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A minimalist lifestyle, where the goal is to do and have less, is still a work in progress for me. My desire to accomplish the most out of my day and life many times leaves me with an unreasonable to-do list and lots of stress trying to complete it. As someone who has maximized every minute in a day, having a successful career, experiencing new things, pleasing others, providing a great life for my kids, I can confirm this desire to accomplish so much has given me a constant level of stress and taken some of the joy out of these experiences. My health has suffered from this consistent stress and now I have to be very mindful to control it. One of the best ways I’ve found to control stress is by incorporating a minimalist lifestyle into my busy life.

Here is how:

Do Less. Focus on the “Hell Yes”. I can easily fill my day with things to do.  Chores around the house, grocery shopping and preparing food, getting together with friends, work projects. Many days these things happen right after each other and at the end of the day I’ve checked all the boxes, feel exhausted and stressed out. As a busy mom, I have lots of hats to wear, but I focus on the “Hell Yes”, the things that really matter to me as a woman, mom, wife, friend.  My list of “Hell Yes” are a clean and organized home, preparing and eating nutrient-rich meals for family, time with my MVP (most valuable people), good sleep, work that helps people.  When I’m able to do less and focus my time, I’m able to concentrate on doing a great job on the things that matter the most to me.

Have Less.  Be Less Distracted.  When we have less things and less things to do, our day, mind, and life don’t have unnecessary distractions.

Space for Joy. We all want to be happy and live a fulfilled life.  My biggest regret being so busy is being too tired, busy, stressed, anxious to enjoy it.

I still have busy days.  But I focus my time on the things that matter the most and that means I don’t make every social event, don’t choose to work on every exciting project, don’t have a perfectly styled house. And that’s totally and completely ok.

Chrissy xo

The food we eat has a direct impact on our health. Each bite we put in our mouth can support our health. Here is how:

Fuel for our body to feel good
Food provides our organs and systems the information and ingredients to work properly.  Nutrient and mineral rich foods gives our body functions the information to grow, develop and maintain.  When our bodies are being nourished properly, we physically and mentally perform at our best, we feel good and have energy to do the things we want to do, we feel happy.  To get a great source of nutrients and minerals eat a big variety of vegetables, grass-fed and pastured meat, wild fish, healthy fats like olive oil and avocados, good carbs that won’t spike your blood sugar like vegetables and nuts.

Medicine – to maintain, prevent, and treat disease
When we provide our body too much food or the wrong food, we become overweight, undernourished, and at risk for diseases and conditions like arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease.  We fuel our body with nutrient and mineral dense foods to maintain and prevent disease.  When we start to or become sick, it’s important we provide our body the necessary support by drinking lots of bone broth because it’s anti-inflammatory and  heals a damaged gut, the root of many diseases.

Supporting our emotional and mental health
Sharing a meal brings us together with our favorite people. Surrounding ourselves with close relationships gives us a long and fulfilled life by supporting our emotional and mental health.  This intimate community pushes us to be our best self, picks us up when we are down, helps us to stay accountable and build resilience.

I’m all about efficiencies in my life so grab a healthy meal with a VIP in your life to support both your physical and emotional health.

Chrissy xo

Time is our most precious, un-renewable resource. Unlike money, we can’t make more time in a day and we have to be intentional with how we spend it. We fill our lives with joy by spending time on things that re-fuel our mind body. That means good food, favorite people, workouts, restful sleep, mindful prayer and meditation.

In very simple terms. We make time for the things we want to do. We make excuses for the things we don’t want to do. In order to create space in our lives for health, it must be something we want to spend time doing.

To your health,
Chrissy

Mornings are really important. It’s the time in the day we have the most physical and brain power because we’re coming off a long rested sleep. We want to create a morning robot routine that supports our health. Here are five things to include in your morning routine to set your body and mind up for the day. Make it a goal to do at least 3 of the 5 each day.

Clean teeth, face, body. Taking care of our teeth and skin is how we keep them both in good health. The products we use play an important role in your health. We want to use products made of real, recognizable ingredients. Many conventional teeth, face, and body products are made from toxic ingredients. I like products from Primally Pure, Found Herbal, and Beautycounter.

Make a Healthy Breakfast. Breakfast is a meal you can easily eat at home and start your day with nutrient-rich food to power you mentally and physically. The best way to ensure your breakfast is a nutrient-rich meal is to plan them so you are prepared to make them when you want to. Have at least 4 breakfast meals you rotate through during the week. The most nutrient-rich breakfast includes protein, healthy fats, and carbohydrate. The combination of all these will give you good energy and keep you feeling full longer.

Meal Prep a Healthy Lunch, Dinner, Snacks. Like breakfast, the best way to ensure your meals provide good energy, support you both mentally and physically is to meal plan. Meal planning should be done weekly and shopping for ingredients should be done before the week starts. Meals can be cooked before eating, leftovers that need to be heated, or items pulled together from the fridge or pantry. In the morning, check your meal plan to know what you are eating for the day, then pack and prepare. I reserve 30 minutes in the morning to make breakfast and meal prep lunch, dinner and snacks.

Exercise and movement. The key to doing exercise on a regular basis is to do something you like. It can be a walk or run outside, a yoga or spin class, or a HIIT or Crossfit class. If exercise doesn’t work for you in the morning, find another time in the day it does work.

Mindful meditation. Meditation brings intention to our lives, helps manage stress, accomplish more and feel better. A little goes a long way, I do 5 to 10 minutes. Consistency is how you will most benefit from medication. If meditation doesn’t work for you to do in the morning, find another time in the day it does work.

Routines take time to establish but once you run through them for 2 weeks they start to become familiar and eventually become a healthy habit in your life. The goal is for the morning routine to be a robot routine where you do them regularly and make space in your day for health.

Chrissy xo