I once lived an entire year in thongs (aka flip flops).  Well at least predominantly thongs.  For some, that may not sound like any great achievement, but for those of us who live in the Southern regions of Australia, specifically Melbourne, it was a freaking stupid thing to do.  I literally froze myself for an entire year.  Why did I do it?  Everybody else was.  It was cool.  Everybody was wearing thongs even though it was barely 10 degrees out.   As time has gone by and I see girls wearing next to nothing or sporting potentially inappropriate shoes or clothes, I have a little giggle – the same laugh that so many others probably had about me.  All in the name of fashion.

Now for most of us, we can all have a laugh at the thought of wearing or doing things in our younger years that were nothing short of ridiculous simply because everybody else was doing it.  We’re quick to judge an inappropriately clothed teen or equally a 40 something year old women even more so.  And what seems perfectly acceptable to draw your own conclusion about other people – who’s drawing conclusions about things that really matter like the food you eat, the lifestyle you live and the thoughts that you are thinking?

So many people write to me or stop me in the street and tell me their story.  So many women tell me why they can’t work out their hormones and are nothing short of ready to rip their ovaries out because not one thing they have done has showed them proof of improvement.  Yet when I ask them what their game plan is and how they are tackling their health issues, I often get a blank look as if to say “well I started doing some of the things you say but they didn’t work either.”  And I have to ask myself the question, why is that?  Why would wholesome living fail?  We want quick fixes, yet like me walking around with thongs on for that year, some of us are are walking around living an unswerving lifestyle day in day out, doing nothing to change it only to expect a better outcome.  But if we do nothing different, why would we expect something different to happen?  We can’t.  Plain and simple.  I’m here today to tell you – there is no quick fix for long term wellness.  There is no quick fix because the solution is living each and every day for wellness.  In a time where so many of us are doing the same thing day in and day out, we too can fall into the trap of doing what everybody else is doing.

Often people try and validate to why their methods of living are ok.  I get emails from people challenging my thoughts around ‘diets’ about being vegan or using the pill or even around specific brands of food.  Truth be told, who am I to say your current lifestyle and habits aren’t serving you?  The proof of a living a lifestyle that suits you as an individual is that YOU feel amazing.  The vegan topic often comes up.  How do we balance hormones of vegans.  Like I’ve said many times before, your body will very quickly tell you if it likes your way of living.  If you are say vegan but your menstrual cycles are in tact, there is no evidence of hormone imbalance and you are glowing then go for it girlfriend, this is the very lifestyle that suits your unique body.  But when we show signs of hormone imbalance, perhaps PCOS or thyroid issues, we feel as if there’s no control within our lives and clear hormone imbalance – this is the very time that the diet and lifestyle must be adjusted – remember do nothing, nothing changes!

It’s time to take control of your one big, beautiful life.  To take charge of your wellness, because you are the only person that can do that. To wait for me to come along and switch it up for you is so flattering but so not going to happen.  I can’t be there every waking minute of your day, telling you what’s good for you or otherwise.  I can be that little voice in your head however!

I’ve outlined my principles of living numerous times, but predominantly it comes down to these 5 factors as discussed in depth in my Debunking PCOS download;

1. Live by the way of whole foods and learn how to tweak your meat protein ratio

2. Heal the gut

3. Exercise smarter, not harder

4. Keep your Liver clean (stay tuned for Wednesday – we’re announcing our next Gentle Body Cleanse dates!!)

5. Think good thoughts.  The mind is the master controller – it will influence your hormone health no question.

These to me are the 5 pillars to hormone wellness.  But most of all, always be reminded that health doesn’t have an end point – health and healing is a constant journey – making it count each day is what matters most.