06 Mar NYC Registered Dietitian Celebrates Women’s Day and #BalanceforBetter

Celebrate you!

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #Balanceforbetter – “Better the balance, better the world.” I love this theme because it translates to so many relevant and necessary issues for women. Not only does it refer to balance in the workplace, the gender pay gap, and political representation, but I also believe it deals with balance in life, sustainable eating, exercise, and nutrition.

Of course I do! That’s my job!

Women’s Day has been celebrated since 1911, yet women can and should be celebrated and supported all year. We all must be feminists. We all must work to build one another up. This Women’s Day, I want you to celebrate you. And it all starts with the way you build yourself up.

Here are 4 tips to take care of yourself this women’s day and all year.

1. Be kind to yourself. Turn off the TV and put away the fashion magazines. Our brains have been wired to believe we’re not thin enough, strong enough, pretty enough … enough. YOU. ARE. ENOUGH. Recognize the negative conversations you have in your head about you. Turn off the non-stop commentary and break those habits of breaking yourself down. Look in the mirror and celebrate you and all the beautiful you are!
2. Nourish yourself. Food isn’t good or bad. It’s just … food. By making choices to nourish your body with a variety of nutritious foods, you’re giving your body the tools it needs to be healthy. This means no going “cold turkey” on any food group. It means building a beautiful relationship with food (no more yo-yo dieting). It means celebrating your heritage when you make your grandma’s lefsa recipe. It means finding the balance of nutrients your body needs.
3. Find joy in movement. Exercise, like food, isn’t a punishment or reward. The way our bodies move is reason to celebrate. Everything from a hug to a dance, diving into a crashing ocean wave to flipping pancakes on the grill – is movement and marvelous. Fall in love with exercise again. Find spaces to celebrate your body. Do things you love. Experience and experiment with new ways to move. Find the balance!
4. Support women. This is a big one. We need to stop tearing one another down. Society has ingrained the idea that other women are threats, not allies, and we have the power to turn that around and build one another up. This makes sense, as there hasn’t been balance at board tables and in politics. These coveted slots are for the select few. This isn’t a zero-sum game. We’re all in this together. So, stand tall, share the achievements of women you know (and don’t know). Celebrate women, women’s bodies, the diversity of women’s bodies … every day.

Women’s Day shouldn’t be relegated to one day each year. Instead, every day is reason to celebrate the beauty and accomplishment of women. This post, then, is just a reminder for you to take care of yourself. Find that balance in your life between work, family, nutrition and exercise. Better the balance, better the world.