WHY HEALTH DOESN’T HAVE TO BE COMPLICATED
A Lot of people feel overwhelmed when they hear the term “healthy lifestyle”. If you find it hard or impossible to achieve, its because you’re overcomplicating it.
Living “healthy” is that it’s not just a phase, it’s an ongoing lifestyle, meaning your habits need to be maintainable in the long run.
Now before you jump into the cold plunge, sauna, massage guns, red light therapy, supplements or whatever it may be, you first need to have the basics. Often times, people think they need to dive head first to all the “fancier” practices in order to be healthy, without establishing the fundamentals.
I've created House Of Power's 3 pillars of health to help break it down to the basics. Once you understand them, it makes it easier to take action.
1 - MOVE - Movement: Staying physically active is a major factor when it comes to health. Some like sticking to 1 thing, whilst others like mixing it up. You might have to experiment to find what works for you.
Many believe that in order to workout or be healthy, you need a gym membership. Nowadays, there are so many options for at home workouts with little to no equipment. (stay tuned for HOPP’s workout videos coming soon!). A great example; running or walking - you can do them outside! The message I’m trying to get across is that you need to first work with what you have.
One tip I’d give for us females is cycle syncing - aligning your workouts with your cycle phases. For example; Menstrual - Lower impact / gentle movement. Follicular & Ovulatory - More intense exercise. Luteal - Medium-low intensity movement. Yet again, make sure to listen to your body - If you’re in your menstrual phase and feel energetic and ready to push yourself, go for it! Vise versa.
2 - NOURISH - Nutrition: Don’t worry, I’m not here to push any diets on anyone. Optimal nutrition will look different for everyone. But the biggest factor in your diet should be focusing on whole foods - Prioritizing quality first. I like to keep my meals simple; a source of protein, fiber, healthy fats and complex carbs (a bonus: probiotic rich foods for gut health). This is personally what works for me and makes me feel my best - Simple, satiating and has a variety of everything.
3 - RESTORE - Rest: We sometimes tend to forget that rest is part of the process. Just like a car can’t run without enough fuel, your body can’t optimally move without proper rest (and nutrition!). This is where “less is more” comes into play; If you’re overtraining/ not giving your body time to rest, you aren’t actually being effective. Some common results of this can be; Inflammation, imbalanced hormones, fatigue and not being able to function at your fullest potential. Trust me, taking rest days won’t make you lose progress.
Now let’s talk about sleep; even if you got 8+ hours of sleep but you still don’t feel rested, chances are you didn’t get quality sleep. A common cause for this is looking at screens in the later hours of the day. The blue light exposure in your screens disrupts sleep as it can suppress your natural melatonin levels, it can also trigger your cortisol (stress hormone) making it increase at the time of day where it should be lower.
I know its hard to get off your screen before bed (I’m guilty of it as well), so what I like doing is leaving my phone in another room or area of the house. That way, when I’m already in bed, I won’t be bothered to get up and grab it. Your environment effects your habits, but you’re still in control. All though you can’t always fully change your environment, there’s always a small change you can make that can create a bigger difference.
Another tip for better sleep is doing things that benefit your circadian rhythm; I like to get natural light first thing in the morning as which is why on most days, I go for an outdoor walk not long after waking up.
Let's not forget about your mental wellbeing! Your mental health is just as important as your physical. Your mental health is not just your emotions, it’s your mindset and resilience, which affects how you perceive things. Your behavior is a reflection of your mind. Even if you eat, move and rest properly, but you're in a constant state of mental stress, you might lack a sense of fulfillment.
Sometimes, we need to slow down and take a step back to reflect. Some mindfulness practices I like doing:
1) Journaling - Now before you get overwhelmed, it’s easier than you think. There are no rules to journaling. Before bed, I like writing 1 thing I did good that day and 1 thing I can do better + how/ what I need to do to achieve it.
2) Meditation - I love a good walking meditation, there are tons of free ones online.
3) Do things that bring you joy! - I know it sounds cheesy but what’s the point of living “healthy” if you’re not enjoying it? Take part in any hobbies that benefit you. I personally enjoy anything crafty, mostly painting as I find it very therapeutic, as well as picnics with friends.
That’s all for this week’s blog post. I hope you enjoyed and took something away from this.
Stay tuned because exciting things are coming to HOPP very soon!
For more, check out the Instagram to see what House Of Power Pilates is all about;
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