Cutting through the noise - BIG health movers

Hi there!

I hope you had a productive week with lots of opportunity to rest, reset and recover as well. In our June accountability group, one of the key messages we are seeing is to celebrate the small wins and to listen to your body, especially when it needs rest or down time. Today, I want to share healthy habits I have implemented in my life over time that have ACTUALLY made an impact.

It’s tough to filter through the noise that is telling us to do a million things to get healthier (I don’t know about you but I often find it overwhelming) and sure all these things can have a small impact on my wellbeing overall, but today I want to talk about the big needle movers.

For the travel section, I will be sharing some of Boomer and my hiking essentials and some tips on how to begin hiking if it you don’t know where to start!

Health has always been a priority for me - but I have gone through extremes of dieting (thinking I was being healthy) to not taking care of myself at all (through some really tough times) and in the process I have figured out what works and doesn’t work for me. Whenever I notice I am not feeling great, these are the things I start to dial in to really see a big impact in my overall wellness.

Here are my big health movers:

• Getting enough sleep - I can’t stress this enough, it seems like such an easy thing to take care of but has also been the most challenging. It’s also why I dedicated an entire newsletter to what has helped me and you can find that here.

• Morning sunlight exposure has helped with my circadian rhythm contributing to overall better mental health.

• Eating more protein rich and balanced meals - I often feel bad when I’m eating ultra processed or carb heavy meals only and I find that eating protein rich meals help me workout better, get better sleep and also feel higher levels of energy.

• Getting movement in the way I enjoy - for a long time I felt like I had to run or had to do HIIT or yoga etc etc to get healthy but I realized that the best way I can feel healthy AND stay consistent is doing something I really enjoy. And it’s ok to change this as time goes on too through various seasons. Sometimes for weeks I will only go on walks, or I will do HIIT but currently I’ve been enjoying a combination of weightlifting and Lagree (1-2 times a week)

• No restrictive eating - I go back and forth on intermittent fasting and how it’s helped me but the biggest thing that has helped with my health and body image has been to stop restrictive eating and enjoy everything in moderation. You are not going to be on your death bed wondering why you ate that piece of chocolate.

• Making things less about how I look - this was a huge mindset change, which I admittedly still struggle with some days but once I stopped associating going on vacations to how I looked during it, or thinking about working out to look a certain way, I found so much more self confidence and peace. I really channel in how I am “feeling” instead of “looking” because I want to feel healthy and strong - I want to stay active well into my older years.

• A lot of you may not like this but no alcohol has been a gamechanger for me. Since the start of this year, I have maybe a handful of sips of cocktails that I have really wanted to try but after cutting out alcohol, I noticed a big shift in my overall mental health. I was not a huge drinker but even 1-2 glasses of wine was impacting my stress levels. I now enjoy a good non alcoholic beverage - my current favorites are NA beers with lemon balm from Upline (can use code CHARISHMA10 for a discount), Altitude functional drinks, Kin Euphorics, Recess and Ritual zero proof to make mocktails with!

• Not using the phone for 30 mins after waking and powering down for an hour before bed has not only helped my overall sleep but by not using it first thing in the morning, I’m not subjecting my brain to a dopamine surge which means my overall stress levels have been way better.

• Practicing self love and compassion by taking care of myself. This is something I often discuss in therapy, on learning to be kinder to myself and recognizing I will make mistakes, I will go through ups and downs but to accept and love myself in all these phases!

I hope you find these small (but really big) steps useful and can try some out to see if it has an impact on your overall health and happiness. I am curious to see how many of these you already practice and have found beneficial!

It’s been almost 2 weeks since we moved to Oregon and it still doesn’t feel real, maybe because we don’t have most of our things yet. (Rumor is that it’s coming tomorrow so keep your fingers crossed) but one of my favorite activities to do with Boomer is to go hiking.

In the beginning I used to be so intimidated with hiking and over time it’s started to be something I really enjoy and brings me so much happiness. Boomer definitely helped a lot with the process but I started off by hiking with meetup groups that helped me feel comfortable and safe.

It helps so much to do a small hike (for both you and your pup) in an area as close to your home as possible and potentially doing it with someone who has some experience. There’s a lot of community hikes around the country so definitely recommend looking into it. Today I want to share some of my must have hiking items that have made enjoying time in nature both safe and enjoyable.

Hiking essentials for me:

• Hiking boots: This is so important to protect your joints. Far too often I see people hiking really challenging trails in sneakers, please don’t do that (you make me anxious FOR YOU lol). I’ve tried a variety of hiking boots and these Danner boots is hands down my favorite one - Dan and I both have them and love them. During the summer I also like open toed shoes with ankle support on easier hikes. Currently been loving the Teva’s since they also work well as water shoes.

• Backpack: I recommend bringing enough water with you (roughly 1l for every 2h of hiking but varies by weather and elevation of course) and having a backpack that comes with hydration packs makes it so convenient. I love my Osprey day bag for this, but I also bring this water filter in case it’s a longer hike with a water source.

• Hiking poles: This is new to me and I am yet to take it on a hike but I want to make sure my knees are protected on hikes and I ended up getting these Black Diamond poles. I can report back on how I like them!

• Headlamp: It’s always good to have a headlamp in your backpack especially if you are hiking close to the dark times!

• Sun protection: Always bring sunscreen and a hat! Sun protection is so important!!! My current favorite sunscreen that doesn’t burn my eyes while sweating is the Supergoop unseen sunscreen.

• All trails: This is my go to app to look up hikes and plan before getting to the trail. I always download offline maps because you never know when you will run out of service.

• Layers: Pack a light extra layer with you because sometimes it can get cold in certain areas on the hike or when you take a break too!

• Bear spray: I recommend always having a bear spray accessible if you are hiking in certain areas and make sure you read up beforehand on what to do in case of a bear encounter! (no, it’s not playing dead) I also have a bear bell on my backpack if I am hiking alone!

• Always pack some extra food and water because you rather be over prepared than under prepared.

• Garmin satellite communicator: This is something I have always thought about getting because of recommendations but I haven’t done it yet since I rarely hike alone. If you have one, please let me know if it’s worth it!

For Boomer:

• Water bottle - I always pack a separate water bottle for Boomer! This is my favorite one since it doesn’t waste any water if he is done drinking.

• Bowl - I also pack a foldable bowl with me just in case I run out of water in his bottle.

• Some extra food - Sometimes if the hike is long, I like bringing some of his food with me to give as rewards during the hike or to give to him after the hike!

• Treats - an absolute must for hiking! I prefer single ingredient treats that can be easily digested!

• Boots - in the summer when it gets too hot (especially if there’s a pavement section) I bring boots for Boomer!

• Backpack - I have this backpack that I bring in case we are on sections of hikes where Boomer can’t traverse (like a ladder) but also for shorter walks so he can train being comfortable in it for us to be able to take him out in nature even when he’s older!

Please be safe out there and always remember the practice Leave No Trace principles when out enjoying nature!

One easy/healthy recipe to try:

I made this lemongrass tofu recipe that was delicious!!!

One positive affirmation to remember: 

Happiness is a choice and today, I choose to be happy!

One thing I am actually obsessed with:

I didn’t think I would ever make pizzas like this at home but having this ooni pizza oven - WOW! I will share some videos soon!!!!

I hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter and hope you have a happy week ahead and remember you don’t “have” to do anything, you “get” to do things! With this mindset, I hope you are able to achieve your goals this week. Together, I know we can find more health and happiness!

With fluffy hugs, 

Charishma + Boomer (@life.with.a.landcloud)