Women's Health - Taking Time to Take Care of You

Taking Time to Take Care of You

Focus on self-care to improve your physical and mental health

For many women, taking care of themselves often has to come after tending to a long list of other priorities, including kids, a spouse, parents, home responsibilities, work obligations and others.

So, how can you shed some of life’s unrealistic expectations and create a more balanced, less stressful lifestyle? While the idea might only sound possible in an ideal world, you can make it happen

That’s where the concept of “self-care” comes in. The goal of self-care, a term that has gained prominence over the past few years, is to use intentional strategies to promote physical, mental and emotional health, explains Malinda Whitfield, APRN, family/psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with Sentara Behavioral Health Specialists in Harrisonburg.

“These strategies are necessary to build and maintain resiliency in dealing with everyday life stressors,” Whitfield says. “Depending on your situation, self-care steps could be as simple as being sure to get enough sleep or going outside more. The key is to identify the stressors in your life and consciously make time to take a break from them.”

Beyond those smaller steps, however, women also need long-term self-care strategies to cope with stress and build resiliency, Whitfield says. Since our physical health is intertwined with our mental health, nutrition and physical activity, self-care should also play a role in these areas.

To help develop a plan, we asked Sentara RMH Medical Center and Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital experts in these areas for tips. Based on their guidance, the common thread seems to be about finding balance, rather than going to extremes. Extremes with exercise, food choices or other areas of your life likely won’t yield sustainable results. However, setting realistic goals and expectations can change habits and lead to better mental and physical health over the long run, making you more resilient when life gets hectic.

Healthy Nutrition

Busy women often skip meals, whether to save time or reduce their calorie intake. In either case, however, the practice usually backfires.

First, skipping meals can cause your body to go into starvation mode, retaining weight instead of shedding pounds, explains Patricia Tyndale, clinical dietitian at Sentara Martha Jefferson.

Second, skipping meals often causes people to become hungry and frustrated as the afternoon rolls on, leading them to overeat toward the end of the day.

“You are better served to eat meals throughout the day, along with healthy snacks, rather than go all day and then just eat one meal,” Tyndale says.

Another trouble spot for balanced nutrition involves popular fad diets like paleo, keto or intermittent fasting. Although you may lose weight at first on these diets, you will likely gain the weight back once you stop the restrictive eating, Tyndale adds.

A more balanced diet that will make you feel healthier includes: • Smart snacks: Greek yogurt with almonds, cottage cheese with fruit, peanut butter on rice cakes, hard-boiled eggs, fruits and veggies. • Better carbs: Fiber-rich, complex carbs such as whole grains, multigrain breads and oatmeal. Examples include quinoa, farrow, brown rice, sweet potatoes, and whole-grain or vegetable pasta. • Healthy fats: Nuts, seeds, nut butter, avocados and olive oil. • Lean protein: Chicken, turkey, lean cuts of beef, white-fleshed fish, Greek yogurt, tofu, nut butter, certain beans and lentils.

Protein sustains you, making you feel full longer. It also fuels your cells and builds bones, muscles, cartilage and skin.

Physical Activity

Exercise builds muscles, helps shed pounds, improves your mental state, and helps improve health conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure. However, fitting exercise into a daily routine filled with time constraints and obligations can be challenging.

One way to help you prioritize your physical fitness is finding out what motivates you, explains Alli Kinney, a fitness instructor at the Sentara RMH Wellness Center.

“For some, the motivation may be to lose weight or improve a health condition,” Kinney says. “Others might want to be able to play with their grandchildren or walk their dog.”

Of course, be sure to talk to your healthcare provider if you want to start a routine and haven’t been exercising regularly.

Eventually, aim for 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes per week of vigorous exercise. Strength training is also necessary to build muscle mass, which can improve your metabolism and bone health.

Here are some tips to help you prioritize your physical fitness: • Divide exercise into smaller chunks: Do 10 squats per hour for a few hours. Take a 15-minute walk during a work break. Lift weights during commercials. • Invest in home exercise equipment: If you can’t go to a gym, consider buying equipment such as resistance bands, light weights, an exercise ball or a stationary bike/treadmill. Exercise videos also can be helpful. • Save the date: Put exercise on your calendar to help make it daily priority. • Make it social: Plan a walk or run with a friend. Find an exercise buddy to help keep yourself accountable.

“What’s important is finding things that work for you, so you can maintain your exercise routine over the long term,” says Heather Moneymaker, site manager, fitness, at the Sentara RMH Wellness Center. “Find the right balance. Of course, you can switch things up, too—but don’t berate yourself if you happen to get off track. What’s important is consistency over time.”

State of Mind

The top three stressors for women typically involve issues with family, finances and physical health, notes Whitfield.

“Trying to balance work life and family—especially during the pandemic—has had a significant impact on women’s health,” she notes.

With so many demands, setting priorities can be tough. Here are some tips to help you simplify your schedule: • Determine and prioritize the tasks that absolutely must get done. • Manage expectations. • Set realistic goals of what you can accomplish in a day. • Learn to say no and try not to overextend yourself. • Get enough sleep, so you can think more clearly.

Immediate stress busters can include taking deep breaths, journaling, listening to music, reading, meditating or going to a movie.

Sometimes, life changes or circumstances can be too much to manage on your own, or even with the help of friends or family. Please seek help from a counselor if you feel helpless or hopeless, can’t sleep, contemplate hurting yourself, or withdraw socially, Whitfield advises.

Keep Tabs on Your Physical Health

Seeing your primary care provider (PCP) is crucial to staying healthy and identifying potential problems or conditions early. Unfortunately, when life gets busy and you feel fine, going to see the doctor can fall to the bottom of your priority list.

However, Kathy Phan, MD, a family medicine physician at Sentara Forest Lakes Family Medicine in Charlottesville, recommends making a yearly physical appointment with your PCP.

“Your self-care needs to include setting aside time to check on your physical health,” Dr. Phan recommends. “We can monitor current medical conditions and make sure you don’t have any concerning changes to your health.”

Your PCP can: • Identify potentially harmful conditions before they become serious • Make sure your vaccines are up to date • Order blood work to check on cholesterol, any vitamin deficiencies, and blood cell counts that can indicate infection or cancer • Monitor your blood pressure • Review your family history, blood work and lifestyle to assess your risk for cancer and heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States

At the office visit, your PCP can order the appropriate cancer screening tools—such as a mammogram, colonoscopy or CT scan—and refer you to specialists for any chronic, unresolved medical conditions you may want to address.

Although virtual appointments have become more common over the past couple of years, do make sure to see your PCP in person as well.

“While virtual appointments can be useful, doctors like to see you face to face, too, so we can check your vitals and look at any areas of concern,” says Dr. Phan. “In-person visits also help doctors build relationships with patients. For me, that’s the best part of my job.”