If you live in a cold place, winter can be tough on your body.
Add the lingering effects of holiday busy-ness and overindulgence, and you’ve got a recipe for winter colds, fatigue, and general ickiness.
The good news is…it’s easier to “reset” than you might think.
Focus on a few of these winter self-care essentials, and you’ll feel like you again in just a week or so. Plus, if you make them habits, you’re sure to have a healthy winter.
1. Protect your skin.
Cold weather makes skin dry, scratchy, and generally uncomfortable to be in. If you prefer exercising outdoors, even in frigid temperatures, you’ll want to be especially careful about skin care. Staying hydrated helps, but also try these suggestions for winter workout skin care from my dermatologist (interviewed by Seattle-based women’s running apparel company Oiselle).
2. Make mornings sacred.
I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating: Taking a few extra minutes to ease into my morning sets me up to manage stress with more grace than anything else I’ve tried. And because our bodies work harder to stay warm in the winter, eating a nourishing breakfast seems like a pretty smart way to start the morning. Even when life gets busy, grab one of these power breakfasts. Try a cup of hot water with lemon first thing too. Or make a mug of my Fresh Ginger Tea (recipe below) for an especially lovely winter morning wake up ritual. Slow. Down. Before your day speeds up. Better stress management = healthier body. Simple as that. 🙂
3. If you have big health goals for the New Year, focus on making tiny changes first.
Don’t get all caught up in a “grand plan” or other motivation killers. (My free guide will help you understand YOUR unique way of getting in your own way, too. Get it here.) Planning is important; but when it comes to health goals, I’m a fan of mastering new habits one step at a time. Add some dark leafy greens or whole grains to your diet. Drink more water. Add 10 minutes of extra movement to your day. That sort of thing. Tiny changes add up…and they last longer.
4. Fight winter colds by moving your body.
Moderate, regular exercise boosts immunity, so find a way to fit it in during cold and flu season for sure. Try this 10-minute Pilates workout (that you can do anywhere); or check out my friend Erin Stutland’s Shrink Session Workout, so fun you’ll forget you’re exercising. (Just so you know, I get a few bucks if you choose to buy Shrink Session through my link…and I appreciate it. 🙂 If you prefer to be outside, check out these winter running tips for ways to stay warm, safe, and healthy despite frosty weather.
5. Clean up your diet…just a little.
Eat naturally cleansing foods like gluten-free grains (quinoa, millet, brown rice), beans, and winter greens. Drink more water, and cut back on sugar…especially if weight loss is one of your goals. (My 10-Day Sugar Cleanse can help.) It all adds up to a healthier diet over time. (See #3.) For an especially nourishing winter soup, try the Mighty Miso Soup recipe below. In traditional Chinese medicine, sea vegetables (or seaweed, for the rest of us ;), have strengthening, cleansing, and balancing properties and are eaten in the winter to help support the kidneys, adrenal glands, bladder, and reproductive organs. If nothing else, seaweed is jammed with minerals and vitamins, including calcium, iodine, and iron.
6. Check your Vitamin D levels and supplement if you need a boost.
Most of us are at least a little deficient in this essential vitamin – super important for bone health – especially if we live in the Northern Hemisphere. While 15 minutes a day of direct sun exposure is the best way to get Vitamin D, that’s much less likely to happen in the winter months (especially if you live in the sun-deprived Pacific Northwest!); so ask your doctor to check your levels and recommend the right supplement for you.
7. Try a new bedtime routine.
Sleep is important any time of year, but it’s especially important in winter, when cold and flu viruses are floating all around us. Just as exercise boosts our immunity, lack of sleep can tear it down. Having a bedtime routine – like shutting off all screens an hour before bed or doing a few sleep-inducing yoga poses – can be helpful in getting quality sleep, even if you can’t increase the amount of time you sleep (although shooting for 7-8 hours a night would be good).
8. Wash your hands. A lot.
Turns out that frequent hand washing really does decrease our risk of getting the flu. And regular soap is just fine…the antibacterial stuff isn’t necessary and is a lot harsher on skin (which is already taking a beating, per #1). Use a good moisturizer to keep your hands from drying out though, even if you skip the antibacterial soap.
9. Stay cozy.
Scarves are my favorite winter accessory. For whatever reason, as long as I’m wearing a scarf, my whole body stays toasty. I have no scientific proof that this actually makes your core body temperature warmer, but it works for me. (I discovered this when I worked for Comedy Central and grabbed a South Park scarf out of desperation on a cold, NYC winter day in the office. Kenny and Cartman turned out to be cozy company. 😉 I recently found this YouTube video showing 25 different ways to wear a scarf. (Love it!) Oh, and if all else fails, have some of my Spicy Hot Cocoa. 🙂
If doing a few of these things regularly helps me avoid downtime from colds, I’m all for it…even if it takes a little extra effort at first.
What do you do to have a healthy winter? Share your thoughts in the comments.
And don’t forget to check out the recipes below!
P.S. PUT DOWN THAT COOKIE!! 😉 If losing weight is one of your goals, taking control of how much sugar you eat is a really important place to start. My 10-Day Sugar Cleanse will help you do it quickly…without totally depriving yourself of the sweet stuff. Get started now.
Nourishing Winter Recipes
FRESH GINGER TEA
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 2 cups
Ingredients
2 cups filtered water
1-2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
2 teaspoons honey
Directions
- Boil water.
- Pour over ginger root in a tea pot or in two tea mugs.
- Steep for 3-5 minutes, depending on desired strength of flavor.
- Add honey and enjoy!
MIGHTY MISO SOUP (from Institute for Integrative Nutrition)
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes
Yield: 4-5 servings
Ingredients
4-5 cups spring water
1-2 inch strip of wakame, rinsed and soaked 5 minutes
in 1 cup of water until softened
1-2 cups thinly sliced vegetables of your choice (see notes)
2-3 teaspoons barley miso
2 scallions, finely chopped
Directions
- Chop soaked wakame.
- Discard soaking water.
- Place water and wakame in a soup pot and bring to a boil.
- Add root vegetables first and simmer gently for 5 minutes or until tender.
- Add leafy vegetables and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove about 1/2 cup of liquid from pot and dissolve miso into it. Return it to the pot.
- Reduce heat to very low; do not boil or simmer miso broth.
- Allow soup to cook 2-3 minutes.
- Garnish with scallions and serve.
Note
Any combination of vegetables can be used in miso soup. Here are some classic combinations:
- onion-daikon: cleansing
- onion-carrot-shiitake mushroom-kale: mildly sweet
- onion-winter squash-cabbage: great in wintertime
- leek-corn-broccoli: great in summertime
xo,
