Holistic Health Tips

At Whole Living, we are dedicated to providing you with practical and easy-to-implement holistic health tips that can help you live your healthiest life. Our focus areas include nutrition, fitness, mental wellness, and lifestyle hacks.

Nutrition Tips

  1. Eat whole, unprocessed foods - keep your focus on eating food that are as close to their natural state as possible. These include fruits, vegetables, beans grains and legumes, and lean protein. Avoid processed foods that contain additives, preservatives, and inflammatory oils.
  2. Stay hydrated - This one is so important!! Staying hydrated supports your digestive system and helps with nutrient absorption. PRO TIP: Start your day with 1 cup of warm water (slightly cooler than you would drink tea), squeeze in 1 full lemon, and add a pinch of mineral rich salt. Drink this before you eat, and definitely before you consume caffeine. Drinking warm water first thing will help rehydrate us after dehydrating at night, the lemon gives you a boost of vitamin C, and the salt helps replace mineral and helps to open your cells to better absorb water and nutrients during the day.
  3. Practice mindful eating - Slow down! Savor your meals, chew slowly and thoroughly. Pay attention to the flavors and textures. This will help you feel more satisfied and tune in with your body's natural cues to prevent overeating.
  4. Make sure to include healthy fats into your diet! Avocados, nuts, seeds, olive coconut or avocado oil. PRO TIP: NEVER cook with olive oil!!! While olive oil is great for you consumed raw like in dressings and dips, cooking it completely compromises its structure. Heating olive oil in cooking turns its healthy omega 3s into bad cholesterol building omega 6! When cooking stick to avocado or coconut oil (avocado is preferred) ALWAYS try to avoid unhealthy oils like canola, vegetable, or any seed oils. 

Fitness Hacks

I get it, finding time to work out is hard, and sometimes even with time finding the motivation to start is harder! I will admit even sometimes I slack in this area. It really is so important to exercise our bodies though. Here are some tips to make fitting in exercise easier

  1. Find activities you genuinely enjoy. Working out at the gym not your thing? What about going outside for a game of soccer, going on a hike, go for a swim, or simply put on some good music and dance! I know when I'm having a busy day with the kids, I'll throw on some of our favorite music and have a dance party, that way I am still getting movement in while not having to stop what I'm doing to go fit in a workout. 
  2. Prioritize movement through your day. Basic things through the day to keep your body moving, take the stairs instead of the elevator, vacuum the floors instead of using the rumba, stand at your desk instead of sitting at a chair. You get the idea, small extra movements through the day add up!
  3. Include strength training. As we get older, it is so important for our bone health to include strength training. You can use weights or resistance bands. Another little busy mom hack is lifting the kids. Play airplane games where you're lifting them into the air. Or with my oldest well toss a light medicine ball back and forth to each other. 
  4. Switch it up! Changing up your workout style and location will keep you from getting bored and make you more likely to stick to it!
  5. Make sure to listen to your body, get enough rest time, and fuel your body with protein and a balanced diet.

Mental Wellness Practices

Mental health is just as important as physical! Here are some tips to keep your mind at its best.

  1. Practice mindfulness. Be fully present in the moment, allow yourself to feel your emotions fully, pay attention to your thoughts, feeling and sensations without judgement to yourself. A great way to achieve this is by practicing meditation
  2. Prioritize self-care. Make time for activities you enjoy, and for relaxation. Pick up a hobby, spend time outside, read a book, practice skin care, whatever it is that keeps you happy and relaxed. 
  3. Connect with others in a healthy way. Take a break from the toxic world of social media and go meet your friends for lunch, or an activity. Prioritize those who lift you up and support you. Engage in meaningful positive conversations.
  4. Limit screen time! This one is so important but arguably these days one of the hardest to do. I'll admit it, I'm addicted to social media. Thats what it does to our brains, it keeps us wanting to be there (cue: the doom scroll). It is a fact however that excess screen time can be detrimental to our mental wellbeing. Set boundaries to your screen time and allow yourself time to take regular breaks from it. 
  5. Back to a balanced diet, eating the right foods is so important. Did you know that your gut produces serotonin, and dopamine? Eating excess processed foods halts the production of serotonin (the happy hormone) and can make you feel depressed. Did you know that processed foods are scientifically produced to give you a short burst of dopamine when eating, just enough to keep you wanting more (ex: how you can never eat just one chip). Whole foods will signal your brain to produce the hormones you need to help keep your brain functioning at its best and producing the hormones you need. 

Lifestyle Hacks

Small lifestyle changes you can make to make your home a less toxic environment.

 

  1. Cut out fragrances! I hate to be the one to tell you this, it hurt me too, but your candles are making you sick. The synthetic fragrances and ingredients in candles also known as phthalates are linked to various health issues such as allergies, respiratory problems, hormone disruption, and even reproductive disorders. If you aren't ready to give up the candles completely you can opt for ones made with beeswax and pure essential oils. Or simmer pots are always a great idea. Add fragrant foods like citrus, vanilla, cinnamon, etc. to a pot of water on the stove and turn it on medium low. The smell will then fill the house and replace the need for a candle.
  2. Stay away from chemical cleaners. Seriously, please put down the Lysol and Clorox. These cleaners contain harsh ingredients that an irritate the respiratory system, trigger allergies, and contribute to indoor air pollution. I like to make my own household cleaners with things like vinegar (a GREAT natural disinfectant) and baking soda.
  3. Pay attention to your personal care products. Many of the shampoos, soaps, lotions etc. that you find on shelves are filled with synthetic ingredients such as fragrance, parabens and sulfates. These chemicals when absorbed through the skin can be associated with skin irritation, hormone disruption, and long-term health effects. Look for natural organic products. Be careful of greenwashed products, you know, the ones that the label sounds amazing but then when you read the ingredients you see its still filled with all the bad stuff. Do your research before buying any products, don't forget your skin is your largest organ.
  4. Reduce plastic usage. This one is hard, plastic is convenient and hard to avoid, but it's important to do the best you can. Plastic can leach harmful chemicals into food and water, and you will actually be swallowing the microplastics. It is especially important to never put anything hot in plastic, this will increase the amount of microplastics leached into your food or drink. 
  5. Ground yourself in nature. Did you know walking barefoot outside will ground you? I don't just mean mentally either, this will physically ground you. The earth carries a negative electrical charge and when you walk barefoot on the ground you come into direct contact with this. This connection allows the transfer of electrons from earth to your body which can help neutralize free radicals. reduce inflammation and balance the bodies energy by restoring its natural electrical state.