My Top 8 Tips For A Healthier You in 2016
While I am a Big fan of setting “Infinity Goals” and changing beliefs for a healthier you, I also recognize that you can benefit immediately from healthy actions to take NOW.
So below are my top 8 actions that I recommend to take your health to the highest level possible. It doesn’t matter if you are current very unhealthy or extremely healthy. I selected tips that will benefit you no matter where you are in the health spectrum.
Enjoy!
Tip # 1 Know Your Blood
Your body needs every vitamin and mineral in the right amounts to function properly. Without adequate amounts your body loses its ability to fight disease, produce energy, regulate hormones, and deal with stress. There is only 1 lab that has the patent on the ability to test every vitamin and mineral as well as your overall “anti-oxidant” status (how well can your body defend against disease). You can learn about this test here.
Tip # 2 Rotate Your Foods
Before the recent ability to ship food from one country to another, we humans had to eat foods that were in season only. Also, before industrial farming there were hundreds of varieties of apples, potatoes, and other fruits and vegetables. Now most people eat about the same things each week. The unnatural process of eating the same foods causes deficiencies in nutrients (see tip #1) and induces an allergic reaction to our foods.
By eating the same foods all the time, those foods (doesn’t matter if they are healthy and organic) will cause all of your cells to be inflamed. So try not to eat the same foods within a 4 day period. If you want to know which foods you are already sensitive to, you can learn more here.
Tip # 3 Hot And Cold Showers
Contrast baths have been used in Europe for centuries and studied in research for decades. It decreases overall inflammation, enhances muscle recovery, boosts your immune system, and definitely wakes you up! So in the mornings run hot water (as hot as you can take it without burning your skin) for 2 minutes followed by 100% cold water (yes, this will not be fun for the first 10 seconds but I promise you will get used to it and actually enjoy it) for 2 minutes. Then repeat this process for 3 rounds. You will feel AMAZING and your aches and pains will reduce.
Tip # 4 Hug Someone Daily For 20 Seconds With This Technique
Think back to every time you have ever hugged someone. You go towards your left side and you probably do a little pat or rub on the other person’s back. Now today I want you to try this. Hug someone going towards your RIGHT, don’t move your hands, and hold for > 20 seconds.
This will be a completely different feeling. Just do it and be completely in tune to your body and your feelings. I promise it will help. If you need a little left brain science to motivate you, here is the information. You will release more oxytocin in your body which helps improve feelings of trust, increases healing rate, improve immune function, and boosts brain function.
Tip #5 Do A Quick Movement Program At Home
Don’t just “exercise”. That is a tool you use to get in shape. Instead frame your intention to move your body to become a better mover. Don’t you want to move like a 20 year old even when you are an 80 year old? Trust me, at 80 you will be more motivated to be able to move than to be able to flash a six pack.
So set the intention to become a better mover. This will already get your mind away from “exercising” and selecting what body part to work today. Life works every part when you move. So why segment your movement training by body parts? Instead train movement quality, movement stability, movement efficiency and let the side effect be a lean healthy body. You can get a sample routine here.
Tip # 6 Set “Infinity Goals” As Well As “Smart Goals”
So most people know about “Smart Goals”. They are the Specific, Measureable, Action Oriented, Realistic, and Timely goals. These are the typical goals you may have been taught to set. However you want to balance these types of goals with “Infinity Goals”.
Infinity Goals are goals you set that are so big and so power and so unobtainable your very fabric of who you are becomes shaken, awakened, and motivated. These are the goals that are not realistic, not timely, and not at all set by mere mortals. They are set by the inspired and powerful. Yes, that is YOU. You can read more about this process here.
Tip # 7 Love Your Food
Ok, I don’t mean go and gorge a sea of cheesecake… I mean build a loving relationship with food. If you ever have these thoughts in your head after eating specific foods:
“Dammit, I should not have eaten that”
“This is so bad for me”
Then you can benefit from loving your food. Like any relationship this will take effort. It has nothing to do with diets or eating healthier. It has everything to do with your feelings can values as it relates to food. You can read more about how to love your food more here.
Tip # 8 Reduce Your Chemical Exposure
The average number of chemicals in our body that don’t belong there now averages 3000 for an adult and 240+ for newborn infants. Yes, that is 3000 chemicals that are from our water, our food, our lotions, our soaps, our electronics, our environment. Unlike the drug industry where each drug has to be proven safe for it to be released on the market. In the chemical industry, it’s the innocent until proven guilty approach. That means new chemicals are released into our everyday products and are only pulled off the market once they realize it’s not safe.
It’s a lot to take it and yes you can’t live in a bubble. What you can do is make better choices and use sites like http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ to make better choices on your products. You can also download my book on how to get rid of the most common ones for fat loss at the top left corner.
BONUS Tip: Find Your “Hidden Injuries” And Your Mental Obstacles
We all have them. Little aches in pains that are dormant in our bodies. Don’t think you have them? Try pushing on the inside and outside spots on your elbow, or at the front of the shoulder, or on the sides of your knees. You will probably find some tender points (they are not supposed to be tender). Our muscle imbalances that are dormant can cause serious joint wear and tear in the future.
You can avoid them by attending this seminar I am having here.
On that seminar I will also share the process to help you uncover what “Mental Obstacles” are holding you back from getting and keeping a higher level of health. If you have had cycles of getting really healthy through determination and will power only to slip and fall off the wagon (because you kept eating “bad” foods and felt continuously more and more guilty until it derailed you), then you will learn to never repeat that process again.
You can learn that process here.
Put these tips into action and you will feel the difference this year. I believe in you. You are more powerful, more amazing, and more capable than anyone thinks.
Dr. Steve
Head Happiness Officer at a bunch of companies.
