Making your health a priority is truly one of the best things you will ever do for yourself. I get so excited when I see people taking the steps to improve their health, no matter how small. Whilst I have plenty of posts on what to do on your health journey, I thought I’d write a post on what *not* to do.
Here are five mistakes that can hinder your journey to becoming your healthiest and happiest self.
Wellness overload.
The internet is practically bursting at the seams with wellness advice, and not all of it is helpful. Prior to my studies as a university student, I always fell down this rabbit hole. There’s always a new superfood to investigate, a new routine to try, another elixir to make, a new trend to hop on. And when your life is already busy as it is, you can experience what I like to call “wellness overload”.
How can we overcome wellness overload? Let’s break health and wellness advice into two groups: the foundations and the add-ons. The foundations are the core principles that you need for good health. The add-ons are all the wellness tips and trends, that aren’t a necessity for good health, but in some cases can add to it.
The foundations are the main things we want to focus on and strengthen in our life. Let’s take a quick look at some of these:
- Eating mostly wholefoods (I talk more about it in this post)
- Building nutritionally balanced meals (I talk all about it in this post)
- Drinking enough water
- Moving your body
- Resting
By focusing on these science-backed foundations, we can start to make great strides with our health goals. And in the process, we’ve removed a lot of the wellness ‘noise’! Once the foundations are set in our life, we can then experiment with any add-ons we think would benefit our life.
Thinking you need to eat ‘perfectly’ all the time.
The best kind of healthy lifestyle is a sustainable healthy lifestyle. A lifestyle that is realistic and enjoyable, that you can continue for the rest of your life. I believe the only way to do this is to have balance. It’s eating well most of the time, but also leaving room for all the foods you enjoy so that you don’t ever feel restricted.
As a Dietitian, I love eating nutritious foods because of the way that it makes me feel, but I still leave room for less nutritious foods because life would be no fun without cake. Or pizza. And having that flexibility in my life makes healthy living simple and so enjoyable.
Eating healthy and exercising because you’re punishing your body.
Again, a sustainable healthy lifestyle has to be realistic and enjoyable and let’s face it, there’s nothing enjoyable about punishing your body for the rest of your life. Therefore, you’re more likely to throw in the (gym) towel.
I encourage you to start thinking about your body differently. Your body truly is incredible. The millions of processes that go on within your body every day just to keep you alive is mind blowing. Without your body you wouldn’t be experiencing any of the good things you have in your life right now. Approaching your health with this kind of love and gratitude for your body, will transform your life.
Note: if the relationship you have with your body or with food is something that you struggle with, I encourage you to speak to a qualified therapist. They can provide a lot of wonderful tools that can help you transform the way you think about food and your body ❤️
Comparing yourself to others.
Don’t compare your body, your timeline or your lifestyle to anyone else’s. In case you’re struggling in this department, I wanted to share a few small reminders with you:
- Healthy will look different on everyone. You can eat and train the same as someone else, but you still won’t look the same. Focus on becoming the healthiest version of YOU.
- Your health journey should be tailored to your individual lifestyle. Everyone has different schedules, responsibilities, preferences and medical factors to take into consideration. Your healthy lifestyle won’t look the same as someone else’s.
- When you’re just starting on your journey to making healthier choices, your ‘healthy’ may look like choosing healthier takeout options or cooking dinner twice a week. This may look different to someone else’s healthy, and that’s ok. We all start somewhere, and you should be happy with every win no matter how small it may seem to someone else.
Health is something that is so specific to the individual. Yes, the foundational aspects of achieving good health remain the same, but the ways in which they are implemented will be different for everyone. As a Dietitian, this is something enforced into us throughout our studies. That no two people are the same, and to tailor all our nutrition recommendations to the individual person! Your health journey will look different to someone else’s health journey and that is perfectly ok.
Thinking you need to be ‘that girl’.
Whilst being ‘that girl’ is simply a cute trend on social media, it may make some people feel pressured to make their life look like those they see on their screen. You know, wake up at 5am, have lemon water, put on your Lululemon set, go to pilates, pick up a matcha latte, have a perfectly styled yoghurt bowl and eat it in a perfectly styled kitchen. There’s nothing wrong with any of these things, I live in my Lululemon set and I love a yoghurt bowl. This is just a gentle reminder that your life doesn’t need to look like this to be healthy.
Perhaps you’re not going to pilates in your Lululemon set, you’re actually rocking a home workout in a classic Adam Sandler fit. Or maybe you’re learning to cook healthy meals in your unaesthetic, falling-apart kitchen. Or maybe the healthy foods you make in your culture look different to yoghurt bowls and avocado on toast.
Again, do what works for YOU in your health journey, because that will be what’s most sustainable. Don’t try to fit yourself into a trend!
Did any of these resonate with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Talk soon,
Chanté x
