1. Set a date: “Why do something tomorrow that you can put off till next week” – Unknown Procrastinator. Setting a date creates accountability to one’s self. It also prepares the mind and body for the changes that are coming. Getting fit and healthy is not a weekend trip or a 6-week boot camp, it is a Way of Life. The majority of Americans live a lifestyle that is incongruous with optimal health. Set your date, and stick to it.
2. Purge: Not Splurge. Get the junk out of the cupboards and kitchen cabinets. What are we talking about? We are talking about the chips, pastas, various wheat products, cereals, sodas, sugar, processed salt & flour, microwaveables, McDonald’s coupons, etc, and any other man-made concoction that is going to hold you back from achieving your goal. I don’t recommend donating it because junk food isn’t good for anyone, just throw it away.
3. Get a Rhythm: The planets revolve around the sun, the moon around the earth, and we need to follow their lead. Solar and planetary bodies are similar to human bodies, they need rhythm and routine that is in harmony with their surroundings. They body wants to go to bed at the same time, wake up at the same time, eat, drink, and exercise all at the same time. Humans have historically lived their lives in concert with their environment, in sync with the seasons and daily rhythms of nature. With modernization we have lost that harmony, yet we must find it as the body craves it. Food must be prepared in advance. Try preparing your food on Sundays and / or Wednesdays. Purchase glass containers to store and transport food. Rule of thumb: Every night you should know what you are having for breakfast and lunch should be in the fridge waiting for you to grab on the way out. Otherwise you will find yourself starving at 2pm on a Tuesday choosing between a vending machine and the limited edition McRib. Make your routine, and Get a RHYTHM.
4. Eat Real Food: As a Naturopath I get asked this question the most; “What should I eat? Eating healthy is so confusing.” Let me simplify the situation. If it came out of a factory, avoid it, if grew in the ground or had a mother…. Eat it. Humans have been eating food directly from this earth for all of history. There is no greater research lab than millions of years of perfection in the making. Our planet creates foods that are “lock and key” with our nutritional needs. There is no supplement or additive or fortification that can compete with the food that our planet provides. Cheerios, Raisin Bran, Special K are not food. Just Eat Real Food!
5. Get a professional: You wouldn’t walk into a courtroom without a lawyer, or run out onto the trading floor of the NY Stock Exchange to diversify your portfolio. How many $500 coat hangers are you going to have room for in the basement? Get someone to help you. Someone who is an expert and is going to hold you to your goals, ask you “why?” when you fail to complete them. You don’t know it all. This belief is shared by the Journal of American Medical Association. They found that the people who are the most successful for the longest periods of time, are the ones that paid someone to get them there.
Source by Dr. Christopher Ogilvie
