So February is the shortest month of the year and ironically it’s the month dedicated to love and Black history. Personally, I celebrate and honor myself and our history all throughout the year (like in this blog—14 Little-Known Ways to Support Black Lives Matter Without Protesting, Marching, or Shouting on Social Media).
Yet this is something I’ve had to learn, because women, especially Black women, are often the last ones to celebrate themselves. The strong-selfless-super-woman syndrome is an outdated belief that needs to die, because it’s literally killing us.
Overworking, overcompensating, over giving, overachieving is a response to a society that expects us to give our best without ample rest.
Last week you learned 25 hacks to get more sleep.
In this week’s blog, you’ll learn:
Stick with staples.
You aren’t a boring woman.
You’re a busy woman with a full life.
You have a career.
You have commitments.
You do not have time to fuck around.
Thinking, “oh what should we eat today?” or “what should we have for lunch/breakfast/dinner?” when you’re hungry sucks your energy, and makes it easier to eat something that isn’t nourishing.
You don’t need to be adventurous every time you eat.
Have some ‘go to’ foods that make your body happy.
My body feels happiest with some sort of green, rice, and bean… it also enjoys a variety of veggies, spices, nuts, and fruit.
Chipotle, Salatta, and Blaze are a few of my go to places for those times when I don’t want to sit down at a nice restaurant or cook, but I want to give my body food that’ll make it happy.
(Note: you won’t find an exhaustive food list here, because what works and nourishes my body may be completely different than what works and nourishes yours.)
Supplements.
Listen, I hate to break it to you, but if you live in America (like I do) the quality of our food isn’t the best, even if you buy organic. Unfortunately in most places, the quality of soil is so poor and depleted, we do not receive as much nutrients in our food like God intended.
I take vitamin D, a multivitamin with iron, omega-3, vitamin C, turmeric curcumin with black pepper everyday.
I also take magnesium a couple times a week in the evening and depending how close I am to my cycle, I’ll add in evening primrose oil.
(Note: you may want to consider having blood work and other lab tests taken to help you identify if you’re deficient in a nutrient that your body requires to function properly.)
Shop pre-cut.
You don’t have to slice, dice, strain, or chop everything yourself.
It doesn’t make you a better mom.
It doesn’t make you a better wife.
It doesn’t make you a better woman.
You can get pre-cut onions, already peeled potatoes, pre-cut pineapples, pre-washed bags of salad, already boiled eggs, etc. for many food items.
No, it’s not hard to peel a potato, chop an onion, or cut a pineapple, but it does take time. Let someone else do it, you’re worth it. You’ll save so much time, and have more energy.
(Note: if you enjoy cutting, chopping, straining, dicing, etc. everything yourself and have the time to do so, by all means carry on.)
Stretch your limbs.
Notice I didn’t say run 5 miles, lift 100 pounds, or do 60 minutes of cardio. Your body is different, your health is a journey and I’m not your personal trainer, nutritionist or doctor.
We can all agree that whether you’re in a robust career, work from home, a happy housewife or mom; we all spend a little more time than we’d like in front of our digital devices.
It can make the best of us—stiff or sore. Stretching even for 10 minutes makes a difference. Here’s my favorite YouTube video on moving your joints.
So there you have it, 3 easy ways to nourish yourself everyday. Anything you’d add? What way will you try today? Lemme know in the comments below!
