invest in you, because you are your greatest asset.

FebYOUary is the month of love, hearts, and ENDLESS amounts of chocolate (amen). While typically you show love to others on valentines day, we tend to forget about ourselves. Let’s be honest, the term “self-love” has been overpopulating our instagram feeds, but what does self love really mean to you?

As Registered Dietitians, we advocate for not only nutrition, but for investing in our overall health and wellness.
Here are some tips we believe will benefit your overall mind, body, and soul this FebYOUary!

And no, we’re not just talking about a night in with a facemask and a glass of wine (however, don’t mind if I do!)

reset with pen to paper

We all know that journaling is an amazing way to let all of our thoughts, stresses and frustrations out. However, journaling can also be a great tool for planning out our day, week, quarter and overall goals. Planning and goal setting has been a GAME CHANGER for me in relieving anxiety and stress because it allows me to have a clear direction and path in place. How can we get somewhere if we don’t know where we’re going?

My Journaling + Goal setting method:

Take time to journal how far you’ve come thus far in your journey to accomplishing your goals - whether its nutrition, fitness, career, lifestyle, etc - it’s important to take time to celebrate these wins before thinking of your next step and journaling your process is a powerful way to open your yes to see just how far you’ve come!
Next, visualize and write down who that person is that has accomplished your specific goal, what does that look like? feel like? Who was that person being to get there?
Goal setting - think end in mind (year or 5 year hair scary goal) but break that goal down to work on 1-3 big tasks each month / each quarter that will move the needle forward.

As Dietitians, we advocate for realistic goal setting, or SMART goals. When you think of a goal you hope to accomplish, see if it can be realistically achieved in the short term. If not, take baby steps to accomplish those goals and truly set yourself up for success! If your goal is to wake up earlier, instead of waking up an hour earlier, just wake up 10 min earlier and give yourself the patience to adjust! It’s about progress not perfection. As you reach more attainable milestones, you are more likely to reach your end goal!

REBOOT with these journals:

90x Goal Planner, journal focused on goal setting each quarter.
5 Year Journal, see how you grow in a span of 5 years.

2. refocus your mind

You may think of meditation as just sitting in a quiet room, but believe me when I say that it is an incredible first step into the art of mindfulness.

Meditation calls for clearing our minds and focusing on ourselves here and now with no judgment attached. While that is the hardest part of meditation, that’s also my favorite part. Meditation, in a way, forces us to focus on ourselves and only that. It gives you time in a day to not worry about whats going on at work, an upcoming assignment, your kids/family, or that pile of laundry and your house that needs to be cleaned. It allows you to scan your body from toes up, seeing how you feel physically, mentally, and emotionally. Think of it as checking in on yourself, whether it be for 5, 15, or 30 minutes a day, no time is too little but, scheduling in intentional time for meditation is a must on our list!

If you’re curious about learning more, we have a blog post dedicated to how to get started on meditation 101 here! If you would like to cultivate a meditation practice into your routine, you can start with guided meditation!

REBOOT with these apps to get started:

Calm or Headspace, both found on iOS and Android, are excellent apps to try out!

3. refresh Your Social Media

Social media, we have a beautiful love/hate relationship with it, don’t we? haha

We follow people we aspire to be - career, lifestyle, health, fitness etc. - thinking that they’re motivating us to be the best version of ourselves. However, sometimes we don’t even realize that it can take a negative toll on our mental health. Take some time and reflect on how you feel when you scroll through your timelines. Do you feel as if you’re not doing or being enough, that you’re behind in life, that actually looking at an account makes you feel bad about yourself in some way?

I promise you, you’re not alone.

The best part about social media is that, in the end, we are in control. An incredible, yet underrated, form of showing self-love and mental health is to go through your timeline and unfollowing the accounts that don’t serve you, the people that does not empower or inspire you. We owe it to ourselves to be exposed to content that positively feeds our mind and soul… right!?

My action item for you right now… yes, right now :) is to unfollow at least one account that comes to mind. And, If you’re looking for some inspiring accounts to follow, check out these on Instagram!

REBOOT with these good vibes only instagram accounts:

@humansofny
@youareluminous
@TheGoodQuote
@BodyPosipanda

4. rejuvenate your space

I’m not kidding, decluttering is probably one of my favorite forms of self-care… anyone else agree!? When our space and environment is overwhelming and cluttered, our minds are just as overwhelmed. Sometimes to the point where we no longer want to work on achieving our goals. Take time to reflect on the space that you’d like to live in and compare that to how you feel about it yours now. If it doesn’t give you the warm, homey, relaxing, or fresh vibes you desire maybe its time for a makeover! … and decluttering maybe all you need!

Currently, we’re obsessed with Marie Kondo’s Konmari Method. This is is an excellent method to get started on decluttering your home or workspace because it is based off of keeping things that “spark joy” in our lives. Sometimes we keep things because we’ve had it for so long or because we think we’re going to use or wear it later on in life. However I don’t know about you but, I have a stack of magazines from 5 years ago that I still haven’t touched… thanks to Marie, it felt amazing tossing stilly things like this that I didn’t know i still had to open up my space and be much more minimalistic.

My favorite part about her method is taking time to recognize that the object that we no longer need has served us in the past. While objects are just that… inanimate objects, we tend to forget that they really have helped us in some way. This recognition helps us to be grateful for the things that we own, the home we live in, and the life that we live.

Reboot with Marie Kondo’s Netflix series:

Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.
You can also check out her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.

5. recharge with what gives you Enjoyment

As dietitians, we help people with food choices and how to live healthier lifestyles. But what if some of OUR personal recommendations include foods you don’t like? Or exercises that you don’t actually enjoy? In the health and fitness world, we have expectations to eat certain foods, cook a certain way, or do specific movements because it is healthier, but is it really?

At Roots Reboot, we believe YOU are the best person to create you personalized health and fitness plan because you know YOU and your body better than anyone else. To be frank, if you’re forcing yourself to eat something you dislike for the sake of “health”, it’s not healthy nor a sustainable lifestyle. If you’re partaking in exercises just because they are better at “burning fat” or because that instagram influencer raves about it, it is not sustainable for you either.

Instead, have meals and foods that work for you and give you genuine enjoyment while maintaining a balanced plate. But if you’re not in the mood for the added veggies, then eat what you’re craving and have a healthy indulgent every now and then! Know that its okay to do that! Its a part of life so, work food enjoyment into your personalized plan.

Experiment with different exercises and look for which ones you have a good time doing and get excited about! This is just an example of honoring your body’s cues, cravings, and wants. Think long term. This allows you to understand not only balance, but that while we are in control of what we eat and how we move, there are just certain things that our bodies will prefer, and that’s okay. We’re all individuals and we need to honor that!

6. renew + expand your mind

Even if you’re not in school anymore, learning is an incredible way to invest in yourself. It allows us to grow as individuals, and exposes us to different aspects of the world or opens us up to new ways of thinking. Taking time out of your month or quarter to take a class, online course, try a new hobby, learn new recipes, read a new book, or try out a new sport can end up being an incredible experience and push us out of our comfort zones. A great thing about trying something new is the fact that even if we don’t enjoy it, it’s okay because we were able to say we tried something new.

As the saying goes: How will you know if you never try?

REBOOT your mind with:

A new book: You are a badass by Jen Sincero
A new course: If there is a specific topic you would like to learn about, you can visit Skillshare, a website that offers thousands of classes on topics ranging from photography, to design, to business!
A new hobby: If you’re looking to try out new recipes, here are some awesome cookbooks to check out: Love and lemons - Everyday Cookbook or Hot For Food - Vegan Comfort Classics

7. recenter + treat yourself

We all tend to be attached to some type of technology. Whether it’s for work or leisure, constantly staring at a screen can take a toll on us mentally and physically. With eye strain, being constantly hunched over, it’s obvious that we all need to take some time away from technology.

Take a day to disconnect, recharge, and refocus on yourself. Whether that’s staying at home and catching up on errands or chores or even taking yourself out on a date cell phone free. Go to restaurant you’ve always wanted to try, wander around a city you live by, go to a museum or for a hike! The possibilities are endless when you’re treating yourself. You’ll notice it will be hard at first, to not look at your phone. However, once you’re used to it, you’ll notice that you feel lighter and more at ease. The mental freedom is incredible. Try it out for yourself and see what happens!

REBOOT and recenter yourself with:

Forest on iOS and Android - This very simple and cute app is designed with a goal to help you focus and being more present.
Start small and schedule in just one day a week for a social media detox day!

8. reboot with a Professional

While this may not be the most luxurious form of self-love, it is probably the biggest form of self-investment yet. We can talk to our friends and family about how our lives are going. We can read countless articles on the internet or buy new books about properly controlling our health and fitness. Information is power but, we can’t be stuck in student mode... and get more and more information without taking action and finding practical ways to apply them to your individual lives. What those resources don’t provide is professional and individualized insights about our lives and our health that will strategically work for YOUR lifestyle.

If you are beginning to feel overwhelmed by certain aspects of your life, this may actually be a sign that it is time to seek professional help. Whether it’s a therapist, psychiatrist, business coach, personal trainer or registered dietitian, there is absolutely no shame in investing in YOU and going to the source - seeking out a credible and experienced coach who will guide and support you to optimize your life! In the end, that’s what these professionals are here for and passionate about!

REBOOT your health with:

If you feel like it is time to invest in your health but not sure where to start, Roots Reboot offers personalized, one-on-one, individualized nutrition services as your ‘always there partner in nutrition and wellness"!

Remember, self-investment takes time, patience,
and understanding of ourselves.

If one of these methods sticks out to you the most, that may be the one that you need at the moment!
Let us know in the comments below which self-investment tips you try or other ideas that have worked for you, we’d love to know!

P.S. NEED TO RECHARGE + REFOCUS + RESET YOUR HEALTH?

Reboot your health with a personal Roots Reboot Dietitian, your source for nutrition + wellness answers! Work one-on-one with a Roots Reboot Dietitian and start feeling amazing by achieving the whole-living lifestyle you've always desired! Creating your own personalized nutrition plan and seeing lasting results is our goal. Skip the waiting room and speak to a Dietitian 24/7, with daily support anytime, anywhere it is most convenient for you!