How Megan Got Her Groove Back After Quarantine: 7 Tips for Feeling ‘Normal’ Again

As of the writing of this post, things are slowly opening back up and life is returning to (sorta, kinda, not really) normal. If anything, I’m just sick of being in a state of ‘blah’ and I have the extra pounds and wrinkles to show for it.

These past few months my energy level, mood, weight, emotions and just about every other facet of life have been up and down. Up a little, down a lot. Fall off the wagon and lay on the couch all day binging Dance Moms and mowing down fistfuls of Boom Chicka Pop. You get the picture.

It’s time to get my groove back. Here are 7 things I’m doing to do just that:

1 Daily Green Juice. Whenever I need a reset, I turn to green juice. We have a juicer that we got years ago and I go through phases of juicing regularly…and not. Currently, I’m not doing a juice cleanse (though I might consider one soon). Rather, I’m just adding a daily juice into my routine.

My go-to recipe is kale, cucumber, carrot, lemon and ginger. It’s truly AMAZING what this juice does for my energy. It’s a game changer. I think the best I’ve ever felt is when I was drinking green juice regularly (along with a healthy diet) and walking 3 miles a day. No intense workouts. No crazy diet. Just green juice and walking – I’m hoping to get there again!

2 Walking. Which brings me to my second tip, walking. Now that we have a dog, I really need to be walking every day – for him and for me. We also live in an amazing neighborhood with awesome trails, so I really have no excuse. Plus, I truly enjoy walking. Getting out into nature, soaking up that vitamin D, taking a break from all the screens – what a gift!

With Jason and the kids home, walking also creates a great opportunity for some quality one-on-one time. Whether I take a walk with Jason or one of the kids, it’s a great way to spend time together. But don’t get me wrong, I also love the alone time on my solo jaunts!

3 Probiotics, Multi-Vitamin, Water and a Plant-Based Diet. Okay, so that’s a whole lot of things rolled into one tip. These are the ‘dietary’ things that help me feel better.

I recently started taking a new probiotic and so far it’s been good. No strange side effects and everything is flowing smoothly, if you know what I mean. I know how important gut health is and it feels like this is helping me find more balance in that department.

I also take a multi-vitamin, Ritual. I’ve been taking this multi-vitamin for a little over a year and have been really happy with it. It’s easy on the stomach and delivers all the important nutrients – folate, omega-3, iron, etc. It also has a lovely peppermint flavor – I’m a fan!

I recently purchased this 36 oz Yeti water bottle and it’s helped me drink more water throughout the day. I like my water cold and I like that the Yeti keeps it cold all-day. I also like adding a drop or two of lemon essential oil to aid with digestion!

As for my diet, I’ve been eating a (mostly) plant-based diet for the past few years. With the exception of fish, I try not to eat animal products. I’m not super militant about it, but I would say I eat this way 95% of the time. Other than these guidelines, I don’t follow any sort of diet and really try to eat intuitively.

For the most part, this way of eating has been wonderful for me. I feel at peace with my eating, if that makes sense. I do tend to eat too many carbs/sugar when I’m feeling low, so I’m working on that. A little less bread, a little more veggies.

4 Hair. Having not been to the salon since February, I was in dire need of a cut and color. Usually, I get my roots done every 5-6 weeks, highlights every 10-12 and a cut every 12-15. So going this long without any of those services – yikes!

I did color my roots a couple of times myself during quarantine (otherwise I would have been really gray) and I found the root spray to be a life-saver when I needed a quick touch-up.

But getting back to the salon felt so good. I also found a new stylist and absolutely adore her.

5 Working out. Moving my body makes all the difference in how I’m feeling. Unfortunately, I’m not always consistent with my workouts – especially when I’m home without the social accountability of going to a gym.

While I much prefer exercise in a social environment (group fitness is my jam) we actually got a Peloton Tread last Christmas so we could workout from home – which turned out to be our only option these past few months.

If I get in a good groove, I’ll jump on the tread 4-5 days a week. But once I fall out of my groove, I can go weeks without doing anything. Ugh.

So I’m really trying to stick to a new routine of working out every weekday. For now, I’m sticking with 20 or 30 minute beginner runs as well as doing the ‘crush your core’ program. I really enjoy the Peloton instructors – they are all so positive and motivating!

I can write more about the tread and what classes/programs/instructors I like if there is an interest. Let me know!

6 Social Media Break. In June I took a social media break and it was so, so good. I was inspired by reading Digital Minimalism which I highly recommend. There are so many reasons for doing this, I’m actually working on another full blog post on this topic so stay tuned!

I’m planning to take another break for the month of September and will be sharing more on my experience here. If you have questions or would like to join me in September shoot me an email. I’d love to chat!

7 Blog. Lastly, I am dusting off my blog and really excited about creating my own little space on the internet again. I’m not sure exactly how things will evolve but I plan on writing on intentional living – with a focus on both lifestyle and business. I hope you’ll stick around and thanks for checking out my first post back!

10 more things I’d like to do (but haven’t done yet!):