It is likely, that you are here because you are not feeling your best. You may be sick, constantly tired or overweight. And you are not the only one. Your friends and family members lament about headaches, bloating, menstrual problems, brain-fog and chronic illnesses. You’ve tried “that” new diet, and signed up for “that” new 24-hr gym, with the hopes that you can look and feel better, but it’s all but short lived.
All in all, some aspects of your life are going well, others feel deficient. You are hungry to come into wellness, but it seems elusive.
Does this sound like you? I was there too.
I thought my PCOS diagnosis was my constraint, putting this healthy life beyond my reach. When I started changing my life, then the most amazing things started happening to me: I reversed my PCOS diagnosis (when all I was trying to do was manage the symptoms!) Truth is, I didn’t know complete “healing” was in the cards for me.
Now, I don’t know what you are facing, and what’s in the cards for you, but after giving enough random advice to friends and acquaintances who all report back to me their successes in some aspect of their life, of THIS I am sure:
The secret to a “nouriched” life is rooted in what I call the “Nouriched Trio”: Eat. Move. Rest.
Chantelle
That’s it. Pretty basic – almost instinctual, primal.
Eat
This is what I live by:
“Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants.”
Michael Pollan
I wish I was the crafty one who came up with this catchy phrase, but naah, it was Michael Pollan.
I wish it were that easy though. How many people do you know mostly eat the foods they grow and still getting sick? My parents are the perfect example. They rarely (if ever) eat junk food. You don’t have to tell my parents to “eat real food”. They are old school Jamaicans – eating rich local food all their lives, yet – they’ve been hit with some NCDs (albeit well into their Golden years!)
Also, I’ve met enough overweight persons grazing on “Ital” meals who haven’t dropped an ounce. I for one went on a popular diet, eating mostly real food (but admittedly, and unwittingly very little calories) – and while I dropped some pounds, I was soooooo sick, there were some days I couldn’t make it in to work. I also want to put it out there that just because a certain diet helps you to lose weight, that it doesnt mean you are all right. Especially for those with underlying disease – getting to the root cause, and healing yourself through the right foods is critical.
All this to say, there is something about eating well, that we need to learn. For some, just cutting out junk food and following an elimination diet will do the trick. I hope to share the things I’ve learned about food with you here.
Move
Back in the day, if you told this 16 year old “slim ting”, that movement and exercise was critical to her “nouriched life” she would have thought you crazy. To be honest, I still struggle with this pillar, but when I do bust a sweat, I feel so much better. However, I don’t want to just focus on gym workouts and HIIT exercises. Learning simply to stand and walk around more is critical for our health.
Rest
Rest. A critical piece. Maybe this one should be first. This one is so hard. Rest is all of the following:
- Freedom
- Quality sleep
- Quality play time
- Quality Community
- Learning to systematically and deliberately reduce and eliminate stress
I remember sharing my hectic work week with my nutritionist some years ago. It was mind blowing when she scratched all the food and workout plans for the month and told me my focus for that month instead, was to figure out how to rest. And it worked.
Rest is something the Lord has been consistently calling me to, even before I got into this nouriched lifestyle. As early as my teenage years he has been walking me through “principles of rest” that have always put my anxious mind at ease. We’ll go through the Rest Principles in details in future posts.
Wrap-up
There’s no one-size fit all program for anyone, but hopefully I’ve given you the launching pad to start seeking out what may be right for you. Stay tuned to this space for more info.
Did you like this post? If you’ve found anything useful on this blog, or have questions please comment or reach out to me via the “Contact” page.
Thanks for stopping by!
Chan.
Image: © ogichobanov; © Foxys_forest_manufacture/Getty Images
NOURICHED 