Hello, and welcome!
This 30 day challenge is designed to increase awareness, and focus on improving our well-being. Over the next 30 days, we will look at 9 different aspects of health, looking at the important role each one plays.
Structure of Challenge
There are three days allocated to each aspect, with 3 catch-up days scattered in between, as I know life can become a little hectic sometimes.
- Days 1 to 3: Water
- Days 4 to 6: Nutrition
- Days 7 to 9: Rest
- Day 10: First Catch-up Day
- Day 11 to 13: Sleep
- Day 14 to 16: Exercise
- Day 17 to 19: Stretching
- Day 20: Second Catch-up Day
- Day 21 to 23: Mental Health
- Day 24 to 26: Emotional Health
- Day 27 to 29: Environmental Health
- Day 30: Final Catch-up Day
The Only Condition Though:
Make it yours! Choose one small thing to change, take up or let go for the time of the challenge, (who knows maybe even longer).
Let’s get started!
Day 1: Water
Water is essential to our health, in fact, it’s essential to our survival. Dehydration is a serious issue, and many people are slightly, but chronically dehydrated ๐ฆ
Let’s
explore what water does in our bodies:
๐ฆ It takes nutrients
throughout the body
๐ฆ It gets rid of waste
products
๐ฆ It’s a solvent for vitamins
and minerals
๐ฆ It lubricates joints,
cushions the eyes, spinal cord and brain
๐ฆ It also cushions the fetus
in the womb
๐ฆ It helps regulate body temperature
๐ฆ It maintains blood volume
Drinking enough water helps to support these and other vital functions ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ
Day 2: Water
I’ve been talking about how our bodies need water on the inside to survive. Of course, water is also important for caring of the outside of our bodies ๐ฟ
For now, let’s explore how much water we should drink. There are different formulas around ranging from using kilojoules expenditure to body weight, and of course the famous 8 glasses of water, which is really only one size fits all solution and doesn’t take size or expenditure into consideration ๐ฆ
Personally, I find the body weight formula the easiest and most accurate one ๐ค
Here it goes: Drink one litre of water for every 22 kilograms of body weight โ๏ธ
So, a 66kg person needs to drink 3 litres of water, a 88kg person needs 4 litres of water, and so on, you get my drift ๐
(BTW the 2, 3, 4 or whatever litres of water can also include food with a high water content, and the amount of water necessary increases when we sweat)
Here’s the question: How much water do you drink daily?
Especially in winter, I have to monitor how much I drink, otherwise I don’t drink enough water during the day ๐ฆ
For this CHALLENGE I will monitor very closely to make sure I drink enough ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
Let me know if you are up for the water challenge ๐
Day 3: Water
Ok, now that we’ve committed to drinking enough water, the question is, which water to drinkย ๐ค
Personally, I am very pragmatic about itย ๐
I will drink and use the best water available. I’ve got a hierarchy. However, I am very aware that I live in a country where I have the luxury of choice.
๐ฆย If I can’t find anything else, I will drink tap water (still better than dehydration)
๐ฆย I avoid buying bottled water
๐ฆย Next in the hierarchy is filtered water (there are different quality filter systems available, and usually you get what you pay for)
๐ฆย Best, and my personal favourite, is my Kangen water system, I just feel amazing when I drink it and wash my body with it (it becomes very obvious, when I’m traveling, such a difference)
๐ฆย Happy to tell you more about this, just let me knowย ๐ฅฐ
Day 4: Nutrition
This topic is so important, and there’s so much conflicting information available. It seems that everyone is an expert. On top of that, a lot of people get very attached to their perspective ๐ง
Sometimes, it’s very difficult to decide whether the information provided has any merit ๐ค
Personally, as I have stated before, I’m pragmatic and prefer to keep things simple ๐
I like to
๐ฅฆ Eat REAL food
๐ฅฆ Eat lots of GREENS
๐ฅฆ Eat FRESH food, the stuff that’s in season
๐ฅฆ Cook food from scratch, avoid pre-cooked or ready to eat
meals from the supermarket
๐ฅฆ Have takeaway only occasionally
๐ฅฆ Wherever possible, buy organic and local
๐ฅฆ Enjoy food
Day 5: Nutrition
We live in a hectic world, and it can be very challenging to take TIME for eating. Yet, it’s an integral part of nutrition and self-love ๐ฅฐ
Setting the table, sitting down for eating without mobile phones or TV helps to appreciate and enjoy your food ๐
I tend to make better choices if I take the time to plan and prepare my meals AND sit down at the table ๐ด
Our bodies are fabulous, digestion turns off when we’re stressed, and it turns on when we’re relaxed and take the time to enjoy our food ๐
Food for thought ๐ค
Day 6: Nutrition
Since this is a challenge, here’s what I suggest for the nutrition part:
Psychologically,
it is easier to add something healthy than to avoid a particular junk food.
So, if avoiding pizza, ice cream or chocolate only
led to cravings, try adding something healthy ๐ฅ
Pick something healthy, and ADD it to your daily meals. For example, you could commit to have a salad with lunch or dinner ๐
Let me know how you go with that ๐
Day 7: Rest
This is a topic that I definitely need to pay more attention to. Things seem to be piling up and daily life can be hectic ๐ฎ
I presented at a Mindfulness Workshop, and was reminded to actually REST. During my section, we did a short relaxation exercise, and people loved it. So, I’m thinking, I’m not the only one who loves more RESTย ๐
Day 8: Rest
I relax and recharge best in nature, and I especially love the ocean.
What do you do to recharge?
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
Day 9: Rest
Reconsidering Bedtime Routine
I have recently given my bedtime routine a complete overhaul ๐ด
๐ค My bedroom has a Zen feel now
๐ค I removed ALL clutter
๐ค I no longer charge my phone in my bedroom
๐ค Yep, that’s right, I survive the night without it
๐ค I do a 5 minute stretching routine
๐ค I make a point of stopping the use of ALL electronic devices ONE
hour before bedtime
My new bedtime routine DOES help me to get a better sleep and REST ๐
Day 10: Catch-up Day
Ahhh, relax ๐
Today is a catch-up day ๐
๐ you can revise the previous topics
๐ decide what you would like to implement
Day 11: Sleep
People who are sleep deprived do not function at their best ๐ฏ
๐ด Parents certainly know this
๐ด Shift workers can also relate to this
๐ด In recent times, chronic lack of quality sleep affects a much larger percentage of the population, and goes beyond the typical groups that don’t get enough quality sleep
๐ด One issue appears to be the increase of blue light. That’s the light that comes from electronic devices, TVs, mobile phones, computers etc
๐ด The difference becomes really clear, when we are in nature at night away from lights of the city and look at the stars instead of screens ๐
Day 12: Sleep
So, what to do when you can’t get to sleep or wake up during the night on a regular basis (without having kids or being a shift worker etc.)?
๐ค Reduce blue light from screens
including TVs in the evening, and stop screentime at least one hour before bedtime
๐ค If you wake up during the
night, don’t stay your bed tossing and turning as you will start to associate
your bed with being awake
๐ค Instead, get up and go into
a different room (but don’t look at any blue light emitting devices), maybe
read a book
๐ค If you are feeling anxious
during the night and wake up, write everything down that bothers you, this will
help to relax your brain
๐ค It might just be on
overdrive from unfinished tasks, and you write them into a journal, your mind
can calm down
๐ค Get up at the same time
every day to keep your circadian rhythm in the same routine
Good night ๐ค๐ด
Day 13: Sleep
Another couple of tips for falling asleep and a improved bedtime routine ๐ด
Rather than falling asleep in front of the TV, let’s do something different ๐
BTW falling asleep in front of the TV allows the blue light from the screen to influence your brain waves through your closed eyelids ๐ฎ
๐ Go for an
evening walk – this is not meant as an exercise but a relaxing stroll
๐ Do some yoga or stretching routine
๐ Have a soothing herbal tea
๐ Have a bath or warm shower
๐ Listen to sleep music
๐ Put a couple of drops of Lavender essential oil on your
pillow
Sleep well ๐ด
Day 14: Exercise
In my practice, I get asked a lot what the best exercise is, and my answer is
๐คท It depends
Yes, that’s right, there’s no one size fits all answer ๐ฏ
For those who haven’t exercised since high school (and that’s a number of years ago), I would say, start slowly and do something without a big impact ๐
๐ถ๐ฝโโ๏ธ Walking
๐ Swimming
๐ง Yoga or Tai Chi
Those who have been exercising or playing sports for years up to recently, decide if you want to continue or try something new
Also, a good idea is to reflect on any injuries you may have had over the years
Some activities may not be for you anymore ๐
The best way to determine what would suit YOU is to book a consultation where the practitioner looks at your history, current state, including any muscular imbalances that could lead to future injuries ๐ค
Day 15: Exercise
What else is important?
It’s not deliberate exercise, although that’s great, it’s incidental movement ๐ฏ
We’re sitting too much, so much so that a new catchphrase has made the rounds: Sitting is the new smoking
And there’s certainly something in it
The incidental movement is not so new
I’ve heard good advice for years:
๐ Park your car further away so that you have to walk longer
๐ Take the stairs instead of the escalator
๐ Get off the bus a stop earlier
And so on ๐
Do you remember when you were a kid and couldn’t sit still?
That’s where we need to get back to, naturally move more, walk more, and automatically do more of the good advice above ๐
Day 16: Exercise
The importance of exercise and daily movement is
clear ๐
The question remains, what will you do?
๐ถ๐ฝโโ๏ธMORE exercise?
๐ถ๐ฝโโ๏ธNEW type of exercise?
๐ถ๐ฝโโ๏ธREACTIVATE
familiar exercise?
๐ถ๐ฝโโ๏ธINCREASE
incidental movement?
๐ถ๐ฝโโ๏ธCONSULT
a professional health practitioner?
It all starts with a decision, then taking action ๐
Day 17: Stretching
Not surprisingly, I’m a strong advocate for stretching. I often recommend specific stretches to my clients to help with their muscular imbalances.
Benefits
of stretching ๐
โ
It strengthens connective
tissue
โ
It increases range of motion
โ
It helps with remodeling
muscles
โ
It promotes better joint
alignment
โ
It boosts blood flow to the
tissues
โ
It makes you feel better ๐
Happy to have a chat about the right stretching routine for you ๐
Day 18: Stretching
There’s two types of stretching:
๐ฏ passive and active
When we talk about stretching, we mostly refer to the active type
What’s an example of the passive typeโ
โMassage โ
Yes, massage loosens the muscles and helps lengthen them, thus facilitating a passive stretch to the muscles
Passive refers to the client, the massage therapist is still active ๐
I might be a little biased, but massage is really good for remodeling of muscles, and I can highly recommend it ๐
Do yourself a favour and get a massage. If you live close (in Sydney), you are welcome to book a remedial massage with meย โค๏ธ
Day 19: Stretching
Why am I not specific about stretching? ๐ค
Quite frankly, I don’t believe in One Size Fits All when it comes to stretching. It’s probably due to my level of expertise in this area ๐ง
I’m a bit of a nerd ๐
My recommendation for someone who wants to take up stretching is getting an expert to put a tailored routine together for their specific needs
Of course, I’m available for consultations both in person or ONLINE
Yes, thanks to modern technology, it’s possible online ๐คฉ
Day 20: Catch-up Day
Another welcome day to reflect and catch-up on any of the previous topics ๐ฅฐ
What have you implemented so far?
Day 21: Mental Health
What is mental health?
There are a lot of definitions. For example: it’s often defined as psychological well-being ๐ Sometimes, people talk about it as the absence of mental disorders, which is a negative definition in the sense, that it’s the absence of something ๐ค
Personally, and for the purpose of this health challenge, I would like to define it as psychological well-being with an emphasis on thoughts ๐ฅฐ
We think lots of thoughts all the time, but we are rarely aware of what we’re thinking. Many of our thoughts are habitual and happen in the background ๐ง
If we want to become aware of these habitual thoughts, we have to put a bit of effort in. This can be worthwhile, because we may discover thoughts that don’t serve us anymore ๐ฏ
โ Because
we’re adults now and not little kids anymore
โ Because
we’ve moved on from a job, relationship, circumstances, whatever …
โ Because
we have personally grown
โ Because
we don’t want to run on autopilot
โ Because
we could make thoughts habitual that make us happier
๐ฅฐ Think about it ๐
Day 22: Mental Health
In recent years, psychology research started to look at mental health rather than mental disorders. A new field emerged from this, called positive psychology ๐
Mihรกly Csรญkszentmihรกlyi, a positive psychologist, came up with the concept of flow state ๐
In this state of mind, we experience
things like
๐ฅฐ Forgetting what time it is
๐ฅฐ Not being aware of hunger, thirst or tiredness
๐ฅฐ Loss of feeling self-conscious
๐ฅฐ Complete focus on the activity
๐ฅฐ Enjoyment of the activity
๐ฅฐ One new and great idea after the other
๐ฅฐ Everything goes smoothly
It’s good for us and our mental health to get into this FLOW as much as we can ๐
Day 23: Mental Health
Another great way of looking after our mental health is to practice mindfulness ๐
With practice,we can improve
๐ Attention
๐ Self-awareness
๐ Emotional regulation
Day 24: Emotional Health
Imagine EMOTIONAL HEALTH like a flow of a river, where there’s no dam to restrict the flow of water ๐ง
Emotions are a form of communication with ourselves that we then express in words or otherwise to the outside world ๐
When we suppress emotions and don’t acknowledge them ourselves, we build a dam into the river of our emotions ๐คท
When we do this on a regular basis, the emotions just like too much water in a dam, will find a way to come out, and that is often uncontrolled ๐ฏ
When we allow our emotions to gently flow through us without holding on to them or giving them special meaning or pushing them back, we will be a lot more balanced ๐
Day 25: Emotional Health
How can we handle our emotions?
โถ๏ธ First
of all, we need to become aware of them
โถ๏ธ This requires practice ๐คท
โถ๏ธ Then, it’s important to be the
observer ๐ค
โถ๏ธ As the observer, we don’t
interpret the emotions, we notice them and let them pass
โถ๏ธโถ๏ธ This requires even more
practice ๐คฆ
Most likely we’re not yet an enlightened master, so we could use some exercises to become better at awareness and observations of our emotions ๐
Some people like journalling, others prefer breathing techniques, meditation or yoga. The important message is to practice any of these, find the one that works best and stick with it ๐
Day 26: Emotional Health
When we aren’t aware of our emotions, and they take over, banishing any logical reasoning, we may miss the point of return ๐คฆ
And hurt our loved ones ๐
And they may then get back at us
And hurt us
That’s not good ๐ค
That’s why it’s so important to practice self-awareness ๐ฅฐ
There’s another great strategy, we can use before things get out of control ๐
It’s called PATTERN INTERRUPT
For example, go outside or a different room, get a glass of water, go for a quick walk or run, do some deep breathing, or any other way to shift out of the emotional deadlock ๐
Day 27: Environmental Health
This topic refers to our environment
๐ฑ Immediate such as our house or apartment
๐ฑ Neighbouring such as our suburb, town or village
๐ฑ Distant such as our country as well as including all of our planet
It’s a good idea to keep all this in a healthy condition, because it does influence our health ๐ฑ
The easiest and a very important one is our immediate environment. A clutter free home that has a good energy about it, is fresh, sunny and airy, can influence our health in a positive way ๐ก
Spend some time to declutter your home ๐ฑ
Day 28: Environmental Health
Another tip to improve your immediate environment is to get some indoor plants for your home ๐ฑ
Some of them are better than others to improve air quality, but having plants around has also feel-good benefits, which in turn help with overall health ๐
It’s even more important, if people live in an urban environment where there’s not much greenery near by ๐ฑ
Day 29: Environmental Health – Almost at the finish line!
We are very depending on our planet ๐
Without it, we cannot survive ๐
It’s our responsibility for ourselves and our children to take care of our planet ๐
There are so many small things we can
do to look after our planet:
๐ฑ Pick up plastic on the beach
๐ฑ Avoid single use plastics
๐ฑ Walk short distances instead of driving everywhere by car
๐ฑ Plant a tree
๐ฑ And so much more
What other ideas can you share? ๐
Day 30: Catch-up Day
We have come to the final day of this 30 day HEALTH CHALLENGE ๐ฏ
And it’s a catch-up day, where we can go back and reflect on some of the topics we have covered ๐ฅฐ
Let’s face it, a comprehensive health challenge obviously takes a lot longer than 30 days ๐ค
Hopefully, it has given you some food for thought and inspired you to keep exploring on improving certain aspects of your health or health related areas ๐
And, please reach out, if you want to dive in deeper ๐