk. Be sure to choose organic broccoli and avoid any bunches that have yellow florets – that means the broccoli is past its prime.
The only way I truly enjoy broccoli is roasted, and my favorite part is actually the stalk! Find out how to make broccoli my way in this video:
Do you have a great broccoli recipe? Share it below!
I love eating fennel, whether braised in winter, stir fried in spring, or raw on top of a salad in summer and fall. These little bulbs, which are related to parsley, have a faint taste of anise/licorice, and are good for treating indigestion.
The tricky thing about fennel can be learning how to cut it properly. When people tell me they don’t care for fennel, it’s often because they’ve been eating the parts of the plant that just don’t taste that great. Check out this quick video I made to let you know which parts of the fennel you can eat and which you should toss in the compost pile.
What do you think of this technique? Will it get you to eat fennel more often?
Do you have strong feelings about Brussels sprouts? I’ve noticed that whether people love them or hate them, there’s no neutral territory when it comes to these mini-cabbages.
Maybe you’re like me – I didn’t care for Brussels sprouts much as a kid, but now I can’t seem to get enough of them! And because I know they are often misunderstood, I wanted to share a quick video I made for you on how to cut and cook Brussels sprouts.
Check out the video here, and let me know what you think when you’ve watched it:
Is there another veggie you just love to hate? Leave me a note in the comments below – I’d love to make more videos on how you can eat more veggies and really enjoy them, too.
Have you ever planned something and then have those plans ruined by something completely out of your control? Yeah, me too. It’s totally frustrating, but it also seems to be part of life. I had one of those weeks recently where I intended to do some serious damage to my to-do list, but life had other plans.
1 cup French green lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 bunch kale or collard greens washed, de-stemmed, and cut into thin strips
1 TB red wine vinegar
Organic whole milk yogurt, for serving
Directions:
Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute onion and garlic until translucent, then add all spices and stir for a few minutes.
Add celery, carrots, parsnip, lentils and broth.
Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender, about 50 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil. When boiling, drop kale and/or collard greens into water. Turn off heat, cover, and let sit for 2 minutes, then drain.
Season lentil soup with salt and pepper as needed, and add vinegar if desired.
Serve soup over a pile of the cooked greens. Top with organic whole milk yogurt.
Note: This soup freezes well, especially when you cook the greens separately and keep them out of the frozen soup. It’s super simple to cook a fresh set of greens while you are re-heating the frozen soup.
