Even though it’s still freaking cold outside with the occasional snow drizzle, since it’s March, I’m officially opening spring season. Maybe if I’m proclaiming it, true spring will manifest sooner?
Until then, I’m slowly starting to ease into some lifestyle changes to properly get ready for the new season. I think it’s important to make seasonal lifestyle changes, first, because they are actually necessary (just think about spring fatigue), and second, because I grab every single opportunity for some personal development and overall wellness improvement. Nothing is better than a fresh start and spring is all about freshness.
I’ve been experimenting with some of the below lifestyle switches for some time now. Others are still in the “I know they must happen so they are on my to-do list” phase. I like blogging about these because it makes me think about these changes a lot more, I do more research, and generally prepare myself for actually executing on them. Also, putting some pressure on myself by publicly writing about them seemed to be effective in the past.
So, here’s my spring lifestyle to-do list.
Stretch every day
Anyone who regularly works out knows that stretching is an essential part of a fitness class. What is less emphasized is that stretching is an important activity to practice in itself, not just in the gym. We, of course, often do this unconsciously – after waking up, sitting for a long time, or if we feel a tense muscle. This is proof in itself that our body longs for this kind of movement. But we don’t really do this consciously – or at least I haven’t, until now. I’m slowly starting to incorporate short stretching sessions into my day. I do it when I wake up or after a couple of hours of sitting in front of my computer. I try to be very mindful of this and remind myself to do some stretching moves at least 2 or 3 times a day, for 10 minutes in the morning and 3–5 minutes during the day. And it makes such a difference. It improves flexibility (and there’s a quite fast improvement), increases blood flow and thus improves circulation and it’s a great way to relieve tense muscles, caused either by too much sitting or stress.
Besides the physical improvements, I find it can really enhance my mood, push me over mental blocks, and increase my energy throughout the day. I usually do a couple of movements I picked up in fitness or Pilates classes or simply put on a YouTube video (check out this or this video). Coupled with some breathing exercises, these few minutes can really be serious wellness game changers in our daily life, especially after the winter months, when we are usually less active physically.
Seasonal food list
As I mentioned several times (too many times?), I’m a huge fan of seasonal eating. It’s healthy, cheap(er), and sustainable. And we’re finally, though slowly, moving into the best seasons for fruits and vegetables. March and April are still not abundant with a variety of fresh produce, but the early birds are finally here from asparagus to some fresh greens. It makes me so happy to see the first colors and radiant greens at the farmers market and I try to incorporate as much as I can into my diet. Especially when the first symptoms of spring fatigue kick in (read more about it here ). I try to cover my vitamin intake with natural sources, and not with vitamin pills or supplements, and these foods provide a lot of that. This is my spring seasonal shopping list:
+ Aragula
+ Asparagus
+ Bear leek
+ Cabbage
+ Cauliflower
+ Green peas
+ Parsley
+ Radicchio
+ Radish
+ Rhubarb
+ Spinach
+ Spring greens
+ Spring onion
+ Strawberries (only from May)
Walk more
The most frustrating app I currently have on my phone, the one I have a love-hate relationship with is Stepz. It simply measures (or at least estimates) the number of steps you take in a day. It’s not totally accurate of course, as it disregards anything you haven’t taken your phone along to (like fitness classes in my case), but it still holds some interesting information on your daily physical activity.
And boy is it horrible to face it sometimes. I seem to be on the two extreme ends of the scale most of the time. Experts say the recommended daily steps amount is 10,000. To be honest, it is not that easy to achieve, especially if you’re mainly working on a computer, but still, on some days, my results are simply tragic. And by tragic, I mean under 1000. Even factoring in that I don’t take my phone with me everywhere, the rounded up numbers are still horrible. I don’t have a problem with walking per se, actually, this is my preferred mode of transportation whenever I travel (often reaching 15,000 or even 20,000 steps in a day), but when I’m at home, 99% my daily results remain red, aka not enough. I use my car way too much, that’s for sure. I also never view walking as an actual activity in itself, and that’s a problem.
Ariana Huffington writes in Thrive, her book on slow living and wellbeing, that she’s a huge fan of walking and besides going on hikes and daily walks, she often schedules walking meetings. These meetings work well because people focus a lot more intently, do not check their phones, and generally feel better and more productive.
So, walking is definitely at the top of my wellness priority list. And how? It can be such a small step as parking my car in a distance. Of course, actually not taking my car would be the best, but I like staying on the ground of reality. And when the weather gets better, I will actually schedule walking time into my day. It can be a wind-down early evening walk with my fiancé or a walking date in the city or park with a friend. I’m sure it’ll get easier as the weather improves and I can make outside programs and as I get used to this small habit.
Bring back the dry brushing
I’m notoriously bad when it comes to body care (make no mistake, only in the cosmetic sense). My skincare routine usually stops just below my neck. I hate standing naked after a long hot bath and putting on oil or moisturizer, frequently forget body scrubs and apart from a regular pedicure, kind of neglect my poor feet. I have short periods of time when I rediscover my love for dry brushing, but for some reason, they tend to be quite short-lived. So with winter coming to a close, I must revive my non-existing body routine. The focal point of this will be dry brushing, which I don’t even understand why I neglect as it’s a great feeling and apart from making the skin smooth, has other great wellness benefits – like improving circulation. If you start a dry brushing or new exfoliating routine, do tread lightly and start with only 1 or 2 times a week. This is what I’m doing until my skin gets used to it.
Drink more water
Yes, the number 1 lifestyle change every wellness and medical expert preach about. I’m usually quite good at getting enough water from May until October, but as the weather turns cold, my water intake suffers as well. Which is bad because dehydration is not confined to warm seasons. I’ve been trying to monitor and up my water intake for some weeks now, as I know it will be important in fighting off spring fatigue syndromes (and because it’s generally healthy). Here’s my current water routine:
+ 2 glasses of water with lemon in the morning
+ At least 1 glass until lunch
+ 2 glasses of infused water in the afternoon – I currently use oranges, mint, lime, apples, or kiwi, but I cannot wait for strawberries, fresh basil, watermelon, and berries.
+ 2 cups of green tea in the afternoon
+ 2 glasses of regular water after dinner
Ideally, I would substitute one of my 3 coffees with another cup of tea, but we’ll see. As of now, this is the direct water intake I can manage daily.
Do you plan any lifestyle changes for spring?
