We saw the cliff, and we fell anyway.

Our health is our most important asset. Yeah, so is family, our homes, our cars, but really what is life if we don’t have health?

So often people come to me for help because they’ve just been diagnosed with having diabetes, prediabetes, or another health condition and they want to do something about it – which is fantastic! Good on them for getting the help they need to be as healthy as they can now! But really, why aren’t we doing something about it before it gets to the diagnosis?
Why are we relying on the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, rather than avoiding falling from the cliff in the first place?

Now I know that what I’m saying might be a bit hard for some people to read, especially those who have health issues, or have people close to them who do. And I know that in some cases these things aren’t preventable, however in the majority of cases they are.

New Zealand is a beautiful country with fertile soils and a growing awareness of health and wellness – which is fantastic! However we are also a country that have social “norms” that are detrimental to our health. What do I mean by that? Try answering these questions:

• Catching up with a friend, what do you do? Eat? Drink? Treats?
• Celebrating something, what do you do? Eat? Drink? Treats?
• Sad about something, what do you do? Eat? Drink? Treats?
• Stressed about something, what do you do? Eat? Drink? Treats?
  
  

I’m sure you catch my drift. So often in life we resort to food or drinks, and then these treats, the alcohol, the sugar, the takeaways, the processed foods, and the crap become part of our daily life and our bodies are NOT designed to process these things – especially in the frequency we are having them.
So then what happens? In simple terms, we get sick, and we rely on the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. That’s right, we saw the cliff, and we fell anyway.

When I say it like that, it seems so simple, doesn’t it? If we look after ourselves, nourish our bodies, keep active and look after our mental health, we should be fine. We don’t need that ambulance, and we can thrive. But why don’t we do that? Because of the social norms in New Zealand. The culture in our beautiful country has told us that we will be judged if we stray from the social norms and look after our bodies. It’s actually really sad.

Now I’m not saying we should never have treats, what kind of world would that be, but we need to redefine what a treat is. It is not a daily thing! We also need to encourage one another, rather than saying “oh come on, just one won’t hurt”. I’m sure we can all relate to a situation like that!

There are some simple things we can do in our daily lives to help make a change to these social norms and reduce the need for the ambulance waiting at the bottom of the cliff.

• Drink more water – it’s cheap, accessible, and easy. Just do it.
• Next time your work is putting on a morning tea shout, take a healthy option and add it to the table. Or request that the company supplies healthy options.
• Alternate alcohol with water if you’re in a drinking situation, or why not opt to be sober driver?
• Plant a vegetable garden – it will teach your kids and family the importance of fresh produce. And if they’re there, you’ll be more likely to eat them too!
• Choose healthier treats – like bliss balls, they are super amazing and easy to make! I have plenty of recipes for them on my website, take a look!
• Reward yourself in ways other than in food or drink – have a relaxing bath, read a book, have a massage, go for a walk, go shopping. Be creative in the ways you reward yourself! Even putting your feet up with a cuppa tea and Netflix might be what you need.
• Be open about changing your habits – people can’t support you if they don’t know you’re trying to make a change.
  
  

My challenge to you is to be mindful about what social norms you happen to just go along with because it’s the easier option. What small changes can you make to improve your health?