Favorite

As a functional health practitioner and gym owner I often get asked about specific fad diets or workout trends. What really works? Is carnivore the answer to all my problems? Is intermittent fasting the key to longevity? Is creatine worth taking for muscle growth? Or is berberine worth taking for fat loss? My answer most often is this: it depends. It depends on what your goals are. It depends on how long you plan to implement it. It depends on your current mindset. But most importantly…it depends on how well established your foundation is. What do I mean by that? What do I mean when I say, “focus on the foundations”? You may hear it all the time (especially from me), but do you know what that really means? 

Society is so distracted by shiny objects that quickly fade that we often forget about what is really important. Think about the last fad diet you did. How long did it last? How successful were you? The answer, most likely, is not very successful. And there is good reason for it. Dopamine. It’s a monoamine neurotransmitter. It’s made in your brain and acts as a chemical messenger between cells throughout the body. Every time you start something new or exciting, you get a rush of dopamine. When your neighbor Suzie is having so much success from her keto diet, you imagine what it would be like to have the same success. You decide to join Suzie on her weight loss venture, but only two weeks in you decide that it’s not for you when your sister Karla is seeing similar success by only taking a collagen chocolate pudding. It honestly doesn’t matter if you are even seeing success with the diet you just started…you are quick to fall off and start something new because of that pesky dopamine hit you get by buying a new supplement that is sure to be the answer to all your problems. The first step to changing this habitual negative pattern, that is literally taking you nowhere, is to have awareness around it.

Outside of all the dopamine hits we are seeking and the comparison game we are constantly playing…what would you have to do daily to remain alive? What would you be doing day in and day out if you couldn’t shop online or go out to your favorite restaurant? 

-First and foremost, you would have to breath. You can’t survive without oxygen, after all.

-You would also have to sleep. Try going a few days without it and you will know that won’t last very long. 

-You would have to eat. Your body needs fuel to have energy. Without it you would dwindle pretty quickly. 

-You would also have to drink. Your body is made up of 60% water on average so it makes sense that we would need to replenish our water stores. 

-You would need to move. Lack of movement causes disease and eventually death so it would be critical to make sure you get enough movement. 

-You would need sunshine. This may actually surprise a few of you. But lack of sunshine would cause disease and eventually death.

-And lastly…you would need connection (mental, emotional, and physical). This is one that I think is probably most important but most overlooked.

These are the 7 foundations to optimal health and happiness. And the best part about them? They are completely free! You don’t need financial abundance to thrive (despite what so many people may have told you).

What I want to do over the coming weeks is to shift your focus from all the fancy objects and “extras” of life and re-center it on these foundations. If you can begin to understand just how important these foundations are while consistently putting into practice what I teach you…you will radically change your life. How you might ask? Let me just put it this way… you have been trying to build a house on sand. It’s not stable and it won’t last. What I am going to teach you will ensure you can build a house on a solid foundation. It will last a lifetime. 

Stay tuned over the coming weeks as we dive into the core 7 principles to optimizing your health and radically changing your life: breath, sleep, nutrition & nourishment, hydration & water, movement, sunshine, and connection.