Don’t think of change as becoming somebody else; think of change as returning
to your wonderful, natural, gorgeous, capable self.
Here is a list of things you can start doing right away. If any of these things make you
uncomfortable what should you do? Don’t do them (yet) or simply modify them to make
them comfortable.
1. Add Positives First: The first thing is that you must never begin any health
program by taking away things that you like. This is just stressful and unpleasant.
Always begin your journey toward better health, toward a better, longer life, by
adding something healthy to your lifestyle. Find something that is healthy and
that you either enjoy or don’t mind doing and start there. You all have these
things. The reason you are not doing them is because you have told yourself that
there is no point doing the easy things if you are not going to do the hard things.
You have the completely false belief system that if it is easy it is not beneficial or
that the “bad” things you do would just cancel out any benefit. “No point going for
a walk. I’m not giving up pizza or chocolate”. “No point eating those extra
helpings of vegetables, I just can’t get myself to exercise.” Health is not an all or
none concept, every choice counts.
2. Eat Fresh Fiber First: One of the healthiest things you will ever do is eat more
raw fruits and vegetables. Don’t panic, I didn’t say you had to eat a bowl full of
brussel sprouts or broccoli everyday in order to get healthier. All you need to do
to increase your health from where it is right now is increase the amount of raw
fruits and vegetables you are consuming. I call this my “fresh fibre first”
implementation step. Pick your favourite fruit or vegetable, I don’t care what it is,
and consume it more often. Make the effort to consume some form of raw fruit or
vegetables with every meal or snack. If you only like grapes then make it grapes.
It doesn’t matter. What I can tell you is that if the only thing you changed in your
lifestyle over the next year was to add a raw fruit or vegetable to every snack you
would be significantly healthier in a year from now. Don’t even think about
anything else. Just find fruit or vegetable that is EASY and COMFORTABLE to
eat and eat it. I don’t care if the meal or snack you consume it with is donuts or
beer or pretzels or nachos. If you add the raw fruit or vegetable you get benefit.
3. Take Wellness and Prevention Paradigm Essential Supplements: There are
4 supplements that the research unequivocally indicates are required for virtually
every human living in industrial society. These are:
Fish Oil: A natural EPA:DHA ratio, natural triglyceride form, full fatty acid
complement fish oil for essential fatty acids (EPA and DHA).
Vitamin D.
Probiotic: A non-dairy , wheat free, soy free, multi-strain pro-biotic that
contains strains that are part of the normal human flora.
Certified Organic Whole Food Micronutrient Formula: a certified organic,
synthetic vitamin free, whole food complex for vitamins and other essential
micronutrients (phytochemicals, minerals, antioxidants).
The best supplementary is no supplement. However, there is virtually no way
that you are going to be able to get sufficient intake of essential fatty acids or
Vitamin D. You absolutely need to supplement with these. If you make your
own fermented foods at home and consume them daily then you probably will
not need a pro-biotic supplement. Similarly, if you consume a WIDE
VARIETY of LOCAL, VINE-RIPEDED, ORGANIC fruits and vegetables or if
you make and consume your own vegetable juice with these organic
vegetables on a daily basis you will probably not require the certified organic
whole food supplement.
4. Incorporate Activity Into Your Work, Family and Social Life: Start having events
that involve activity with you and your family. If you’re going to meet for coffee, meet
a few minute walk from the coffee shop and walk together. There are so many things
that we do which could easily involve activity. It is always more fun to go for a walk or
do activity with somebody else. Go for family walks after dinner or in the morning.
Play an active game with your kids. Play hide and seek, play tag, wrestle on the bed.
Join an activity group or form one. Group dynamics are great, if you don’t show up
they say, “Hey, where were you yesterday?” Find something you ENJOY that
involves physical movement and SCHEDULE time for it.
My advice is to schedule activity for first thing in the morning, it is the only
time of day you have autonomy. There are too many uncontrolled variables
after the day begins, do it first thing in the morning.
If you dread walking then would you be willing to just go outside for a few minutes
and breath some fresh air to start your day? Now, I’m going to ask that you wear
work-out clothes when you go outside. I’m not telling you to work out, I’m just asking
if you would be willing to go outside, and when you’re outside in your work–out
clothes, if you would be willing to take some nice deep breaths. Are you comfortable
with that? Would you also be willing to get your exercise clothes together and set
them out before you go to bed the night before? Setting the clothes out programs
your subconscious mind, and then you don’t wake up and say, “I’ve got to get up;”
you wake up and say, “I’ve got to go outside and breath in some fresh air.” That’s all
I’m suggesting you do if that is all you are comfortable with. Eventually, you’ll get so
bored, what will you do? You’ll walk. But I don’t care if it takes you six months. It’s
not important. If you feel like it go for a walk, if you don’t then just do your breathing
and stretch if you feel like it. Make it easy, comfortable and gradual. Just developing
the habit of getting up and getting exercise clothes on and going outside or to your
exercise spot is HUGE. It is creating healthy habits.
5. Always Shop Full: No matter what, if you go to the supermarket and you’re not full,
eat before you shop for groceries. You are always better off to eat something, even if
it’s not great, to fill yourself up before you shop, because if you don’t you’ll wind up
putting garbage into that cart or basket. I want you to know the battle is not won or
lost at home; the battle is always won or lost at the point of purchase.
Here’s what I know about you. When you’re at home and it’s about 8:00 at night, and
its bon-bon time, and you’re sitting in front of the television, you say to yourself, “I
think I need a little something.” If you go to the cupboard and it’s not there, what will
you do? You won’t get in the car and go shopping will you? What will you do? You
will search for an hour – all your secret spots. You’ll search high and low until you
are too exhausted or frustrated to continue. By the end of that search, you’ll stagger
into bed and fall asleep, and you’ll wake up in the morning and say to yourself, “Well,
I guess I didn’t really need it, I’m actually glad I didn’t eat it.” If it’s not in the house,
you won’t consume it. Very few people will get out of the house to go get it. Don’t
bring it home. I hear this argument all the time, “Well, my kids are going to get it out
anyway.” I don’t care. Don’t bring it in. If you don’t bring it in your house, you won’t
eat it. And at the end of the day, no matter how bad that craving was in the morning
you’ll be just fine; in fact you will be better off.
6. Make Your Choices Based on How You Will Feel After the Choice: It’s very
important to get into the habit of judging your meal or whatever choice you’re going
to make by how you’ll feel after, not before or during. How many of you have ever
regretted a salad?” “Oh, why did I eat that lettuce?” It doesn’t happen. But how many
of you have regretted unhealthy choices? All of you. You end up with three minutes
of pleasure while you’re engaging in the unhealthy choice and then you get what?
Twenty-three hours and 57 minutes of guilt. So you need to pause and assess how
you are going to feel after you eat the junk food. Bring the thoughts about how you
will feel after the choice to your conscious mind so they can compete with the
thoughts about how you will feel during the choice. This will help you start to change
some of those things. It is actually a first step in changing your belief systems about
those choices.
7. Start and End Everyday with Gratitude: Every morning when you get up, before
you get out of bed, take a moment and think about what you have to be grateful for
that day. We all have something to be grateful for, even if it is the fact that we are
alive and able to think at all. I would suggest that every one of you reading this have
food and shelter and so many other things to be grateful for. I am not interested in
debating whether or not you have troubles in your life. We all do. I’m only interested
in pointing out two important facts. One, you have something to be grateful for. Two,
reflecting on this will improve your health and improve your life and improve the lives
of everyone you interact with.
When you go to bed at night stop and pause to think about what you have to be
grateful for regarding your day or your life in general. Tell your family members that
they are safe and important and loved and appreciated. Always begin and end your
day with gratitude. It is so easy. You don’t even have to get out of bed to do it; you
can just lie there and be grateful. If you do that every day for thirty days, do you know
what will happen automatically when you open your eyes every morning? The first
thought in your mind will be what? Gratitude, I promise it will. What a way to start
each day. It changes everything.
Write your kids notes about how smart and handsome or beautiful, and brave, and
kind, and honest they are. You’re not sure how this would go over? I’ve heard in
many situations they taped them to their headboards and I those parents have been
reading them every night since! You may want to sing them a song every night that
includes words about having a happy sleep and how you love them more each day
since they were born. They won’t go to sleep without it now. I also regularly tell them
how safe, loved and important they are. I tell them that they have champion’s hearts
and scientist’s minds.
Please do this for your children. Feed them good foods, feed them healthy
movement and play, and feed them love and confidence and self esteem. Do the
same for your spouses and other loved ones in your life.
Take time each day to tell people that they are loved and important and appreciated
and tell them exactly why they are loved and important. Make them feel safe about
your relationship with them. Feeling safe comes from being able to trust. Be
trustworthy and be kind and be forgiving; of yourself and of others.
Life is such a gift. In terms of the age of the universe, or even the age of the earth, or
the amount of time there has been life on earth, our human lifespan is a blink. Of all
the options in the universe, it is beyond comprehension that the atoms that make up
your body and mind have come together to allow you to consciously experience and
appreciate life. Every choice we make that unnecessarily reduces our quantity or
quality of life, or the quantity and quality of life of others, is an affront.
Embrace this gift of life and extract every ounce of enjoyment out of it. That is
the purpose of your existence; to extract, and help others extract, every
possible ounce of joy.
The single greatest determinant of your ability to do this is your health. The single
greatest determinant of your health is your lifestyle; how you eat, move, think and
interact. Your genes contain the recipe or the blueprint regarding what is required in
terms of your lifestyle to express you potential for health and happiness and thus
extract the most joy out of your existence on earth. Don’t commit suicide with your
lifestyle choices. Follow your genetic recipe and supply the right lifestyle ingredients;
commit constant acts of self preservation and self empowerment and role model this
way of life for others.
Welcome to the Wellness & Prevention Paradigm. Life is healthier and more
joyful here. You belong here and you are welcome. Create an Extraordinary
life.
With love and appreciation,
Dale
DETZLER CHIROPRACTIC
Fairmont Medical Building
1211A-750 W. BROADWAY, VANCOUVER
T: (604)732-5433
www.detzlerchiropractic.com