Here are the three components of whole health and ways you can start integrating these into your daily routine and improve your health. The three components of whole health are:
- Mindset
- Nutrition
- Exercise/physical movement
If you’re like me, many of you may struggle not just with weight loss or trying to achieve that ideal physique you dream of, but also lack of energy, and maybe not feeling the way you want to; struggling with depression or just feeling disconnected to yourself. While I started off hyper-focused on losing weight, ultimately, I learned the key to better and whole health lies in these three components. Whole health includes not just “physical fitness” or health of the body, it also includes your mindset.
I started my whole health journey with a simple mission: lose 70 pounds and get to my pre-baby weight. In my mind, that was the answer to all my problems. I thought if I could just lose that weight, I’d magically love my body, have more energy, and live happily ever after. When I was in my twenties, I reached what I thought was my ideal weight. Problem was, even at the lowest weight and smallest size I’d ever been, I still hated looking in the mirror. I still picked myself apart. I still struggled with self-worth and depression. Getting to a certain number on the scale and certain size in clothing hadn’t magically made me feel better. And, because my mindset still wasn’t right and my focus was entirely on being skinny, I was not exactly what I’d call wholly healthy.
Over the years my weight went up and down. I reached my goal for my wedding, but still struggled with mindset and didn’t really care about health. It was all about my weight. After I had my first-born, got back to my pre-baby weight; but it was still the same. The pattern repeated after I had my second child as well. And, after my third child was born, there I was at 38 years old, the heaviest I’d ever been, depressed, and overwhelmed. I’d tried a million different things and none of them worked. Eventually, I found a program and started it, again, my main focus being weight loss. But there was another component to that program that proved a game changer for me. As I have continued along my own health journey, I have found these three components are what make the difference.
So, you may have noticed that earlier I listed three components being:
- Mindset
- Nutrition
- Physical movement/exercise
It is not by accident I put them in this order. Mindset is first. Why is this the most important of the three? Because, you can lose all the body fat you want or you can get into that certain size jeans, but if your inner dialogue to yourself is not positive, if you are critical of your body all the way to that weight, reaching that number on the scale or size jeans will not make any difference.
I don’t know about you, but my inner dialogue – I call it my beast, is horrible. I would tear myself to shreds in front of the mirror. Sometimes, I’d get to tears just getting dressed. Now how do you think my day would go after that? How do you think I was feeling walking through life? Yet, it never even occurred to me to 1, pay attention to it, and 2, change it.
Through various programs I’ve done, and books I’ve read, I learned to start paying attention to it. I was asked to ask myself, would I ever say the stuff I say to myself to my daughter? And that hit me like a punch in the gut and it just clicked. How can you feel happy or confident in your body if you are picking it apart all the time? You can’t. And, yet, so many of us do this!
This also transcends into the exercise and food aspect of “weight loss” or body transformation journeys. This sort of mindset leads to punishing ourselves through diet and exercise. And, I don’t think most of us ever realize that’s what we’re doing. For example, if I had a bad weekend, eating “off plan,” I would go into extreme calorie deficit that week and I’d increase intensity of my workouts. If you think about it, I was punishing myself for not eating perfectly through deprivation of food and extremes in exercise. I thought I was being disciplined. But the more I learned about mindset and how we talk to ourselves, I eventually started to realize that it was also manifesting itself in how I was approaching reaching my goals.
So, one of the first changes to make to shift your mindset is what I like to call speaking life to yourself. Look in the mirror and tell yourself you are beautiful. Tell yourself you love your body. Tell yourself you look great. There are thousands of affirmations you can start saying to yourself. Find two or three to start with and start saying them every day as many times a day as you can remember. Yes, this will feel weird and you might even resist it at first. I know I did. But, I’m telling you, you start doing this, along with the other two components (because they are actions that will subconsciously back up your words), you will be amazed at how things start to change. Another important shift in mindset is from focusing on losing weight (or maybe gaining weight if that’s your goal) is from your driving force being a certain size or number on the scale to improving your health and physical fitness. Shift your focus to being your healthiest and taking care of your body and the rest will follow.
Now, the second component: nutrition. Have you ever seen that meme floating around over the years and it’s like two pictures and one is the gym and the second is like the fridge and it says how most people think working out is the most difficult part of body transformation, but really, the nutrition is the hardest part. Many also say that “fitness” is 80% food and 20% exercise (and some add that it’s 100% in the mind). I couldn’t agree with the notion that it is 100% in the mind, because a lot of it is the mind over matter principle. It’s keeping your focus on why you are doing this and what is motivating you when it gets challenging.
You may have also heard the phrase abs are made in the kitchen. When it comes to actual fat loss or body composition this is so true. You can spend hours in the gym doing the most; but if your diet is 70% fast food or processed food, too much sweets, drinking a lot of calories, your exercise efforts are almost for not. Yes, there’s other ways exercise is good for you, but if you’re not fueling your body properly, it’s going to show. I love the concept of fueling the body, because ultimately that is what makes the difference and where you will see your body change. Think about a car – you can’t put any kind of oil in your car and expect it to drive, right? It’s not so different for your body.
I could could go on and on about nutrition and all the different ways your body is made and receives different nutrients, but that’s another post for another day. The point is, shift your focus from “dieting” to get a result to giving your body the nourishment it needs to function well; because when you are eating based on that, the physique will follow. There is some truth to the old adage that we are what we eat.
Now, I know many folks are averse to the idea of a “diet” or counting calories, tracking, etc. I know, equally, there are many of you who might be addicted to these very things. You know, you’re obsessed with how much your fitbit says you burn in a day, or going 10 calories over your limit, or eating a carb, etc. I certainly have been in both of these groups. So, one of the food approaches I have found to be ideal is very simple, but you have a number of parameters. You don’t need to track everything. Instead, you’re simply eating to fuel. So what does this look like?
Well, here’s the breakdown:
- Lean protein sources, with most if not all meals (lower fat meats, like chicken, turkey, fish, egg whites, etc.).
- Carbohydrates, emphasis on complex carbohydrates. They are not your enemy. Your body needs carbohydrates. (I learned the hard way the damage cutting carbohydrates out of your diet can do.) Opt for complex carbohydrates most of the time. This does not mean you have to completely eliminate simple carbohydrates; just aim for most of your carbohydrate sources to be complex and be mindful of the simple carbohydrates you do consume. For example, white rice and pastas are also good sources of carbohydrates, where there is not much of a case for a bag of candy beyond maybe having a craving for it. Examples of complex carbohydrates are things like whole wheat, brown rice, quinoa, steel cut oatmeal. Aim for at least 3 grams of fiber. Higher fiber content will help keep you full longer.
- Healthy fats. This can include dairy, but be mindful of the fat content and aim for lower fat dairy. This also includes nuts, nut butters, olive oil, avocado.
- Fruits and vegetables. One habit I have built is to always have a vegetable or some vegetables in every meal and at least 2-3 times a day eating raw vegetable. Another good habit to build in is if you feel hungry, go for vegetables to snack on first. If that changes your mind, it’s probably not real hunger. I found out real fast when I first started doing this, that a lot of the times I think I am hungry I’m not. It’s usually boredom or thirst.
- Water. Drink primarily water. Look up benefits of drinking water. There are so many, helping with weight loss being just one. Your body functions better when it is well hydrated. Water mitigates hunger, since thirst is often mistaken for or “feels” like hunger. It cleanses your system, removing toxins from your body. Water is your friend when it comes to trying to lose excess fat and improve your overall health.
So, those are the “rules” if you will with this approach, or at least these are the things your diet includes. In addition to sticking within these foods, you eat to satiation. The idea is getting used to recognizing your body’s cues. You want to learn to get in tune with your body’s hunger and satiation signals so you recognize real hunger as well as when you have eaten enough to satisfy hunger. This will adjust naturally as you continue. If you are sticking with the foods outlined here and you are consistent, you will start to see your body change as well as your energy levels and your mood. Consistency is the key, not perfection. If you eat a cookie, let it go and move on. Don’t turn that into eating the whole box or that ‘might as well eat what I want the rest of the day’ mentality. Just get back on track and keep going.
Last, is exercise. My recommendation if you are just getting started, find something enjoyable. Find someone to go walk with on your lunch break or in the morning after getting the kids to school, or whatever it is. Just find a form of exercise that appeals and do it regularly and consistently. As you get more physically fit, you may find other things sound appealing or you might want to change it up and try other exercises. The key is finding an enjoyable way to move your body. Some form of strength training is also something I highly recommend. There are numerous benefits to it, but it will also help your metabolism to increase your muscle mass. This should not be about torturing yourself or doing the hardest thing you can find so you can get results faster. This should be something that makes you feel better when you’re done. Again, do a little digging on benefits of exercise and you will see the aesthetic results are almost the least of it.
Those are the three components to whole health and some practical things you can do to start integrating them into your life. I’d love to hear some of the ideas you have for applying some of this in your own routine. Please share your thoughts in the comments. Also, if you found this helpful and want to continue the pursuit of faith, fitness, and joy with me, follow Faith Fitness Joy on Facebook and Instagram.