To live a long, vibrant life ....
fine tune your daily habits
Leverage the foundational habits shown below with self-compassion and patience, making small changes that, over time, give you big returns.
Progress, not perfection!
Eat Deliberately
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Eating deliberately will help you establish a healthier mindset and connection with food.
Eat at a table so you can properly focus on your food's taste, texture, smell, and how you feel when you are eating it.
Eat slowly - don't just shovel it in.... thinking about where your food comes from - truly appreciating what it takes to get it to your plate.
Don't eat too much - just enough to get you about 80% full.
3 IDEAS FOR GETTING STARTED:
1. Use your special china..... what are you waiting for?!
2. Before you eat, close your eyes and inhale deeply, exhale super slowly.. repeat two more times.
3. Block out time for eating: make it YOU time.
Focus on Nutrient Density
Most of us are overfed and under nourished, because the bulk of what we're eating is calorie-rich, nutrient poor, and highly processed.
Nutrient dense foods are whole, natural foods that are inherently lower in calories, allowing you to eat large, satisfying meals without piling on weight. One fabulous side effect - all those nutrients will allow your body to heal, so you'll start to feel better and require fewer meds.
Stop counting calories and instead focus on whole, natural (ideally organic) foods. Dump the calorie counting app, and instead leverage the Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI).
3 IDEAS FOR GETTING STARTED:
1. Obtain the ANDI by purchasing THE NUTRITARIAN HANDBOOK by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.
2. Put six colorful high ANDI-scoring foods from the produce section into your cart each week.
3. Eat a colorful salad or smoothie every day.
Partner With the Right Doctor
When you're challenged with a metabolic disease, pills, potions and procedures more often than not put you into management mode without truly fixing the problem - that's because Western Trained physicians are trained to provide symptomatic care, not root cause care. So....seek health care providers who have earned an additional board certification in LIFESTYLE MEDICINE, because they will focus on finding a ROOT CAUSE FIX for your health challenges.
3 IDEAS FOR GETTING STARTED:
1. Go to adoptalifestyle.com/findLMdoc and search for a Lifestyle-certified clinician near you.
2. Explore our Monthly Ponderings to learn more about Lifestyle Medicine.
3. Since your Primary Care Physician is typically your first point of contact when seeking care, make sure they are Lifestyle certified.
Cultivate Connection
Build a solid, loyal community of at least 5 people that unconditionally love and support you. People who bring you joy, people who have seen you at your worst and think nothing of it, people who will stop, drop and run to your aid if you ever needed it. We are social animals and need each other in order to not only survive, but to truly thrive.
3 IDEAS FOR GETTING STARTED:
1. Commit to scheduling a weekly 1:1 event with a good friend.
2. Volunteer somewhere in your community to strengthen bonds with those around you.
3. Invite a neighbor over for a meal.
Embrace Movement
Get moving and move often. Find what you love that gets you moving and build it into your day - dancing, gardening, walking/hiking, yoga, swimming and more. Go old school with your chores: rake or sweep instead of using a blower, or scrub by hand. We have to move to build bone, so get up, get going, and move often throughout the day. Dump the "workout and done" mindset.... it's not enough.
3 IDEAS FOR GETTING STARTED:
1. Park far away from buildings and walk.
2. Use stairs instead of escalators/elevators.
3. Do 15 wall/counter pushups each time you visit the restroom.
Prioritize Sleep
Sleep is an essential process: it's when the body goes "housekeeping"..... cleaning up the metabolic/molecular "exhaust" from your day, and putting it into the trash, ready for disposal in the morning (urine / feces). Aiming for 7-9 hours every night will enable you to get an adequate number of REM cycles - avoiding brain fog and sluggish mornings.
3 IDEAS FOR GETTING STARTED:
1. Stop eating/drinking (except water) a minimum of 3 hours before going to bed to optimize the "housekeeping" process.
2. Turn off all electronics 30 mins before getting into bed.
3. Make sure your bed is comfortable, and your room cool, totally dark and quiet.
Get Outdoors
We are all part of one amazing natural system - Planet Earth! Unfortunately, our modern lives keep us distant from the essential elements of life: sunlight, fresh air, earth, water, flora and fauna. These things give us space, literally and figuratively, and bring us full circle in understanding that we can't live without them.
3 IDEAS FOR GETTING STARTED:
1. Go for a walk while catching up with a friend on the phone.
2. Volunteer with an organization that needs work done outdoors.
3. Take your shoes/socks off and walk on the grass, wade in the water, spend time directly connected with the Earth.
Set Boundaries
Chronic stress is NOT a good thing. Don't take on something that's way outside your skill set, time availability, or financial limits. Less is definitely more.
3 IDEAS FOR GETTING STARTED:
1. Schedule daily YOU time on your calendar, so you can re-charge. Can be something as simple as a 15 min break every 2 hours.
2. Set a start/stop time for work and strive to adhere to it. When you can consistently deliver your work, they will honor your boundaries.
3. Honor your authenticity - don't do something that goes against your values, needs or financial means.
Have Fun!
While we all know life is a series of ups and downs, cycles and seasons, regimens and responsibilities, it's important to build JOY into your life. It feeds your soul and pulls you through when the inevitable downswings happen. Identify what fills your heart and make sure you engage in it on a regular basis.
3 IDEAS FOR GETTING STARTED:
1. Attend a local concert or festival.
2. Schedule 2 hours of "fun" time at least once per week.
3. Host a themed pot luck party - think outside the box, get creative!
give a body what it needs and it will take care of itself