My secrets to creating healthy habits that stick!

At one stage or another, most of us have probably wished for a healthy quick fix – “if I wave my magic wand I’ll immediately have vibrant health and less stress in my life.”

I thought this post was warranted after a deep soul share with my youngest daughter earlier this summer.

My 8 year old was really hard on herself while catching up on her summer school refresher work. I used the analogy of climbing a mountain with her. When you first start out any new task or goal it can seem like an uphill battle (the kind where you want to throw in the towel before you really get going).

How we treat ourselves, and I mean our entire being – our body, our skin, and our thoughts are a direct reflection of our health. Just let that sink in for a second.

This is why setting realistic goals or creating baby steps is a must. When you can celebrate your journey with mini achievements along the way it becomes so much more enjoyable and sustainable. And when you hit your ultimate goal as my daughter did with her math work you can look back and see how crucial each baby step was for your success.

The same is true for anyone wanting to develop new healthy living habits. They have to be achievable and sustainable. The real key to cultivating and not just wishing for the life you want is quite a lot simpler than you think. This is why I’m sharing my top secrets (they aren’t really that unique), and then we’ll dive deep into creating healthy habits that stick!

You need a foundation

All good ideas turn into smart ideas with a solid foundation. Think of the foundation as the top ingredient of your favourite recipe. If you are making Guacamole you need avocados right?

Your foundation is literally what makes you YOU. It’s how you THINK, what you EAT, DRINK, your daily MOVEMENT, and your SLEEP.

Wellness can be broken down into many different categories. The categories I listed above have the biggest impact on our overall health and well being, this is why these are the 5 pillars of health I choose to focus on every single day.

Let’s dive deeper into each of these categories so you can get more familiar with how they can support you too.

What you think

Our thoughts create 90% of our stress. Call it what you wish. Compare and Despair, Imposter Syndrome, Negative Nellie, Jealousy – these are all acts of self sabotage and all the green juice you drink won’t matter one little bit if you are out of balance with your thoughts.

This is deep soul stuff. I like to call it soul share. I need you to go deep within and notice your thoughts, especially the thoughts you have about yourself. You have to let go of judgement (of yourself and others).

Cultivating healthy habits to manage stress is absolutely essential as STRESS is the number one cause of disease.

I’m starting with our thoughts because this is exactly what led me down my own path of auto-immune disease, acute stress, chronic fatigue, thyroid complications and ultimately what has helped me the most in my recovery.

As a society we need to be kinder and more compassionate with each other and most importantly ourselves. When you shift your thoughts from a negative viewpoint to one of positivity and optimism you are also learning how to manage stress. Stress management may look different for me than it does for you (meditation, journaling, mindful breaks, tapping etc!). It takes patience and practice. We find what works for you in my Total Wellness program, but as a teaser here’s one of my favourite mantras to say during your next meditation.

“If you can change your thoughts, you can transform your life”.

Now that we’ve talked about your mind body connection, we need to focus on exactly how we eat and drink directly impacts our mind, body and our overall health.

What you eat

“What you eat is a direct reflection on the health of your body, not just today but for your future self”.

Nourishing your body from the inside out is the easiest way to improve your health and healing journey. Love your body by eating an abundance of whole, plant based foods and crowd out junk and processed foods!

You can reduce inflammation, lower your risk of disease and improve your gut, brain and overall health by the foods you eat. Bring joy back to cooking, and trust your inner goddess to guide you with the foods that best serve and nurture you.

There is so much conflicting information about what is the “right” foods to eat, so I want to make this super simple for you. Research shows that eating a plant-based diet full of whole foods is the way to eat. Yet according to the CDC, less than 10% of adults are eating at least 2-3 cups of veggies a day! Honey, if this is you, you are depriving your body from the nutrients it needs to thrive!

A simple step is to add one vegetable to every meal per day. When in doubt eat your greens! Try a simple green smoothie for breakfast, salad at lunch or with dinner and eat your greens! Simple right?

What you drink

My mornings start with a glass of room temperature water and fresh lemon. If I’m out of lemons I use CPTG (certified pure therapeutic grade) essential oils – either lemon, lime, grapefruit, wild orange or tangerine.

Read more about my essential oil passion here.

For mornings when I’ve gotten less than optimal sleep I love to indulge in a matcha latte (with homemade almond or coconut milk) after my glass of lemon water. Don’t get me wrong, you can have a cup of coffee, I just don’t like the side effects. When I was a makeup artist I noticed my hands would tremor from the caffeine so I stopped drinking coffee and enjoyed green tea instead.

Hydration is an absolute must beautiful! And I’m talking good old fashioned H20! If you find swallowing water difficult (lots of people have that difficulty) try sprucing it up by adding a slice of cucumber,  fresh lemon, lime, orange, pineapple, watermelon, mint leaves or your favourite essential oil.

Aim to drink 1/2 your body weight (in pounds) to get the approximate amount of ounces you need per day. If you use a metric scale, divide your weight in kg by 30 to determine how many liters of water you need per day. If you lead a very active lifestyle be sure to drink an extra 8-16 oz.

Tip: If you are thirsty chances are you are already dehydrated. Try keeping a water bottle with you. Wrap 3 rubber bands around it, each time you finish the bottle remove a band. Staying hydrated is essential for your health.

Move your tush!

Hands down my favourite health hack. I’m not saying you need to hit the gym, or run 6 miles every day. I simply mean get up and move your body every single day. Alternate strength conditioning and weight bearing activities with more restorative and healing movements such as a walk in nature or swim in the ocean.

If you’ve never tried a yoga, barre or pilates class give one a try, they are excellent options of low impact movement which strengthen your stabilizer muscles – a necessity for spinal support. (and as I teach both yoga and barre I can attest to the incredible workout they provide. Honey your tush will be so sore the following day). Have a dance party at home. When you are at the park with your kiddos rather than sitting down use the park bench as a prop for push-ups. (Alternate between narrow and wide so you can target your entire upper body.)

If you sit at a desk for more than 5 hours a day, try setting an alarm to get you up and moving. Even if it’s walking down the stairs for a breath of fresh air (be sure to walk back up the stairs whenever you can).

Daily movement is key for optimal health. Exercise supports a healthy heart, increases brain power, decreases stress, depression and anxiety and generally makes you look and feel better.

Rest and Restore – Healthy sleep

Your 5th pillar of wellness is your rest and restore habits. Sleep is critical to your overall well-being.

I never knew what sleep deprivation was, and I definitely didn’t believe I had a sleep disorder until my daughters doctor told me I suffered from PTSD. The acute trauma my mind, body and spirit had gone through over the last 20 years watching my daughter have seizure after seizure led to my sleep disorder. This is why I am so passionate about educating my clients on the absolute necessity of good quality sleep and the incredibly healing benefits of meditation.

• Did you know an estimated 20-40% of adults don’t get enough sleep?
• In the US alone, 70 million people suffer from some sort of sleep disorder.
• Sleep is not created equal and our needs change with age.
• Your bedtime routine can have a huge impact of the quality of your sleep.
• There is more to rest and restore than sleep. 10 minutes of mindfulness, breathe work and/or meditation can be incredibly beneficial to your health. Take the time to refuel your mind and body in micro moments throughout the day.

Read more about creating a healthy night-time routine here.

I wrote this post to inspire you to take inspired action to improve your health starting today. Invite a friend or family member to hold you accountable. Remember to celebrate any mini achievements you make and be sure to reach out if you are wanting to join my Total Wellness program.

Be sure to share your top health habits you practice for your overall health and wellness. I’d love you to pin them on Pinterest or share on Facebook. Post your night time routine on Instagram (tag me @achampagneyogi and #achampagneyogi) I’d love to see how you boost your mind, body and spirit for optimal health.

Share our little secret with your friends and family. Healthy is sexy!  Be sure to subscribe to my monthly newsletter to receive health tips, recipes, motivation mantras and so much more direct to your inbox.

XO Amanda