progress, not perfection
Overwhelmed and confused by the amount of conflicting information about how to be healthy?
If you answered yes, raise your hand. Or, since you’re staring at a screen right now and not a human being who can actually see you raising your hand, just keep reading.
You are not alone.
I read countless articles and books, listen to health and medical experts interviewed on podcasts, watch documentaries about the food industry, and even I am confused.
Here is one thing I can tell you with certainty, and that is that we are meant to be healthy and to feel good. What health means, how you achieve it, and how you feel, is based on you, the individual. There is not a one-size fits all approach to health, but there are a few things that it seems everyone can agree on (or at least can agree won’t hurt you) and they are: drink more water, eat more plants, and move your body daily.
Now, how you achieve each of these is where the confusion often lies. How much water? My body weight? Is carbonated ok? What kind of plants? organic? frozen? How much time do I have to exercise for? Does walking count?
Here are my answers: more water then you are currently drinking and any kind of water without added sugar. Any kind of plants. Organic is often better because it’s less likely that what you will ingest will be sprayed with harmful chemicals, BUT, any vegetable is better than no vegetable, and frozen is great. Any movement is a success. Whether it’s a quick 5-minute stretching movement snack, a walk around the block or a 5k. a run around the neighborhood.
But I’ve found that as simple as these answers might sound, the missing piece is when. Being motivated to be “healthy” is one thing, but having the clarity for how and when is another. Here are a few suggestions re: the above:
You know you should be drinking more water, but you’d rather have coffee. Absolutely, go ahead and drink that coffee, but before you do, drink one glass of water (preferably 8oz). Then savor every sip of that java goodness.
How do plants fit in? It’s lunch and you want your turkey sandwich. Ok, cool. Try adding a handful of arugula, spinach, or lettuce onto your sandwich. Just adding one more vegetable then you normally would have had, is progress, and that’s wonderful.
You want to exercise, but don’t have time. No worries. Start off small by moving for 2 minutes. Yup, I said 2 minutes. And even better, make it a really enjoyable 2 minutes by turning on the TV and putting on your guiltiest pleasure, and only allow yourself to watch this show, while you move your body. It can be stretching, sit-ups, pushups, whatever, but move for 2 minutes, every day for a week and see how you feel. Who knows, at the end of a week, you may want to make it 5 minutes.
Just remember that life is all about progress, not perfection. Even making one small change in your day is putting you on a path towards feeling good.
If you’re interested in learning more bite-sized tips about how to fit health and feeling good into your life, schedule a free 15-minute consultation with me!
