So you’ve decided to make some changes to your lifestyle to help you have more energy, more balance and generally to feel better… we’re here to suggest that instead of doing a complete overhaul, that finding small changes that you can implement is so much more sustainable and will help you get progress in the long term!
I’ve talked about how there is no absolutes in what’s best to do for you when starting out, and how putting one foot in front of the other is actually best… finding ways to grow confidence in your own gut instinct is what helps fuel the fire of progress…
What are some things that have helped others?
THAT is something I can help you with.
Here are some starting points to give you a chance to start hearing your underlying intuition as to your own best options. Pick one, focus on it for a number of days – perhaps a week, perhaps a couple – whatever feels manageable for you and your situation. It is NOT worth rushing or pushing yourself into sudden changes.
It doesn’t have to be in this order… this is just what many will find works as a starting point.
1. Do a pantry clean out!
Even without doing any big changes to your diet or family routine, a few of these tips can improve your health and wellbeing now. Even just doing one option per week can help you transition to healthier habits!
Clean out
Items out of date or that you won’t use anyway? Five years after its best before? Move it on!
Clean up
Check the labels – are there numbers in it additives like in this list? Toss it.
If you can’t bring yourself to toss it, then find a suitable alternative NOW for the next time you run out, and put that on your ‘to buy soon’ shopping list (or put a sticky note somewhere visible on/near the item to be replaced so that when you come to buy it, you know what the new item is that you need).
Use up
Make a section in your pantry just for those hidden gems (existing ingredients) you already have but never get around to using. Try using them up in one new recipe per week or substituting them into your normal food preparation
The following tools can help you to find and organise recipes or search for your ingredients to use them up.
- Kristan uses ‘Cookidoo‘ in combination with her Thermomix.
- Copy Me That is a perfect way that you can save and organise recipes you see – both from a phone or from your web browser. Create a shopping list, a menu plan, or simply search for ingredients you want to use
- Plan to Eat lets you design personalised meal plans, generate shopping lists, and organise recipes, with the added bonus of a podcast and community feel. They offer a free 14-day trial and send Black Friday specials through their newsletter, which can be used for consecutive year renewals.
Feel better
Start to swap out an ingredient or item you know isn’t serving you well.
- Don’t feel well eating gluten? Make gluten free bread instead of a commercial option
- Perhaps a swap to GF flour when making foods at home will be a good starting point if swapping off gluten 100% cold turkey isn’t manageable.
- See what other swaps you can to do use up what you have and then learn new ingredients slowly/get used to changes in taste and methods.
Become more conscious of what you buy at the supermarket – choose better products quality or ingredients wise. Just changing things as you use them up, not throwing everything out that you already had and having to do a big makeover is less overwhelming.
If you eat meat and currently source it from a supermarket, swap to something like ‘OurCow‘ so that you can get quality grassfed and/or organic meat. The quality and taste is next level.
(Use the link above or go to OurCow and use our referral code 2106E0HF and save $50 off your first order – it is an affiliate link so we get a thank you too, but we would refer you whether or not you used that code!)
2. Find minerals or vitamins you can swap into your routine
The lifestyle we suggest at Supporting Balance is focused around helping you balance the minerals and vitamins in your body via food sources first and foremost. It’s adapted from a method called ‘The Root Cause Protocol’ (or RCP).
We are trained in this area and can support you if/as needed, but many parts you can do yourself!
You can download a free manual which steps through the full stops and starts from the RCP website here.
Stopping the STOPS
JUST stopping the ‘stops’ can help you feel better, save you money and reduce your stress. Stopping the following items is part of the routine we suggest everyone consider:
- Stop taking iron supplements (see related webinar here for adults, or here for kids)
- Stop taking Vitamin D3 Supplements (see related webinar here)
- Stop taking Calcium Supplements
- Stop taking Zinc Supplements
- Stop taking Molybdenum Supplements
- Stop taking “Drugstore” Once-A-Day Multivitamins, Prenatals, etc.
- Stop taking synthetic forms of ascorbic acid, citrate, & citric acid which are often added to foods as preservatives or flavours (see related webinar here)
- Stop using High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) & manufactured/synthetic sugars – erythritol, (read more as to why here)
- Stop using industrialized oils high in omega-6 (e.g. soybean oil, canola oil, etc.)
- Stop using fluoride (toothpaste, water, etc.)
If you want to learn more about the ‘why’ behind these and many more related areas please check out our free Q&A and webinar archive here or the Root Cause Protocol webinars here (many of these Kristan has co-hosted). We have included links above to some specific ones above already to help you out!
Starting the STARTS
Adding in or changing one new ‘start’ item from the Root Cause Protocol, per week to your routine.
It may not feel like it’s going to make much difference, but picking one of these and just starting with a small amount and building up.
One every day this week, keep that going and add the next item next week, keep that going and add another one the week after that.
- Drink an adrenal cocktail once per day
- Add ~0.5ml of mineral drops to your water daily
- Start Epsom salt baths or foot soaks at least once a week, perhaps every second day.
- (This one is suitable for the kids – why not stick your feet in to their bath too?)
- Adding in food based vitamin c – both from food itself and ideally additionally from whole food based vitamin c supplements
- Adding foods rich in retinol/food based vitamin a such as grass fed, ideally organic butter, free range/pastured eggs, cod liver oil (minimally processed!) and/or grassfed beef liver.
If you’re in a country outside Australia or New Zealand and would like to see supplement options to help, check out our index here.
3. Self care
Add in one self care item FOR YOU that is added each day. Some examples are listed below.
- A few minutes of meditation
- A few minutes of EFT/tapping
- Practice heart congruence – only takes a few minutes
- A foot soak in Epsom salts
- Walking in the fresh air around you with deepened breathing while you hang the washing out
- Reading even a few pages of a book.
- Watch the sunrise or sunset – breathe in the serenity!
- Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth five times
- Can’t remember to do this one? Do it while sitting on the toilet!
Reflection
How do you feel after adding that ONE thing in for a week or two at least, or cleaning one area out of your pantry, using up that one mysterious ingredient or trying one new recipe?
- What worked best?
- What didn’t work?
- What was your biggest win by experimenting?
- Was your biggest fear realised, or did you conquer the beast?
- What will you do different next time? What will you keep the same?
Chances are, you’ve come out relatively unscathed and even if not all sunshine and lollipops, you’ve learned something to make future choices easier.
