A New Year is upon us! And how is your health doing?

Have you been keeping up with good eating and exercise habits?

Have you made new goals and resolutions to start the New Year off with?

Perhaps this is going to be the year that you begin to really take accountability for the health you have or don’t have.

No matter what level your health is at, we all have to remember that achieving and maintaining optimal health is not a one time process or deal. It is not even about needing a particular day or date to start on. It is an ongoing journey.

While many of us seem to be more motivated to make some “big” changes when a new year starts, the truth is that unless we are truly internally ready, the date itself will make no difference. That is perhaps one of the biggest reasons why most new year’s resolutions made, get broken before January is even over.

As for my personal health and wellness, a few changes have ensued in the past 6 months. After all, I hope to keep perfecting and improving on my dietary lifestyle continuously and forever make changes to keep reaching a higher state of being from a physical, mental and spiritual health perspective. So here are a few bits of information where my health is at as this new year begins.

Current State

If you are interested where I was at 6 months ago, you can read the Semi-Annual Health Update Part 1 and Part 2 here.

As for where I am now, well I have to tell you I am thrilled with the way my lifestyle change, which started off very seriously about 2 years ago now has begun and taken off full swing.

I have never been one for fast food or high amounts of heavily processed food, as growing up I was fortunate enough to have parents who cooked almost every meal from scratch. However having said that, to compare my definition of “healthy” then to my definition of “healthy” now is like comparing night to day.

It has been about a year and half since I have eaten any kind of meat, and yes this includes fish. I am free of all dairy aside for the small bits of cheese here and there. In the past 6 moths however, I have reduced cheese consumption to almost non-existent today. I may add a few sprinkles here and there to the odd meal of only raw and organic, low fat milk cheese.

I still eat eggs, only for the B12, but am in the process of researching this much more widely to perhaps even greatly reduce or completely eliminate them from my diet within the year. I just don’t want to rely on supplements for attaining this very valuable vitamin and non-animal sources like spirulina are quoted in some sources as being a credible source of B12 and in other sources as not, as they contain mimicking compounds to the B12, not the actual B12 itself.

I have not opened a can of anything in I think about a year or longer and I cannot tell you how good that feels. My freezer is almost always empty, aside from some whole wheat, low sodium flat breads that I sometimes like to have on hand.

I have not had a drop of alcohol in over a year and a half and in the last 6 months have seriously decided to cut out all refined and processed sugar items from my diet – yes this includes chocolate. Honestly, I hear from people all the time, “oh but that is so hard” and “I could never do it”. Well I can tell you as a previous chocolate lover that it is not hard at all – once YOU decide that you no longer desire this substance. This will usually come once you understand your body’s physiology a little better and know how substances like that really do not offer any benefits to it, only some stress.

I do not visit the middle aisles of the grocery store except once every few months to stock up on dried beans and dried, whole grains.

I continue to be conscious of eating as much organic and raw fruits and vegetables as possible and of course always fresh. Every meal is actually so easy to prepare as the general pattern is a grain, a legume and lots of fruits and veggies. So no worrying and over thinking of “what are we going to cook tonight.” You cannot imagine how creative one can get with grains, beans, nuts, seeds, mushrooms, fruits and vegetables, without making the same combination twice in months!

In terms of my weight, I am not a good example for most people in our society as I have had pretty much stable and optimal weight (which fluctuates by about 5 pounds the most) since I was a teenager. But this is not by “luck” or “genetics”. It is because my whole life I have taken my health quite seriously. However in the past year, a couple pounds have come off too, which one can never really complain about. However other people who have adapted a similar type of lifestyle and were overweight had some drastic weight come off.

The best part about all of this, aside of course from the amazing health benefits, is that I do not feel like I am missing anything or depriving myself of anything. The only thing my body is now deprived of is damage and stress caused intentionally by the diets we eat.

So what does all this mean for you? It means that eating optimally healthy is not only possible, but so easy and so very much doable and most importantly worth it – especially if you are in love with life!

If you need some more motivation or convincing, my health speaks for itself too. 2 years ago I was in great health but would experience the odd energy fluctuations, get a cold twice a year and perhaps the odd headache, and had elevated cholesterol – nothing more (yes I know I was very “lucky” then too – but I am still very young and ate generally healthy according to society’s standards). Today however, I am enjoying optimal health, no colds, no headaches, an extremely well balanced and stabilized energy all day long, and cholesterol levels that are optimally low, never mind anything else or more serious. I really cannot tell you how truly amazing that feels!

It means that I get to focus on living life and experiencing all the beauty and vibrancy that if offers us all the time. It means that I do not have to take “sick days” or “time out” days or feeling “off” days. It means that I do not get grumpy or have to deal with my body’s discomforts. And again I cannot tell you how easy it actually is to live this way. All it takes is one conscious and continuous decision from you and hopefully your health will act as the motivator to keep this cycle flowing smoothly.

Current Changes

Believe it or not, my greatest health challenge for the past few years has been drinking enough water. I love it, yet most of the time I do not feel thirsty and hence go without it. I know however my body needs it in much higher amounts than I am putting in.

Thus in the last 6 months I have stopped drinking processed fruit juice. No, no not the sugary, colored ones, those were gone a long time ago, but the unsweetened so called 100% fruit juice ones that I realized are still too processed and not as beneficial to my body as I once thought. So aside from the odd cup of herbal tea and usual fresh fruit & vegetable home made smoothie, my only other beverage of choice now is water.

I have really made myself more conscious of taking in this liquid throughout the day whether I feel the need for it or not as I know the benefits and healing properties of water are almost too numerous to name!

My next challenge to continue to improve my state of being is to really incorporate a regular exercise routine. Don’t get me wrong I exercise, but not as regularly as I like during the cold months. The only thing I have managed to do for a couple months now on a daily basis, is a stretching routine somewhat like a “no rules” yoga, first thing every morning. And as great as that feels I crave something more intense and vigorous on a regular basis.

Not to be making excuses, but I am an outdoors type of person. Outdoors that is when it is warm – then I am doing all sorts of exercises outside on a regular basis – long walks, hikes and bike rides, just to name a few. Well as the climate in Canada goes, roughly 5 months out of the year can be called a comfortable warm, so since I cannot change my climate (for now), I need to change myself. And no matter what most people say, it is never a time factor – or yes I will admit, even a climate factor, but a priority factor – either we make exercise a priority like eating or washing ourselves or we don’t. Unfortunately many of us don’t.

In terms of food, there is nothing more that I need to or want to give up for the sake of my body’s optimal health, but now want to keep finding and adding in more nutritionally dense whole, natural foods and perfecting the balance and variety of the food I eat. There are still so many wonderful fruits and vegetables that I either have not yet tried or do not eat regularly that are amazing super foods.

In the last 6 months I am most happiest to report the incorporation of simple, home-made soups into my diet – inspired by Dr. Fuhrman’s material. That is the best way I am finding I am incorporating nutritionally rich vegetables into my diet that I would otherwise have a hard time eating. These soups are so simple almost no recipe is needed. Just boil a few different veggies together in some water, throw that entire mixture with the water into a blender and season with fresh herbs and spices and you are good to go. You can even try some raw. Amazing nutrition and believe it or not taste!

Conclusion

When I explain my lifestyle in even more detail, I am asked by my students and at times other people who want to know how I live, the following question “so what do you want to do, live to 150 or something?”

My answer is no, not necessarily, although I am totally open to the idea :) What I do want is the years that I do spend on this Earth, whether it be 60, 80 or 150 to be lived out in an amazing quality of life – no pains, no pills, no doctor’s appointments and the like. And I know that it is not only possible but very attainable if one is serious about it. I want to age gracefully without anti-wrinkle creams. I want to be active to a ripe old age. I want to be responsible to ME for whatever comes my way, not blame genetics, society, the environment, or God.

All this is possible for each and every one of us, but again it takes a conscious choice and then action to follow that choice through. As I have stated many times before, we do not need to be part of any of the disease statistics out there, but again the choice is ours to make.

So many people still are not convinced out there by how much one’s diet is directly linked to their state of health. There is not some coincidental or indirect link here, mathematically it is a directly proportional relationship.

It is just somehow easier for many of us to suffer and blame external sources, rather than make internal changes. But we each have our own free will and our own journeys to go through, however they may go. But always know that if you do want any support or information on how to transform your life where your health and wellness is concerned Evolving Wellness is here for you!

Feel free to share any of your own personal health or habit improvements below or share with us your inspirational stories of change in the movement towards good health. Together we can inspire and strengthen each other and others out there who are ready to make their health the number one priority, to live out the best life possible!

About the author:
Evita Ochel, B.Sc., B.Ed., CHN - is a certified holistic nutritionist, biologist, educator, writer, researcher and speaker in the areas of health, science and holistic wellness. She is a nutritional science expert and her teaching and writing focus on natural, wholesome, plant-based and organic nutrition to achieve optimal health and longevity. Learn more about Evita Ochel or Follow Evita Ochel on Twitter.