We read the statistics in the newspaper, hear the information on the radio, and see it on the evening television. Proper diet, nutrition, and an overall healthy lifestyle, help to prevent a host of health-related issues. For many of us, this information is heard but not received. We know what we should do, but somehow we still are not doing it.
Why? Well, the answer is rooted in living from the inside-out and that is making a conscious commitment to take care of our body. However, it is the conscious decision making that drops by the wayside when our lives are busy and overcommitted. We then fall back to old patterns of eating and coping that ultimately don’t serve our bodies, minds, or spirits.
What we put in our bodies affects what comes out. Not only in physical outcomes like endurance and strength levels, but in mental and emotional outcomes as well like fatigue, mood swings and poor attention.
In our busy lives we sometimes fail to emphasize for ourselves that without taking care of the physical self, we may not be giving ourselves much time to enjoy anything else and then are often surprised when illness occurs. Unfortunately many times it takes that “unexpected” illness to give us the opportunity to have conscious intent about our health and what we put in our bodies.
Prevention with intention is not about taking care of our bodies out of fear of illness, but about making conscious choices toward a healthy lifestyle and vibrant way of being. It is about going within and knowing for yourself at what level and what way you choose to BE healthy.
Use the following tips to support your personal healthy living plan:
Consciously Commit to a Healthy Lifestyle
You can consciously commit to a healthy lifestyle before becoming forced to do so for medical reasons. If you are already facing a medical or health issue then your conscious commitment is a critical part to healing. The first step always begins with you.
Enlist Support
- Benefit from a support network or team by encouraging family and friends to help you reach your goals.
- Share with them what you are trying to do and be specific in letting them know how they can support you. If you need an exercise buddy, then ask someone to join you. Know someone who makes delicious nutritional meals? Ask them for the recipe or to show you what you can do at home.
- Each of us has someone in our support system that would be willing to help. It is a matter of finding that person and asking them to work with you.
- Make sure you give them permission to remind you to make conscious choices. Just the reminder is usually all it takes for us to become present and make the choices that serve us the most.
Eat Well
- Do not starve or deprive yourself in the name of sacrifice or what you “should” be doing. We know that hasn’t worked before. It is about being conscious of your choices and why you do what you do. Besides, healthy living is about balance and moderation and not about deprivation.
- Decide what you will actually be able to implement in your healthy lifestyle. Is it eating mostly organic? Is it taking a healthy lunch every day to prevent eating out? Make a list of the initial things you want to implement for yourself in creating your health plan.
- You already know the basics for preventing disease:
o Incorporating a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables each day,
o Eliminating artificial sweeteners, preservatives, pesticides, genetically modified food, hormones and antibiotics
o Minimizing or eliminating white sugars, flours, and fats
But you may not know what else to do get to your next level. Seek out advice from our Ultimate Health Living Experts. Set goals and a time line for your learning curve and implementation of your new program.
- Curb Cravings
o Think about the foods that we love to eat but know we should avoid or minimize in our diets. Chocolate, coffee, alcohol, cookies, cakes, milkshakes, potato chips…sound familiar? So before you reach for those foods you crave, or that late night snack, ask yourself why you want it. And, would you be alright with just letting that thought go.
o Most of the foods we crave, we crave because we are trying to change our emotional states and unconsciously fall into an old coping pattern to change the state. But like any drug the affects or relief are short lived but the health ramifications long term.
o Identifying your feelings will set you well on your way to becoming present of your current mental state and able to tap into if your body is truly hungry.
Create New Habits
- Now you may know what to do, but still have difficulty figuring out how to implement these into your daily routine. So just pick one from your list.
o Deciding on one thing you can do differently and implement that for a few weeks, then pick another change to add to your healthy lifestyle.
- Think about some of your “bad habits” that may be affecting your health. Are there areas which you can improve? Could you eat earlier in the day instead of right before going to bed? Other examples would be to quit smoking, getting at least 8 hours of sleep a day, drinking more water instead of diet sodas and sugary juices, or taking time for stretching during the day to counteract the effects of sitting or standing for long periods of time.
- Another simple change is to consider smiling more. Find reasons to be happy for who you are and what you have. As the saying goes, “a smile costs nothing but gives a lot”.
Whatever habit you decide to change, remember that the most effective way to achieve results is to consciously replace the old habit with a new, positive habit and to be patient as you adjust to your personal change.
Knowing where you are, gaining insight of where you want to be, educating yourself and implementing a healthy lifestyle of prevention with intention shows the universe you are grateful for your life and your body because of the care and attention you are giving it. That which we focus on we create more of so prevent with intent to maximize your energy, vitality, and ability to create your ultimate life. UHL
