We tend to talk for hours and read articles about specifics on the nutrition front. Is this food good? Will that make me gain weight? Does this have a lot of vitamins? Is that protein rich? The fact of the matter is that no one food or one nutrient will make all the difference. While it is important to focus on specifics, we need to keep the full picture in mind.
Here is that picture:
Do something physically taxing 3 days a week . It may be regimented strength training or circuit training or a Pilates class or sport. Do something that makes you forget your little world and free yourself from the pressures of daily life.
Let it release endorphins, make you puff and pant and challenge you as you run, lift, jump, roll and use your body in three-dimensional space.
Move every day . I’m not talking of exercise or training here. I’m talking of moving around because you are not meant to stay put in one place. Today’s lifestyle doesn’t provide us with enough opportunities to move and it is up to us to create them. Walk to the store, take the stairs, lift your heavy bags, stand under the sun and do other things that make life less convenient.
Eat minimally processed real food for the most part. Consider anything from a box as not real food and anything from the earth as real food.
Stay away from pesticides because, well, they’re poisonous to the human body. Buy organic produce as much as possible and stick to eating local and seasonal vegetables and fruits as they contain the least amount of pesticides.
Drink water and only water . Tender coconut water is an exception but stick to just simple water for the most part. Unless you’re someone who trains hard upwards of six hours a week, you don’t need sports or recovery drinks. Most of what you need (hydration and salts) are obtained from water and food. Soft drinks and juices are out of the question as they are merely water with loads of sugar, colour, preservatives and chemical agents.
Don’t go sugar-free or anything-free really . The concept of giving something up completely really makes no sense and will last for a few months at best for most of us. It’s not that sugar is poison.
It’s just that abusing sugar results in seriously detrimental health. So learn to control it as opposed to fearing it and eventually creating cravings and obsessions around it.
Sleep . This is when your body reboots, replenishes, recovers and refreshes itself. With insufficient sleep, you are sub-par at best, while severe sleep deprivation could result in serious health issues. So sleep, sleep early and sleep for as long as you can without getting fired or divorced.
