Change before you have to. -Jack Welch
Change is inevitable, right? Seasons change. People change. Weather changes.
But is change really always inevitable?
If you look closely, you’ll see that what you choose to do, or not, pivots off what you believe to be true, and not.
For example, have you ever wondered why you want to lose weight and look radiant, but also want to indulge in foods that make that impossible?
Or you want to wake up energized and excited for the day, but also want to indulge in unhealthy habits that thwart that from happening?
The thoughts behind your choices may offer you a sense of connection and relationship with those you love, but might also keep you from achieving the health goals you most want.
Thoughts like, ”my family has eaten this way for generations,” or “people just don’t eat that way,” or “I love _____ and am not going to give it up.”
Overlooked, your thoughts become the “cherished” stories that can hold you back. They limit you from experiencing something you might not have ever fully experienced, like what it feels like to wake up energized and radiant, at your ideal weight and with no brain fog.
When I finally got that it was my most treasured stories that held me back when I was sick, like those I mention above, was I able to open up to all the other ways of doing things.
I offer you three “new health rules,” I learned along my healthy path that dramatically changed my life because they asked me to think beyond ways I thought before, 1) calm your mind and let go, 2) optimize gut health and 3) intermittent fasting. They’re simple recommendations that will appeal to your basic common sense, and their doable!
Calm Your Mind and Let Go:
Far beyond the traditions of ancient spiritual communities, mindfulness and meditation are powerful tools used by people from all walks of life, like CEOs and athletes, corporations and prisons, to calm the mind, embrace the present moment and let go thoughts that cause attachment and worry.
- Mindfulness and meditation makes space for new ways of doing things, and make every healthy choice possible.
- Meditation is an intentional practice of being with the breath for 5 minutes or 5 days (or longer), to train your mind to slow down the zillions of thoughts that rise every minute.
- Mindfulness is a more extensive practice of viewing the world with an increased focus and awareness, to simply be with what is, as it unfolds and let everything be OK.
Optimize Gut Health:
The digestive system is the hub of vibrant health and vital energy, which is why it’s paramount to safeguard the state of your digestive health.
Really getting this is a game changer!
A healthy digestive system affects your weight, your skin, your hormones, your immune system and your emotional and mental wellbeing, which is why it’s critical to extend extra-special care when choosing what you eat.
You want to know the 5 top common toxic trigger foods and how they impact the state of your digestive health: gluten, dairy, sugar, caffeine and alcohol.
- Gluten abrades the villi on the digestive wall, causing undigested food and bacteria to pass into the body, which sets the stage for a host of chronic health problems, including common allergies.
- Dairy causes excess mucous production, inflammation and imbalance in the digestive tract, which interferes with the absorption and assimilation of nutrients in your food.
- Sugar is highly addictive and causes inflammation and imbalance in your gut microbiota, the good and bad bacteria, which sets the stage for pre-mature aging and disease.
- Caffeine dehydrates, irritates the digestive wall, causes imbalance in the gut microbiota and blocks the absorption of magnesium, which sets off a cascade of problems,
- Alcohol dehydrates the cells and tissues in the body, and is known to cause dysbiosis, an imbalance in the gut microbiota, suppress the immune system, tax the liver and cause emotional imbalance.
Intermittent Fasting:
Intermittent fasting is the hot new rage in the anti-aging circles today. But it is not a diet, it’s a pattern of eating that cycles between fasting and eating.
Intermittent fasting provides the body an increased opportunity to cleanse, heal and rejuvenate by restricting calorie intake for a set period of time.
While many use intermittent fasting today for anti-aging and weight loss benefits, the rewards far outweigh weight-loss and glowing skin. Intermittent fasting:
- Reduces oxidative stress and inflammation in the body
- Increases cellular repair
- Increases detoxification and rejuvenation processes
- Stronger resistance to stress
- Good for the brain and overall health
- Increases longevity
- Reduced brain fog and increased mental wellbeing and clarity
- Fasting is like a reset button. At the cellular level, it puts your body into repair mode and offers long and short term benefits that make it a worthy practice.
- Ready to fast? Start by omitting food for 12 hours and work your way up to 24 hours one to two times per week.
As Jack Welch says, “change before you have to… ”
YOUR TURN…
After you practice these 3 rules, I want to hear from you! Tell me…
What benefits do you notice from meditating and being more mindful, more present? How do you feel from omitting any one or all of the common toxic trigger foods from your diet? Which one made the most difference for you?
What benefits did you experience from fasting and how did that help you in your life?
Share your experiences in the comments below. I can’t wait to hear what you tried and how it helped!
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