Happy New Year!
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been more than ready for 2026. 🤪
2025 was a wild year!
I’m excited to share a health update and a couple special offers to help you kick off an amazing year.
I’m also in the process of adding new Dry Brushing and Lymphatic Drainage services to my menu.
So keep an eye out for that email.
Schedule a massage by booking online with the Vagaro app or by clicking this link: https://www.vagaro.com/plushsalonandspa2/book-now
Or you can always text me (Whitney): 319-483-8089
How to Make 2026 Your Best Year Yet
I want to share something simple and genuinely joyful that I recently discovered.
I’m not affiliated with it in any way — it’s just something that’s had a surprisingly positive impact on my daily life.
It’s an app called 365 Gratitude.
It’s a daily gratitude journal you can do right on your phone, and it takes five minutes or less a day.
Each morning, I open the app to a short, thoughtful lesson on gratitude — just enough to shift your perspective — followed by two simple prompts where you type what you’re grateful for.
It’s easy. It’s grounding. And it sets the tone for the entire day.
Research shows that regular gratitude journaling can increase optimism by 5–15% and improve sleep quality by up to 25%.¹
Another study found that over 90% of American teens and adults reported feeling “extremely” or “somewhat” happy after expressing gratitude.¹
Those are powerful results for such a small daily habit.
365 Gratitude offers a free trial, and if you’re looking for a gentle, meaningful way to make 2026 feel lighter, happier, and more intentional, it’s absolutely worth checking out.
Sometimes the smallest habits create the biggest shifts. ✨
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gratitude.challenge
Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/365-gratitude-journal-selfcare/id1072397377
HOW TO CHANGE YOUR EATING HABITS IN 2026
If 2026 is the year you finally want to change your eating habits and take control of your health, this is your moment.
Right now, The Confident Meal Planner is 50% OFF for 1 WEEK— and it’s designed to help you make changes that actually stick.
Change can feel scary and uncomfortable.
But it can also be incredibly rewarding — and absolutely worth it.
Most of us know when a change is needed. We just avoid it because staying the same feels safer and more comfortable.
Or at least, we think it does.
But let’s be honest:
Does ignoring the way we eat improve blood pressure or heart health?
Does it improve sleep, energy, or how we feel in our own body?
I recently learned something powerful:
We will continue doing what feels most enjoyable until that choice creates consequences worse than the change we were avoiding.
That’s why so many people finally change when they hit rock bottom.
But it doesn’t have to cost you thousands of dollars — or almost your life — before you decide to take care of yourself.
The key is this:
If you want change to last, you have to make it desirable.
You have to make it feel pleasurable, not punishing.
Let’s start with breakfast.
If you love cereal, pastries, or sugary, carby mornings, the first step is seeing the downside clearly.
That sugar rush feels amazing at first…
Then comes the crash: fatigue, brain fog, low mood, headaches, and intense cravings for more sugar.
It’s addictive — so addictive that sugar has been scientifically compared to cocaine.
Over time, those breakfasts contribute to belly fat, bloating, and feeling uncomfortable in your own skin.
You can eat whatever you want — but is that how you want to feel every single day?
Now let’s flip the script.
A breakfast built around animal protein, vegetables, and healthy fats has been shown to support healthy cholesterol, blood pressure, and steady energy.
Suddenly, scrambled eggs and bacon don’t sound boring — they sound smart and satisfying.
Fluffy eggs with sautéed peppers, spinach, and onions, topped with gooey cheddar… and salty crisp bacon on the side.
No crashes. No constant cravings. Just energy. 😋
Want to eat more salads?
Make them pleasurable.
Salads don’t have to be bland, boring, or leave you hungry.
They can be a huge bowl of crisp romaine topped with juicy chicken, creamy boiled eggs, crunchy bell peppers, salty sunflower seeds, sweet tomatoes, tangy feta, and your favorite dressing mixed with olive oil and fresh lemon juice so every bite pops with flavor.
Honestly… I might go make a salad right now. And I’m writing this before breakfast. 😂
Here’s the takeaway:
If you want to change your habits, make the new choice feel better than the old one.
Think of whole foods and movement as fresh, delicious, energizing, and life-giving.
Pay attention to how you feel after meals made with real food.
And be honest about the habits that don’t serve you.
Most packaged, ultra-processed foods aren’t designed for your health — they’re designed to sell more product.
They’re engineered to keep you craving, overeating, feeling miserable, and coming back for more… while your health pays the price.
The good news?
Most of your favorite “junk” foods can be made at home with nourishing ingredients — or swapped for healthier versions that still taste amazing.
Yes, the flavor might be slightly different.
But if you can enjoy your food and feel better and shrink your waistline… that sounds pretty desirable to me.
Start planning your healthiest, most enjoyable year yet.
Plan your 2026 around delicious, fresh, whole foods with The Confident Meal Planner.
✨ Now just $17 until January 10th ✨
Use coupon code CONFIDENT at checkout to save.
If you’re ready to feel better, have more energy, and enjoy food without guilt or overwhelm, this is a simple, powerful place to start.
HEALTH UPDATE
Things just keep getting better and better.
As most of you know, Mayo Clinic diagnosed me with ALS back at the end of July. My family and I were pretty disappointed that this was the best that they could come up with and basically felt “given up on”.
They offered to put me in an experiemental treatment program that included spinal injections every 2-4 weeks.
After some thought, I denied the treatment. I had suspicions that my condition was Lyme disease and had started seeing a different doctor located in Missouri a couple months before.
This Lyme specialist or Lyme Literate Doctor agreed that holding off on spinal injections was a good idea because I was starting to see small improvements.
In October, we switched up my treatment protocol so that I was taking the antibiotics, doxycycline and rifampin.
To help explain this better, there's a whole list of antibiotics that Lyme specialists can prescribe, usually one or two at a time, because each antibiotic will work differently for different Lyme strains or coinfections. The first Lyme antibiotic we tried helped a little but not enough to stay on it.
So by the end of October, we were REALLY starting to see a difference with the doxycycline and rifampin. By Thanksgiving, I could button jeans again, put on socks, and everything from bathing to cleaning was becoming easier.
On December 10th, I attended my first ALS Clinic appointment in Iowa City. Mayo referred me to Iowa City because they recommend visiting a location that's closest to you.
I almost didn't schedule this appointment but I wanted validation from another neurologist and medical proof so that I can someday completely remove ALS from my medical record. (Insurance companies are harder to work with if you have a terminal diagnosis on your file 🙃).
After talking to Dr. Swenson, the neurologist in Iowa City, she also agreed that declining the spinal injection treatments was a good idea. She explained that the ALS diagnosis didn't really add up to her either. 🙌
Later on while looking through visit notes in MyChart, I found in the notes from the occupational therapist that I saw that day:
So since then I've started occupational and physical therapy weekly at BCHC in Independence and had another visit with my Lyme doctor in Missouri earlier this week.
He said I made his day because of how well I'm improving. We'll be switching antibiotics again because my improvements are beginning to plateau but other than that we'll just keep on keeping on. 🙂
Thank you to all my clients and everyone who came out for hair tinsel during Jingle-on-main. Your generosity and support has helped more than you will ever know. ❤️
Cheers to 2026! 🥂
Thanks for reading,
Whitney Owen, LMT, CHC
Sources:
https://halo.com/10-amazing-statistics-to-celebrate-national-gratitude-month/
