It was a Friday morning in mid-January, and I woke up feeling tired.  Ugh. I was tired of being tired.  I knew I had to figure out why, although deep down I knew the reasons.  I was determined to make changes this new year to gain more energy and get healthier, but I didn’t know what being healthy meant anymore.   I used to associate healthy with being skinny, having a six pack, eating salads every day, no sweets or junk food.  I used to have an all or nothing mentality in my early twenties where I’d go on deprivation diets then binge and gain double the weight I started with and feeling more lethargic than ever. I would associate being a plus size woman with being unhealthy, which I know now that is NOT true. 

As a mom of a 5-year-old boy, wife, business owner, and full-time employee of a Fortune 500 corporation, I needed to redefine what it meant to be healthy on my terms.  I had to go deep and ask myself, what does a healthy person have that I truly want and need?  And lo and behold, for the first time in my life it wasn’t about being skinny.  Can you guess what it was? It’s the juice that gets you to hustle and accomplish all your dreams.  That’s right - ENERGY!

I wanted energy to get up feeling refreshed, and recharged, because no matter how much motivation you have, if you don’t have energy, you will not be able to perform. 

Here are the 5 steps I took to gain real, sustained energy every day and lead a healthier life:

1. Exactly at 8pm every night, we turn off the TV,  AND I LEAVE my cell phone charging on the kitchen counter as FAR away from me as possible and head upstairs to follow a new night routine. This was crucial for me because having my cell phone with me all night meant I would constantly Google or checking my social media apps. Before I realized it would midnight and my mind would me on steroids not being able to relax and fall asleep.  Of course, this would lead to waking up anxious and tired. It was a vicious cycle I needed to nip in the bud.
2. I development a night routine that for 2 hours from 8-10pm would ease me and my son into relaxation so it’s easier to fall asleep when we land on our bed. Here what my nighttime routine looks like now:
   1. Get my son into a warm bath and let him play in the water for a few minutes while I get his school clothes ready for the morning.  
   2. Get my son out of the shower and read a story as I tuck him into bed.
   3. Take a hot shower and spend time enjoying that quiet time in the bathroom, sacred me time.
   4. Hop into bed and read a FUN book that I’ll have ready on my nightstand.
   5. By 10pm close my book and turn off the lights and cozy up for slumber time.  
3. Develop a morning routine –
   1. Put on yoga pants, a comfy sweater and my hiking boots so I’m ready to run out the door and take my son to school, but also ready to go for a walk as soon as I come back.
   2. Go to the kitchen make coffee and while that’s brewing, I drink a cup of water, eat half a banana then take my vitamins that are specially for energy, then I take a calcium, zinc and magnesium vitamin to help my immune system and my bones - osteoporosis runs in my family so this is important as I approach my 40s.
   3. Drop my son at school and as soon as I get home, I grab the leach and walk outside with my dog to take her for a 15–30-minute walk.  I don’t like doing strenuous exercise because I feel like it depletes my energy, so I walk which fuels me instead. 
4. My reward after walking is to have a healthy hearty breakfast.  My definition of healthy in the food department changed as well - now I eat everything, but I add either a fruit or a veggie with every meal. It’s about adding rather than eliminating which changes your mindset completely on diet. I used to cheat myself of a hearty breakfast to save the calories for later, but I felt weak and extra hungry by the time lunch came not to mention I couldn’t focus because of the hole in the stomach.
5. Drink a glass of water when I come back from my walk and fill a second glass to take to my desk to begin my work from home day. Adding water is a big energy boost throughout my day. I fill my glass with water every time I go into the kitchen.  My water glass is attached to my hip 😂. 

These might seem like regular sleep and exercise more, and eat healthier type of advice, but the truth is that your mindset and your daily habits and routine towards those things make a huge difference.  Notice I never mentioned losing weight or anything that diet culture focuses on which is centered on being skinny.  Instead, I focused on how every new habit or routine towards healthy made me FEEL better rather than drain me physically or emotionally.  As a plus size woman, dealing with negative connotations of my body is enough to begin feeling depressed so it's important to find ways to enjoy your journey to a healthier you.     

I’d love to hear those small healthy changes that made a difference for you in the comments 👇. Also, don’t forget to sign up to my newsletter for more tips on living a healthier life as a plus size woman.

With love, 

Jackie Prado