What you can do about it!

There are a multitude of issues in the food and health industry, too many to count, too many that differ dependant on you! It is therefore impossible to give a full proof, well explained solution to all the issues that we face with food and our health.

The truth is there is no singular solution, no special diet and no special lifestyle and there NEVER will be. Stop looking for it. Do NOT, buy into any scheme claiming so.

Awareness is the most important thing today and we are totally UNAWARE. We are oblivious to what our food contains, what foods are healthy, what foods are not, what to eat, how much to eat and the list goes on. One of my many missions is to help bring awareness to these aspects of the industry to allow you to make educated decisions when it comes to your health and your body.

Health is WIDELY variable and it is not one thing. To be healthy, there must be a balance of physical, internal and mental well being.

Physical Health

1. Exercise often. Something you ENJOY. As long as you are moving regularly, it doesn’t matter what type of exercise you do. It can be anything from going to the gym, running, swimming, walking, dancing, football, hockey to gardening, walking regularly, taking the stairs instead of the lift. JUST MOVE.
2. If you have always found yourself hating exercise, go to classes you’ve never been to before, try yoga, try anything. There is no limits. Find something you enjoy that gets you moving regularly.

Internal Health (What you eat)

1. The main point here that this illustration provides is that the majority of your food should be coming from (in weight g):
2. fruits and vegetables (39%)
3. 37% from starchy carbohydrates
4. 12% from meat, fish, beans, pulses etc
5. 8% from dairy and alternatives
6. 1% from oils and spreads (preferably unsaturated oils such as olive oil).
7. Drink water 6-8 glasses a day (around 1.5-2 L), dependant on weight and height.
8. There is also a section outside for occasional foods such as sugary foods etc (3%)

I think the Eat Well Guide is a great way of making something quite complicated, easy to understand. Eating this way ensures that you are eating enough macro and micro nutrients for your body.

However, i think the most important factor to a healthy mind and body is to eat in such a way that is sustainable to you.

Of course, if everyone on the planet ate this way, we would have minimal health problems. However, due to many factors, the most important being sugar addiction, this is not always sustainable for many people.

One of the many issues with our food choices is that we strive for diets and lifestyles too difficult to attain. This ultimately leads to failure and no progress at all.

In my opinion, find a lifestyle that challenges you, that ensures you are eating a balanced diet but maintain a lifestyle that you ACTUALLY CAN SUSTAIN. This may take a while. Get to know yourself.

A suggested strategy:

1. Implement small, do-able changes in your life that is positive but not impossible.
2. Once you have made that change in your life and its easy, add something else to challenge you and make a part of your life.
3. Become aware of your health and what impacts it, become aware of the way in which these positive changes make you feel and keep going!

Becoming healthier should never be a phase or small period of time. It should be something that you change forever to be a better version of you.

The most important thing when considering implementing something into your life.

1. can you sustain it?

If the answer is NO, start SMALLER.

Mental Well-being

Mental health is a very broad and sensitive subject and is much more than i will be talking about here. I am not educated in mental health and its impact.

However, that being said. Mental health is equally as important as physical or internal health.

Be kind to yourself. A positive mindset is essential in order to grow and change for the better. Living and practising a healthy lifestyle makes having a positive outlook towards yourself much easier. A healthy mind cannot be formed from eating a diet lacking in nutrition and a lifestyle lacking in movement.

Like i always say, remember how wonderful you are and never let anything or anyone question that, not even yourself.

Now, let’s make a small change in your life. Weather that is to try a new sport, push yourself out of your comfort zone in any aspect of your life, take the stairs instead of the lift. Literally ANYTHING. No matter how small it may seem, any step in the right direction is beneficial.

Set goals for yourself, realistic goals and meet them. Think how far on you could be in a years time, ten years time by always having a goal and sticking to it. Imagine what you could achieve.

Implement one change today. What are you waiting for?

To Summarise:

1. Exercise and move frequently.
2. Eat a healthy diet that you can attain. Whatever that may look like for you.
3. Be kinder to yourself. Treat yourself like you would treat another. Compliment yourself!
4. Sleep, OFTEN.

That’s it! It’s not as difficult as the media has made it out to be. The benefits you will reap from this is incredible. Start small and MAKE A CHANGE TODAY.

Thank you for reading! Follow for more. 🙂