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Self Care, Stress

5 Things To Add Your Life

January 13, 2014 By Robyn 26 Comments

It’s Monday!

It was a pretty low key weekend here. Friday I met friends for drinks at South Street and then Friday I went to yoga and got coffee with a friend who’s one of the wisest and sweetest women I know. Really though, she just listened and gave all kinds of great advice while I spilled all my craziness. Then Sunday I was volunteering at church all morning, did some errands and went on a gorgeous walk/run with Whitney because it was 54 degrees and sunny here!!

Now that we’re 2 weeks into the New Year, the gym is freaking packed. People are super excited about their New Years resolutions and the momentum is going strong. But I find myself overhearing lots of New Years resolutions that are all about taking away something. Cutting calories, cutting coffee, cutting out sugar, cutting out alcohol, stop sleeping in or stop spending money, etc, etc.

I’m more about intentions than resolutions. And I’m all about adding things in instead of taking anything away. Because why subtract when you can add? It’s so much better. And instead of wanting to do more, what about doing less? Slowing down instead of speeding up. And finding out what is life giving and fills you up instead of diving into all the things and then finding yourself exhausted.

So five things to add to your life for more rest, less stress, and perhaps more happiness.
Because if I’ve learned one thing in these 24 years, it’s that we have one body we’ve be given and we ought to care for it well.

1. Sleep Stop sacrificing sleep to squeeze too many things into your day. If you’re up late, sleep in. If you’re staying up too late too often, figure out why and prioritize what really needs to get done. Sleep is when our bodies repair and heal themselves. If we aren’t getting enough, hormones get all whacky, cortisol rises, insulin sensitivity decreases, and we don’t think as clearly. I use to feel guilty for sleeping in past 7:30 [crazy, I know] but now if I sleep till 9:30 or even 10 on Saturday, that’s okay. It’s a really good thing. Getting 5 or 6 hous of sleep is not okay, I’ve learned this the hard way. Sleep more, it’s the best thing you can do for yourself.

2. Fat It’s my favorite food group and healthy fats are a critical part of our diet. We need them to maintain our menstrual cycle, make hormones, and they make our hair, skin, and nails super shiny and strong. Forget about low fat mumbo jumbo, fat is where it’s at ya’ll. Avocado, coconut oil, almonds, walnuts, nut butters, olive oil, coconut milk, chia and flax seeds are all awesome sources of healthy fats. Aim for at least fats in every meal.

3. Yoga, Pilates, or Barre As a marathoner and someone who loves loves loves cardio, I’m a self admitted cardio and running addict. But over time it’s not a good thing. Our bodies need time to rest, heal, and reset themselves. After the Richmond marathon I realized my body was way too stressed and exercise played a big part in that…along with sleep. Chronic cardio can raise cortisol levels and actually make you store energy instead of burn it like our bodies are suppose to. Yoga, pilates and Barre are my favorite ways to move lately, in addition to walking. They are low intensity and so don’t raise cortisol levels. I’m not saying running and cardio are always a bad thing, I’m planning on running another marathon again someday, but too much is not good. Add in some yoga or pilates more instead of all the cardio and your body and mind will thank you.

4. A Book Being on the computer or iPad at night, not only keeps you up later, but all that light stimulation can make it harder for your body to fall asleep and get into it’s REM cycle. I’m super guilty of staying up googling or emailing or blog reading, but I’m changing that. Pick up a good book to read before bed that will relax you. I’m reading this one right now. I could be online for hours, but I know I won’t stay up reading for hours which makes getting to sleep earlier much easier.

5. Spontaneity Structure and organization and routine have their place in our lives and can be good things, but let go of your routine and how you do things and just go with the flow more. Do something unexpected. Break your routine to do something fun. Letting go of all the structure and the “I should do this” is freeing. You’ll find more joy in life. And you’ll feel like you’re actually living when you’re spontaneous and hey, you never know where the next adventure will lead you.

Less stress, less stuff, add more.


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Filed Under: Self Care, Stress Tagged With: happiness, metabolism, rest and reset challenge, weekend

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Comments

  1. Liz says

    November 29, 2017 at 10:21 pm

    Hi Robyn! Your posts have truly been amazing! I work as a registered dietitian for a weight loss center and I’m thankful to have dietitians like you to draw inspiration and feedback from. Thank you for what you do!
    Wondering if you can send me some references on cardio increasingly cortisol levels? Would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

    Reply

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A non-diet dietitian and nurse practitioner helping women find peace with food, accept their natural body size and heal from hormonal issues and period problems.

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I have yet to experience postpartum myself, but I've had many clients and readers that have been through that season of life. Or perhaps you are currently living through the postpartum period. Every woman's body is different, therefore every woman's experience after giving birth will be different. What works for one woman, might not work for the next. While one woman might go through postpartum and adjust to newborn life quiet seamlessly, another woman might find it much more difficult. She might need the support of medication, therapy, extra help and many other things. One way is not better than the other - they are simply two different ways of navigating the postpartum period. I hope this post helps you better care for yourself, whatever that means for you. There's no right or wrong way to care for yourself as a mom or your new baby.

Postpartum Hormones: what’s happening in your body and how to care for yourself

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We had an AFTERNOON today. Toddler didn’t care f We had an AFTERNOON today. Toddler didn’t care for a nap. Putting baby down was harder than I wanted it to be. Miraculously, I had a moment of clarity as I was covered in tiny humans and decided I wasn’t doing the nap battle thing a on 60 degree, gorgeous, sunny spring day 🙅🏻‍♀️ so I piled both babies into the car half naked, opened the sun roof, put on white noise for them and an audio book for me and drank a kombucha as I drove a meal to a postpartum mama. Thirty five minutes later we had a sleeping baby and a toddler who at least had a rest. Baby transferred without waking HALLELUJAH and although my toddler didn’t nap today (lord help) at least we got soaked in breezy sunshine 😎🤘🏻💆🏻‍♀️
We veered from our usual Friday night homemade piz We veered from our usual Friday night homemade pizza (minus the dough, we leave that to @albemarlebakingco) because we are eating pizza tomorrow with some friends - instead I called my mom and asked her how she makes her chicken fingers and we fried up a big ole batch of chicken nugs 🙌🏻🤤 along with a sheet pan full of sweet potato fries and a simple arugula salad dressed with parmesean, olive oil and s&p. Oh and my moms honey mustard recipe for dipping. It’s SO DANG GOOD.  Over the past 6ish months we’ve been practicing (and practicing and practicing bc it doesn’t come naturally) unplugging from technology and slowing down and resting and just being for one day a week. Some call it Shabbat. Some call it Sabbath. Maybe you call it something different. All I know is IT IS SO GOOD FOR MY WEARY SOUL and the day I look forward to ALL WEEK. Sundown on Friday to sundown Saturday. Nothing but rest. For us that means hiking (or something outside) and napping and reading and being with friends and eating really good food. And drinking some really good wine or craft beer. Sometimes whiskey. 😛  And because I know I’ll get asked about the chicken finger recipe and also because it’s too good not to share and Momma Coale said I could, here ya go:  Cut chicken breast into thin strips or small pieces (I prefer nug size bc the breading to chicken ratio is perfection). Salt and pepper those babies really well. Then dredge them in all purpose flour, then egg, then panko - just like you would bread anything else. Then fry them up in a light oil - I use avocado oil because that’s our everyday oil. You could also use canola or peanut oil. Just fill a pan with an inch or so of oil on medium high heat. They only take 2-3 minutes per side. You can always temp them to make sure they are at least 165 degrees F to really make sure they are done. Dunk in all the sauces and enjoy!  Happy weekend!
I am not a craft mom. My version of crafts is baki I am not a craft mom. My version of crafts is baking because 1) my toddler actually engages with it and 2) we have tasty things to eat in the end.  Wanna know how long crafts last in our house? Approximately 23 seconds. Maybe 51 on a good day. So we just stopped crafting a long time ago and instead started baking.  And when I need my toddler to stay in one place, I turn on the faucet. I am still utterly amazed at how long water can entertain a small human. And it’s FREE. 🙌🏻 well, mostly..  Send me all your favorite baking recipes because we are on a roll over here 👩🏻‍🍳
Just left my mom vacation. 💆🏻‍♀️ I do Just left my mom vacation. 💆🏻‍♀️  I don’t know what this says about me. Anybody else find the dentist weirdly relaxing? For the most part, I love being with my two tiny humans all day, but BLESS does it feel good to lay in a chair for 60 minutes with my eyes closed and do nothing except hold my mouth open.
🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻 two babies are asleep at the same time in their beds (and not on me) for the FIRST TIME IN 7657 DAYS and dear lord I could cry tears of relief straight into this latte and bowl of chocolate chips bc I woke up this morning exhausted and weary and told Nick I didn’t want to parent today 🤣 Not even calling this self care. It’s sanity right now. And even if it lasts 5 minutes it will be 5 minutes of freaking glory. p.s. yes that brick is crooked bc v uneven floors are part of the charmed package of this old house
Learning over and over again in this season that f Learning over and over again in this season that feels unsettled and chaotic and longgggggg that sometimes, you just need the viewpoint of a toddler to remind you that the seemingly insignificant things & moments really are....straight up magical. And that yes, these mundane days are packed full of goodness & beauty if I keep my eyes fixed on what actually matters.
Spent two hours at Lowe’s this morning and wow, Spent two hours at Lowe’s this morning and wow, wowww 🤯 Asked at least six people where to find something and their opinion on all the options bc holy decision fatigue. Nursed my newborn on the floor of the paint aisle. And BLESS my new contractor friend Matt I found in the lumber section that pushed my cart around and helped me avoid the mistake of buying exterior wood for some DIY bathroom shelves.
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I’m giving all our bathrooms a DIY makeover and I couldn’t be more of a rookie. So shoutout to all my Lowe’s buddies and YouTube 😜 You’re making this happen.
We are now officially homeowners. WUT? We didn’t We are now officially homeowners. WUT? We didn’t plan to close on a house 10 weeks after having a baby, but here we are. And we are so, so grateful.  And I’m also terrified. We’ve moved three times and lived in three different states since we got married three years ago. After six years spent living in New York City and Boston, moving back to Charlottesville was really, really hard for me. I cried a lot those first six months because my heart ached for the northeast and for city life. I wanted to pack up and go back to Boston ASAP. It felt so different and so quiet here and at times, very lonely. Even though it felt like the next right step, I second guessed our decision A LOT.
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But here we are 10 months later ready to continue investing in this neighborhood we’ve come to love. And this community of people that have become so dear. Ten months later and it feels so, so right. And although committing to settling down here for a good bit feels really scary to me, it also brings so much peace to know we aren’t moving again anytime soon. We are here to plant and grow. And raise our babies in this house as we make it a home. It’s also really fun to have one of your best friends be your realtor. We love you @kelli.teter.nesting 🤗
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Now, to see if we make it out of this kitchen renovation all in one piece 🤪
my go-to breakfast these days is two fried eggs in my go-to breakfast these days is two fried eggs in ghee with sautéed spinach (also in ghee) and an english muffin with more ghee + some sort of jam on half for that sweet & savory combo. we discovered these local english muffins (from The Bread Basket) and they are doughy and delicious and we are obsessed.
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I’ve found that I need a solid source of protein and lots of fat for breakfast to keep me full while breastfeeding this time around vs with Cal, I was so into big bowls of pb & chocolate chip banana oatmeal. just goes to show our bodies know what they need and change cravings accordingly. also, just a psa: go pick up the maple butter from @traderjoes bc it is bonkers 🤤 and lastly, shout out to my husband bc a lot of mornings he is making this bfast for me while I nurse & try to pull myself out of bed - don’t for a moment think I’ve got it together 🤪
I’ve had many thoughts rolling around in my brai I’ve had many thoughts rolling around in my brain of if/how to use this platform in a way that aligns with how I want to live my life. I’m finding it tricky to discern that when 90% of my use on this app is for professional purposes. But I’m not sure if even professionally, it makes sense for me. Because I feel more aligned with what matters to me when I’m not regularly present here.  I’m not really sure what things will look like moving forward, but for right now I’m here to share with you that I somehow found some spare minutes between newborn & toddler life to write a post with some semi-coherent thoughts on life lately. 🤪 You can head there by clicking the link in my profile.
I’ve been completely disconnected from social me I’ve been completely disconnected from social media and that’s been vital for me during this tender postpartum period of transitioning from a mama of 1 to 2. But today, I’m bopping on briefly to share how Teddy entered this wild world with you - if you’re into a lengthy, detailed birth story, the link in my profile will lead you to the blog post 💙
Theodore “Teddy” Lars Nohling joined our famil Theodore “Teddy” Lars Nohling joined our family at 12:48am on Wednesday after a quick and swift labor & birth at home 💙 Thank you Father for another healthy baby boy & your abundant, tender love for us. What an undeserved gift.

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