5 steps to finding authentic health and wellness

~Andrea Owen

We can’t escape it. Diets are everywhere. Someone famous is either gaining weight, showing off their new bikini body, or we see their 6 week post-baby perfect body on the cover of a magazine (equipped with a 6-pack and huge nursing boobs) . Oprah seems to be obsessed with weight loss along with the rest of us. It’s really gotten out of hand. I suppose Susan Powder knew what she was talking about with her “Stop the insanity” catch phrase many years ago. I don’t think I can go an hour without seeing some sort of ad either online, on TV or in person for dieting, thinness or dare I say it; the impossible quest for ‘perfection’.

So how do we stop the insanity? We all know that being a healthy weight is important but at times it’s difficult not to get caught up with losing weight (or just wanting to lose weight) because society wants us to or to be a particular weight to just be there, and not for the purpose of being healthy. So here is a list of doable action steps to help you stop the insanity and help you get in shape for yourself, and no one else.

1. Critically think about how much time you spend thinking about food, dieting, exercising and your body. Decide if your thoughts are healthy or overboard. Chances are the thoughts are too much. Just start noticing how much you think about it.
2. Get rid of your scale and your skinny jeans. Seriously. You don’t need either of them. If you struggle with body image (yes, you!) holding on to those jeans you wore 10 years ago are doing nothing but making you feel inadequate. The scale needs to go too. You’ll know when you are getting to a healthy weight so why torture yourself with the scale?
3. Listen to your body carefully. If you’re tired, rest. If you’re hungry, eat something sensible. Your body loves you, so love her back.
4. Get help for your mind on this matter. Either a therapist, life coach, self help books or journaling can all help in getting some needed guidance for authentic health.
5. Get help for your body by hiring a nutritionist (sometimes insurance covers this) and a certified personal trainer. Be selective when you do this, don’t just hire someone because you like their muscles. It isn’t cheap, but if you find someone great, it’s worth every penny!

Andrea Owen is a life coach and speaker. She is passionate about empowering women to value their character and feel beautiful by manifesting respect and love for themselves first and foremost. She holds a B.S. in Kinesiology from California State University San Marcos and personal training certification from the American Council on Exercise. Andrea received professional coach training through The Coaches Training Institute (CTI), the largest in-person coach training school in the world and the only to teach CTI’s ground-breaking Co-Active® model of coaching. Andrea blogs at Live Your Ideal Life. She can be reached at andreaowen@live.com.