Ah yes, the obligatory smoothie bowl shot.
What is wellness?
This is a great question that came up when I listening to @fatmascara latest Podcast, Episode 28: Stick to Red, check it out if you love Christian Louboutin as much as I do.
I think of wellness as a state of balance in which you feel best. You sleep well, therefore you wake up with energy, you get hungry at appropriate times and aren't too hungry or without an appetite, your poops are healthy -according to Dr oz, stools should be long and in one piece like a snake. Healthy stool is a sign of a healthy digestion.
The path to "Wellness" is going to be different for everyone.
Wellness seems to always be associated with some fancy yoga poses and pics of smoothie bowls on Instagram. Frankly, we all know those pics are set up and the yoga poses take several takes to do. That may not be your version of "wellness" and that's more than ok.
As an acupuncturist, I have to decipher what "pattern" a patient fits. There are patterns where salads, green juices and smoothies are literally the worst foods you can eat so that's not wellness either.
If you're curious which pattern shouldn't have salads, smoothies, dairy and other "cold" foods (like smoothie bowls and yogurt) --a person who gets bloated after eating, has loose stools, tends to go right after eating raw veggies , has a tendency towards feeling cold and has this low level tiredness all the time. They take a while to wake up in the morning and may even feel the need to take a nap after eating.
In this example, this person should stick to eating clean proteins (nothing fried) and cooked veggies (not raw). Some light exercise would be great as well.
So what is wellness to you?
For me, it's doing my best to stay away from sugar, gluten and dairy, eating real food (which means it doesn't have any ingredients, doesn't come in a box or is pre-packaged) Because cooking for yourself really is best. Taking the right supplements my body needs and doing a combo of #HIIT workouts and yoga. Using essential oils, ridding my home of toxic chemicals and going to bed roughly around the same time every night. Of course daily meditation, acupuncture and skincare factor in. Plus the occasional margarita and pizza, I did say balance.
I don't beat myself up if I don't achieve perfection. Trying to be perfect just creates stress and that's not what wellness is about. It's not a competition, it's a lifelong journey that's unique and different for all of us. A journey in which you switch out a bottle of kombucha instead of Diet Coke because you know Diet Coke is crap and probably gives you migraines. If your "wellness" also happens to include reading the September issue of Vogue and listening to podcasts with Christian Louboutin then by all means, be well.