Welcome to 2015!
If you are anything like me, you might consider running the other way when someone asks about any New Year’s resolutions. Actually, I don’t get asked that question as much anymore because people who know me know that I don’t make resolutions in January. I choose September as a time where I set my intentions and goals. September has always felt like a great time for new beginnings, as it is also a time where I have had a summer of sun, relaxing at the pool or zooming around on my motorbike, and my mind is clear, focused, ready to tackle the fall and winter months.
January feels like a sleepy month, as if the darkness and the cold has blanketed me in a deep, quiet, cocoon. I actually love the early mornings when I go for walks in the complete darkness, occasionally lit by a monthly full moon. January and February are notoriously tricky months to commit to change. Why? Because it is dark, cold, and we have just come off the high of the holiday season. Add to that any tendencies toward Seasonal Affective Disorder or a complete aversion to the cold, and best laid intentions and resolutions can easily go out the door soon after they are set. This can leave us feeling down on ourselves, as well as making it more challenging to set intentions again down the road if we have a history of not being able to stick to these intentions previously.
Survival Mode
After working with many, many people over the past many years of clinical practice, I see this pattern play out repeatedly. And in our defense: here in Saskatchewan, we are a darn hardy bunch to even be surviving in these conditions year after year, emerging optimistic and ready to head to the lake the first nice weekend we have. Now, if we lived in a climate like California, it would be super easy to spring out of bed at the crack of dawn, head down to the beach for a run along the ocean before heading to the local juice bar then hop into our convertible with the top down, a big smile pasted on our face as we navigate rush hour.
So, what does any of this have to do with the top five ways to boost your health in 30 days? This is relevant because it’s easy to make change when our internal and external environments cooperate with us. But when we have harsh elements to deal with, it can feel like we are in survival mode, barely making it through the day, never mind adding new changes into our already packed routines.
I have found many clients experience the most fundamental shifts in their health by making small, sustainable “tweaks” to their current lifestyle. These “tweaks”, when sustained over a period of time, instill self confidence in your ability to make changes, and it becomes easier to build on these successes, one tweak at a time. And the best place to start is by making small changes in an already established routine. On that note, here are my top 5 suggestions to boost your health in 30 days.
Top 5 Ways to Boost Your Health
1. Put yourself to bed, and be asleep, by 10 pm. In a completely dark, cool room (72 Fahrenheit or 23 degrees Celsius). I know, I know, you are a nighthawk and this is impossible, right? Well, think of it this way. You get your most restorative sleep the more hours you are in bed and asleep BEFORE midnight. This means you burn more calories and aren’t eating late into the night. Bonus? You wake more rested.
2. Shop for the Clean 15, and avoid the Dirty Dozen in the produce section. Just by making these tweaks in the produce section, you are significantly decreasing your exposure to pesticides and herbicides. Bonus? Your shopping cart may look a little more colorful with all those veggies that you will be experimenting with that you never knew existed!
3. Cut the carbs, keep the “coffee” in the morning. Choose foods and beverages higher in healthy fats and fiber, and avoid all forms of grains, whether they have gluten or are gluten free. Your energy and blood sugar will thank you for the rest of the day. My favorite option these days is my own version of bulletproof coffee, complete with collagen powder, grass fed butter and MCT oil with a small dab of honey, whirred up in the blender for a few seconds. Mmmm, so delicious and creamy. Here is one way to make your hot drink in the morning:
- 1 packet Gano Coffee dissolved in 1 cup boiling water or 1 cup chaga tea (full of antioxidants)
- 2-3 tbsp collagen powder
- 1-3 tsp MCT Oil (I use the Brain Octane Oil – either call the office or purchase this product online)
- 2-3 tbsp grass fed organic butter or ghee/coconut oil combo (call our office for this product)
- ½ tsp raw honey (I like just a little sweetness to my coffee in the morning!!!)
Add all these ingredients to the blender, whir for 5-10 seconds, and you have an awesome hot drink that will hold you all morning. Replacing sugar calories with healthy fats like avocado, coconut oil, grass fed butter, ghee and MCT (medium chain triglycerides) will give you more energy, a clearer brain, and a slimmer waistline!
Many of you have asked where to get these ingredients. You can buy these products from Bulletproof.
4. Limit your fruit to no more than 1 serving/day, and consume the fruit towards the end of the day, rather than earlier in the day. Fruit is healthy, but people tend to overconsume them, and they are loaded with fructose which is hard on your liver and your waistline. Only consume fruit you could technically pick in your back yard (blueberries are awesome, as are saskatoon berries, raspberries, hascap berries). No bananas, pineapple, mangoes except for special occasions. These are tropical and travel many miles to get to you. Plus, bananas commonly show up on food sensitivity tests, indicating they can be a problem for the immune system.
5. Take 15 minutes over your lunch hour to get fresh outside air and some bright natural light. Even on a cloudy day, the sky outside is still brighter and more natural than the artificial lights indoors. Especially this time of year, we are cocooned indoors and in the darkness so much of the day, we are missing out on the brightest part of the day. This does wonders for your mental health. And hey, if you accidentally find yourself actually going for a walk while you are getting your fresh air, bonus!!!!
Notice what I DIDN’T include in the top 5? Yup. That dreaded word “Exercise.” There is a good reason for this. Most of the people I work with present with mild to severe forms of fatigue. In this case, exercise is either an impossibility for them, or others may already be exercising and still feeling exhausted. There are complicated reasons for this, but safe to say that if you follow the top five guidelines, and take note of the “accidental exercise” that may happen in #5, you will eventually find yourself having more energy and a gradual return in the interest to move your body in fun ways.
Here’s to a fun, rejuvenated 2015, all without having to resolve to make any big changes!!
-Dr. Jacqui Fleury, ND Clinic Owner and Director
