Category: WellnessWednesday

My garden is my happy place. I love getting my fingers in the soil and planting things. Watching them grow. It’s been a good year in the garden so far. Things are starting to blossom and I have peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants set and can’t wait to eat them. We’ve already harvested tons of basil and even shared some with neighbors! Today I’m sharing photos of some of my early blooms and a swallowtail caterpillar that’s come to munch on the parsley. I love seeing them in the garden because it means I’ll have butterflies in a few weeks. You may notice that I have many bell-shaped or flat petal flowers. That’s because I want to support and encourage pollinators. That will hopefully improve how many vegetable flowers actually become fruits. I know many of you have gardens. Take a moment to share some photos of your happy place! P.S. – Chefs love having fresh herbs and veggies from their gardens and if you love books with chefs and romance, SOUTH BEACH LOVE is specially priced at 99 cents for a limited time. Download your copy at https://amzn.to/3zgWADe.

I haven’t posted in a couple of weeks about my lifestyle journey and wanted to share with you what’s been happening! First and foremost I’m over the hump and have now lost 33 pounds. I’ve been happily eating healthier by including a lot more fruits and vegetables. The vegetables have been courtesy of a CSA (community sponsored agriculture) that we joined and that’s been providing us with a lot of new and sometimes unusual vegetables. I’ll share more on that on Friday! It makes me think of an Italian expression: Chi mangia bene, vive bene. It translates to “He who eats well, lives well.” Couldn’t be more true. The workouts have been a mix of walking, the elliptical and a new addition: pickleball. Hubby and I have been playing regularly and we love it! All that combined and I am feeling so much better. If you’re on a similar journey, please share!

I love traveling and going to the conferences but it can be tough to keep up with my usual wellness routine. It makes me worry because I’m not getting in my steps and eating out which means added salt and oils that are not normally part of my diet. Also, who doesn’t like to indulge a little while on a vacation (or at a conference). The key is to try to do what you can and to enjoy in a reasonable way. I’m happy to say that I enjoyed my time and didn’t gain any weight while I was away. I did that by keeping to my four basic habits for having a healthier lifestyle, namely:

1. Being more active. Even if I couldn’t get my usual workout in, I tried to walk as much as I could and took the stairs instead of the elevator. As for my everyday routine, I try to get in no less than 10K steps and usually do well over 15K. That means an hour walk in the a.m. and a 45 minute elliptical workout in the afternoon.

2. Cut down on carbs. I’ve done no carb diets and find that there is an awful rebound once I eat carbs again so I just cut down and focus on healthier carbs, like potatoes, sweet potato and similar carbs. Very few bad carbs like from weight bread, pastries, and sugar (although I do sugar instead of fake sweeteners).

3. Eat more fruits and vegetables. This is key. The veggies help you fill up at meals and give you needed nutrients and fiber. Fruit can help satisfy your sweet tooth instead of bad carbs.

4. Be mindful. This applies to so many things! Stop and appreciate the things around you. I always breathe in the ocean air and lift my face to the sun while taking my morning walk, grateful that I can live in such a beautiful place. When you’re eating, eat mindfully and savor the taste, smell, and texture of what you’re eating. I used to gobble down a cookie in a bite or two, now I take several bites and let the flavors linger in my mouth so I appreciate what I’m eating.

I hope that helps if you’re on a wellness journey as I am. I had lost 50 pounds before the pandemic and gained back 40. Now I’ve lost 40 all together and am working on hitting that 50 number again and then another 30 if I can. I’d love to be back to my high school weight! P.S. – There are some healthy recipes in the Cook’s Treat section of my website.

My lifestyle change has been in large part about losing weight and getting healthier, but along the way, I’ve also been taking time to think about things that will keep me well in various ways. After all, what good is physical health if my mental health is not good? So I gave it some thought and came up with a list of things to keep up with both my mental and physical well-being! If you have any suggestions for what you do to keep well, I’d love to hear them! Check out these tips for women over 40 at Prevention.com.

I’ve been hard at work on my lifestyle change and I’m happy to say I’ve lost 21 pounds. I’m taking breaks every hour while I write to sneak in a walk up and down the stairs. I’m walking more during the day and also doing 45 minutes on the elliptical daily. I’m also eating better with a mix of more vegetables and fruits. I’m also eating carbs, although a lot less of them and making them healthier when I do eat them. But I’m also allowing myself some favs like chocolate or other “sweets.” The hard part is eating out but I’m learning to keep to a reasonable portion protein size and also getting dishes with healthier sides. If I know they’re not all that healthy, I mind the portion. Another thing I’ve been doing is eating more mindfully. What does that mean? Eating slower for one. I’ve always been a fast eater and that means I wasn’t really enjoying what I was eating. Now I take smaller bites, try to be aware of the flavors and what’s happening in my mouth as I chew. Sounds weird, but mindful eating is a big way to change your eating habits. If you want to learn more about this, check out this Good Housekeeping article on it at https://bit.ly/CaridadMindfulEating. Also, if you need some healthy recipes, please visit my Cook’s Treat section at https://www.caridad.com/meet-me/cooks-treat/. You can also get a flavor for what I cook in many of my books, including Lost in Little Havana, the first book in the South Beach Security series. Find out more about that story at https://amzn.to/3yVzgaG.