Transitioning into a healthy lifestyle can seem overwhelming. For many, it feels like a world full of unfamiliar routines and unattainable habits.
To break down that barrier, here are seven simple steps you can take to make your own transition, starting today:
1) Start your day with a mug of warm lemon water.
This simple habit is one of the kindest routines you can implement for your liver and colon. The lemon water helps your body to gently detoxify at the start of each day by supporting your liver and relaxing your bowels to promote elimination. In addition, the 200+ enzymes in an organic lemon help to promote proper digestion and support the liver, while its concentration of vitamin C and potassium boosts immunity.
How to include this: First thing upon waking, fill your favorite mug with filtered hot water and squeeze in the juice of ½ lemon, then add the rind to your mug. You don’t want boiling water, as this will negatively impact the lemon’s valuable enzymes and vitamins. Drink it as you are getting ready for the day, about 15-30 minutes before breakfast for maximum benefit. For extra digestive support, add in a piece of ginger, and for added hydration and minerals add in a pinch of unrefined sea salt.
2) Stop cutting Carbs and Fats
We live in a world where certain macronutrients get demonized, mainly carbs and fats. But a balance of all three macronutrients provides your body with optimal fuel and the necessary cofactors for your metabolism to function at its best.
Carbohydrates provide your body and cells with it’s preferred fuel source, glucose! Eating enough carbs is a great first step in healing your metabolism, since many people, especially women, avoid carbs. Also, carbohydrates are needed in order to ovulate! Always be sure to consume them with a protein source to keep blood sugar balanced.
Healthy fats play a variety of critical roles in our body. From managing inflammation, supporting our hormones, maintaining healthy cell structures, and keeping us feeling full and satisfied, consuming the right kinds of fats is key for overall health. You can find healthy fats in foods like butter and ghee, organic egg yolks, avocado, coconut oil, and fatty fish like salmon and sardines.
3) Eat every 3-4 hours
When you go too long in between meals, your blood sugar starts to plummet, and if we’re not properly fueling ourselves, our body has to rely on our adrenal glands to produce cortisol (the stress hormone) to bring our levels back to normal. If this becomes regular, it can put you at risk of hormone imbalances and even insulin resistance. Eating a balanced meal or snack every 3-4 hours ensures that your blood sugar stays within it’s limits and your hormones are happy.
My favorite balanced snack is a mug of bone broth with a 1/2 tablespoon of grass fed butter or coconut oil, and some berries on the side.
4) Put animal products at the base of your food pyramid.
Animal products, are, calorie-for-calorie, among the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. Packed with a huge array of enzymes, minerals, vitamins, healthy fats and amino acids, these powerhouses reign supreme in promoting optimum weight, vibrant energy, and hormone health. Things like collagen, bone broth, dairy, eggs, and muscle meats are all things I prioritize in my diet. Try to diversify your muscle meat sources as much as possible to include ruminant meats (beef, bison, venison), white fish and fattier fish, shellfish, pork, and poultry. Also, try to source pasture raised/grass fed and wild caught products whenever possible.
Two simple meal ideas: marinara sauce over a plate of roasted zucchini and roasted bell peppers topped with grass fed ground beef; or, half a head of shredded and steamed cabbage with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil and coconut aminos (a healthy soy sauce substitute) topped with pasture raised chicken.
5) Drink more water.
It’s easy to forget the powerful effects water has on every system in your body. Proper hydration reduces inflammation, aids in digestion, and boosts your mood and mental clarity. Even mild dehydration prevents your kidneys from effectively purifying the blood, leaving your body and skin with unwanted toxins. I suggest carrying a 1-liter reusable water bottle around with you throughout the day and refilling it with filtered water at least twice. At your desk, keep it open and near to you as you work, and add a pinch of unrefined sea salt or trace mineral drops for added hydration.
If you can, invest in a good water filter. The best option is Reverse Osmosis, but be sure to add back in the trace minerals if your filter system doesn’t do it for you.
6) Focus on whole foods.
Focus on eating food that is, well, real. I doubt if our great-grandmothers would recognize half of what passes today for food. A good rule of thumb is to avoid eating things you see advertised on television. This will drastically reduce the amount of preservatives, artificial coloring, and additives you are consuming, none of which are doing your body, and hormones, any favors by increasing your toxin load and serving as endocrine disruptors.
7) Create a self-care menu.
What we eat and how much we exercise aren’t the only factors that influence our health. Allowing ourselves to do the things we love doing helps to manage stress and creates a positive impact on our emotional as well as physical well-being. Create a list of things you thoroughly enjoy – whether it’s going for a hike, reading a good book, having an Epsom salt bath, getting a pedicure, taking a dance class, writing poetry, anything. Make your list as long as you would like and consider it your self-care menu, scheduling out time for this each week and making it just as much a priority as whole foods and hydration.
When we are living a life of authenticity, actively following our purposes and passions, we are nourished on level deeper than food can provide. This shows up in improved immunity, increased longevity, and an intangible radiance. So find what makes you glow and go do it!
Taking care of you can occasionally feel indulgent and egocentric. But truly, it is just the opposite. When you are the best possible iteration of yourself, you are able to more freely give of yourself to the world around you. Combine that with a workable approach to a healthy lifestyle, and you’ve created a foundation for your best life yet.