Welcome back to the ABCs of health, K is for kale, but it’s actually the concept, not actual kale itself. Kale has recently become the thing to eat for whatever health thing you want to solve. There’s always a promised magic fix… kale, keto, collagen, more fat, less fat, clean, organic, eggs, no eggs, fruit, no fruit, protein shakes, meal replacements, green blend…
Seriously… it’s never ending!
But here is what I want you to understand: there is not magic fix.
Your body wants to heal itself, and your body wants to function well. This is something that is done day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. It’s not a one time payout for a lifetime of health. Health is rent due daily.
So instead of going for the magic, the quick fix, the instant change… how about aiming for lifetime?
But that’s too long, you say.
No, it’s really not. Think one next step. Think one next choice.
If you show up daily for the person you want to become… that is simply who you will be. It may take more effort in the beginning, but I promise you, the more you practice the daily, hourly, weekly habits you want to have a year from now, the easier they become.
The health industry has the sad tendency to put us on a spiral of thinking that we are always behind, that we have to be doing all these things that we have to be chasing something and when in fact its health isn’t about chasing something. Health is about finding the habits, finding the thoughts, finding the actions that are going to lead you to the person that you want to be. To the best version of whoever you are and building on that and maintaining that.
So this concept of a magic pill, this concept of the one thing that’s going to fix everything, like just eat kale and you’re going to be fine, just cut all your carbs and you’re set for life, just workout for an hour seven times a week and you’re going to get a body want. None of these things individually will amount to anything, because health isn’t one thing. Our health is this huge combination of things, so instead of falling into this pit of having that idea that there’s one thing that you can do that’s going to fix everything, we need to go back to the concept that there are small things that we do every day, that there are small choices that we make and these things together are what give us health and are what create the health and the life that we want to live.
So instead of spending dollars upon dollars on a supplement or on a pill or on the next thing that you have to take, just go back to the basics because the basics of health are undisputed. The basics of what you need to do to become healthier are undisputed. You can have things to build upon later, but if you don’t have the foundation of moving your body, of eating better foods, you will not reach your goals.
When you are starting out, what you start doing is less important than actually doing something – anything. Yes, there are certain things that may be more effective for your body, things like strength training, macro balance, sleep, but TO START, exactly what you’re going to do that is less important than starting. You can change, you can improve, you can build on the foundation, but you have to start somewhere.
It’s important to not just sit where you are. You need to move your body, you need to work your muscles, you need to work your cardiovascular system, this is important for health. Regarding food, I don’t think there’s any such thing as good food and bad food, but there are foods that make your body work better, that make your body function better, and there are foods that don’t make you feel so great ,that just don’t fuel or feed your body as well. So it’s not about simply saying I’ll never eat certain things again or being very restrictive or eliminating things from your diet, no, it’s about saying what can I add that brings value to my health? What can I add in my food that is going to bring me more health?
The more good things that you add to your health the less space you have for the things that aren’t so good for your health, and the same goes for your emotional health, for your mental health. How can you clean up your thoughts a little bit? How can you try to change some patterns? Can you work on a little bit of gratitude every day? Can you look yourself in the mirror and start saying some good things about yourself that you know to be true and start changing your internal dialogue? Are there certain relationships that you need to create some boundaries for so that you can grow, and so that you can remove that anxiety or that stress?
There are a lot of small things that we can do for our health that don’t need to be a quick fix, but these things are going to add up. (See letter A for more on this concept) So instead of focusing on all these magical huge things, let’s focus on the little things so that we’re walking this journey, we’ve talked about journey before, so that we’re walking this journey in a way that tomorrow ,a week from now, a month from now, a year from now, we are better. So that we are improving and growing and so that we are building our health and our character, who we are and how our body is going to take us through life. Because here’s the thing. The most important things that you can do for your health… they don’t come with an advertising budget. The most important things that you can do for your health… they are not the things that are going to suck up most of your time. The most important things are the small actions that are going to consistently make a difference in the person that you are.
Keeping it simple,
Aline