I recently released my 3-Month Power Program & Meal Guide (trumpets sounds and screaming erupts…meaning my own). And when you download the Power Program, you’ll find an introduction that talks about what I consider the five pillars of health to be. And the reason these are important is because if not all five things are looked at and something is drastically missing, it’s close to impossible for you to be the healthiest version of yourself AND you won’t get the most out of the program, or any program if I’m being completely honest. If you want to get in shape, feel your best, wake up with energy, be excited for what the day has in store, and continually feel this day in and day out – then all five pillars need to be stable.
Now this first pillar will come as no shock – your diet. If you eat shitty food, you will feel shitty. You may not even know you feel shitty until your diet changes. But I promise you – if you’re eating fast food, drinking soda, rarely touching a vegetable, and never considering where your protein source is coming from; you DEFINITELY can feel better than how you feel now. Changing your diet is key. And it doesn’t have to be this obsessive, crazy perfection that diet and fitness culture tells us it has to be. Here are a few changes that will start you in the right direction. It’s not about perfection, it’s about make small changes at first for a more sustainable longterm change –
- Cut OUT or at least cut down on your soda consumption, even if you’re drinking diet drinks. They are just as bad. Seriously.
- Start grocery shopping regularly – Fresh fruits and vegetables are where it’s at. Having these fresh foods around will help you not only put meals together, but it will also help you cut down on packaged and processed foods.
- Start cooking! This website is here to HELP YOU COOK! I even created my Meal Guide with 130+ recipes to help you cook, love what you made, and feel better because of it!
The second pillar is alcohol consumption. This is always the pillar that people want to ignore the most. They want to act like the calories in alcohol don’t really exist. Or that their weight gain isn’t from Taco Bell at 3am after a night of binge drinking. I know this story all too well and I see it ALL THE TIME. If you think you are doing everything right but you’re consuming one standard glass of wine every single night when you get home from work, that’s around 3500 extra calories per month. And even though I don’t count calories myself, I know what 3500 extra calories looks like. But it’s not just about the calories – alcohol leads to inflammation and puffiness, which restricts your from seeing your hard work in the gym. Alcohol is poison and shouldn’t be consumed on a regular basis. It may be part of our society, but smoky once was, as well. Think about that for a second.
Next on the list is sleep! This is something many people are lacking in their lives. Especially now that we are consumed by screens at all hours. It can make it pretty tough to sleep when we are supposed to. But sleep does a whole lot of things – it helps our body repair, it balances our hormones, it repairs our muscle tissues, etc. etc. Getting 7-9 hours of sleep per night is key to keeping the body healthy and balanced. Here are some tips for increasing the amount of sleep you get –
- No screens for 2 hours before bed. Go read a book, listen to a podcast, or maybe just chat with the human you live with. If you refuse to do that, make sure you’re using blue blocking glasses or blue blocking screens on your screens.
- If possible, work out earlier in the day to make sure you’re not stimulated and wired at bedtime.
- Practice your routine and your body will get better and better at turning down when you tell it to.
Now for one of the most important pillars – stress. If you think you can get away with ignoring this one, you’re wrong. Stress is the silent killer. And all of us are pretty good at being stressed at all hours. Whether you’re sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic for the second time in a day, or you’re in a questionable relationship that constantly leaves you feeling exhausted, or you’re going into a job every day that takes a little bit of your soul – all these things can hinder you in your fitness and physical goals. Stress leads to increase in cortisol, increased cortisol hormone lead to weight gain…and a whole boat load of other things like anxiety, depression, headaches, digestion problems, sleep issues, and more. Stress f*cks things up so it’s something that has to be acknowledged and managed!
Last but not least, WATER!! How much water do you drink daily? Most people don’t think about it much and because of that, they don’t drink much water throughout the day. And that ain’t good. Water lubricates and cushions your joints, it helps you POOP, and it will keep you from feeling bloated. If you’re not drinking much water then you start pounding water bottles every hour, you may feel bloated at first, but this will quickly turn into going to the water regularly. And guess what that means? Less bloating!! Water is so important, so drink it. Drink a lot of it!
When you start looking at these five pillars of health and you start to take all into consideration, your own health will begin to morph and change in the best way possible. It may seem overwhelming at first, but if you can simply concentrate on one pillar at a time, then move onto the next once you feel comfortable and confident, all five pillars will become second nature in no time. And if you’re ready to take your health into your own hands, check out my 3-Month Power Program & Meal Guide! I want to help you conquer your health and teach you how to be confident both inside and out of the gym!
Love this, Juli! Especially love how you include alcohol – so many people dial in the rest…but somehow think alcohol is part of a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, so many wellness bloggers + influencers perpetuate that message. Thank you for getting real on a truth many people don’t want to hear!
i always see that with fitness influencers which is so strange to me. alcohol has to be looked at, it’s just something people would prefer to ignore
Finally a program that actually targets women’s hard to reach areas!! I am a “workout person” and have tried every single trend out there for the last 25 years. Your leg days actually make me feel like my entire leg is stronger and I just didn’t pee myself the whole exercise by doing fake cheerful jumping exercises the whole time! I also find myself reading your intro to your power program at night before I go to bed so I feel extra motivated to wake up and do the program in the morning. I have shared this trick with a bunch of friends and they have been trying it too. I feel amazing and just want to thank you!!
yayyyyyyy!! that makes me so happy Rainey! so glad you’re loving the program!
My email link to my program I bought won’t download the program, please assist ASAP , it says no file available and takes me to your website
hey carrey, send me an email at paleomgfitness@gmail.com and we can get you all fixed up there!