Living Your Best Life
Living your best life … isn’t that what we all want? Yet how many of us can honestly say that we are?! Are you waking up full of energy and vitality in the morning? Are you happy with your diet or do you feel you need to improve in this area? Are you getting enough exercise or are you constantly putting it off until Monday? Are you drinking more coffee or soda than water? Are you tired and looking for a snack every afternoon?
So many questions that can really give an insight into whether or not you are living your best life. Now please don’t go thinking you have to be perfect 100% of the time, because first of all, there is no such thing as perfect! I know, I know, you look at those posts of random strangers on Instagram and Facebook and everyone looks amazing and like they’re having the time of their life. But trust me, despite what people portray on social media, perfection is a myth! Phew, because PRESSURE!
Second, life is about balance. Feeling like you are constantly depriving yourself is not the way to make yourself feel better. You will become resentful and end up giving in to those cravings and weak moments. And besides … 3 kids = wine! No I don’t drink wine every day (anymore), but I do enjoy a glass on special occasions or when I get together with my girlfriends. There is nothing better for your soul than a good old laugh, a few wines and a disco in your living room with your besties!
So what are the key things you need to be doing to move closer towards living your best life? Well here are a couple of things that will help:
Cut the crap!
This has two meanings, both of them important. The first one has to do with food. You will never be the healthiest, most vibrant version of yourself if you are constantly bombarding your body with fake foods. You really need to be reducing the amount of heavily refined and processed foods you are eating and nourishing your beautiful self with wholesome, fresh, real foods. Processed foods contain little to no nutrients and will not fuel your body well. Wholesome, fresh, real foods will provide your body with an array of vitamins and minerals, quality fats, carbohydrates and protein. Try replacing one processed snack with either a piece of fresh fruit, some nuts, or even homemade cookies instead. Start small if that’s what you need to do, but just do it!
The second meaning … be honest with yourself. Be honest with others. Be 100% authentically YOU! Stop making excuses as to why you don’t have time to make dinner for your family. We all have the same 24 hours in a day and it’s up to you as to how you spend it. If you keep saying you’re too busy to cook your family healthy meals, try saying “cooking my family healthy meals isn’t a priority” out loud. Or “nourishing my body with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables isn’t a priority.” “My health isn’t a priority.” Doesn’t feel so great, does it! So start being honest with the reasons as to why you cant find the time to do what you know you should be doing. This might mean you have to start saying “no” to others, because nobody else is going to save you, that’s your job!
Hydrate, my friend.
Drinking 2-3 litres of water every day is so important for your health and wellbeing. Every cell in your body needs water. Clean, filtered water! Add a squeeze of lemon juice or a pinch of sea salt to your glass. The lemon will help to alkalise your body and the sea salt provides you with sodium and potassium which assists in alkalizing your body and enhances hydration. Also make sure you are eating lots of fruits and vegetables like celery, watermelon, cucumber, kiwi fruit, citrus fruits, carrots, pineapple, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, radishes and berries. Not only are they hydrating, they are packed with electrolytes like magnesium, potassium and sodium, all important when it comes to staying hydrated.
Move your butt!
You don’t need to pound the pavement or hit the gym every day and work out until you feel sick! Exercise should not be about punishing yourself for all of the calories you ate (or drank) over the weekend. It should be a celebration of what your body can do! Exercise and movement is not just about losing weight and obtaining that bikini body (whatever that it), exercise benefits everything from your sleep, energy levels, immunity, memory and cognitive function, moods, longevity … the list is long. It has also been shown to reduce inflammation in the body and assists with the prevention or management of depression and anxiety. So if you love going for a jog and working out at the gym, great, keep doing that, but also try to move your body throughout the day. If you work at a desk all day, try to get up for a stretch or a quick lap around the office every hour or so. Not only will it improve your concentration, but it will get that lymphatic system pumping. Just don’t stop at that damn vending machine on your way past!
Add some ferments into your diet.
Fermented foods are a great way to improve the health of your gut. They are rich in pre-biotics, pro-biotics and enzymes which support the healthy microbes in your digestive tract and help to crowd out the bad bacteria and overgrowth of yeast. They are essential for repairing a leaky gut as they not only help to replenish the good bacteria in your gut, they also help to boost digestion and your immune system. Adding fermented foods such as coconut yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kombucha, kimchi, beet kvaas, fermented fruits, vegetables and juices is a great way to add some gut-loving bugs to your daily diet.
Catch some rays.
Get some sunshine on your skin! I know, we are all told to stay out of the sun and slip, slop, slap, so why am I telling you to expose yourself? Well, you know what I mean, but of course, if that’s what floats your boat. Protecting our skin is definitely important! I am not saying we need to walk around unprotected in the middle of summer during the hottest time of the day for hours, but it is important to allow the sun to actually touch your skin. When our skin is exposed to sunlight, our bodies make Vitamin D. Up to 80-100% of the Vitamin D that our bodies need on a daily basis comes from the sun. In addition to the sun providing us with Vitamin D, being exposed to the sun helps to increase our dopamine receptors, which is good news for our memory, attention, sleep, mood, and our pleasure centres. So go on, rip your gear off and soak up some sunshine!
Chill out!
Managing your stress levels is just as important to your health as what you put in your mouth. Not only can high levels of stress be detrimental to your mental health, but also your gut health and hormones. We all experience stress at some point in our day/week/life, but being able to identify our triggers and addressing them as they arise rather than ignoring them is important. Doing what feels right for you in the moment is what is important. You might decide to get out into nature and go for a walk, listen to music, write in your gratitude journal, do some yoga or deep breathing, get a massage (yes please!), whatever you need to do to just take a moment and reduce your stress levels … before you slap your co-worker! Some other things you might like to try that have been scientifically proven to reduce stress levels include:
Having a magnesium or epsom salt bath
Making sure you’re getting enough sleep
Learning to say no
Reducing your exposure to negative marketing or social media where we feel compelled to compare
Hugging someone!
Have FUN!
Seriously, put a smile on your dial and have some fun! Life can be tough at times, but focus on the positive and try to find the lesson in every situation. There will be times when this is easier said than done, and that’s ok, but if you start to make the effort to do this every single day, you will start to rewire your thought patterns and it will become second nature. This is something I have really been focusing on doing lately. Rather than complaining about having to do my books, I make myself a cup of tea, appreciate the fact that I am lucky enough to run my own business and that I have enough money to buy the things I need to buy, then I get stuck into it. This has helped tremendously with shifting my mindset about doing those little tasks that are mundane. At the end of the day, they have to be done and whinging about it doesn’t get it done any quicker. In fact, being grateful for the fact that I am able to do it just feels a whole lot better.
Oh, and be kind to those you meet. Smile. Say hello, even if you don’t feel like it. It costs zero dollars and you might just make someone’s day … including your own!
So go on, give some of these things a go and get on with being your amazing, beautiful self. After all, that’s what you were born to do!
