JC: Do you recommend fruits, like oranges that have electrolytes and have potassium and some other fruits?
Julie Ann: Yes, and bananas are really good. If you’re eating healthy, you should be fine anyway. But if you are unsure, then that’s when you can try a tablet or something along those lines- just to get you going. But your diet should actually make the difference. If you’re chronically dehydrated, it takes one to two weeks to get back to normal, fully hydrated. It does take time for you to actually feed those cells. Two thirds of Americans are chronically dehydrated. It’s a way bigger issue than people give credit and credence to. Definitely, that’s a huge one. And then the other one, the third one that I really think is important is that going to the gym three times a week doesn’t mean you’re getting enough movement.
Julie Ann: You can’t sit down constantly and think that you’re doing well because you work out hard three times a week. You need to get up and move around the office during the day. Even if it is just to go grab some water. I’m not referring to going out and running, but just some movement. Standing up, sitting down that sort of thing, that’s a huge one. The other thing too is, when you’re working out, it doesn’t have to be an hour long, intense session, five times a week. You can get a really good workout in for 30 minutes. I used to do 30-minute workouts, three times a week plus cardio. It doesn’t have to be the all or nothing mentality is what I’m getting at. So, if you don’t have an hour to work out, but you do have 30 minute, that’s good. You should celebrate that. And then the last one I want to give too, has to do with celebrating, celebrate all of your small wins, because it’s about the journey, not the destination. If you can’t enjoy where you are now, how do you expect to enjoy it when you get to your goal?
JC: What are your thoughts on stretching?
Julie Ann: There are definitely some benefits, but if it hurts more than a seven, then you should not be doing it. Also, if something is sore while you’re stretching, be careful. Sometimes it’s neurological, and you’re experiencing referred pain. So, I’m going to use myself as an example. Sometimes I get shoulder pain and the reason why I get shoulder pain is because I have a pinch in my neck. It doesn’t matter how much I stretch and ice my shoulder, if the problem is my neck. So yes, stretching is good for your body. Yes. I recommend it, but it does not solve everything.
JC: So, you have to be aware of what’s going on with your muscles instead forcing the issue.
Julie Ann: Exactly. If you’re experiencing pain, you that won’t go away with stretching and icing maybe go see a chiropractor. A lot of people think of chiropractors as just cracking your back and adjusting it. But no, they can tell you about pinched nerves and things like that. So, if stretching and things like that, aren’t solving your issues, then you want to consider that it might not be what you think it is.
JC: Tell me something that you learned years ago, lesson, that you still apply to either business or lives today still?
Julie Ann: Okay. This is a good question because this one took me a long time. I love helping people and I want to help everybody who asks me to help them. And what I’ve discovered is that I can’t be more invested in their health than they are. I will meet clients at their level of commitment that they’ve committed to themselves. I can’t want it more for them than they want it for themselves. That doesn’t work.
JC: Is it tough sometimes to just let it go?
Julie Ann: Really tough to let it go. But the thing I’ve discovered with doing that is that usually when I just let it go, they will come back and recommit to themselves and end up reaching their goals. If I bug them, and if I want it more than they do then they give up on themselves. Every, every time it never fails. But if I let it go, then most of the time they’ll come back and recommit.
Julie Ann: John Assaraf has a saying, are you interested or are you committed? And that’s a really good question to ask yourself, because if you’re only interested, you’ll quit at some point. But if you’re committed, you’re going to do whatever it takes. You can’t expect the same results from being committed if you’re only giving the level of interested effort.
JC: Any last thoughts? Any last tips? Anything that we haven’t touched on?
Julie Ann: The one thing that I think is really important, and this is especially true for women as caregivers in particular, is it’s not selfish to put yourself first. You have to be healthy in order to do and be everything you need to be for everybody else. You need to make yourself your number one priority. It’s not selfish.
To find out more about Julie Ann and her work, visit: https://www.ownyourwellness.net/
