After a long day at work, the last thing you want to do is spend your evening cooking dinner or schlepping to the gym for an hour on the elliptical. You are tired, hungry, and stressed, and all you want to do is collapse on the couch and catch up on Netflix. Find out three habits that fit women in midlife adopt to slay their day!

How on earth will you have enough energy to get back on track? But guess what? You don’t have to succumb to these energy bandits! Why not start with a few simple steps to help you start boosting your energy right now?

What Can Get In The Way Of Women To Slay Their Day?

There are several common challenges that women might face in “slaying their day” or making the most of their daily activities:

1. Time Management: With often juggling multiple roles, including career, family, and personal care, women can struggle to find enough time to fulfill all their responsibilities and goals.
2. Perfectionism: The societal pressure for women to be perfect in every role can lead to stress and burnout. This can disrupt productivity and general well-being.
3. Lack of Self-care: Women often prioritize the needs of others over their own, which can lead to neglect of physical health, emotional well-being, and personal interests.
4. Gender Bias: Women often face systemic challenges and biases in the workplace, which can add additional hurdles to achieving their daily objectives.
5. Imposter Syndrome: This is the feeling of not being good enough or fearing being exposed as a “fraud”. It can lead to self-doubt and hinder women from realizing their full potential.

Addressing these challenges involves a combination of personal strategies, such as setting clear boundaries and prioritizing self-care, as well as societal changes to address gender bias and unrealistic expectations.

3 Habits Fit Midlife Women Use to Slay Their Day

Change some of your habits with health in mind to feel confident and boost your success!

1. Lack of Sleep

Sleep is just as important as nutrition and exercise to improve your health and body composition. According to the National Institutes of Health, the average adult sleeps less than seven hours per night. Lack of sleep can make you gain body fat and increase the risk of chronic illness.

Here are several reasons why we need to prioritize getting more sleep:

1. Restoration: While we sleep, our bodies work to support healthy brain function and maintain physical health. Processes occur that restore and repair heart and blood vessels, support growth and development, boost muscle mass, and regulate hormones.
2. Cognitive Functioning: Sleep plays a significant role in cognitive processes like learning, memory, and problem-solving skills. During sleep, your brain consolidates new information and memories, making it essential for learning and retention.
3. Mental Health: Lack of sleep has been associated with depression, suicide, and risk-taking behavior. Regular good quality sleep contributes to overall mental well-being.
4. Immune Function: Sleep helps to support a well-functioning immune system, which protects us against infections and diseases.
5. Healthy Weight: Lack of sleep can disrupt hormones that regulate appetite, leading to increased hunger and potentially contributing to obesity.

2. Stress

Well, the key here is balance. You’re never going to reduce all of your stress. The job, the relationships, etc. but a certain amount of stress can be good for us. In other words, we need to engage in more activities that help us create a state of relaxation. This is also a part of slaying your day and being successful by taking care of yourself.

Here are three key reasons why we need to manage stress:

1. Physical Health: Chronic stress can lead to several health issues, including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other illnesses, including mental disorders like depression or anxiety.
2. Mental Clarity and Productivity: High stress levels can hinder cognitive functions such as concentration, creativity, decision-making skills, and memory. By managing stress, we can maintain mental clarity, which in turn increases productivity and performance in our daily tasks.
3. Emotional Well-being: Prolonged stress can lead to emotional exhaustion, a sense of detachment or apathy, and may harm personal relationships. Destressing is key to preserving our emotional health, maintaining healthy relationships, and fostering a positive outlook on life.

3. Improper Diet

Women over 50 who are active and want to maintain their energy and health need to focus on the following nutrients:

1. Calcium is essential for bone health, as women are at a higher risk for osteoporosis post-menopausal.
2. Vitamin D: Works with calcium to support bone health and helps in preventing bone loss. It’s also key for immune function.
3. Protein: Important for maintaining muscle mass, promoting recovery from physical activity, and keeping the immune system strong.
4. Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Promote heart health, support mental function, and reduce inflammation.
5. B Vitamins: Particularly B6, B12, and folate, which are vital for brain health and energy production.
6. Fiber: Supports digestive health and helps control blood sugar levels.
7. Iron: Although the need decreases after menopause, some women may still need to maintain iron intake to counterbalance iron loss from the diet.
8. Antioxidants (Vitamins C, E, and A, selenium, etc.): Helps to combat oxidative stress in the body and supports overall cellular health.

As always, these nutrients are best obtained from a balanced, varied diet, but supplements can be considered under medical guidance.

(Spark tip: Add a handful of almonds, hazelnuts, or cashews to your daily diet to offset a magnesium deficiency which can deplete your energy level)

Bonus Tip: As a Precision Nutrition coach, I recommend eating lean proteins with each meal to my clients. Eggs, chicken, and fish are essential for good health. Women should eat 20-30 grams of protein per meal to fire up their metabolism, gain lean muscle mass, and reduce body fat.

Pick only one habit at a time To Slay Your Day And Be Successful!

Yes, that’s just 1, and don’t break this rule.

Research has shown that you will be less likely to succeed if you try to change several habits simultaneously. Changing one habit at a time will help you adopt and stick to a new pattern. Once you have successfully implemented one of the above habits, try going for a second and then a third. It’s that easy!

You don’t have to do everything all at once, and making small decisions that benefit your health can pay off big in the long run. If you like some help with your nutrition and exercise strategies, check out heikeyates.com