5 PILLARS TO HEALTH AND WELLNESS
As a health and wellness blogger, I am often asked a multitude of questions about nutrition. “What do I do to stay healthy” What should I eat?” “What should I not eat”, etc. The truth is, there is no one size fits all approach to health and wellness. Everyone is unique and everyone has different needs. My focus, quite frankly, is to feel good. As a Holistic Nutritionist, a healthy diet is important to me, but in the past few years my healthy lifestyle has gone way beyond what I put in my mouth. Here are my 5 pillars of health & wellness:
1. Sleep- I aim for 7-8 hours a night. I actually sleep more in the winter. I am an early riser and my body clock wakes me up right before sunrise. In the summer months this often explains why I wake up before my alarm at around 5:45, and in the winter I rely on my alarm to wake me at 6:30am. Avoiding screen time before bed has been very helpful for optimal sleep.
2. Diet- The best way to describe my diet is that I am always balancing my inner foodie with my inner nutritionist. Healthy food should not sacrifice on flavour. I typically eat 3 meals a day, and at each meal I strive for healthy fat, protein, and greens. I do eat starchy carbohydrates, but not at every meal. If you open my fridge and pantry, you would notice I have mostly real foods, whole foods, and avoid packaged and processed ingredients. That being said, if you follow me on IG you know I love my fair share of wine and pizza 😉 Not everything that goes into my mouth is “clean” which is perfectly okay. I strive for balance and think it’s important to eat what you love and maintain a social life, while also maintaining a good relationship with food. I don’t believe in “cheat meals”. It’s just called living your life. I for one actually do think you can have your cake and eat it too. Everything in moderation 🙂
3. Self Care– A healthy lifestyle is not just about diet & exercise. It’s how you treat yourself on a day to day basis. The kinder you are to yourself, the easier it becomes to take care of yourself, because you just want to feel good everyday. My top self care habits include practicing daily gratitude, sipping my morning coffee in peace and quiet, taking social media breaks, ditching food guilt, winding down at night with herbal tea and a salt lamp, sticking to an AM/PM skin care routine, and connecting with friends & family.
4. Exercise– Pre covid I was working out 5 days a week for 60 minutes. I love group fitness so I was rotating between pilates, spin, boxing, and circuit training. This has completely shifted during covid, and now I rotate between running and walking. Daily movement is important but it’s super important to honour your body and take rest days. P.s I just ordered a Peloton which I am so excited about, because I know I won’t be walking as much in the winter!
5. Supplements – If you’re new to supplements it can be a bit overwhelming. Here are the 5 supps, I take regularly: fish oil, vitamin c, probiotics, vitamin d and magnesium.
Hope this was helpful! Remember that everyone is unique and has different needs. At the end of the day you have to do what feels right for you! Have a great day xoxo Jord
