September's Living A Better Life Resources

A monthly musing where I share my favorite health, wellness, and beauty products, podcast episodes, articles, and more.

Howdy - I hope all of y’all had a fantastic summer. I was thinking about y’all and this space the other night. I’m ready to ease back into posting original content here.

I have a note and photo folder on my phone called “Living a Better Life Resources,” where I save valuable things that help me live a better life. For example, I have an infographic on radical acceptance and a very well-used screenshot of the feelings wheel. In my notes app, I have links to podcasts that are good to have on file and news articles that I turn back to.

I thought, why not share this with the crew? Influencers do it all the time on TikTok, and those are some of my favorite posts. I walk away, learning something or considering whether a ritual is worth adding to my rotation. It’s how I got so deep into matcha, a calming morning ritual that calibrates me for the day ahead.

So, I’m making an effort to share at least five of my favorite things every month. Let’s get started, shall we?

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This podcast with Dr. Teo Soleymani explaining literally everything you need to know about skin: The episode offers a lot of good information about skin health, how to choose a sunscreen that works for you, and how LESS IS MORE when it comes to skincare.

This podcast with Dr. Stacy Sims explaining how fitness trends don’t always land with cisgender women and people assigned female at birth because the data is based on cisgender men: The episode is long, but omg, it is worth the listen. Dr. Sims goes deep on problematic fitness trends—like fasting and obsessive calorie counting—and offers real solutions to improving health and well-being. (Sorry, everyone. You have to pick up a set of dumbbells!)

This article on pap smears letting the door hit it on its way out: HALLELUJAH, I scream as I schedule mine. For many of us who get them, pap smears can be painful. But the FDA has approved self-testing tools, hopefully making the process less awful.

This well-tested supplement that is proven to work: Creatine is undoubtedly the best thing to come out of health and wellness culture. As Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz, a board-certified OB-GYN and menopause specialist, told me last year: “Creatine has been demonstrated repeatedly to improve performance, increase muscle mass, improve mood and sleep, which improves cognition, and now to have a specific impact on bone mineralization when combined with resistance training in postmenopausal.” (Here’s a link to the brand my dietician recommended.)

Note: Ask your doctor before starting any supplements to make sure nothing interacts with the medications you may be on. If you have a history of kidney problems, play it safe and speak with your nephrologist before starting any supplement. And stay hydrated while supplementing!

This Instagram post from a neuroscientist on the importance of keeping your promises to yourself: For the past year, one of my mantras has been “keep the promises you’ve made to yourself.” So when I saw this post breaking down how doing so rewires the brain, I felt validated, and I enjoyed knowing that I was building my self-trust and reaffirming my self-worth. Keep those promises! If you say you will go for a walk every day, GO FOR THAT WALK.

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Let me know in the comments if y’all like this post! Please share it with your friends, too.