Healthy Habits & Products That I Love (& Some I Don't)
I'm dishing on what I've done and tried in 2025 that's made a difference in my overall health & well-being for my mind, body, and spirit. And some things that I've tried that I won't be repeating.
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You’ve Got Nothing If You Don’t Have Your Health
I sound like I’m 87 writing that, but the unsolicited wisdom that many of our grandparents and parents have given us is actually true. Without one’s health, nothing else really matters.
And I got a strong dose of that old adage as I was laying in a hospital bed just 6 short weeks ago, in agonizing bone-searing pain, wondering what was wrong with me, and ultimately waking up to a 7 inch incision in my abdomen and feeling like I had just had my guts ripped out. Actually, I had.
My recovery these past 6 weeks has humbled me and has hammered home the message that without my health, nearly every single other thing is meaningless.
Healthy Habits Matter: Keep Moving & Stay Active
I talked in my previous post about why I think I was spared from some of the more horrifying life-altering consequences and I believe that my very active lifestyle has helped me immensly. My surgeon told me she’s never seen someone recover as fast as I have and I should be the poster child for recovery from my very fluke situation and subsequent surgery.
For me 20,000 steps a day is the norm not the exception. Along with yoga, pilates, lifting at the gym, resistance training, power walking, running to train, running marathons, hiking, and more.
The old expression, '“use it or lose it” is absolutely true and in my case, being physically fit is not about looking good in my clothes. Rather, it's about making choices to be the healthiest I can be. And for me, a big chunk of the equation is moving my body.
How To Move More and Stay Healthy In the Process
Walk. Walk as much as you can, carve out time for it, put it on the calendar just like any other commitment or obligation, and don't cancel.
I love to run but currently I can’t run. And walking is amazing! Don’t feel like it’s “just” walking and not “as good as” running or another form of crazy cardio, HIIT classes, or the like. Walking daily kept my grandma young until her late 90s.
Plan. I set a 2PM alarm every day so that I can walk before it’s dark (at 4:30PM) and then come back to my work. If I have days where this won't based on commitments, I set my alarm for 4:30 AM and I work until 7 AM, walk when it’s light for an hour, get ready, and then leave the house and go on appointments or meetings.
Or maybe this is a pilates class, a yoga class, a solo bike ride, swimming at the local YMCA, cleaning your house like a ninja warrior to the point you break a light sweat, just get moving, and get your heart rate up.
Buddy workouts. Make workout dates with friends if that’s what it takes for your. A weightlifting session with a friend who is going to meet you at the gym at 7 AM no matter what and that person is not going to cancel on you and you're not gonna cancel on them. Pick a form of physical fitness that you enjoy, or that you at least can tolerate enough to just get started.
You’ll feel better once you get going and are 5-15 minutes into it. So fake it til you make it. And after your workout is over, you'll always thank yourself after. I've never done a workout where I've said after the fact, gosh I wish I wouldn't have done that - even when the first bits of it were pretty rough and I wanted to quit.
Listen to your body. If your body is really telling you that today is just not your day, then do not feel guilty about taking rest time.
Products & Things That Make a Healthy Difference For Me
Moving and being active is just part of the equation for me. There are things I do and products I use that help me feel better.
Something that’s been helping me look and feel my best despite dry air, holiday parties, and sometimes not quite getting all the sleep my body needs is Pique’s Radiant Skin Duo. With the end of the year upon us and the new year approaching, it’s the perfect time to begin fresh habits and a ritual that supports your skin, energy, and well being. Sun Goddess Matcha is my grounding morning ritual. This ceremonial-grade matcha is rich in antioxidants that help firm, brighten, and clarify skin while supporting gut balance and digestion, which are two key pillars of clear and luminous skin. In the afternoons, I take advantage of BT Fountain. It’s a refreshing beauty electrolyte that dissolves in water with clinically proven ceramides that hydrate at a cellular level, reduce redness, and visibly plump skin. It gives calm, clean energy without crashing.
As a special bonus for my Substack audience, use this 20% off Radiant Skin Duo link, plus free gifts for life! This is a thoughtful gift for anyone who loves beauty, wellness, or self-care. Whether you’re treating someone special or starting a new ritual for yourself, it’s the perfect way to step into the new year with intention and radiance.
High Protein. A couple years ago I was working out with a trainer at the gym and I wasn't seeing the results that I wanted to see. And he asked me to start tracking my food. I really didn't want to, but I reluctantly did and the results were shocking! I was eating about half of the amount of protein that I should have been eating - somewhere between 35 to 50g of protein daily and now I aim for 100+ grams. It’s easier than you think! I’ve written an ebook with 30 High Protein Recipes of at least 30+ grams each.
Eating 100 grams of protein a day has helped me look leaner, cut fat and build muscle, my hair and nails grow better, my skin looks more radiant, I feel fuller longer, and don’t crave sugar and junky snacks as much when I am nourished with protein. Going “high protein” (or just paying attention to how much) is the single best dietary change I’ve ever made.
Tracking my food. I’ve used the premium versions of both MyFitnessPal and LoseIt. I strongly prefer LoseIt. At first, I thought they were pretty similar, but LoseIt just has a nicer looking app, it feels more modern, less clunky. You can also take a picture of your food and it has a pretty good idea of what you've just eaten so it can attribute macros. You can do it with both, but I find that LoseIt is better. With either one of them, I strongly prefer the paid/premium subscription.
The big difference is that MyFitnessPal is around $129.99 annually but with LoseIt, the way that I did it was that I signed up for a free 2-week trial and then I believe it was going to be $9.99 a month. But at the end of my two week free trial, it gave me the option to convert for life for I believe $40. And I never have to pay a maintenance fee or an annual fee ever again. (I’ve had it for about 6 months, not sure what their current setup is, but that was my experience; with non-commissionable links because I want to simply share my own experience.)
I really like to track because I like to know how much protein I've eaten as well as other macros like calories and fat, as well as fiber. If you don’t ever track your food, chances are you probably don't know what you're really consuming. I think you'll be pleasantly shocked to start tracking because it will literally put you on track!
Probiotics. I’ve taken them for the last 25 years or so, and sometimes I’ll run out, not take them for a few months, but my body works better when I take probiotics. I like these for gut health, these for female health.
Of you’d like a combination - a trifecta for everything these tribiotics are lovely. You get what you pay for and the reviews speak for themselves.
Drinking water. Easy, or easier said than done sometimes, but I always have my big Yeti at my desk which helps. I’ve had it for years and I love the slider top. My daughter asked for a HydroJug for Christmas (I gave it to her early) and she loves it because it does.not.leak. and the straw folds inward. Great for transporting in purses, backpacks, bags, the car, the gym.
Sleep. I've never been a great sleeper, and the older I get, the worse my sleep has gotten. But about two weeks ago, I decided to buy an Oura Ring and I love it! I love seeing what parts of the night that I'm sleeping deeply, in REM sleep, light sleep, my heart rate, my breathing rate, my temperature, and so much more. In the morning, it shows me a sleep score, and it shows me a readiness score and these things are based on my previous night sleep, my previous day, activities, my previous day, stress, and more.
During the day it shows me how much physiological stress my body is under, it shows me my body temperature as it relates to cycle tracking, and more. If you've ever wondered what your body is doing, or Oura Ring gives you a really good glimpse into some quantifiable data and I've really loved seeing it and learning more.
Apple Watch. This is completely different than an Oura Ring and I've had mine for years and I love it. An Apple Watch is great tool for business because it allows me to see my texts, messages, Facebook, and WhatsApp notifications, email, all from my wrist. And it’s a great tool for health and wellness because it's second to none measuring distance, speed, and exercise related info like my heart rate at certain points of a run up a hill or my caloric burn in a yoga class or the depth of water when scuba diving - it's amazing at that type of physical fitness related data like steps and heart rate. But it's different data and it serves a different purpose than the ring which is more internal, physiological, what my body is doing on the inside if that makes sense.
Breathe. Inhale in for a count of 10 through your nose, out for 5. Repeat. Notice during the day if you’re holding your breath, and if you are - don’t. Let go, breathe.
When the stress of everything is pounding on my door, if I can just remember to stop, breathe deeply for 1-2 minutes, I will feel some degree better, calmer, smoother.
Meditate, prayer, turning inward, being self-analytical. If you’re religious, great. If you aren’t, great. You do you on that front. But spending time with your own thoughts, not with a TV on, not with music in your ears, not with your car radio blaring, just being with yourself in quietness and stillness, analyzing yourself, looking inward, self-analyzing, thinking about things that have happened, what you did, what you could be better at, how could you reframe a situation, being reflectionary, all of this is really important to being a good human. We’d all be better if we all did more of this.
Chiropractor, massage, and acupuncture. I'm a big believer in all of these because when your central nervous system is aligned, and literally through chiropractic we'd become more in alignment, everything works better from digestion to sleep to mood. Massage is a huge one for me and if they were free, I’d get a professional massage every week. I just lovvvveee massages! Recently, I had some surgical scars that were painful and I went to acupuncture and felt lots of relief which continued into the next week, and it got me through a rough spot. I've used acupuncture in my life for situations where nothing else seems to have worked and I've always had good results.
What Hasn’t Made a Difference For Me
This section could be called the “I tried it, but it's not for me” section. That doesn't mean that these things may not work for you.
In no particular order:
Treadmills. I'd rather do anything than walk indoors on a treadmill and I realize that not everybody has the luxury to walk or run outdoors year round, but I personally cannot do treadmills. I get terribly bored, I get often get dizzy, I end up injuring myself (from trying to run too fast to just log the miles and make the misery stop)…they are just not my jam.
Walking pad. Technically, I haven't tried one, but given how much I despise treadmills, I know I'm not jumping on this bandwagon. I need fresh air!! I've become a master of voice dictation and can do a great job while I'm out on my walks getting work done from my phone.
Reformer Pilates. I've tried it a couple of times it's just not for me. I've realized that working out while laying on my back isn't my idea of a workout. I need to see what's going on in front of me and move my body through space. I like mat pilates classes though. Although, I prefer yoga, hands down, to pilates.
Weighted vest. I know these are all the rage, but I don't think they’re necessary. Walk up steeper hill or walk at a faster pace (or run) if you need to get your heart rate up. Putting additional weight on the body, which will put additional stress on the joints, is not of interest to me.
Certain hair growth supplements. I'm not talking about collagen pills, but there are some that are very pricey for a monthly supply and they say you need to take them for at least 3-6 months. Well I took them for 6 months and did not personally notice any difference. My far cheaper Amazon collagen pills work just as well!
Power walking increases cerebral blood flow, stimulating neurogenesis in the hippocampus, the brain's memory center. In my view, choosing outdoor movement over treadmills is a sound evolutionary choice, as natural visual stimulation reduces cortisol much more effectively than indoor environments.
Awesome breakdown of how tracking actually changes behavior vs just trying to 'eat better'! The gap between 50g and 100g protein is huge, and most people dunno they're undereating until they see it quantified. What's intresting is that protein threshold seems to unlock this cascade where muscle retention during recovery becomes way more efficient, whichprobably played a role in the surgeon's comment about recovery speed.