7 Healthy Habits that I have started in 2026 (and will continue)

There is often an assumption that because I do what I do, that my diet is perfect, my habits are dialed in and wellbeing comes easy to me. That is not the case, I always take inventory of my day and week and get really clear on what is moving me towards health and what is moving me away from it. And oftentimes, what works changes so I am always adjusting for what works for me right now. So here is the list as of September of 2026. 

Tracking My Daily Stress, Sleep and Readiness with an Oura Ring 

I wasn’t able to get one of these bad boys for a long time because I had a baby and at that moment in my life, managing my sleep was out of my control. Now that my son sleeps reliably through the night (well mostly, I still get the 2am “mommy, my sheets are crooked! call that wakes me up), I have been able to understand my data in more detail and use it to support my habits. I have learned a lot of fascinating things like what stresses me out that I never expected. For example a hot bath. I love to take a long, hot bath and it does feel like it's calming me down, but what I realized is that I have a hard time recovering from it. My stress is high during, which makes sense, it's hot and my heart rate is up. But even hours later my body lingers in a state of stress. Exercise is great, but intense exercise without proper post-recovery is another huge stressor on my system. It's interesting because I think back to when I was marathon training and working 40+ hours per week, there was no way my stress levels weren’t just off the charts at all times. And they were because I eventually burned out and felt shitty. 

Another interesting and probably not shocking thing I learned was that screen time before bed, even if it's a light TV show, keeps my heart rate more elevated through the night than if I read a book or just go to bed. 

So what have I adjusted? I only watch TV before bed 1-2 nights per week and only if I had a good sleep and readiness score the night before. I am reading before bed more consistently and I have read A LOT of books this year. 

I have backed off on hot, hot baths unless I have the time to sleep afterwards or have a more low-key day. I have modified my workouts to be less intense cardio and more strength building focused and stretching focused.

Overall it is teaching me to be a little more gentle with my body and that in this moment of life, I need to slow down, recover and build foundational strength. 

Eating an Avocado A Day (most days)

I am a triple gemini and my constitution is primarily vatta. I need things that ground me and getting enough healthy fat is something that is very important. I LOVE sugar and crave all baked goods. And I do often eat something sweet most days, especially in my luteal phase, I can’t get enough sweet stuff. However, as we all know, high levels of processed sugar are not great for really any part of your body. What I have found is when I eat an avocado, it cuts my sugar cravings. I think I partially crave sweets because they do contain a high level of fat and my body wants fat. I also did my blood work and found that my LDL was a little on the high side, so more healthy fat will help this as well. 

Increasing Fiber

I spent half of last year and the beginning half of this year doing a podcast with HUM Nutrition. We talked a lot about current health trends and hot topics in the health and wellness world. Surprisingly fiber was a big topic of conversation. According to the NIH, 95% of the US population doesn’t consume enough fiber. And guess what, I was one of them. When I looked at my diet, I realized that, unless I ate a bowl of lentil soup, I was getting about 15g of fiber daily, the goal is 25-30g. I also did a stool test (who is shocked about this one!?!?) and found that I had two bacteria that dominated my microbial ecosystem. P. dorei and Sagetella Copri make up 53% of my ecosystem which is not great considering a healthy microbiome thrives on diversity and lots of different bacterial species. Just another confirmation that my diet was not cutting it and I needed to up the fiber. I have been eating more beans, using the Zoe Daily 30+ fiber blend, eating sprouts and always ensuring for each meal that I have a veggie or a fruit.  

Boosting My Akkermansia

Since we are already talking about stool testing, another insight I found was that I have 0% akkermansia in my ecosystem. This is an important bacteria for mucosal protection, blood sugar regulation and degrading inflammation. I increased my fiber intake to boost this and have also started taking Polyphenol Boosters by Pendulum to see if that boosts my Akkermansia. I am redoing my poop test and will see if that moved the needle. If not I am also adding in reds powder, resbiotic pre-biotic powder and Nutridyn to see if either one of those will move the needle. Stay tuned. 

Redefining Work

I built a successful coaching business. I got to serve so many clients and I still get to do this work. However, in 2025 I got really honest with myself and had to admit that I was very lonely. As a generator I need something to respond off of. I need people to have conversations with, I need nerdy nerds to get excited about the latest study on microbiome testing technologies and the discovery of key strains linked to cancer detection, I need people outside of those I am serving as a coach and guide. 

I got offered an amazing job that would require me to fly to LA every 6 weeks and I really sat with it. It was great money, amazing people, I would be on the marketing team and R&D team (my dream) and I would get to hone my public speaking skills. But I couldn’t do it. My mind wanted it, my soul was the WTF. So I passed and grieved it pretty hard. I wanted co-workers, I wanted people in my industry to learn from, but I couldn’t sacrifice myself and my health to get there. I had done that too many times before. 

So I continued on and decided to go to a health and wellness conference to see if I still wanted to be in the industry. This was a big moment because there was so much that changed for me at this conference. I realized I wanted to do more public speaking, I wanted to be in this industry and everything I was drawn to was all about the microbiome. I met a couple of companies and ended up getting a consulting opportunity with one and I love it so much. I have co-workers, I get to travel but not so much that I am away from my family and my own local community and I get to talk to the leading microbiome researchers who are reinventing the way we can see the microbiome. This gives me the opportunity to stay up to date on the latest and greatest in the world of the microbiome, still see my 1:1 clients and have time to be with my family. 

Using My Hands

I had to get a new computer earlier this year and when they were wiping it clean and taking it away I cried. I cried in the Apple store. I looked at the man helping me and said, “this must happen all the time.” He gave me a look like not at all. I built my virtual business on that computer, I moved all over the world with that computer, I supported my family with that computer. It meant a lot to me and in that moment I realized I might have given it a little too much power. I often get headaches from staring at the screen for too long, I get stiff from sitting in front of my computer and I tune out the world around me. I find it soothing but I have also realized I need to have a bit more balance in my life. My computer is not my bestie and frankly prolonged time with it does not make me feel good. 

I recently started volunteering in the kitchen at my kids school and I LOVE it. The pace, the focus, the hands-on interaction with food really nourishes my soul. It also helps that all the food in the kitchen is organic, food is also sourced from the school garden and the people in the kitchen all have kids that attend the school. We are providing high quality nourishment in so many different forms and it makes me delighted. 

Not Using AI for Self Expression and Writing

I spent a long time getting to know myself, sitting in women's circles and excavating different parts of myself. I like the way it feels to write, to sit down and let ideas flow out onto the page. I have a lot of wisdom in my brain and lived experiences and I want to use this platform as a way to share it. My curiosity allows me to see things in a new light and to ask some crazy questions with unexpected answers. Especially as a woman in the science and research world which is predominantly male and a woman in the health and wellness world which is predominantly female, I have a lot to say. I was educated and have a degree in the conventional world and I have also studied and have a lot of knowledge in the non-conventional world. Walking between these two words is one of the greatest challenges of my career and finding my authentic voice within that has proved to be tricky. That is why I am making this a space where I will never use AI to communicate what is on my mind. Everything written here will be my own. Spelling mistakes, rambling, thoughts that don’t connect, whatever it is that makes me human will be preserved here. And that feels quite good. 

I would love to hear about what you have learned this year and habits that you have put into place that are helping you stay more connected to yourself.