Hello my friends,

Before we start, a quick announcement:

I'm offering 10 FREE Health Habit Strategy Sessions to help busy professionals create a personalized action plan for sustainable wellness. You'll get specific next steps based on your lifestyle, additional resources on a follow-up email, plus I'll debunk any health myths holding you back.

Anyways, it’s good to be back. I haven’t been with you for a while, and there’s a reason for that—I’m pregnant!

My husband and I are absolutely thrilled. We waited ten years for this moment, you know. (More of that story in my next letter.)

My first trimester hit like a wall.

Nausea, hypersensitivity to smells—my new unwanted superpower—fatigue, and all the crazy hormones. It’s hard to fight them. Being physically and mentally limited in the past few months, I could only do three things: work, see my doctors, and survive.

I deleted my social media apps from my phone. For many weeks, I could not open my personal laptop to read or write, let alone make YouTube videos. I couldn’t handle my usual productivity systems anymore. The plan to take this newsletter and YouTube thingy to the next level—everything went on pause.

On top of all that, there was a major change at my workplace, and I just became the Center Therapy Director. So, I had much training that needed to be done for my new responsibilities.

Life, as it tends to do, had decided to pile everything on at once.

All this chaos made me reflect on a couple of things. This pregnancy is teaching me a lot about myself and how I view the world.

As someone who has always prioritized health—nutrient-dense meals, consistent workouts, quality sleep, stress management—this felt like failure at first. The sense of planning and control I’ve had with my health habits has somewhat gone out the window.

(Side note: I’m good with that now. I am literally growing a little human in my belly. She is getting heavier every day. I started buying maternity clothes last week and have been stealing my husband’s shirts more often.)

I realized that there will be moments in your life where you can be full throttle with health, where you can optimize almost every single area and be totally dialed in, and then there will be other seasons where it’s just about getting it done, where the minimum viable dose is enough.

My life right now is very much the latter.

Food:

Instead of my usual colorful, nutrient-dense creations, I’m eating whatever doesn’t make me want to throw up. Sometimes that’s crackers and bread. Sometimes it’s takeout that actually sounds appealing. But I’m still taking my prenatal vitamins every day and trying to eat whole plant foods when I can stomach it.

Movement:

My beloved kickboxing sessions? On pause. Those pull-up goals I set last January? On hold. But I’m still moving my body—gentle walks, some prenatal yoga when I feel up to it. Some days, just getting up the stairs counts as my workout, and that’s okay.

Sleep:

Well, I’m sleeping 9+ hours because my body literally won’t let me do otherwise. I used to optimize my sleep schedule, but now I just listen to what my body needs.

This current season of my life is demanding different things from me, definitely much more so when the baby comes out. It highlights that health, in many ways, is a seasonal and cyclical pursuit.

Consider these different seasons you might recognize:

Here’s what I want you to consider: What season are you in right now?

Take a moment to honestly assess:

The goal isn’t to stay in optimization mode forever—that’s neither realistic nor sustainable.

My health and well-being have to still remain at the forefront in some capacity, even if it’s a reduced version. The goal isn’t to abandon everything—it’s to adapt your approach to match what your life is demanding right now.

I used to think that stepping back from my usual health standards meant giving up or being weak. Now I see it differently. Adapting your approach to match your life’s current demands isn’t failure—it’s wisdom.

Growing this miracle baby has taught me that sometimes the most loving thing you can do for yourself is to adjust expectations. My body is doing something incredible right now, and asking it to also perform like it did six months ago would be unreasonable.

This applies whether you’re pregnant, caring for aging parents, starting a new job, recovering from illness, or navigating any major life transition. The seasons change, and so should your approach to health.

As I write this, I’m in my second trimester, and things have calmed down somewhat. I’m slowly reintroducing some of my previous habits, but with a lighter touch. I know that when this baby arrives, I’ll enter yet another season that will require its own adaptations.

This flexibility doesn’t make me less committed to my health—it makes me more sustainably committed. Instead of burning out trying to maintain impossible standards during impossible times, I’m building a relationship with health that can weather any season.

I’m not just surviving this pregnancy; I’m learning how to be healthy in the real, messy, ever-changing world we live in. And honestly? That feels like a much more valuable skill than being able to perfectly execute a morning routine when everything in my life is already perfectly stable.

I’d love for you to think about:

Life happens, priorities shift, and circumstances change. The secret isn’t avoiding these seasons—it’s learning to dance with them.

Your health journey doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is simply adapt, adjust, and keep going.

Talk soon,

-Grazelle 🌱

Again, if you’re interested in a 30-minute Health Habit Strategy Session with me…