Mindset Monday
ACES Virtual Family Edition
May 4, 2020
Personal Well-Being - Healthy Eating Habits
In South Florida, we are entering week 8 of quarantine, and a part of me finds it hard to believe that seven weeks have already passed, and simultaneously another part of me is like... "wait, it's ONLY been seven weeks??!!" It is the strangest thing, and I'm sure this situation has created conflicting feelings for you as well. I guess that is part of living in the unknown, moving forward one day at a time. Regardless, I am thankful to serve a fantastic collection of educators, students, and families.
Everyone is dealing with different challenges, but no matter the individual circumstances we find ourselves in, we can not ignore the importance of taking care of our personal well-being. The field of education is one in which there is always more that we can do, we serve others tirelessly, but we have to stop and focus on ourselves every now and then as well.
I hope you have already taken steps towards incorporating exercise and time-management strategies into your life (links to those newsletters are below), please continue to work on those while also shifting your focus towards healthy eating habits.
As a reminder, the wellness factors that we are focusing on are:
- Exercise: Are exercise and movement incorporated into your daily and weekly plans? How do you define success in this area?
- Time-Management (Routines): What does an ideal day or week look like for you? Are you developing a schedule or routine (even though children, spouses, work, the weather, and more may throw that plan off)?
- Healthy Eating: Do you plan your meals ahead of time? Are your meals balanced? What are your readily available snack options?
- Sleep: How many hours of sleep do you typically get? What time are you going to sleep and waking up? What is your routine before going to bed?
- Relationships: Are you communicating your feelings, opinions, joys... and annoyances openly (and lovingly) with others in your home? Are you maintaining (or re-establishing) connections to friends and family?
Quote of the Week
Healthy Eating Habits
As I shared in previous newsletters focusing on exercise and time management, making a positive shift in our personal well-being all starts with effort. If we dedicate time to focus on personal well-being, there is no doubt we will improve our lives, and subsequently, the lives of those around us.
When it comes to healthy eating, prior planning is vital! We must purchase ingredients to prepare healthy meals ahead of time, and given the time constraints of our daily lives, it is necessary to defrost and prepare ahead of time to avoid the temptation of quick and easy delivery and frozen options after a long day.
I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, and I fail to eat healthy often, but the following tricks usually work to keep me on track:
- List the planned meals for the week by day in a shared list (digital or physical)
- Grocery shopping with a list (based on recipes) and include healthy snack options
- Avoid purchasing too many unhealthy snack options
- Individually pack unhealthy snacks (such as chips and cookies) to avoid eating the entire package (we all do it!!!)
- Individually pack healthy snacks so that they are easy to grab and take
- Use devices such as a slow-cooker or Insta-Pot on days that are expected to be busy
- Take a large glass of water to bed. Drink half before bed and the other half as soon as you wake up. (Be sure to continue drinking water throughout the day)
- Designate themed meal days. Many families have Pizza Fridays, Taco Tuesdays, or Meatless Mondays. We do Burger & Fry-day (Friday). The theme makes it easier to plan and can give something to look forward to (since I know I will have an unhealthy meal on Friday it keeps me focused on being more healthy other days)