by Michael Plank
Move
Walk. Walk for 20 minutes if you can. If not, walk for 10. Walking is massively underrated for general cardiovascular health and fitness. Plus it helps with brain processing and there are massive benefits from being outside. Don’t sell it short.
Eat
Get some protein in: 30g or more at at least one meal. Protein helps with satiety (feeling full), muscle building and maintenance, and healing and recovery.
Sleep
Limit alcohol consumption at least once this week. Depending on who you are, any more than 1-3 drinks will dramatically and negatively impact your sleep quality. Counter-intuitive maybe, since alcohol tends to make you drowsy, but the sleep quality that it brings is pretty light on deep sleep and REM sleep phases, the parts of sleep that are most critical for recovery.
Manage
Feel your feelings. If you’re new to that, set a timer for 90 seconds and think about how sad or angry or worried or happy or grateful or hopeful you are. Feel it without distraction. And then after the timer goes off, go on with your day. Numbing and escaping are easy. So don’t be afraid to start small. (Side note: feelings can be big. Very big. If you’re anxious about feeling your feelings, maybe give a friend or therapist a heads up so they can support you).