5 Ways Women in Midlife Can Reconnect to Health and Joy

Hello Middle-Age Warriors! The greatest joy in my life has been raising my two beautiful children, and what often felt like a thankless job has also been the greatest accomplishment of my life and an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything. That said, I spent my mid-thirties into my late forties giving 120 percent to my family, placing myself on the back burner. I was dedicated to raising my family. Breakfast was on the table, and the lunches were packed. I found myself volunteering at school events. I wore the hats of chauffeur, academic tutor, and the proverbial soccer Mom, along with entertaining friends, planning epic birthday parties, and improvising bedtime stories. While highlighting the various food groups and color wheel, my children’s dinner plates were miniature works of art. Nothing brought me more delight than watching my children flourish, but by the end of each day, I found myself too exhausted to pick up a new book, put on my favorite music, or engage in my once favorite hobbies. Eventually, the self-neglect took its toll on me both physically and mentally. I no longer recognized myself as I passed by the mirror, and I no longer knew what made me happy. If any of this is at all familiar, then I encourage you to continue reading below as I highlight five of the ways that allowed me to find my way back to myself, from losing weight and regaining health to reconnecting to things that bring me joy. 

Eat Right and Move More

Cleaning up my diet was crucial to my journey. I was overweight and had spent years overcomplicating the issue. As a health coach, my best advice to anyone looking to lose weight and regain health is to look at the foods they eat and see where they can make small changes. The power of food lies in your ability to make a healthier choice, and the better your choices, the better your results. Next is movement. I prefer this word to exercise as the benefits of gentle movement throughout our days can be overlooked. When given the opportunity, walk instead of drive. If you have a few minutes while waiting to take dinner out of the oven, put on your favorite song, and dance for five minutes. Again, start small and look at your choices. Where can you add a few steps to your day? 

Tap Into Your Inner Van Gogh

Creating allows us to express our emotions. It enables us to determine our likes and dislikes. While drawing, we might realize we prefer pastels to bold colors, or while baking, we may learn we prefer the more subtle taste of vanilla to bold dark chocolate. These are the opportunities we have to understand and connect with our likes and dislikes. We are all creative beings in one form or another. Give yourself the gift of time to create a masterpiece. Redecorate a room, write a poem, plant a garden, or sign up for that watercolor course. Engaging in creative behaviors improves both our overall physical and mental health. In my journey back to wellness, I found that my mind was more open to other creative ideas while working on a creative project. It’s as if through creating, I opened up a road map to the things that bring me joy, which has given me a better understanding of myself.

Find Your Zen

Back in the mid-1990’s I worked with mindfulness to help relieve stress from a chronic illness. Although I eventually moved away from the practice, it was a tool I still had in my back pocket, and when it came to reconnecting to health and joy during midlife, it once again served me well. Mindfulness is when we are aware of the present moment, and without judgment, we observe our thoughts, feelings, and sensations as they arise. Although there is no one right practice, I recommend experimenting with breathwork and meditation. I am a big fan of the Fitbit app and its mindfulness exercises, but there are many options out there, including videos on Youtube or simply deep breathing on your own. 

Rinse and Repeat, the Power of Daily Journaling

If I’m honest, this one was difficult for me at the beginning of my journey. I included journaling in my morning schedule but would always look for a reason not to show up for  it. It wasn’t until I discovered the book, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron did I fully understand the value of putting pen to paper each morning. I like her particular process because there is no rhyme or reason for writing. You just fill the pages with anything that rolls off your pen. It’s a cleansing process each morning—a beautiful chance to get rid of all the junk and begin the day with a clear mind. That said, there are many ways to journal. You can focus on gratitude or use specific prompts. The key is to get your worries, goals, and dreams on paper and then take the time to reflect so you can learn and grow. 

The Gratitude Attitude

Identify those small things that make you happy each day. These things can be as small as your morning coffee, taking your dog for a walk, or listening to your favorite podcast. Pay attention to the things that light you up, as these are the moments in life that reconnect us to our joy. We will naturally seek out more and start living our lives again when we focus on these things. For me, it was health-related. As I began my journey to wellness, I found an interest and joy in nutrition. It seemed small at first, but as I focused more on the subject, I found more and more opportunities opened up. This path eventually led to me going back to school to be an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and is the reason I’m now writing this blog. 

As Mothers, we give so much to our families, and our children will always be our pride and joy. But many of us, while raising our kids, pushed our own health and interests aside. We lost our sense of self, and now, as women in our late forties or fifties, we find ourselves in disconnect. But it’s never too late to reconnect to health and joy. Each moment is a fresh start. We have the chance to choose the apple over the cookie, the stairs over the elevator, to bake the cake or plant the garden, to take that moment just to breathe, and appreciate the things that bring us joy. It’s in these daily choices that we find the opportunity to rediscover ourselves and to live the healthy and vibrant lives we all deserve during our middle-aged years.