This post is not about celery juice or waking up at 5am every morning to go for a run. Instead, I’m sharing eight ways to radically change your health this year, with ways that support your body in nourishing ways according to the state it is currently in.
8 healthy habits we will be talking about:
- Intuitive eating- dig deeper into your cravings!
- Eating seasonally
- Not over hydrating
- Wearing comfortable clothing
- Spending time in the sun
- Getting quality sleep
- Not over exercising
- Grounding
1. Intuitive eating- dig deeper into your cravings!
Cravings are the warning lights in a car dashboard. They are specific deficiencies in our bodies that need to be satisfied in healthy ways.
For an example, if you are craving:
- Chocolate or coffee, you might be deficient in magnesium and/or copper
- Sugar, you might need to eat more healthy carbs
- Dairy, you might be deficient in calcium
- Cheese, you might need to eat more saturated fat
As you eat healthier, you began to crave healthy foods that directly satisfy your body’s deficiencies.
2. Eat seasonally
What does “eating in season” mean?
Eating seasonally means to eat produce that is ripe when harvested.
What is the problem with produce grown out of season?
Majority of the produce in your grocery store is harvested far from ripe to give it enough time to be processed, packaged, shipped and distributed.
Produce that is grown out of season to be available year round is usually treated with chemicals or heat to “ripen” it.
Although unfortunately produce that is picked before it is ripe can’t continue to naturally ripen and increase in nutrients without the sun and soil.
Produce grown out of season is sprayed with more pesticides and preservatives that keep it “fresh” until purchase.
A lot of produce is also covered in a waxy substance to protect it from bacteria during the transportation process.
(You know that stuff doesn’t come off no matter how much you wash the produce!)
The benefits of eating seasonally
When produce is picked at peak ripeness, it contains far more nutrients and tastes more delicious.
Seasonal produce is naturally tailored to your region, climate and environment. It naturally contains the nutrients your body needs for the climate you live in and for the season you are in.
Spring produce helps cleanse and detox our bodies naturally, as we prepare to go from colder months to warmer months.
Summer produce keeps us hydrated and protected in the sun.
Fall produce helps the body transition from warmer, lighter months to colder, darker months and is full of immune boosting properties.
Winter produce supports the immune system to protect against sickness.
How can you eat seasonally?
Stay up to date with seasonal produce in your area!
A good tool is www.seasonalfoodguide.org.
When not in season but needed, you can buy frozen produce because it is picked at peak ripeness and flash frozen. It contains more nutrients than buying fresh produce out of season.
3. Not over hydrating
We’ve all been told at some point to drink at least 8 cups of water a day. We’ve also heard that drinking more water reduces skin problems, slows down aging, helps lose weight, and so on.
We do need to stay hydrated but drinking too much water will actually flush out essential minerals and dehydrate your body.
The quality of water that you are drinking is also a huge factor to consider but that is a conversation for another day because that involves investing into a water filter and we are talking about free ways to better our health.
The best thing that you can do is drink to thirst.
Pay attention to your body and its needs.
Don’t just down water because someone told you that you need to drink a certain amount. Our body needs water to survive and will tell us how much we need daily.
4. Wearing comfortable clothing:
Have you ever felt the need to unbutton your jeans after eating or felt really nauseous during your period until you unbutton your pants?
Is your breathing shallow because you feel like taking a deep breath will pop your jeans or bra open?
Your clothing might be too tight.
As females, we have a STOMACH and REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS! Our bodies shift and change daily and throughout the month according to our fertility cycle.
Tight, restricting clothes can cause the following health problems:
- Restrict blood flow to the rest of your body, which can lead to blood clotting, numbness, swelling and varicose veins.
- Cause ACID REFLUX. Tight clothes literally push up stomach acid to cause heartburn!
- Put pressure on the intestines and cause bloating, constipation and indigestion.
- Cause heat and moisture to build up in the vaginal area and prevent air circulation. This can all lead to yeast infections, vaginal irritation, and bacterial vaginosis, which are so painful and uncomfortable, and can affect fertility.
- Interfere with diaphragmatic breathing, which is deep breathing that plays a vital role in many functions of your body.
- Cause back pain due to the imbalance between waist and abdominal muscles.
- Interfere with your body’s physical changes, such as your stomach naturally expanding and reproductive organs shifting.
There are many flattering ways to dress with looser fitting clothes.
Here are some tips to dressing more consciously to your body’s needs:
- Buy looser clothes and wear a belt. You can loosen the belt depending on your body’s needs throughout the day.
- Save the tight clothes for special occasions, dates, and nights out.
- Choose bras that hug your torso but don’t squeeze.
- Choose clothes that naturally expand, such as ribbed material.
- Choose natural fabrics, such as cotton and linen, because they are more breathable and prevent moisture build up.
- and my favorite: Dresses! There are so many different styles and it is possible to find a flattering fit for any body type! Choose dresses that have room from the waist down. I started wearing dresses daily about a year ago and can’t go back to leggings or jeans anymore. I occasionally will wear a pair of jeans but instantly regret it when leaving the house due to immediately feeling uncomfortable and restricted.
5. Not over exercising:
The importance of exercise is something else we’ve heard constantly in our lives, and it is important.
But in reality, if you are not in a healthy state right now, exercise could be causing you more harm than good. Exercise is a form of stress for our bodies and if our body is undernourished and over-stressed, then it could lead our body to a worse state than before.
If you are undernourished and/or over-stressed, focus on nourishing your body with the two ways I talk about in my last video and on minimizing stress. Opt for light exercise, such as walking and stretching to move your body without stressing it out more. Once you are in a safe, nourished steady, your body will let you know that it’s ready for more intense movement and work.
6. Spending time in the sun (no sun screen)
Our entire lives, we’ve heard that the sun is dangerous and to stay away, wear sunscreen, long sleeve shirts and pants and sunglasses. In reality, the sun is a necessity for good health.
Some benefits that we receive from sun exposure are:
- decrease in blood pressure
- improved mood
- improved energy levels
- vitamin D production
- improved brain function
- improved sleep quality
- boosts immune system
The problem with sunscreens
Sunscreens block ultraviolet b (UVB) rays because they are what cause sunburn but our bodies need the UVB rays from the sun. UVB radiation enables out body to make our own vitamin D which is obviously very essential for our health.
How to enjoy the benefits of the sun without burning
Start slow with sun exposure and build up your tolerance every day by adding 5-15 more minutes daily, depending on your body and the time of day. Avoid being out in the sun during peak hours of 11-3ish. I personally enjoy the morning sunshine the most.
Spending time in the morning sunlight and evening sunset also helps our bodies prepare for the day and for the night by helping to regulate our circadian rhythm
7. Getting quality sleep
Insufficient and poor quality sleep leads to a long list of problems, including weight gain, cancer, ADHD in adults, constant fatigue, high blood pressure, heart attack, and mental impairment.
How much is enough sleep?
For most it’s 7-9 hours. But it can be more or less depending. And this can definitely change depending on your body’s needs in different seasons, your fertility cycle, and how much stress you are under.
Some tips for quality sleep include:
- Not eating right before bed, but also not going to sleep hungry. Eating a balanced snack 30 minutes before is ideal, unless you are a breastfeeding mom, then you might need to eat balanced snacks throughout the night.
- Avoiding screens first thing in the morning and 2-3 hours before bed. Melatonin is a hormone that your brain produces in response to darkness. It plays a crucial role in controlling our sleep cycle, in cancer protection and our body’s self-repair. It helps with the timing of our circadian rhythm, which is our body’s 24-hour internal clock. Screens produce blue light. While light of any kind suppresses the secretion of melatonin (especially led and other energy-efficient lighting), blue light suppresses melatonin for about twice as long.
- If you work a night shift or use a lot of electronic devices at night, consider wearing blue-blocking glasses or installing an app that filters the blue/green wavelength at night.
- Use dim red lights for night lights. Red light is less likely to shift circadian rhythm and suppress melatonin.
- Turning off wifi at night and putting phones on airplane mode. Constant exposure to EMF devices disrupts the production of melatonin.
- If you snore or mouth breathe, look into correcting airway issues that could be causing sleep problems.
- Adjusting your sleep schedule as much as possible with the sun.
8. Grounding
Grounding, also known as earthing, refers to the practice of connecting your body to the natural electrical charge of the earth.
The earth contains negatively charged free electrons and when connected to the body, it can help neutralize free radicals, providing antioxidant and immune boosting properties.
Grounding also can:
- Reduce fatigue and increase energy
- Reduce chronic pain and inflammation
- Improve mood
- Reduce blood pressure
- Support heart health
- Improve Sleep Quality
How can you ground?
Some ways to ground are walking barefoot outside and swimming in natural bodies of water.
I hope you are able to experience profound changes in your body, sleep, confidence, and overall health by implementing these health changes this year. Please comment below and let me know what changes you experience over this year after implementing these tips.