Unfounded fears, Hip hikes, Inulin powder, and Keeping things fresh
HALT on Hump Day 4/30/25
Nobody makes good decisions when they feel Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. HALT on Hump day looks at ways I manage those things in my life. Hopefully you’ll find something that will help your life.
HUNGRY
Protein gets all the glory in nutrition these days, but people who know their shit talk about fiber.
But the benefits go beyond digestion. As we learn more about the gut’s microbiome, we’re finding out how much fiber helps. It’s a prebiotic, so it helps in different ways than your kombucha, yogurt, or other probiotics. It’s good for the gut-brain axis, so we get cognitive benefits from fiber on top of physical benefits.
A friend introduced me to inulin powder as a way to introduce a little more fiber into my diet, and I’ve been using it every morning for months now. I love it. I just dissolve it into a glass of water when I wake up.
One piece of advice, though. Start slow. It took me a couple of weeks for my gut to get used to it. I noticed a difference in my digestion, sure, but also in my mood. I’m going to keep it up.
ANGRY
Most people don’t realize just how unfounded their fears are until they start paying attention to the times they overcame them.
We gain courage every time we overcome something scary, but every new fear seems different (and often bigger) than the last one.
I like this prompt because it reminds me of times when I unnecessarily inflated a fear but then prevailed. It’s a shot of courage to push me towards fears I might have right now.
Write about a fear that turned out to be unfounded. How did overcoming it change the way you approach fear now?
LONELY
Sometimes when things go stale, we don’t see it. A stale tortilla chip, for example, looks like a regular tortilla chip. Until you bite into it and get something chewy and unfit for guacamole.
Relationships can kind of do the same thing. We fall into ruts, eat the same things, go to the same places, and talk about the same subjects again and again.
If you step back and notice that about your marriage, partnership, or even friendships, then this prompt may help you think of ways to shake things up by pressing you to think about how you’re keeping things fresh right now.
I’ve had this prompt show up and thought “Nothing for a while,” which has prompted me to think of ways to do something new.
How do we keep our relationship exciting and fresh?
TIRED
Little movements that make me sore the next day always fascinate me, and I have one for your hips today. I call them hip dips, but I’ve also heard them called hip hikes.
I do this move on a yoga block because it makes me practice my balance, but you can do it on a single stair if you feel too unstable on a block.
Either way, you’re standing there with both legs straight, and one foot hovering above the ground.
It’s a small, simple movement for the hips. You tilt your pelvis sideways so your foot goes towards the ground (but without touching it). I find it helpful to keep my hands on my hips so I can feel one side go down while I keep the hip on my standing leg stationary.
When you reach the bottom of your range of motion, lift the foot by lifting your hip (keep your leg straight). As Chubbs said, “it’s all in the hips.”
Switch sides after twelve reps.
This strengthens and stabilizes the muscles at the top and outside of your hips, so it’s good for runners or people who walk a lot. Strengthening these muscles also helps your balance.
Thank you for reading. If you liked something in here, send it to a friend. There’s a good chance they will smile, I’ll definitely smile, and I bet you will, too. Trifecta!