The SWITCH CHALLENGE aims to improve the health & wellbeing of ONE MILLION people with a low cost, highly scalable holistic digital health campaign.
BASIC PRINCIPLES:
Genetic factors have very little influence on chronic diseases (about 5-10% only). YOUR HEALTH IS IN YOUR HANDS
Start with a mindset of SELF-COMPASSION. Adopting a healthy lifestyle is your opportunity to care for yourself.
Health is a JOURNEY of learning and gradual behaviour change with ups and downs and obstacles to overcome. Take it one step at a time, forgive yourself for any setbacks and keep going.
Health encompasses PHYSICAL, MENTAL, SOCIAL and SPIRITUAL well-being. You have to attend to all four aspects in order to improve your health.
a) Nutrition & hydration
b) Sleep, rest & leisure
c) Exercise: mobility, strength, cardio
d) Toxic load
e) Mental health & trauma
f) Stress management
g) Relationships & community
h) Meaning and purpose
Improving your health is SIMPLE. It’s about going back to basics
NATURE. BALANCE. CONNECTION
Do you want to:
🔲 lose weight?
🔲 be strong to keep up with your kids or grandchildren?
🔲 feel healthy and have zest for life again?
Improving your health and wellbeing is as simple as 1-2-3:
STEP #1: Make some nutrition & lifestyle SWITCHES
STEP #2: Find purpose & meaning in your life and set your goals
STEP #3: Build your health tribe. Improving your health is much easier with friends and family
HEALTH NUGGET OF THE DAY
The key principle to reducing metabolic diseases (diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, obesity, cancer) is to regulate blood sugar levels. Every time you eat carbs (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, starchy vegetables, legumes, sweets, sugars, syrups, honey and even fruits), your blood sugar spikes leading to a spike in insulin to remove the sugar from the blood and into the cells. Following the insulin spike, blood sugar drops leading to a crash or feeling of sluggishness and hunger– a cue to eat again as the body is attempting to regulate blood sugar. As you eat more carbs, another spike is caused leading to a blood sugar roller coaster ride. This process is very harmful to the body leading to inflammation and preventable chronic diseases.
The solution is to eat less meals and to eat food that doesn’t spike your blood sugar like proteins, non-starchy vegetables and good fats and limit carbohydrates, sweets and fruits. The key to success with a nutrition plan is to feel satiated and not deprived.
Eat food cooked with WHOLESOME ingredients. Ask yourself “Does this food nourish me?”
Reduce your toxic load* (pesticides, processed food, alcohol, smoking, recreational drugs, self-care/home cleaning products)
Get your daily requirement of proteins* (1 g of protein per ideal body weight), unlimited non-starchy vegetables and some good fats to meet your daily energy requirement but not exceed it
Keep good carbs to ¼ of your plate, preferably for a maximum of once a day
*REQUIRED READINGS FOR THE SWITCH CHALLENGE
STEP #1: CONSIDER SOME SWITCHES
Find easy SWITCH ideas in this pdf document. Decide which ones you want to implement and how often. The more you switch, the better you will feel.
TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH:
Overcome your limiting beliefs (Part I, II, III, IV, V- coming soon)
Tips to feel better & manage stress (Substack coming soon)
Check out FREE videos and FREE resources by THERAPY IN A NUTSHELL by Emma McAdam (Consider this course 30 tips for better relationships, other courses (How to process your emotions…)
Seek professional help to deal with mental illness and trauma
STEP #2: FIND YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE
Life crafting is “a process in which people actively reflect on their present and future life, set goals for important areas of life—social, career, and leisure time—and, if required, make concrete plans and undertake actions to change these areas in a way that is more congruent with their values and wishes.” (Schippers and Ziegler, 2019). It boosts your sense of self-determination which has been shown to produce the following benefits:
Higher academic achievement/ lower school dropout, higher career achievement, emotional well being, meaning and purpose in life, better health outcomes, longevity.
Just seven questions to health & wellbeing (adapted from Prof Schippers’ Life crafting challenge) [30 min]
What are your hobbies, activities, things you liked to do as a child?
What are your positive characteristics and your developmental areas (things you’d like to improve)?
What will your future look like if you don’t use your full potential/make any changes to your life now?
Imagine anything is possible, what would your ideal future look like? (think about your health, career/education, family/social life, spiritual life)
Describe 1-2 goals you would like to pursue based on your ideal future in the following areas (physical and mental health, career/education, family/social life, spiritual life).
What are the steps you will take to reach each goal?
Here are some examples to inspire you:
Prioritise your goals. Start with the most important goal in each area. How much time will you spend on each goal each week? Slot your actions in your weekly schedule.
What are potential obstacles you may face in achieving your goals? What can you do if faced with these obstacles? (If I encounter obstacle A, I will do action B)
STEP #3": BUILD YOUR TRIBE
Discuss your goals with a friend/partner. This will help you commit to your goals
Write your goals and stick them where you need them
Recruit 2-5 friends/family members to join you on your health journey
Please share to create a positive ripple effect around you
About the author
Abir Ballan has a Masters in Public Health, a graduate degree in special needs education and a BA in psychology. She is a children’s author with 27 published books.
THE SWITCH CHALLENGE
Thank you Abir - health is wealth. I am responsible for my physical, mental, emotional & Spiritual well-being with the assistance of a Higher Power + holistic/Naturopathic Physicians I've been guided to. My insides will take care of my outside - SELF-Care vs health care ...
I love this! Seeing the Switch Challenge in the downloads makes it easier (for me, anyway) to come up with some switches to make right now. I'm going to print everything out for daily reminders. Thank you!