6 Ways to Reset Your Health and Lifestyle
Every now and then life gets in the way and we forget to take care of our bodies and mind.
Nine years ago, I found myself in a hole of frustration and fear. At the time, I was 40 lbs heavier and had just welcomed my second son into the world almost a year earlier. After months of researching the damaging effects of infertility drugs on women's hormones, I decided to step back and spend my days researching how to truly be healthy again. I hired a holistic health coach, functional medicine practitioner, and fitness coach that specialized in hormone imbalance. I also learned MANY women are suffering from hormone imbalance and have never had infertility treatments. Pregnancy, miscarriages, peri/menopause, personal care products with hormone disrupters, certain foods, performing the wrong type of exercise, and stress are some other common reasons for hormone imbalance.
The more I researched, the more hope I had that I could regain my health and balance my hormones back to happiness. In a world where we're told to consume low-fat diets, run five days a week to keep the weight off & eat every 3 hours to maintain a fast metabolism, it's no wonder so many of us feel at a loss when it comes to weight release, fatigue, and our overall health.
When it came to my own weight release journey, it wasn't that I hadn't tried, I had always exercised regularly and eaten what I was told should help me shift my weight, but after many years of that working, I had always lost the battle.
Since I discovered the truth (you can learn more about that in my CLY programs), my stubborn belly fat has gone, as well as the associated health issues that came with it. I'm now living my healthiest life at the age of 47. Yassss, really.
Of course, my personal health reset was a complete LIFE change, but for those who have slipped up somewhere along the way, whether it be from working too hard & resting too little, eating all the wrong foods, or simply not getting enough sleep, here are my favorite things to do to help reset your health...
6 Ways to Reset Your Health & Lifestyle
1. Reset your food choices
This for me means a full of nourishing foods that nature intended for us. That means little to no sugar, no gluten, little/no dairy, no processed junk as much as possible, little/no alcohol, just wholesome foods that help support the body like organic lean meat, plenty of vegetables and fruits, healthy fats and also herbs and spices.
If this sounds completely alien to you, or you feel somewhat lost when it comes to a complete change (although, I prefer to see it as a positive LIFE change) then a program like Nourish and Fuel ME can completely guide you throughout the process. We take it one step at a time at YOUR pace.
Nourish and Fuel ME is a guided program with myself and the knowledge of leading health experts to help you transform your life for the better. Not only do I show you how to adapt to nourishing your body through REAL food, but I also show you how to adapt your lifestyle too, adding years to your life.
When I've fallen off the wagon (poor food choices, little sleep & extra stress), the first thing I focus on when I decide to reset my health is my food choices. I'm the one in control of what I eat and also food has a huge impact on our overall mood and wellbeing. Just a few days of eating better completely change how you feel. You sleep better, you focus better, you perform better & you become better.
2. Reset your movement
It's a no-brainer that moving our bodies makes us feel good. In fact, it's what we were designed to do as humans. If you think back to our ancestors, they survived by moving and physically hunting for their food. The same applies to us in some ways. As humans, we perform better, both physically and mentally, when we move our bodies.
When it comes to exercise, we need to stop worrying about our chronological age and instead focus on our biological age. Our chronological age is just a number. I hate it when I hear someone claiming, “I’m too old to exercise”. To my mind, the term ‘old’ should be permanently replaced with ‘older’. We’re never old, we’re only ever older. People in remote villages around the world, where they are living into their 120s, might have earned the right to claim they are old, but for the rest of us, we should just consider ourselves as older. Unless someone suffers from a physical disability, the vast majority of the following advice is applicable to everyone, regardless of age.
When it comes to exercise, I personally prefer HIIT workouts.
HIIT refers to our approach to interval training, where we use a specific type of routine that safely and efficiently pushes us to do intermittent bursts of exercise. We then focus on ‘moving more in our everyday life and eventually get to build extremely short ‘sprints’ into our weekly routine. These three separate areas of fitness build muscles and at the same time increase our flexibility and help us feel younger for longer.
That being said, the goal is to enjoy what you do. Once you do, moving your body (whether it's using the method above or simply increasing your steps daily) will not only become easy, but it'll be enjoyable too.
I have made working out fun and easy with my CLY Fit Club program. Workouts can be done at home or at a gym in 35 minutes and just 3 times per week! There's community support and accountability in a Facebook group.
3. Reset your sleep
For someone who has run their own businesses for more than 20 years - burning the candle at both ends - researching how much sleep we require has had a profound effect on how I now live my life.
There will always be periods in everyone’s lives where - due to external factors such as work, having young children, or even party season - getting a good night’s sleep becomes a low priority. While the odd day or two of not getting enough sleep shouldn’t cause any long-term health problems, sleep deprivation over a sustained period can be very harmful.
Believe it or not, sleep is one of the, if not the, most important elements of our health, which is why it's extremely important to consider the quality of your sleep in order to live a truly healthy life. Here's what happens when the body begins to perform on a sufficient amount of sleep:
Knowledge and memories from the day’s activities become scrambled
The body struggles to regulate our body temperature and becomes particularly inefficient at dealing with extreme cold or heat
The body creates an excess of cortisol, and we become easily stressed
Have you noticed how short-tempered we become after a poor night’s sleep? It’s not our fault that we become irritable and ratty, it’s an excess of the hormone cortisol.
Our immune system begins to fail
Insulin struggles to regulate blood sugar levels, and a lack of sleep over time can lead to type 2 diabetes
Leptin and ghrelin hormones don’t function properly, leading to overeating
Our body can lose control of its fight against inflammation
On average, adults are recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night, with most aiming for 8.
Of course, this can vary for different people, especially if you're more active. You can read more about the importance of sleep, how we sleep, why we sleep & how to get better sleep, in the Nourish & Fuel ME program.
4. Reset your stress levels
Stress-related diseases are one of the biggest killers in the Western world. From cancer to heart attacks, so many illnesses and early deaths can be attributed to it. While a little bit of stress, such as that from exercise, is good for us, prolonged exposure – whether it be conscious or subconscious – is really bad for our health.
In order to completely reset your health, your stress levels are certainly something to consider. Luckily, after years of research & practice, I'm quite fortunate to be able to control my stress levels, while also uncovering the truths behind what makes people truly happy:
They don’t worry much and therefore aren’t stressed
They have a close circle of friends or family and therefore a sense of belonging
They challenge themselves frequently
They have a purpose in life
They have a high level of tolerance and can rationalize things
They take everything and everyone less seriously
They demonstrate gratitude and realize that comparison is the theft of happiness
Yoga, meditation, eating well, moving more, practicing gratitude, and surrounding yourself with the right people can help you take care of your stress levels. Of course, it's easier said than done, but try to take care of yourself daily to achieve optimal wellness. For example, going for a morning walk to expose yourself to natural daylight (which helps support sleep) and practicing gratitude can help maintain your stress levels.
5. Reset your mindset
Being healthy isn't just about what we eat & how much we move, it's also about what we think and how we act. Unhealthy thoughts can be detrimental to your health and happiness, and while it may seem impossible to change habits and thought processes, you'd be surprised.
Recognizing unhealthy thoughts is just the first step to changing your mindset. Self-help books, journaling, daily affirmations, mirror talk, and meditation can be great ways to help you work on yourself for the better, especially when it comes to resetting your mindset.
Growing up, I took great interest in self-care books to help build me as a person. Not only have they helped me navigate the world of business, but they've also helped me navigate myself as a person too. It's probably one of the reasons I can control my stress levels quite easily.
6. Reset your LIFE
Finally, resetting your LIFE is all about putting the steps above together. Nourishing your body with the right foods, moving your body regularly, taking care of yourself daily & working on yourself internally are all the right steps to take in order to reset your health & LIFE.
Yes, it sounds like a lot of work to do, but once you're on the right pathway with the help & support you need, anything is possible
