Beyond Whole 30

I love January because there's solidarity everywhere I look around healthy habits. Friends favor hikes, skip dessert, and tell me they are going to bed early for much needed rest.

Many of you are doing Whole 30 in January. Whole 30 is a great quickstart tool to begin to nourishing your body so it can thrive and not just survive. Some of you are focusing on a "dry January" of no drinking. Whether it was a complete shift in your eating and drinking habits or just a nudge, I'm curious, what did you notice about how you felt? Did anything change?

You've stuck to the plan for 30 days. Your body has started to return to homeostasis. What's in store for February and beyond? Will you close the Whole 30 book and put it on the shelf until next year? Will you pop open a bottle of champagne to celebrate the end of your January tee totaling? 

If you're motivated to make your changes stick, I recommend starting with Why. Why did you make your January commitments? How is it that you want to live your life? Do you want to surround yourself with a tribe of people who support your choices? Once you have a clear sense of your why, you'll be inspired to take action beyond the first 30 days of the year.

I'd like to share my why with you for nourishing myself and my family.  I used to favor pretzels, twizzlers, and diet coke for years. I was not always the woman asking for a gluten free menu or extra veggies instead of the pasta. My baby steps to health began with symptoms. I intuitively knew back when my first child was born that symptoms are common, but not normal. I caught on late, but late is better than never.

Clearly, I am passionate about health, but why? Because I want freedom. I want to feel free to be my enthusiastic and authentic self. I want my life to exude purpose. I want to feel connected and share AND I want the same for my three children and their children. I intuitively know that what I put on my body and in my body matters. My environment matters physically as well as those I choose to be around. 

I hear friends remark with relief that their kids don't have a weight problem. That's wonderful, really it is. Two thirds of children do have a weight problem in this country. Unfortunately, weight is not the only problem. Skinny does not equal healthy. 45% of our children have chronic diseases and chronic diseases are those pesky disorders that start with symptoms.

Symptoms are like your early warning signal on your car for maintenance.  They are telling you, "buddy, time to take a look under the hood or you'll be the proud owner of a junker." Once you own a junker, it's a lot harder and more expensive to fix. Your body is no different. Why blog, coach, share, role model, suggest, drive 20 minutes on a Saturday to my local farmers market?  I do this because I don't want to be a junker or raise a junker. I want to go and flow and rest and digest. I want it to be easy. Easy access to healthy food, easy preparation, and an easy peaceful life free of disease and pain. 

I'm happy to share resources, but resources are worthless unless you have committed to changing your habits. My favorite question I ask new clients after they share their goal with me is, "on a scale of 1-10, how committed are you to achieving this goal?" If you want to be a 9 or a 10, start with WHY you are changing your habits.

Do you have a stack of supplements in a cupboard and you have no idea why you bought them? How about that stack of diet books on your shelf? When clients ask me questions about a product they bought, the first thing I ask them is, "Why are you taking this?"

Right now, write down the top five things in your life that are most important to you. I'll bet that your health is at the top or close to it. If you are feeling great, chances are you know someone who isn't. 1 out of 2 men in our country will get cancer and 1 out of 3 women. Over 50% of folks over 80 have a form of dementia. Memory care is now a thing in adult living. 

Let's stem the tide. In February, how would it be to make a shift Beyond Whole 30 January and to your greater goal that begins with Why? Once you've written your why, you can move to how. For those of you who'd like to continue your good habits well into 2018 and beyond, here's a link to Julesguide's top ten list to Upgrade Your Pantry.