Rebuilding the Temple: Nutrition, strength, and sleep
Getting physically healthy is the biggest component of Fresh Start 5.0, my personal course correction and redirection journey. I am convinced that being self-aware and proactive about nutrition, exercise, and physical wellness is the single best thing we can do for our mental and emotional health, to heal from trauma, get our finances in order, and improve the overall quality of our lives. It’s the best way to (re)claim our self-respect, dignity, and power. On this hill I shall die.
It occurred to me that Unless I rebuilt my own temple, no other endeavor - personal, professional, financial, even spiritual - would be carried out to its full potential.
Quoting myself from my first health and fitness post where I share some of my fitness history:
We are whole beings, mind and body, and the two play off each other in mind blowing you can't even fathom. You just don’t get it, until you do…One day you just get that what you’re doing to your body is affecting your mind, and that what goes on in your mind and heart seeps into every cell of your physical being..
So these are the three primary components of my approach to rebuilding the temple:
Focus on nutrient dense foods – Eating fresh, whole foods and quality proteins in their natural state as possible; fresh fruit, veggies (mainly lots of greens), potatoes, sweet potatoes, quinoa, oats, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, pastured eggs, grass-fed butter, and some lean grass-fed beef, all home cooked in a simple and easy way, nothing complicated. I've been feeling this tug at my heart for such a long time.
Eating this way also helps reduce food costs from avoiding lots of boxes, cans, and freezer stuff as well as fast food that adds up really fast and offers little of value in return, thus creating a cycle of “needing” more of it, apart from the abundance of toxins in processed foods that keep us sick and fat.
I still struggle with old habits and there's still a lot of room for improvement but the overall trend has been a healthy one, and I know I’m on the right path. I feel good when I see my grocery cart loaded up with fresh whole foods, knowing that I am controlling the ONE thing I can control, which is what I put into my body.
Prioritize strength training – I’m learning that strength training is one of the best things men and women alike can do for their physical and mental health, more than just cardio alone. Strength training, in conjunction with proper diet, does wonders for building muscle (duh), which in turns burns fat, helps balance hormones, and increases insulin sensitivity. I found this video on the benefits of strength training for women helpful and informative and in much more detail that I could ever get into in one blog post. There is inherent personal power that comes from strength training. I struggle with ugly mental barriers to stay consistent, but as I push past the ugly to get myself to the weights, the weights help me push past the ugly.
Prioritize sleep – Sleep is so important for pretty much everything, including hormonal health, brain health, and weight loss. My sleeping habits were totally wrecked over the last few years, even prior to the pandemic, but worsened by it. There were several issues going on there; nothing I care to get into right now other than to say I’ve come to understand how important sleep is for quality of life and preventing cognitive decline. This TED Talk will probably be more helpful than anything I could say right now but as part as a life overhaul plan, quality sleep is a top priority.
Equally important honorable mentions: Fresh air, sunlight, hydration, and some fasting. And these are some of the other game changing health and wellness products and tools that have worked well for me (contains affiliate links).
A strong focus on physical health isn’t about giving undue or inordinate importance to superficial or temporal matters. It’s about giving physical health the importance God Himself places on it for both our earthly good and spiritual and eternal good.
