Jul

12 STEP RECOVERY TO A NEW HEALTHY YOU

Kristy Bussard

Fitness, Health, Nutrition

For many of us, the idea of change is so overwhelming that we never even take that first step. My entire goal and passion is to help those of you who want to have health changes in your life, achieve that in a reasonable and simple way. Now, keep in mind that I said “simple” not “easy”. Anything worth having in life is going to require some sacrifice and for some of us that is harder than others; but this article is going to make it do-able and “SIMPLE”.

In the same way that people in recovery don’t do every step in one day or even in one week, they do one step at a time and it usually takes at least a year to complete the 12 steps. This is my version of a 12 step recovery program for those of us who try over and over to get healthy on our own but have never stuck to anything long enough to have the change in our lives, and more importantly, in our families lives. DO ONE STEP EACH MONTH

TAKE OUT SODAS AND SUGARY DRINKS. (This includes shelf juices) This is one of the number one culprits to the most common diseases in our country. If you add up the amount of sugar people consume in drinks alone, you can understand why diabetes and arthritis are so common. Keep in mind that the juices that advertisers say are 100 percent juice, are just sugar and water.
ADD SUPPLEMENTS. With the Mass production of foods and the toxic soils and lack of good farming practices; our soils are no longer providing our foods with the minerals that we need in order to protect and repair our bodies. I have a basic list of supplements I believe everyone (including children) should be taking every day in order to prevent serious illness and disease.

A: A good quality probiotic

B: A good quality multi-vitamin with minerals and vitamins

C: A good quality calcium supplement

D: A good quality Omega 3 (Fish oil)

The reason I kept listing a “good quality” is because you need to go to a high quality nutrition store for this type of thing. Ask someone at the store to help you choose a good one. I do not recommend getting them from your local grocery store or pharmacy or not even Costco.

TAKE OUT CANDY. Candy is poison! There is no benefit to eating straight sugar.
ADD MORE VEGETABLES By vegetables I mean fresh (or frozen) green beans, broccoli, beans of all kinds, mixed greens, spinach, sweet potatoes, plain potatoes, etc. Try to switch out those unhealthy side dishes for a big green salad and a sweet potato instead of tator tots. You don’t need a starch for a side dish!!
TAKE OUT MOST PROCESSED (FAKE) FOODS. This is the one you really have to brace yourself for, and this is the one where you need to stop listening to the commercials. Cut out cereals, shelf breads, waffles, bagels, processed meats like hot dogs and bologna, cereal bars, store bought cakes and cookies of any kind, etc…) Try to not eat them at all, but in reality most of us will just cut way back. NEVER eat the store bought, already made for you cookies and cakes: they are just loaded with toxins. Just read the label one day. Make your own cakes and cookies with real eggs and butter and sugar. And let a treat be a treat. We have a treat once every 2 weeks or so. Set a goal in this and keep it.
ADD HEALTHY BREADS AND PASTAS. Some people do this by learning how to make their own breads. This is a little time consuming for me, but you can go on line to learn how to grind your grains and make healthy breads. I buy Live Sprouted grain breads found in the freezer section. These are very grainy but we got used to them quickly. If you do still keep shelf bread in your life, at least limit it. The shelf breads stay fresh so long because of LOTS of toxins to keep them fresh. Real food dies in a day or two. Some healthy pastas to look for are quinoa pasta and even lentil pasta and black bean pasta. These are just a few of the pastas that are becoming popular as more people are learning the risks in eating processed flour foods.
DRINK MORE WATER. The best kind of water to drink is spring water, but if you live in an area that you know the water is good, then drink it. Otherwise, buy spring water and/or filtered water. It just isn’t a good idea to drink tap water because of all the chlorine and chemicals used to treat the water. It will really mess up your gut by killing all the good bacteria in the gut which keeps the immune system strong the fights bacterial infections.
ADD MORE RAW VEGETABLES AND JUICING. Make sure you are consuming a lot of raw vegetables in addition to the cooked ones. These have essentials enzymes the body needs that it can not get once the foods are cooked. If you just don’t like to eat a lot of raw vegetables then get a juicer and make raw juices with vegetables and/or get a powerful blender and make smoothies. Make sure you get those greens in the smoothy too. Your health and energy levels will go through the roof once you do this.
SWITCH TO MOSTLY OR ALL ORGANIC FOODS. Once you get to this point, if you haven’t already, you will want to use mostly organic foods. If you have trouble affording it, then at least do organic meats and dairy. I usually tell my clients, if you think you can’t afford organic, you just have a higher priority with your money on something other than your health. So if you lose your health someday, I guarantee nothing will have higher priority. SO DON’T WAIT UNTIL YOU LOSE YOUR HEALTH TO MAKE IT A FINANCIAL PRIORITY!
EXERCISE MORE if you are not already doing some sort of exercise on a regular basis, then you need to start. I recommend doing weight lifting and cardio at least 4 days a week. Find something you like and stick with it and increase your goals with it. Don’t just walk every day. You need to break down muscle too. This has way more benefits than I can list now.
START ELIMINATING ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS Begin educating yourself on the environmental toxins you are exposed to every day. (Cleaning products, mattresses, laundry detergents and softeners, lotions, toothpaste, furniture, candles, perfumes, etc…) Don’t get overwhelmed by my list, just educate yourself and start somewhere.
CONTINUE TO EDUCATE YOURSELF ON FOODS AND CONTINUE TO SET HEALTH GOALS. There is absolutely no reason for anyone living in this country to not have a completely healthy and active life until the age of (at least) 100. The only reason we don’t is because of our choices and lack of “REAL FOOD”.