Lately i've been feeling refreshed, more awake, a little more pep in my step, more resilient, able to withstand discomfort a little better, and my skin feels glowier?? (I know that's not a word, but it is now..) 

 

I'm also not minding being outside in the 30/below 30 degree weather here in Boston lately..

 

All these results^ started after I…. Started taking cold showers!! 🥶

 

My Instagram pal Jacki Carr kept talking about it and because I love everything she does, I decided to give it a go. 

 

The first time I tried was sometime last year, and I gave up after the first try or two… Fast forward to now on my try #2, and I'm fully addicted. (Lesson: if you've tried them and hated, TRY AGAIN because hating it is actually part of the process/benefit/growth…)

 

 

As someone whose not a fan of showering in general (I do it, don't worry, but I just don't like it) I find myself actually looking forward to my daily cold shower!!

 

I've been googling, loosely following Wim Hof (the king of cold therapy) and just doing my own thing but this is how I do it.. It's simple..

 

1.) Take shower as normal

2.) At the end, put the water to cold (can do lukewarm or mildly cold to start!) and try for 30-60 seconds

3.) Each shower, try to increase both the coldness and the length of time in cold

 

Now, a few weeks into it I'm at 2 minutes of complete cold and proud of it!! I read somewhere that 3 minutes is the sweet spot - meaning you don't need to go longer than 3 minutes to get the health benefits but don't quote me on this..

 

It's not the answer to all your ailments or life problems… Because, well, nothing is… But!! It's a piece of the pie for me at least I'm finding! Maybe in a month you'll find me in an ice bath or the ocean in winter, who knows!

What's this have to do with food/body image stuff? 

 

OMG everything… It builds our ability to withstand discomfort. Which is a HUGE part in healing one's relationship to food. Often times, food serves as a bit too much of a cover up for discomfort. I.e. we can get into patterns of mindlessly turning to food to fix things it can't really fix.

 

Cold showers help us sit with uncomfortable feelings. When we want to escape with food, often times it's because of avoiding boredom, stress, fear, anger, etc. 

 

By learning to sit with these feelings, we can learn how to cope with and process them better and not use food to cover them up. 

If you've been on the fence, now's the time! Let's help you find wellness without the obsession.

PS - two fun meal prep things I made this week are this tortellini pasta salad (I subbed pistachios for pine nuts because they're more versatile and more bang for your buck, and then I also substituted a sundried tomato bruschetta spread for actual SDT's) 

 

and this chickpea salad… both very YUM and took me like literally 5 minutes to make… thanks to my dietitian pal Kim who helped me with these ideas!! Here's your reminder.. Even dietitians need help from dietitians!! 

Disclaimer: Statements in this post are for educational use only and are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent conditions. Readers are advised to consult with their healthcare providers prior to making any changes to their healthcare management.⁣