I have a bit of a checklist I tick off each day for my health.

R = Real Food – Aim for at least 80% of my daily diet to be unprocessed, ideally more. I’m a work in progress.  I try to think and eat outside the box!

E – Exercise daily – 30 minutes at least  I’ve got the cardio sorted but am falling short with my stretching. Might need to try something new ….maybe yoga!

S – Sleep well – 8-9 hours of sleep. I ideally need 9 to function well

U – UV/Vitamin D – 10-15 minutes of morning sunlight with as many body surfaces exposed to the sun as possible – usually arms, legs and face! if a bit of sun exposure is not possible I take a Vitamin D supplement.

L – Laughter – As often as possible!!! It’s the best medicine …apart from chocolate in my opinion

T – Time out – Aim for 30 minutes, usually to meditate, read or watch my guinea pigs eating non stop!

S – Stress Less – If I’ve had a bit of a stressful busy day I make a conscious effort to de-stress by taking a bath, meditating, listening to music or one of my favourites….. doing TRE – Trauma Release

Exercise!

© Jane O’Brien 2016   – Recipe for Health – RESULTS

So what do you do to manage/improve  your health?

One of the things I’ve had to come to terms with as part of my journey with illness is the heightened phases of uncertainty. I can feel well when I wake up in the morning and by the afternoon be flat on my back. It makes planning ahead a real challenge, but I try not to let it hold me back. I book in appointments and social outings and hope I’ll be able to make them. If I do it’s a real sense of achievement. Psychologically it can be challenging dealing with a heightened sense of uncertainty. I’ve learnt if I focus as much as I can “in the moment” I cope much better. It’s when I start to look ahead and think “what if” or reflect back to what’s happened in the past that I start to feel a bit stressed. So when I find my mind wandering to the past or the future I make a conscious effort to remind my self to focus on the moment I’m in. It helps keep me calm and centred. Another other thing I do when I’m feeling like things are a bit out of control is to make more of an effort than usual to ensure I build some relaxing activities into my day. It may just be something as simple as reading a book in the sun on my deck, anything to help distract me from my health concerns. Also given that I’m not usually one to be short of a word, a good chat to offload about how I’m feeling often works wonders too. Thankfully I have a bunch of people in my world who are more than willing to listen when things are a bit tough. Nothing like a good chat over a cuppa with someone who lifts you up rather than drags you down. So what do you do to cope with uncertain times  i.e. when you feel like your health is a bit out of control?

Hi everyone, thanks so much for visiting my blog. I’m looking forward to sharing some of the  Light Bulb Moments I’ve had and continue to have about health along this journey that’s life. I hope whether you’re in good health or not so good health that you find these tips in some way relevant and useful. Given that I’m a work in progress, and feel like I’m only scratching the surface of health knowledge, I look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas on what helps you chug along with your health. So please feel free to join in the conversation.

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Embrace the simple things & stay well!   

Cheers!

Jane