Covid created a monster.
We bought all the toilet paper until we realized the world wouldn’t magically run out. We moved to find the right home in which to be alone. We got married or divorced. We started baking and lifting weights and buying puppies, and having babies.
The events of the world were in the driver’s seat. The unknown ruled the day. We watched in anticipation for what would happen next. Shock. Fear. Unease settled over us. We became a spectator in our own life story.
As our control left us, so did our confidence.
And our appetite grew.
We have gotten into the habit of mindlessly succumbing to all of the things right in front of us.
In all the choices we have every day, we passively agree to give our most precious assets – our time, attention, very minds, and bodies – without getting back much in return.
We gobble up anything and everything on-site, from divisive media to the all-you-can-eat buffet.
We want more, more, more, more. And then we are never full.
When you start overeating as a habit, for example, you fall out of a good routine slowly until you are in a place where you are stuffing your face night after night. Then one morning, you wake up and notice severe hunger pains right after you open your eyes. You feel like you are starving, but you don’t need a single thing.
Your body’s hunger signals are working against you.
Brain and Body Connection
Without realizing it’s happening, we can train our bodies and minds to want what’s bad and reject what’s good. And then we make excuses and spend energy finding backup to support our new misguided beliefs.
Enter companies like Noom, “the last weight loss program you’ll ever need,” that take over the decision-making process altogether. And we pay for that because we’re terrible at doing it ourselves.
We all want the quick fix and the easiest way out.
It’s why the US diet industry market reached a record $78 Billion (with a capital B) in 2019. Because of how Covid has affected us in the waistline, that number is surely to grow.
The thing is – I am old enough, have been on enough diets, done enough research to know what to do if I want to get to an optimal weight.
I know that fad diets don’t last, and I won’t be able to eat 1,200 calories and run marathons simultaneously – I have to be balanced. I know I have to work hard if I want to see results.
But health decisions don’t just happen in your body. They also occur in your mind.
The connection of brain and body are inextricably linked. You can’t ignore one and expect the other to thrive.
For example, many people (raising my hand high) got sucked into party affiliation and media frenzy over the past year. I know I spent more time than I care to admit staring at a television screen or scrolling social media in the cycle of confirming my value system and my people through the lens of politics.
That happened. And it wasn’t good.
Not for me. Not for my drive to physically do what was most healthy for me. Not for my family or relationships or any of the things that I truly valued I was no longer prioritizing. I justified the time, energy, and loss of connection I suffered because of those actions.
I fell into a rut of terrible habits. Covid could be the easy excuse, but I think it goes deeper than that.
I found out that mindlessly consuming harmful content, be it a news program or an MDK (what my husband calls a “Murder, Death, Kill” movie), puts me in a particular headspace I don’t even realize I suck in.
After I consume harmful content, I am much quicker to cause harm when I connect with others. I am more irritable, quick to snap, say a hurtful comment, and much less forgiving. I am less likely to be motivated to go on a run or cook a nutritious whole food meal.
It’s true.
Lessons I’ve Learned
Covid has taught me that I need to stop and think before saying “yes” to everything. I need to be mindful of the health of my brain and my body.
Not everything is worth my attention, time, energy, or money. If I want to thrive, I need to be selective. My standards need to be high. I have to work hard and be present to what those are.
I realized that I alone make the choices for my life. Those choices have severe consequences and create infinite possibilities. I can’t shift blame onto Covid or anyone/anything else. I am the only responsible party.
I did some hard work to figure out what habits and decisions I made during the day. Some of them I didn’t even realize I was making.
I’ve spent the last 4+ months identifying categories of health we see and don’t see that make a huge difference in our lives.
I answered the questions:
Why is it so hard to do what is healthy?
Why do I try and focus on my body without focusing on my brain and vice versa?
Which habits do I need to break? Which habits do I need to start?
What decisions are aligned with my future self? What aren’t?
Regardless if Covid is here forever or not, I realized I have no excuse to wait. I want to be my best self right now. I deserve to be. I am worth it.
I believe with all my heart that you are too.
You’re Invited
I have identified ten categories of brain and body health that need our focus and commitment today. We can’t skim over a few and expect different results.
Some of these, like diet and moving your body, are no-brainers. Others like mindfulness, journaling, fasting, and cutting out harmful content we watch on screens are not.
Addressing them all together in one comprehensive plan makes you unstoppable.
Right now is the perfect time to start!
I call it the “sweet spot” —the last few months to finish the year out strong.
The timeline is 90 days – from Oct. 1st to Dec. 31st.
That length of time is perfect. To identify your habits, create a plan of action for change, commit to a new lifestyle, and lift your results beyond your imagining!
You could go into 2022 the best possible version of yourself.
I am convinced that if you focus on all of these areas of health and ramp up significant habit changes for 90 days, you will not go back to your old lifestyle of poor habits. Some of these you may not even realize you do in the first place!
I have compiled everything I’ve learned about mental health since I was diagnosed with Bipolar 4 years ago into this program. I have incorporated everything I have learned by working in a health & happiness company for the past two years and moving to a plant-based diet over the past year into this plan as well. I have used my current path of half marathon training, sobriety, and manifestation practices to inspire the content of the plan as well.
Being someone who has dealt with significant mental struggles and lousy health choices because of it, I have heard and seen it all. I have done most of it myself.
So I created a real, intentional plan for success. It all starts with a detox.
It is not a quick fix or a fad diet. It is a comprehensive and complete lifestyle change.
I am inviting you to join me.
I know that it has changed my life to incorporate all ten categories into an integrated system.
See if a 90 Day Brain & Body Detox is something you need to do as well.
If you commit to 90 days, you will feel so good from the inside out, and you won’t want to turn back. By the end of the process, you will have implemented the tools and experience into habits. Habits that will motivate you to reach even higher.
Everything from getting in the best shape of your life to growing amazing relationships to starting a new business is possible for you.
It’s up to you.
Some of us have the flexibility to focus on health but don’t know where to start. Some of us need the motivation to keep going. Others don’t have a moment in their day to breathe.
I can help.
There is a plan for everyone.
There are also select opportunities for personalized coaching if you need someone to help motivate you along the way. It may be just the push you need to accomplish the goals you have written down but have never entirely given a chance to become a reality.
Just remember, it’s all a choice. Every single thing you physically do. Every bit of mental energy you spend. These can be intentional and either aligned with who you are. Or not.
We have to start acting like we are the hero of our story.
This is your one life. You’re the hero. What happens next?
Be Honest: Covid gave us the magnifying glass to see what we do under pressure and stress. If you don’t like what you see, it’s up to you to change it.
Be Kind: Your appetite for a complete and fabulous life is calling. Will you answer?
