Being the information junkie that I am, my gig writing the Adventures of a Self-Healther blog for SRP is pretty sweet. Picking a nutrition or health topic that interests me, digging around for information that builds on my self-health knowledge, and then sharing it with others is near perfect for me.
For this last post of 2015, I reflected on the different topics I wrote about this year and thought it would be fun to make a list of my favorites. In the interest of brevity, I decided on a top 5, though narrowing it down proved more difficult than I expected. Turns out, I learned about a lot of really interesting subjects this year.
Now I’m not so boastful to say these are the most brilliantly written articles. Rather, I chose them based on the surprising information I learned or the clarity I finally gained on some topic of interest—or just because they were fun to write.
Enough of all that stuff—here is my Top 5 Countdown of Self-Health Lessons for 2015:
Number 5: Puppy Power!
Not only does this post include a photo of our beautiful rescue dog Cleo, it also taught me the science behind what I already knew to be true: pets benefit our health at every level, from the physical to the emotional. If it’s been a while since you’ve had a beloved pet in your life, maybe 2016 should be the year you rediscover the joy of such unconditional love. Visit your local animal shelter to see if it sparks any desire to care for one of these wonderful creatures on a daily basis.
Number 4: Everything You Never Knew About Cows
This one was super fun to write. I can’t think about my childhood without these animals popping into my head—they filled my days and my nights. It was thoroughly enjoyable to seek out cow factoids that I’d never considered before, which just goes to prove you can find something fascinating about nearly any topic that strikes your interest.
Number 3: The #1 Exercise—No Matter Who You Are
Allowing yourself to be okay with whatever physical activity you’re drawn to—as long as you do it regularly—is far better than trying and failing to stick to the latest trend. Embracing this fact is a crucial piece of your optimal health puzzle. After all, if you like the idea of CrossFit but keep making excuses for missing class, you need to rethink things. The most important part of exercise is the follow-through. I give you permission to do whatever exercise you enjoy most—trendy or not. ☺
Number 2: An Open Letter from Your Skin
While I know it’s important to avoid skin care products that include nasty things like parabens and phthalates, exploring the specifics was eye-opening. This year I started working for a local Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) dermatologist, and the experience certainly increased my curiosity to learn how to properly care for my skin. It’s fascinating to realize that our skin gives us clues about our internal health every day—and to learn what those clues mean.
Number 1: The Myth of Calories In, Calories Out
I’ve long questioned the validity of this oversimplified concept. Approaching calories from a whole body, nutritionally sound angle versus a shallow calorie count was a great way to solidify in my mind one important thing: when it comes to nourishing our bodies, there’s far more to consider than just staying below a target number.
There you have it—my Top 5 Countdown of Self-Health Lessons for 2015 (at least in this moment), all in one spot. Of course, you can still learn tons of lessons that the SRP writers wrote about this year. I encourage everyone to browse the titles, see what piques your interest, and then dig a little deeper.
What were your favorite lessons of 2015?
Image from iStock/IvelinRadkov
Paula Widish, author of Trophia: Simple Steps to Everyday Self-Health, is a freelance writer and self-healther. She loves nothing more than sharing tidbits of information she discovers with others. (Actually, she loves her family more than that—and probably bacon too.) Paula has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Public Relations and is a Certified Professional Life Coach through International Coach Academy.
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