Winter and I are not best of friends.  Every year that it comes around, I try my best to be positive and embrace it… but I’ll be honest… I struggle.  I get chill blains on my feet; I’m forever trying to warm up, and the cold overcast days tend to leave me feeling a bit gloomy as well.

In summer I eat lots of fresh fruit and veg.  I’m great with my water intake.  I love getting outdoors and moving my body and I feel happier within myself.  I’m more social and more motivated to do things.

I swear that sunshine gives me life!  I tell lots of people that I’m solar powered.  As soon as the sun hits my skin, I feel my body melt and relax.  I can’t help but smile.  I love the sunshine and warm weather.

Any how, it is now the middle of winter here in Australia and a couple of weeks ago I realised my healthy habits had really slipped!  I wasn’t drinking enough water.  My daily walks weren’t always happening, I was sleeping in and my mindset wasn’t as high vibe and focused.

Considering I find winter a challenging time as it is (I would say that I am borderline prone to SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder in winter), it is vital that I have healthy habits in place to help me feel my best.  

A week or so ago, I thought ‘enough is enough. It’s time to sort this out. I know I can do better with my health habits.’

So I got my journal and I wrote about how I was feeling, what had slipped and what I knew I could be doing better, along with why this is important.

I then went on to write a list of weekly ‘intentions.’ A list of things that I wanted to achieve each week.  

My list included:

• consistently get up at 7:00am

• daily 30 min walk

• 2 litres of water per day

• yoga on Mondays, Wednesday & Fridays (my Online Yoga Classes)

• 8 min strength workout on Tuesdays & Thursdays

• daily 5 minute meditation

Creating a new routine or introducing new habits can be a funny thing. 

At the start we’re motivated and ready to make changes because we’re so sick of feeling like rubbish!

Then as time goes by, we start feeling better and the sense of urgency around these healthy habits can start to slip if we’re not careful!

To make sure I consistently keep up my new healthy intentions/habits, I’m checking in with myself every weekend to re-assess my healthy habits and tweak them as I need to.  It reminds me to make them a priority and it also means I can continue to build on them.

If you are like me and find winter a challenging time of year, it’s super important to have some healthy habits in place that help you feel your best.  

Exercise is really important for moving your body, warming you up and giving you a beautiful hit of endorphins!  Plus it’s important to keep hydrated.  Increase your water intake.  You’ll notice a big difference with your energy if you do.  

I also like to have some mindfulness activities in there as well; which for me are yoga and meditation.  I’ve been loving my 15 and 30 minute yoga classes in my Online Yoga Studio!

My top tip with getting back on track with healthy habits, is to create habits that you know work for you.  What works for one person, may not work for another. You need to take into consideration your type of lifestyle, your body type, etc. Everyone is different and no one knows you better than you know yourself.  

What’s that number one thing you could implement right now, to help you feel better?  Trust your intuition and the first thing that comes to mind.

Don’t overload yourself with too many new healthy habits at once.  Start small and a week at time, re-assess them, tweak them and build on them.

It’s up to us to step up and take control of our health and wellbeing.  No one else can do it for us.  

So what are you waiting for…?  There’s no better time than now.  Support yourself as best you can through this winter season, so you can feel your best physically & mentally.

I’m cheering you on!

Steph x