What wellness habit and idea will you add to your life this month?
This is the year of wellness. The year where wellness is on a lot of people's minds. The year where wellness becomes important to people. The year that wellness becomes a habit. I can feel it all around me. The connections I have made with people who are working hard to get wellness information out to others has been eye-opening and inspiring. It's the year where ambitious people start taking the time for themselves that they deserve.
Whether it's 5 minutes or 15 minutes a day, it all adds up. 5 minutes a day for 365 days adds up to 1,825 minutes a year that you took for yourself. 15 minutes a day for 365 days adds up to 5,475 minutes a year that is YOUR minutes.
I have been writing this blog for about 4 months now. All my articles are about wellness products you can use to help you improve your day and your wellness. This article is about my top 3 products that I recommend you start this year for your well-being. Make it your 5 or 15 minutes a day, just for YOU. This is your time and it's so important. You are important and you are deserving of taking that 5, 15, 30, however many minutes you choose.
Make a Lifestyle Change With Magnesium
I write and talk about why magnesium is so important many times in a week. It's one of the first wellness lifestyle changes I recommend to people who have trouble sleeping.
Before magnesium, I was a very light sleeper. Everything woke me up. I have 2 dogs, one that sleeps throughout the night and one that is up and down all night long. Every time this dog moved in the middle of the night, I was up.
Can you imagine, constantly getting up because a dog moves? I'm sure some people know what I'm talking about... getting up constantly whether it's to use the bathroom, being restless, your significant other getting up for work the next morning. I knew exactly when mine got up for work.
After magnesium, I SLEEP. I mean deep sleep, the sleep where I can't hear anything. I don't wake up when the dog moves. I don't wake up when my significant other gets up. To top it all off, I feel refreshed in the morning like I got the deep sleep I needed to be renewed.
Benefits Of This Lifestyle Change
The first benefit is, of course, changing your sleep pattern. I highly recommend magnesium for those who have trouble sleeping. Those who have trouble sleeping are likely to be deficient in magnesium.
Other signs of magnesium deficiency include fatigue, aches and pains, mood disorders, migraines, muscle cramps, and anxiety. If you feel you have some of these signs, give magnesium a try.
Magnesium is also beneficial to gut health. Gut health has finally come into the light and many people are starting to talk about it. Having poor gut health can contribute to many health problems. One of the biggest health problems is inflammation inside and outside your body. Inflammation inside your body can be dangerous for your organs. It can cause strokes, heart disease, and autoimmune diseases. Getting your gut health right can help prevent these diseases from happening. Magnesium can help with that.
How Magnesium Became a Habit
It took some time to make this a habit. It sat for a little while in the cabinet before I tried it.
One evening, I decided to give it a try. It was pretty gross. I just mixed the powder in the water and started drinking instead of letting it settle. I knew I needed to give it a chance so I did the whole "plug my nose" thing to get the drink to go down. I, honestly, was so happy to be done drinking it.
That night, I had no trouble sleeping. I didn't wake up when the dog moved and I didn't wake up when my significant other got up for work. The only difference was taking that magnesium powder.
I tried it again the next night, making sure to let it settle in before drinking it. I drank it the same way I drank a glass of water before bed. I just made sure it was gone by the time I went to bed. This made it taste a whole lot better. I didn't have to plug my nose to get it down this time. I had the same results as I did the night before.
I continued drinking it and continued reaping benefits so I made sure to fit it into my daily wellness habits. Before I get into bed to do my nightly routine, I make sure to make myself a glass of magnesium water to drink as I do my thing in bed. I started drinking it in May 2018 and am still going strong. I do miss days, I'm not perfect, but the majority of nights you can find a glass of magnesium water on my nightstand ready to take me into a deep sleep! I take Natural Vitality Calm Magnesium powder because the pills didn't work for me, they made me feel bloated. Plus pills can be filled with other fillers that are unnecessary. Natural Vitality Calm magnesium powder goes through third-party testing to make sure you are getting the best.
Life-Changing Beef Liver Capsules
Beef liver capsules are something I just stumbled upon. They were given to me at the Arnold Classic by a company I really trusted, Vital Proteins.
I was not sure about them because of the word beef liver. I'm not a fan of beef liver nor did I want anything to do with beef liver. It's slimy and it's gross. No thanks. So they sat in the supplements cabinet for a REALLY long time.
Then, I was reading a blog from Bulletproof.com telling me that most Americans are deficient in vitamin A and why I should be taking the supplement. I trust Bulletproof CEO Dave Asprey wholeheartedly. I have tried many things he has suggested and he has not steered me wrong. In his blog, he goes on to say that if you are not eating organ meats, you need vitamin A. Well, that's me. No organ meats.
I got the beef liver out and put it in my daily supplements organizer to make sure I would take it. I took it the next day and waited to see if I noticed any benefits. Sometimes with supplements, it takes a bit to notice a difference and sometimes I don't notice a difference at all. I just trust the research that the benefits are there especially since I did a lot of research to buy from companies I trust.
With beef liver, I noticed a difference that day and I didn't even take the full recommended amount. I had more energy, I felt more awake, I didn't have brain fog. I was impressed. I took it the next day with the same results. I started this supplement in September 2018. I take it most days of the week now. 4-5 days a week. The other 2-3 days I don't take it because I don't want my body to get used to it. I don't want to stop reaping the amazing benefits of it. This schedule seems to work for me and my body, mind, and soul seem to be enjoying it, too.
Life-Changing Benefits of Beef Liver Capsules
Beef liver is known to increase your energy levels by helping your body metabolize collagen and protein. It helps the body convert the collagen and protein you are getting from your foods or other supplements into energy.
Beef liver is packed with essential vitamins A and B12 to help support healthy hair, skin, and nails. Vitamin A is important because it helps many of the organs in your body function properly. It promotes better digestion. If you are having digestion problems, first look at what you are putting in your body and next start taking beef liver supplements.
Change Your Life With the Power of Words
Affirmations. I cannot write or speak enough about the power of affirmations.
Yes, there was a time when I thought "what are these going to do for me?" These are just silly little sayings. They are cheesy. They are ridiculous.
My mindset didn't change until I was pushed to create my OWN affirmation. And no.... not just come up with something. I had to dig down deep. Answer journal prompts that made me really ponder. These questions dug so deep that I was uncomfortable. Out of this digging, came my affirmation. That's when I started owning affirmations. I created my own, I worked with it and worked with it until it became automatic.
This is when I started understanding the power of words and what they can do for me. I started using other affirmations and after time, about a year, I started noticing the benefits.
I noticed positive thoughts replacing negative thoughts. I noticed a mindset shift where I try to find the positive in things instead of searching for something negative because I used to search and search very hard. I did this as a defense so I didn't have to get close to anyone or learn to trust.
I don't do this anymore. Negativity doesn't have a hold on me, it doesn't run my life anymore.
Think of a Shadow...
Yes, I still have battles with it. But I now have positive power on my side. That positive power is able to wiggle to the front of my brain and work hard to push negativity out. I am FREE because negativity doesn't have its teeth sunk in.
I do believe it helps to think of negativity as a shadow. A shadow that constantly follows you around and waits for the right moment to pounce. Almost like a death eater on Harry Potter. It's just waiting for the right moment to get to you and suck your energy. It's there. It's everywhere. It's your shadow.
Even though my shadow is still with me, I have tools that help manage it and help push it away when it's not needed. It doesn't get to have power anymore because I have the power.
The power of words has helped me have the power.
Affirmations. Affirmations. Affirmations. I cannot recommend them enough. Get over your initial thoughts about how cheesy they are and try them out. If you are having trouble with the power of words, create your own and OWN it. If you are having trouble creating your own, I have a free 12-day gratitude journal that will help you start creating your own. You can sign up for free using the form below.
Pick a Wellness Habit and Enjoy a Lifestyle Change
Wellness habits are important. Make yourself a habit today and every other day. Make yourself a habit starting now, this year, and carry it over for years to come. Show others what it means to be well and show your children what it means to take care of themselves.
Pick one of the wellness ideas above and make it a goal to make it a habit that fits into your lifestyle. Make a lifestyle change for yourself.
Your Certified Brain Health Coach,
Ashley
Owner of SustainaBRAIN
