10 things you need to know about health, not just losing weight!
1- Prevention trumps treatment- Most of major health problems we see heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure/cholesterol, cancer, are much more amenable to preventive lifestyle strategies (nutrition, exercise, rest) than to expensive, quick fix medications.
2- Real food is real Medicine- Locally grown fruits and veggies provide the micronutrients needed to keep your body and brain in balance, not processed pesticide-ridden gmo chemicals pretending to be food. Grow and prepare your own food.
3- You have to unplug to recharge- With all the multi-tasking and the go-go culture we’ve created, chronic sleep deprivation is a great risk factor for depression. Create quite calm places to pause, both at home and work. Your brain will thank you!
4- You can’t eliminate all stress, but you can develop better coping skills. The beauty of the mind-body medicine is that it only requires one person (YOU) and it’s cheap, available, safe, and very effective.
5- Get out/change scenery- It’s proven to positively effect mood, focus, energy level, and stress response with no risk of severe adverse effects. (Nature highly recommended)
6- Patience- You have to follow your plan let it happen. Whatever your goal for yourself is, it will not happen overnight. You are making steady changes as a whole, mind, body, nutrition, attitude, choices, being made daily! So take a deep breath and know your step a step ahead further than you were yesterday.
7- Good relationships are vital to health- Stress is toxic, and healthy relationships blunt the impact stress has on our health. This can cause for you needing to make some hard decisions. Changing your surroundings is one, as it involves saying no to people that aren’t fueling you to your goals.
8- You will have an off day- Off days are good! A day where you slip up on nutrition, or missing a workout. It’s ok, you can’t be hard on yourself and chalk up the rest of the week. Your program should allow for learning points. Don’t keep digging a bigger hole, notice it, be aware and start filling the hole (yourself) back up.
9- Make changes for yourself- You are the only person responsible for your progress and your success! Don’t try to please someone else, doing it to impress or compare, or even to fit in! You will be setting yourself up for failure. Only you can vision the outcome you expect.
10- Real change is hard work.. But it’s worth it! The health you desire is proportional to the effort you put in. Quick weight loss and maximum intensity workouts programs often lead to illness and injury. Instead, invest in working with a health consultant, trainer, coach who will partner with you to take it slow, steady, getting daily wins, and making the proper longterm moves toward optimal health!
