S8E1 Fall Fresh Start How Small Habits Can Give You More Energy for the Holidays with MS
[00:00:00] What if this was the first year you actually had the energy to enjoy the holidays? Not just survive them, but actually enjoy them. The dinners, the parties, even Christmas morning. Today I'm gonna show you how a simple fall fresh start can change the way you feel heading into. The busiest season of the year.
And before we get started, I wanna remind you, MS has its own biological clock. The longer you wait, the harder it gets. That's why I created my free webinar, how to Help Slow MS progression, starting with just one habit today. It's Practical Science Back and Design to help you. Boost your energy. Stay consistent with healthy habits and feel more like yourself again.
Save your spot at alene brennan.com/webinar. Welcome to [00:01:00] my MS podcast, where women with MS learn how to slow progression and live a life they love. I'm Alene Brennan, your Ms sister and a practitioner who knows the science. And the reality of living this too. Each week I share simple science-backed habits to boost your energy, stay consistent, and feel like yourself again, because Ms.
May be a part of your story, but it doesn't get to write the ending. Hello, my friends. Welcome back to my MS. Podcast. Fall is in full swing over here. And being a mom of a three, almost 4-year-old, we are embracing all of the fall activities. The hay rides, apple picking, pumpkin picking football. Sunday is in full effect, and I've even squeezed in a new favorite hobby.
Wait for [00:02:00] it table scaping. Seriously, it's so much fun. I've seen it on Pinterest over the years, and I finally dipped my toe in the water and I'm absolutely loving it. I got the garland with the pine cones and the little like ribbon at the end. I have many pumpkins throughout it. I even got. The most adorable little Turkey plates.
I'll have to take a picture and post on Instagram, but I found them in Kirkland's and we are hosting Thanksgiving for the first time this year, so I couldn't resist. This time of year is filled with so much fun, excitement, activities, festivals. All of it, and it is so easy in the busyness of it all to let our health take a back seat because really, who has time to chop veggies when you're ordering costumes in time for the Halloween parade or [00:03:00] wrapping presents before they're found by those little wandering eyes.
So many of us tell ourselves I'll get back on track in January. But the truth is the habits that we try to hit pause on now are the very ones that help us survive and actually enjoy the holiday season. And I learned this the hard way last year. Let me tell you if you haven't heard my story before. We moved last year and I pushed myself way too hard, not only with packing up the old house, but as soon as we got into the new one, I jumped right into unpacking all of the boxes, diving into the renovations.
Oh, by the way, potty training my daughter before she went to preschool for the first time, and it feels like every extended family member has a birthday in the fall, including myself, my daughter, my sister, [00:04:00] like everybody. And oh, by the way, there's also the holidays. By December last year, my body crashed and the reality is I spent most of the month in and out of the hospital and it is not an exaggeration to say I nearly missed Christmas.
So by the time January rolled around. I was ready for a fresh start. I wanted the energy of New Year's resolutions to just be like a magic wand over my health and help me to feel better right away. But the reality is it took months of small, consistent steps to rebuild my health, and that's the thing with ms.
We can't expect to undo months of stress in just one month. And the, the fall months are stressful. Even if they are good, fun events, there's [00:05:00] so many more activities, responsibilities, energies of like, just all of it. All of it. And living with ms, we can be ex, our nervous system can be extra sensitive to all of that.
So. When it comes to MS. Waiting, like putting our healthy habits on hold until January when we think that we're going to magically have this extra boost of motivation or willpower or discipline, it doesn't serve us. And I'm not trying to be the bearer bad news. That's actually the opposite of what I'm trying to do here.
I wanna share this with you now so that we're. All reminded that these small habits that we focus on each and every day, they make a difference. They don't need to be perfect, but the more you can be consistent with them, the. The less of a hole you are trying to dig yourself out of in January, but also, again, the more you're [00:06:00] able to actually enjoy the upcoming holiday season.
Ms. It's actually has its own biological clock. We know. A biological clock in the context of fertility, but MS has one too, and everyday matters. I'm not saying this to scare you. There's enough fear out there. God knows I'm saying this to educate, inspire, empower you because the choices you make now. Make a difference in how you feel tomorrow, next week, next month, and the years to come.
So instead of waiting for January, what if you gave yourself a fall fresh start? And I'm not talking about some like massive overnight change with some overwhelming to-do list. I'm talking about small seasonal things that feel doable. N might actually be enjoyable. So as I was preparing for this episode, I came up with a handful here just to get our juices flowing [00:07:00] to maybe spark some inspiration.
If you have some ideas, I would love to hear them from you as well. But let's start to brainstorm some ideas of how we can actually tuck some of these healthy habits. Into our day-to-day life in a way that feels realistic and a little fun. So where do we start as a functional nutrition coach? I'm gonna say food.
Let's start with the table. Next time you're making dinner, grab a handful of those apples that you may have gotten from your hayride or just the grocery store. Slice a few up and put them over a salad. With some roasted squash, it helps to vary up your salad so you're not feeling like you're eating the same salad every single day.
You're getting some more seasonal food, which, oh, by the way, if you're not familiar with the benefits of seasonal eating, nature has three harvest, spring, summer, and fall, and it is. Brilliantly designed that nature [00:08:00] provides us with the food that we need in that particular season from a health perspective.
So you'll see a lot of the fall foods are rich in a lot of immune boosting nutrients. So let's make sure that we are eating our seasonal foods, not only because again, it helps to vary up our meals and snacks, but it actually supports our health too. So, like I said. Next time you're making dinner or a lunch salad, whatever it may be, grab an apple, slice it up and put it over your salad, or some roasted squash, whatever it may be.
It gives you a little taste of fall and adds really good flavor to your meals. Next, let's talk about sleep, because when we are going through stressful times, we want to make sure that we are prioritizing sleep. How do you do that? Set yourself up for a good night's sleep by starting an evening routine.
It doesn't need to be elaborate, but what if you just pick one [00:09:00] night a week to start shutting the house down early? I have a candle that I got that is again, a nice seasonal candle, and as soon as I put my daughter down for sleep at night, I come down and I light the candle and there's just something about that ritual that feels really nice.
It's like a signal to my body. To start relaxing and winding down for sleep. And that's the thing, like for me, it's this candle. For you, it may be turning off your phone or getting a journal out or reading a book or whatever it is. Finding some kind of like. Anchor habit that your body starts to recognize as a signal to start winding down, to start letting go so that your body is more relaxed, your mind is ideally more quiet by the time you are tucking yourself into bed, sleep is [00:10:00] healing.
So we want to prioritize it. So rather than put this massive pressure on yourself that you have to have this picture, perfect evening routine. Start with a candle, start with a journal. Start with a few stretches. Not all of them. Pick the one that resonates with you most and keep it short. Let it be something that takes two minutes or less, because when it takes two minutes or less, you are far more likely not only to start doing it like tonight, but you're more likely to be consistent with it, and what you're consistent with gets results.
So that's the evening. Now, let's talk about the day when you are rushing around to the errands, to the soccer fields, to the school pickup lines, to the doctor's appointments, to imaging, to all of the different things. It can feel like you are on a treadmill all day long, but what if just one moment throughout the day [00:11:00] you paused and you took three deep breaths of that fall?
Fresh, crisp air when you were outside. If you're having a rough day, you could just sit by a window or you could sit outside on your porch. Or if you are driving, roll the windows down, or when you're walking into the doctor's office or to work or to the next door, whatever it is, anytime you have a moment to breathe in that fresh air, do it.
And if you can stretch your arms out, allow your lungs and your chest to expand so you can tape in a full deep breath. And notice one thing that feels good in your body as you're doing it. This isn't about exercise. It's remembering that a few deep breaths can be healing too. In fact, let's do it right [00:12:00] now whether you are by.
Fresh, crisp air or not. I want you to roll your shoulders back, roll 'em back a couple times, help to loosen up any tension in the neck and shoulders. Allow the crown of your head to lift up so you have a nice elongated spine. And if you can close your eyes, if that's not appropriate, whether you're driving or you know, doing an activity, that's okay, but just soften your gaze and allow yourself to take three deep breaths in.
Starting now. Deep breath in.
Full exhale out.
Inhale,
exhale.
Good. Take this last one on your own. As you inhale, [00:13:00] allow your belly to expand and as you do, see if you can pause for just one second at the top of that breath, and then exhale out longer than you think you can. My friend, how do you feel with just three deep breaths? It makes a difference, right? It makes a difference.
Now imagine if you're doing that outside with the sun on you and with the fresh, crisp air. Make this a practice that anytime you are outside, anytime you step outside, you take three deep breaths because what's happening in your body as you do that, you are shifting from the sympathetic nervous system, those shallow breaths, when you are in that state of fight or flight to your.
Parasympathetic nervous system. When your belly is expanding, you're taking those deep [00:14:00] belly breaths and that is when you can rest, digest, and heal. So regardless of what is on your to-do list for a day, changing how you are breathing throughout your day can allow your body to. Be in a state of relaxation and experience greater healing than if you were to be doing more of that shallow chest breathing.
You're not doing anything extra. You're just breathing different throughout your day. Those micro moments make a difference. And then let's top this list off with a super fun and seasonal idea here. If you're looking for an activity with the kids or the family, whatever it may be, carve some pumpkins. And while you're at it.
Roast the pumpkin seeds, drizzle a little oil and salt on them, roast them up, and it is a crunchy snack that's actually packed with [00:15:00] really good minerals for your body. So instead of rushing to the Halloween candy, enjoy some pumpkin seeds. It's something that you can easily grab and is good for you. Now these are just some ideas to kind of help kickstart this fall fresh start for you.
Again, if you have some ideas, I would love to hear them and you can also head over to Instagram where we keep the conversation going of each episode. But know that your fresh start. Doesn't have to be everything. You're not doing everything that I've just shared here. I know that each of them were small in and of themselves, but it's not a to-do list.
Just pick one. Pick something. Just start. Just start and imagine how much more energy you'll carry into the new year. If you started now instead of waiting. Like, if not, if you did nothing else, then focus on your breathing. Between now and [00:16:00] January, you would be in a better place going into the new year than if you didn't.
If you picked just one meal to have one extra serving of veggies, you would be better positioned going into the new year. You would be going in with a better state of health. So as you head into the holidays this year. I want you to ask yourself, what would it look like for you to enjoy the holidays with more energy and more joy?
What, like to actually have joy during the holiday season and not be a bundle of stress? What would that look like? Because here's the truth. Your fresh start doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to begin. Even the tiniest step today can help you show up to the holidays with more peace, more strength, and more energy for the more moments that matter most, my friend.
That's the other thing [00:17:00] that's so important for us to hear. It is not about doing everything. It is about prioritizing your energy for what matters most to you. So don't let yourself be drained for things that don't matter. Focus on what matters, and focus on incorporating some small, consistent, healthy habits that will support you in having the energy and the strength to show up for them.
My friends, I hope this helped. It is a reminder just as much for me as it is for you. So thank you for joining us, and I can't wait to talk with you next week. And that's it for today's episode of my MS podcast. I hope you're walking away with one small step you can put into practice today because that.
Is how real change happens. And if you're ready to take the next step, I created a free webinar just for you, how to [00:18:00] help slow MS progression starting with just one habit. Save your spot at alene brennan.com/webinar. I'll see you inside.