I-gave-my-marriage-a-2-day-mental-health-break-and.jpeg

I gave my marriage a 2-day mental health break and explored a nearby city solo. It was just what I needed.

by with No Comment Xpandfy

Don’t get me wrong — I love my husband, and we’re great companions — at home and on the road. But I was thrilled when he decided not to join me on a trip to Querétaro, a city two hours from where we live part of the year in Mexico.

Barry was afraid it would be too hot. A Brit, he considers anything above 75 degrees a heat wave. And I was not-so-secretly thrilled to be on my own, even if it was only for 48 hours.

This was my chance to explore without worrying if anyone else was tired, annoyed, or hungry. This was my chance to do things my way.


The author and her husband at Canada de Virgen.

The author said she and her husband (shown at Canada de Virgen) have a lot of fun when they travel together. 

Courtesy of Louisa Rogers.



I was excited to explore on my own

Querétaro is one of several Mexican colonial highland cities known for its well-preserved 18th-century architecture and silver-mining history. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site, with over 1,400 protected buildings, churches, plazas, and a historic aqueduct. Barry and I have been there several times, but always on the way to somewhere else.

The adventure started when I boarded a bus from Guanajuato to Querétaro. The long-distance buses, with reclining seats, wifi, audio, and video entertainment, feel like flying in business class. My hotel room was also spacious, with two classy balconies.

Since I paint watercolors, the first thing I did was visit the Querétaro Museum of Art, which showcased a series of vibrant acrylic paintings by a Yucatán artist. At another art gallery, I enjoyed an immersive exhibition of erotic sculptures, where visitors were invited to touch the art. I took photos and sent them to Barry, who was just as intrigued. Just because he wasn’t with me didn’t mean I didn’t want to share a few moments with him.


Outdoor Sculpture in Queretaro

While exploring Querétaro on her own, the author visited an art museum and enjoyed painting at restaurants after finishing her meals. 

Courtesy of Louisa Rogers.



Later that day, I strolled around, eventually finding a restaurant near a park with a pianist playing. The waiter recommended zucchini and walnut soup. Divine! After I was done eating, I whiled away an hour painting, with a glass of wine (well, two). Waiters never rush you in Mexico.

My husband wasn’t with me, but I still wanted to share things with him

The next morning, I took another bus, passing the railway maintenance crew working on the train that will eventually go from Mexico City through Querétaro and beyond. Then I explored a Toltec ruins on the outskirts of the city.

My Uber driver into town told me a long story about his other job, burying dead people, sharing many descriptive details about the smells. I told him I had once been attracted to working for a funeral home, but after hearing the visceral details of his job, I’m glad I decided to pass.

I probably would have had the same conversation with the driver if Barry had been there, but like other aspects of the trip, it felt very refreshing to chat on my own. This was another story I’d share with Barry as soon as I could.

When I’m traveling with my husband, I’m not always as focused and aware. For instance, he has a better sense of orientation than I do, so I let him lead. Since I was by myself in Querétaro, I couldn’t be passive; I had to pay attention, which was good for me.

I enjoyed the chance to linger

The best part of my two-day break was not a place, but the freedom of dawdling. For instance, on Sunday, I couldn’t find the restaurant where I’d eaten the day before, so I checked out others. The first three were no-gos: one was mainly meat, which I don’t eat; one was too noisy; and the last had the kind of high tables and chairs where my feet don’t reach the floor, and I feel like I’m in preschool.

When Barry’s ready to eat, he gets irritated checking out restaurants, so he usually sits on a bench while I decide. I often feel a whiff of anxiety knowing I’m keeping him waiting. This time, though, I took my time and finally found an Italian restaurant where I ordered ciabatta, once again laying out my supplies and painting when I was done.


Dancing in the Queretaro plaza.

The author said she enjoyed lingering in the streets of Querétaro, which gave her time to take in the sights. 

Courtesy of Louisa Rogers.



That evening, there was dancing to live music at one of the nearby plazas. I positioned myself near two women who turned out to be a mom and a daughter, and we chatted during the break.

On the bus going home, I kept daydreaming about all the different parts of my weekend escapade, puzzling over why it had taken me so long to go somewhere by myself. After all, Barry and I thrive on time apart, and, in fact, consider it one of the secrets to our long (52 years!) relationship. Every year, I fly to Mexico before him and return after him. Next year, I vowed, I’ll go to Zacatecas, another UNESCO World Heritage city in Mexico that I like more than Barry does — on my own. I can hardly wait.




Source link

Everything-a-heart-health-dietitian-eats-in-a-week-including.jpeg

Everything a heart health dietitian eats in a week, including plant-based protein sources and ‘joy foods’

by with No Comment Xpandfy

As a registered dietitian, Lena Beal first learned about nutrition from her own family.

“My great-grandparents were farmers, so they grew nearly everything they ate, made their own preserves, the whole thing,” Beal, a cardiovascular dietitian at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, told Business Insider.

Her roots inspired her profession. “It was generational wisdom,” she said. “The foods that give us the most nutrients, the most pleasure, they’re the most sustainable and practical.” In her own life, she focuses on a minimally processed, plant-packed diet, incorporating chicken, fish and eggs on occasion.

Still, it doesn’t mean there isn’t room for flexibility.

Once a week, Beal eats what she calls “joy foods”: things she enjoys, like sweets and alcohol, which are best consumed in moderation. A Christian, Beal links joy foods to her Sabbath, or day of rest.

Eating her joy foods on Sundays is her version of the 80/20 diet, helping her stay on track with eating mostly heart-healthy foods — with the occasional treats. “That way, I can enjoy them intentionally, but without feeling like I’m constantly negotiating with myself,” she said.

Beal shared what she eats in a week to get enough protein — and what a typical Sunday of fun looks like.

She leans on plant-based protein sources


Grain bowl

Beal includes lots of beans and legumes to get extra protein.

vaaseenaa/Getty Images



Given her focus on cardiovascular health, Beal said she has always focused on heart-healthy foods to keep her fueled throughout the day.

“It’s subliminal,” she said. “Those things are extremely important to me: making sure I have hearty, fiber-rich, high-omega-3 foods with those macronutrients.”

On a typical day, her meals look like this:

  • A high-protein, fiber-rich breakfast such as oatmeal with nuts and fruit
  • Lunch, her biggest meal of the day, is usually a hearty salad, grain bowl, or soup. She focuses on plant-based protein sources like legumes, dried beans, and chickpeas, but will sometimes include chopped egg or a piece of fish.
  • Snacks such as mixed nuts, granola bars, or fresh berries with yogurt
  • A light, mostly plant-based dinner such as steamed cabbage with brown rice and black-eyed peas

She focuses a lot on protein because she works out at least 3 to 4 days a week, including resistance training, brisk walking, and yoga. She said her target is reaching 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week, the recommended goal for most people.

Her diet helps her stay on track. “Because my eating pattern is relatively consistent, it supports strength, energy, and flexibility,” she said.

Cutting down on red meat

Beal was never interested in intentionally following a strict vegan or vegetarian diet. Instead, her diet evolved over the past eight years to naturally involve less red meat.

“I wasn’t a heavy red meat-eater in the first place.” she said. “I no longer enjoyed it. It was heavy for me.” Having it once a week was easier for her because it didn’t feel like much of a sacrifice.

On occasion, she’ll eat leaner animal-based protein sources like chicken or turkey during the week, which have less saturated fat.

Joy meals include mimosas and French toast


French toast

One of Beal’s favorite joy meals is French toast.

Grace Cary/Getty Images



When Sunday rolls around, she doesn’t exactly go all out on sugar or cocktails, either. She still aims to stick to her normal habits, like eating a light dinner, because it ties into better sleep.

“I don’t go too far out of bounds,” she said. Treating herself might look like French toast, a mimosa, or fish in a richer cream sauce than she would pick during the week.

It’s been the easiest way to keep a balance in her life. Beal, who’s taught weight management classes in the past, said that words like “diet” or “cheat foods” can bring up a lot of negative feelings for people.

“I shy away from that language,” she said. “I call them ‘joy foods’ because they absolutely fit if you leave room for them intentionally.”

She focuses on flexibility

Beal takes a few supplements — vitamin D and iron — based on recommendations her doctor made, given her age and medical history.

Otherwise, she gets all her nutrients from her diet, which she feels is easy to maintain because she eats whole foods she loves during the week, while being flexible enough to enjoy a sweet treat or glass of wine, too.

“Healthy eating works best when it leaves room for living,” Beal said. “It ought to feel like when you get up from a meal that you have good feelings, whether it’s nostalgic, whether it satiates you. That’s what food is.”




Source link

I-spent-years-traveling-nonstop-It-took-me-too-long.jpeg

I spent years traveling nonstop. It took me too long to admit my ‘dream life’ was actually horrible for my health.

by with No Comment Xpandfy

I was living the dream — flying internationally nearly once a month for my work as a travel writer, crisscrossing the globe to cover incredible destinations.

Invitations like cruising the Norwegian coastline and then jetting off to a buzzy restaurant opening in Las Vegas were too good to refuse, even if they were happening back-to-back.

Meanwhile, the frequent long-haul flights, indulgent meals, packed itineraries, and erratic sleep schedules were quietly taking a toll on my health — I was gaining a substantial amount of weight and frequently feeling exhausted.

I just told myself that less-than-stellar health was just the price of admission for this sort of career. After all, my job consisted of bucket-list-worthy experiences, like hiking in Peru and going on safari in Kenya!

It took me several years to admit to myself that I couldn’t keep living this way.

As much as I love traveling, doing it nonstop wasn’t great for my physical or mental health


Woman smiling in front of stone relics

I love traveling, but it can be exhausting.

Meredith Bethune



In reality, the job of my dreams consisted of overnight flights where I’d get little to no rest, then hit the ground running as soon as I arrived at my destinations.

After I’d fly back home from some trips, it would take me nearly a week to recover from jet lag. My stress levels were often cranked up, dealing with flight delays, deadlines, and navigation across different states and countries.

With grueling daily schedules on the road, I rarely had time to answer emails. I’d come home to a full inbox and even fuller calendar.

The regular exposure to dry air on planes wasn’t helping my immune system, and neither was all the stress. I felt like I was constantly getting sick with colds, flus, or whatever was going around.

Meanwhile, my diet wasn’t balanced or nutritious. It largely consisted of indulgent meals on press trips, where I felt pressure to try everything so I could write about it.

Saying no felt awkward, even when I knew I’d feel better if I could set firmer boundaries.


Woman peeking out of red phone booth, smiling

I’ve been able to see many places through my work as a travel writer.

Meredith Bethune



On top of all that, I wasn’t exercising. After all, press trips run on tight schedules. I’d return to the hotel late, wake up early, sit in a van for hours between stops, and finish the day with a multicourse dinner.

Some fellow writers managed to fit in workouts, but I didn’t. It wasn’t a priority for me then.

All the travel felt isolating at times, too. I was spending most of my days with publicists, fellow writers, and guides. They were all lovely people, but not permanent fixtures in my life.

My closest friends lived far away, and I kept postponing visits because I was always either traveling or catching up from being away.

Meanwhile, my parents were getting older and needed more support.

After nearly a decade of jet-setting, by 2019, it had become undeniable that my mother’s memory problems went beyond normal aging. Finally, I felt compelled to take my health seriously.

My mother’s diagnosis felt like a wake-up call to prioritize my well-being


Woman smiling in ice hotel

Eventually, I realized I couldn’t travel so much without facing some consequences for my own health.

Meredith Bethune



By that time, my mother’s cognitive difficulties had progressed so much that she no longer seemed like herself. And though her official Alzheimer’s diagnosis came later, by then, it was just a formality. We had already known for years.

There wasn’t anything I could do to stop my mom’s Alzheimer’s from progressing, but I threw myself into researching the disease so I could know more about what the future held for her and, eventually, me.

I worried whether a similar diagnosis — one millions of Americans share — could be in the cards for me someday.

Though it’s not preventable, some studies and members of the medical community suggest that certain lifestyle changes, like being physically active and managing blood sugar and blood pressure levels, may lower one’s risk of developing some forms of the disease or delay its symptoms.

Even if I couldn’t prevent a future diagnosis, I knew finally taking care of my body and mind would be good for me. All that nonstop travel had been quietly wrecking my health, and the way I’d been living and working wasn’t sustainable.

I feel much better now that I’m traveling way less


Woman hiking grand canyon

I can’t control the future, but I can at least prioritize my health.

Meredith Bethune



It’s been over five years since I significantly cut back on travel.

I exercise almost every day and try to regularly follow a balanced diet. I’ve since lost over 50 pounds and sleep much better.

When I do go on trips, I do so with more intention and a lot of focus on the Northeast, close to home.

I probably take an overnight or weekend trip within driving distance about every six weeks. I still fly for work once or twice a year, but I’m no longer constantly on the road, and my body feels the difference.

When I go on bigger trips, I actually feel like I have more opportunities than I did before. Recently, I even hiked the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim, which I would never have attempted back when I was out of shape and constantly feeling drained.

Giving up on my dream job wasn’t easy, but I want to feel good and stay in great shape for as long as I can — even if that means finding peace at home instead of abroad.




Source link

Kate-Winslet-says-becoming-a-mother-helped-save-her-mental.jpeg

Kate Winslet says becoming a mother helped save her mental health after ‘Titanic’

by with No Comment Xpandfy

Kate Winslet has a secret to staying sane among the madness of celebrity: motherhood.

“I was very fortunate because I became a mother when I was really young,” Winslet said during an appearance on the podcast “Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso,” which aired Sunday, December 21. “I was, you know, blessed to be taking care of this gorgeous little baby,” she said.

Winslet, 50, had her first child, actor Mia Threapleton, in 2000 when she was 25 years old. She welcomed her eldest son, Joe Anders, 21, in 2003, and her youngest, Bear Blaze Winslet, 12, in 2013.

Caring for her children, two of whom have followed her into the entertainment industry, helped her drown out the outside noise and public scrutiny she has endured over the years, she explained.

When the Hollywood star first became “very famous very quickly,” after starring alongside Leonard DiCaprio in the blockbuster “Titanic” in 1997, her mental health suffered, she said. Winslet, who is English, said she was bodyshamed and “actively bullied” by the British media and that she couldn’t “function like a normal person,” explaining that she would be followed into everyday places like the grocery store.

“I found it quite distressing,” she said.

The actor and director said it made her “really self-critical,” and that there were days when she felt like she “couldn’t face the day,” but being a mother “saved” her.

Winslet is not the only celebrity to cite her kids as a positive force on their mental health. In June, “Mad Max: Fury Road” star Charlize Theron, 49, told the “Call Her Daddy” podcast that adopting her two daughters in 2012 and 2015 was “one of the healthiest decisions” she has ever made. And “Empire State of Mind” singer Alicia Keys has said that motherhood has helped her become more introspective and identify unresolved issues.

Winslet has been on a press tour promoting her directorial debut, “Goodbye June,” which was released in select US and UK theaters on December 12 and will be on Netflix on December 24. The screenplay was written by her son, Anders.

In the interview with podcast host Fragoso, Winslet said that “protecting” herself creatively has also helped her maintain her mental health while living in the public eye.

Since rising to fame in 1997, she said she has only pursued roles that would make her happy.

“I had the good sense to know that I loved acting and that somehow the most important thing in terms of opportunity was only to pursue things that I really want to do,” she said.




Source link