Establish These 5 Habits NOW to Stay Healthy and Energized All Year Long
I, like many teachers, have fallen into the trap of prioritizing school and my students over myself...working too many hours, insisting I didn’t have time to meal prep, exercise, or spend time with friends. It took me several years and complete and utter burnout to realize that as my health and mental wellbeing declined, so did my ability to be a strong teacher and colleague.
Teacher friends, we HAVE to prioritize our health. We MUST put ourselves first. It’s not always fun, immediately rewarding, or easy, but it is essential. And when I say take care of ourselves, I am not referring to the quick and reactive pick-me-ups like stopping for the morning mocha latte, getting a manicure to unwind, or going on a shopping spree to “treat-yo-self.” Rather, I am suggesting that we take proactive steps to guard ourselves against the wear and tear of everyday life, particularly amid the stress of 2020.
Here are some specific tips I employ every day, and they’ve changed so much about my life for the better. Remember, it’s all about baby steps, building positive momentum, and building on the good!
1. Change your breakfast, change your life. If you do nothing else on this list, do THIS. It is the habit that will have the most impact on your days, weeks, months, and year. The cumulative positive effects of a healthy breakfast are priceless. Rather than a bar, apple, or sugary caffeinated drink, reach for something high in protein. Studies show that breakfasts high in protein not only keep you full and calm for several hours, but they also decrease hunger and cravings throughout the entire day. The best change I made was eating to balance my blood sugar, and a protein-filled breakfast sets you up for success. I go with a fruit-free smoothie or egg breakfast every day, and it is non-negotiable, even if no other healthy habits happen that day. Change your breakfast, change your life!
2. Get yourself a big ol’ water bottle (preferably one that isn’t plastic) and drink all day long… even if it means asking your teacher neighbor to keep an eye on your class while you run to the bathroom. Hydration is so important to function optimally. And interestingly, even when we drink water all day long, we can still be internally dehydrated because water without electrolytes just passes through us. (Hence all the runs to the bathroom) I started putting a half packet of this LMNT electrolyte (a super clean and tasty) mix in my Yeti every day! It’s counterintuitive, but the right kind of salt is actually very hydrating. Try it out for yourself!
3. Do some LIGHT meal prep when you can. I know that meal prepping can take hours, and most of us don’t feel like we have that kind of time. I often don’t! But cooking at home is, without a doubt, one of the best ways to reclaim our health. So, experiment with some loose meal prepping. Try cooking a few different proteins in the oven with minimal seasoning so you can jazz them up each night. I love and order a monthly box of meats and seafood from Butcher Box because the quality is incredible and I make an effort to vote with my dollars! It’s also helpful to wash and cut some veggies or even roast a tray or two! This allows you to mix and match meals for several days without a ton of time spent each night. All you teacher batch planners out there-- you CAN do this! Just instead of batch lesson-planning, you’re batch cooking!
4. Pack healthy snacks. Sometimes as teachers, we live the snack life because we rush around so much that we barely have time to eat a meal! I pack a huge salad every day for lunch and will happily chomp it down, even in a meeting (because I am NO fun when hungry), but if that’s not you, make a little snack sack full of nutritious and tasty quick bites. My favorites include hard-boiled eggs, Chomps grass-fed beef sticks, raw and lightly salted nuts, celery and almond butter, a couple squares of extra dark chocolate, or a Keto Cup.
5. You don’t need me to tell you that exercising is good for your health, but I will share something you might not know. Our muscles store quite a bit of glucose in them to use as fuel (think: the bagel, crackers, and piece of candy you ate). Every time we use our muscles, we dump that glucose and make space for more. This is why strength training is actually much more important for weight management than cardio. The bigger your muscles get, the more space they have to suck up glucose (instead of it being stored as fat), and the more often they go through the glucose stores. For this reason, I try to do some light weight exercises 4-5 times per week--but just for 10-25 minutes! Even if you don’t love exercise (like me), or don’t feel like you have a lot of time, even small amounts of time can have a huge impact! And, if you’re into learning about the science of the benefits associated with exercise, I highly recommend Kelly McGonigal’s book, The Joy of Movement.
Whew! That was a lot of information. I hope you found some of it meaningful for your life. Typically, I keep things book-related here, but I decided to share another large part of my life with you today because without our health, it becomes so hard to offer our passions to the world.
Here’s to taking care of ourselves this year!
♥ Kara & Riley
