How to stay consistent with your wellness routine: embracing simplicity and slowness

One thing about me: my wellness routine definitely doesn’t look the same everyday. Sure, sometimes it looks like green smoothies, workout classes, and a solid supplement routine… but other times it looks like slowing down, simplifying, and taking the time to appreciate each moment for what it is. My wellness routine ebbs and flows because I’m human, and I ebb & flow, too.

We all know that consistency is key when it comes to achieving your wellness goals, but most people get tripped up thinking consistency means doing the same exact thing every single day for 365 days a year. No wonder it’s so hard to sustain a healthy lifestyle! Contrary to what you might see online, consistency is not about doing it all, perfectly, all of the time. It’s about doing something every single day for your health, however small or imperfect it might be.

Consistency is about adapting. For example, let’s say your energy levels have been lower than usual lately, so instead of pushing yourself to go to the gym (when your body is clearly asking you not to), you decide to take a gentle walk around the block. Congratulations! You stayed consistent. You did something. You didn’t break the chain, and you listened to your body. Not to mention, had you pushed yourself to go to the gym, you may have made the fatigue worse and felt totally depleted the following day, making you more likely to give up altogether.

Consistency also looks like taking advantage of the weeks you do have endless energy. Utilize that energy while also being okay with the moments when you need to slow down.

Unfortunately, the latter scenario is the mistake I see so many women making. Pushing themselves to hit a 5x/week cardio goal instead of slowing down, simplifying, and being okay with imperfection. Most people think that a healthy lifestyle means giving 100% everyday. In reality, a healthy lifestyle is a wave: you give 100% one day, 20% the next, 75% the next, and so on.

This is the yin and yang of a healthy lifestyle. Some days are more disciplined, and others are more restful. Lately though, I don’t see enough women taking the proper time to rest. There’s so much more emphasis on achieving, hustling, and getting sh*t done, but in my experience, too much hustle without rest only leads to burnout, which makes consistency nearly impossible. Enter: the “on the wagon, off the wagon” cycle that so many women struggle with.

Embracing Simplicity

Tell me if this sounds familiar: you see people on social media taking 7 different expensive supplements each day, cooking every meal from scratch, eating elaborate plant-based meals, and somehow squeezing in a workout class, 10,000 steps and a 7-step morning & evening skincare routine - all in one single day! Understandably, you feel discouraged when you can’t maintain that kind of lifestyle, and it seems as if you need to do all of this in order to be truly healthy.

This is the rose-colored glass effect of social media. The truth is, if someone really IS accomplishing that much each day (which is unlikely), it took them a very long time to get to that point.

It’s time to get back to basics and embrace simplicity with our wellness. Just as your closet can get cluttered, so too can your lifestyle, and when it comes to establishing a solid wellness routine, less really is more.

Healthy living isn’t about accomplishing, comparing, and stressing about all the things you “should” be doing. It’s about understanding what makes you feel your best. It’s about letting go of comparison. It’s about allowing yourself to rest. And it’s about getting really good at the basics - they may not be very exciting, but they absolutely work.

5 things every wellness routine should have

Speaking of the basics, there are a few things every wellness routine should include in order to feel your best. Whenever I get overwhelmed, or life gets in the way, I always fall back on the basics, and I’m able to stay consistent even on the busiest of days. The basics of a good wellness routine are:

1) Any form of movement: whether it’s walking, running, stretching or strength training, the point is, any type of movement is good movement! When you switch to this mindset and let go of the idea that movement is about burning as much calories as possible, the barrier to entry becomes a lot lower. You’ll be a lot more consistent, and have a much easier time reaching your wellness goals and sustaining them.

2) Balancing Blood Sugar: Don’t stress about all the things you can’t or shouldn’t eat. Instead, just aim to have protein, fat and fiber-rich carbohydrates at every meal. This will help keep your blood sugar balanced, which makes your gut and hormones happy, helps you feel full, reduces cravings, and keeps your body nourished.

3) Quality sleep: When all else fails and you can only prioritize one thing, let it be sleep. A good night of rest can be the difference between feeling energized and motivated or feeling totally depleted. Sleep has a ripple effect into every other area of your health: hormones, gut health, energy levels, mood, libido and more. When you’re well rested, the other components of your wellness routine will feel so much easier to accomplish.

4) Time for joy: This one often gets overlooked, but doing things that bring you joy is one of the best ways to get yourself out of a rut and find consistency. It’s also an amazing way to regulate your nervous system, as being in a state of playfulness is just as effective at activating your parasympathetic state as rest & relaxation. Tell me, when is the last time you did something you truly loved, with no agenda, no end goal in mind, just pure joy? If you can’t remember, I invite you to choose 1 practice this week that’s just pure fun and joy.

Whenever life gets in the way, or you feel overwhelmed, it’s a sign to simplify. By focusing on these 4 foundational elements, you will have a much easier time staying consistent when life gets tough.

The importance of rest

To me, a healthy lifestyle must include rest, otherwise it’s incomplete. Note, rest doesn’t necessarily mean sleep. It doesn’t even mean taking some downtime - especially if your down time is spent worrying about the past or future. True rest means allowing your nervous system to come into a parasympathetic state - also known as your “rest and digest” state. So, even if you’re laying on the couch “resting,” your nervous system may not be, especially if your mind is busy or anxious. Also worth noting, scrolling on social media or watching TV is something you might do to “relax,” but it actually keeps your nervous system in a state of reactivity, so it’s not a true form of rest.

Your body needs rest - real rest. This is especially important if you’re someone who struggles with chronic fatigue, chronic stress, digestive issues, inflammation, poor sleep, or hormonal imbalances. If that’s you, know that your body is already working in overdrive, so without proper rest, it won’t have the chance to recover. Without proper rest, you’ll never have the space to appreciate your life and your health, an essential part of overall well-being.

I invite you to incorporate more restfulness into your routine, and when I say rest, I mean the real stuff - the kind where your nervous system is in a true parasympathetic state.

5 ways to incorporate rest into your wellness routine:

1) Practice mindfulness: mindfulness is the practice of coming back to the present moment and living in that place as much as possible. We do this through our breath and our five senses. Noticing the sounds, sights, and smells, tastes, and sensations. Feeling your feet on the ground. Smelling a candle. Observing the sounds. Observing your thoughts without getting lost in them. Mindfulness is difficult at first, but with practice, it becomes a simple and effective practice that can transform the way you live your life.

2) Ground in nature: This is a good follow up to #1 because the outdoors is a wonderful place to practice Mindfulness. There is so much to notice and absorb about the present moment! Step outside for a few minutes and you’ll notice the colors of the trees, the birds chirping, the cars driving by, the wind blowing, the smell of fresh air. It only takes a few minutes, but grounding in nature can be profoundly restful.

2) Breathing exercises: alternate nostril breathing and box breathing are two popular and simple techniques that bring the body back into a parasympathetic state, and the best part is, you only need to do it for 1-2 minutes to feel the effects!

3) Establish boundaries: a lot of times, the root cause of feeling unrested is a lack of boundaries - with work, with family, or with our social life. Remember that it’s okay to communicate your needs. It’s okay to say no. It’s okay to ask for support. Boundaries are an essential part of feeling rested and nourished.

4) Gentle movement: Not every workout needs to be a push. In fact, it’s important to have a gentle movement practice for those days when you’re just not feeling it. Something short and simple, like a walk or a few minutes of yoga, can be the difference between staying consistent with your routine, and falling off the wagon again.

I hope this inspires you to find consistency with your wellness routine and embrace simplicity and rest. They truly are foundational to balancing out your healthy lifestyle.

If you need help reaching your wellness goals and finding balance, reach out to me here.