Food For Your Soul: Dawn McGee
Are you focused on better health in 2025? If so, you should also be focused on mindfulness. Let’s talk about it.
A new year has begun, and with it comes the chance for new beginnings. For many of us, January is when we focus on making changes in our lives–especially when it comes to our health. Maybe this year you’ve set specific health goals, or maybe you’ve only thought, ‘I want to get healthier this year.’ Either way, there’s an important piece of the puzzle that you may be overlooking: mindfulness.
” Mindfulness is important to your health because it’s one of the most important factors to your success.”
What Does Mindfulness Have to Do with Better Health?
It’s easier to say you want to get healthy than to actually do it. Mindfulness is important to your health because it’s one of the most important factors to your success. When you’re setting intentions or goals, mindset matters. It’s how you ensure you don’t get burnt out. It’s how you ensure your strategies align with the life you’re building. And it’s how you stay positive and focused, no matter what life throws your way!
Here’s an example:
You’re traveling and your layover flight is delayed. You ate before your first flight, and planned to eat again when you reached your destination. But suddenly, your plans are totally derailed. Without mindfulness, you may choose to either
1: wait to eat until you’ve reached your destination (you’ll be hangry with low blood sugar for sure), or
2: grab the closest, easiest food option because making a decision is too stressful (you’ll feel less than your best for the rest of the day, and maybe tomorrow).
But if mindfulness is a regular part of your healthy lifestyle, you’ll be able to recenter yourself, explore your available options, and make an intentional decision about what to eat. (Or maybe just pull a snack out of your bag)
How Do I Incorporate Mindfulness into My Healthy Lifestyle?
Making mindfulness a part of your life is simpler than it sounds. In fact, it’s all about keeping things simple!
Here are a few tips to help you live a mindful life:
1.Reframe Your Thinking:
Take the time to shift your mindset. For instance, before you eat, ask yourself: “Am I eating this because I really want it, or is it stress, boredom, or old habits that are in charge?” Recognizing emotional eating triggers are the first step to help you make more mindful choices. And if you decide to indulge, enjoy it fully – no guilt!
2. Embrace a Joyful Life:
Mindfulness creates space for greater enjoyment of your life. One of my favorite ways to practice mindfulness is to allow myself to fully embrace the enjoyment of the things I love. If I’m indulging in a delicious meal that isn’t very nutritious, I don’t feel guilty about it. Instead, I savor every bite, and embrace the joy of eating food that tastes amazing! (Most of the time though, I combine healthy food and joyful food – yes, it’s totally possible!)
“Mindfulness creates space for greater enjoyment of your life.”
3. Think Beyond The Plate:
A healthy lifestyle is about more than what you put on your plate. Be intentional about other aspects of your life. Movement is vital for your health–choose your movement Intentionally. Pick something that brings you joy! If you love to run, run. If you love to dance, dance. And always remember that your body can’t function properly without enough high-quality sleep. Mindfulness means thinking about all of the aspects of health, not just food, and listening to your body.
Good Luck!
I hope 2025 is a year full of meaningful changes for you. And I hope that you embrace mindfulness in your health journey!
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About The Author:
Dawn McGee is a Nutrition Evangelist and Lazy Cook. She is super passionate about putting the fun back into being healthy and does that by teaching women how to eat to serve their body, brain, and soul so that they can get off the sidelines and back to doing all of the things that bring them joy. She works with women who are ready to make their health a priority and just need someone to help them get started and guide them through the process.
Dawn has been coaching clients in person, online, in groups, and in a 1:1 capacity for more than a dozen years. Prior to becoming a nutrition and fitness coach, she spent over 25 years in the high-tech industry, so she truly understands the life of busy professional women.
Join her free group www.facebook.com/groups/NeverDiet and follow her on IG @dmnutrition and on FB @dmnutritioncoach to hear about all the other fun stuff she has (and get a ton of free + valuable info) If you’re ready to cut through the noise, grab her free guide to 7 Nutrition Lies here –> Free Guide: 7 Nutrition Lies We’ve All Been Fed
