Ever felt parched by midday, energy sapped, wondering if there's more to life than coffee and energy drinks? Unlock the secret to staying energetically afloat with our straightforward tips for upping your water intake, and get ready to jazz up your H2O with flavor enhancements that sidestep the sugar trap.
Balanced meals: the Holy Grail of nutrition and a daunting challenge for many. But here's the kicker—not all diets are crafted equal, and in this episode, we dissect the puzzle of finding a nutritional plan that's as unique as you are. I'll be sharing my personal odyssey through dietary decisions and the extensive research that led me to my nutritional sweet spot, all to inspire you to craft a diet that resonates with your individual lifestyle. And remember, with many insurance plans now covering nutrition consultations, seeking professional advice has never been more accessible. Tune in for an episode that could be the catalyst in your quest for a harmonious self-care regimen.
Link to Join the Self-Care Community: https://self-care-society.mn.co/share/B6---7MXzsKpnB75?utm_source=manual
Ever felt parched by midday, energy sapped, wondering if there's more to life than coffee and energy drinks? Unlock the secret to staying energetically afloat with our straightforward tips for upping your water intake, and get ready to jazz up your H2O with flavor enhancements that sidestep the sugar trap.
Balanced meals: the Holy Grail of nutrition and a daunting challenge for many. But here's the kicker—not all diets are crafted equal, and in this episode, we dissect the puzzle of finding a nutritional plan that's as unique as you are. I'll be sharing my personal odyssey through dietary decisions and the extensive research that led me to my nutritional sweet spot, all to inspire you to craft a diet that resonates with your individual lifestyle. And remember, with many insurance plans now covering nutrition consultations, seeking professional advice has never been more accessible. Tune in for an episode that could be the catalyst in your quest for a harmonious self-care regimen.
Link to Join the Self-Care Community: https://self-care-society.mn.co/share/B6---7MXzsKpnB75?utm_source=manual
Welcome to the Self Care Society podcast with your hosts Celia Williamson, ashley Kutcher, louis Guardiola and Carrie Shaw, a podcast devoted to those whose job it is to help others get or remain mentally, physically and emotionally healthy, but who also need to take care of themselves. How we're going to do this? By first showing you the filtered, pretty version of success and then the real struggles, real work and raw grit it took to get there, how they took care of themselves and also achieved their goals while doing it Together. We will work with you to improve and maintain your internal health and growth, while helping you achieve your external goals and your next professional achievement in life.
Speaker 2:And we're excited to show you how to follow your own individual and unique path and achieve the dreams you have while taking good care of yourself.
Speaker 2:So let's get started. Hello and welcome to the Self Care Podcast. I am your host today. My name is Isabelle Matosian and today I want to focus more on physical health and the ways that you can take care of your body and nutrition to help accomplish your goals, not only for physical health, but also for your mental health. We're going to talk about hydration, a little bit about nutrition and also about exercise. At the end of the day, it'll take some work from you to find out what works best for you to maintain or to improve your health, but I hope that this episode will provide some encouragement or foundational information to work with. So let's go ahead and get started by now.
Speaker 2:I think we all know the rule of drinking at least 64 ounces of water in a day. Staying hydrated throughout the day is crucial. Dehydration can cause dizziness, migraines, fatigue and more. If you aren't getting enough water in your day, then it could be that the fix is to just get a good water bottle. I have a 30 ounce water cup that I use on a daily basis and I drink so much more water now that I have it because, for me, it keeps my water cold for a long time I used to drink less water because I didn't like drinking room temperature water, so sometimes the solution is just that simple. Say what you will about those girlies with the gigantic Stanley water bottles, but at the end of the day, they are not the ones with a headache from dehydration, are they? I also know that some people don't like the taste of water, so try getting something to add to your water and see if the added flavor helps. This can be a great way to get some extra electrolytes or vitamins, for example. You can also make infused water without adding any additional sugars, which can include fruit, vegetables and herbs. It's just another way to make sure you're staying hydrated, even if you don't want to drink plain water.
Speaker 2:So now let's talk a little bit about eating balanced meals, because we can't talk about physical fitness without talking about nutrition. First of all, please take a look at the masterclass from a few months ago where we talked about mindful nutrition. The presenter was awesome and the full class is posted in our online community. The website will be linked in the description for this podcast episode if you aren't already a member. So for today, I want to talk a little bit about finding the right balance of nutrition for you. There are a plethora of ways to pursue a healthy diet and, at the end of the day, the most important thing will be to find something that you are able to maintain long term. Making drastic changes can be hard for a lot of people, so let's think of the other solutions and please refer to resources online or talk to a nutritionist to come up with a plan specific to you. Under a lot of insurance plans, seeing a nutritionist is even covered.
Speaker 2:It took me trial error and a ton of research to find a good solution, and everybody's experience has to be unique to them. So don't expect to immediately adopt a new healthy lifestyle without tackling some challenges, especially if you are looking towards somebody else and saying you know what I'm going to do, exactly what that person is doing, because chances are exactly what that person's doing isn't going to work for you. You're different from them. You're special. There's something unique about you, which is that your life is entirely your own your habits, your daily plans. Everything can go to hell or it can go perfectly, and we just have to find a way to come up with a solution for our health that is best for us. One of the things that I've learned is to focus on my macro nutrients, which is your balance of carbs, fats and protein that you eat in a day. We need protein to build and repair tissue, to improve our immune function, preserve our muscle mass, for hormone production and also for those enzymes provided by protein. We need carbs because they are our main fuel source. They serve our brain function and stored energy or glycogen. Lastly, we need healthy fats for cell membrane, support, nerve function, hormone production and energy as well.
Speaker 2:There are different types of fats. According to Harvard School of Public Health, the good fats are the unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats, which are liquid at room temperature, are considered beneficial fats because they can improve blood cholesterol levels, they can ease your inflammation, stabilize heart rhythms and they play a number of other beneficial roles. Unsaturated fats are predominantly found in foods from plants, such as vegetable oils, nuts and seeds. The bad fats are the saturated fats. Basically, the overarching message is that cutting back on saturated fat can be good for health if you replace saturated fat with the good fats, especially polyunsaturated fats. So as you're buying your foods, you can take a look at the nutrition label and if you see a particularly high amount of saturated fats.
Speaker 2:You may want to find an alternative that has more unsaturated fats. The percentage of each daily macro is dependent on your activity level and your fitness goals, so what I am eating is going to be different from the students that I'm coaching. I'm a high school rowing coach, so my kids will be eating a lot more carbs than I would eat generally because they are doing much more difficult physical activity than I am doing. So determining the right split for you can involve discussing with a nutritionist or doctor. You can also do some research online to find reliable sources that have more information if you are curious about learning more about it. Generally, a good rule of thumb is that for weight loss, you would likely eat 35 to 50% protein, 20 to 35% fat and 25 to 45% carbs. For maintenance, you'll want higher carbs and lower fat and protein, and for muscle gain, you want to eat a high protein, high carb and low fat diet. Again, everybody's unique, everybody's different.
Speaker 2:This is absolutely not everything that you need to know about eating a healthy diet either. You should definitely either consult a professional or do your own research to find something that works for you. I'm not a nutritionist and you should seek support from somebody who is certified to help. I'm just drawing from my own research and my own experience. So we've talked about drinking water, eating, a balanced daily diet, and the last thing I want to cover, which will likely take the longest, is exercise. Now, this I'm able to help with. As I mentioned, my second job is as a rowing coach. I've also been a weight lifter since I was eight years old. My parents were nuts, that's all, and I was an athlete since I could stand up on my own two feet.
Speaker 2:The most important thing when it comes to exercise is to find something that you are able to be consistent with, rather than what you do when you exercise or how hard you work. The most important thing is that you're doing activities that you are comfortable doing and that you're having fun doing. You don't need to do intense exercise to improve your health. I don't even run because I hate running, and why would I do something I hate when I'm trying to exercise to be happier? Instead, I take long walks, I bike or I erg when I need some cardio. When I lift weights, I choose exercises that I'm comfortable with, and as I gain confidence in the weight room or in the gym or in a new environment, I consider trying new exercises. A good rule of thumb is to make sure that you are getting 10,000 steps every day, or at least over 8,000. According to the Cleveland Clinic, it is recommended for heart health to get 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity each week, which is about 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week.
Speaker 2:If you feel uncomfortable going to the gym, then you can exercise at home. There are tons of YouTube channels where you can choose at home workouts that are apartment friendly or don't need equipment, or that you can do with bad knees and, trust me, the list goes on. You can find something unique to you just by looking on YouTube. One channel in particular that I enjoy is called MadFit. The instructor on that page has a ton of options, including warm-ups, cool-downs, intense workouts or even just stretching routines for your resting days.
Speaker 2:Lifting weights or going to the gym can be intimidating for anyone, so if that is something that you're considering, but you're feeling apprehensive, I want to encourage you to give it a try, especially if anxiety is your only reason for not going. Ignore what other people do. More often than not, they are going to be ignoring you If you do have an interest in learning how to lift weights more then. A general guideline is that if you're lifting two times a week, you should focus on your full body lifts. So do exercises that work your whole body. If you're going to do five days a week, then you want to do something called a split. My split is that on day one I do glutes, I do shoulders and abs. On day two, lower body on day three, back, biceps and triceps on day four, and full body on day five. So if you're going two days a week, three days a week, you just have to find a split that might work for you. The less that you're going, the more convenient it's going to be to do full body workout. It can be so, so daunting, which is why I'm sharing so much about what I do as well.
Speaker 2:I had to deal with the same anxiety, but once I found the right gym exercises and routine, it became so easy to maintain a structured week, even while working multiple jobs and keeping my dog happy and healthy. Unfortunately, my plants never had much hope, but that is beside the point. I try to get a little bit of exercise in every single day, even if all I'm doing is walking my dog. I can't encourage walking enough. Getting some time outside soaking up the sun and playing with your pets, or spending time with your friends while you walk and talk, is so important to supporting your mental health as well as your physical health. Bringing friends along can also help you seek out balance when it comes to your busy work life. If you struggle to find the time to exercise and you aren't the kind of person who can wake up at 5 am to go and, believe me, I am not that person then maybe take a 30-minute walk after work to tackle two things time with your friends and time getting some physical activity. You deserve both things.
Speaker 2:And lastly, I want to encourage everyone listening today to set healthy goals. Instead of I want to lose weight, say, I want to find a fitness routine that I can maintain, focus on the mental journey as much as the physical journey. Both are important for self-care and neither should be neglected. Forget about how much you weigh or what you look like in the mirror and focus on loving yourself at every single point along the way. Love yourself now. You don't need to wait until you look a certain way. If you're approaching this from a position of self-love, then you will get so much further than if you approach from a position of self-hate, as always. Thank you so much for listening to our podcast. I hope that today's episode was helpful and please remember it is not selfish, it's self-care.