Creating your healthy foundation

Welcome back to another episode of how to twenty-something, The next several episodes are going to touch on the health and wellness side of life and all the changes that happen as you progress through your twenties

Like changes in your habits, body, schedule, and honestly your entire outlook of your life

I mention a lot about the importance of creating a home base and how this is one of the major things I help my clients solidify in relation to their goals and life and that your home base is creating a solid foundation in your mental, nutritional, and physical healths

So this episode is going to introduce how you can begin creating your own healthy foundation and why you absolutely need to do so 

And if after listening you’re still unsure how to do so in regards to your life or where to even begin, because podcasts are generalized information, then I invite you to schedule a call with me where we can craft a plan for your specific life and needs

I’m really really really good at slowly progressing people to go from where they are right now, which is usually not very healthy and not very responsible to actually taking care of yourself and knowing how to do so and wanting to do so

As always, the link to my calendar is in the show notes

But back to your healthy foundation.. You absolutely, 100% guaranteed, will not live a happy or successful life without this

The first stop on the Own Your Life journey that I take my clients through is called create and this is where we create your vision, this is what your ideal life looks like and then I create your plan to help you get there

That plan incorporates your different healths and the roles they each play in helping you become the best version of yourself

Consistency is the second stop meaning developing how consistently you are adhering to the habits that are only going to help you move forward and build your confidence in knowing how to continue to do so long after our coaching journey completes

A foundation in your mental, emotional, physical, and nutritional healths means being consistent in your routine, in your decisions, in your values, in the way you show up for yourself – it begins with you being reliable to you

You need this foundation because without it your brain turns to chaos – when you are inconsistent you drop the ball on a lot of things and that results in you getting overwhelmed, stressed out, anxious, uncertain, insecure, and lost

I think i’ve mentioned this analogy before but I’m going to explain it again… let’s say you want a brand new house, you want to move into this house the second you dream of it and want to rush the process so you can start living in this house right away

But you forget that in order to have a nice house that you can live in for forever you need to start from the bottom and literally build your way up

A house will not be able to withstand any storm that comes its way without a solid foundation and structure to hold it up

How we redirect this analogy back to you is that this house you dream of is your vision it’s the better body, it’s loving your career, it’s feeling alive in your life and not like you’re living the same day over and over again, it’s feeling strong in how you show up

The ground that it’s built on, the load bearing walls, the making sure everything is leveled and up to safety code and standards is your solid foundation that will lead to a safe and sturdy house

The storms that it will then be able to withstand are any changes and challenges that comes with life because changes and challenges will come, they are inevitable

Kind of like how you can’t prevent a hurricane or snow storm from hitting your literal house you can’t prevent the universe from flipping your entire world upside down

And then not to mention the upkeep a house requires so that it can continue to withstand these storms, is you continuing to show up for yourself to make sure you are strong enough to handle life’s curveballs and making the renovations that are needed to keep you loving your little house

Basically it’s making it known that you don’t just create a solid foundation and then leave it be, you constantly have to work on it, change it, update it so that it can continue to support you during future tough times

Another factor to consider is when you have a solid foundation in all aspects of your life, you are more inclined to take calculated risks that open other doors for you.. Not spur of the moment reckless decisions, but intentional, yet curious moves in an area you want to level up in

Because you know you have this safe place to come back to and reset yourself and get your mind right, just in case your risk didn’t pan out in the way you hoped

Or because the risk means change and change also creates chaos in your mind, since it’s something that is new and unfamiliar

So knowing you have your routine to go back to and knowing exactly what that routine is, helps you create stability in an otherwise changing world

It’s also knowing that the routine you create right now will not be the same routine for the rest of your life.. It should be moldable to changing circumstances, but still serves you best

Because life is always going to be changing

And if episode 33 was any indication as to why you should strive for change by leaving your comfort zone, then you know that as humans we were not meant to stay exactly as we are

However your ability to handle both abrupt and planned changes, stems from how you maintain a level head and life and that my friend is your healthy solid foundation

So let’s break down what this can look like and how you can begin setting up your own

I’ve already spoken to you about the importance of sleep in episode 3 and again in episode 31, but I’m going to briefly remind you of it since it doesn’t really fit into a particular health category but will determine the success of you showing up in all three of your healths

Your routine begins with getting regular sleep – going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time every day all seven days of the week

Your sleep quality and quantity will drive your strength the next day both mentally and physically, because when you get good sleep you are then able to make healthier decisions for yourself, have more mental discipline, and have more energy to carry out what it is you need to be doing, which also means your workouts will be better and you’ll be more focused on the tasks at hand

Now everyone is unique in their body’s rest requirements, so while you might need 8 hours of sleep to function like a normal human being, someone else may only need 6 – and that’s okay

That’s actually quite common between men and women.. Women require more sleep than men do solely because of a women’s hormonal cycle

I know I need a lot more sleep and recovery in the week leading up to my cycle and can also get by with less sleep right after my cycle is over

Your age, lifestyle, and overall health also play a significant role in your body’s sleep requirement, regardless of gender

But once you get your sleep in check you can move into solidifying your three healths since your circadian rhythm is now consistent

Starting with your physical health simply because on a psychological level you are more likely to make better choices on the days you move your body and while it sounds counterintuitive your workout will leave you energized to be able to do more tasks – providing you didn’t murder yourself in the gym

So if you are leaving your gym feeling depleted.. You might need to take a look at what you’re doing and why you’re exercising because chances are you are using exercise as form of punishment or if you have a competitive nature and take group classes it might be time to change your form of exercise

It’s one thing to not love the way you look and want to workout to change that and it’s another thing to hound your body because you don’t like the way you look

And i’ll make an episode diving into cardio versus resistance training but I’m going to tell you right now that cardio is not going to help you get the body you want but cardio will deplete you of your energy levels in a way that is not going to be conducive to carrying out the rest of your day

So if you’re doing a cardio workout and then feel the need to go lay down on the couch after.. Or the floor and it takes a lot to get you to think about getting back up then that’s your sign that your workout is not actually benefiting you

If you don’t know how to get started with resistance training, I made a weightlifting guide that will be linked in the show notes

It’s free and will be a pdf sent to you with youtube links, pictures, and explanations 

It also will help you get over the gymtimidation since you’ll walk in with a plan and you can do the exercises with dumbbells so while you’re resting in between sets you can look around the gym and watch what other people are doing and feel a little more confident in what you’re doing

But also know that you can have a full workout using just dumbbells – I hardly ever use machines and I hardly ever put clients on machines because you really don’t need them to have an effective workout

Machines are good for targeting one muscle which is primarily used by bodybuilders or someone recovering from an injury or even protecting an injury, so if you don’t fall into those categories then don’t worry about needing to learn or trying to use the machines

A healthy foundation in your physical health starts with being realistic with what you’re currently doing and then getting an idea of what you want to be doing that you can sustainably keep up with

If you’re someone who isn’t working out at all right now and has a goal of 5 days a week.. Start with 1 full body day a week and if you go three weeks in a row, add another full body day, repeat, then add a third full body so think of it as an A and B workout that you alternate while you build the consistency

Once you feel solid with three days a week then you can go to four and have two upper and two lower body days 

And day five can be your choice, that can be a cardio day, full body, or an additional upper or lower

This is for those of you listening who want to be in the gym alone.. However the same mentality also applies to group fitness classes, where you start with one and slowly build on it

Honestly, the general population does not need to workout more than 3 times a week and for an hour or two hours at a time

This was a hard pill for me to swallow since I was a 6 or even 7 day a week girly, but I was also younger and my body was more resilient to the stress I put on it

As I got older and as my career changed to having me on my feet and moving around a lot more, I needed to dial it back a lot since I was having adverse effects with additional inflammation and soreness

Listening to your body is so important otherwise you’re not going to be progressing towards your physique goals since you’re letting your harsh self talk get in the way of what your body is trying to communicate

Oh and if you only have enough time for a 15 minute movement session then commit to that and start with that you can always do more

Actually, even 5 minutes is enough to get you started.. From the time I’m recording this episode I was at a going away party over the weekend and some of the people there go to the gym I do 1:1 training at so we were talking about their workouts and such

There was a guy standing in the circle and he was saying that he knows he should lift weights but just can’t bring himself to get to his apartment gym because fear was holding him back

I talked to him about what he could do to begin overcoming that fear and my advice was to make a plan to just be in that room for 5 minutes

Those 5 minutes could be spent on the treadmill and looking around, it could be stretching on the floor, it could be picking up dumbbells and doing one exercise, but lower the expectation that you have to be in there for the quote unquote right amount of time

Since it’s new and you need to first get over the intimidation you feel just by being there and then you can build on it every time, so this time it’s 5 minutes, the next day maybe it’s 6 minutes and so and so forth

But be consistent in just showing up

Figuring out when you’ll be the most consistent is also a crucial component to building this foundation.. Statistically speaking, those who workout in the morning are the most consistent because life doesn’t get in the way in the morning

Whereas by afternoon/evening a social event could pop up, or a work call goes late, or you had a stressful day and just want to go home and you’re more inclined to say yes to the fun thing or the relaxing thing rather than the gym

In part because your mental discipline is very low by the end of the day and energy levels are down too so the thought of doing more sounds terrible

Which is also where I want to re-enter, the fact that your workouts should provide you with energy not deplete you, to the chat

Also when you workout in the morning you are more likely to make healthier nutritional decisions throughout the day because you already did one healthy thing for yourself to kickstart your day

Which brings me to healthy foundation number 2: nutritional health 

Nutritional health is what you’re eating for your unique body and not because society has deemed it as healthy

All of our bodies respond to food differently and knowing what makes you feel lethargic or bloated or energized and ready to go is going to be important when creating your solid foundation

For example, avocados are an extremely healthy fat to eat… however, avocados make me bloat to the point where I look seven months pregnant so they are not healthy for me to eat for my unique body

Similar to your workouts, something to consider is that your meals should not make you feel like you need to go lay down, they should serve you in a way that keeps you satisfied and not overly full that you can carry on with the task at hand or the next thing you need to do

When you fuel yourself properly, you’re able to sleep better, feel better, regulate your emotions better, recover better, and look better

The right foods are filled with nutrients that you need for all of the benefits I just mentioned and more

So if you’re skipping meals, eating out for more than half of your meals, and/or not eating enough throughout the day, then you are doing yourself a disservice

I’ll have every client send me pictures of what they eat every day for a whole week when we first begin working together and again later in our journey and what usually happens is we make swaps or add in nutrient dense foods at first and somewhere along the way they fall off but still believe they are eating well

For example, I had a client say she ate chicken for dinner but the chicken was fried chicken fingers with french fries

That’s not the same as making yourself chicken for dinner at home

So while yes, technically she was eating chicken, there is better chicken out there for her health goals

I’ve also had a client tell me she was eating more protein and when she sent pictures it was like half of what she needed to be eating, but I was going by her word that she was eating more protein

** clear throat an egg or deli meat in your sandwich does not count as more protein

How your foundation looks in regards to your nutritional health is entirely up to you.. My two cents is to start with cooking yourself dinner twice a week, if you aren’t already doing so, especially to my females listening who are also on tiktok and let girl dinner become a personality trait

Girl dinner does not suffice – you need an actual meal with a protein, a vegetable, and a carb

When you cook for yourself you are fully in control of all of the ingredients going into your body, and besides, meals do not need to be some overly complicated gourmet meal 

You need like 4-5 ingredients and that’s it and buy ready made seasoning to simplify things even further

My meals take at most 15 minutes from prep time to done time, because i hate spending time cooking it’s tedious and annoying to me, so I make things as easy and simple as possible, while still making a nutrient dense meal

Like my go to meal is chicken pasta and either green beans or broccoli then add dairy free pesto and cheese and it’s done and delicious 

On that topic is you need to be eating three meals a day, full meals, and hitting your protein targets which would be 1 gram per pound of your ideal body weight

If all of that sounds like too much right now, then focus on whole foods and do not buy yourself processed foods or if you do stick to one serving of it so not a family bag of chips but a vending machine bag of chips

The whole foods hold the nutrients you need to live and your body will thank you for feeding itself properly

I haven’t brought this reference up in a while, but remember we have an outdated system in a modern day world

Meaning our bodies respond best when we resort to caveman times as that’s where we evolved from – this is what you’re eating, how you’re moving, and when you’re sleeping

If you’re confused, stick to the basics, try not to have artificial light surrounding you well after the sun goes down and think about what foods were naturally available before technology existed

Things like fruits, vegetables, potatoes, and meats, things that were grown or killed for food

Not deep fried, not prepackaged, not artificial, not able to be stored for over a year

But also know that you can freeze meats and veggies so they last longer and you’re not letting food go to waste

And what you’ll come to find is that when you eat better you’ll realize how much worse you feel when you do eat the foods that are manufactured

Right now you’re so used to eating poorly that it’s become your normal, so yes it’s going to be a challenge at first and it might not taste that good as your palette has adapted to the junk you’ve been feeding it

But you’ll find that if you stick to it long enough, you’ll start to crave the healthy foods, the home cooked meals, the fruits and veggies, and eating poorly won’t sound enticing anymore

Remember your foundation is the place you build up from, so start with some swaps here and there and grow from that point

There are a couple of different avenues you can take when it comes to building your nutritional health, but you have to start somewhere

Consistency in your physical and nutritional healths will immensely impact your mental health because now you’re actually giving it a chance to thrive

Exercising makes you smarter because your brain has to focus on the task at hand and learn a new skill

And nutrition feeds your body so you can go exercise

Both of those things together make you feel mentally strong as you develop the evidence that you can do hard things

However, there are tactics you can do to improve your mental health that don’t involve food and movement

These are things I’ve mentioned in the past like affirmations, gratitude practices, and journaling and then there’s additional ones that require more effort on you to incorporate or change like your self talk and your social media habit

The very first episode I made was on your negative self talk and that has a serious impact on the way you view yourself, your life, and the world around you

This is where you routine plays a major role so you feel mentally strong as often as you can and know that you have this place to come back to for the times when you don’t feel that strong

It’s been a minute since i’ve said this but your beliefs create your experiences and your experiences confirm your beliefs

So the words you say to yourself, the thought processes you have, the stories you are conjuring up in your mind will direct your focus to proving yourself right

As in you’ll unintentionally go searching for all of the reasons as to why you’re negative thoughts are correct

The good thing is that the reverse of that is also true, for example, believing there’s abundance all around you and then searching for the abundance as proof

Abundance in love, in sunshine, in money, in happiness, rather than abundance in everything you don’t have

Your mental health is also impacted by your sleep schedule and drinking habits, in fact they are very related to one another because the more you drink the worse sleep quality you get, and the more stressed out you’re going to end up only driving you to drink even more since that’s the coping mechanism you developed

I probably don’t need to tell you this, but your mental health is so important – it quite literally will change the entire outlook of your life

When you have a solid foundation in this area you are more resilient to handle changes, more inclined to take risks that lead to better outcomes, and have an overall higher quality of life because you see things more positively

People want to be around positive people so your relationships will be healthier, you’ll be more sure of yourself and who you want surrounding you and set boundaries that support you and continue to protect your mental health

Basically, if you haven’t received this message yet from this episode, creating a solid foundation in your three healths of physical, nutritional, and mental, will only lead you to a happier and more prosperous life

But it starts with you prioritizing these areas, really taking your time to continually improve them, so you can take risks, develop confidence, and live a life that makes sense for you

I seriously cannot stress how important this episode topic is, but again, start somewhere, do something this week that sends you off in the right direction, so you can confidently say you are on top of your shit

You’d be surprised at all of the doors that will open up for you as a result

And to remind you again, if you need help creating your solid foundation, this is one of the many many things I help my clients with and I would love to help you too

My information, my email, the link to schedule a call, everything is always in the show notes, so please do yourself a favor and take some time out of your day to chat with me

Otherwise, this concludes another episode of how to twenty-something, if you liked what you heard, if some part of this episode stood out to you, or if you know someone that needs help with their solid foundation then please pass this podcast along or share it on social media and tag me when you do!

And as always, I can’t wait to be in your headphones next week with another brand new episode