Let’s Get Healthier!

When?

How about NOW?

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First, Do you think you CAN?

Well, could you make a small change to your daily life, then conquer that into a habit, then make another small change?

If you can do that, you can change your life.  You can feel better; you can think better; you can have more energy; you can feel peaceful; you can have a stronger immune system.  You can even lose weight.

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If you’re eating the “Standard American Diet”, what about changing to eating one meal per week that is made of 100% real food; no ultra-processed food; no packaged food off the shelf, full of additives.  Also no seed oils, which work against your body’s health.

Good oils to use would be coconut, avocado, olive, ghee, or even good grass-fed butter.

If that would be too much of a challenge, what about changing one food in one meal per week (better yet, do this in one meal each day), or as often as you can.  Try a new vegetable; or use a different recipe for the meat, etc.

Challenge yourself to try a food you might not care for, and use a different recipe that you think could improve the taste.  Eat as many different vegetables as you can.

Add some (grass-fed) butter to your veggies, and use plenty of (good quality) spices.  (Some of the cheaper spices can be old, and can also have fillers.)  Use good quality mineral salt or sea salt.

If you love breaded, fried meat, try this: salt & pepper, drench in milk/egg mixture, then cover with ground pigskins.  (You can actually buy them already ground.  I get mine from Walmart.) Then lay on baking sheet and spray with good quality oil, and bake.  It’s not fried, but almost.  And it’s delicious.

There are ways to help food be “tasty” without the bad ingredients.

The government hasn’t served us very well in the past, in promoting their food pyramid.  I ascribe to Dr. Mark Hyman’s food pyramid, which makes much more sense, nutritionally.

Also, take good quality supplements.  Our nation’s food quality just isn’t as nutritious as it once was, for lots of reasons, and most of our population is low on some vitamins and minerals.

Ideally, you could have blood work ordered by a Functional Medicine Doctor who would check deeply into your nutrition needs. 

Functional Medicine doctors (Dr. Hyman for one) usually recommend for most people that they take d3, fish oil, magnesium, as people are typically low in those, along with B Vitamins. 

Of course, those would be unknown for sure, unless you investigated further.

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If you’re working at a desk all day, one good change would be to go outside every morning for a short walk in the sun; maybe walk on your lunch break, or even walk around inside the building during the day.  Anything to get that body moving. 

Our bodies were made to move, and it’s important to keep all those systems in our bodies working correctly.  Our nervous system, cardiovascular system, muscular and skeletal systems, etc., need for us to be on the move. 

Walking outside also calms your nervous system (working better than any pill you can buy for depression), and it burns calories.  It builds muscle instead of fat. 

In addition to walking, it’s also necessary for a long, healthy life, for us to have some resistance exercise.  Weights can actually help you live a healthier, longer life.

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If you get less than 7 hours of sleep at night, a good goal might be to add an hour to your normal, or at least ½ hour.  Then build up further from there.  I don’t usually get any more than 7 hours, but I’ve improved slightly.

Your body works better overall if you go to bed around the same time and get up around the same time daily.  Our bodies work on cycles, and regularity of our daily habits helps that cycle to work better.

Our circadian rhythm that helps us sleep begins with morning light.  If we can get outside and soak some of that up, our body gets the message that the day has begun, and as your lights dim in the evening, your body will get the message that it’s time to rest. 

If you have a night-time ritual each night before bedtime, especially if it includes dimming lights close to bedtime, that one thing signals to your body that it’s getting close to time to sleep.  So your body expects it and will naturally be more ready for sleep.

If you work right up until bedtime or spend time on your phone or tv, then immediately go to bed, you probably won’t be able to go quickly to sleep naturally.  And if you do, your sleep won’t be as peaceful later in the night.

It’s never a good idea to deal with finances toward bedtime, and if we can have a peaceful evening before night, that helps our mind and body settle before bed.  Soothing music would be good too, or meditation.

If you can have your evening meal early, your body can get a good start on digesting before you go to bed.  If not, your body will be working into the night “digesting” instead of clearing out the day’s messes from our brain, and cells.  That’s its job at night, to get everything cleaned out for the next day. 

If we miss good quality sleep, we won’t be able to be as sharp the next day as we could have been.

The more things we have working in our favor, the more likely we’ll have good quality sleep.

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It’s been said, “Stress will kill you.”

It’s absolutely true.  The bad part is though, most of us, when we have health issues, we have no idea that stress could be the culprit.

Stress is what caused my autoimmune condition.  I don’t think anyone could have convinced me.  I didn’t even realize I was stressed … until I finally figured out I could relax.  Then I realized how stressed I had been.

You can change your diet, you can exercise, you can sleep good (but you probably won’t be sleeping good), and you can be doing lots of things right for your health… but if you keep that stress… you’ll probably get sick.

Not to mention the lack of peace that you’ll carry with you every day.

By “getting sick”, I don’t mean upset stomach (even though that could be the case) or catching a cold (that also could be the case). 

Our very cells in our body know when we’re stressed.  And they tell every other cell they can, so all those places in us can try their hardest to work smoothly in spite of things being out of whack. 

Our bodies are strong, and they’re smart.  They know how to do things.  And they work hard to do it right!  In spite of the Stressed Cells!

But after a while… they show us a symptom here… and a different symptom somewhere else… then something else…. Hopefully by then we pay attention.  But we’re sometimes so busy… we hardly notice…

So our body tries other ways to get our attention.  If we don’t ever notice, it can stop us in our tracks.  Now we’re in a place that we MUST do something about it.

So… Check yourself, now, to see if your body’s trying to tell you it wants your attention. 

Don’t let your jaw stay clenched.  Don’t let your throat stay tight.  While you’re sitting, lean back, and put your hand on your throat if it’s tight.  Rest there a bit.  Take a walk.  Look at the beauty of the clouds, God’s beautiful handiwork in the sky.  Listen for the birds singing.

Time having fun can push the stress away.  Think of new ways to do this.

Consider meditating; twice a day is best—just a few minutes at a time.  If you don’t want to meditate, just take a few minutes a couple of times a day to just be still… close your eyes… and take deep breaths, in through your nose… out through your mouth… just focusing on your breath.

Soft, quiet music can quieten your mind.

Whatever little habit change you make will make a difference in your life.  And as you conquer one change, you can add another, and the difference will be magnified.

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What kind of people do you have relationships with in your life?  It makes a difference. 

If you need more good “people influences” and good relationships in your life, it’s really not hard to make new friends.  Just relax a little and speak to someone who might be a good friend.  When they speak back to you, they’re usually inclined to be friendly about it. 

Before you know it, you’re carrying on a good conversation, and that’s the foundation for building a friendship.

Find that person you’d like to “care about”, and care about them.

And, more Importantly…

If you have good friends, co-workers, team members, cultivate that into better relationships.  Care about them.  Good relationships help us be healthier, and live longer.

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There’s no “one-size-fits-all” on changing your life.  Everyone is different.  Different lifestyles, different commitments, different health journeys… no one’s journey will be exactly the same.

It’s impossible to say: Do this, Not that, and get the result you want.  Because that exact thing will likely not be the problem for that next person. 

No one can “tell you what to change” for your life.

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We have some good guidelines here.  If you want to change… if you want to be healthier, feel better, have more energy, feel more calm and peace, and still be productive in your life…

Choose one thing to begin your change.  Say a prayer for wisdom, guidance, strength…

You will be able to make that one change.  You may not change it perfectly at first.  But you can work on perfecting it, and changing that habit to be like you want it.  You can do that.

That one habit will make a changed result in your life.  You’ll see it.  You’ll feel it.  You’ll know you’ve accomplished your first step.

Just decide what that step will be.  The one you choose for yourself.

We practice on ourselves.  We are our own guinea pig.  Try the things you want to.  If you don’t have the success you want, change your tactics to get to where you want to go.  You’ll get there.  You will be surprised at your results.

If you need any help at all in your own health-hacking, or if you want some help with ideas, just let me know.  There are all kinds of options you can start with.

Thank you for reading my article.

To Your Health …

Sharon

P.S.

Oh, and drink plenty of water!  It’s a must!