Raphael Stevens

So it’s been a stressful week (or weeks–looking at you, holiday season) and your regular eating habits are thrown off-kilter. You’ve been making food choices that aren’t aligned with your bodies’ needs and cues. The result? Brain fog, low energy, painful bloat, weakened immune system, or just an overall feeling of blah. First of all, take a deep breath. It’s OK–we’re cyclical beings and our food habits are naturally cyclical too. But you don’t have to let a couple of takeout meals or a holiday season of eggnog and cookies spiral into an extended period of eating foods that don’t make your body feel its very best. 
While there’s no one-size-fits-all definition of “healthy,” there are simple and sustainable ways to build a good-for-you diet (without actually going on a diet). I asked Kimberly Snyder, nutritionist, spiritual and meditation teacher, and author of You Are More Than You Think You Are, to let us in on her secrets on how to feel and look your best. With a clientele that reads like an A-list party invite (Reese Witherspoon, Drew Barrymore, and Channing Tatum, if we’re going to name-drop), consider her Hollywood’s go-to nutritionist—and now yours. Read on for the healthy eating tips she lives by.

Meet the expert

Celebrity Nutritionist
Kimberly Snyder is a three-time New York Times bestselling author, spiritual and meditation teacher, nutritionist, and wellness expert. She is also the founder of Solluna®, a holistic lifestyle brand, and the host of the top-rated Feel Good Podcast. Snyder has been featured by many national media outlets, including Good Morning America, The Today Show, and The New York Times.

1. Start the day with hot water with lemon
The Ayurvedic practice of drinking hot water with lemon in the morning has long been touted for its health benefits (think: get things moving), and for good reason. “This simple practice helps to get you hydrated in the morning, supports great digestion, and can support your liver, your main detoxifying organ–it’s like drinking from the sun!” Snyder remarked. “Full of vitamin C, it’s a great way to support glowing skin as well.”  So before you reach for your morning cup of joe or bite into your breakfast, wake up and hydrate your body with the citrus-spiked beverage. Bonus points: You’ll get a leg up on hitting your hydration goal for the day and be more mindful of staying hydrated throughout the day by drinking the concoction first thing in the AM. It’s a simple addition to your morning routine that your digestive and immune systems will thank you for. You just might notice a glow-up in your skin too. 

2. Stick with plant-forward eating
We all know that a whole, nutritious diet includes piling on the greens. But rather than focusing on cutting out your favorite foods, Snyder encouraged setting your sights on munching on more plants. What would you find in Snyder’s fridge? Kale, spinach, microgreens, sprouts, apples, carrots, bananas, and nuts. “My mornings always include a Glowing Green Smoothie, made with three cups of leafy green vegetables, celery, banana, pear, apple, and lemon juice,” Snyder described. “This smoothie has 9-11 grams of fiber, which is key for stabilizing blood sugar and preventing the body from craving sugary foods later. This, along with giving ourselves incredible amounts of minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants, all work together and leads to being more in tune with nature and making better decisions all day.”
Not a fan of a cold refreshment in the morning? Drink Snyder’s signature drink at room temperature or simply make sure you’re checking off produce at every meal. They’ll not only load you up with fiber and micronutrients, but also keep your body satiated and your blood sugar levels stable (read: a boost in energy and mood). 

3. Meditate consistently
Fueling our bodies physically through nutrition and movement is important, but the other piece of the wellness puzzle is giving our mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being some much-needed TLC. Enter: meditation. “This is the most important practice of all, in my opinion, which has radically transformed my health, clarity, inner peace, intuition and abundance,” Snyder stated. “When we connect to our True Self, we stay more centered throughout the day and are able to be more clear and energized. You will know when you are truly hungry and will be better equipped to deal with emotions rather than give in to food cravings.” In other words, by connecting with yourself through meditation, you’ll bring awareness to the present, feel more calm, and be more in tune with your bodies’ signals.
Let go of any perception that you have to meditate for an extended amount of time to reap the benefits. Even a one-minute meditation can flip on the well-being switch. Lean on Snyder’s guided meditations, download a meditation app that speaks to you, or take up focused breathing. 

4. Take the right kind of probiotics
If I were to pick the wellness buzzword as of late, it would be gut health. It’s the key to your physical and mental health after all. And that glow from the inside out we all crave? You can thank (or blame) your gut microbiome. Of course, the holy grail to keeping your gut health in check is eating a healthy diet, but adding high-quality probiotics to your regimen can also do wonders to heal your gut or keep it happy.
According to Snyder, the word “probiotic” combines two Greek words: “pro,” which means promotion of, and “biotic,” which means life. The name says it all! “Probiotics have been shown to strengthen your immune system, improve digestion, promote weight loss, and even protect you from certain ailments and diseases,” Snyder emphasized. What’s more, according to Harvard Health Publishing, probiotics can help restore the balance when the gut becomes unbalanced with unhealthy levels of certain bacteria, thanks to unhealthy eating, stress, poor sleep, etc.
When researching the best probiotic for you, consider the types of bacterial strains used, which strains and/or brand names have been studied for their effectiveness, and how the probiotics need to be stored. As a general rule of thumb, Snyder recommended looking for a formula containing soil-based organism (SBO) strains, such as her Solluna Feel Good SBO Probiotics+. “What does not make a formula effective or not is culture count,” Snyder conveyed. “Many brands can add billions of cultures into a formula for marketing, but they are destroyed before they get into your gut and they are not in proper ratios or the composition you need for a healthy, balanced microbiome. It’s not about numbers, it’s about efficacy.” When in doubt, pack on probiotic-rich foods like kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, pickles, miso, tempeh, kimchi, and sourdough bread.

5. Check in with your body’s response to dairy 
According to Snyder, many people are intolerant or sensitive to dairy, but undiagnosed; a whopping 65% of the human population is lactose intolerant. “Even for those who aren’t entirely ‘intolerant’ to lactose, dairy can still be a major trigger for irritable bowel syndrome among other digestive conditions, such as chronic constipation,” she explained. If you’re part of the 65% and have a lactose intolerance, your body is unable to fully digest the lactose in milk, leading to symptoms ranging from gas and bloating to abdominal pain and diarrhea after consuming dairy products. 
Snyder suggested reaching for plant-based sources of calcium such as green leafy vegetables, tahini, and sesame seeds and eating more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and seeds to fill in the gaps in your diet where dairy played a role. Thanks to the many plant-based alternatives to milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, you name it, at our disposal, going dairy-free has never been easier (or tastier). 

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“I’m so lucky; everything works out for me.” If you haven’t heard that viral affirmation yet, you must be living under a rock–or maybe you’re just doing something more productive than scrolling on your phone. Either way, you’re missing out on the latest manifestation trend that everyone on TikTok is using to achieve their dream life: Lucky Girl Syndrome. Content creators Laura Galebe (AKA the CEO of the “Memoir Technique”) and Sammy K (AKA the college girl with a flip phone) helped popularize the trend by sharing their personal experiences trying it out. Both share in their videos about how the manifestation technique completely changed their lives and helped them attract unbelievable outcomes and opportunities. If this sounds like the kind of energy you’re trying to manifest this year, read on to learn more about Lucky Girl Syndrome and how you can apply it to your everyday life. 

What is Lucky Girl Syndrome? 
Before we had Lucky Girl Syndrome, we had the Law of Assumption. In his book The Law of Assumption: An Essential Lesson, Neville Goddard explained the principle, saying that whatever we assume to be true will eventually become true, for better or worse. This is the same thinking as Lucky Girl Syndrome. Do you know someone who always seems to have things go wrong for them? Think: They get a parking ticket, are summoned for jury duty, and spill their coffee all in the same day. Maybe these bad things always happen to them because they assume bad things will always happen to them. The same can be said for lucky people who find money in their pockets or get an unexpected promotion. Things always seem to work out for them because they assume they will. 
The Law of Assumption also places importance on the power of imagination, saying that everything that exists came from someone’s imagination and was then brought into reality. If we can imagine something and assume it will happen, it will become our truth. If you can visualize being lucky and assume everything will work out for you, you’re on your way to becoming a lucky girl.

@lauragalebe
The secret is to assume and believe it before the concrete proof shows up. BE DELUSIONAL. #bedelusional #luckygirlsyndrome #affirmations #lawofassumption #manifestationtiktok #manifestingtok #lawofassumptiontok #manifestation
♬ original sound – Laura Galebe

How to practice it 

Listen to an affirmation playlist
On a recent episode of The Everygirl Podcast, self-development coach, manifestation expert, and best-selling author Roxie Nafousi shared that listening to affirmation playlists helped kickstart her manifestation journey. She recommended listening to affirmations as you fall asleep because it’s one of the few times of the day the self-conscious is most susceptible to reprogramming beliefs. “A belief is just a thought that’s repeated so many times that it becomes so,” Nafousi said. Search for affirmation playlists on YouTube, listen to the meditations and positive affirmations Roxie offers on her website, or try recording your own with customized lucky girl statements, like “I am so lucky” or “I don’t chase, I attract. What belongs to me will simply find me.” 

Say your affirmations out loud
Nafousi and Galebe both believe that saying affirmations out loud is key to making practices like manifestation and Lucky Girl Syndrome work for you. Like Nafousi explained, “The sub-conscious can’t differentiate a truth from a lie, so it will believe whatever you tell it. So, if you say a mantra or an affirmation, even if you don’t consciously feel it’s true, it doesn’t matter. Your sub-conscious will take it as truth.” Say your affirmations out loud in the morning to set the tone for a positive mindset, and prepare to have a lucky day.  

@coachrachelleindra
Lucky girl syndrome is something that science has proven. This is why setting morning I tensions is so important. #luckygirl #luckygirlsyndrome #manifesting #manifestingmethods #milennials #eldermillenial #boomer
♬ original sound – Life Coach

Set reminders  
No matter how hard we try, it can be tough for some of us (*raises hand*) to remember to say affirmations every day. The solution? Try leaving affirmation notes around your house (think: a Post-it Note on your bathroom mirror) or making your affirmations your lock screen on your phone as a reminder that you are lucky and everything goes your way. Then when you stumble upon them throughout the day, take time to read them to yourself and say them out loud. Even lazy girls can be lucky girls. 

Look for proof
If you find that affirmations alone aren’t doing the trick, try this tip from brain training specialist and hypnosis practitioner Emilie Leyes. According to Leyes, our brains learn better from experiences than from words. In other words, pairing affirmations with real life examples will help us believe them. “Set an intention to start noticing the moments when things do go your way even if it’s the smallest thing,” Leyes said. “All of a sudden your brain is learning from these experiences and you’re going to subconsciously believe by default that things do go your way.” 

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While a clean, blank slate (read: the new year) brings with it an air of excitement, it also comes with added pressure, leaving you wondering where to even begin (and–if you’re like me–anxiety-ridden that I’m already somehow behind). The good news: Journaling can be just what you need as a jumping-off point to make sh*t happen. If the 4.4 billion views #journaling has on TikTok or the benefits journaling has on your mental health and well-being haven’t already convinced you to put pen to paper (or fingertips to keyboard), consider this your sign to get writing.
I tapped into the expertise of astrologists to kick us off, because writer’s block is real and 2023 is all about doing the most. We’re not talking the “Dear Diary” of the past or cliche prompts, but rather deep self-reflection to (actually) achieve your best life. Remember that there is no right or wrong answers when it comes to journaling, and you won’t get dinged for improper syntax, spelling, or grammatical errors. Translation: Your journal—whether notebook or app—is a safe, judgment-free zone. Ahead, astrologists share the practices they swear by to reach your goals in 2023. 

Why 2023 is an important year to start a journaling practice
So you set an intention to take up journaling this year, but your new notebook has been sitting pretty on your desk collecting dust since January 1. Sound familiar? Well, if there was ever a year to channel your inner Sylvia Plath, it’s 2023. “We have lucky Jupiter in Aries this year, so it’s all about being bold and brave, creating opportunities for yourself, and pushing the limits,” said Iva Naskova, a western astrologer at Nebula. “2023 gives all of us a chance to take control and adjust our life the way we see fit and think it’s best. So self-reflection and writing about your future can help you manifest happiness, abundance, good health, and success.”
Whether we care to admit it or not, we are often our own worst enemies—you know, the harsh inner critic, the overanalyzing, not trusting your gut. All the more reason to jot down your thoughts and create the life you want. “This is a year of understanding what is really going to be there for you, and where you need to become more self-reliant and anti-fragile,” conveyed Jill Loftis, an astrologer and Founder of Nuit Astrology. “It’s time to take responsibility for who you are and where you are going. It is up to you to decide if you are successful; if you are happy. And typically, there is one person standing in your way—you. That should become abundantly clear this year, and instead of scattering your energies, take the momentum of the beginning of this year to get clear and take charge.”
 
Journal prompts to start the year off

What makes you thrive and excites you? How can you make your everyday experiences richer and more endearing? 
What aspects of your life have always stayed the same and why? What can help you make a change and move forward? 
How can your life experiences help you expand and grow, and in which direction?
What one self-defeating habit or pattern do I need to eliminate and how can I focus all of my energy and resources to healing that destructive habit?

Why you should journal with the phases of the moon
If you’ve ever noticed yourself in your feels during a full moon, that was no coincidence. In astrology, the moon represents your emotions—your feelings, hopes, fears, moods, relationships. And your journaling practice should vary with it. “Consistent action through the ebbing cycles of life is so key for living your best and astrology echoes that with its monthly moon cycles,” affirmed Julien Elizabeth, astrologer and yoga teacher. “My best tip for staying aligned is reflection and journaling with the phases of the moon. Life is always shifting and so too can our perspective to it.” Elizabeth suggests beginning with the new moon (January 21) to initiate a new cycle, and then staying steady with these weekly (or daily!) prompts to witness your growth.
Liz Simmons, an astrologer and tarot reader, agreed: “Astrological journal prompts are best used during new moons, full moons, and when a planet enters a new zodiac sign. Depending on the astrological period, we can use the journal prompt to plan, set goals, or reflect. For example, new moons can be the perfect time to journal about new opportunities, manifestations, resolutions, and more. Full moons are more of a reflective period, so this is the time to journal about what has unfolded during this past lunar cycle and what you have gone through.”

Journal prompts for each moon cycle

New Moon: great energy for setting intention and orienting yourself for the cycle ahead.

What dream or vision do you want to stay aligned to this month?
What negative or unhelpful habits are you ready to transform?
What actions or practices can you commit to integrate your vision and build upon your intentions?
Where do you see yourself in six months? What are your top three goals or resolutions that you want to pursue during these next six months? What will inspire you to move forward during these next six months?

Waxing Crescent Moon: a phase of small actions and building confidence, great for getting organized.

What do you need to feel confident, energized, and engaged with your life right now?
What strengths are needed to work towards your intention?

Quarter Moon: great energy to come back to your “why” and check in with yourself, your actions, and how you’re feeling.

What hurdles are you experiencing in your vision? 
Where do you feel yourself out of alignment?
Where is their pressure or intensity building in your life? How can you lean into the pressure that feels productive and helpful? Where can you lean away from any intensity that feels limiting or distracting?

Full Moon: a powerful time to release what isn’t working and celebrate progress made.

What are you learning most about yourself and your circumstances this month?
What behaviors or patterns can you identify as blocking my progress?
How can you honor these unhelpful patterns and release them to create more space for growth? (Creating a ritual or ceremony is great!)
What have you learned or experienced over the last six months? What are three high points and three low points that stand out to you from this lunar period? What can you take away from this lunar cycle?”

Last Quarter Moon: This is a time to get grounded back into the self and reflect on how you’re showing up this month.

What are you celebrating about yourself this lunar cycle?
What routines or rituals ground you and help you feel well cared for?

Waning Crescent Moon: The days leading up to the next new moon are for reflection.

Free write on what you feel grateful for and how you feel about the month’s cycle.

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