How to break the cycle of negative health culture

It feels like we can’t escape it, green bowls on instagram, your best mate going on a health kick and functional gyms sprouting up everywhere these days. The modern day health culture we are exposed to seems to dominate our lives in some way, shape, or form. We are either fixated on how healthy we are being or how we could and should be healthier. Why has something so crucial to our existence ‘health’ become such a convoluted, confused, and unattainable area for so many?

(Yes, it’s not just you struggling. This is universal)

There are a couple of key reasons why there is a negative health culture sprouting in our society and we want to combat it with these helpful tips.

Set the bar LOWER

See that bar, way up in the distance? That is your bar that you set too high and now can’t reach. When people think of health they think runs every morning at 5am, raw salad bowls every day and meditating for an hour each day. This however is not the reality of what true health looks like, not even close.

True health is underwhelming in the best kind of way. It is about generally feeling good, not exceptionally mindblowing. Eating well, not perfect to the point of anxiety. Moving when you need it, not because you have to reach the top of the leader board. Feeling in control, not allowing our ego to high five us each morning cause we ‘nailed the whole health thing’.

We set the bar high because we are told to but really, who actually lives like this?!

..and if you can think of that one person at work who is ‘killing it’ in health they are probably (but not always) one of the most uptight people you know who aren’t truly enjoying and understanding health.

Tip: Write down your version of true health then cut it in half. Half as hard, double the likelihood of you achieving it.

Expand your definition of health

Eat well and exercise. Eat well and exercise. Eat well and exercise. Yes, those two ideas have been drilled into our heads for far too long. For most, we associate health with these two and two only factors. Period. What we may not know is that there are other factors that are equally important in keeping us healthy.

When health is actually the sum of multiple parts:

1. What we eat

2. How we move

3. Rest

4. Love and spirituality

5. Social and connection

6. Fulfilment in your daily ventures

Don’t take this advice lightly guys. You can spend time with friends and it’s good for your health. You can stay that 30 minutes extra at the beach to watch the sunset and that’s health too. You can tell your boss what you need to keep you satisfied at work and yep, that’s going to keep you healthy too.

So scrap that notion of ‘I’ve got to eat better and get back to the gym’ and make things easier by focusing on all aspects of health each day.

Tip: mind map these 6 areas. Where do you direct your energy and can you see any areas that may need slight tweaking to make you happier and thus healthier?

Stop superimposing someone else version of health onto yours

We all need advice about our health here and there however with the growing trend towards getting that advice from social media we often find ourselves lost in someone elses version of health.

Be your own person, know what you do and don’t need, follow your INTUITION. If a plan doesn’t quite suit you then adjust it. Be creative, have fun and enjoy health. It’s not here to make us unhappy, it’s genuinely an enjoyable part of life. In clinical practice I guide my patients towards their version of health, not prescribe a blueprint.

Eg. Instead of saying go to the gym every dayI may say come up with a list of 10 exercises you genuinely like and rotating between them each fortnight leaving time for rest.

You are unique just as the next person is so wouldn’t it make sense if you tailored your health to suit you? So if we stop listening to the ‘culture’ surrounding us and start focusing in perhaps health will find us.

Tip: Continually be critiquing your health and how you manage it. If something isn’t working for you then adjust to suit. Basically if it’s not fun, stop it. Seriously!

Remove all labels

“I’m not healthy” “I need to be healthier” “Next week I’ll eat healthy” “I wish I was healthier” All these labels are not necessary because health is not a static state. You don’t have it or not have it. Health is in a constant flux of change, taking into consideration our physical environment, emotional state, life events, access to health and more generally life happening to us.

It’s time to stop throwing tantrums and giving up by denouncing your health. Just stop using labels and remove the pressure off the situation. Instead focus on educating yourself on your best options given your unique situation.

Make changes in a manner that suits you

Start setting realistic, well rounded and personalised goals that suit a timeframe that makes sense to you. There is no need to transform overnight, you can make small incremental shifts over a year or two if you would like.

So the good news is guys, without all the negative talk around the culture of health, it’s actually not that hard. Be you, do it in your own way and remove those unnecessary expectations you have weighing you down. Then it becomes a way of life not an unachievable goal!

Author

Jennifer Ward, Adv dip Nat, BCom Econ, Masters Repro Med (studying)

Jennifer is a qualified naturopath with a focus on fertility, pregnancy, hormonal imbalances.

Learn more about Jennifer here

Book a session with Jennifer here

To learn more about health tips or for speaking enquires on this topic get in touch at [email protected]