Episode 134: Reality vs Perceptions: Doing A Self-Audit and Getting Back to Basics
In this week’s episode, we examine realities vs perceptions when it comes to how we’re consistent with the basics of health and wellness.
Are your daily habits matching what you think they are, or what you want them to be?
You’ll hear me discuss:
What the basics of health and wellness are
Why it's important to do self-audits and assess how consistent you are with them
How attending to these simple, but often overlooked practices can resolve health concerns
And you’ll hear me share my experiences and challenges with each of them.
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Episode 077: The Pros and Cons of Blue Light and How to Get Quality Sleep
Episode 131: Reclaiming Holistic Wisdom Through Embodiment and Clarification
CONNECT WITH NAOMI:
SHARE THE EPISODE:
“Before going down the path of what diet to follow, what supplements to take, what labs you need, let’s take a step back and assess our current diet and daily habits. What’s your lifestyle currently like? Do a self-audit. Because if you haven’t yet addressed the basic fundamentals of health, should you really be trying to tackle the more advanced stuff?”
Read the Episode Transcript:
Hello my friend, and welcome back to The Live FAB Life Podcast! I’m your host, Naomi Nakamura and I’m so happy to be back here with you this week!
So, to get started, let me ask you a few questions:
Have you ever tried a new way of eating, perhaps to lose some weight, or for self-healing purposes, or just to feel more energized and healthier? Maybe it something like the ketogenic diet, or eating Low FODMAPS to address IBS and digestion issue, or Whole 30 in January?
Or, maybe, you’ve recently learned that you have a health issue or problem and you find yourself trying to learn and absorb all the information that you can on how to best eat to support your health and heal yourself. But it’s not as cut and dry as it seems, especially you have multiple issues. And you’re finding that what’s recommended for thyroid disorders contradicts what’s recommended for adrenal fatigue.
It’s just too much and the more you read, the more you’re feeling confused, overwhelmed, and frustrated.
And that doesn’t even begin to include how you’re actually going to switch to the recommended way of eating if you ever figure out what that should be, because it’s quite a change from the way your typically eat.
I think at some point or another, we’ve all felt this way.
I know that over the years, I’ve felt overwhelmed by all the advice - what diet to follow, what supplements to take, how to time my supplements with my meals, what lab tests do I need, who can order them for me, what will my insurance cover?
It’s a lot.
And it just adds to the stress that your body is already under - the stress that’s making you sick.
I know many of us, especially those who of us who are health coaches, have lived this experience in our own health and healing journeys.
And its VERY easy to get caught up in it.
But how about we slow things down, pause, take a deep breath and back things up. That’s one of the phrases that was drilled into me during my studies at the Functional Nutrition Alliance.
We have to back things up.
Before going down the path of what diet to follow, what supplements to take, what labs you need, let’s take a step back and assess our current diet and daily habits. What’s our lifestyle currently like?
Take a self-audit.
Because if you haven’t yet addressed the basic fundamentals of health, should you really be trying to tackle the more advanced stuff. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.
So what are the basic fundamentals?
Removing processed foods and sugar from your diet and eating an anti-inflammatory diet. Stay hydrated Getting plenty of restful sleep Allowing time for rest and relaxation Being a part of a supportive community
Let’s spend a few minutes on each of these, shall we?
#1 - Your diet
There is always going to be the “latest” diet - what’s in right now? From Keto to vegetarian to celery juice to even weird ones like the cabbage diet.
It’s all so complicated, isn’t it? Well of course it is, because unlike what mass media would like us to believe, not every diet is meant for every person! How could it be when we’re all unique - made of up different DNA, different lifestyles, and different influences.
So to think there is one single diet that’s right for everyone isn’t plausible.
So how are you supposed to know, how you should eat?
If we’re starting with the basics, then that means removing sugar and processed foods from your diet. That applies to everyone - whether you’re a carnivore, vegetarian, pescatarian…
There is zero nutritional value in processed foods and sugar.
In addition, processed foods heavy in carbs like pasta, rice, grains eventually turn to sugar, which means, although it may not be soda or sweet treat, will also have an impact on your blood sugar.
This may sound like I’m advocating for a low-carb or no-carb diet, but I’m not. I strongly advocate carbs from starchy vegetables like potatoes, beets, carrots, root vegetables, etc. Whole food carbs are much better than processed carbs.
Another reason to avoid processed foods is they typically contain hydrogenated oils, which are definitely NOT good for you, or your complexion!
As some of you may know, I’m also an independent consultant with Beautycounter, a safer skincare brand, and if there’s one piece of advice I can give you to improve the health of your skin is to avoid junky oils - and sugar!
What this all means is that when it comes to getting back to basics for your diet, focus on eating real, whole foods, cutting out sugar and junky oils, and when you do so, you’ll find yourself naturally leaning towards an anti-inflammatory diet, which is universally good for everyone!
#2 - Stay hydrated
Water is the source of life, isn’t it?
I don’t know about you, but it is very easy for me to unknowingly and unintentionally become de-hydrated, especially when I’m caught up in a busy workday!
But staying hydrated is essential because water has an important function in the body. Not only does it remove waste and toxins, but its also a carrier, bringing nutrients to our cells.
So how much water should we be drinking every day?
That’s going to fluctuate with each person’s individual needs. as well as the conditions on each day, meaning, on hot and humid days, when you’re working out, and even at higher altitudes, your body naturally need more water.
Some people don’t enjoy drinking water, so a few ways to make it more “interesting” is to add some lemon, and maybe even a pinch of cayenne pepper, which helps support your digestive system, or even adding a pinch of salt to add electrolytes - that would be ideal on hot and humid days, as well as during and after a workout.
I also like to add fresh cucumber slices or berries to spruce things up!
If you’ve never paid attention to how much water you’re drinking, or suspect you might not be drinking enough water, there’s plenty of apps you can download to your phone to help you track and even send reminders to help you stay hydrated!
#3 - Prioritizing Sleep
Getting consistent quality sleep is essential for optimal health. Yet it’s become the norm to forego sleep in favor of work, Netflix, scrolling on our phones, and all this does is put extra stress on our bodies.
For some people, myself included, prioritizing sleep is the most single most important thing we can do for our health - even more important than cleaning up our diet!
Yet, sometimes, even with the best efforts, sleep still alludes us.
As far back as I can remember, even as a kid, I’ve never been a good sleeper. I’ve always been an early riser, which means that if I stay up even a little later than my normal bedtime, it impacts my sleep because I always wake up at the same time, no matter what. I’m like Kramer from Seinfeld - my natural body alarm clock is strong - I don’t need to set an alarm to wake up, my body automatically does it on its own.
I won’t get into details on my personal sleep challenges here because I’ve done so in Episodes 077 and 078. It’s something that I have to continually work on, especially through deep introspection which I’m currently doing through the embodiment work that I discussed in Episode 131.
But the point I want to make is that as a society, we de-value sleep and that has to change. Sleep directly impacts our stress levels, our hormones, and our entire system, so if we want to feel better, we have to do a better job at prioritizing it.
#4 - Making Time for Rest and Relaxation
Okay, confession time - I am the worst, or I have been the worst at making time for rest and relaxation.
Being a Type A person, I’d never allowed myself any “downtime.” There is ALWAYS something that needs to be done on my to-do list. Between a full-time job in tech, a side hustle as a health coach, a podcast host, a Beautycounter consultant and mentor, a friend, family member, dog mom - I was always on the move.
And then my body would break down as if to force me to remember that I need to slow down and relax - take some time to chill and rest. And then guilt would set in that I was “wasting time” and not being very productive and so it was this never-ending cycle of go-go-go and then burnout.
Over the past six months to a year, I have really made an effort to make time for rest and relaxation, but it wasn’t until we went into shutdown during this COVID pandemic, that I put some serious thought and effort into making this a priority.
After learning my Human Design, and my energy type as a Projector, as well a having a natal chart reading, I’m learning how I can best incorporate rest and relaxation in a way that works for me.
As a Projector, I’ve learned that my energy naturally comes in ebbs and flows and I need to lean into and go with that flow to be the most productive and put forth my best work.
I’ve also learned that routines don’t really work for me, which is a relief because I feel like I’ve been struggling my entire life to force myself to stick to routines, when in fact, it doesn’t have to be the same things all the time.
Instead of routines, rituals work better for me. So when it comes to rest and relaxation, I recently started ritual where I give myself a minimum of 10-min every afternoon for some type of rest and relaxation. Some days that’s lying down and doing nothing. Other days that’s letting myself read a book for 10-minutes. Or calling a friend on the phone to catch up. On other days, it turns into a 2-hour nap. But its something every day, and since starting this ritual, I feel a difference in my nervous system and my overall energy. It’s helping me release that “need to / have to” mindset I’ve been working on that I talked about in Episode 131.
#5 - Being A Part of A Supportive Community
And lastly, being a part of a supportive community.
All humans need to feel, love, safety and belonging, as was discussed in Episode 128. It’s inherent to our needs as humans.
Communities can be families, circles of friends, colleagues, social clubs, a neighborhood - something that we feel a part of.
But sometimes, while we may be a part of such communities, we still struggle with loneliness.
And if there’s ever a time when loneliness has been strongly felt, it’s during a pandemic when we’ve all been forced into quarantine life.
While I’m connected daily to my family, friends, colleagues through the phone, the internet, social media, I’ve sheltered in place alone for months and went weeks and weeks without interacting with other human beings in person, other than waving hello to a neighbor from a distance.
Thank goodness for Coco Pop, my dog! I’ve never been more grateful to have her for company!
And what I’ve come to learn during this experience is that I really undervalued and underappreciated being a part of a community, especially one that meets in person.
That being said, I’m so lucky to have supportive communities in my life, with individuals who have reached out and checked in on me and reminded me that I’m not alone. And I’m forever grateful for them.
And I want you to know that you aren’t alone. Yes, we’re all living a different life during this pandemic, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t still be a part of a community, or create one of your own as well.
So to recap:
Eating an anti-inflammatory diet Staying hydrated Prioritizing sleep Making time for rest and relaxation Being a part of a supportive community
And of course, moving your body, whether it be through walks, yoga, dancing, running, swimming, or workouts, these are the back-to-basic essentials to health and wellness.
Now its time for a self-audit. Have any of these things slipped in quarantine?
These things are so basic, that its easy, even for those of us who are health practitioners, to let these things slide. I know I have.
It’s an ongoing effort to continue to make sure I practice these things.
And before I go looking for magic supplements and advanced lab testing, or even complex diets, I better make sure that these things are already in regular, consistent practice, because sometimes, just doing these basic essentials, can clear up whatever health issue we’re dealing with - and those advanced things might not be so needed.
Something to think about this week.
And I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Leave a comment on the show notes for this episode at www.livefablife.com/134, or come find me on Instagram at @livefablifewithnaomi.
That’s it for now, as always, thank you so much for being here and I’ll see you right back here again next week!
Naomi Nakamura is a Functional Nutrition Health Coach. She helps passionate, ambitious high-achievers who are being dragged down by fatigue, burnout, sugar cravings, poor sleep, unexplained weight issues, and hormonal challenges optimize health, find balance, and upgrade their energy so they can do big things in this world.
Through her weekly show, The Live FAB Live Podcast, programs, coaching, and services, she teaches women how to optimize their diet, support their gut health, reduce their toxic load, and improve their productivity, bringing work + wellness together.
Naomi resides in the San Francisco Bay Area and can often be found exploring the area with her puppy girl, Coco Pop!
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