GET THE BASICS RIGHT FIRST
Instead of jumping into the latest internet craze diet or doing workouts that some joker on Instagram is doing, try and get the basics right first. If you try and overcomplicate things in your life like movement and nutrition before you can do the basics and be consistent with them, you are setting yourself up for a disappointing failure.
So what are the basics? According to the Chek Holistic Lifestyle Level 1 Coaching curriculum, if you want optimal baseline health, you should:
Have strategies to cope with your lizard brain.
Be conscious of your breath and how it affects your health.
Be drinking enough good quality water for your needs.
Be eating mainly organic meat and vegetable in line with your needs.
Be incorporating movement into your daily routine that is in line with what your body needs.
Be getting adequate and good quality sleep and rest.
Let's take a look in-depth at all of the basics.
Have strategies to cope with your lizard brain. Our thoughts are just energy, but most of that energy is lost thinking about negative things. You cannot expect to think garbage thoughts all day and have excellent baseline health. Set time aside to "be". Do you find yourself constantly needing stimulus from your phone, TV or other people? Alone time and mindfulness might be challenging at first, but most things seem easy once you’re comfortable in your head. There are so many great places to start. Headspace is very popular, as is Sam Harris's waking up app. Even just sitting with your thoughts for 5 minutes a day is a great start.
Be conscious of your breath and how it affects your health. In his book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, James Nestor outlines that people with anxieties or fear-based conditions typically will breathe way too often. So what happens when you breathe that much is you're constantly putting yourself into a state of stress. Nestor also outlines that most people breathe way too short and shallow, especially while working. Have you ever caught yourself breathing shallowly through your mouth while working on the computer for long periods? Learning to stop and take deep nasal breaths throughout your day can help lower your stress levels and improve your blood pressure.
Be drinking enough good quality water for your needs. Are you drinking enough quality clean water for your personal needs each day? I thought I was getting adequate water intake by drinking at least 3 litres of tap water a day for years. It was not until I read Paul Cheks How To Eat, Move and Be Healthy that I was inspired to buy a 3 phase water filter. My headaches disappeared within a few weeks, and my sleep improved threefold. An excellent place to start with the amount of water you need is to divide your weight in Kilograms by 0.033 to get a basic litre amount per day. For an 80kg person, they would need 2.64 litres a day. This formula is just a place to start. It may be hot or humid, you may exercise, and your needs will increase somewhat. Almost all of the billions of biochemical reactions that happen in your body every second are water dependant, so why would you want to deprive your body of what it needs?
Be eating mainly organic meat and vegetable in line with your needs. Not only do you want to avoid consuming loads of chemicals and pesticides in your food, but in buying organic meat and vegetables, youre supporting farmers care about how they affect the planet. I don't want to get into the meat vs environment debate, but if you choose to eat food with eyes, buying grass-fed and organic has so much upside. The animals are happier; the fat content is good for you, and youre not consuming numerous antibiotics. The same goes for supporting your local organic farmers that are not spraying toxic chemicals into the earth. It might cost you a little more, but you have the choice of spending a little bit more to make a difference. Eating 100% organic might not be feasible for you, as it isn't in my house, so we aim for about 80% and use this list of the dirty dozen fruits and vegetables to avoid containing the most pesticides.
https://www.foodlum.com.au/blogs/news/the-dirty-dozen-and-does-it-really-matter-australia
Be incorporating movement into your daily routine that is in line with what your body needs. Yes, you might need to start exercises more, but punishing yourself on a treadmill at a gym for hours on end will only raise your cortisol (stress hormone), and it's a boring as bat shit. Start with basic stretching each day and three ten minute walks after each meal. Once youre doing this consistently and youre feeling a bit more energetic, you can increase your workload. Better still, get an experienced coach to help transition you slowly into more intense exercise. You can do small things each day to move more: take the stairs when available, park ten minutes away from your meeting or restaurant. Save your phone calls for a half-hour block and walk while you take them. Have walking meetings instead of sitting at a desk. Humans are designed to move frequently, so making sure you move at least every half hour to hour is imperative to your health.
Be getting adequate and good quality sleep and rest. We are constantly on the go now as a race. We get up early, work all day, socialise and go to bed late. If you don't prioritise time to rest and prioritise your sleep, your health will suffer in the long run. Getting to bed in your natural circadian rhythm helps your body repair itself between 10 pm and 2 pm, and your psychological repair happens between 2 am, and 6 am. A good sleep ritual might consist of, avoiding caffeine late in the day, turn off screens at least an hour before bed, make sure your bedroom is as dark and cool as possible and go to bed at a reasonable hour. I go one step further and wear my Blublox glasses for 90 minutes before bed. They block out 100% of blue light and tell my brain it's sleepy time.
Once you are doing all of these things consistently, it's time to start getting into the weeds and tweaking your macros and fine-tuning your exercise programs. You'll probably find losing weight a lot easier with excellent baseline health. You'll have more energy, be less inclined to overeat as you are getting proper nutrients.
Are you taking care of the basics of your health?