MICROHABITTING TO A BETTER SELF
In the About page I wrote, “. . . I promise that whatever practices or products I suggest I have tested them out and/or use them personally (as needed).” I mean that and as the first ever post, I wanted to write about my experiences with a few micro-habits that I have been working on.
Am I the picture of health today? No but give me a year and I ‘ll be better than where I am today. Give me three, five, ten years and I’ll be a completely different person with more energy, purpose, and drive than who I am today. And, yes, I’ll be chronologically older but biologically I’ll be younger.
Why?
Because for over a year I have been making small micro-habits that will help slow down and reverse the aging and damage that my body has gone through.
What changes have I made that are just part of who I am today?
Alcohol (1.5 years)
Cold showers (10 months)
Fasting (3+ months)
ALCOHOL
I stopped drinking alcohol in January or February of 2024. Can’t remember exactly when. Just decided that it would no longer be who I was. The first couple weeks were rough, as the year prior to that I had started drinking wine and other mixed drinks more and my body craved it. I also had broken my alcohol rule several times “don’t drink when sad/depressed.”
With everything I went through in 2023 (a husband unable to work due to a work injury, a new baby delivered via cesarian, and trying to keep our family financial afloat – was working with clients remotely a week after cesarian), I had started to drink more than usual. It wasn’t anything outrageous (maybe 2 – 3 times a month and I never got plastered). It just was enough to negatively affect my mood.
I had been reading and hearing enough from doctors and scientists on how alcohol can negatively affect the body, and some of the people I looked up to as role models didn’t consume alcohol. So, by Christmas 2023 I decided I would allow myself to cook and bake with alcohol, but I would no longer drink it. It honestly has been an amazing decision and it definitely has assisted me in staying level-headed, my mood overall has very much improved, and I have more money in my pocket (alcohol is an expensive habit).
COLD SHOWERS
The first time I was introduced to the concept of cold bathing was when I was in high school. I was fascinated with the history of the Romanovs, the Bolshevik Revolution, and WWI (partly because my great-grandfather had been a German POW in a Russian gulag as he had been assigned to the German Eastern front). In one of the history books regarding the last Czar of Russia, I read that he had insisted that his 5 kids had to take cold baths daily no matter the season. It seemed cruel to me, and I don’t recall the author explaining the benefits of cold bathing.
The next time I came across the cold bathing concept was a video where it was showing school children in an Eastern European country outside playing in snow, wearing nothing but their shoes and swimming trunks. The narrator said that this practice was used to improve the children’s immunity followed by a hot tea upon returning to the inside.
During 2024 I came across a lot of content regarding the benefits of cold bathing and of course the real-life iceman, Wim Hof. There were one or two times I attempted to take a cold shower or through lack of hot water, and I started panicking. Then something clicked in October 2024, and I decided to slowly integrate it into my routine. Nothing major, just whenever I took a hot bath (opening my pores) I ended it with an ice-cold shower (closing my pores). First two weeks were rough, but I put on a timer and worked my way to 3 – 6 minutes (as recommended by Gary Beckra).
Due to this new habit, I did experience Amenorrhea for a couple months but that may have also been exasperated by some stress too. I don’t recall which podcasts I’ve heard it on but learned that woman should not do cold bathing during their menstrual cycle. I’ve been following that since and everything is normal.
Cold showers make me more alert, I “feel” skinnier after taking them, and I was able to plunge into the lake Mother’s Day this year which is the earliest I have ever been in the lake in my entire life.
FASTING
As an American I will be the first to say that we overconsume. It’s probably the number one reason my country is so overweight. As a traditional Roman Catholic, various religious fasts and diet restrictions are in place throughout the liturgical calendar (e.g., no meat on Fridays, no eating between meals during Lent and Advent). As a result, fasting is not a completely new concept for me. But boy I am a foodie. I love good food, and I love to cook and bake when I have the time or out of necessity. Seeing people delighted with my concoctions makes me happy. Feeding others is my love language. You get the point.
Through study I have come to learn that there are various fasting methods (e.g., restrictive, water/electrolyte, intermittent). I had never done a water/electrolyte fast before and after not having felt well for a few months (probably due to over consumption) I completed my first 5-day water/electrolyte fast.
First two days I had a headache.
Day three and four, my headache was gone, and boy did I feel amazing. All my senses were enhanced; my hearing and eyesight was improved; and I had a feeling of euphoria.
Day five I still had enhanced senses, but I noticed I was overly emotional and moody. I was happy when I was able to eat something which was a Café Latte Life Shake from Shaklee.
Prior to going on this fast I had learned from Dr. Mindy Pelz that woman fast best the week after their menstrual cycle which is what I did. It’s probably why I felt so good and didn’t have any eating urges; staying occupied also helped. Just noting that Dr. Mindy recommends 3-day fasts.
During and after I completed the fast, the intermittent pain I had been feeling in my lower abdomen went away – it has not been back since. My gut microbiome reset so you can imagine how clean I felt going to the bathroom.
I have been working on doing more intermittent fasting during the week since but haven’t gotten a cadence figured out yet. I do intend to keep doing 5-day fasts on occasion and will try integrating 3-day fasts too.
These are just some of the micro-habits I have been integrating into my life to take care of my body. I hope you found my experiences and insights helpful, and it inspires you to figure out which micro-habits you can work on to become fit, take care of you, and continue aging with grace.
