Let’s talk about health. Do you feel like creating a healthy lifestyle is boring? When I first got started on my health journey, because of the kind of food I was used to eating, I definitely felt like it. I mean seriously, what can you eat if you cut out processed sugar, dairy and gluten. If you’re wondering why I felt the need to cut out all this…well, it was because I had a severe eye inflammation issue that was getting worse each time it happened (which was almost every 6 months). After running several tests, I was told that there is no cure for it other than the steroid drops I’d been using every time I had the inflammation (very red eyes and a lot of pain). At one point it got so bad that I was taken to emergency in the middle of the night and I was in a lot of pain. That was a wake up call for me. I was scared that at this rate, I don’t know how much worse it could get.
This is when I consulted with a naturopath and she tested me for allergies and intolerances. Turned out I was intolerant to gluten, dairy and white sugar. I was devastated at the thought of having to cut out these foods but at this point I was willing to try anything to heal my eyes and get my health on track. Now in retrospect, I can see that the eye inflammation was actually a blessing for me. It created so much pain in my life that I had to give it my full attention and make major changes. It wasn’t easy for me but ultimately, the changes I made helped me get healthy, I stopped getting eye inflammation and lost over 10 kgs weight.
What I’m trying to bring your attention to is that it’s never easy to make changes in our life but we don’t have to wait for something crazy to happen to get started. Our health is important because our body is the only vehicle we have, to go through this life. Once you start taking care of your health (mind, body & spirit), you’ll see that there are so many options available for healthy eating and it’s so worth it. To make it more realistic and doable, I’ve created a 5-Step process to help you get started on your health journey.
5 Steps To A Healthy Lifestyle:
1. FIND YOUR WHY
You’ll notice that you don’t make changes in your life unless you have a big reason to do it. It’s because, making a change requires getting out of your comfort zone and unless there’s something big enough calling you, you just won’t have the motivation to do it. But once you have a big reason – your big WHY – you will be able to find ways to create the results you want. So today, spend some time to think about why you would like to create a healthy lifestyle. If you were able to make these changes in your life, what would it mean to you? You are going to need to dig deep for these answers to get down to your deeper WHY. Think about, what would your life be like if you were able to lose those extra pounds, have clearer skin or feel energetic or get healthy?
2. SHORT TERM GOALS
Create short term realistic goals for yourself because its easier to work towards short term goals. 3 month goals create way more focus than 1 year or 5 year goals. Of course the long term goals are important, but breaking them down to 3 month goals, weekly goals and then daily goals can be amazing to create focus and intention.
3. FOOD AND NUTRITION
When it comes to health, it’s 80% food and 20% exercise. Whatever you eat impacts your health each day. Something to notice each day is – how do you feel after each meal. Do you feel sleepy, tired or energized? Your food either nourishes you with nutrients and energises you or it depletes you and leaves you feeling bloated and heavy. Foods that cause a lot of inflammation, health issues and weight issues are processed sugar, gluten and dairy. A great way to test if any of these cause you distress is to eliminate a certain group of food (eg. Dairy or gluten or white sugar) for 3 weeks and then re-introduce this food in the 4th week. Your body will usually give you a sign if this food causes any issues. You can do this test for any of the different foods.
4. JOURNALING
Get a journal to write down your goals and then journal each day about your health journey. It allows you to notice the thoughts you’ve been having, the wins and misses you’ve had each day and to see the changes you are experiencing. This helps you create a lot of intention because you become aware of what changes you are seeing, what your struggles are and where do you want to see yourself in a year’s time. An easy way to start is to write about: 3 things that went well today and what’s one thing you can do to make tomorrow better.
5. MOVEMENT
If you’re just starting out and are not in a habit of exercising, then it might not be easy to create an exercising routine for yourself. Gyms are a great option but often times, if you’re not in the habit, you’re more likely to not show up. I struggled with this when I first got started too, so I focused on creating a simple habit and started with 10mins to 15mins workout each day as soon as I woke up in the morning. Obviously this short workout didn’t give me huge results but it helped me create a habit. And once my habit was established, I increased my workouts to 20 mins and now I do 40-45 minute workouts everyday. When you start small it might seem futile but trust me, its more important to create a habit that would last, than go to the gym or workout for 5 days in a row for 2 weeks and then stop completely. Start with something you can maintain easily and then build up from there.
In your health journey, it’s your habits that are the most important. Create habits that are sustainable and make sure you stay consistent. Whether its with your food, nutrition, exercise or journaling, always start with a realistic goal that you can maintain and then once you get comfortable with that, then build up from there. Ultimately, its the consistency that will give you the long term results you are looking for.
OVER TO YOU
What are two of your takeaways from this article? What’s one action you can take to get closer to your health goals? Comment below!
Ps. We love hearing from you! If. You have any questions or want us to talk about any particular topic, please comment below or email us at glamourandpurpose@gmail.com
Lots of love
Deep xo