My Best Health Advice...to date
I meet people every day in Springfield.
I do consultations weekly. Others I meet while hanging out with friends. I see some interesting things.
Interestingly enough, I have found that many people simply don't care about their health and often times are lying to themselves about it. Many people have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. Some people don't care until they get sick and diseased and then they are forced to deal with it. Even then, as Carolyn Myss says in her book Creating Health: 'Most people would rather die than change their diet.'
Then there are the special few that truly want to look and feel better and want an awesome life regardless of their current level of health & wellness. These people are the exceptions -- and the most inspiring people to hang out with and work with.
If you really want an awesome life and experience true health & vitality -- make sure you don't make these common mistakes that even the smartest people with the best intentions make.
By the way, what separates these people is not genetics, discipline or willpower...it's a genuine desire to have an awesome life full of vitality and to look and feel amazing.
1. You Cannot by Lose Weight to Improve Your Health. You Must Improve Your Health In Order to Lose Weight.
Would you read that again, because that statement is on the verge of becoming my "mantra." I am so tired of hearing how people need to lose weight. Yes...most people need to lose a little...or a lot...of weight. But that should not be the FOCUS. The focus should be on getting fit and healthy. Why is this distinction important? Because the focus will determine the approach that is taken.
When you are irresponsible in your diet & lifestyle and finally get sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, you may end up desperate. Many people are desperate to lose weight and will try all sorts of stupid things. When you are in a state of desperation, you will make bad choices and suffer consequences because of it.
I see clients who have damaged their metabolism from years of irresponsible diet & lifestyle (which includes dieting, coffee, sugar & artificial sweetener addiction among other factors). This is common. The biggest mistake these people make is focusing on losing weight, instead of getting healthy.
So if you want to be truly healthy and fit and burn fat -- focus first on improving your health and wellness. Go through your life and find times in your life where you were most inspired. Now, ask yourself how you can do that consistently. Then, go do it often.
When you are healthy, your body will naturally -- and easily -- shed fat and you won't crave junk foods. It may take a little work to get healthy, but it beats the work involved in being sick and tired all the time.
Want to improve your health, look and feel better than ever? Change your mind and your body will follow.
2. Failure to Connect the Dots
Most people still don't get this. The food you eat and the way you live determines your overall mood, energy levels and vitality on a daily basis, quality of your skin, your rate of aging, how you look and feel (physically and emotionally) and yes, whether you get disease or not.
Are you constipated? Do you have bad skin? Do you get moody? Do you have belly fat? Do you get tired in the afternoon? Are you tired when you get up in the morning? Are you overweight?
The answer to these is to simply look at your diet.
3. Using Coffee to Get Things Moving in the Morning?
This can be either a food reaction, chronic dehydration or unmanaged stress. I have found 9 times out of 10, it is STRESS -- a deep sense (deeper issue than most realize) that you simply can not cope with current circumstances.
Digestive disorders are the result of stress, food intolerance/allergies or years of poor diet. Most people with digestive disorders need someone to help them rebuild a healthy gut, especially if you have been experiencing this for awhile.
A great starting point is to follow my advice and cut the C.R.A.P. - Caffeine, Refined foods, Alcohol, Pasteurized Dairy. Second is to drink nothing but water at the right times throughout the day. Get to bed on time and learn some new coping skills if you are stressed.
If you have a job that you don't love, you will naturally be stressed & unhappy on some level every day.
What's the solution for that? I know of a bunch, here is a great one that I've been incorporating into my own life lately...have an ATTITUDE of GRATITUDE (simply, be grateful for what you do have, and don't grumble about what you don't have).
4. It's All in Your Head
There are VERY FEW cases of genetic diseases. Your diet & lifestyle often determine whether or not you express those "genetic" issues.
Most of the hereditary issues I have seen are, in fact, not genetic at all. They are learned BELIEFS and BEHAVIORS. I am talking about the more common issues like high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Almost every person I have ever met with a family history of these issues is doing exactly the very things that cause these issues and using the 'its genetic' excuse as their way of dealing with their irresponsible diet & lifestyle.
If your parents have high cholesterol and you CHOOSE to live and eat just like they do...or worse yet, live and eat like the vast majority of Americans do, then guess what?
5. Bad Food = Bad Mood
Depression, anxiety and most brain chemical imbalances are either due to imbalanced perceptions or reactions from food (from food intolerance or chemicals in foods). You don't need drugs or years of long drawn out therapy for years to resolve these issues. Amazingly, Jack LaLanne figured this out almost 80 years ago as a 16 year old!
These issues result from 2 sources: Years of dieting, drugs (recreational or pharmaceutical), artificial sweetener or sugar abuse or food intolerance / allergies especially to gluten....or imbalanced perceptions about life.
We all have issues. Only few people desire to heal them and move on.
You can choose to ignore or deny them, wallow in them and talk about it in therapy for years or you can CHOOSE to heal them and move on.
6. Why I Eat Healthy Food
I don't eat the foods I do or live the way I do because I am 'weird' or a 'health nut' or because 'I fear some mysterious disease that randomly strikes people later on in life when you're old.' This is a huge misconception. I choose to eat the foods I do because of these reasons:
1 -- Fresh, organic foods taste good, in fact, the taste is superior to the commercially raised, synthetically produced and chemical-based processed man made crap that people eat.
2 -- These foods and this lifestyle give me ENERGY and make me feel consistently awesome throughout the day.
3 -- I personally don't want to walk around farting, burping, stomach aching, tired with bad skin and foul moods -- and yes, those are all resulting from poor food choices.
4 -- My food choices give me the ability to tolerate stress much better and help me to prevent the premature aging that most Americans experience. Plastic surgery and drugs don't really help much when you feel like crap inside.
5 -- I don't want to be sick and a slave to medicine when I'm older which slowly kills you slowly while deceiving you into the false idea that you are managing a disease. I see this every day. In fact, I am sure you know many people like this.
6 -- I don't eat 'health food' -- I eat real food that results in improved health. The vast majority of people are eating 'crap foods' and need this distinction because they don't know much about their body, health or our natural, symbiotic relationship with nature.
7. Pay Now or Pay Later
If you dont manage your health now, you will be forced to manage it later. Your body is beautiful and designed to be healthy, full of vitality and heal. If you count your blessings and take care of it, it will, reward you. If not, you will experience signs & symptoms of neglect.
The average American family is paying more than $2000 per year on doctor visits and medical costs.
They spend over $500 a year on over the counter medications.
It's about the same $500 for prescription medicines.
Two of the top five most widely prescribed medications are for digestive disorders. The other three are for heart disease related and arthritis conditions.
Most doctor visits are for fatigue.
What does all that tell you?
I have not paid $500 for medical costs in a decade. I spend my money on food and occasional out of town trips to run a road race.
Please note -- I did not say you should not use medicine. Ok, so don't take things out of proportion and make things up! I am pointing out some interesting facts here.
Oh yeah, these numbers are from several years ago and they have grown every year since.
Another way to see it is this -- either you run your life & vitality now or you will be overrun by disease & death. Pretty simple equation if you ask me.
To Your Empowerment,
Joe Thiel
P.S. Ready to make some changes? Schedule your free health and fitness consultation by calling 726.7613 or go here:
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