Weddingbee Blog

This past Wednesday, Project Wedding sent me their daily email (where they count down every. single. day. – gotta give ’em credit) with the title “Start Building Your Immunity Now.” At first I laughed – this? thrown in among the reasons buttercream tastes better than fondant and what to gift your bridesmaids and how to find a photographer? – but a second thought made me stifle that laugh. We all focus on wanting to look our best for the big day, but what about feeling our best, physically? I’d say that should rank pretty high, as well.

Image via Project Wedding

Of course I was extra sensitive to this whole immunity/feel-your-best stuff since I just went through a pretty terrible bought of food poisoning on Monday (fabulous way to lose 5 pounds, by the way). I distinctly remember a moment, in the midst of all the grossness, that I thought “god HELP me if I get food poisoning the night before the wedding,” or heck – even the week of the wedding.

There was no way in hell I could have smiled and faked it and made it through…anything. Now of course food poisoning is rather severe and random and doesn’t have much to do with immunity per se, but a quick look back at these last few years made me realize how much more often I’ve been sick lately as compared to my younger years. I blame it on stress.

I rarely used to get sick – cold, flu, or otherwise – and if I did, I recovered in a heartbeat. Not so much the case anymore; I believe I’ve gotten some form of the flu every winter for the last three years, and have had several terrible cold attacks. My migraines have come more frequently (you know…those debilitating ones) and I have developed the worst springtime allergies (although I hear that’s a DC thing). I don’t have an explanation for all of this, except for the aforementioned stress. You know, the kind that comes from being an adult and having loads more responsibility. Whether or not this is truly the case, I’ve found that self-care is becoming increasingly important as I get older. I like to think that I usually take relatively good care of myself, but I definitely feel the need to do more – for the wedding, but also just for myself. Just to feel better, overall.

The article talked a lot about eating the right foods and getting your nutrients from either fruits and veggies or supplements. I’m already aboard this train – I take my B12 and vitamin C supplements daily and am currently looking for another multivitamin to add to the mix. However, I personally find that there is also a mental and physical piece to my well being; I try and do some form of yoga at least once week, and stretch daily. I also try and get a massage at least once a month as a part of my wellness routine – I can honestly tell a huge difference in my body and my state of mind after I’ve had one (and that’s not just because I’m a massage therapist!).

Hard at work, doing my thang.

While this all sounds well and good on paper, the trick is being consistent and finding time, which I kind of suck at. I am always telling people about the importance of self-care when I really should be taking my own advice a bit more. I know for a fact that my body – and my immunity – gets a huge boost from proper self-care. So one of my resolutions for the next five months (and beyond) is to be and continue to stay healthy. No runny nose or digestive issues for this girl on the big day. I hope.

What kind of self-care works best for you? Do you find some things work better than others?