Hey ya’all happy new year!
I know I gave you some great tips for avoiding too much extra sugar, carbs, and barfing, I mean hangovers over the Christmas Season, and I also know that having the right information doesn’t always mean we put it to good use, eh?
So if you happen to be starting 2019 off feeling like you need or want to catch up on your healthy routines, or if you are resolving to start some new healthy routines, I am here for you!
First of all, I want you to keep in mind that working toward a healthy diet consists of WAY more than all the yummy food and drink we have to give up.
Focusing on what you DO get to eat will give you a huge advantage toward heading off those yucky feelings of deprivation that almost always end up backfiring on us. And we have so many delicious and nutritious options available for us to create really nourishing, filling, and satisfyingly tasty meals, too! And you don’t even need to add extra salt. Try nutritional Yeast (Victorian Epicure has some delicious Vegan flavours – my favourite is Roasted Smoky Tomato), low-sugar hot sauce (I know Siracha is the bomb but check the ingredients – too much sugar for this health coach to get on board with), or even vinaigrette dressings can make excellent, and healthy flavour boosters. If you need to use salt – please, PLEASE, stay far, far away from iodized table salt. Choosing Himalayan Pink Salt, or good quality Sea Salt is far preferable to generic table salt, and contains good-for-you minerals we all need in our systems.
There are a lot of ‘fad’ diets out there. That’s not new, and it’s unlikely to change but I want to assure you that you don’t have to stick to super restrictive diet to get the results you want. Fat is not the enemy, carbs aren’t even the enemy, and everything is okay in moderation. Try and stay away from refined sugar and highly processed foods – remember food is grown, not produced or made. Eat the rainbow, just not the Skittles. Eat more vegetables than you are now, and you’re setting yourself up for success. If you think you don’t like a specific vegetable (like brussel sprouts, or asparagus) try finding different ways to cook it that you’ve traditionally experienced. Changing the cooking method of a veggie can make it taste COMPLETELY different from what you might be used to.
As you begin, or restart, experimenting with healthier food choices, you’ll learn which foods give you amazing energy that lasts, and which ones tend to drain your get-go within a few hours of eating them. I have a great four-day energy experiment that will help you quickly understand just which foods your body loves best, if you are extra eager to get on the healthy train. Just hit me with an email (I won’t subscribe you to any lists, but I can’t promise not to offer you follow-up help 😉) and I’ll send it over to ya ASAP.
I’m going to go back to the importance of drinking more water – it can’t be overstated. Really. Your body needs proper and ample hydration to function at its best, most optimal, high-powered self. This will help with clearer thinking, more energy, healthy, detoxifying trips to the bathroom, and yes, even weight loss. I did a gallon a day water challenge a few months back and I lost a full three pounds in a week just from drinking the extra water and flushing all the extra whatever it was out of my system. And I drink a lot of water already. Ideally, you’ll drink half your body weight in ounces every day. It’s worth the math to figure it out, and hey, the extra water might make the math easier too!
Please, don’t forget that what our bodies digest, is more than just the food we eat and the beverages we drink. One of the paradigms of my practice is that we are designed for joy! We function at our highest vibration, we find our homeostasis, we reach our own perfect balance, ONLY with happiness, and all the stuff that brings us happiness. Good nutrition is essential but we can eat the cleanest, most organic, whole, diet and drink all the water and do all the exercise, and if we aren’t finding joy to lift our hearts, we won’t get the results we want.
We all want to start this brand-new year off strong – it’s the foundation for the next 12 months of our lives, and if we are making big changes, then it’s the start of literally the rest of our lives! Why not make the foundation of 2019 a healthy, happy, well-balanced one?