Don’t overlook the simple changes

Something I’ve noticed come up in quite a few of my recent consultations is the surprise that people express at how minor adjustments made a noticeable difference to their health. It’s as if we discount the impact of small changes.

Most people tend to think that improving our health requires a total overhaul to our lifestyle. They imagine rigid diets, strict exercise regimes and giving up celebrations. And sometimes this thinking can be a stumbling block to starting.

Science shows us that drastic shifts don’t always work. For example, when researchers observed when people restrict themselves excessively, stressful conditions often lead them to overeat compared to those with a more balanced approach to eating. The all-or-nothing mentality can backfire.

This Autumn, instead of feeling overwhelmed with the back-to-school or back-to-work adjustment as well as navigating the seasonal change, why not try some of these these easy, practical health tips. You may be amazed at the difference they make.

Choose warm foods over cold

This one is a real game-changer. Ayurveda encourages us to choose warm, cooked meals over raw or cold. The rationale behind this is that cold foods can dampen our digestion and take more energy to break down. Warm and cooked meals support our digestive capacity (Agni) and improve nutrient absorption.

When clients try this out, they often tell me that they notice less bloating, feel a sense of comfort, feel settled, and have steadier energy. Science backs this up by showing that we are able to extract nutrients better from cooked foods than raw.

Practical tip: It won’t always be realistic or possible to eat a warm and cooked meal. Life happens, we travel, our plans get changed. But, where you can, see if you can incorporate more cooked meals and tell me what you notice.

Start with hydration

Start the day with a hydrating herbal tea before reaching for breakfast or that coffee.

Already in a high cortisol state, many of us further shock our body into action for the day with a caffeinated drink or something cold.

Sticking with the theme of warmth, try choosing a warm herbal tea as the first drink of the day. Ones with warming herbs and spices such as ginger will kindle that digestive fire and support a gentle waking-up instead of overstimulation.

Step outside every day

It doesn’t have to be hours. Just 10 minutes spent outdoors in between work meetings, during your lunch break or on your way back from the school run, can positively impact our mood, digestion and immunity.

And it doesn’t matter if it’s grey and cloudy either. Research shows that time spent outdoors, regardless of whether there is sunshine or not, is beneficial for us.

Prioritise sleep

Sleep is our best friend when it comes to supporting our brain health, immunity, digestion, skin health, energy levels, just about everything!

Creating a consistent sleep routine where the time we go to sleep is roughly the same each night – ideally going to bed at around 10:00pm – can dramatically improve our overall wellbeing.

Go easy on yourself

Our self-talk has a big impact on our health. If we’re berating ourselves for missing one day or eating something we didn’t want to, we can end up doing more harm.

It’s important we don’t shame ourselves. The stress this causes negatively impacts our wellbeing, forgetting how far we’ve come or even leading us to give up totally, hampering our best-laid efforts.

Slip-ups happen. But, we build resilience by treating each day as a chance to start again and can pick up where we left off. Except this time, we’ll be ahead because of our past insights and experience.

Simple can be significant

All of this might sound really simple. Too simple, some might say. You might be asking how it can even make much of a difference. Well let’s look at it this way – all of these shifts support our body to rest and digest. In this state, the body can absorb nutrients better and we might find that aside from feeling grounded, our skin, hair and nails might appear more nourished or people might notice that our forever freezing hands aren’t so icy any more, or that we seem a little less stressed.

It’s not so much the intensity of our actions but the consistency of showing up each day, that builds that habit muscle. It won’t be that single meal or one exercise session, but added up over time, these small but intentional actions can create lasting results.

There’s a Tanzanian proverb that says:

“Little by little, a little becomes a lot.”

You don’t have to redesign your entire life! Small but sustainable health choices have more staying power – and more impact – than bold and drastic overhauls.

What one thing will you choose to focus on this week?