Whole 30: Day 3 – Healthy Relationships, Healthy You
After having an amazing lunch with an old friend today, I realized how important relationships actually are.
Relationships are key to our health and overall well-being; yet, when life gets busy, time to develop relationships are one of the first things to get booted out of our schedules. This isn’t always a bad thing though, as you need to prioritize at times since life has it’s seasons where you are more busy than others.
Yet, relationships are absolutely essential to our holistic health and I would argue that when our closest relationships are distant or have tension, we are not our healthiest nor our happiest.
Other Health Advocates Agree
Both the Institute of Integrative Nutrition’s and Whole 30‘s founders also believe that relationships are essential to our health. The Institute of Integrative Nutrition believes that along with Career, Physical Activity, and Spirituality, Relationships are our Primary Food and what we actually put in our mouths is our Secondary Food.What actually feeds our soul and brings us joy is our primary food, not how perfect we ate or what is on our plate.
If any of you have ever done a Whole30 and subscribed to the Daily Emails they send, you would have seen how Melissa Hartwig (one of the founders of Whole 30) did a Sister30 where here and her sister vowed to communicate in some matter over 30 days, to reconnect and further build their relationship.
Self Reflection
Take a step back and reflect on this: What fulfills your heart and soul more?
Is it eating perfectly and getting the physical results you want, or is it having coffee with that one friend you’ve been meaning to catch up with? Is it gaining a personal record at the gym, or is it celebrating your mom’s birthday?
It should be the latter of both of those scenarios, yet too often we put way more effort into the former – me included.
Although the concept of relationships as a key element of health was introduced to me over the last couple years through First Place 4 Health (Christian weight-loss/health program), it was until I started my health coaching course with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition that I really saw how vital relationships were not just to my health, but to me personally.
Ask my husband – the first thing that I complain about when I’m busy is the fact that I can’t spend time or talk with my family and friends as much as I would like. When this happens, I now know that I need to check my schedule and my priorities and ensure that I am making time for what’s truly important and what actually will feed my soul.
Eating wise today, I did have cravings like I normally do most days but instead of focusing on that physical craving for food, I remembered the friend I had lunch with and remembered how that one hour fed my mind and spirit more than any piece of gum, chocolate, or even fruit could.
Go Connect
So my advise from Whole 30, Day 3 would be to think of that one person you’ve been meaning to talk to or spend time with, contact that person, and connect with them! Not only will you catch up with that person, but you will also have more joy- which will both fill you on the inside and radiate on the outside. And isn’t happiness, joy and true health what we are looking for?
Happy connecting 🙂
P.S. I made Paleo fried chicken tonight using Tapioca flour, pepper, salt, dried rosemary and egg! Check out the recipe I based it on here.
