Bend it like Bikram: My post-pregnancy journey back to health

“Both pleasure and pain are great teachers”. By Swami Vivekananda

I wanted to do a 3-month follow-up to my last post “Cherishing the birth of my baby girl” and follow up on my attempt to get my life and body back after baby and C-Section. During my pregnancy, I had gained about 30 pounds. Within two weeks after my C-Section, I had automatically lost all but about 10 pounds. So when I embarked on my journey back to health, weight loss was not my main goal. Instead, I was focused on gaining my physical and mental strength back.
I was looking for a workout plan that was holistic in nature and one that would help both my mind and body heal. So I decided to give Bikram Yoga a try and do it for 30 consecutive days. The studio near my home had a deal for newcomers, so I decided to sign up.

Bikram yoga to the rescue:

More about Bikram: Bikram yoga is a series of fixed postures performed in a heated room designed to strengthen the entire body. Bikram is a system created by Bikram Choudhury and made popular in the US in the 70’s. It is also a controversial form of yoga. While practitioners swear by the efficacy of Bikram others believe the benefits of intense heat to be a bit questionable.

I used to practice Bikram over ten years ago and had worked my way up to advanced level. In my own personal experience, I had found Bikram to be extremely rejuvenating and cleansing when combined with ujjayi breath. It is important to follow (as much as possible) the instructions provided by the yoga instructors. The amazing part of the class is that even though you practice the same sequence over and over again, no two days are the same. You can never master a pose as there is always deeper you can go into each pose. Bikram teaches that achieving the perfect posture is not important, stumbling out of a pose helps you overcome your ego.

“Falling out of a posture
Means you are human;
Getting back into the posture
Means you are a yogi”
-Bikram Choudhury

It wasn’t long after I resumed my Bikram yoga practice, that I realized a decade worth of non-practice followed by pregnancy, had added more than a few cobwebs to my once flexible body. My way back to yoga was a very humbling experience. Pregnancy changes your body in a major way. My hips, shoulders, and abdomen felt tight and lacked the strength to hold positions. I was determined to succeed though and open to the challenge. I even started to see some initial results within two weeks. I felt bendier, my skin was glowing and I was even beginning to enjoy the heated room. Unfortunately, by the third week, the initial euphoria gave way to extreme exhaustion. I found the heat way too intense. Rather than helping me move deeper into the poses (which it is supposed to) I found it unbearable. I would come back home from my class completely drained and unable to carry on through the day. I tried to hydrate myself with liquids and Gatorade but nothing was working. So I started skipping classes. Hard as I tried Bikram yoga left me with far lesser energy than when I even started. I finally decided to discontinue my practice thinking maybe I had embarked on it a bit too soon after delivery.

Tracy Anderson’s – Post Pregnancy workout
Since Bikram yoga did not work out for me, I decided to look elsewhere. I was stuck at home too long and considered doing a workout DVD while my baby slept. I, therefore, decided to give Tracy Anderson’s “Post Pregnancy workout” a whirl. Tracy herself is a young mom and something about her words really resonated with me. Being a new mom she understands how hard it is to find any time for oneself and how hard it is to get one’s strength back after pregnancy, which you need a lot of if you are to take care of an infant. In the past, I have tried some of Tracy’s workouts such as her Mat workout, Cardio Dance and Boot camp. So I am not new to Tracy’s style. Her workouts hit the abs, thighs, and hips in just the right fashion and she aims at tiring the large muscle groups first and then bringing the smaller muscle groups into action throughout her workouts.

Pros
Fun workout: The DVD is really fun to follow and Tracy has an amazing body which I must say is an absolute inspiration for me. The DVD is 45 minutes long and composed of ab work, legwork, side ab work and arm exercises. The exercises are really challenging for me which I like as I tend to get bored if I don’t have sufficient challenge.

Melts your post pregnancy tummy: By the 4-5th day this DVD did a little wonder for my ab muscles. My ab muscles started kicking in with her moves where previously they felt almost dead. A little bit of tone has also returned in my hips and glutes. This has given me all the motivation I needed to persist.

Low intensity, high impact: This workout has no cardio just some intense Pilates-type moves that are really effective. Some of the exercises require light weights (no more than 2 pounds) so you know you are not going to hurt yourself. The workout has a slow steady pace and raises your heart rate without tiring you completely.

Cons
Knee exercises: I don’t like the fact that Tracy always does the leg section on knees. I find that a bit taxing on my poor knees. But if you fold a towel under your knees it should cushion the stress.

Poor verbal instructions: Tracy offers insufficient verbal directions which I must say is pretty characteristic of her in all her workout dvds. At times while working on one leg she will move to the other leg without ever giving verbal queues so if you are not watching her constantly you can get out of synch. But I found that a small nuisance in comparison to everything she has to offer.

Repetition: A lot of the exercises such as the arm series are repeated in all of her DVD’s. With that said they are effective and will tighten your arms like nothing else.

After just two weeks of doing this DVD 4-5 times a week, I feel so much stronger and more positive about getting my old body back. I know I still have a long way to go but I am in no hurry. I know I have nothing to prove and just want to work my way back into health. Like Tracey, herself states in her video, “It took you 9 months to have the baby, so it will take some time to get back your old body.” I will do a follow up at my 6-month post-delivery mark and let you know my experience and results then.

Meanwhile, I would love to hear from you. Tell me about your post-pregnancy experience. What did you do to get back into your old jeans or maybe it was no problem for you (in which case I am so jealous of you). Give me the skinny on what worked and what did not?

5 things pregnancy taught me

babycrib

5 Things Pregnancy taught me

Whosoever said “Women are the weaker sex” had no clue.

Giving life is serious Business. Between the countless inconveniences of midnight bathroom runs, nausea, heart burn, Braxton Hick contractions and feeling like a whale for 9 months; bringing a person to the world is no petty job. By the end of Pregnancy most women would have experienced a sleuth of pregnancy related issues and gained at least 25-35 pounds. Nature did not goof up by entrusting this mighty job to the “weaker sex”. Pregnancy takes a physical beating on a women’s body. And I am convinced it makes us women physically, mentally and emotionally stronger not weaker.

No walk in the park

When I first learned I was pregnant, I went through a roller coaster ride of emotions; periods of giddy happiness followed by fear and anxiety. I was fraught with fear that I would not make a good mother. I was uncertain of what to expect in pregnancy and feared the 9 months that loomed ahead of me. I had heard so many good and bad things about pregnancy and motherhood and now all those stories came back to perform a cirque de soleil in my head. Slowly but surely this phase of uncertainty passed and I grew more and more convinced that I was truly blessed to be experiencing this exciting period of my life. I learned later that majority of women experience similar fears at the beginning of their pregnancy but that few talk about it due to social stigma. While pregnancy is completely instinctive and natural there is nothing ordinary about it. We have lived our lives in a certain fashion for … years (fill in the blank with your age) and are used to it. Pregnancy changes all that experience on its head. Reconditioning our bodies and minds will surely take some time. Whether it is your first time or third time, pregnancy is no walk in the park.

This too shall pass

I like how 9 months of pregnancy are divided into 3 trimesters. Each trimester has a set of unique characteristics and marks a period in the growth of the fetus. Each trimester brought to me a different set of issues and blessings. But as I waded through it all, I learned no matter how good or bad things may be today, they shall pass. So just live in the present with the absolute awareness that this too shall pass. Live in the moment and enjoy it.

Appreciate what your mama gave you

I say this not in jest. All my life I have had a warped image of beauty. My image of beauty was in some ways mirror opposite of what I look like. I have tried countless exercise routines in hopes of improving my body but never once got close to my own definition of “ideal” or the “ideal” I was seeking. Pregnancy taught me that human body is perfect just the way it is.

Pregnancy has taught me to appreciate my body more than any exercise regimen could. Pregnancy has both humbled and embellished me.

After I deliver I will definitely go back to working out again, but not with dreams of achieving an ideal body but simply enjoying a healthy one.

It is not just about you

One of the best lessons about Pregnancy came to me from my sister. She said pregnancy is the most beautiful time in your life as you will never be truly alone, and everything you will do will be for someone else.

A friend of mine added, “Pregnancy makes you a better person because never before or after will you have two hearts beating in your body”.

Up until now everything I did was for myself. Pregnancy changed my perspective. Simple things you do are not just for yourself but for your baby. For instance before I put something in my mouth, I research if it is healthy and nutritious for the fetus. Wearing clothes is not about looks but about comfort and so on.

These are few pearls of wisdom I picked on route to motherhood. I am curious to hear from you. What are your thoughts on pregnancy if you experienced it first hand? Or maybe you learned not by experience but through your sister, mother, girlfriend or wife?

Do share your pregnant thoughts with me.

Pregnancy: My 9 month journey

Pregnantlady

I have been M.I.A. on U be cute for almost 6 months now, but at least I have a good excuse. ***Drumrolls *** “I am having a baby! Yes I am.”

In all honesty I had given up all hopes of ever having a baby. In the past 7 years of marriage I have planned and celebrated countless baby showers for friends and family. I had almost come to terms with the fear that my time may have come and gone. Only one regret gnawed at my heart; that I should not be able to give the love to someone, that I received so wholeheartedly and unconditionally from my own parents. So when I found out last November that I was pregnant it felt more surreal than anything else.

I am now 38 weeks pregnant and really far along my journey. Overall, I have enjoyed a healthy and peaceful pregnancy. So I wanted to share my honest and true account for all of you ladies out there, who are either planning on getting pregnant or are in the early stages of pregnancy.

1^st Trimester: This was according to me the hardest part of my journey. Almost overnight after finding I was pregnant I started suffering from nausea, bloating, heartburn and breast tenderness. As most women will agree, morning sickness is a misnomer. It is truly all day sickness and in my case it was night sickness. Although I did not ever have to throw up my food, I just felt this constant distastefulness in my mouth. I also had severe aversions to many foods I previously enjoyed. I tried to stay healthy by eating a lot of fruits and vegetables so much so that I am almost infamous at work for being “overly healthy”. Despite all my efforts to maintain a healthy diet I was bloated and constipated in the beginning. I read a book by Dr. Walker on the benefits of raw vegetable juices ‘Raw Vegetable Juices: What’s Missing in Your Body?” and started juicing carrots, spinach, tomatoes and apples regularly. This relieved not only my constipation but also the heartburn and distaste in my mouth. I knew you don’t have to eat extra calories in the first trimester as the needs of the fetus are far too little at this point. So I ate what I enjoyed but almost never what my family, friends and colleagues suggested which were cookies, butter, cheese, milk! Instead I focused on smoothies, fruits and vegetables. I am also not into uncooked, raw vegan diet. I like my vegetables cooked and enjoy them with whole wheat bread or chapattis so I stayed with that.

2^nd Trimester: Almost everyone will tell you the second trimester is a breeze. I am here to tell you they are right. By the time you reach your second trimester some of the morning sickness and discomfort eases up on its own, the rest you learn to live with or have figured ways to cope with. By the fifth month I started to show my baby bump although it could easily have been hidden if I so chose it. Instead I went to “Destination Maternity” and bought myself clothes that rocked my baby bump. I was eager to flaunt my bump and sought clothes that exaggerated it. This is when people started to notice at work that I was pregnant. Women chose to ask openly while men probably noticed but politely ignored. This is when I stopped wearing high heels to work and bought myself a ton of cushioned flats.

A positive side effect of pregnancy was that I absolutely glowed during my second trimester (forgive the cockiness). Not only did my skin glow effortlessly but almost overnight my hair grew like 3 inches. I am sure it was due to the prenatal I had been taking all this while.

My mom and dad had been planning on visiting me for so long and I was sure they will be happy to fly over to visit me now. However, almost at the last minute, they both were unable to make it due to health issues. This was the saddest part for me as I had really been looking forward to sharing these days with my mom and dad. If they visited me they would have to fly from Goa to Bombay and Bombay to Dubai and then Dubai to Los Angeles which is one of the longest and most arduous stretches in plane journeys. So it is best that they should not take extra burden on their health.

Back at work things were very hectic. I was working on a couple projects both of which were demanding and I was getting little time for exercise. Falling off the exercise bandwagon was the biggest mistake I made during my pregnancy. To all other pregnant women I would highly encourage you to stick with some form of exercise regime throughout. The health of my baby is important to me so no matter what I tried to leave on time from work. By experience I know work has a tendency to fill the time you spend at it. If I had too much work I would just finish it at home with my legs up on the couch (so much better that way).

3^rd Trimester: One other advice I would like to give to first time mommies is not to give too much importance to the stories on the internet. I had read far too many horror stories on the net about 3^rd trimester and was very scared. Fortunately enough I have survived to tell you most of it is wrong. Pregnancy is what you will make of it. I never took it lightly before I was pregnant but once I got pregnant I learned that although it is not easy or fun it is natural. The body takes care of everything like flying on “auto-pilot” mode and all you have to do is to let go and fly or “waddle” to be more precise.

20160610_191308 (1) — 7months pregnant and showing off my bump

Around the 7^th month I started to notice a lot of fetal movements, although you may notice it a lot sooner. Also second time moms will notice them a lot sooner by virtue of experience. At first it was really exciting but by the 8^th month the movements got stronger as did the Braxton Hick contractions. These added a whole new range of discomfort. I constantly felt the urge to pee and getting a good night sleep was harder and harder. Falling asleep at night has been the hardest part of pregnancy for me almost from day one. In general I am a light sleeper and cannot fall asleep if disturbed. All the rushed bathroom visits through the night do nothing to help my case. So when people at work would remark my complexion glowed or that I looked well “rested” or that pregnancy suited me, I sometimes wanted to murder them. My 3^rd trimester is also the time when I started to get swelling on my hands and feet, this is what turned my walk to waddle. Keeping feet elevated helped but only during the duration. It’s impossible to walk, cook, clean or do basic functions while keeping your feet up. I also got some carpal tunnel in my hands especially in the morning. For those of you first time mommies that I have successfully scared by now, my heartfelt apologies. I won’t lie to you, there is discomfort and pain but honestly as uncomfortable as things may sometimes get, nature continues to give you strength. Just remember the “auto-pilot” mode I was talking about and things will go far better.

Now in my 38^th week, I have stopped driving too much by myself. Therefore, I am dependent on my husband to help me with groceries or run chores outside the house. P.S. I tried Amazon fresh membership and was pleasantly surprised. Although nothing beats being able to smell and pick the freshest produce, Amazon fresh is a good option for disabled, sick or just really busy folks.

Overall what do I think of Pregnancy? I always said having a baby is like experiencing a miracle. Now I truly lived the miracle. The myriad changes your body goes through to make life happen is not just a miracle but a blessing and I am so grateful I got to experience it. At the start of my journey I had so many qualms and concerns. I was scared I will never be able to make it this far, that maybe I did not have it in me. I was wrong. Now that I look back at it, I know I really had to do nothing. Nature takes care of everything. She is the mother far greater than any of us will be 🙂

I will write back how my labor and delivery went. Until then.

Holy Chutney

Would you like to liven up a simple vegetarian meal with something tangy, spicy and super healthy? The best part is nothing could be quicker, simpler and more nutritious to whip up when you are on a time crunch. Not only is this Chutney recipe a great condiment to your meal but it is also really good for your colon health.

What you will need?

1 bunch Dill

1 bunch Cilantro

1 bunch Mint

Fresh ginger (add to taste)

2 lime

1 green chili

½ spoon sea salt

Optional: 1 garlic clove

Optional: 1 spoon honey

Chutney Time

15 minutes (including clean up and cutting herbs)

Method

Be sure to separate and clean the herbs by triple washing them in cold water. I usually don’t bother cutting off the stalks unless they are thick and stalky. But if they are tender and fresh they are chock full of antioxidants, so leave them on.

Throw all the herbs into your mixer and add ½ spoon of sea salt and the juice of two limes. You may need to add a couple spoons of water depending upon how thin or thick you like the consistency of your chutney. Limes and salt are going to make your chutney super tangy and delicious.

Grind the mixture well and empty into a glass container and voila your chutney is ready! One bite and you will know why I call it Holy Chutney.

Optional Steps: I usually don’t like to add garlic to this chutney but if it suits your fancy don’t hold back. You can also add a spoon of honey if you would like to have a sweet and tangy chutney.

Why it’s good for you?

All the ingredients in this chutney are so good for you they are medicinal. Except medicines don’t taste so good.

Limes are full of Vitamin C. Their health benefits include improving digestion, skin luster and weight loss besides other things.
Dill is good for digestion, insomnia, diarrhea and even cancer.
Mint is good for headache, indigestion, respiratory problems.
Cilantro is good for ulcers, digestion, constipation, anemia and menstrual disorders.

How to enjoy your chutney?

You can have a spoon or two of Holy chutney with any meal. Or simply spread some chutney and cheese on a whole wheat toast and enjoy!

Review on Tracy Anderson Metamorphosis

Sometime early this year, I decided to start a completely new exercise routine that I had been hearing raving reviews for; Tracy Anderson Method.

It all started with an innocent if at all a bit vain google search that read like “Body Metamorphosis”. As you can expect Tracy Anderson’s Metamorphosis popped up in the top 3 search results.

Tracy Anderson’s method is broken down in 4 DVD’s (1 dance video and 3 Muscular structure workouts). You even get to choose the Method based on your body type: omnicentric, abcentric, hipcentric or glutecentric. I decided to choose Omnicentric because I honestly could not figure out which body type I am… *gulp* 😦

I started the routine like I start almost everything; full gusto…The DVD’s come with a small pamphlet of food plan with menu items that would fill your appetite if you were a bird …a sparrow to be precise! It also comes with a pamphlet to track your progress (which I actually loved).

Tracy wants you to do 30 minutes of her dance routine followed by 30 minutes of the Transform DVD. Each Transform DVD has 3 unique workouts and is supposed to be completed in 30 days after which you move on to the next DVD and so forth. Here is my honest unequivocal review of her method.

Pros:

1) Dance Cardio: I really enjoyed the dance DVD the first few weeks. The first time I tried it I absolutely loved it. I was jumping around like a little girl in my living room and all the movement got my blood pumping and my mood elevated. The choreography is fun although difficult to follow at first, but Tracy does mention that if you cannot follow along you can freestyle it. I always believe that any exercise is better than no exercise and had no issues with free styling a large part of her moves. In the end, I was sweating like a dog and felt really happy almost euphoric.

2) Any exercise is better than no exercise. This is also true for Tracy’s method. Tracy wants you to get a combination of cardio and body transforming muscle conditioning exercises on a daily basis (6 days a week) in order to make the change happen. In that, it is pretty effective. Both the 30-minute dance and 30-minute muscular workouts got me sweating and my muscles exhausted. Her workouts are constantly changing which causes sufficient muscle confusion so you do not plateau and continue seeing results.

3) Muscular Transformation exercises are really good. This is not your typical High-Intensity Jillian Michael workout. These moves are mostly stationary done either standing or on your hands and knees. The focus is on intensity, repetition and muscle confusion. In just 30 days of working out to her routines, I did notice a definite muscle conditioning and my arms and legs felt stronger and looked more toned.

Cons:

1) Dance Routine: Now for the cons. While I loved her dance routine the first 2-3 weeks, I started to tire off within a month of the same dance routine. The idea of using the same routine for an additional 2 months was really wearing on me. I even tried muting her audio and playing my own numbers, but I do enjoy variety. Also by the 3rd week my knees were really starting to buckle and hurt and I needed a break.

2) Muscle definition Transform 2 DVD. Tracy is the queen of creating hard to follow exercises and really does not provide sufficient instructions during the routines. What’s more each week her workouts got not only harder but I feel: quicker and jerkier. What I mean is that she does not give you enough time to move from one sequence to the next, and I almost always ended up jerking my neck and back. I really did not enjoy her Transform DVD 2 and for a couple more weeks went back to her Transform 1.

3) Diet Plan: I cannot speak enough on how dangerous, amateur and irresponsible her meal plan is. The fact that I tried to follow it for a couple weeks is something I am really not proud of. To start with I was not doing her workout to lose weight but to tone up. Her meal plan assumes that you are either a sparrow or you are working out to lose tons of weight. The truth is even if you are trying to lose weight, if you are exercising as much as she wants you to, it is essential to give your body wholesome nutrition so it can sustain the new and strenuous exercise routine. Her meal plan clearly lacks detailed research. I felt it was loosely put together without making sure that you get a good combination of proteins, minerals, carbs and fat required to sustain a healthy body. In just 2 weeks of following her meal plan I lost 4 pounds (which I did not need to) but I also lost tons of hair (which I definitely did not want to). I have since thrown away her diet plan and continued eating a balanced diet consisting of plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Overview: Even though I only lasted on Tracy’s method for a Month and a half in all honesty her workout cannot be completely dissed. Her muscle-conditioning routines are good and you do feel the burn in a very short time. I would have continued with Tracy Anderson’s workouts if the moves weren’t too fast, jerky and complicated for me to follow. I am taking a break from her workouts and am instead doing Piloxing by Viveca Jenson which I absolutely love and will soon do a review of. In all honesty if you are able to follow Tracy’s moves you will see results but be prepared to be really patient and expect little instructions during the program.

Put your best face forward

To me beauty is not just about being attractive or following the latest trends in fashion. Beauty comes from feeling good and being confident and that happens when you are comfortable with who you are and how you look. It may be a cliche but beauty starts with beautiful skin and having a beautiful skin takes time and consistently following a good skin care regime.

Over the years my choice of beauty products has evolved, but one thing I would never do is go to bed without removing my make up and having a squeaky clean face. After cleansing I apply a moisturizer with Hyaluronic acid and Vitamin C. But If you cannot do anything in the very least never go to bed without removing your make up. Some women swear by just applying olive oil or coconut oil as a deep moisturizer. For me, I need something more potent; something with Retin A, Vitamin C, Glycolic acid and a great delivery system to allow it to penetrate into the skin to do its magic and bring about the change.

If you are looking for a new skin care regime then visit me on my Mary Kay website. For a limited time I am offering free make up remover, 20% discount, free shipping and tons of product samples on all your purchases.

But you don’t have to buy my products to have beautiful skin. Remember the secret to beauty is cleansing>exfoliation>moisturizing and doing this consistently until the end of your life or until you chose to have beautiful skin.

Reboot

Have you ever experienced random issues with your PC? What do you do when it starts to run slow, frequently hangs up or simply refuses to respond to any amount of angry keyboard knocking? You probably reboot your system. Infact rebooting your machine is the first rule of troubleshooting.

Bizarre as this may sound, the human body is a lot like a PC where multiple functions are being processed at the same time in a well orchestrated manner. However, years of abuse will cause the body to become toxic causing the well calibrated human machinery to finally slow down and shut. Dr. Mark Hyman in his blog http://drhyman.com/blog states, “When our detoxification system is overwhelmed, it gets overloaded. That’s when we start developing symptoms and getting sick”. So the answer is simple; reboot your body like you would a machine, correct?

Now this is where the human body differs substantially from a computer; a simple “restart” button just won’t do the trick. After all, it took us years of misuse and bad habit to get us here. Ridding our body of toxins and disease will require a paradigm shift. It will require a lifestyle change.

Getting out of a rut requires slow yet consistent efforts. Start with making one small change a day; for e.g. pledge to avoid all kinds of sugars for the day, or eat only fruits and vegetables, drink 12 glasses of water, exercise 5 days a week, avoid alcohol and so forth. Whatever the case may be, make the effort to make one small change, and then stick with it. According to an old adage, “Birds of the same feather flock together”. Habits are like birds. One bad habit will attract more of its kind as will a good one.

Here is my pledge. I pledge to eat small meals constituting fruits and salads with healthier snack options. So now over to you; which habit will you be sacrificing or adopting?

Stay Cute

One of my top resolutions this year is to “Stay in Shape”. To me that means eating healthy, exercising and staying positive the year round. I like to see myself as a person who is constantly improving and evolving. The destination is not as important as the journey. My goal is simple; looking and feeling “My best”. My method; staying as close as possible to nature in order to materialize this goal.

For instance, instead of taking a vitamin in order to increase my immunity can I use wholesome foods and exercise to achieve the same? I believe I can. Nature has given us everything we need in order to stay healthy, and that these foods don’t even have to be exotic or expensive. They are the same mundane fruits and veggies we see in our regular grocery stores, everyday. It’s all about what we eat and how we eat.

I will be posting articles on my blog and coming up with new ideas to motivate myself to stay at the top of my game. Feel free to join me and share with me your ideas that help you stay at your top game.

So here’s to staying cute! 😉

What makes you happy?

It’s important to take time out to do the things that help us recharge and unwind. Again they are all different for different people, as also ever changing.

Here are the 5 things I want to do this weekend (that will make me happy)

1) Cook a healthy meal: It really does not have to be raw to be healthy. This weekend I want to use fresh produce to make a delectable, satiable meal rich with colors and health.

2) Go visit Getty: Getty is beautiful and beautiful places make me very happy.

3) Exercise: It’s hard to pull myself up and go to the gym, but every time I do it, I thank myself. I also make a list of “things to Do”, and exercise is the easiest task to cross out.

4) Pamper myself: I am thinking…a Facial? A nice relaxing fruit facial.

5) Just chill: Enjoy a glass of wine while watching a flic.