Well hey you in your loose jeans and baggy tee! Let’s have a lil’ chat. I know what you’re thinking.

You think wellness is for people who are disciplined and already in great shape. You think because you’ve struggled with a few health issues and maybe even with weight that you don’t have what it takes to get and stay healthy. You think taking care of yourself is hard; that making a morning green juice is time consuming and expensive; that it’s easier to grab a sandwich than it is to make yourself a big raw salad for lunch; and giving up your glass of red wine in the evening is too restrictive.

Free download below, Five Pillars to Optimal Wellness.

 

 

 

I hear you. But here’s the thing. Taking care of yourself isn’t difficult! What’s difficult is being out of breath, out of shape, stiff, tired and unhappy with your appearance. You literally live in your body 24/7, what can possibly be more difficult than being unhealthy? When you’re healthy, attractive and in shape taking care of yourself is an incredible joy.

I also know you’re thinking I’ll just wait till after New Year’s to get healthy. Wrong, wrong, wrong Sis. You need this now. Let’s replace that thought with “I’m getting in shape for the holidays. I want to look my best!”

Step One/Schedule and Visualize It

Monday through Friday you’ll eat super healthy but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your holiday. So go to your calendar right now and write in your two to four Treat Days (I did Thanksgiving Day and the day after and Christmas Day and the day after). Also, always plan to have treats for your weekends, just make sure they’re all natural. Read the labels.

 

 

 

Step Two/Whole Foods Plant Based Diet

Focus on dark leafy greens, fresh fruits, lots of raw vegetables and raw nuts and seeds. You will include daily intakes of healthy fats like olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, avocados and super grains quinoa and delicious millet. You’ll also be adding Himalayan salt to your dishes; delicious raw honey to your green tea and some of your salads, and pure maple syrup to your coconut yogurt and almond milk.

No meats, no cow’s milk or cow’s milk cheese, no alcohol, no sugar except raw honey, Medjool dates and real maple syrup. Fish and eggs are okay in limited amounts but only buy wild caught fish and organic free range eggs. Three 6 to 8 ounce servings a week max.

Step 3/Exercise the Joyful Way

It’s so easy to get side tracked and lose impetus to work out but exercise is a must. Look at movement as a joy and mindfully associate it with feeling and looking better.

Remember to make it part of your everyday life; make it joyful; and give yourself options. I suggest breaking your exercise up into two daily sessions, one in the morning and one before dinner.

I love rebounding. Rebounding is basically dance bouncing on a mini trampoline. It elevates your mood, moves lymph fluid, gets blood to your face, burns calories, feels great on your feet and calves and only takes 15 minutes a day to be effective. You can do more if you like. Turn on some great tunes or a book on Audible and have fun with it! I researched them and decided on the Urban Rebounder, avail. on Amazon for $130, for its strength, cost and convenience. Rebounders come with stability bars so you have something to hold on to if needed.

Equipment Checklist

Rebounder

Pelaton or Stationery bike

5 pound hand weights

Stability ball

Yoga mat

 

Schedule It

Monday

AM: 20 minutes stationery bike

Afternoon or early evening: Weights and abs

 

Tuesday

AM: 15 minutes rebounder

Afternoon or early evening: Yoga

 

Wednesday

AM: 20 minutes stationery bike

Afternoon or early evening: Weights and abs

 

Thursday

AM: 15 minutes rebounder

Afternoon or early evening: Yoga

 

Friday

AM: 20 minutes stationery bike

Afternoon or early evening: Weights and abs

 

Saturday

Choose one: walk, hike or your favorite sport

 

Sunday

Choose one: walk or hike.

 

Steps 4/What are Cleanses and Detoxes and Why They Are Necessary

 

In case you’re not familiar with the term detox or cleanse it usually refers to the removal of toxins from your system. ‘How’ you do this is up to you as there are many ways to cleanse and detox.

 

Here are my favorites. You can Google them for detailed information or see my free download below.

 

Dry skin brushing

Sauna

Hot/cold showers

Fasting

Intermittent fasting

Gravity Centered Colonics

Chlorella powder

 

Switch to natural household cleansers

Switch to natural personal products like the crystal deodorant, natural toothpastes, pure castile soap like Dr. Bonners and pure coconut oil.

Step 5/Sleep and Down Time

Seven to nine hours sleep is really optimal in order for your body to do its daily healing ‘thang’.

Note: If you’re on pain killers or any medicines for chronic illnesses like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. your sleep is most likely compromised. I know you want to reach out and pinch me right now, but please know this: prescription medications and over the counter medications were originally supposed to be for emergencies and acute illnesses and thank goodness for that. However, they were never intended to be used for maintaining your health. A good wellness practice uses food, exercise and sleep for chronic illness. This means you need to eat right and exercise, not count on pills to make you feel better, because they won’t. So why are they being advertised for general well-being now? There is big money in pharmaceuticals.

Back to sleep. Keep the room cool and dark. Use an eye cover if you use electrical things like clocks and night lights. Buy a good firm mattress. Get to bed by 10:00 pm and lights out. Minimize television before bed, particularly news and drama. Read instead. Eat a vegetarian dinner around 5:30, no snacking. Drink your 60 ounces of water before 5:00 to minimize night time trips to the toilet.

Lastly, if you have chronic pain, learn to sleep on your back without a pillow under your head. Instead, put a small pillow under your knees for support. Level and straighten your spine as you situate yourself to get comfortable and tuck your pelvis up slightly in the general direction of your navel. Tuck your shoulders back. Yoga practitioners might recognize this as an adaptation of The Healing Stretch.

To get more goodness on my pillars to wellness, check out my free download Five Pillars to Optimal Wellness where I go into more detail on juicing, vegetarian meals, salads, exercise and the detox methods mentioned in today’s blog.

 

 

 

Taking care of yourself this way is such a joy. Because this is the right way to eat, you’ll see results almost immediately, usually within 3-4 days.  If I can get myself on the right track with scoliosis, osteopenia and osteoarthritis (among several other conditions) I know you can too!

Bye for now!

Shiree

PS here’s that link again!