Browsing Category: Health

These are my 2019 goals and how I will make them happen

December 18, 2018 Zoe

In 2018, I didn’t make any set goals. We had just turned our lives upside down, moving halfway around the world. Everything was different and new, and rather than making some ambitious plans to change my life even further, my main, unsaid goal was pretty much to just settle into our new lives. I wanted to make friends, to grow in my career, and to make this place a home. That seemed daunting enough, and yet I accomplished this unspoken goal, just as I achieved my 2017 goals the year before. Seeing as one of the things I offer as a coach is help with goals, I figured I should probably show you how I apply this to my own life, by sharing my own 2019 goals.

But it’s not enough to just have dreams or ideas. They have to be translated into action steps, as well as daily, weekly and monthly activities. The goals need to be clear and easily quantified, and then the steps need to be actionable, or else it all becomes too overwhelming, vague and impossible. So this is how I hope to change my life in 2019. Continue Reading

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3 Comments Fitness, Health, Rambling

Prescription-free skin care for Psoriasis

August 6, 2018 Zoe

Some of you might not know this about me, but I’ve struggled with psoriasis for pretty much my whole life. It was a big part of my body and self-image issues as a teenager, and can still be really frustrating. But I’ve learned a lot from leading dermatologists and other doctors’ advice, plus from just living with this for years and figuring out what works.

First up, a big disclaimer. I’m not a doctor or dermatologist, nor do I have any medical training (except I think I did a first aid workshop a while back). I have “just” lived with psoriasis for my whole life and have learned some tricks to keep it under control. I haven’t used any prescription products in years, not because my skin is always clear, but just because travel and new doctors means it’s not always easy. Here are some easy ways to manage your psoriasis or other dry skin conditions if you can’t or won’t use something available only with a doctor’s scrawl.

(Another disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that if you click on them and buy stuff, I might get some cash. But that doesn’t change what I’m recommending, or the content of this article)

2 Comments Health, Products

Dry skin Psoriasis skin care

How I make bone broth for free

February 14, 2018 Zoe

If you’ve spent any time looking into healthy living advice online, you’ve probably heard the benefits of bone broth. This magical elixir is credited with giving you healthy hair and nails, improving your digestion and generally just curing every malady you can think of. Let’s get real here for a second, though – bone broth is essentially stock, as it’s been called for many years, and you can make bone broth for free.

I love to do this on a regular basis. It saves me money on other recipes, plus it means I get to enjoy drinking a couple mugs of broth during cool winter afternoons and evenings. Maybe it’s good for digestion, and the collagen might be helping my skin, but mainly it’s a great source of extra nutrients and flavor that doesn’t cost me anything. Continue Reading

Comment Food, Health

Food Health Recipe

Tips for returning to the gym after a (long) break

January 4, 2018 Zoe

I will confess, I was already a gym slacker before I got pregnant. I wasn’t going as often as I used to and was generally looking for a change. Then I spawned a person, and at my very first doctor’s appointment, I was told that I couldn’t lift heavy weights while pregnant. It was a disappointment, but also sorta a way of letting myself off the hook.

Fast forward 2.5 years, and I’d gained quite a bit of weight and hadn’t been in a gym for years. Sure, I did yoga for a while, and I was constantly carrying around a 10kg (22lbs) human, but I was out of shape. When we moved into our new, awesome home, we joined our local gym and I returned to weightlifting at last. I’m still in the early days, but I’ve learned some important things. Continue Reading

3 Comments Fitness, Health

Fitness Gym Health

Ubuntu Baba review – falling in love with toddler wearing

February 6, 2017 Zoe

When Harley was a tiny little thing, I had a ring sling that was fantastic. I could pop Harley in and she would sleep while I had two hands free to do whatever else needed doing. I loved baby wearing at that stage, but the sling itself wasn’t exactly the best design – it put most of the strain on my one shoulder and if she moved around too much, she would basically squirm out of the thing. Once she crossed the five kgs mark, I simply couldn’t use it anymore.

Things were still okay – her car seat would clip into the pram, so I could usually knock her out with a drive and then shop with a sleeping baby in the pram. But once she graduated to a bigger seat, the pram became a bit of a waste; she didn’t want to sit in her pram, she wanted me to carry her on my hip. I was getting really bad carpal tunnel and body aches as a result, which is why I decided to jump back into the world of babywearing with the Ubuntu Baba, and I have never been so happy with a purchase. Continue Reading

6 Comments Health, Parenting, Products, South Africa

Baby Carrier Baby wearing Ubuntu Baba