Hi there!

I feel like I could also call this post "The Ali Diet" because it is essentially my entire health philosophy distilled down into its most important points. Instead of having to read an entire book, you can just get the Coles notes here 🙂

This is essentially what I believe you need to do, if you want to be fully on your way to your most vibrant, healthy body possible.

Yes. This is simple stuff. That is a HUGE part of what I believe to be the truth about health. It SHOULD be easy. It SHOULD be second nature. I SHOULD be enjoyable.

It is natural to be healthy. These are simply tools to help you get back in touch with your natural way of being. Being healthy is your birth right.  Contrary to what you may believe, being sick, growing sick with age, having aches and pains and chronic issues is not normal. Your body is designed to heal and function optimally, you just have to give it the tools with it needs to create that reality.

The diet industry makes it seem like health is complicated, like different people need totally different diets, that some foods are good some foods are bad. They make you count calories and fat grams and so on and so forth. The reason for this is if you feel like you can be healthy naturally, you don't need the diet industry and that is pretty terrible for their bottom line.

I am not saying that all diet and health experts are trying to mess you up. There are many many well meaning healers out there. What I am saying is that you have the tools you need to make yourself healthy. The sooner you connect with the idea that being healthy is natural, easy, fun and instinctual the more you will connect with the idea that you do not have to struggle or make it complicated anymore. That is true freedom!

The reason I want you to be healthy and vibrant is not so you will look hot in your skinny jeans, even though that is a nice side effect. The reason your health is so important is because you cannot fully and truly live your purpose if you are constantly feel less than your best. It is a simple as that. You deserve to experience health and wellness because you are a beautiful, wonderful, perfect, deserving human, and because when you are healthy you can do what you are here to do. Your body is meant to serve you fulfilling your purpose, it is not meant to hold you back.

So, here are my 6 pillars. If you follow, you will find health. You will find vibrancy. You will find what your body is asking you for, and you will find your body connection and intuition. From there you will discover what it takes to get you to the place you want to be within your health.

We will cover 1-3 today, and the following 4-6 will be in the next post 🙂

Pillar Number 1 - Nutrition

My only 'rule' for healthy eating is this:

70-80% of your calories MUST come from fresh fruits and veggies, and you must eat the fresh food before you eat anything else.

Eating this volume of produce is a non negotiable for health. Most of us tend to think of fruits and veggies as side dishes, but the truth is they should be the main component or the only component of all of your meals.

First things first, what do I mean by 'fresh fruits and veggies?'

Fresh fruits and veggies are:

• Raw fruits
• Raw greens
• Raw veggies
• Sprouts
• Frozen Fruits
• Frozen veggies
• Lightly steamed veggies
• Very gently cooked fruits and veggies (ie light pan frying in water or stock, gentle roasting)

Unfortunately canned, microwaved, grilled and other heavily processed or produce that has been exposed to very high temperature don't count. They have just lost too much of their origional goodness.

Fruits and veggies are packed with phytochemicals, fibres, water, vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, essential fats and other essential nutrients that your body needs to thrive. Your body has a very long digestive tract that is designed to extract the nutrients from plant foods.  I am not going to tell you that you can only eat plant foods to be healthy, I am just telling you that the majority of your diet should be plant foods.

Remember that fruits and veggies are quite low in calories when compared to nuts, seeds, grains, meats, eggs, dairy and processed foods. This is why I say 70-80% of your CALORIES must come from fruits and veggies, not 70-80% of the volume or weight of the foods you eat.

For example:

100 grams of chicken contains about 173 calories.

100 Grams of papaya contains 43 calories.

This means the volume of produce you need to eat in order to reach your target is pretty large. That is a good thing! Eating this way means you will be more satiated after your meals, you will help your digestive system function optimally, you will be able to quell cravings and you will never feel like you are on a restrictive diet again. Eating your fresh foods before you eat anything else will also help you make choices that align with your health much more easily.

You do not need to count calories or restrict calories to lose weight or be health. You must simply choose to obtain most of your calories from fresh produce.

I am not going to tell you exactly what the other 20-30% of your calories should look like. What I want you to do is feel for yourself how the produce makes you feel, and go from there.

Obviously you are not going to feel as vibrant eating the other 20-30% of your calories as donuts and candy bars as you would if the other percentage was chia seeds and spirulina. How vibrant you want to be is fully and totally up to you 🙂

Simply eating this volume of fruits and veggies will get you set on a beautiful trajectory. You do not need to cut anything out of your diet, you do not need to re-arrange your whole life or go vegan or raw or paleo or anything like that. Just start with eating more produce. Check out what percentage of your calories come from fresh foods currently, and then make the needed adjustments to get yourself to the 70-80% range without altering the number of calories you are currently consuming - unless you know you need more 🙂 You will then be able to take yourself on a journey of discovering the ideal eating plan for you.

Pillar Two: Movement/Outdoor Time

The second pillar of health is to move your body, and get some fresh air each day.

This is another place where the diet industry and I disagree. I do not believe in exercising to burn calories, build muscle, shape or sculpt your physique or in using exercise as a tool to mould your body into looking a certain way.

Fitness is not about punishment for eating something 'bad' nor is it a tool to help you change a body you do not love.

Movement is a blessing. Movement feels good 🙂 Movement causes the release of endorphins that literally boost your mood. Movement lowers blood pressure, steadies your heart rate, helps balance insulin and blood sugar levels and helps calm and relax you. Movement should be a joyful expression of thanksgiving for having a body!

The best thing I ever did for myself was let go of exercise that I hated that I was using to try to 'get skinny' or 'get fit.'

I swapped out every activity I was pushing myself to do with only activities I felt good doing. For me I love to walk, do yoga, do Pilates and dance. So I dedicated myself to only doing those activities, and only doing them for as long as it still felt nourishing and nurturing.

As soon as I removed the idea that I 'had' to exercise and push myself, I found that I started to really enjoy my movement. I found that there were days when I genuinely wanted to push my body a little further than it had gone the day before. Not because I wanted it to be thinner or trimmer or better, but because it was fun.

By choosing an activity you love, you will be setting yourself up for lifetime health and fitness. We as humans can only force ourselves to do things we don't like doing for so long. So even if your intense exercise regiment gets you smokin' hot, the chances of you being able to maintain those results for the rest of your life are slim, because eventually you wont be able to muster up the will power to keep working out. You will be able to do the thing you love for the rest of your life because you enjoy it. No motivation required.

If you feel like you don't like any form of movement right now, that is ok. Start super small. Pick something you liked doing as a child, or pick a nice walking route. Then commit to engaging in that activity for 15 minutes, 3 times a week. Then build from there.

Here I tack on getting outside at least 3-4 times a week, even if it is just for 10 minutes. Your body was designed to move in nature. Fresh air, the grass and trees and soil and sand and water are all intimately connected with your health and wellbeing. Re-connecting with nature is one of the most intense healing things you can do for yourself.

Movement is a gift. You will see 🙂

Pillar Number 3 Create A Mindfulness Practice

This may be the most transformative tool of all of them, so please do not skip over this one. Especially if you are tempted to skip this one. Then you need it the most 😉

My reason for including mindfulness on this list is because bringing conscious awareness to your body, your mind and your life means that you will be able to sort through things that are no longer working for you, leave behind the things that you no longer want to carry around with you, and you will be able to recognize the things that do work for you - giving you more power to create a life you love.

The more conscious you are of your life and how you are interacting with it, the more you will be able to create the life you want to live.

It is that simple. You deserve to live a life you love, and connecting with yourself is the way to get there.

There are a million ways to add mindfulness into your life:

• Meditation
• Guided Meditation
• Steady stream writing
• Breath work
• Yoga
• Journalling
• Gratitude journalling
• Walking outdoors
• Chanting
• Dancing (this one is especially powerful)
• Writing letters

Anything that causes you to slow down, become present in the moment and aware of yourself will work.

Again with this one, start slow and with something that feels doable for you. If sitting in lotus on the floor for an hour seems like crazy talk, don't expect yourself to do it! Start with 5 minutes writing in your gratitude journal.

Every effort counts, and every amount of time spent is worth it.

I suggest choosing to do your mindfulness work at the same general time each day - this way it is much easier to create a habit out of it. The more you do it, and the more you put into your practice the more it will enrich your life.

Ok! Come back here tomorrow for the next three pillars! Also, let me know what you think of the first three!

<3

Take responsibility - it is no one else's fault or job to make you happy or healthy and no one can stop you if you want to do it