So many of us live from one to-do list to another. If we want to progress in our daily tasks, we make a to-do list. If we want to achieve a specific goal we make a to-do list. If we want to meet that deadline at work, we make a to-do list.
We rely so much on our “to-do” lists. Trust me, I am a planner. I love to be organized, I prioritize, and I love to get things done. Every morning, before my workday starts, I write my “to-do” list for the day. I list all the things I want to achieve that day and tick them off the list as I go through my day.
But what do we do regarding our health?? Do you have a Health Creation to-do list?
If you do have a list, let me ask you the following:
- How effective is your to-do list?
- Does it help you plan your health?
- Does it nudge you to prioritize the things you need to be healthy?
- Or is it a never-ending list of things you feel guilty for not having done yet and now you are not going to do any of them?
A good health creation to-do list should serve YOU. You should not be at its mercy. The best health creation to-do list sets you off in the right direction each day and helps you focus on the tasks that are most important. With the right health strategies, a health creation to-do list can help you achieve larger health goals, too.
Here are 5 things I think should definitely be on your Health Creation To-List:
Eat Real Food, not “edible food-like substances” (M. Pollan). Just think about your car for a second. You wouldn’t buy “crap” gasoline for your car just because it was cheap and convenient. Because you know over the long run it will just harm your car. So, why do we try to fuel our wonderful, amazing bodies with “crap” food? Choose to eat exclusively foods you enjoy for at least 90% of the time. Whole, natural unrefined foods, and beverages. Think of vegetables, proteins, fruits, legumes, nuts/seeds … The huge array of chemical flavourings, preservatives, colours, sweeteners, texture agents, hormones toxins, and cheap ingredients in other food is NOT fuelling your body to heal or be at its BEST (think energy, mental clarity, pain-free, clear skin, smooth digestion, good sex drive, resilient good mood)
Eat as much Organic food as you can FIND and as you can AFFORD. Yes, it’s really that bad. Did you know that most pesticides are endocrine-disrupting agents and can cause dramatic shifts in hormone balance? There is an exponential increase rate of estrogen medicated cancers in both men (prostate) and women (breast/uterine). Where possible, maximise nutrition by purchasing local, fresh produce on which no pesticides have been used (not all small farmers can afford formal organic certification). At a bare minimum, make good use of the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen shopping priorities revised each year by the Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org).
Drink plenty of plain, clean water every day. Make sure you know the real quality of the water coming out of your tap (don’t rely on regional or town source data). If necessary, invest in a water filter, both for drinking water and (yes!) shower water. There are a huge number of dissolved toxins found in regular municipal drinking water that your local regulatory organization is not required to measure or inform you about.
Foods made with Flour should be in your 10% diet, not the 90%. We have a true epidemic of insulin resistance and its progression states of Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes. This disease progression begins with or is exacerbated by the diet nearly every time. In this arena, we focus so much on minimising sugars/sweeteners, but refined flours act very much like sugar in the body.
Sleep. There’s no getting around this one. Chronically sleep-impaired people cannot live vital, vibrant, energetic lives. Ideally, go to bed at an early enough time that you awaken in the morning at least 90% of the time in advance of when an alarm would otherwise go off. Go to bed when your unique body feels sleepy. And that may be 8:30 pm. Practice proper sleep hygiene. Unfortunately, that television, email, smartphone, or other full-spectrum light exposure and any type of stressful activity (bill-paying, parenting debates, work, reading the News) in the full hour prior to bedtime IS affecting your sleep. Let your brain know in that hour that you Do want to wind down and prepare to sleep deeply. Read more about Sleeping Hygiene here.
What do you need to put on your Health Creation To-Do list this week?
Do you need to add exercise? Do you need to prioritise some well deserved “me” time? Or do you need to add some Vitamin J (joy), regular laughter or fun to your to-do list this week? Add whatever you NEED to your health creation to-do list this week to feel healthier and to feel your best!!
Glowing with Health Ltd - 1Cor10:31 