Five to Thrive
Today marks the #last90days of 2019 and as a company, we are committing to the #fivetothrive dailies. Wellness is one of our core values. It’s our belief that wellness is a priority, NOT a luxury.
This movement is meant to set YOU up for success for the upcoming year and to make personal care and wellness a habit. Uplevel your life by doing these 5 things every day for the next 90 days. Let’s do this!
Wake up 1 hour earlier
Waking up earlier allows you to adopt a ‘slow morning’ routine. Depending on your lifestyle will determine how you spend your extra hour. You could plan your calendar for the week, read, meditate, journal, work out, make coffee/breakfast instead of buying it on your way to work or pick up the house so you have more free time after work to spend time with your family.
Starting your mornings slower will make you feel less stressed and gives you time to make time for yourself
If you’re hitting snooze every morning you’re probably not getting enough sleep. Waking up earlier in the morning could end up helping you create a nighttime routine that sets yourself up for success the following day!
Tips on waking up early
Create a routine that fits into your lifestyle that you look forward to.
Turn app notifications off on your phone so you’re less likely to start scrolling from your bed.
(Read our blog for more on starting your day in Slow-Mo)
Workout for at least 30 minutes
Before you totally blow this part off, keep in mind that we don’t mean you have to run or do HIIT training every day to reap the benefits of working out can provide. What we recommend doing is to find a workout that you enjoy, create a routine around that and stick with it. Walking is a great form of exercise and is something most people can start doing today.
The benefits of working out aren’t limited to improving our health and physical appearance. Regular exercise can help you sleep better at night and have a profound impact on depression, anxiety, and more.
Tips for working out
Motivate yourself by buying 1 new piece of workout clothing.
Track your workouts by using the Health app on your phone (if you have an iPhone) or download an app! A few favorites of those on our team are MapMyRun and MyFitnessPal.
Drink Water
Are you thirsty right now? This means you’re already dehydrated. Dehydration is extremely common yet is preventable if people were more conscious of how much water they drank a day.
75% of Americans are dehydrated.
Dehydration can make you tired.
Tips for drinking more water
However much you weigh, divide that number by 2 and that’s how many ounces you should drink on a daily basis.
Buy a reusable water bottle so you can track how much water you’ve drunk in one day.
Buy a Brita Filter or Berkey Filter so you have access to filtered water whenever you want.
Add fruits and/or veggies to your water to elevate your water drinking experience! Cucumber, lemon, orange, ginger, and mint are all great options to add some natural flavor to your water.
Give Up One Food Group
You know that one food you continue to eat even though it makes you feel bloated and gross? You should stop eating it. We grow up thinking that being bloated is just something that naturally happens to everyone, when the reality is bloating is a sign from our body that it is not agreeing with what we’ve put in our bodies and it’s having difficulty digesting. Everyone’s body is different, so pay attention to what upsets your stomach next time you eat and use your intuition (and rumbling belly) to help you figure out what those foods are. Dairy has a bad rap, but even vegetables like Brussels sprouts and broccoli can be problematic for some people and cause major bloating.
If you don’t experience bloating on a regular basis, consider foods/beverages you could cut out that would improve your life, for example: cutting out processed sugar.
Tips for giving up one food/food group
Keep a food journal to track what you eat. If you experience discomfort after a meal, take note of what you ate and start to experiment with each food to narrow down which one is causing you problems.
Keeping a food journal will help you see what you eat the most of and show you areas of improvement. For example, you might discover you eat a lot of processed sugar during the day. Perhaps your goal would be to cut that out of your diet to make room for whole foods.
Practicing Gratitude
What does this wild life amount to if we never take the time to stop and think “That was really cool” or “Wow, that was so helpful!” Practicing gratitude doesn’t always happen naturally because we feel like we’re too busy to take 5 minutes to journal about something we’re grateful for.
Practicing gratitude can feel like pulling teeth, the first few times you sit down to journal it can feel forced. But with any other mindful practice, it gets easier with time and you will quickly see the benefits.
If you need a little more convincing, psychologists have discovered that practicing gratitude increases well being in many ways. In particular, they emphasize the lift in mood it gives us, or what scientists call “positive effect”.
Tips on practicing gratitude
Buy a journal specifically for writing down your daily gratitudes and keep it by your bed. Either jot something down as soon as you wake up or end your day by writing something down that you felt grateful for that day. Guests who enroll in a Loving on Me membership in October 2019 will receive a FREE journal and skin care bag of goodies!
Last but not least…treat yo’ self!
Treat yourself to something you normally don’t - you’re worth it! At Urban You, we offer a variety of facials that range from $50 to $235 so you can make wellness a priority in your life, no matter what your budget is.
Our memberships range in price from $65 - $230 a month so you can pamper yourself on a regular basis to keep you feeling like the best version of yourself.