Hyper-vigilance and Imbalance

All too often when we're trying to be 'good' and eat better and change our unhealthy habits we can go into the extreme thinking that drives us into the on again off again mentality. I've always coached people towards a lifestyle that I can personally live up to. Everyone needs a personalized lifestyle strategy that takes into account their current work load, family structure, ideological beliefs (vegan, non-vegan) and their outlook on supplementation. I've always prided myself on not being one of those fitness freaks that carries an air of judgement towards regular folks just trying to be healthier. I've NEVER wanted to elevate myself as someone who has it all together and looks down on people struggling with their personal challenges.

I've spent the last several months exploring some new methodologies that involve more supplementation than I've ever gotten behind before unless I was under the care of a naturopath. I've never believed that more and more pills are the answer to our health issues. In the last couple years I've even started to steer clear of naturopaths who dole out an arm load of pills, like 'mini-meds', that is, mini-medical doctors. I recently tested out a naturopath myself to ensure if I refer people to her, she won't prescribe a load of pills. I can't keep up the 18 pill a day routine for long and I don't think other regular folks can too.

Balancing our lifestyle starts with balancing our thinking towards ourselves and our choices. Striving for perfection in our eating leads to even more imbalance emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. Taking 18 pills/vitamins a day can increase our current stress load. I always ask myself when giving people advice, "Can they maintain this in the long term".

LIFE BALANCE IS A FUNCTION OF HOW WE HANDLE STRESS. HYPER-VIGILANCE INCREASES OUR INTERNAL STRESS AND TENSION WHICH GETS US EVEN MORE OUT OF BALANCE.

If you hire a personal trainer/health coach who is designing a lifestyle/supplementation/nutritional plan who can't follow their own advice in terms of their lifestyle, chances are they are giving you something YOU can't maintain. You want to hire someone who can walk the talk. You want someone to lead by inspiration and be a reminder that IT can be done. The last thing you need is getting trapped into the on-the-wagon off-the-wagon thinking that 85% of the population buys into (85% of the population doesn't get enough exercise). Labeling our behaviours as GOOD and BAD only gives us more ammunition to beat ourselves up and give us more of an excuse to eat more crapola. If you're off-the-wagon then you will be GOOD another day and make excuses to indulge even more until you decide to be good again...instead of living in the moment and making conscious choices day by day.

So if you're coach is living in this on again off again approach to being healthy, then he/she hasn't discovered what finding life balance is all about. It starts with our thinking and our overall paradigm towards life. Perfectionism is impossible. Guilt trips from other people or self-imposed drive us further away from life-balance. And 18 pills a day is going to have little impact ESPECIALLY if it's part of a program that involves hyper-vigilance towards perfect eating and no freakin' balance between what we label GOOD and BAD.

So please be on notice that I do not stand for coaching perfection especially if I, myself, can't live up to my own advice and definitely if it's not something people can realistically maintain and leads to the self-flagellation most people (especially women) don't need more of.

Jane