Inspired by Gretchin Rubin’s The Happiness Project, I’ve decided to start my own 12 month project which I’m calling The Year of Health (hopefully I’ll think of a more original name soon!)

The goal of my project is to explore the question “How can we live better, healthier & happier lives?” 

I don’t believe there is a magic bullet when it comes to achieving health & happiness – it’s all about paying attention to the basics:   

• Connecting with loved ones 
• Focusing on the present moment 
• Eating a nourishing diet 
• Incorporating physical movement into everyday life 
• Prioritising sleep 
• Spending time in nature 
• Sitting less & spending less time in front of a screen 
• Finding meaning & purpose in life 

However, I know that achieving these things can be easier said than done! That’s why I found The Happiness Project so inspiring. Rather than attempting to focus on or change everything at once, Gretchin Rubin sets herself resolutions to follow around a different theme each month. To explore which ones boost her happiness and have the most lasting impact.  

I love researching happiness and positive psychology but health is also my passion, and I truly believe that to be the happiest we can be we also need to be in good health. You can be happy even if you are unhealthy, but I think most of us feel better and happier when we are also healthy.  

Each month of my 12 month project will have a health-focused theme and a happiness-focused theme. I’m obsessed with the seasons, so I also want to include and explore seasonal foods and events. My plan is to try new things, new approaches and add in new habits each month, and to see which ones have the most impact and which ones stick, and why. And to also re-focus my efforts in some areas where I know what I should be doing but struggle to do it. 

In my role as a health coach I have learnt how much our beliefs and identity impact our behaviours, and that to make lasting and sustainable change we have to shift our beliefs about ourselves. Knowing it and helping others to do it is not the same as really working on doing it myself, so I will also be focusing on my mindset each month. 

Health

So – for starting in this month of June – my health focus is going to be Nutrition. I believe that “It Starts with Food” as Melissa & Dallas Hartwig said in their book of the same name. 

Food is the foundation upon which everything else builds. I know when I eat better I immediately feel better, and that gives me the energy and motivation to make positive changes in other areas of my life. 

The things I am going to explore further will be:

1. Blood Sugar Balance 
2. Nutrient Optimisation 
3. Ketoflex 12/3
4. Seasonal Foods & Recipes for June

I’m going to re-read some of the books that had the biggest influence on my thoughts about nutrition too. 

Happiness

For my happiness focus this month I am going with Action for Happiness’ theme: Joyful June 

According to the Action for Happiness website: This month’s theme is all about finding the joy in life, even when things are difficult. Research has shown that experiencing positive emotions in a 3-to-1 ratio with negative ones leads to a tipping point beyond which we naturally become more resilient to adversity. 

Joyful June is based on Emotions: Look for what’s good from the Ten Keys to Happier Living. The suggestion for today, Tuesday June 1st 2021 is: Decide to Look for What’s Good Every Day This Month. 

This ties in perfectly with a technique I have been practising for a while called “Taking in the Good”. I learnt about this in Rick Hanson’s wonderful book Hardwiring Happiness. 

In effect, the brain is like Velcro for negative experiences, but Teflon for positive ones. This is such a shame, because most of our daily experiences are positive, or at least neutral. We generally have fewer negative experiences, but these are the ones that we focus on. 

Here’s how Rick Hanson describes you take in the good:

1. Look for good facts, and turn them into good experiences.
2. Really enjoy the experience.
3. Intend and sense that the good experience is sinking into you.

Good Things About Today

• Watching my kids having fun swimming in the sunshine 
• Having a picnic with my friend Sarah in one of my favourite places near home
• Feeling excited about starting this project! 

 

What good things will you remember about today – the only Tuesday June 1st 2021 we will ever have?

I’m setting myself the (probably very overambitious) goal of blogging every day during this project.

At the core of my writing is my simple question: how can we live better, healthier & happier lives? I hope you’ll join me on a quest to discover the answers.

About Me

Hello, I’m Chloe. I’m a nutrition and health coach and I’m on a mission to inspire & support women so they can go from feeling fatigued to feeling fabulous! 

I help women who are FED up of being overweight, addicted to sugar and feeling tired ALL THE TIME to lose weight and optimise their health by fixing hormonal, digestive, autoimmune and energy issues.

My step-by-step programme, Revitalise, will help you lose weight, get back your energy, restore vitality and create lifelong health using the power of beautiful & delicious REAL FOOD. 

I’m here to make it easy for you to eat healthy, delicious food without counting calories or feeling deprived. You’ll reset your relationship with food, shift your mindset and build new habits for a complete health transformation!

Disclaimer: All information provided is for informational purposes only, and is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. Please consult your GP or a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health and wellbeing. I am a nutritional educator and do not dispense medical advice nor prescribe treatment. While nutritional support can be an important complement to your medical care, a nutritional therapy program is not a substitute for the diagnosis, treatment, or care of a disease, illness, or injury by a medical provider. Nutritional evaluations and lifestyle assessments are not intended for the diagnoses of disease. 

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