Principles for day-to-day: nourishment, self, consistency and simplicity
Life can become busy & hectic. Therefore, anything I can do to reduce this I do. The principles of nourishment, self, consistency and simplicity lend themselves to a much less stressful and more chilled living experience.
Nourishment
The Oxford dictionary defines nourish as to provide with food or other substances necessary for growth, health & good condition. Growth, health & good condition obviously relate to the physical but can also be applied to our emotional and mental well-being.
As far as nutrition is concerned, I aim to eat foods that nourish me physically by making me feel good – provide energy and are satisfying. No foods are forbidden but there are certain foods I know will leave me feeling physically “better” than others.
For example, I can always tell when I haven’t been eating enough veg. because as well as starting to “crave” them I just generally feel more sluggish. If I am eating foods that nourish, I feel more positive and have the energy needed to move, be alert and I just generally feel brighter. Thus, in that way I am nourishing my body and mind. (read more here).
Self
This is mainly concerned with the importance of prioritising you, or as Robyn Lee refers to it being “positively selfish.” It is easy to become caught up in completing tasks for others at the expense of giving yourself any time or focus. As I said above, life gets busy and it can seem impossible to focus on you and what you need/want. Even if we can grab 5-10 mins a day where we are not on call for anyone else it helps. When my children were younger, I was known to go and hide for 5 minutes, every now and then, to just get away from the “mum” .
When we manage to focus on ourselves as a priority, we remember that we have value for being us. There have been times where I’ve got so caught up in being “mum”, “wife” that I’ve lost sight of me as an individual. Remembering me makes it easier to make choices – both nutritionally and physically – that will help me move towards my goals. This in turn enhances my emotional mood which is a bonus for everybody!
Consistency & Simplicity
Using simple habits in a consistent way can bring great positive change. We are bombarded with information about the best way to eat, workout, and basically how to live our best lives. It can become overwhelming. When faced with all the fad diets and the fitness trends it is far easier to do nothing.
I had to take a step back and find what worked for me. Simple steps that have contributed to healing my relationship with food and myself and finding exercise/movement that I enjoy and furthermore, leaves me feeling good (even if tired!) All the rules around food that I have tried to impose at various times just left me feeling deprived and restricted. This led to bingeing behaviour around the foods I had “forbidden”. By taking away all the rules, committing to a few daily actions (eating slowly, eating 8-10 portions veg, stopping when satisfied, staying hydrated) food choices became a great deal simpler and I was able to bring more consistency.
The same with exercise. It’s so important to find something you enjoy doing otherwise you will not consistently want to do it. As I’ve said before, for me this is lifting and walking. (read more here). I dabbled in running for a while and yes, I enjoyed how I felt afterwards and when I completed a couple of 5k events felt proud. However, I never enjoyed the actual run. After falling over, giving myself a black eye and concussion never got back into it!!
I love getting outside for a walk. A real stress reliever and time for me.
By finding movement I enjoy I am much more likely to consistently do it. Obviously, there are times when illness & holidays interrupt this and it can still be difficult for me to get back into a routine – I’m just resetting this at the moment following a couple of disrupted months. I have booked the sessions into my calendar as an appointment and have some accountability which for me helps ensure I stick to my plans.
Lose the Restriction
By focusing on these three areas – nourishment, self, consistency & simplicity – has meant I no longer feel restricted or that I have failed in my goals by not sticking to rigid rules. (see leaving a diet mindset behind). Not using so much energy concerned with what I am going to or not going to eat has been so freeing and released more energy to focus on other things.