Nourish and Honor Your Body

If you feel like you are losing control of your health and you don’t have the money or time to put a lot of effort into changes, I have one recipe that could help you out.  Everything can be purchased at the grocery store and won’t cost you much money.

****Disclaimer**** I’m NOT an expert in the nutritional or personal care field and I’ve only found what has worked for me, BUT that’s the point. These have worked and I’m willing to share in hopes they’ll give someone else a better life.  I’m not asking for you to sign up for anything or give me money to teach you how to live a healthier life.  I’m just giving it to you straight and letting you take the reins from there.

Over the past decade, I’ve researched and implemented several different ways to nourish and honor my body, inside and out.  And it has definitely been a trial and error kind of task, but I think at forty I’ve finally settled on a few basic ways to keep myself healthy and strong.

For years, I’ve had a morning ritual of drinking hot, lemon water, with about 1/8 teaspoon of honey.  It started over five years ago, when I had a bad winter of colds and I needed to find a way to gain more vitamins to keep me healthy.  Since then, I’ve drank this hot water nearly every morning.

About six months ago, I decided to start adding Apple Cider Vinegar, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper.  I wasn’t consistent at first, but the past few months, I’ve had this drink nearly every single day and the few changes I’ve noticed are this:

1. My stomach isn’t bloated.
2. My muscles aren’t as cramped after workouts.
3. My energy levels have increased significantly.

Those three issues are reason enough for me to continue.  Although, I still have my off days, they have decreased significantly since beginning down this road.  Here’s my recipe:

1 Whole Lemon

10 oz Hot Water

1/8 tsp Honey

¼ tsp Cinnamon

1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper

2 Tbls Apple Cider Vinegar

Tweak it to your liking, which is what I did after looking up ideas.  I drink it with a straw and keep mixing it while I drink.  Not everyone has the tolerance for these ingredients, so if it’s too much, just decrease the amount or keep out the Cayenne Pepper. They all have health benefits, so if you can tolerate them all, keep it up and let me know how you feel in a few months!

I also eat two eggs, every single morning.  On rare occasions I have something else, but this is generally my breakfast.  I’ve done it for so long, I can’t even tell you when I started.  I change them up here and there, but I usually have two scrambled eggs, with a small amount of cheese mixed in.  From this, I get my protein and calcium, and when I add the lemon water, it’s plenty to get me through until lunch or a small snack.

The last advice I can give on nutrition, is to drink a lot of water.  I know the experts have been saying that for decades, but I can’t stress enough how 80 ounces of water a day can change your life.  Five years ago, I was drinking 88 ounces of Dr. Pepper a day and maybe 40 ounces of water.  My anxiety was out of control, my chest hurt every single day, my hands, feet, and face were constantly numb, and I had heart palpitations on a regular basis.  I was literally killing myself.  Once I began drinking 80+ ounces of water a day, and gave up soda for the most part, my life changed.  I wrote more about it in an earlier post, but my point is—water keeps us alive.  Trust that.  I bought me a 40 ounce Hydroflask, and I fill it up twice a day and drink all of it. 

Another change I’ve made over the past few years, is how I treat my skin.  I rarely tan, and if I do allow my skin outside without sunscreen, it’s only for twenty-ish minutes.  And then either the sunscreen is slathered on, the hat is placed on to protect my face, or I go back inside.  After years of tanning, I decided to embrace my pale skin and stop damaging what remained of youthfulness in my skin.  This is a picture of me today, clean face, no make-up and zero tan.  Maybe I look my age now, but when I turn fifty, I plan on still looking forty.  Cheers to my goals 😉

After I clean my face, I have another ritual of lotions and potions that make my skin feel refreshed and soft.  I always start with a toner.  Right now, I’m using a DoTerra toner, which I really like.  I follow up with Oil of Olay under eye lotion, and then face lotion, mixed with about ¼ teaspoon coconut or grapeseed oil.  Living in Utah, and having extremely dry skin, makes the skin on my face feel constantly dry.  After I began following this regimen, I haven’t had any acne breakouts, dry patches, and my skin looks the best it has in years.  Yes, I have wrinkles and fine lines, but I’ve never used botox and I live in a dry climate.  Not to mention, I once believed I would be forever young, and didn’t realize all the damage I was doing to my skin until it was too late.  The earlier you start loving the skin you’re in, the better you will look at forty 😁

The picture shows three different face lotions that I use.  I love them all, and actually have one more, but I ran out of it and didn't have the jar for the picture. The St. Ives is probably my favorite and already contains Safflower Seed Oil. 

 Simple and easy.  I’ve been spending this month, really focusing on taking care of me, and I realized when I pay it forward and pass on information, my heart is happy.  So, take this for what is worth.  I’m not an expert, but I’ve done the research, while using various methods until I came up with ones that worked. 

Listen to your body and honor what it says.  As you figure out what works for you, pass on the information and let others know, they're not alone.