Are Wellness Trends Worth It or a Waste of Time?  

Explore the world of wellness trends with us. From hotels designed specifically for sleep to parasite cleanses and vagus nerve stimulation, we delve into which trends are worth it, which ones are a waste of money, and which may even be downright dangerous. Listen as we share our firsthand experiences of the wellness trends we've tried, the ones that surprised us, and those we wouldn’t go near. We’ll break down the science, the hype, and the hidden costs behind these popular practices, helping you make informed decisions about your health and well-being. Whether you're curious about blue zone diets, therapeutic psychedelics, or the latest in skincare, we've got you covered with honest insights and expert perspectives.

Listen on Spotify

Use code GUARDIAN for a generous discount on your order of Matcha & wellness boosts at Matcha.com!

TRANSCRIPT FOR SEASON 2, EPISODE 3 | Are Wellness Trends Worth It or a Waste of Time? 

[Music Playing]

Voiceover (00:00):

Welcome to The Matcha Guardians Podcast, brought to you by matcha.com. Here we focus on the biggest trending health topics of our time, featuring the greatest and upcoming wellness advocates. Now here are the Matcha Guardians, licensed dietitian, Diana Weil, and medical journalist Elara Hadjipateras.

Elara Hadjipateras (00:19):

Hello-hello and welcome to this week's episode of The Matcha Guardians.

Diana Weil (00:24):

I'm very excited about this episode. We are talking wellness trends: “worth it” or “waste of time.” I'm excited to see if Elara and I disagree on any of these.

Elara Hadjipateras (00:33):

I know that's what I was thinking right before I jumped on was, “Oh, let's see where we land on this.” So, the first one to start off, I'm a big fan of this. I was a big fan of this before I had kids, but now that I have a child, I'm an even bigger fan of this.

So, there is a thing that's becoming popular this year, it's known as sleep tours and spa hotels. Have you heard about this?

Diana Weil (00:56):

Just from you a little bit and I like the idea of it, but I don’t know that much about it.

Elara Hadjipateras (01:00):

So, more and more different hotels are investing in just creating a really healthy, amazing sleep environment where you can rejuvenate. It's not about going for a random weekend and kind of going off kilter and overdoing, instead it's about being rested. Being rested and rejuvenating yourself.

So, when I lived in Denmark, and I think I told you this, this is a really popular thing already, I think in the culture over the last two, three decades where there's spa hotels throughout the country where they have various packages where you can go for one to four days.

You get various treatments, and they have these huge areas that have all these different cold plunges, hot plunges, four different types of saunas with different aromatic therapies in them, different relaxation rooms for silence, for meditation. Everyone's walking around in robes, it's amazing.

Diana Weil (01:51):

I love that. I mean, I want to go right now. Have you seen the hotels that are designed kind of in line with that? They're designed to help you get a good night's sleep. So, all of the curtains are perfectly blackout and the room temperature is set to 65 degrees and the entire sleep experience, or the entire hotel experience is meant to help you sleep at night.

Elara Hadjipateras (02:12):

Yes, apparently Hilton Hotels has just done a giant revamp towards that, where the rooms are super sleep friendly.

Diana Weil (02:20):

So, that's I think a wellness trend that I'm a hundred percent here for and have to stay at one of these hotels. (laughs)

Elara Hadjipateras (02:27):

I know, you're soon going to want one of them as well. And then, okay, so this is kind of a slight tangent from sleep tourism. There's another thing that's becoming popular within the U.S. that's very popular in Asia, which is these hotels that you check into postpartum where there's a nurse around the clock that helps take care of the baby as well as you as the recovering mama and gives you really nutritious meals.

You get massages, people comb your hair, they show you how to take care of the baby. I'm also a huge fan of this wellness trend that's starting to shift into the U.S. market. There's one that opened in New York City. I personally did not go, but that's something that I would definitely look into if I end up having another kid.

Diana Weil (03:06):

So, here's my question though: the sleep hotels feel like something that's like an average person could probably afford going to a sleep hotel, spa hotel. Are these postpartum things outrageously expensive or is it something that insurance will pay for? Do you know anything about that?

Elara Hadjipateras (03:20):

I don't know off the top of my head. I do think it should be covered by insurance. I think that it's comparable to the price of maybe having a nanny at home or having a maternity nurse at home. So, if you're kind of already in that ballpark, I think that that's something you could do. I would think that it's actually more affordable than having round-the-clock care at your home.

Diana Weil (03:44):

Interesting. And do you leave the husband, where does the — husband or partner?

Elara Hadjipateras (03:48):

So, in Asia traditionally, usually the husband does not stay at the postpartum retreat hotel. It's only for the mother and the child, but in the U.S., they cater towards both. So, it can be the husband and wife or partnership and everyone there together.

Diana Weil (04:07):

Honestly, this third trimester is killing me. So, I want to go now.

Elara Hadjipateras (04:11):

Go right now, book it. I don't know, I wonder … I mean, I just know of the one in New York City, but I'm sure that there's other ones.

Diana Weil (04:19):

Well, I'm very here for it. I mean I genuinely, I do think that sleep in general has become more talked about and “trendier,” if we want to say, in terms of health. And I think it's really important because on these wellness trends, I think we've gotten really down the rabbit hole of, you have to do this very particular thing and if you don't do it, then you're not healthy. When in reality, coming back to the basics are so key.

Like, are you getting eight hours of sleep a night? Are you drinking enough water? Are you eating your vegetables? And I think sleep has become a really big topic again in health and wellness and I'm happy to see that.

Elara Hadjipateras (04:55):

Yeah. And I think it's something that people are talking about now. You go to work and people are like, “Oh, yeah, I had a really great evening. I went to bed at 9:30.”

Diana Weil (05:03):

Yes. And all the sleep mocktails that kind of … replacing alcohol with mocktails and the ones that are designed to help you get a good sleep. Or the Hatch alarm clocks that gently wake you up and that aren't so jarring and all these things that I think, “Yeah, I'm here for it, I'm into it.”

Elara Hadjipateras (05:21):

I'm very into it. I am not a fan of when you set an alarm and you constantly press snooze. My husband's a huge fan of that, as you know, Peter loves it, but for me, it grinds my gears. I feel like I sleep horribly.

Then again, I guess you end up kind of being at the top of your wake windows. So, you have these a lot of crazy dreams. I tend to have really weird dreams when I am snoozing.

Diana Weil (05:41):

Yeah, that's a good point. But there is nothing worse when the morning that you get to sleep in, and your husband's alarm clock keeps going. I'm like, “I'm going to suffocate you with this pillow.”

Elara Hadjipateras (05:48):

And now I have the excuse of the baby where I'm like, “It's going to wake up the baby. You got to turn it off.”

Diana Weil (05:51):

Shut it off.

Elara Hadjipateras (05:53):

Sleep tourism, just sleep as a trend. I think it is worth it and here to stay and I think we're going to see it continue and I think that AI is going to play a huge role as far as sleep tourism becoming more popular as well as devices, wearable devices.

Diana Weil (06:14):

Which actually, okay, so question about that and I'm curious how you feel about it. Because sometimes I feel like the wearable, if I wear something at night and it's like, “You got a really bad night's sleep, you got four hours, you're going to feel terrible today,” sometimes that really impacts my mental health.

So, I've stopped wearing anything at night that tells me how I'm sleeping because I don't want the external input and I'd rather just feel my way through it. But then I also know that it's really helpful for people. So, where do you stand on a wearable device telling you about your sleep?

Elara Hadjipateras (06:42):

I think it's a waste of time. I've also gone through the phases of wearing it a lot and a little and I don't really love the idea of — I'm a belly sleeper so I sleep like this, and so the idea of also having a device right up against my head isn't great.

I went through a phase of using the WHOOP and I remember the WHOOP would just tell me, “Oh my gosh, you had a horrible night's rest, you shouldn't train today.” And I'd wake up feeling really good and then have a really good workout. Like one of the best workouts I've had in a while. So, I think it’s a waste of time.

I'm not a fan of it, but I do think that there's room for improvement. So, I'm open to, I don’t know, new iterations of it to come.

Diana Weil (07:18):

I agree but I'm not a fan of technology telling me how I'm going to feel that day or what I should be doing.

Elara Hadjipateras (07:24):

Yes, agreed. They don't know. They don't know what's going on in here.

Diana Weil (07:28):

Next one, and this one is really interesting to me, vagus nerve stimulation. So, this is something that I've been learning a lot about recently because I was working with someone through vagus nerve stimulation to help with constipation symptoms and the vagus nerve can help control the parasympathetic nervous system.

So, doing different exercises like humming, singing, listening to calm music, things like that are thought to help reset your parasympathetic nervous system, which in turn can help with symptoms such as constipation and other digestive problems.

There are devices that can help with vagus nerve stimulation like humming, singing, that kind of stuff and then there's devices that you can use. And I haven't personally tried any of these. I'm not a hundred percent convinced on some of these devices, but I am intrigued with the conversation around vagus nerve stimulation. Have you heard about this?

Elara Hadjipateras (08:21):

I have. I have to say from what I've read about it and experienced myself; vagus nerve stimulation has become a buzz term for just mindfulness practices. Breath work, savasana at the end of a yoga, practice, sound bath, like you're saying, humming.

So, I'm here for it. I think it's become a bit more pointed and maybe it's missing the point, I don't know. People are kind of getting too attached like, “Oh, it's vagus nerve stimulation.” I just think it's part of something broader.

Diana Weil (08:53):

Yeah, I agree that's true. Because when I was looking at the article, it was talking about breath work and meditation as part of the vagus nerve stimulation and I was like, “Yes, I think that those things are really helpful,” especially when we're talking about GI discomforts.

Because I think those are so closely tied to mental and emotional health and what our brain is doing. But I do agree it has kind of become buzzy and are we doing it in a way that actually is stimulating the vagus nerve, I don't know.

Elara Hadjipateras (09:18):

So, I think worth it, yes. Because at the end of the day it's about doing breath work and being more mindful. Do I think everyone's going to be saying vagus nerve stimulation 10 years from now instead of mindfulness? Not necessarily.

Diana Weil (09:34):

I think some of these wellness trends actually do cause real harm. I think some of them are dangerous. This is not something that I find dangerous at all. So, if it's something that you want to experiment with or something that you find helpful, there's no loss to try.

Elara Hadjipateras (09:45):

Agreed. Alright, moving on to the next one, blue zone diets. So, there's recently a docuseries that came out on Netflix about the different blue zones where people live to basically be over a hundred, all over the world.

And one of the ones that was really popular was the episode about Japan, about a specific area within Japan and one of the things primarily being about their diet and the diet being these purple sweet potatoes.

And I am going nuts because I am getting bombarded. I don't know if it's the algorithm on TikTok and Instagram of people eating purple sweet potatoes and acting like it's just this cure all.

Diana Weil (10:26):

I mean I love potatoes.

Elara Hadjipateras (10:28):

I know you love potatoes and I also love purple sweet potatoes. I'm going to admit it, I don't know if it's subconsciously, but I've been seeing all these sweet potato recipes, purple sweet potato recipes. I always assumed that it was native to that area within Japan so I couldn't get purple sweet potatoes.

But I did succumb to Googling, “Can I get a purple soup potato in Connecticut?” Turns out I can. And yes, I did end up doing one of my purple sweet potato recipes.

Diana Weil (10:50):

I actually don't really love purple sweet potatoes. I feel like they're a little too starchy.

Elara Hadjipateras (10:55):

They are. They can be tough. I found that when I made them in the air fryer, they did not turn out well. But then when I put them in the oven with kind of a double baked purple sweet potato, it caramelized better and held the flavor better.

Diana Weil (11:09):

Interesting. So, I do think the blue zones are actually an incredible idea. I'm very here for people following blue zone diets and more so the lifestyle surrounding blue zones. Whether or not I think purple sweet potatoes are going to save us all, probably not.

But blue zones I think are a great idea and I'm also here for it because a lot of blue zones include eating a lot of beans and I think that beans are going to save the world.

Elara Hadjipateras (11:33):

True. And they are usually primarily vegetarian based diets.

Diana Weil (11:38):

And I think, yeah, just healthier in general. And I feel like they also think about food in a way that is very different from American culture where it's sitting down and enjoying it with people that you love and rather than just focusing on food as fuel.

Elara Hadjipateras (11:51):

I think we're going to start to see this combination of the sleep tourism, the wellness hotels within the blue zones.

Diana Weil (11:58):

Oh, wait, that's a really good idea.

Elara Hadjipateras (12:00):

Not a trend yet, but I'm calling it now. I think it's going to become trendy.

Diana Weil (12:04):

Should we start that?

Elara Hadjipateras (12:05):

I think that's something we should start, blue zone hotels.

Diana Weil (12:08):

Blue zone hotels.

Elara Hadjipateras (12:11):

Go and live like the natives.

Diana Weil (12:13):

You're going to have to tell me about this one. Because this isn't something that I know a lot. I've never heard this term before and tell me if I'm pronouncing it correctly, limpias?

Elara Hadjipateras (12:20):

Limpias, like limpias for Spanish, if anyone's familiar with Spanish. Limpias, it's a term for, like, limpiar means to clean. So, limpias particularly in South America, it's known as a spiritual hygiene practice. You kind of spend time where you do an energetic adjustment where you put the body and the chakras back into balance. Think it's just like a spiritual oil change, energy work. It's about doing energy healing.

Diana Weil (12:46):

So, what do you think, I mean it sounds like that's based kind of on the chakras, correct?

Elara Hadjipateras (12:51):

Yes.

Diana Weil (12:52):

So, what do you think about this?

Elara Hadjipateras (12:55):

So, I have admittedly never done it. Though I'm a believer in it. I know some people that are huge fans of it. We actually recently, we did a podcast interviewing a Reiki dog masseuse, which is energy healing. And some of the case studies that she told us about with her clients were pretty miraculous.

Diana Weil (13:17):

And I've heard the same thing from people as well, that people have worked with an energy healer, and it's been incredible life changing. I think for me the problem is that you have to really find someone who is good, and I think that those people are few and far between.

Elara Hadjipateras (13:30):

And how do you find them? Unless it's a referral.

Diana Weil (13:32):

Right.

Elara Hadjipateras (13:33):

For me, I'm going to have to say compared to everything out there at this point in time, it's not worth it right now. But I'm not going to say it's a waste of time. I'm just going to say it's not worth it right now.

Diana Weil (13:45):

I agree. I would rather spend money on a massage or going to a yoga class or something like that. And chakras, I'm not against, it's not something that I find has been useful for me personally.

Elara Hadjipateras (14:03):

I agree with that. Well, now rolling into the next one. Apparently, it's become very popular within the U.S. market for people to have routine facials, which I am here for because I am a big fan of facials. I try and get at least once a month.

I consider it my preventative Botox instead of spending money on that, that's what I'm doing. On average, a lot of people are getting up to four facials every six months. This includes men and women, and I am here for it. I think it's absolutely fantastic.

Diana Weil (14:31):

I mean you do have some of the best skin I've ever seen on a human being. What are your facials of choice?

Elara Hadjipateras (14:37):

I love a physical touch facial. So, instead of, I'm sure you've heard of hydro facials where they use this kind of sucking device where they're kind of a bit slimy in my opinion. I love a hands-on facial approach that's customized to your skin. So, finding a cosmetologist that you can really trust that really creates a bespoke experience. I love that. And that you continue going back to and you talk to them.

With my facialist, it's kind of like equivalent of my hairdresser, she knows all of my secrets because I'm not really into getting my hair done that often. I'll get it trimmed, I don't know, once or twice a year. Not as much as I should.

But my facialist, I love speaking with her. She knows intimate details about my life. So, I guess part of the routine facials is also having someone to confine in and speak to. And that's what I like about facials.

Even though one of the things that's become very popular is these things called express facials, There's different chains. So, one of the ones that has become popular, there's one in New York City, there's London, they're popping up all over the place. LA is FaceGym where you go in, and you do a workout for your face.

It's a bunch of chairs lined up and there's just a simple curtain kind of between everyone and you can go on for just 30-minute sessions and you can get a punch card where you buy say like six in a row and then you just kind of go at your whim.

Diana Weil (15:57):

Do you think that going to get a facial once a year, once every six months is worth it? Or do you think that you have to go every month in order to actually see a difference in your skin?

Elara Hadjipateras (16:05):

I think it's always worth it because it depends on the type of facial that you're getting. For example, I think that a HydraFacial is a wonderful thing to get before you have an event. I wouldn't say go in for a deep cleansing facial before an event, especially if you have clogged up skin because then you're going to be really red and blotchy, but definitely worth getting one for several occasions.

Another one that would be good for example is a CRYOfacial where they hit you with a cryo wand just on the face. That can be really nice. That can be really nice if you kind of have a bit of a headache, if you are jet lagged, if you're not sleeping well, if you have headaches, it's really nice.

Diana Weil (16:40):

So, as part of this episode I kind of wanted to spill the beans on the things that we do for what our wellness trends are, including the facial stuff. So, I'll start because I'm making us be vulnerable here.

So, I've done a chemical peel, which I didn't really notice that much of a difference, but I think it's one of those things that you have to do a couple times and I didn't do that. And I've done microneedling, it was actually combo microneedling, chemical peel and I didn't really see a difference to be honest. But again, I think that you have to go more than once.

Elara Hadjipateras (17:10):

You do. So, I've also done anything that you can do to your face, I've done it including Botox, we can go there in a second. But when I was living in Denmark it was kind of the perfect time for me to do a lot of different facial treatments because the winters are so long, so you don't have to worry about that sun exposure. Because a lot of the times when you get these facial treatments, you want to avoid time in the sun.

So, it was really great because the days were so short. So, I tried all these things. I did microneedling and I agree you kind of have to do it several times. So, I did it four times and what I would do is I would do a microneedling facial and then four weeks later I do a vitamin C focused facial. And then I would do another microneedling facial. And I did that for four cycles, and I really saw a difference.

And then the other thing I did three times was Fraxel, which is super painful. I do not recommend it. It's very intense. I definitely saw results. But they basically laser off layers of your skin. It starts out really subdued.

They kind of track, it's like this little machine that tracks back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And then by the last time it tracks, it's been the only facial treatment where I literally swatted the person's hand away and said get the F off of me. And I have a pretty good pain tolerance.

Diana Weil (18:24):

So, maybe pause on that one but it did work.

Elara Hadjipateras (18:27):

It's just kind of like beauty is pain, they say that. The other thing that I would do before them, because a lot of people find microneedling to be painful as well as Fraxel. So, a lot of medi spas, because usually in the U.S. you need to go to a medi spa in order to get these treatments. Especially to get a microneedling facial that's like a certain puncture, to go deeper into your skin, they give you this cream to help numb your face.

And the way to make it more effective, this is a pro tip, is you ask for a tube of the numbing cream, they can usually prescribe it to you so you don't have to get there and sit there for 45 minutes with the numbing cream on your face before the treatment because that's going to eat up a lot of time in your day.

But you get the numbing cream, you put it on at home and then you take Saran wrap and you put the Saran wrap on your face. Of course, you need to breathe so cut yourself a hole for your mouth, your nose and your eyes and you have Saran wrap on your face, and you look absolutely crazy when you're driving to your appointment.

I know this because I've seen the look people have given me at red lights. But it makes such a difference in terms of it soaking into your skin and not feeling it as much and it not being as painful.

Diana Weil (19:31):

You actually told me to do that, and it did work for my micro needling. Facials are worth it. What do you think about? And I've done Botox. Elara was actually the one to out me in front of my father that that I did Botox.

Elara Hadjipateras (19:43):

I did.

Diana Weil (19:43):

He was so pissed.

Diana Weil (19:45):

My bad. Yeah, he was vehemently against it. But I told him that I did it too and it's okay and it goes away.

Diana Weil (19:53):

And it goes away. And I want to be a hundred percent transparent here, I love it. I love having Botox. I haven't done it since getting pregnant or even a couple months before getting pregnant. I miss it and I do also enjoy being able to move my eyebrows.

So, both are there, both are present emotions. That's all that I've done. I've only done Botox. I haven't done fillers or anything like that. Have you?

Elara Hadjipateras (20:13):

I did a little bit of filler in my chin once actually before my wedding. Would I do it again? Probably not. Because I do think compared to Botox where I don't think that there's lasting effects, I do think that it can mess with you a little bit. So, it's not something I would do because I don't know, it messes with the whole shape of your face.

With Botox, I loved it, particularly in my master muscles. So, from a cosmetic standpoint as well as anxiety standpoint, it was really wonderful for me because I'm one of those people who grinds my teeth at night. Surprise, surprise.

So, my excuse of why I got Botox was that “Oh, I grind my teeth at night.” But the other thing that does it actually kind of helps slim your jawline, so it's a two for one. So, I really loved that. I kind of miss that as well as in my elevens. Because I've always been one of those people who as you can see, I can intensely furrow my brows.

So, it was really great. I do agree with you that it kind of made me struggle. I'm a very expressive person, but when I had Botox, looking back, especially at videos of myself, I just kind of seem- more flat. I'm a less animated version of myself. So, I guess that's the trade off in the videos. I come off flat in person, I can come off a bit more flat. in photos, I look great.

Diana Weil (21:18):

Have you been doing it since breastfeeding?

Elara Hadjipateras (21:20):

No, I haven't done it. I haven't done it for years. And once again, this goes back to I think when you do anything that's a bit more invasive, and this can be as simple as a facial, and where people are doing extractions, you want to go to someone that you can trust.

And I was doing that with a person that I really trusted over in Denmark, and I haven't gotten around to finding someone who does it here.

Diana Weil (21:40):

I mean, I think on the topic of skincare, I feel like for me the issue with it is that it can become outrageously expensive. I mean, you can spend hundreds of dollars on a single bottle of face cream or Botox and all these things or just … I know people that have gone into debt for this stuff.

And I personally would rather do — if I had to budget between a gym membership and this kind of stuff, I'd probably choose the gym membership. And I love a good facial. I do love Botox. That's something that I will resume again probably. But I think some of it is worth it and some of it is probably a waste of both time and money.

Elara Hadjipateras (22:16):

It’s one of the most expensive skincare routines you can get on the planet. Of course, I wanted to get my hands on it at some point. And I have to say I got my hands on it. My skin was never worse than when I used it.

Diana Weil (22:26):

Really?

Elara Hadjipateras (22:27):

It was just too intense. I have pretty sensitive skin and it was too much. And it's funny because now having the baby, you get exposed to, “what are clean products?” What should I be using? And sometimes the simplest products are the best.

For example, all I use on Koa is Aquaphor, and if it's good enough for baby skin, it must be good enough for my skin. So, I've slowly started experimenting, like putting it on my lips, putting on my face. And that's all I've been doing.

You're looking at my face for … I only have so much time today. I have not been good about my skincare routine at home but at the very least I just kind of slapped some Aquaphor on my face and I feel like it's working out. So, I think the really expensive stuff sometimes is overhyped.

And if you look on the back of the bottle, a lot of the times it is the same products. It is the same ingredient list as the stuff that you can find at your local pharmacy store that's not going to cost you an arm and leg.

Diana Weil (23:18):

All of the dermatologists, most of them on Instagram, what they end up recommending are Cetaphil and Aquaphor.

Elara Hadjipateras (23:24):

Yep. Aquaphor, it is amazing. I'm all about Aquaphor. You just get a big tub of it, it's a cure all.

Diana Weil (23:31):

So, moving on, and this is a completely different topic, but therapeutic psychedelics. So, using psychedelics such as mushrooms, LSD, MDMA (which isn't really a psychedelic), but for help with your relationship or just depression, anxiety, that kind of stuff, I'm so here for it.

I think that especially in a setting where someone is trained to help you process some of these things, I think it's super helpful. I love to see that this is becoming accepted and embraced in our society.

Elara Hadjipateras (24:05):

I completely agree. I think it's absolutely fantastic. One of the things you touched on as far as people using psychedelics to help with the relationship, I think that that's absolutely valid for people that feel like, “Oh, maybe things are feeling a bit mundane.” It will help you re-spark, reignite the flame between two people.

I have no doubt doing a little bit of ecstasy together, doing a little bit of acid together I think is wonderful. I can speak from firsthand experience. I'm a big fan of it from a personal standpoint as well as relationships and just in life generally. It can just help to shift your perspective.

Diana Weil (24:39):

I mean I did some of these things in college and it was not done in a safe way, and it was not done in a way that was healing. And I love seeing that there's more thought behind it and it's becoming less of a — I mean sure, they are very much still party drugs, but I really like the idea that they're becoming less party drugs and more how can we use these substances for healing and growth as humans.

Elara Hadjipateras (25:01):

Absolutely. I look back to the times when I did them in college and it was just such a horrible setting. You're out around a bunch of people that aren't on the same drug. You feel weird. You start sweating, you get anxiety versus say taking an afternoon where you're just around a small group of trusted friends or just your partner or just yourself and you're doing a much smaller dose. And there's just a much higher awareness and reward. It's amazing.

Alright. So, cycle syncing, which I know is more female centric, so the female listeners out there. But essentially, it's about doing your workouts around your menstrual cycle. I'm here for it.

Diana Weil (25:41):

It's interesting because I'm mixed on this one. There's no real research from what I've seen that supports cycle syncing, but it makes sense. You feel different throughout the month. So, I feel like modifying not just your workouts but also just sort of how much sleep you're getting and how much rest you need to take, to your cycle makes sense to me. Is it backed by science? I'm not sure.

Elara Hadjipateras (26:05):

Yeah, I do think there's extreme examples. I have some friends who, for example, when they're on their cycle they will not workout at all. And I'm not a fan of that. I'm just about adjusting it to maybe feel a little bit better.

So, maybe I don't feel like going 110% at the gym today, but I'm going to do something that's a bit more comfortable at home.

Diana Weil (26:27):

I agree. I think with all of this, I feel like it all always comes back to that of how extreme are you taking it? Because the extremes are probably a no, but the base is probably somewhat decent.

Elara Hadjipateras (26:37):

So, I'd say it's worth it and I want to hear more about it and I'm excited to see more research into.

Diana Weil (26:44):

So, kind of along that line is rucking where you wear a weighted pack while walking. I've been rucking because I'm pregnant and I feel like — rucking, I'm here for it. I feel like walking in general is a very underrated exercise. And walking with a little extra weight I think is great. Low-cost way to exercise, build muscle, get your heart rate up a little bit more.

Elara Hadjipateras (27:07):

A hundred percent, I'm with you. Big fan of rucking. I love walking with the baby in the papoose in front of me as well. And then even before I was pregnant, I was a big fan of the 80s style, ankle weights and wrist weights. And I would just go for a dog walk with the ankle weight and wrist weights on.

Diana Weil (27:25):

It's funny because I feel like we've just rebranded a lot of these things that have been around for a long time like the 80’s ankle weights. Now we're just putting them on our chest and calling it rucking.

Elara Hadjipateras (27:33):

Exactly. So, yeah, I think rucking is great. I think it's been around, I'm into the terminology, here to stay. Alright. So, let's see, what else do we have? Planking. Apparently planking is an up-and-coming trend which I am very here for. Big fan of planking.

Diana Weil (27:51):

Is that where you just hold a plank?

Elara Hadjipateras (27:52):

Yeah, you just hold a plank. It's just become more popular. It's just an exercise where you're on your forearms or your hands and your feet and you're just pressing up from the ground on all fours and it's apparently gained popularity not only for its physical benefits, but for its mental health benefits as well.

Diana Weil (28:09):

I just have to brag about Elara for a second. Because yes, I think planking is a really good exercise, but can you just share with people how long you planked for?

Elara Hadjipateras (28:14):

I once in a past life planked for an hour and seven minutes. And my goal actually since giving birth is to beat my record. I have been planking every day and I'm now up to 18 minutes. So, slowly but surely.

Diana Weil (28:29):

How many weeks postpartum? I mean how many months postpartum are you?

Elara Hadjipateras (28:31):

Almost five months.

Diana Weil (28:33):

You’re incredible. You're my idol. I love you so much. An hour and seven minutes, you guys. An hour and seven minutes. I don't think I-

Elara Hadjipateras (28:38):

We’re going to get there. You could do it. You could do it with me. I used to have a yoga class that was all with planks for 30 minutes. It's just all about getting in the right mindset. I'll get you there.

Diana Weil (28:48):

That's incredible. This one I'm absolutely for- healthy drink options, healthy energy drinks, mocktails over alcohol. I think that there's a lot of focus on healthy sodas with probiotics. I'm so here for the healthy alternative drink options.

Elara Hadjipateras (29:06):

But yeah, I think people are finally kind of looking at the back of their bottles and looking at ingredients and realizing that a lot of our classics, I'm not going to name any names, but they're full of sugar. So, that's a trend that's going to be here to stay and I'm for it.

Diana Weil (29:23):

Agree. And I think, in line with that being the Matcha Guardians, there's the conversation of shifting away from coffee. And Matcha is rising in popularity in western society and I think that that's great.

Elara Hadjipateras (29:36):

Yep. Agreed. And there's studies to back it all up, which is the best part. 

Alright, so this was one that kind of deeply disturbs me. I can't believe people do this, but I also have an antidote of, I have a friend of a friend who tried this and they're a huge fan, parasite cleanses to reset your gut.

Diana Weil (29:52):

This one really bugs me. I'm going to be honest.

Elara Hadjipateras (29:56):

That's a good joke. Is that a pun? Sorry. (Laughter)

Diana Weil (30:02):

I'm seeing a lot of questions about parasite cleanses and there are a lot of people making a lot of money selling parasite cleanses online. The vast majority of people who say that they have a parasite do not have a parasite.

And the reason that they feel better after doing some of these things like oregano oil and whatever, whatever things/cleanses they're doing, I think is one it could be placebo. Two, that maybe they've removed the foods that weren't making them feel well.

Most people do not have parasites. And if you do have a parasite, you need to go get a stool test done by your doctor and treat it effectively, not with some cleanse that an influencer is selling you online.

Elara Hadjipateras (30:41):

Agreed. So, I have this story of, I was talking with a friend about how my dogs contracted Giardia. Have you heard of that?

Diana Weil (30:49):

Yeah.

Elara Hadjipateras (30:50):

It's a common disease that dogs can pick up from a dog park, something like that. And they end up basically having diarrhea, runny tummy.

And in response, this woman was like, “Oh my gosh. My friend is a huge fan of Giardia.” There's this spot, the woman was from London, that she will purposely expose herself to Giardia to lose weight before summer vacation. I just thought that is ridiculous. But it just came to mind.

Diana Weil (31:15):

That is so disturbing. Please, no one out there try that.

Elara Hadjipateras (31:21):

Whenever I have gotten any bad stomach bugs, I always just think, “Never again.” Please don't do this to me. It is so horrible. So, the people that are willing to go through that, just to lose a couple pounds temporarily, you're cut from a very special cloth.

Diana Weil (31:35):

Yeah. And also, I would classify that as an eating disorder just to like …

Elara Hadjipateras (31:38):

Yeah, that makes sense. We should not do that.

Diana Weil (31:41):

And please, I think in general, be very wary of buying cleanses online from people like the tummy tea or there's teas on the — whatever teas, don't buy those.

Elara Hadjipateras (31:53):

Yeah, like flat tummy tea. And it's completely unregulated. Nobody's checking what's in it. You got to be careful with that. This goes back to your point as far as the vagus nerve. That isn't going to hurt you. This is something where if you do this, it can really hurt you. So, you really need to be careful.

Diana Weil (32:09):

Right. People die from Giardia.

Elara Hadjipateras (32:11):

Yeah. It's a serious thing. It's not good. So, that is waste of time.

Diana Weil (32:15):

Waste of time. Big waste of time.

Elara Hadjipateras (32:17):

Waste of time. Alright. So, there's another trend I guess that's become really popular on TikTok, which is also not good in my opinion. People mixing lemon with coffee, first off, it just sounds not palatable, not tasty.

And then secondly, it's really acidic. You're mixing two very highly acidic things. So, it's really damaging to your teeth enamel.

Diana Weil (32:39):

Yeah. That sounds gross, first of all. Second, people will put lemon in their water first thing in the morning. I don't think that that's doing anything for you, health wise. If it helps you drink more water, then that's great, but like you mentioned, drinking through a straw is probably your best bet to save your teeth.

Drinking coffee with lemon sounds gross and is not going to help you lose weight. So, a waste of time.

Elara Hadjipateras (33:03):

Yeah. The other one, this is good, drinking raw potato juice to cure your strep throat. You’ve seen that one?

Diana Weil (33:11):

That, I don't understand.

Elara Hadjipateras (33:16):

There's zero scientific backing. This kind of speaks to the point that there's all these things out there that just become viral on social media, that if enough people are doing it, if enough influencers are doing it, people see it and they're willing to try it.

Diana Weil (33:31):

Which is so scary. Did you read the book Educated?

Elara Hadjipateras (33:34):

No. No I haven't.

Diana Weil (33:36):

So, it's about this woman who grows up in a cult. Maybe it's not a cult, but she grows up with a very strict kind of “out there” family who don't believe in medication, they live off the grid, they don't trust the government.

And when she would get strep throat, her dad would make her sit outside and expose her throat to the sun to cure strep throat. The sun has benefits. It's not going to cure your strep throat, though. So, this is what that makes me think of.

Elara Hadjipateras (34:03):

There's a lot of funky stuff out there. Waste of time drinking raw potato juice.

Another thing that has become popular apparently is do it yourself wart remover tactics at home without getting, say those kits that you'd get at a local pharmacy. I'm going to admit something. I have done this; I have used duct tape to remove warts.

Diana Weil (34:24):

Yes. Okay. That one I think actually works.

Elara Hadjipateras (34:25):

And it works. It works. So, I'm going to have to say, not a waste of time, but you have to be really careful with how long you leave the duct tape on. That is the one thing I will say. Because you can go too far and then you can end up scarring yourself.

Diana Weil (34:36):

Duct tape works.

Elara Hadjipateras (34:37):

It works. Yeah. Which is kind of a weird thing. So, yeah, if you're looking for an easy fix for warts, duct tape. Though remember we are not medical professionals by any means. So, this is your prerogative. Maybe talk to your healthcare provider about it. But duct tape works.

Diana Weil (34:53):

Right. Don't come after us if something happens with the duct tape.

Elara Hadjipateras (34:55):

Yeah, please. No. This rolls into social media as therapy replacement.

Diana Weil (35:01):

Okay. This is a big “skip it” for me. And I think I actually just saw something recently about how social media, we're using all of these terms incorrectly. Because of seeing them on social media that now we're labeling everyone as a narcissist. Everyone is talking about their trauma.

And I think that it's great in some sense that people are able to express how they're feeling and opening up about this stuff and understanding these topics. But then because of social media, it's like become this big self-diagnosis and misusing these terms.

Elara Hadjipateras (35:35):

(Sarcastically) Diana, what you're saying is very triggering to me.

Diana Weil (35:38):

Right. Exactly. Yes.

Elara Hadjipateras (35:38):

Extremely triggering.

Diana Weil (35:39):

Yes, exactly. And then I also think that there's this idea that therapy isn't real because you can just get it online or through social media or that therapy just validates some of these bad behaviors. When in reality working with an actual therapist, they'll be able to be able to see through these bad behaviors. So, yeah, big skip it for me.

Elara Hadjipateras (36:01):

It dilutes it and I think that if you look at a lot of the great therapists and psychiatrists out there, they're not on social media for the most part.

Diana Weil (36:09):

Yeah. And then there's some really good accounts. So, there's some really good ones on social media who are actual licensed therapists and mental health counselors and those ones I am here for. But you know, just the average person...

Elara Hadjipateras (36:22):

No. And I just think at the end of the day when it comes to therapy and psychiatry, it's a very personal experience that there needs to be a conversation that happens where they learn your history to be able to move forward in a healthy manner.

And so, when you kind of have these videos that are grand, sweeping things that have that grand appeal, there's going to be stuff that falls through the cracks.

Diana Weil (36:47):

Yeah, I agree.

Elara Hadjipateras (36:48):

So, you got to be careful.

Diana Weil (36:49):

This next one, I'm really glad that you put on here and just the term “Nature’s Ozempic,” which is being used for everything right now, is driving me crazy.

Elara Hadjipateras (36:58):

Yeah. So, apparently there is this supplement called Berberine, is that how you pronounce it?

Diana Weil (37:02):

Yep.

Elara Hadjipateras (37:03):

Yeah, Berberine. So, it's totally ineffective and it's also potentially dangerous. This goes back to supplements. They are not regulated in any form. It's not something that you want to be messing with. There is not a magic pill that you can take that's going to make you lose weight.

And even in the case of Ozempic, there's a lot more studies being done now that are going to come out that unfortunately I think are going to shed a lot of light on how Ozempic, Mounjaro, it's not an easy fix by any means.

Diana Weil (37:30):

Yeah. But I'm torn because I think that those drugs can be really life-changing for some people. I don't want to just hate on them, but I also, I don't love the idea of these quick fixes and I think I just would encourage anyone who is exploring these drugs, one, to actually get the real version. Not getting some supplement that you bought on the black market. And two, to pair it with lifestyle changes.

Elara Hadjipateras (37:55):

Agreed. I'm not a Ozempic hater. I do think that there's people that have diabetes that are in a certain age bracket, a certain point in their life, they have a certain weight that it's a really good thing for them and it works for them.

And then there are people that are on the other side of the spectrum who just want to lose the last five pounds, or they want to lose the baby weight. And I'm not here for it. So, yeah, go skip it.

Diana Weil (38:21):

Skip it.

Elara Hadjipateras (38:22):

Okay, so another one, wall Pilates. So, I keep getting advertisements for this all over my Instagram and TikTok and basically, it's Pilates while using a wall. And this is not something that you want to mess with if you have any lower back problems like I do, they can actually make them much, much worse.

So, make sure, in my opinion, you speak to an actual certified physiotherapist before, basically making things worse and putting yourself in more pain.

Diana Weil (38:47):

I've never heard of this. And so, it's like at home doing Pilates but against a wall?

Elara Hadjipateras (38:51):

Just think about having your feet flat against the wall and you're doing a lot. Honestly, it's like just continuous hip thrusts. It's just lots of like one-legged hip thrusts, double hip thrust where you're just using the wall instead of a reformer.

Diana Weil (39:03):

Interesting. Yeah, okay. I'm going to trust your opinion on, we'll skip it.

Elara Hadjipateras (39:08):

I'm just not here for it. 

Dry brushing. Have you ever tried dry brushing?

Diana Weil (39:11):

No. But I did buy a dry brush and then have never used it.

Elara Hadjipateras (39:14):

Same. So, I guess I'm not here for it.

Diana Weil (39:17):

I want to be the person that dry brushes, but I have a hard time making myself shower, so spending five minutes dry brushing isn't going to happen for me.

Elara Hadjipateras (39:28):

I agree. It's one of those things that in theory it's a really lovely ritual and I've heard that it's actually very good to do with children for sensory, to help with their sensory exploration. But I just haven't gotten around to it. Maybe I'll get around to it once Koa is a little bit older, but right now I'm going to have to go with, “skip it.”

Diana Weil (39:47):

And how big are the benefits really? I'm sure people are going to get mad. I feel people are going to get mad about being like … but like really, how much do you feel like you notice from dry brushing? I don't know.

Elara Hadjipateras (39:58):

Dry brushing. It's another format of exfoliating, so-

Diana Weil (40:03):

I don't have time for it.

Elara Hadjipateras (40:04):

Yeah, I don't have time. I commend the people that do sacrifice their time. I guess my time goes towards a skincare routine when I even have time to do it. So, dry brushing just doesn't fit into the habit stacking in my life.

Diana Weil (40:17):

Okay. Here's one I am really for are the sensory deprivation tanks or float tanks, have you ever done one?

Elara Hadjipateras (40:23):

This is where we're — oh my God-

Diana Weil (40:24):

Are we going to disagree?

Elara Hadjipateras (40:25):

We finally found something that we disagree.

Diana Weil (40:26):

Okay. Amazing. Why do you disagree?

Elara Hadjipateras (40:28):

Well, I've done it, I've done it a few times and every time I did it, I ended up getting the salt water in my eyes. It burned. I didn't like it. I don’t know if I'm a bit claustrophobic, but I couldn't see, my eyes were burning. I started freaking out. I wanted out right away. I never have lasted the full hour.

Diana Weil (40:47):

Really? Okay.

Elara Hadjipateras (40:48):

Just did not find it to be a pleasurable experience. Maybe I just don't like being within my own thoughts. I don't know. But I did not like it. I have to say though, I did not try it while I was pregnant. Maybe I would've enjoyed it more while I was pregnant.

Diana Weil (41:01):

What I've heard is that they won't let you do it while pregnant because they don't want your water to break and then have to like redo the entire-

Elara Hadjipateras (41:08):

Clean the pool?

Diana Weil (41:08):

Right. But I think doing it pregnant would be lovely. To be fair, I did it with Harley. So, we did it in a couple's tank and it was bigger. I have never been so relaxed in my entire life. I felt so … every single muscle in my body, I felt relaxed. I slept really well. I felt like I was doing drugs, but like the best part of doing drugs, while I was sober, loved it.

Elara Hadjipateras (41:30):

How did you manage to allow — because for me, I actually came out with more neck pain than I went in with because I was just so nervous about falling asleep and my head being submerged in water that I just was very kind of in this banana shape the whole time. I just couldn't relax.

Diana Weil (41:48):

Interesting. Yeah, you just got to trust it. I just trusted it and it held me. And I had earplugs and the little eye thing, so it kept all the salt water out of my places.

Elara Hadjipateras (41:56):

I did not have those things, so maybe I did not go to the right place.

Diana Weil (42:00):

They also, the place that I went to, they provided a little neck pillow. If you didn't feel like your head was fully supported.

Elara Hadjipateras (42:04):

That would've really helped me.

Diana Weil (42:06):

And you could also leave the tank open, so it wasn't as claustrophobic. So, I loved it. I'm so here for them. I've also heard interesting things about helping with PTSD.

Elara Hadjipateras (42:16):

I could see that. For me going to skip it for now. But who knows, maybe I'll come back around to it.

Diana Weil (42:21):

Yeah, try it again.

Elara Hadjipateras (42:22):

Maybe you'll convince me. Maybe we can do a couple's tank. I think this next one we agree on because we've had a conversation about it, eating your placenta after birth.

Diana Weil (42:34):

Okay. I feel strongly against this.

Elara Hadjipateras (42:37):

I feel strongly against this as well. I am not a fan of eating your placenta after birth, whether that's cooking it, whether that's turning it into small … you turn it into a powder and then you place it into capsules.

That being said, I understand why some people do a placenta bank and will keep the placenta to have access to it. Say if your child gets sick down the road, that I understand. I actually did look into that before having Koa.

Diana Weil (43:04):

The cord blood bank?

Elara Hadjipateras (43:04):

It just kind of felt too expensive for what it was. And then it was funny because at least what I came across was the cord blood banking was say $5,000 to $8,000, which just feels like a lot of money to throw down on something that you're not even sure you're going to use.

But then after the fact I started getting all these advertisements saying, your placenta is worth $40,000 to $50,000. I don't really know where they pull these numbers from.

Diana Weil (43:28):

Yeah, I've seen that too. And I'm a little distrustful of that. And I know a lot of people who have eaten their placentas, and I don't want to be too judgmental. Because everyone gets to make their own choice.

Elara Hadjipateras (43:36):

Did they make it at home? Did they-

Diana Weil (43:38):

They had it encapsulated.

Elara Hadjipateras (43:39):

Now these people that ate their placenta, did they give birth at a hospital and then you just simply ask like, “Hey, can I have it back?” Or was it a home birth?

Diana Weil (43:46):

All of the above. And if you work with a doula, sometimes the doula that'll be part of their services that they'll take the placenta or the midwife, they'll take the placenta and encapsulate it for you.

Here's my thing. I actually think that this one can be dangerous because the placenta is the filtration system. And there's a couple studies. One is that they looked at placenta and every placenta had over 200 chemicals in the placenta. First of all. Second study that I looked at is every single placenta that they looked at had microplastics in it.

I see a big argument saying that animals eat their placenta, so we should be eating our placenta. But animals are also not exposed to all of the household environmental toxins that we are. And I also think that animals eat their placenta as a way to like hide the afterbirth from predators. So, that's not a convincing argument for me.

Elara Hadjipateras (44:38):

I agree. I'm with you. Skip it.

Diana Weil (44:40):

Skip it.

Elara Hadjipateras (44:41):

Skip eating the placenta. Don't do it.

Diana Weil (44:42):

I mean you do you. We still love you.

Elara Hadjipateras (44:43):

Yeah, you do you, of course. We love you. But we're going to skip it.

Diana Weil (44:47):

We're going to skip it.

Elara Hadjipateras (44:47):

We're going to skip it. Yeah. Alright. Taking a cold plunge and also sauna. So, hot cold therapy. I am all for it. I'm a big fan. Actually, the big project that Peter and I worked on, leading up to Koa's birth and then right after was actually building a sauna at home. Like building a barrel style sauna.

Do you know, just one piece of cedarwood at a time. And I love it. I use it about two to three times a week. And then we have the pool right next to it. We don't heat the pool, so I just go right from the sauna. I jump in the cold pool. I'm a big fan.

Diana Weil (45:18):

Yeah. I'm super here for it as well. I'm a big old baby when it comes to the cold plunging. Again, I want to be the person that cold plunges or takes a cold shower every day. I'm not there, but I want to be. I want to be that person. And maybe one day.

Elara Hadjipateras (45:31):

One day, one day you’ll get there. 

Alright. Cupping. I have tried cupping once. I wouldn't say that I noticed any drastic results. I did cupping particularly for a shoulder injury when I was doing a lot of CrossFit. So, I don't know if I would say it's necessarily a waste of time. I don't know if it's something that you need to do more routinely than just one session.

Diana Weil (45:53):

Yeah, I'm intrigued. Not convinced.

Elara Hadjipateras (45:55):

Yeah. So, I'm going to go skip it for now.

Diana Weil (45:58):

Yeah. Oil pulling.

Elara Hadjipateras (46:01):

Oil pulling. So, this is when people, you just take an oil. So, let's just say it's olive oil, avocado oil. And you just take a big old swig in your mouth, and you just swish it around as if it's mouthwash for an extended period of time. I'm not a fan of it personally. I've tried it, not a fan of how it makes me feel.

Diana Weil (46:19):

Yeah, I know that a lot of people do with coconut oil because it's antibacterial. I have been learning more about our oral microbiome, which is really interesting and that we're killing that off with the alcohol-based mouth washes. I don't know enough about it to be honest, to really speak on.

Elara Hadjipateras (46:37):

Agree. I'm going to throw this into the gray zone of, I'm going to table it, kind of read up more about it. I've tried it. I was not a fan, of course I didn't try it with coconut oil, which probably seems more logical, so maybe I'll do that. But-

Diana Weil (46:50):

But still sounds gross. Kind of.

Elara Hadjipateras (46:52):

It still sounds a little gross. And once again, on my long list of the dry brushing, the oil pulling, I just don't know how many healthy habits I can fit into my day and those are just not at the top of the list.

Diana Weil (47:02):

Yeah, I agree. Not a priority. Okay. Should we end on the … I think this one's a really interesting one. The supplement injections, like vitamin B12 supplement injections, vitamin D injections or going to a med spa and getting — they have an array of injections that you can do. They're all supplement based.

Elara Hadjipateras (47:22):

So, I once had this done at the gym I used to go to because they were just doing them for free. So, I thought why not? YOLO. I wouldn't say that I felt any differently after I did vitamin B12 as well as, what's the other one? It was kind of like a cocktail of different things.

But looking back, I had no idea what they were injecting into my body. I had no idea if the person injecting it into me was a certified nurse or not and knew what they were doing. So, I would say that this is something that people have to be careful of.

Diana Weil (47:51):

Agree. I think, I mean some of these like vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin and you can get too much of it. So, do you need to be doing this, I think is the big question. Who is doing it? What is in it, I think are all really important questions. And I don't love the trend of just injecting things kind of willy-nilly.

Elara Hadjipateras (48:11):

I think that if you have spoken to your healthcare provider and you've gotten blood work done that shows that you say have really low levels of vitamin D and they recommend an injection, I'm here for it. But be very careful and waste of time.

Diana Weil (48:25):

I agree. Okay. So, kind of just to wrap up, I think that we both put in the baseline effort so that I don't feel the need to be going and doing all these extra things to feel real. I don't need the wellness hacks because I feel good on a day-to-day basis on the habits that I've already established.

But just off the top of your head, what are your wellness trends? What are the things that you do that you feel like make a big difference in your life?

Elara Hadjipateras (48:50):

That I would say aren't even necessarily trendy that I've been doing maybe for a while. So, one of them is I drink matcha every day. So, that's a big thing for me. I brush my teeth every day. I try and wash my face, but I at least moisturize it. That's a big thing.

I love going out into nature. I love going out and having sunlight exposure early in the day. So, I love sunrise. That's my favorite. I also love sunset as well. I love breaking a sweat. That can be something that you do in five minutes, 50 minutes, five hours. But that's a really important part of my day.

I love cuddles with my dog. I'd say that that's a really important wellness thing I do, quality time with animals. I'm a big fan of that. And I love a good home cooked meal and the time spent planning and cooking. That's really fun off the top of my head.

Diana Weil (49:43):

I love all those because they to me feel like getting back to the basics and some of these wellness hacks and trends and biohacking, I feel like have just become kind of out there and crazy. And if you don't do everything perfect, then you fail as a human. And everything you just said to me feels very salt of the earth.

Elara Hadjipateras (50:00):

So, that's like when I'm having a good day. You wake up and you think I'm having a good day. I want to share the wellness tactics I use when I'm having a bad day.

Diana Weil (50:09):

Yes, please. So important.

Elara Hadjipateras (50:11):

So, when I'm not feeling good, I love blasting the music and dancing and singing at the top of my lungs. It's great doing it in a car alone. It's great doing it in your kitchen. Just letting myself dance, letting myself sing. That really helps me kind of get the heebie-jeebies out a little bit. I'm a big fan of that.

I'm a big fan of just going into the shower, turning up the heat and just rotating around like a rotisserie chicken. I mean these are the things that I really do do. So, a really hot shower. I like to listen to really loud music.

And then I like to do a little bit of self-care in the form of I have really dry feet, so I'll moisturize my feet and I'll put socks on, or I'll moisturize my hands and I'll put gloves on, I'll put on moisturizing gloves. Those are my three kind of things that help me get out of my own way.

Diana Weil (51:00):

I love that. I also think … I don't know if you feel this, but sometimes I feel like there's a lot of pressure to do all of the self-care stuff. And if you're not doing it all, then like I said, then you kind of fail. And it's important to remember that if you brush your teeth and wash your face and that's what you do for the day, then that's great.

Elara Hadjipateras (51:16):

Agreed. Yeah. Just do what you can do. And it doesn't have to be the same thing every day. Every day is different. I guess that's the thing about these wellness trends is that they have to become a habit. You don't have to do everything on a daily basis for it to be something in your wellness arsenal that you use. It can be different day-to-day. So, that's something to remember too.

Diana Weil (51:37):

And don't let self-care stress you out, become something that you then have to have self-care for.

Elara Hadjipateras (51:43):

Agreed. Wellness, you shouldn't have to work for it too much. You should allow it to come naturally. Diana, what are your wellness tips? So, on a good day, and then I also want to hear what do you do on an off day?

Diana Weil (51:53):

I think pretty similar to you. I mean, the basics. I brush my teeth twice a day. I always wash my face at night. I've been bad about washing my face in the morning, to be totally honest.

I make my bed every day. That one's an important to me. I love having something in the morning, whether it's tea, matcha, every now and then I'll do coffee. Lately it has been matcha though.

And getting outside exercising. I take the dogs on a hike every day. That's a big thing for me. Having a home cooked meal. I put lotion on my body every day. For me, those are my wellness hacks or trends. Just kind of the basics, I guess.

And then on a bad day, let's see. That's an interesting, I think that because those things are so habitual for me that those are things that I tend to do on a bad day. If anything on a bad day, I feel like I need to lean more into the self-care.

So, maybe cleaning the house and having a really clean space. Putting extra effort into the meal that I'm making for dinner. Going on a longer walk, I kind of lean deeper into the self-care things rather than lean away because those are the ones that are making me feel better.

But it might also be stopping work early and laying on the couch and watching something that makes me happy or calling my mom or something.

Elara Hadjipateras (53:10):

Calling your mom, totally. How did I forget that? That is totally off the top of my list. Calling mom.

Diana Weil (53:15):

Calling mom at least five times a day.

Elara Hadjipateras (53:17):

Yep. Yeah.

Diana Weil (53:18):

Really just the basics are the things that have become really important to me. And getting sunlight. I am a fan of the morning sunlight, but nothing that's too crazy.

Elara Hadjipateras (53:31):

No, I love it. So, if you guys have any other wellness trends that you want to share, please drop them in the comments below. We'd love to hear about them. There's always new things popping up and whether it's just a new take on something old, I think it's always worth trying it to figure out if it works for you.

Diana Weil (53:47):

Agreed. And don't let anything that we said “skip it,” if it's something that you love, then that's great. And just because it didn't work for us doesn't mean it won't work for you, except for a few of the ones that I do think maybe are a little bit more dangerous and take caution with, but to each their own.

Elara Hadjipateras (54:02):

Yep. Agreed. Just it's your wellness journey. So, just remember that you're in control.

[Music Playing]

Voiceover (54:06):

Sip, savor, and live well with new episodes of The Matcha Guardians every Wednesday. Follow our show for free on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you're listening right now. Leave your questions and comments below. Find us on Instagram at The Matcha Guardians or click on matcha.com.