Maybe you don’t need another health hack – maybe you just need to get back to the basics.

It’s very human to want a quick fix for optimal health, eternal youth and perfect body but what about the basics?

Over the past year or so, my social media feeds have been filled with posts that show the common quest by so many people wanting to find optimal health, eternal youth and permanent slimness. And businesses are quick to offer all sorts of novel solutions to them. Usually with very attractive quick fixes and also a nice price tag!

Often using heavy marketing exploiting our vulnerabilities.

We are all human and a quick fix offered when things are not right can be very attractive:

• A medication to fix your health.
• An injection to lose weight.
• A magic supplement that promises to give you relief from your long-standing symptoms.
• A single super food that is advertised for healing every ailment on the planet.
• An expensive trendy health gadget to give you a sense of doing something good for your health.
• An ingenious health hack that your favourite Instagram influencer tells has helped them.
• A cosmetic product/procedure for that youthful face…

All these probably will help, for some individuals, for something specific and for a period of time, but more often than not are not long-lasting or sustainable.

The problem is that, in the quest of finding the magic cure, we often forget the basics. 

But it’s the basics that will make the most difference. The basics that you learn to easily slot into your daily routine. The basics that become enjoyable and automatic after the initial effort has subsided.

The basic fundamentals that are the foundations of health are:

• Nutrient-dense diet
• Movement and strength training
• Sleep and recovery
• Stress management
• Time in nature
• Sunlight
• Social connection
• Creative and cognitive engagement
• Avoiding too many stimulants, e.g. caffeine and alcohol

These are the high impact interventions that have the most evidence behind them. If you just follow health trends without also working on the foundations, you are basically building the roof before the walls. And most probably wasting money, time and effort.

Yes, the foundations can be boring. 

They are not as exciting and sexy as the latest anti-ageing or weight loss supplement or the latest expensive gadget that promises to fix your [insert an ailment here] and heal your body. And working on the foundations can take time… But without addressing the basics, the roof will soon collapse without proper sturdy walls.

Like a house needs strong foundations underground, so does your body:
→ food, movement, sleep, stress management, nature, connection

With good foundations, the house itself will be sturdier and last longer, and so will your health:
→ long-lasting health, energy, resilience, vitality, confidence, lack of illness

The roof on the top of the house can now be an elaborate one to make the house look great, and this is where the shiny wellness additions sit for you too:
→ supplements, gadgets, biohacking, health trends…

Human biology is too complex to be built on headlines, marketing gimmicks and Instagram reels! 

One shiny thing can’t simply fix your health. Health is always multifactorial and individual. Multiple factors, working together, influence our health and the illnesses we may develop — and those factors can be very different from person to person, even when two people have the same diagnosis.

Your body is unique, and understanding what your body needs means digging a little deeper than the latest health trend or quick fix. And even when human biology is complex, it doesn’t mean you have to complicate things. In fact, when you get back to the basics and start simplifying things, it can all start to make a lot more sense.

Consistency is what really matters – not perfection!

The first changes that I most commonly recommend to my clients that are also easy to fit into a normal daily routine and usually produce the most noticeable first improvements and keep my clients motivated, are:

• Including protein and fibre in the first meal of the day
• Drinking more water
• Adding more variety to their diet
• Reducing alcohol/coffee
• Prioritising sleep
• Daily movement/interrupting prolonged sitting with regular movement snacks
• Time in nature

…depending on what their current diet and lifestyle looks like.

Always start with one or two changes first – the one(s) that feel(s) easiest and most enjoyable for you – in order to avoid overwhelm. When looking after your health becomes an enjoyable part of your everyday life, making changes won’t be a chore or a task that you have to perform while actually hating it all, hence you will want to do it consistently. And it quickly becomes part of your normal routine that you don’t even have to think about any more.

Consistency really matters…
…much more than perfection!

Your health improves via multiple pathways

The good news is that addressing one of these foundational areas doesn’t just fix one thing in your health, but usually impact other areas too by improving your health via multiple pathways. You can never change just one health behaviour.

Photo by pexels-freestockpro-12969405

As soon as you make the first change, or tip the first “domino”, your mindset shifts and that leads to a ripple effect that causes other behaviours to change too.

Doing the basics first before buying into all the trendy supplements, gadgets and hacks can be incredibly powerful. Ask yourself if any of these basic fundamentals are missing from your normal routine and what it is that you should focus more on? Are you really great with your diet but neglecting sleep or movement? Are you exercising regularly, pushing yourself through the sessions but forgetting stress management and recovery? Are you eating a great balanced healthy dinner every night but just having a cup of sugary coffee for breakfast?

Don’t be a copycat or a blind follower either!

What worked for someone else, doesn’t necessarily work for you. You need to do what YOUR body and YOUR current health status require, what actually works for YOUR lifestyle and feels right for YOUR body and mind.

Not what works for your daughter, friend or husband.
Not what an influencer on social media tries to tell you.
Not what a heavily-marketed wellness trend wants you to believe.
Not what everyone else is doing.

Learn to understand YOU and then do YOU!

That’s why I offer personalised nutrition that digs deep into your health issues, symptoms, diet & lifestyle, medical and family history, medications, goals, mindset, biochemistry and more! I educate and coach you and give you accountability so you never have to feel alone or confused.

If you think this kind of support could be useful for you as you work to improve your health and start changing your habits, I would be honored to work with you.

I can help you with a full comprehensive blood test and ongoing nutrition coaching and accountability. Both of these services will help you start owning your own health trajectory, build sturdy walls first before attempting a roof, and show up to yourself in order to feel better, happier and enjoy life more.

Want to chat more? Book a free no-obligation discovery call here.

You can also download my free guide Happy Gut – Happy You here.

Main cover image by Vasily Kleymenov from Pexels