Hi, I am Jim. I usually write on my blog, ResilientMan.com. I decided to post my next blog post here. Let's see what it gives :)
We all want to have healthy bodies which can make our journey on earth, full of wonderful experiences and full of energy. These experiences are more enjoyable when you have a strong and healthy body. A body which is a pleasure to be in. A body which you can be proud of when you look at.
Your job is to take your body to its fullest potential. Listen to yourself when you are at your best, and good things will happen. Observe yourself. Note how certain foods make you feel. How certain exercises make you feel.
Disclaimer: Do not listen to random bloggers on the internet, who dish out health advice when they are not certified health professionals. (That includes me!)
During this journey, your mental image of a healthy body should slowly adjust to your best version of a healthy body, rather than the healthy bodies of others.
The best version of a health me body comes from :
- Age
- Accidents (Physical and Mental)
- Previous Diseases & Chronic Issues
- Gender (Men and Women)
- Self-control (Adapting to it, rather than fighting it)
- Genetics & Body type (Genetics is a lottery!)
- Upbringing (Your ACE score has an impact on your health)
- Goals and motivation (Why do you want to have a healthy body?)
- Your Environment
- Your Exercise
Your opportunity to maintain a healthy body depends on the patterns in your life. The invisible patterns, sprout from your history, genetics, body type and your life goals. The visible patterns are in your calendar and schedule.
Observe both sets of patterns. Take time aside for this, do it while walking the dog, or driving to somewhere. Note it down, get it done. These life patterns need to be surfed upon rather than rammed through. Flow like water upon them and with time you will prepare for yourself for change. It might take days, weeks or months, but then after all that preparation change will happen in an instant.
Ramming through your life patterns, will exhaust your energy quickly and leaving you with no option but to go back to auto-pilot. Your patterns are to a great extent controlled by internal and external triggers. The triggers in your life are, your job, the places you frequent, the shops you pass in front, the friend you hang out with and even the online websites that are in your favorites.
The main "healthy me" components.
Age:
You age because, your cells age. You age because your investments or disinvestment in your health start showing up at a later stage in your life. It is never too late or too early to start investing in your health. Your DNA is programmed to make you less attractive and fertile, in order to make room for the next generations. Sorry! Read more on how : Your body starts ages and your internal organs and cells perform less efficiently.
Mother nature does recognize the value in economies of experience. That is, those who are having a hell' of a time can be given to stay a while longer. According to The New England Centenarian Study slowing aging comes down to :
Reduction of external stressors on the body (people / food) and the mind, but having internal ones (passion for something) that drive you towards forward towards a cause or a goal. to put in in another way: The happier you (your body and mind) are on this planet, the less likely you are to leaving it quickly.
Chronic Issues :
Chronic issues are recurring healthy problems. These issues are caused by many factors genetics is one of them. Some have taken the bold steps to defy their corrupt DNA, one such brave hero being Angeline Jolie, by doing a double mastectomy. The Chronic issues that will challenge you to become the best "Healthy me" are lifestyle related. If you mistreat your body, it will repair itself. These repairs do not come free, as you repair your body the process takes away some of your health capital. Abusing your body mechanics too much, will have unpleasant long term consequences. The key indicator on how much repairs are going in your body is chronic inflammation.
Inflammation is the process by which the body repairs itself. This is the body's inbuilt resilience mechanism. Your body needs to repair itself, because of irritants come from the outside to the inside that is your food and your environment. One key change in our diets the last few 1000 years is the amount of sugar and derivatives we consume. In nature, sugar is not abundant. Dr Mercola, attributes high levels of chronic inflammation to the amount of sugar consumed.
When my diet is going off the rails; one reflex for me is to reach out for the chocolate bar in time of stress is to painful list all the on http://www.livestrong.com/myplate/. After a while, I back off and return to my "healthy me" diet. A rule of thumb is to treat your body for what it was designed to eat and do all day. In a nutshell: Reduce sugars - Eat stuff which is not in plastic wrappers - Read more : Insulin Sensitivity Eat healthy fats - nuts, fish, meats Grounding (Touch the earth with your bear feet) Sleep 7 to 8 hours a day.
Self-control:
Self control is a whole bag of tricks, which I will share my thoughts with you in another article. Self control is mainly about putting decisions in the context of gratification delay.
In 99.99% of decisions it is either taking the choice to be gratified now. (Sugar Hit) or later (Less Risk of Diabetes). The impulse to act before thinking, sprouts from letting our impulses "ride the horse". The impulse, emotion should be acknowledged and respected, they are important signals. Once the horse is on the loose it is hard to control, take care of your needs and signals before they become wild horses! You can practice self control or gratification delay in controlled environments when you are at your best. Eat half a desert, run the extra mile. Do these when you are at your best to charge your self control batteries.
Upbringing & Friends:
Your childhood has an impact on the best "healthy me" you can create. The stress and traumas you experiences as a child can be captured in the ACE score. If you suspect that your childhood is effecting your health do seek help from a certified medical professional. The ACE test. (Adverse childhood experiences ) can give you insights if you think you childhood is not effecting you but in fact it is.
Goals and motivation:
Healthy me in itself is a noble goal. A healthy body gives you the basis of resilience against anything. If health lights a fire inside you, instigates passion and makes you literally climb mountains then you do not need to keep reading.
However I suspect that health in itself is not a goal that many think of with passion and fury. They have other passions in life; be it football, child poverty in Africa, resilience. The connection between your passion and your health will strengthen your resolve to drop the crisps and eat the broccoli
Think about it, make the link, and repeat it to yourself. Stay Resilient. Jim Looking forward to your comments, how did you create the best "healthy me" - what trips and ticks did you use. What motivated you - People, places, events,seasons ?
You can find more of my writings on ResilientMan.com
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