Greens Stack, from a family perspective…
Green Stack - Staying HEALTHY For My Family and keeping me BALANCED.
As a mother, when it comes to health, I enjoy understanding and further growing my knowledge on how to improve it. For myself, for my children, for my family.
Prior to writing this blog post, I googled the word ‘Health’. For clarification, I suppose.
The World Health Organisation describe health as a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. If I’m honest, this seemed fairly open to debate.
For example, I suffer from chronic anxiety after my own childhood trauma, and yet, I have always viewed my mental health as healthy.
My knee occasionally gives up on me midway through a training session, but I still see myself as physically healthy.
My social life went down the pan fairly badly along with many other people’s during the lockdown, but I still see my social well-being as healthy.
But I believe that health has many different levels on the overall spectrum. What is health for one person, isn’t necessarily health for another.
Contrary to popular belief, all round HEALTH is not just about being happy all the time, having a body that never niggles or contributing tirelessly to your community. Is this not a unicorn? Because it sounds like one to me. A sort of mythical creature anyway.
Health ebbs and flows and rarely is anyone holding the whole lot together simultaneously. I always joke that either I’m looking good, the kids are looking good, or the house is looking good. Never all three together…. and I think at times it can be a bit like this with our health.
And, often, it’s all interlinked…
I am prone to kidney infections. I have been since I was a child. It’s only now, 33 years down the line that I know that the infections are DIRECTLY related to my mental health. Well, I say directly, but it’s more like a couple of stops, a change over and a right hand turn at the junction. But essentially, when my mental well-being is not in a good place, my kidneys seem to be the thing that tells me that something is wrong.
It comes from the stress, the sleepless nights, the mindless eating, the excess alcohol consumption combined with overtraining. The kidneys just seem to be my weak point, the Target.
This varies from person to person. It’s fascinating, really, when you know that it can be pinpointed to mean something. One can start to understand the steps that HAVE to be taken to get better.
Firstly find that point of balance that can help get our health back to a point of normality.
When we procrastinate or we take our eye off the ball, it can be hard to get back on the bandwagon. We’ve all been there. We know how easy it is to let it happen.
But there are a few things that we can do to help keep things ticking over nicely. To find that balance amidst the imbalance.
1) Structure
Now, I refer to it as structure since I find routine too rigid. If I have a routine that is too set in place, when something comes along and throws a curveball, it throws me totally off-balance. And this is not helpful to anyone. Therefore STRUCTURE is an outline of the day where I know what must be achieved by the end. From exercise, to diet, to work. Nothing rigid. Just the normal day to day accomplishments.
2) Never say, “I’ll start on a Monday”
This doesn’t work. The problem with this mentality is that it can become a regular occurrence. It becomes an easy get out solution. It’s easy to say “I’ve got till Monday”. Then it happens every weekend and the statement starts to bear less gravity.
Never start to improve your health on a Monday. Start NOW. As a matter of priority.
3) Complete mental and social wellbeing is rubbish.
Feeling happy and joyful all the time is not sustainable. To imply that this is how we are in full HEALTH is simply untrue. Feeling anxious, nervous, depressed, angry and sad are ALL basic human emotions. We just experience them in different degrees. Feeling these things is NOT a failing and it does NOT mean that you have an unhealthy state of mind. Stress and hormones will always be a factor. Don’t be afraid of feeling those feelings.
4) STOP when you need to
This can be tiny. It can be anything from taking a rest day when your body is telling you that you need it but your brain is saying that you failed if you don’t.
Sometimes, leaving the pile of plates next to the sink because you need to get an early night, is more important than getting them washed. The dishes will still be there, so will the gym, your work, your family and friends. Stopping or slowing down when you don’t want to is just as much of a victory as getting going when you don’t want to. It’s all about BALANCE.
5) ALWAYS keep ONE healthy habit going.
For the last year, my one continuous healthy habit has been Greens Stack.
When my diet goes a bit haywire and I barely work out, and my kidneys start haunting me with a staunch reminder to slow down. I keep up with my Greens.
Arguably, the last point is the most important because it’s not always possible to have it all. To always be the perfect picture of health
By drinking my Greens every morning, I am reminded of my choices. That I’m doing my best and placing my health first.
The boost of Greens to my health is my balance against the imbalances. It’s my constant, the reminder to listen to my body and work with it and not against it.
HEALTH. You get to define what that means TO YOU.