1. Eat Delicious Food. Food is meant to be enjoyed and create pleasure. Pleasure is delectable taste, texture and smells; fantastic energy; and heady satisfaction from enjoying a well-nourished body. Forcing yourself to eat or drink anything you find offensive, tasteless, distasteful or distressful won’t create goodness your body deserves.
2. Stop and Eat. Digestion is the means by which your body breaks food down to nutrients for energy, growth, repair and restoration. Since we need all of this at every age, digestion is an extremely important bodily function. Digestion only occurs when we are calm and relaxed. Even the best food not well digested will not do the body any good.
3. Meditate. Do it because it feels good. The benefits of meditation are becoming documented by science. Meditation is as simple as sitting in a chair, quieting your space and mind and focusing only on stillness. Focus on your breath, the drip of a faucet or the beating of your heart as examples to let go of thoughts and be still internally. Let thoughts float away and return to stillness 15 minutes a day every day. Patience with yourself when thoughts keep coming, along with persistent practice will release a cascade of benefits to mood, attention, sleep and more.
4. Choose Real Food. The human body is designed to eat real food grown and raised as nature intended. Food manufacturing and processing with man made processes, chemicals and sugar domination is prevalent in the Standard American Diet (SAD). This way of eating is making Americans sick. Don’t become a statistic with modern dis-ease.
5. Move throughout your day. Your body is designed for movement. Do what feels good. Start where you are and work your way up to new levels gradually. Include walking, running or bouncing on a mini trampoline; some strength training; and stretching for a well balanced body. Dance in the kitchen or on the deck under the stars (the neighbors won’t see you:))! Sitting at a desk all day? Get up every hour and take a short walk (even a few minutes). Getting out in nature amps exercise up. Get your blood flowing!
6. Let go of rules demanding perfection. The quest to be perfect is a set up for failure. Forget inner voices that if you don’t do everything perfectly you fail. Nothing could be farther from truth.
I’ve seen arched eyebrows looking at me when I offer that (even) I (as a Nutritionist) am not Food Perfect. I imagine perfect is someone who doesn’t enjoy a cookie, pizza or ice cream now and then. I imagine perfect is someone who prepares every meal from scratch. Learn to bring in the best vices, made from the best ingredients and with the perfect amount of time you have to give.
7. Learn to eat for satiation that fuels you for 4 – 6 hours during the day between meals and a nice 12 – 14 hour fast from dinner to breakfast. Learn the short cuts that you can afford and still give your body delicious energy for life. You deserve to feel good and love your food. Don’t do deprivation.
8. Drink enough H2O. The benefits of drinking enough pure clean water seem endless. The majority of the body and brain are water. Your body needs to be hydrated to function properly. Formulas for how much H2O the body needs vary. A good guideline is to drink half your body weight in ounces plus 1.5 X the ounces of diuretics.
9. Live a Lot. Experience a wide variety of food and experiences. When presented with a decadent treat, love a bite or two maybe three. Balance is vital for wellness. Sometimes we can and want to devote oodles of time in the kitchen. Other times, not so much. Allow yourself room for flexibility for life.
10. Personalize your food plan. Finding your Wellness Groove is about personalizing food and lifestyle choices that flow with life. Deprivation diets don’t have lasting benefit. The body is meant to be fueled with yummy satisfying food providing energy, vitality, pleasure and balance.
When you personalize your food plan you learn to choose food to support optimal function for optimal well-being. You love it because it tastes really good and satiates you to the core of your being.
Food can restore us at a functional and cellular level when we aren’t feeling well. We turn back annoying signs and symptoms which indicate burden for the body when we choose foods targeted to restore us. When left unattended, recurring signs and symptoms (no matter how we try to minimize them and tell ourselves they are normal) can manifest into dis-ease. They aren’t normal. Your body is trying to tell you something.
Gently and at your pace, wherever you are with your wellness factor; and whatever is happening with you wellness-wise, I would love to guide you to choose food and lifestyle to help you feel better.
In the Wellness Groove pressure to be perfect is lifted. We simply thrive.
Finding your Wellness Groove is all about you & you deserve to feel your best at every age!
In Health,
Tam John
This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent disease. This article has not been reviewed by the FDA. Always consult with your primary care Physician or Naturopathic Doctor before making any significant changes to your health and wellness routine.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2017 EatRight-LiveWell ™ & Tam John
Originally published at www.tamjohn.com