You’ve likely heard me say what I’ve been having to coach myself and others to do for years: “major on the majors.” If we aren’t doing what is tried and true, no amount of effort or money we spend on self-imposed food rules and media-driven regimens will bring true wellness.
There are plenty of areas of research where there is conflict and room for debate, but there are many more where we know the facts and have outcomes that back them up.
Are we scoring high in our major courses before putting all our effort into excelling in our electives?
In effort to have a perfect body or achieve an enviable state of health, could we be causing a flood of stress hormones that counteract intentional efforts? Fewer medical visits, but more counseling appointments. Cholesterol has gone down, meanwhile anxiety has gone up. Turns out the co-pay is the same.
Is it possible that people are trying so hard to eat healthy and stay with current trends that despite their zeal, intentions are backfiring? Derailed by the minor details. Despairing in comparing. With dedicated efforts, you may be becoming your own greatest stressor, enforcing over-righteous rules that you can’t keep in the real world without creating a proportionately unhealthy fixation.
Which puts you at higher risk, the stress or the “dirty” food? (Is that the opposite of “clean eating?”). Would you believe there is a rather “new” eating disorder now that many relating to this post would fall under?
Do You Have Orthorexia? (source: National Eating Disorders Association)
Consider the following questions. The more questions you respond “yes” to, the more likely you are dealing with orthorexia.
- Do you wish that occasionally you could just eat and not worry about food quality?
- Do you ever wish you could spend less time on food and more time living and loving?
- Does it seem beyond your ability to eat a meal prepared with love by someone else – one single meal – and not try to control what is served?
- Are you constantly looking for ways foods are unhealthy for you?
- Do love, joy, play and creativity take a back seat to following the perfect diet?
- Do you feel guilt or self-loathing when you stray from your diet?
- Do you feel in control when you stick to the “correct” diet?
- Have you put yourself on a nutritional pedestal and wonder how others can possibly eat the foods they eat?
I’ve consulted with thousands of nutrition clients, and spent countless hours writing the books I have published. I have certainly not dedicated my career of bringing light to wellness in order to standby while dark habits wearing false halos creep into the lives of those pursuing health on my watch.
Let me be crystal clear that anything you hear or read from me is to be taken into the context of becoming your best YOU as a WHOLE person, aiming to be YOUR personal Best from head to toe – from the inside and out.
Below are 10 musts for vitality along your ongoing journey to Your Best Body.
- PLAY! If you exercise, but only give half the effort, true – you’ll get half the results. But frankly, that’s likely better than the results of the past with less than half the effort, right? The “E” of exercise is for Exhilaration, so “Move it! Move it!” whenever you can and at the intensity that is appropriate for the BEST YOU (which may not to be the same as someone else’s). Movement is a blessing, not a punishment for eating.
- EPIPHANY! When I challenge you to eat just 5 grams/1 teaspoon of added sugar for your start-up week (of the Best Body Countdown), it’s to open your eyes for an AHA moment so that you can be liberated by the truth of knowing what you were eating, and so that you can honestly assess sugar’s hold on you.
- CHECK! Know that if you check off the boxes in my Success Journal, it won’t make you perfect, but will create a sense of satisfaction as you gain new healthy habits due to daily repetition of lifestyle-altering behaviors. The more check-boxes you mark each day, the sooner you’ll reach Your Best Body.
- ENJOY! If you choose the real-food for real-life recipes from my Best Body Cookbook, make memories around the table eating meals that the whole family will enjoy. (It may be “clean” food, but recipes not found there aren’t “dirty” foods.) Part of wellness is enjoying strategic splurges and celebratory meals from time to time, too.
- VISUALIZE! Replace “count” with “click.” Be wary of number-crunching… tracking every calorie and daily scale fluctuation may harm more than it helps! Take a mental snapshot on the backdrop of a plate before eating: Will it fuel you with energy and focus for the next few hours? Will it contribute to a balanced, healthy life?
- STRATEGY! Strategic splurges shouldn’t bring shame! Mindfully savor each bite, not because you’ve earned it, but because gratifying food in moderation is a healthy part of this journey called life. (See page 39 in your Best Body Cookbook for more on Strategic Splurges).
- ENERGY! Don’t skip meals or eat so few calories or carbs that you drag yourself around, trying to tell yourself you are getting healthier. Strong is the new skinny. Energy mostly comes from adequate calories and macronutrient balance in regular intervals throughout the day, proper micronutrients to fuel your body’s metabolism (this comes from variety in your food), and good hydration.
- FIGHT! Refuse to fall prey to fads and to give in to gimmicks. (If you feel that much better now that you are off gluten, ask yourself, “what all in the world was I eating before?” And really, “bananas make you fat?” (Truth: too much of anything can.”) If it’s all the rage, give it a year.
- ESTEEM! Let’s compliment people on things other than appearance, and be careful not to praise potential extremism. Behaviors or physiques that require all-consuming effort or inordinate restraint may lead to deficiencies, illness, injury and psychological illness, especially when applauded.
- FREEDOM! Yes, my Best Body Countdown is 52-days, not so that you are DONE with wellness once those 8 weeks end, but so that you cross the finish line into your happy-healthy new normal, free from tummy trouble, tight pants, sugar addiction, headaches, poor sleep, irregularity, growing medical concerns, and the “drag” of your day. And if you fall, jump back on the wellness party wagon! Healthy is happy.
Food for thought: As one who has studied nutrition and exercise research for a living, and who has been overly driven in various seasons myself, I can tell you honestly that most of my life’s mistakes, sins and even injuries could fit under the subheading of “perfectionism” or efforts to go the extra mile. Decades of life lessons have taught me BALANCE IS BETTER.
Speaking of miles, I thank God for how far I’ve come from that impossible way of living. (Phew!)
And speaking of perfection, I am yet imperfect at avoiding the urge for perfection. (Sigh! :))
To be perfect is to be admired, but to be REAL is to be loved.
– Anon
I choose love over admiration, what about you?
