The importance of friendships and relationships

I just came back home from a friend's place who I had coffee with. While we were chatting and catching up on what had been going on in our lives she got a phone call. She found out her cousin had just hung himself.

It got me thinking when I got home. She mentioned she had been thinking of calling him but didn't get around to it. As a sales rep she had been flat out trying to make ends meet and provide for her family.

I think most of all get caught up in this trap. Our lives get so busy. Our to do lists are never ending. There is always another goal or target to achieve.  I know I fall into this category.

Lately I have watched a few documentaries on community living on how people help each other to create a better life. Where people only take what they really need and share the remainder. Even about the woman in Germany that lives without money. What is really important in your life? How do you want to live your life?

Maybe perhaps this concept of community living is a way forward where we can all work together to create better lives and lift each other up. I read this beautiful share on Facebook the other day. If we had to grow all our own food we wouldn't waste it. If we had to make our own furniture we wouldn't just exchange it because our colour scheme had changed. We live in a world of abundance yet we act as if we lived in a world of lack.

How to boost your Happiness

How often do we wake up thinking "oh I don't want to go to work" or "I don't feel like doing this". It is sad in a way because we are literally wishing our life away.

I know I often fall into this category even though I might look happy on the outside. But we are actually giving our power away. Let me explain.

Every single day we have a choice. I repeat every single day we have a choice. We can be in charge if we choose to.

Take a blank sheet of paper and draw a line in the middle. On the top of the left hand side write "have to" and on the right hand side write "want to". Now set the timer to 5 minutes and list as many thing as you can in both columns. Just keep writing. Make this commitment to complete this exercise because you desire more happiness in your life.

Now when you look at the "have to" items you wrote down think about them and see if you can turn them into want to. As an example: I have to go to work. Well do you really have to go to work? Not really you could stay at home. But the consequence would be that you wouldn't be able to do call those cool things in your life. I love travelling and learning new things. Without my job I wouldn't have been able to do a lot of those things.

Another example is: I have to clean the house. You don't really have to clean the house. But if you decide not to you will live in a different environment. If you keep your house tidy it will be much more harmonious and enjoyable.

Go through your "have to" items and see if you can turn them around. Life is about perception. Our perceptions change our experiences in life and lead to more happiness.

Another way is to think about all the redundancies that are currently happening in a lot of places around the world. Someone somewhere would love to have your job but you are the lucky one.

I heard this wonderful quote today:

If you want for nothing you will have everything.

Now I am not saying that you shouldn't have goals or aim to become financially independent but material things on their own will not make you happy. Happiness comes from inside. If happiness is made dependent on material things then what will you do once you have that house? It will feel great for a little while but then you will need to find your next item of desire to keep you happy. You might never even reach full happiness.

Life is about being in the moment. Seeing the perfect in imperfection and your perception of your experiences.

I am interested to hear what has helped you boost your happiness? Please comment below.

Why "Raw till 4" didn't work for me in winter

I have been thinking a while about whether I should really do this post. I do not want to discourage anyone from trying Raw til 4 because I got amazing results during summer and it worked really well for me then. The purpose for this post is just to show support to the people that might be struggling on this lifestyle and help them find a way to make the high carbohydrate lifestyle work for them.

Before I dive any deeper into my experience I want to give you a quick description of what Raw til 4 is. As the name suggests you eat raw foods until 4pm and after that time you have a cooked dinner. This lifestyle is all about high carb, low fat, low salt. So now I am going to give you an example of what a typical day might look like on Raw til 4. For breakfast I would generally have a big fruit smoothie. When I say big I really mean big. The goal with all of your three meals is to get a minimum of 1,000 calories. I would make make a smoothie with about 10 bananas and some cinnamon. For lunch I would generally have more fruit, either a smoothie with different fruit or perhaps another 10 bananas. Then for my cooked dinner I often had a big vegetable stew with potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, tomatoes or any other vegetables that took my fancy at the time.

I have never really been about counting calories but when I transitioned to this lifestyle beginning of the year it took me a while to get used to this. However I can honestly say because of the quantities you eat and all the numerous nutrients, vitamins and minerals contained within the food, I honestly never craved any foods. Before that I would have sometimes cravings for chocolate. The chocolate or sweet cravings completely went away. My body was completely satisfied.

The lifestyle was perfect in summer for me because here in Western Australia we are truly blessed with a very warm summer. I love the heat and can't get enough of it because in the other seasons of the year I often feel cold. So raw foods worked perfectly then.

As winter crept in I started noticing that I wouldn't be my happy self. I would freeze even more than usual even though I wear a lot more layers than most people do. I also found this lifestyle too expensive for my budget because it is very challenging in this part of the world to get reasonably priced fruit in winter. I started warming up my smoothies to 37 degrees in my Thermomix but found myself craving warm foods more and more.

When I talked to my husband about it, it all occurred to me that I might be better off to transition to more cooked food in the colder seasons of the year. After a few weeks of eating more cooked foods I am finding myself much more balanced and happier. By cooked foods I refer to a lifestyle still high in carbohydrates. I just love carbs. 

I am not sure whether you guys have heard of the starch solution but this theory also relates to a high carb lifestyle but is open to more of the cooked foods. If you are interested in a high carb lifestyle this might be another great resource for you to check out.

Certainly try Raw til 4 and check out Freelee the Banana Girl on YouTube. But the important thing is to listen to your body. Listen for the hints your body is giving you because no one knows your body better than you do.

Health... more than just greens and carrot sticks!

I only started my course to become a health coach with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in January but I have already learned so much. Most of all it has opened up my mind to so many possibilities and new concepts I had never thought of. It makes me excited to do my daily study and to envision my future as a health coach doing what I love and helping my future clients achieve their goals.

Today I wanted to share some thoughts on what health means personally to me. Most people tend to believe that health is mainly about what we eat and physical exercise. Yes this is very important but is it really all there is to health? Why is there so many people that don't eat healthy and still live for a long period of time?

For me health is so much more than just what we eat or how we move our body. Do you work in a career you enjoy or are you making a difference? What about the relationships in your life? Do you have deep connections with the important people in your life and do you nourish these relationships? Do you take time out fore yourself and schedule in time to relax or pamper yourself? These are just a few questions to get you started thinking about different areas in your life that might also affect your health.

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