(Re)Finding Your Healthy Balance

Beyond the Festive Season

Written by Cherie Rivas

Let’s be honest…. the Festive Season has the power to derail even the ‘healthiest’ individuals…. and whilst we always have the best intentions of getting ‘back on track’ right after New Year, sometimes we can end up in the middle of February before we even realise that our eating and exercise patterns still haven’t returned to their well-balanced state.

Finding (or returning to) your healthy balanced lifestyle is so much easier than all those ‘weight loss companies’, would have you believe!!

It’s simple, so let’s just map out the major routes for reaching your destination….

Focus on the Feeling (Plan):

When it comes to exercise and eating well, our thoughts are commonly hijacked and hurtled towards the roadblocks (such as the level of time, effort &/or money required).

Instead, veer your thoughts back to the amazing outcomes that re-balancing your lifestyle will produce. Visualise (and really ‘feel’), the following:

• Your ‘why’. Your ultimate long term reason for wanting to maintain good health;
• How generally awesome you feel when the post workout endorphins kick in;
• How completely satisfied your senses feel when you’re nourished with beautiful, fresh, ‘real’ foods;
• Anything else that serves as an effective motivator. 

Implement this step every day…. and every day thereafter!

Clear Space in the Schedule (Prepare): (Healthy Balance)

Just as you would uphold all your commitments to your partner, your kids or to your employer, and just like you’d keep an appointment with your doctor or hairdresser…. YOU are important enough to justify your own ‘space’, just for YOU!!

Creating a schedule that incorporates time for exercise, time for healthy cooking, and time for healthy rest and recovery, demonstrates your firm commitment to enjoying the self-care and a healthy balance for the long term…. as part of your normal, everyday life.

Take Small Consistent Steps (Progress):

Bringing our healthy lifestyle back into balance can be a little daunting if you over-think it…. so don’t!!

If your ‘compass’ is calibrated to take you in the right direction (ie: your goal), simply focus on consistently moving ahead, rather than being distracted by all the sparkly new fads and diets.  

Sticking to the daily process of moving forward is what will get you to your destination. Make each move small and simple to begin with and allow your momentum to build naturally. As you become more confident and inspired by your own adventure, you’ll pick up the pace and reach your destination with ease.

Be Kind to Yourself (Persist): (Healthy Balance)

Approach your self-care adventure back to good health and balance with the firm belief that you are worthy! Generously sustain yourself with delicious, nutritious and wholesome foods in abundance rather than taking the path of deprivation and sacrifice.

If the tempests of everyday life knock you slightly off course again…. it’s OK!! Getting frustrated or cranky or ripping up your roadmaps or itineraries, isn’t going to change the situation. Every day creates a new starting line!

Detours, digressions, speed humps and roadblocks can’t justify the cancellation of your journey towards better health, because ultimately they will enrich the experience and make your destination even sweeter.

Engage an Expert if Necessary (Propel): (Healthy Balance)

Navigating the terrain to good (or better) health and balance can be a little tricky at times (particularly if you’ve never been there before). Alternatively, you may have taken the same road many times, and it’s simply time to try a different route?

With so much misinformation within today’s popular media, it’s often hard to determine the clearest path for your unique requirements.

That’s where the experts can really help you gain some traction! Whether it’s nutritional advice, exercise programming or the all-important mindset and motivation…. with the right guidance you’ll gain the momentum you need, to get you where you really want to be.

There’s so many to select from however, so when choosing one, trust your gut…. It has to be an open and trusting relationship that will equip you with the knowledge and skills necessary to power ahead under your own steam for the long term!