I admit it. I have tuned into a health freak!
As if I haven’t been a health freak for ages, but compared to a few years back I was just a fitness freak.
Things change when you get a chronic illness. With a changed perspective you start to realize there are so many people out there that have some minor health problem that is causing major issues for them!
As I research more and apply what I learn, I start to improve. And if it works for me then it should work for you…if you follow my advice.
Now remember that it has taken me years to find out this stuff and even more years to make it habit. So don’t try to change it all right away, but pick one or two and adopt those habits, then work on the rest afterwards.
Many small changes will add up in the long term. I know you probably want a short term solution as we all do, but they often leave you worse than when you started.
Some of you are in the same position I am in where you dont know exactly what is wrong or how to fix it and that is a bad place to be. So please follow my advice and work at improving your health now, before you pick up some random illness or condition that is hard to identify or even fix.
Eat right for your metabolic type
You basically should be eating what your ancestors ate, which was not processed junk that is so common today. You’ll either be a protein type, carb type or mixed type.
Most white folk are gonna be protein types due to European ancestors who ate a more protein and fat rich diet, with less grains available during the colder months of the year. If you’re a protein type you’ll probably be eating around 65% protein and fat and 35% carbs.
The Paleo Diet pretty much sums this up for us and it a great place to start. It aims at getting the majority of your food from meat, vegetables, fruits and good fats and eliminates many foods that can inflame the gut and cause digestive discomfort.
Of course it isn’t completely perfect either and needs to be modified for the individual, depending on activity levels. So adding potatoes around exercise is a good idea. Rice can be non-reactive in most people too.
‘The Paleo Diet’ by Loren Cordain is a great place to start digging into details.
If you’re a mixed type then you could be around 50% protein and fat and 50% carbs.
People who live close to the equator are more likely to be carb types as crops were often able to be grown year round. If you’re a carb type then youre likely to need around 30% protein and fats and 70% carbs.
For more information and to do a quick test online go here: www.travissawyer.com/2010/10/14/weight-loss-by-metabolic-typing
I’ve gotta warn you though, sometimes you can get a dud reading if you have a gut infection. Sometimes the bugs inside are doing the test for you and making you crave sugar. This can mess up your results so always best to work with an expert on these tests such as a CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach.
Don’t drink alcohol
It’s bad for you. It’ll make losing weight very hard and it can damage the functions of vital organs too.
You’ve joked about killing your liver before, surely!
Of course getting you to stop is like trying to stop sharks from visiting my local beach, so if you have to drink try and limit it to one day a week and no more.
Making the switch from beer (which is wheat based) to anything else may be a good idea, although a tough or even impossible transition.
Stop eating sugar and processed foods
You know this stuff is bad for you, and probably worse than you think! They are often dead foods.
When you eat them the body has to use its own energy to digest and eliminate them.
Food is supposed to provide you with energy, not take it away!
For coffee drinkers, why do you think you need a coffee after you eat?
Once again, giving up sugar altogether is almost impossible but at the very least cut down your consumption and find healthier treats instead.
Stop eating processed grains
Eat whole grains or even try going gluten free and avoiding wheat and other gluten containing grains.
Processed grains are also nutritionally deficient foods.
White flour is bleached and that can’t do any good for the nutrients that should be in there so stay away from it.
There are so many people I talk to that have some form of intolerance to wheat or other grains containing gluten. Gluten is inflammatory and can cause all sorts of bad gastrointestinal problems.
So if you have an allergy to it, cut it out! You may find that other whole grains are tolerable. You may not. Instead try eating corn, rice, buckwheat, millet and quiona.
A gluten free diet may also help reverse arthritic symptoms, another inflammatory response from the body.
Stop using table salt and start using quality sea salt or Himalayan salt
Table salt isn’t as nature intended and is often from land based sources which have a different mineral composition from sea salt. It can also have stuff added which can have harmful effects on the body and to keep its white appearance. It’s not good for you.
Unprocessed sea salt is good for you though, especially from Celtic, French or New Zealand sources according to Paul Chek amongst plenty of health professionals worldwide. The pink Himalayan salt is good too (got it and Celtic at home). And it’s not bad to salt your meals with this stuff. It can be good!
These unrefined salts contain a mineral combination that is very beneficial to many bodily functions and can also keep you better hydrated. On hot days or if training hard, adding a small amount of sea salt to your water will help replace the electrolytes lost through sweat.
Don’t drink pasteurised dairy
My body has never handled dairy very well. In fact I have spent much of my adult life avoiding dairy.
But recently my health advisor has asked me to try some dairy and my choice was unpasteurised goats milk. I don’t have a problem drinking goat’s milk and don’t have the mucous build up or find that it goes right through me like regular milk.
Pasteurised dairy has all the enzymes killed off in it so it ends up being a dead food, and the body can’t use it for energy. In fact it has to use energy to get rid of it!
So I’d suggest switching to organic, unpasteurised dairy if you need it, or just cut it out altogether. And only buy full fat dairy, not the low fat stuff!
I’ve decided to cut dairy out again as my gut still needs some repair, but I’m not worried about decreased calcium levels. You can get enough calcium in your diet through green, leafy vegetables such as silverbeet, spinach, kale and other greens.
Stop skipping meals
There’s no strict rule that says you need 6 meals a day, but maybe YOU do. If you are constantly tired, sick or lacking brain power, eating more regularly may be of benefit to you.
If you have digestive problems, smaller more frequent meals will help you absorb the nutrition you need.
If you are healthy you might find that eating 3 or 4 times a day is plenty. Just don’t skip meals and expect you body to work properly. It’s sending you hunger signals for a reason!
Always drink filtered water
Tap water is full of chemicals and heavy metals and has often been through the treatment plant numerous times. Add in runoff to our water supply and the potential for contamination is high.
Even though it may have passed a government standard, it doesn’t mean that it’s good for you. It just means its good enough for human consumption.
Even a cheap, basic water filter jug will filter out a ton of chlorine and other chemicals and heavy metals that are potentially hazardous.
Better yet is a reverse osmosis filter which can remove pretty much all the bad stuff, but it costs more and really requires adding a pinch of sea salt to each litre for adding minerals and to help limit toilet visits.
Get to sleep before 10:30 at night
The body does its physical repair and regeneration between 10pm and 2am, and psychological repair between 2am and 6am. If you’re still awake at this time its job is much harder.
And often if you are up late, you may still be working or just up for no reason at all.
Go to bed early.
Get some rest and quality sleep.
Let your body fix itself and stop burning the candle at both ends!
Life is stressful and but staying up late you’re increasing the stress load on the body. Give it a break and your body might start to work better.
If you’re trying to lose weight and not giving your body time to rest and repair itself do you really think you’re going to succeed? It’s unlikely!
The picture of me is what happens when you work night shift then drive across Australia. I slept so much of the trip I almost missed it. I was the butt of many practical jokes that trip.
Avoid processed foods that contain numbers
Numbers aren’t foods.
Numbers could be anything.
If you wanna know what the numbers are, then you should look them up.
Often numbers can be artificial colours, flavours, sweeteners or preservatives.
Regardless, they are artificial and not beneficial.
They’ll likely do more harm than good.
I know what some of the numbers are and some of the side effects, and I don’t wanna eat numbers. I wanna eat food.
Always soak nuts, seeds, dried fruit, lentils and grains before you eat them
I know this one sounds ridiculous and almost impossible. It’s the one I struggle with most.
I’m not that organized that I know what I’m eating for my next meal let alone tomorrow! But I will get there in time.
One thing I always do when making soup is soaking the dried peas or lentils overnight at the very least. If I don’t do that I will get bad gas and that is good for nobody. Ideally soak them in filtered water too.
Soaking nuts, seeds, lentils and grains allows the phytic acid to break down and release the enzymes which help our bodies absorb the nutrition they hold.
People with digestive problems are often told to cut out this stuff while they fix their issues, but the rest of us don’t need to live a life without them and the benefits they hold.
There’s some good info on this site but you’ll find plenty more online.
www.theholisticingredient.com/2013/01/04/activating-nuts-seeds-the-what-the-why-and-the-how
Dried fruit needs to be rehydrated so it digests properly too. If not rehydrated, the body has to give up some of its water to rehydrate the fruit inside of us which can leave us lethargic and dehydrated and gassy.
You may be allergic to some of these foods anyway, but without rehydrating and rinsing them, you won’t get the whole nutrition that the foods contain.
For more info on these and many more health improvements, read Paul Chek’s ‘Eat, Move & Be Healthy’. In my opinion it’s the best health and fitness book available and I have read a ton of them.
You can pick it up from amazon here: http://tinyurl.com/baewqvv
