"Burn more fuel than you put in your body"

"Move more than you eat"

"Do some sort of exercise every day"

You’ve heard all these sayings I’m sure...  But what if it was a bit more complex than that?

What if you are doing all those things, and your body is just not responding 100%?

You all know THAT friend... The one who simply “cuts out their family-block-a-night chocolate habit and dropped 10kg”

But hands up if you are the person who eats clean, trains hard and is still the same body shape?

Sure, I know personally for me, I would see results if I upped my training, I would "loose weight" (in the popular-media-definition). But at what cost?

It would take high intensity training 6 or 7 days a week to see significant changes in my body. I also was the saint who avoided office treats and never had anything more decadent than some corn chips in the pantry at home. It sucked, and it was exhausting, and it fried my brain and my hormonal health. I finally decided the cost was too high.

As part of my first stages to my Hypothyroidism journey I came across information on the Autoimmune Protocol. (I'll write more on this on the blog shortly!) Essentially the process of removing potentially inflammatory foods from your diet, allowing your body a chance to heal itself without any unnecessary digestive/environmental stress. Where you gradually reintroduce ‘safe’ foods specific to your own gut health and wellbeing. (Which FYI is not some linear straight line process - it curves, changes, reverses etc... )

If they say you are what you eat, then I was a big ol’ bundle of inflammation. I started AIP (doing zero exercise FYI... as that is part of your healing process, removing stress on your body as a whole - and running/high impact exercise isn't your friend through this process!) and I was suddenly seeing changes in my body that I hadn't noticed in 30 years of running/squatting and exercising like a madwoman. My HOLISTIC HEALTH was improving at an exponential rate. 

(Now it is important to stress at this point that I am NOT talking about weight loss here - I am talking about general changes, reduced inflammation, bloating, gut health, skin health, nail health, etc ... I haven't weighed myself in about 5 years and I don't intend to any time soon!!! A number on a scale is certainly NOT an indicator of health.) 

So my friends, my point is the environment we surround ourself with... the foods we choose to put into our body, the products we choose to put on our skin, the environment we surround ourselves with daily ...  these are vital cogs in the wheel of our life. 

Yes you can count calories. Yes you can weigh our your macro and micro nutrients. Yes you can up you number of hours in the gym. But tell me how you feel in your soul? If you feel fabulous ... then excellent! Carry on if that works for you! But if you feel worn out, exhausted and defeated… then maybe it is time to try looking at the whole ecosystem in your body?  Perhaps there is a better way? One that comes from a place of love first and foremost...