Have you ever had an “Ah-ha” moment? I had one last Monday.  As a wife, mother, daughter, friend and business owner, I put A LOT of things before myself.  I’m supposed to, right?  Well, yes and no.  My “Ah-ah” moment was that I’m not healthy the way I want to be. I want to share 5 things I’m doing to get healthy again.

You may have noticed it was pretty quiet on AWL here and on Instagram last week.  After moving my oldest to California, which was a huge rollercoaster for three weeks, helping her and her roommates learn to communicate with a difficult landlord, two ER visits over the weekend with my middle and my youngest starting back to school online Monday and trying to work on top of that, I was exhausted.  I mentally and physically couldn’t make myself do much of anything.  I even took a nap in the middle of the day Sunday, Monday and Tuesday!  What?  When did I last NEED to do that?  I realized I had stretched myself too thin and I needed a break.

I realized I’d been pushing myself to just keep moving forward for about 2 years with not much of a break or much attention to my own health and well being.  I’m naturally a positive person and a hard worker so pushing through is something I’ve always done.  But doing so to the detriment of your health is not a good idea and I had definitely been doing that.  I’m also terrible about making my doctor appointments so that is on today’s agenda!

I get asked all the time about my health and exercise routing and well, I don’t have one.  I eat pretty lean and clean and that, coupled with great genes, have taken me this far.  But that isn’t going to cut it going forward.  I need to prioritize my health so that I can be who I want to be for myself and for my family.

Several weeks ago, I started thinking about making a few changes: scheduling exercise again, drinking more water, taking vitamins, getting to bed earlier (HARD with teens!), time to read, think and just relax.  I had done a little of that…vitamins here, water there, a walk on Saturday and Sunday but nothing really consistent. I always let something crowd it out.  It is now my biggest priority.

These are the five things I’m doing to get healthy again and I’m committed to doing for myself as we enter the Fall:

Exercise Daily – I was doing Dallas Dance Fitness 4-5 times a week when Quarantine started.  It was great to have the time to do this while the girls were doing school online.  As summer truly began, I got out of the routine.  I want to do these classes 2x per week and walk daily at least once.  I’ve walked each day for 10 days now and some days twice!  It’s also easy on your body and easy to get started.  I’m walking 3-5 miles (total), 50 push ups and 2 one-minute planks.  It’s a start and it feels good.  I also treated myself to a few new exercise tops and shorts…mine disappear to my girls rooms never to be seen again!

Take Vitamins and Supplements – I received these Dr. Perricone MD Skin & Body vitamins a while back but never took them.  I began taking them two weeks ago and love them so far.  I’m resting better and feel really good when I’ve taken them several days in a row.  I’m only taking 1/2 the recommended dose right now because I am typically very sensitive to vitamins and medications.  I’ll start twice a day as directed next week.  I’m also using the Somaderm gel that I shared in this post.  I’m also back to using my favorite collagen peptide drink.  I’ve also been taking Nutrifol Women’s Balance for several months because I noticed my hair changing from all the stress of last summer and fall (moving my daughter to college and losing my mother-in-law).  I’m hoping these things all help my sleep, skin, hair and overall feeling of better health.  So far I have noticed I’m getting to sleep faster and sleeping hard!

Drink More Water – I love an ice cold Arnold Palmer or Teamonade from my favorite cafe but I need to drink more water.  I’m working on drinking 4 of these glasses of water a day including my collagen drink.

Still Time – I am scheduling in time to read my Bible, read a book and just to rest and reflect.  I might not do each of these daily but will do a few each day.  I’m setting aside an hour for this each day.  I’ve been reading this book with one of my girls.

Rest – I’m a night owl by nature and I also love to tuck my children in each night.  It is really hard for me to turn off my lights if they are up studying.  I need to prioritize this for myself and get over it!  I can’t continue to be the last to be and first up.  I’ve been take a hot bath in Lavender Epsom Salt with Melatonin each night.  I think this and exercising are helping my get to sleep quickly and sleep deeply.  My hubby swears by his ChiliPad but I think I’d get too cold!  I have girl friends that get hot at night and love it, too!

Do you need to do any of these?  Do you have tips for me?  I’d love to know!  I’ll be sharing on Instagram stories, daily if I can, how I’m doing and I’d love to have you join me there for accountability and encouragement for us both!  Leave me a comment and be entered to win one of the monthly beauty boxes I send to readers and subscribers!

xo

Alicia

PS – Looking for more style inspiration for summer? Don’t miss the August Reader Favorites, my style focus on Summer Maxi Dresses, Color Crush: Blue & White Stripes, My Essentials Collection from Cabana Life, the beautiful Alicia pieces I designed with Hazen and the Southcott Travel Collection. They are filled with great pieces that are perfect for the summer heat, fall transition relaxing at home!  Get more inspiration on these category pages: Personal Style, Interiors, My Home, Food, Entertaining, Tablescapes, Beauty and Travel. You can also see all the shop pages here: Style, Home, Tabletop, Beauty, and Travel.  Did you know you can also easily shop my Instagram Feed, too?

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