The 5 Top Swaps for Your Wellness Journey
When you step into the world of wanting to shift your life into more of a wellness focus it can be so overwhelming. I know exactly how you may be feeling.
When I started I felt so lost amongst all the google searches running down the rabbit hole of all the things I was unaware of(To learn more about our story read the last 2 Blog Posts). That is why I have compiled this list for You. To make things less overwhelming and help to set you up for a faster transition than what I moved through.
Let's Dive right + waste no more time;
1. Nutrition;
When I started on my journey I had no idea that the foods that I was ingesting into my body were causing so many issues with the way that my body was functioning. In all honesty I wish I would have hit this one first.
I had always been that person that thought my nutrition did not affect me. I could eat whatever I wanted and it did not do a thing to me. Was I ever sadly mistaken on this outrageous way of thinking!! When I started this shift in our nutrition I started to see major changes in the way my body was feeling. Joint Pain, Headaches, Bloat, brain fog, anxiety, the afternoon slump all started to disappear.
I had no idea that I could feel so much better. I had no idea that I was truly feeling so terrible. I started to remove many things in my diet that did not serve my body.I removed 75% of processed foods. I started to eat more veggies and fruit. Having protein with every meal especially within an hour of waking up propelled me to feeling the best I honestly have ever felt.I was shocked to see the amount of food that I was eating.
The diet industry is a 76.5 Billion dollar industry. They just want you to jump on to the next best thing, that in all honesty will only help for a portion and then you will crash back down again. Get off of the Yo-Yo dieting trends and just start to eat real foods again.
My love for food is at an all time high for me. I love cooking again. I love the real taste of food. The best part is I feel way better and I know that I am reducing my risk of hundreds of diseases.People who eat a healthy diet live longer and have a lower risk of obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. Healthy eating can help people with chronic diseases manage these conditions and avoid complications.
Here are some articles for your research;
https://www.precisionnutrition.com/principles-of-nutrition
https://www.precisionnutrition.com/minimally-processed-foods
2. Sleep;
Our bodies need a really good sleep and recovery regiment. When we are not allowing our bodies to sleep and recover we are doing way more harm to them. Our body is not able to fight off sickness, diseases, stress, and function properly.
The average adult gets about 7 hours of sleep per night. 33% of the population gets fewer than 6.5 hours per night (no wonder it feels like the world is kind of cranky and distracted sometimes!). Women sleep a bit more than men. Those who carry high amounts of body fat tend to sleep less than those with a normal body fat. Studies suggest that people who sleep fewer than 6 hours per night gain almost twice as much weight over a 6-year period as people who sleep 7 to 8 hours per night. Excessive sleep isn’t necessarily better: those who sleep more than 9 hours per night have similar body composition outcomes as those who sleep less than 6 hours.
A 2005 study, with a nationally representative sample of about 10,000 adults, suggested that the United States obesity epidemic might, in part, be caused by a corresponding decrease in the average number of sleep hours.Some scientists speculate that sleep deprivation could disrupt the hormones that regulate appetite, which results in body fat accumulation.
While there are many reasons that lack of sleep could influence body fat, one of them may be the decreased growth hormone (GH), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and increased cortisol, most notably in the evening. Moreover, chronic sleep restriction results in elevated sympathetic nerve activity and a slow insulin response.
With lack of sleep, daily life function can suffer as well, including moods, cognition, and memory. Going 24 hours without sleep is similar to performing with a blood alcohol level of 0.10%. This is so scary for trying to function in your daily life.
Sleep and recovery are life.
Here are some articles for you;
https://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-sleep
3.Personal Development;
I know that this is probably not the one that you were expecting to see as a top 5. If we don't work on what is going on inside we will never be able to work on the outside. All things start with your mindset. If you have a closed off mind then you will never be able to grow forward.
Once I got through those dreaded preteen years I thought for sure that life would be all rainbows and lollipops. I thought that I had the most confidence in myself becoming a young adult. I had it all figured out. I was an amazing human. I had it all figured out. I had no idea that I was stuck living in survival mode. I was stuck in the fight, flight + freeze. I had some major eye opening experience come into my life that really propelled me into something more.
I was in the prime of my life. Had the family I had always longed for, the house I had dreamed about, the love of a man that I thought I didn't deserve and I was so lost and unhappy. I had no idea what was going on. I should have been set but I was far from it. Looking back now I was such an angry unhappy person. I knew something needed to be different for myself and my family.
I started to learn about the brain, the body, and the nervous systems. I started to dig so deep into the person and experiences that had shaped me to be this person. My mind was blown. I spent hours reading, watching, going to therapy, + different conferences. I did the hard hard work that it took to discover so many deep core pieces to me. I tried so many crazy things. Process that definitely did not a thing for me. Process that totally propelled me to who I am today.
It’s certainly not easy. Every person is unique. So, it only makes sense that personal development will look different for everyone. But what does it actually mean?
Personal development is much larger than just career development or self-development. It encompasses all aspects of your life where you’d like to see personal growth — and it doesn’t discriminate on where it shows up for you.
You can do so many things to help yourself move through life. Learning the tools that will work for you is the most important part. Having a support system will make this walk a lot easier to navigate through. I make a point to spend time reading on personal development, to journal, to meditate + pray, and to work on one area I feel needs a focus every single day. I stopped worrying what others thought of me and started to look inside myself on what I thought about me. I started to really see what triggered me and dove into those one by one.
Here are some articles for your research;
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/21202-nervous-system
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-mindset-2795025
4. Ingredientes;
The ingredients in the products that we use in, on, + around ourselves and our families is so important for your overall wellness. The majority of people have just blindly put their trust into these massive corporations. These corporations are not out there for you and your wellness at all. Their bottom dollar is all they have in mind.
The toxic ingredients that they are putting into these products are linked to so many illnesses. We are putting our bodies into toxic overload + are truly killing ourselves slowly without even knowing it. The top ingredients that are non negotiables for me + my family are;
Parabens- Disrupts hormone functions by mimicking oestrogen. This is linked to breast Cancer, a decrease in sperm count, + so much more. This is found in personal care items, cosmetics, + multi surface cleaners.
Phthalates- Changes to your hormones, This is linked to low sperm count, damage to the liver, kidney + lungs, asthma, breast cancer, + ADHA. This is found in personal care items, cosmetics, + synthetic fragrances.
Ammonia- Exposure to this can cause immediate burning of the nose, throat + respiratory tract. It is very corrosive. Linked to liver disease or even liver damage. This is found in Glass Cleaner + surface cleaners.
Chlorine Bleach- Can permanently damage skin + attach membranes in your respiratory system. This is linked to many issues with eyes + your respiratory system
These are just a few of our non-negotiables that I started out with. As you can see these are in products that we use in, on, + around ourselves on the daily. The average person is exposed to over a 100 harmful ingredients from the time they wake in the morning to the time they leave their home for work. This is more than our bodies can remove from our systems. Being cautious of the ingredients is your first line of defense.
Here are some studies for you to check out to make your own judgments;
https://www.tempdrop.com/blogs/blog/endocrine-disruptors-what-are-they-and-why-should-i-care
https://online.flippingbook.com/view/177795/
https://news.berkeley.edu/2016/03/07/cosmetics-chemicals/
5.Cleaning Products;
We are doing more harm than good when we are cleaning our homes. If your home is safe and clean after you have brought out all the cleaning supplies that have safety caps on them, spent hours scrubbing everything down, why do you need to keep those cleaning products locked up?
This stumped me when I was firsted asked about it. Once I actually started to think about how there are safety caps on everything that I was using because they were harmful + could even be fatal I knew that I needed to do some research into the products that I was using.
Through doing some research it actually made me feel so sick that I was putting myself, my family, + my animals in so much danger. Seeing studies + articles on people having chemical burns from bathtub cleaners, pets having eye and paw burns from floor cleaners, and so much more I knew that I could not bring these products into my home any longer.
There are so many products out there that are way safer for you to be bringing into your home. In a previous career I had a professional cleaning business. I used a multitude of different products. The worst of the worst where your eyes, throat, skin would hurt after using, right through to the worst natural products that honestly didn't do a thing. I finally found some amazing non toxic products 3 years ago that have blown my mind. They work better than any product I have ever tried.
Here are some articles for you to do some of your own research;
https://globalnews.ca/news/4158006/what-is-toxic-load/
https://www.lung.org/clean-air/at-home/indoor-air-pollutants/cleaning-supplies-household-chem
This is continuous work. There is no end game or finish line. We all have things we can grow with and strive to do better at.
IF YOU DO NOT MAKE TIME FOR YOUR WELLNESS< YOU WILL HAVE TO MAKE TIME FOR YOUR ILLNESS!!
If you found this helpful please let me know. I always love to hear from my readers. If you know of someone that could benefit from this article please pass it along. I am a strong believer that we all deserve to live the utmost amazing life and don't need to take the hard road when there has already been a pathed trudged in for us. If you have questions or comments please send me an email. I would love to chat with you.
As Always I AM ROOTING FOR YOU
With Love
Coach Twylla
