An empowered woman can effectively reach her goals. Her strong confidence and self-esteem can positively influence people, and she is free to do what she wants because she fully controls her life. At any given moment, she can change for the better regardless of the current situation.
It’s truly amazing to be a woman. Still, it also has a lot of challenges: burdensome life events such as work-related stress, multiple family responsibilities, self-image issues, and financial problems. There’s susceptibility to developing health problems like cancer, osteoporosis, thyroid, and reproductive issues. Hormonal issues can significantly affect fitness, health, weight loss progress, and monthly periods that affect mood, eating, and energy levels. And upon reaching menopause, difficulty in sleeping, mood swings, and middle-age spread are usually experienced.
However, prioritizing wellness can be beneficial when dealing with current life issues and preventing future struggles. It can bring empowerment once again to achieve real happiness, and help you both pursue your passion and achieve your ultimate goals in life.
Just like you, I have been through a lot as well. Aside from faith and constant prayers, I conquered the biggest hurdles and repeatedly empowered myself by practicing the best wellness strategies I share with you today. Being fit and well strengthened my confidence to face any unpredictable challenges as I transitioned to the various stages of life.
Become an expert on yourself.
Since childhood, my favorite ‘me time’ has been to journal my thoughts, feelings, activities, and goals. Becoming constantly aware of myself motivates me to do better in my daily life encounters. My shortcomings challenge me to improve, and progress empowers me to stay consistent with my daily efforts.
Self-awareness and continuous learning about yourself can empower you to achieve the best body and health you can ever have. You don’t need to compare yourself with others anymore because you can focus on what you can improve based on your uniqueness.
Recognize your current state of health and fitness. It would help if you faced reality; what’s happening in your body, and how your emotions affect your actions. Monitor your health and lifestyle to see if you are improving or deteriorating and to know how much effort you still need to exert to avoid future physical and mental health issues. You might feel just okay today, but delaying health check-ups can cause unforeseen problems, adding more stress to your life.
Learn more about your fitness level by working with a credible fitness professional. Then, perform physical activities that are realistic to your current needs and lifestyle that can improve your heart health, immune system, and metabolism.
Know your eating habits and personality. When, why, how, and how much do you eat? Do you know the foods which bloat your body quickly and give you headaches? Why do you eat high-calorie foods in the afternoon (boredom, habit, stress, or availability)? How much food do you tend to eat when you are out compared to at home? Awareness of your eating habits and food choices can help prevent overeating, which causes weight gain and health problems.
Aim to have a more substantial body.
A strong body empowers you to face the day and deal with people with enough energy and positivity. You can maximize every minute and not just survive the day because you become more productive in everything you do. It can empower your sense of independence and boost your confidence to keep up with others around you.
I always feel good carrying grocery bags from the supermarket to our apartment (a 15-20 minute walk). I feel good whenever I run fast with my husband or do intense physical activities with younger people.
Stay away from people and activities that drain your energy. Stop wasting your time doing unnecessary things that harm your well-being, such as complaining about what you don’t have, spending too much time watching the television or checking social media, which affects your sleep, and talking to negative people that make you bad about yourself and your life.
Avoid following diets that can make you weak. Focus on nourishing your body with healthy and nutritious food for energy instead of following restrictive diets that result in overall weakness, loss of muscle mass, and unstable emotions. Change your thinking about losing weight: “I aim to lose body fat and build more muscles so I can keep a healthy and strong body even as I age.” Remember that you can burn more calories if you are strong.
Do exercises that can make you more functional. Remember that fitness is not just about being able to lift heavier weights—complete 10,000 steps a day or spend extended time on cardio workouts. It is always a combination of good endurance strength, balance, agility, and coordination to have a functional body, which is essential so you can do more things in your day-to-day activities while avoiding injuries and health problems.
Always have a plan.
Having a solid action plan for your daily tasks is empowering. It leads to a strong sense of control over your everyday life so you can stick to your commitments and responsibilities. It eliminates chaos and extra stress that occurs from disorganization and unpreparedness.
I try to stick to my schedule, commitments, planned meals, workouts, errands, recovery, and time for myself. Accomplishing everything makes me feel empowered at the end of the day, making me more excited to face another day again. But I always try to have a positive and flexible attitude, so when some things don’t happen as planned, I try again to do better the next day.
Schedule your exercise. If you can spend 50 minutes of your time on one episode of a Netflix series, then you can also allow at least 30 minutes of your day, whatever it takes to do any exercise you feel like doing. It can be a brisk walk around your village, a simple bodyweight exercise, or a dance video routine inside your house.
Plan your meals and eat on time. You can easily plan what to have for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner and eat on your desired schedule if you already have the most nutritious foods available at home. You won’t get tempted to eat high-calorie foods or eat out if you have a solid eating plan.
Balance your life with the correct dose of recovery. Managing your stress, getting the right amount of sleep, and giving time for breaks, vacations, and having fun empowers you. Recovery is essential to one’s overall well-being—reward yourself with new experiences. While you still can, discover what your body can do while you explore the world; you can climb mountains and join competitions.
When I was younger, I used to push myself until I got burned out. I didn’t give much importance to recovery. It came to a point when I dragged myself to work almost every day and took a lot of caffeine to survive the day. My quest for a healthy and balanced lifestyle led me to prioritize sleep, choose a flexible work schedule, and give myself occasional breaks (usually every three to four months) to effectively recharge my mind and body.
Make the effort to uplift your mood.
I always tell myself and others that emotional eating or just staying in bed and doing nothing makes me feel miserable. Every time I face difficulties, I feel better by praying, writing down my thoughts and feelings, getting a massage, eating delicious and healthy foods, engaging in physical activities, and thinking of my strengths and blessings—pursuing these positive lifestyle strategies really empowers me.
Don’t let uncontrollable situations prolong the negative emotions you might be experiencing right now. You can always encounter problems, conflicts, and heartaches in life. Always be prepared; if these things happen, do something good for yourself, and I promise you will feel better and more empowered. Always remember that you have the freedom to choose positivity, and you can control your life. Do not limit yourself from achieving more than what you have and what you do right now.
Realize that your uniqueness is your advantage. Using your strengths to the fullest to maximize your potential is truly empowering. Assert yourself in doing things you are fully capable of and think twice before engaging in something you don’t feel like doing.
Reflect on your strengths. Close your eyes and think about how blessed you are. You are truly capable of doing a lot of things. Take advantage of the opportunities that come your way.
Appreciate your body. Do something good for your unique body every day. Strengthen and nourish it with the most nutritious foods you can ever have. Get the much-needed rest your body needs. Invest in your body and not in material things. Your body deserves the best care, love, and attention.
Establish good social connections.
Through the years, I’ve learned to be fully independent when creating my life map. I am the type who can always assert myself fully (my needs, wants, and goals) in almost every situation that I come to encounter. However, I achieved my goals with the help of people who truly cared for me and understood my needs.
Connecting with others can support you in achieving your goals and communicating your most important thoughts and emotions. Never underestimate the power of social support and connection. The presence of people who genuinely respect and love you is empowering.
Build your support system. Who truly supports you with your family issues or weight control efforts right now? You need to establish a strong support system that you can quickly get from your spouse, parents, best friends, a mentor or coach, or a group of like-minded women who can help you resolve your issues, achieve your goals and reinforce your mission or current purposeful activities.
Adhere to your values and assert yourself. An empowered woman has enough courage to say YES and NO to others. If you have an important goal of improving your health, politely say, “no thanks,” if someone offers you a milkshake or asks you to stay late at night for more drinks. Stand firmly with your beliefs. Stick to your goals and guiding principles. Do what you love, eat what you want, and spend more time with the people you want to be. Do not waste your time pleasing others who don’t appreciate your good intentions. You are good enough and only deserve the best in this world.
Share your story. Genuinely connect and positively influence others just simply being you and not pretending to be someone perfect or a superwoman. Listen to others and be open to new ideas and perspectives. Then tell your stories – share your fears and weaknesses, how you conquered heartaches, failures, and rejections, and how you empower yourself after all.
Happy Women’s Month!
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