Skip to main content

National Women's Health Week - Caring for Yourself


May 11-17 is National Women's Health Week. It's a great reminder for women to stop and think about our health, ourselves. So often women, especially mothers, become so involved in taking care of others that they forget to do the same for themselves. 

There are many things that we can do to take care of ourselves to become happier and healthier. 

Be active

Being active is more than trying to lose or maintain a certain weight. Exercise (both cardio and resistance training) has amazing benefits for your body and mind. Exercise can help ease the effects of stress, elevate your mood, reduce your chances of many health conditions and disease such as heart disease and high cholesterol. 

In a busy world filled with taking care of the family, household chores, demanding jobs, it's so easy to say, "I don't have time to workout." You don't have to work out for hours on end to reap the benefits. As a personal trainer, I strive to make sure that my clients enjoy their workouts (if you hate to run, don't run) and that they fit into their schedules. 

Eat healthy

Eating a healthy diet with whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats will help ensure you get the vital nutrients and minerals your body needs. A healthy diet can help reduce your chances for many diseases, increase your energy levels, and help you maintain a healthy weight.

Fast food options are pretty much on every corner. It's temptingly easy to just go through the drive thru windows. But cooking at home doesn't have to be an all-evening event. With a little planning and prepping, dinners can be put together in 30 minutes or less. 

Go to the doctor

No one enjoys going to the doctor, but it's important to get annual checkups and breast exams. A regular checkup will help you monitor your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, as well as identify any possible health conditions. 

Find a doctor that you truly trust - ask around - it'll make the whole notion of the visit a little less stressful when you find someone you can trust, can talk to. 

Manage your stress

It's impossible to avoid the stressors of every day life. But constant or chronic stress can lead to digestive problems, headaches, high blood pressure, difficulty sleeping, heart disease and depression. Take time to meditate, try yoga, go for walks, or even seek help from a professional.

Being a super Type A person, I know that it can be too easy to take on too much, to let yourself get stressed over the little things, the unimportant, uncontrollable things in life. Stop. Breathe. Really stop and breathe. Look around and take in what's around you, finding joy in the little things each day. 

Ladies, what do you do to be a healthier, happier you? 




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Love in Photos

In honor of Valentine's Day - Love in Photos Husband Family and Furbabies Friends Even if you're not a fan of Valentine's Day - I hope you have a wonderful day and remember the loves in your life.

Workout Wednesday - Body Blaster Tabata

Happy Hump Day! I wanted to thank everyone for their comments on yesterday's post: Be Kinder to Your Body. Calories are Not the Enemy . It sounds like it resonated with many of you. Today I wanted to share a new workout with you. I've been working on interval workouts for some of my clients. I try to give them the most bang for their buck (time). I know that in an ideal world, we would all have time to do longer workouts. There would never be scheduling conflicts, sick husbands or kids, or sick us. In reality, workouts need to be effective and efficient. And they don't have to be lengthy to be effective and efficient either. There's no need to spend hours in a gym to get in a good workout. Interval workouts like HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) or tabata, or even interval running are great ways to get in a fantastic workout in a short amount of time and have many benefits. You can read more about Tabata workouts  here . The benefits of this type of work

Piriformis Update & Grilled Veggie Salad

New Piriformis Exercises Today wasn't too terrible for a Monday. Of course, I did leave a little early. That always helps huh ;-) I had another round of physical therapy today. My PT has been really researching piriformis syndrome and found an interesting article that discusses the use of McKenzie Exercises - typically used for back pain. I have started adding in low back extensions (one of the exercises) but now have a whole new list of exercises to add into my workout rotations. But, if it helps, I'll do it. I also asked her about dry needling (thanks Sarena ), which is sort of similar to acupuncture, but is more about trigger point and intramuscular stimulation. And I'm glad I asked because the timing is uncanny. One of the doctor's in the clinic happens to be going to get certified this weekend. They both believe that I am a prime candidate for the procedure. So we'll see how that goes. Kind of scared because I hate hate hate needles. Have any of you tr