What’s really feeding you?  Fueling you?  Giving you what you actually need?

The Institute of Integrative Nutrition says that anything in your life that nourishes you but does not come on a plate is “Primary Food.”  Food and what we commonly think of as nutrition is actually considered “Secondary Food.”

Therefore, the four reasons why I don’t care what you’re eating are because of what I consider to be the important primary food areas:

1. Professional Life

2. Personal Relationships

3. Physical Activity

4. Spiritual Practice

 

Illustrating how each how of these areas of your seemingly non-nutritional life affects your overall well-being could fill multiple books. Instead of overwhelming you in a single email, I am going to do a little Primary Food series through the next few newsletters to get you thinking a little differently about what truly nourishes you.  As you draw more attention to these areas of your life in respect to how they impact your health, I encourage you to be willing to face what you uncover head on and then make small, actionable changes as you move forward.  You don’t have to change everything overnight; simply be open to the idea that Primary Food and Secondary Food complement and enhance one another when integrated in a balanced way and see what beneficial modifications naturally unfold.

Let’s start by taking a look at your Professional Life.  This can include your current career, hypothetical dream job, finances, education, leadership roles, and more.  In a nutshell: you must find work you love or a way to love the work you have.

For instance, I found that business coach Marie Forleo and her business training program for entrepreneurs, “B-School,” so strongly appealed to me because of her tagline encouraging her followers to “create a business and life you love.”  You know that we spend most of our days working, so why do so many of us still discount the value of being happy at or with our work?  It isn’t a perk to love your job; it’s a necessary part of achieving optimal health.

Remember a time when you were deeply involved in an exciting project. You believed in what you were doing and felt confident and stimulated. Time seemed to stop. The outside world faded away. You didn’t feel the need to eat. Someone had to come by and remind you.  You were satisfied and nourished by something other than food.

If you hate your job, can you find a way to change what you can in order to at least start liking it?  Admittedly, you may be in a situation where there isn’t much you can actually change about your external situation.  However, your mindset is all yours, so start there!  Can you bring a better attitude to work?  Can you find joy in where you are?  Or can you have the courage to make a change because you realize how massively important work-life satisfaction really is?  Perhaps that means changing your hours in some way that reduces your stress.  Or, if the option is open to you, quit your job and pursue the career that makes you feel like you are fulfilling your true purpose in life.  When you live in alignment in a major area like career, you will start to see other positive “coincidences” just start falling into place, too.  You may finally have that healthy relationship you’ve dreamed of; you may start sleeping better; or you finally have the cojones to register for your first triathlon because you feel happier and healthier about life in general.  Strive to fill your cup and your heart.

TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!

All that we consider today as nutrition is really just a secondary source of energy.  Begin to think of Primary Food as “Vitamin P” and treat it equally as important as any other literal nutrient for which you make efforts to consume in an appropriate and healthy amount.  I would even argue that most of the time, “Vitamin P” is even more important than anything you’re eating or any “vitamin” as defined by science.

So here’s to getting more Vitamin P in your life and just rolling with the awesomeness that is sure to follow! 🙂

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What is your LIFE worth to you?

Would a small commitment to invest in your health go a long way toward improving your career, relationships, fitness, or spirituality?

Are you stressed out and want to learn simple techniques for zapping your frazzle that you can actually implement and don’t just add more to-do’s to your list?

Tired of being tired?  Sick of being sick? Constantly reaching for sugary snacks throughout the day just to make it to closing time?

Pissed that you’re in pain, have headaches, backaches, allergies, or stomach aches even when you feel like you’re “pretty healthy” compared to most people?

Are you ready to choose to live the life you really want?

Email at Sarah@SemperSarah.com or call me at 760.969.3216 to find out how our working together will empower you to create a happier, healthier, peak performance oriented lifestyle that will last well beyond the 30 day timeframe of most fad diets or exercise programs.  Keep in mind, I can’t do your push-ups for you, so you have to be ready to face this thing head on and with your whole heart in it.

This is your life.  What are you waiting for?