Even if you only stick to these basics, you will have done your body and mind good for the rest of your life; living with optimal health & energy, bringing your life joy that can be easily maintained! I'll be your guide on this journey to your optimal health & energy. Do your part and follow along here...you won't be sorry!
a) Real Food-
I'm talking about real natural food, not processed or manufactured food, even those packages claiming to be healthy. Get some real high-quality, non-boxed foods into your regular meal routine, minimizing the unnatural junk food in your life. The confusion on what nutritional/diet advice to follow can be daunting. Right now, don't worry about if you should be Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian, or Pescatarian. If it is a real, whole, natural food that was grown or raised outside of a factory, you've prepared it yourself, and you eat it in reasonable portions, then you're probably good. Stop counting calories and follow these simple regular-size plate rules, 1) make at least half your plate colorful and/or leafy vegetables-50-75%, 2) place a palm-sized portion (4-8 ounces) of a healthy protein on your plate-25-30%, 3) put a quarter plate of whole grains on your plate-0-10% (non-gluten or no grains for those with GI intolerance or autoimmune issues....more on that in later posts for those interested in taking it a step further), and 4) place a serving of fruit (max 2-3 servings/day) on your plate-10-20%. For snacks, a handful of nuts, apple slices or celery with almond butter, or even 1/2 - 1 oz. of dark chocolate works great! Also, fat is not a four-letter word, as long as it's a healthy fat, like coconut oil or avocados, not margarine or processed cheese. So don't be scared to reasonably include fat into each meal! Even though this is a Paleo link, which I admit I'm partial to, it still illustrates and describes the ideal authentic food plate, even recommending quinoa or wild rice for accepted grains with a serving of fruit.
I'm talking about real natural food, not processed or manufactured food, even those packages claiming to be healthy. Get some real high-quality, non-boxed foods into your regular meal routine, minimizing the unnatural junk food in your life. The confusion on what nutritional/diet advice to follow can be daunting. Right now, don't worry about if you should be Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian, or Pescatarian. If it is a real, whole, natural food that was grown or raised outside of a factory, you've prepared it yourself, and you eat it in reasonable portions, then you're probably good. Stop counting calories and follow these simple regular-size plate rules, 1) make at least half your plate colorful and/or leafy vegetables-50-75%, 2) place a palm-sized portion (4-8 ounces) of a healthy protein on your plate-25-30%, 3) put a quarter plate of whole grains on your plate-0-10% (non-gluten or no grains for those with GI intolerance or autoimmune issues....more on that in later posts for those interested in taking it a step further), and 4) place a serving of fruit (max 2-3 servings/day) on your plate-10-20%. For snacks, a handful of nuts, apple slices or celery with almond butter, or even 1/2 - 1 oz. of dark chocolate works great! Also, fat is not a four-letter word, as long as it's a healthy fat, like coconut oil or avocados, not margarine or processed cheese. So don't be scared to reasonably include fat into each meal! Even though this is a Paleo link, which I admit I'm partial to, it still illustrates and describes the ideal authentic food plate, even recommending quinoa or wild rice for accepted grains with a serving of fruit.
b) Pure Water-
Another tip in the authentic nutrition department is to just drink water. You'll save an awful lot of cash if your main drink is pure water. Plus your body is comprised of approximately 60% water, loosing more as we age, so you're really giving back to yourself when you drink water! Don't like the taste of plain water? Well infuse it with citrus fruits, cucumbers, or berries, just like recipes suggested on this fruit infused water blog. And please don't get the bottled vitamin waters...they aren't necessarily better than sodas. A rule of thumb is to drink at least half your weight in ounces per day. For example, if you weigh 160 lbs, shoot for 80 ounces per day. Add 8 ounces for every 15-30 minutes of exercise, and add another 8 ounces for every 25 lbs of weight loss desired.
2. Be Active: Another dreaded word in the road to health is "Exercise". I've been in that mode of stressful exercise with the whole training schedules for marathons, workouts at the gym, and exercise videos & DVDs. Instead of the chronic cardio & over-training, what I want you to do is to be active in whatever you are doing. Natural walking is the best! Take your 15-minute morning and afternoon breaks at work and instead of smoking (and even if you don't smoke) take a walk at your natural pace for those15 minutes. At home after dinner, take another 15 minute walk with the dog, with a spouse, or by yourself. If you keep this easy active routine up, before you know it, you'll be picking up your natural walking pace! In addition to walking, center your daily routines around activity, such as doing calf raises while brushing your teeth. On weekends, focus on active play, such as hiking, or any of your favorite sports and/or activities. Mark Sisson gives a great overview and videos of essential movements and the importance of play on his site in this link. Basically get as much spontaneous activity into your day, stay active, and have fun being active! Once you feel you can fit in more activity, consider adding yoga, pilates, and/or tai chi, and 12-minute HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training), which we'll discuss in future posts, so don't stress if you're not ready!
3. Be Awesome: There is so much advice on improving one's lifestyle quality, from brain fitness to relationship strengthening to mental well-being. With all the reading and research I've done on the subject, I found there is one single thing that you can do to improve all these facets of your life, and that is to get good, quality sleep! Most people really need at least 7-9 hours per night, whether they want to hear that or not, in order to function at full optimal capacity. If you have trouble with getting this amount, start pushing your bedtime back 1/2 hour each week until you build up to the suggested optimal time that works for you. For those of you who have trouble falling or staying asleep, sleep hygiene is important. This includes having a regular bedtime routine, such as a warm bath, turning off electronic devices, blackening the room using blackout shades as needed. If you are willing to try this, Sleep Well is a good app I use on my iPhone, that can get you into a routine of restful sleep. Relax and Sleep Well has an app for both iPhone and Android Phones. If you are one that doesn't want to hear a soothing voice, try soothing background sounds you can create from TaoMix, which can lull you to dreamland on either device. All these are free apps you can upgrade, if desired. Use your ear buds if you don't want to disturb your partner. In order to improve quality of life, most everyone can benefit from more improved sleep. That's the secret for being your optimal, awesome self in everything you do. Once you are ready for more lifestyle improvements, consider adding meditation and journaling, which we'll get into during later posts.
Don't get discouraged! I'm still learning every day, and each day it becomes a little more ingrained into my being. It's not to say that I don't have my hard days and occasional struggles; it just means that I can see all aspects of my health and energy improve. So when those difficult times come my way, seeing and feeling myself moving towards my optimal self helps me to get up, brush myself off, and get back on track, remembering to: Just Be...Authentic, Active, & Awesome!
Join me June 1st for the 30-DJT (30-Day Joylife Training Journey) here, and tell your friends to come along also! Comment, message, or email me if you have any questions, if you just need support and encouragement, or if you want to just say hey! Tell me your thoughts and as always, find what gives you joy in your life.
<3 Cheryl Joy
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