Prioritizing your health should be easy, but it’s a struggle for most, right? And isn’t that odd? We eat, drink, sleep and breathe daily. Shouldn’t we be looking for ways to thrive in those categories? Looking for ways to optimize those levels so we can live a pain free, energized, confident and happy life?
Now, I understand that the topic of nutrition, fitness and deep health can be overwhelming. When you combine those topics with working at your job, being present for your family and loved ones, it can all feel too much, like there’s not enough time in the day. It’s okay to feel that way, it’s natural. And guess what, you don’t have to spend hours, weeks, months or years researching those topics, that’s what coaches are for!
I always find it interesting that when people are looking to improve their health, whether it’s lose weight or sleep better or learn how to properly feed themselves and make a plate, they think they should just Google it and go with whatever is fancy at that time, you know, whatever is the fad at that time. The quick fix is so ingrained in us these days. We have an abundance of technology at our fingertips where you can find answers and that is awesome. However, you can also find a lot of misinformation or answers that don’t serve you as well. Take it a step further, you can go down a complete rabbit hole that leaves you more confused than when you began.
Your health is a serious topic and yet many people think a quick Google search will give them the answer they are looking for. That is not what you would do if you were an athlete, right? Or if you want to play a new sport or something. No! You would get a Coach. You would seek out someone to guide you, encourage you and push you to accomplish what deep down you know you can, but for some reason it’s always hard for us to see that in ourselves you know. That is what coaches are for.
When I coach clients, I like to go extremely in depth in order to best serve them and assist them in accomplishing their goals. For today, I wanted to off you four pillars that will assist you in strengthening your deep health.
Physical Movement
We need to move daily; it is what our bodies were designed to do. The more you move the better your organs work, the better your metabolism works, the more muscle mass you have and the better you are emotionally. Making it a personal goal to MOVE every day or a certain number of steps or distance every day is a wonderful habit to build. If that is 8k or 10k or 12 k steps a day, do it and do it consistently. Park far away when you go to the grocery store, walk around your house while you’re on the phone, run with your kids in the backyard or go for a walk. Going for a 30-45 min walk will not only help you reach your movement goals, but it will get you out into the sunshine (if during the day) for that vitamin D. Going for a simple walk can allow you to be at one with your thoughts and show some love to your brain, it’s truly magical. For this pillar, I’m not saying you must push yourself to the limits for an hour in the gym every day. Try some lunges while you’re cooking dinner, jumping jacks while your coffee is brewing, butt kicks down the hall, whatever makes you smile. Don’t overcomplicate it, just move your body DAILY!
Hydration
Hydration is extremely important for your overall health. I’m not going to say a certain amount of water is necessary for every single person no matter what the circumstances because we are all different and live in different climates. However, you need to make sure you are staying properly hydrated every day. A great way to check your levels is to make sure your urine is a pale to clearish yellow. This does not apply to your urine in the morning, because that will always be on the darker side since we dehydrate during the night. You will want to make sure that it’s not totally clear because that could be a sign of over hydration, which is a problem, but checking throughout the day and taking note of how much water you are drinking to maintain these levels will give you good idea for how much you personally need in order to stay properly hydrated.
Plants
Making sure you eat more whole foods than processed foods daily and mixing up the variety of your choices will set you up for optimal gut health and when your gut health is strong, your overall health is thriving. Just practicing good nutrition for life and not a temporary fix, having that mindset daily and acting on it is a pillar that you need to master.
Sleep
Proper sleep is vital to good health. Making sure you are getting adequate sleep 7-8 hours helps your body reset at night. It helps your digestion work efficiently and effectively. Sleep is also vital for your cognitive health, allowing your brain to rest and create more reserve. If you struggle to go to sleep, look into implementing a sleep ritual that serves you. When you have a sleep ritual, it conditions your body to start winding down and makes the transition of going to sleep much smoother.
Sometimes the best way to accomplish your goals, no matter what they might be, is to break them up into small habits and start with the basics. Know these habits like the back of your hand and master them EVERY DAY! Then once you feel confident with the basics, you can start adding on other habits and steps towards your goals, whatever those may be.
For example, if you wanted to be able to do a pushup with a clap in the air, you wouldn’t immediately try to do the exercise if you couldn’t perform a strong pushup from your feet to begin with. You would likely bust a lip or nose trying to go from zero to one hundred without mastering the basics. First you would need to focus on your core strength with planks, making sure your entire cage is getting strong enough to support your body weight. The other basic you would want to build up is the ability to properly do a push up at all; starting from your knees in proper form with shoulders stacked over wrists until those become so easy for you that you can progress to pushups on your feet. After focusing on strengthening your core and strengthening your pushup ability for a while, THEN you would be ready to start trying out a clap at the top. Building habits this way focuses on the basics.
Often times people struggle to build these basics and stay consistent with them on their own. Most of the time we need that push, we need that accountability we need that information that we not only don’t have, but don’t have time to figure out and that is what Coaches are for.
If you find yourself aligning with anything mentioned so far and you would like some guidance, some accountability, some coaching in any aspect of your life, stop waiting and go out there and get it now! Especially when it comes to your health and wellness. Never let cost be a reason to not reach out. There are so many options out there and most coaches will offer payment plans or certain deals so they can help you. If price is something that stops people from reaching out for a coach, they should imagine the costs that will be coming down the road if they don’t start taking better care of their health now. Costs of doctor visits, costs of prescriptions, emotional costs of not being present or able to do the things you want to do in life.
This life is short, and we should enjoy it and live it to the best of our abilities while we are here. If you’re looking for some help with your nutrition or fitness, I have options for you and I coach remotely so geography does not matter. If you want someone local to you, start searching in your area. But please, refrain from googling the latest fad and jumping on that wagon without practicing your basics daily. I am willing to bet that if you start mastering your basics, soon you won’t be far from where you desire to be.
