I’ve shared my yearly wellness favorites for the last few years on my podcast, so feel free to check those out too! For context, I moved to Southern California just under 2 years ago from Denver, so 2023 was a major transition and life change. 2024 was all about enjoying the juicy fruit of that labor!

One thing I’ve really learned being in such a beautiful season of life is that even when life is good, there’s no good versus bad — it’s all an ebb and flow. Finding constants that nourish and ground you are KEY to being present and fully enjoying it all.

I’ve compiled my top wellness favorites from 2024, and I’m sharing a few highlights here. For the complete list of all 23 favorites and the full stories behind them, be sure to listen to this episode of my podcast!

1. Hot Yoga

I’ve been reunited with a long-lost lover. Yoga changed my LIFE in 2019-2020 and got me through COVID times.

When I moved, I tried many different movement practices, but while dealing with some health stuff in 2024, I got back into yoga by going to studios in LA. Now I go 4x a week.

I love going when I’m tired. Going when I’m sore. Going when I have tons of energy. It’s like wringing out a soaking wet towel — I’m the towel.

Every day I do it, I think “yoga changes my life!!!” Not only does it have amazing benefits for my hormones, mood, mental health, stress levels, and sleep, I LOVE being in a room where every body is so different — men, women, people of all ages and flexibility levels.

I’ve been able to both soften and strengthen my body and mind. One of my favorite teachers says when you’re in her class, she wants you to lighten your load. That’s exactly what I want — activities that lighten my load and make me feel more at ease.

2. Farmers Markets

My next wellness favorite has to be the farmers markets in LA. This is the year I did most of my shopping at farmers markets, and buying my food this way brings me so much happiness. I could do an entire TED talk on how this creates an entirely new context for healing your relationship with food but will do that at another time lol.

It feels so good to be shopping and talking to the farmers, leaning on your intuition to buy what feels good. With the cost of food these days, this has become the most accessible option for me to eat organic, high-quality food. My meals have been super simple (and a lot of repeating!) but so nourishing.

Not having a car and living life this way, where I’m able to shop at a farmers market every few days or get what I need on my bike — I feel so rich.

In the US, the system is set up for us to drive our cars, fill big carts with stuff, and load it into our houses once a week. But I’ve been able to live more like I did in Italy, where you buy what you need as you need it. Does it take more time? Yes, but I love it. I’m so much more connected to my life and the gift of being able to feed yourself.

3. Blood Sugar Balancing Smoothies

Something I did every single day of 2024 (with the exception of maybe a few days) was drink a smoothie with blood sugar balancing ingredients every morning.

If you’re new here, I went into business with a dietitian — we have a clinical nutrition education and lifestyle coaching business you can learn about here! But for me personally, face-to-face with the science, I committed to daily smoothies within an hour of waking up.

I started doing this in 2023, so 2024 was a full year of consistency. My mood stabilized, cravings diminished, and hormones improved. I dealt with a lot of health stuff in 2024, and this was something I could cling to while experiencing firsthand the power of consistent, balanced nutrition.

Every day, I make a smoothie with:

• 1 cup of liquid (water or unsweetened almond milk)
• 1 scoop of protein powder
• 2 tbsp fiber (chia seeds, flax seeds)
• 2 tbsp fat (typically a nut butter)
• Unlimited greens (always either frozen spinach or kale)
• ¼ cup frozen fruit

This balanced combo gives you a solid foundation to start the day. We’ve worked with hundreds of women through our program, and focusing on 30g of protein, fiber, fat, and carbs at breakfast completely frees them from late-night snacking. It’s amazing!

4. Functional Health

I finally found what I needed through functional health this year. Through a functional health membership, I got like 100+ blood tests and can track my progress, with retesting in 6 months.

When I got the full panel back, it confirmed a lot of what I was suspecting but gave me peace in having clarity about how to move forward.

Why did it take until my thirties to understand that the only way to get a full picture of my health is through bloodwork? Diet culture. I was operating under the assumption that what my body looks like = how healthy it is, which kept me stuck for years.

Now, I’ve made changes based on that bloodwork and almost immediately started to reverse my symptoms. It was easier than the other health startups I had tried before, and I’m excited to go back in June for a check-in. Get $100 off Function here.

5. Rest

My last featured wellness favorite of 2024 is rest. I rested a lot.

I was away from my phone more than ever and allowed my body to rest and empty out before refilling it again. I’ve found a strong balance between creation, work, life, and the capacity I have to give between it all — including what it takes to be able to do it.

The number one thing that increased my capacity to be, do, and experience more in 2024 was my ability to discern when rest was required and not try to talk myself out of it.

Deep rest, true rest — lost my phone for hours, I’m on my second nap of the afternoon with Mad Men in the background, or I’m at the beach on my bike and have completely lost track of time. Essential for me.

More Wellness Favorites You’ll Hear About in the Podcast:

Want to hear about all 23 of my wellness favorites from 2024? In the full podcast episode, I also talk about:

• how using the Do Not Disturb setting transformed my mental health
• My daily walking routine that keeps me grounded
• How matcha replaced coffee and eliminated my anxiety
• My “food first” mindset that healed my relationship with food
• My daily meditation practice and how it changed everything
• The red light therapy that improved my skin
• My infrared sauna blanket ritual
• How my dogs contributed to my wellness journey
• The creative outlets that brought me joy
• The importance of community in LA
• My surprising sleep hack that completely changed my rest
• …and so much more!

Listen to the Full Episode Here

What were your favorites that kept you well in 2024? I’d love to hear in the comments below!