Getting healthy

Chelsea Spackman M.Sc R.H.N.

Healthy With Chelsea

Contrary to what diet culture and the media has led you to believe, health and wellness comes in many different shapes, sizes and priorities. What do I mean by this? Simply, that health and wellness is not a one-size-fits-all definition and that it will look different for everyone embarking on their own health and wellness journey.

As a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Pilates instructor, I have helped my clients realise what their health and wellness priorities are and what we should work towards and tackle first. Although nutrition and movement play a huge role, there are certainly elements of health and wellness that I cannot directly assist with, and I then lead my clients to an allied professional that can assist them, ie. Naturopathic doctor, mental health professional, inner child healing, mindset coaching, etc.

However, there are quite a few things that I can assist with, and I will be sharing some information, tips and other snippets that I've learned over my 12 years in the industry. If you're interested, you can check out this column every other week and you will find me here, with hopefully something interesting that you can take away!

So, let's talk about diversity in health and wellness – it doesn't fit everyone in the exact same way. What one person might need, someone else might not, and comparing your nutritional and exercise regimes is as unhelpful as comparing careers! I don't have my pilots license, so why would I compare myself/my salary/schedule to that of a pilot? You see what I'm getting at. It's great that Kim Kardashian's “diet” is posted for the world to see, but she doesn't have the same lifestyle as you, much less the same nutritional requirements (are you lacking vitamin D or perhaps have muscle spasms or type 2 diabetes?), and therefore no matter what, that “diet” will never make you look like Kim Kardashian.

This leads me to a shameless self-plug as to why you need a nutritionist. Nutritionists see the big picture. They look at every aspect of your life – your salary, your time, your lifestyle, your family dynamic, your mental health, your likes and dislikes (ie., “I hate cooking”), your nutritional requirements and expenditures, and not just your diet and exercise regime. Nutritionists look at what your body needs, and work towards what you want for your body and your health. Perhaps you want more energy. They will check your caffeine intake and make sure your body can regulate it, increasing your electrolytes, checking your night regime and sleep pattern, and looking for any deficiencies that we can supplement through food and/or vitamins and minerals. 

Because everyone has different wants for their health and wellness (perhaps you want to walk up the stairs without losing your breath, or you want to train for a marathon, or you want to sleep through the night without being woken up by a charley horse in your calf at 2am), and everyone has different needs (not everyone is deficient in the same vitamins and minerals, not everyone is diabetic, not everyone is celiac or has a peanut allergy), this makes it even more important to see a professional in the industry who can help you navigate the winding road of your personal health and wellness journey. 

Lastly, health and wellness absolutely includes movement. You cannot live your best life, at optimal health, without movement. 

Yes, I'm a Pilates instructor and I can honestly tell you that this is one of my favourite forms of movement, and I highly suggest it to just about everyone, as it can be extremely restorative but also kick your butt into next Tuesday (if you want it to, of course!). However, finding movement that brings you joy and makes you feel good is more important than attending a Hit class or going for a run or doing 50 burpees if you hate it. Moving your body should be an enjoyable experience and something you look forward to (same with what you eat). The biggest reasons people “fall off the wagon” with diet and exercise is because it is not enjoyable, it doesn't fit with their lifestyle and it's too much change overnight. This just goes to show you that finding a professional that can create a personalised approach to your health and wellness journey is crucial to your continued success, because “getting healthy” isn't just a fad diet or something you can cling to for a couple of weeks or a couple of years. It is something that takes consistent time and effort, but you won't be consistent with anything if it doesn't fit your lifestyle or make you feel good!