September has always felt a little like a second New Year.
Summer holidays come to an end, routines return and there’s a natural sense of getting back on track. We organise the diary, think about work, school and the months ahead, but how often do we use this moment to check in with our health too? Because before we know it, Christmas will be here. And that got me thinking:
How would you like to feel by Christmas?
More energetic? Less bloated? Sleeping better? Thinking more clearly? More comfortable in your body? Or perhaps simply feeling more like yourself again?
We often associate January with making changes to our health. But why wait another three months to start feeling better?
Have you started accepting your symptoms as “normal”?
In clinic, I regularly meet people who’ve been living with symptoms for months, sometimes years. The have the feeling their body just isn’t working quite as well as it used to.
Bloating after meals. Unpredictable digestion. Feeling exhausted by mid-afternoon. Waking during the night. Brain fog. Low motivation.
None of this necessarily means something’s seriously wrong – always discuss persistent or concerning symptoms with your GP. But don’t dismiss them just because you’ve grown used to them. Your body is communicating with you, and that’s worth paying attention to.
Instead of continually asking “What can I take to get rid of this symptom?” I prefer to ask “What might be contributing to this and what does my body need to function better?”
What could really change in three months?
Quite a lot. I’m not talking about a quick fix, a restrictive diet or trying to completely overhaul your life overnight. It’s more about consistently giving your body more of what it needs and less of what may be working against it. Over 90 days, you can begin to work on some of the foundations that influence how you feel every day.
Nourish your body
Rather than focusing solely on what you need to remove from your diet, think about what you can add. More whole foods, colourful vegetables, quality protein, healthy fats, fibre and the nutrients your body needs to produce energy, repair and function effectively.
Support your gut
Our gut does far more than digest food. The gut microbiome, intestinal barrier and digestive processes all interact with our immune system, metabolism and overall wellbeing. If bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, reflux or food reactions have become part of everyday life, it may be worth looking more closely at what’s happening rather than continually avoiding more foods.
Protect your energy
Energy isn’t simply about getting enough sleep or drinking another coffee. At a cellular level, our mitochondria convert nutrients and oxygen into the energy our body needs to function. Supporting mitochondrial health means looking at the bigger picture of nutrition, movement, sleep, stress, hydration and reducing unnecessary burdens on the body.
Calm your nervous system
You can eat a wonderful diet, but if your body constantly feels as though it’s under threat, that can influence digestion, sleep and how you feel. Making time for rest, breathing, walking, connection, daylight and activities you genuinely enjoy isn’t an indulgence. It’s part of looking after your health.
Prioritise sleep and recovery
Sleep is when so much repair and restoration takes place. Rather than accepting poor sleep as part of getting older or having a busy life, look at what might be interfering with it. Your routine, stress levels, evening light exposure, alcohol, caffeine, blood-sugar fluctuations or simply not allowing yourself enough time to wind down can play a part in poor sleep.
Consistency not perfection
This is perhaps the most important part. Improving your health doesn’t require 90 days of perfect eating, perfect sleep and perfect habits. It requires consistency more than perfection. Small changes repeated every day can add up to something significant. And three months from
now, those small choices could mean that you arrive at Christmas feeling very different from how you feel today.
So instead of waiting until January to make another list of resolutions, perhaps September can be your opportunity to start. And if you’re not sure where to begin, I offer a complimentary 20-minute discovery call where we can talk about what’s been going on, what you’d like to achieve and how I might be able to support you. Book your discovery call on my website home page.
Three months from now, you could be very glad you started today.
Something new for me this September
I’m taking my own advice about September being a time for new beginnings! This month, I’m starting a 12-week Live Blood Analysis training course. Live Blood Analysis involves taking a tiny drop of fresh blood from the fingertip and viewing it under a specialised high-powered microscope. It allows you to observe features of the blood cells in a fresh sample and, fascinatingly, the client can see their own blood on screen too.
It isn’t a replacement for conventional blood testing and isn’t used to diagnose disease. I’ll be learning how observations can be considered alongside a person’s health history, symptoms and other clinical information as part of a broader picture of wellbeing. For me, it feels like a natural extension of the work I’ve been doing around cellular health, mitochondria, nutrition and energy.
I’m looking forward to sharing more of what I learn over the coming months