A Review of the book: The Health Habit: 7 Easy Steps to Reach Your Goals & Dramatically Improve Your Life by: Elizabeth Rider
Over the last several years, I have come to accept that things in life happen for a reason. For me personally, I was led to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in 2014 after living in an unhealthy and toxic marriage for over a decade. At the time, I was yearning for a new direction in life; one of health, wellness, nutrition, and most of all, healing. IIN gave me that and more at exactly the right time and I am forever grateful. That education opened my eyes to holistic health and gave me the first stepping stone towards a new career path as an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and soon to be Nutritionist.
At some point in 2015 I found Elizabeth Rider’s website. Elizabeth is also a graduate of IIN and I immediately resonated with her message and her ability to connect with women around my age (and I’m older than she is). I read everything on her website, signed up for her newsletters, enjoyed all of her blog posts and couldn’t wait for her new recipes to be released. Elizabeth has an incredible way of communicating as a mentor and coach and also making me feel like we’ve been friends for years. Her online classes are fantastic and about a year ago I completed her Wellness Business Bootcamp which gave me the direction I needed to move forward with my business.
Elizabeth isn’t the only nutritionist, entrepreneur, small business owner, successful network marketer or online social influencer that I follow. In fact, I follow quite a few. And over time, I realized that each one of them has a similar practice in their life, regardless of their industry, audience, work day, family life or personal life. Each successful (and I don’t mean just financially successful) person has habits they incorporate into their daily routine. More and more often, they mentioned these routines, rituals and habits. Each one referred back to these rituals that contributed to their success in one form or another.
I had a few habits, but besides eating well and exercise, I had not turned my habits into daily rituals with the intention to better my overall health and well-being. Just about the only daily routine I could stick to was a morning glass of room temp lemon water, my activators, supplements, and a cup of dark coffee with MCT oil. Then this single mom of 3 was off to focus on her kids. Maybe the missing piece to my overall health and happiness was that I was not organizing and implementing true healthy habits into daily routines. I didn’t really know where to begin with it all. Focusing on several daily routines (especially morning and evening rituals) for just myself, seemed overwhelming.
Earlier this year, I was very excited to learn of Elizabeth’s first book release. When she reached out to a group of her loyal followers and bloggers with an invitation to be one of the first to receive an advanced reader copy and write about it, I jumped on the opportunity. At the time, I wasn’t sure what she had written her first book about, but knowing Elizabeth I had a feeling I would enjoy it.
The paperback, advanced copy arrived in June and I immediately dove in. In fact, the book traveled with me to Northern Michigan, Kansas City and all-over Southern California this summer as I traveled with my family and business partners. What I quickly discovered about this book was that Elizabeth was writing about that missing piece in my life, my health habit. Ironically, or maybe not so ironically, this book and Elizabeth’s words, wisdom and knowledge came at exactly the right time. I needed to hone in on my own health habits to achieve the success I had been missing. Funny how things happen and the timing of it all, right?
As I got deeper into the book, I was reminded of an important lesson as a health coach. Health coaches often need to take a step back before talking to others about health, wellness, and nutrition. We need to remember that our passion for nutrition, healthy eating, and life style choices are most likely not the same as our immediate friends and family members. I never want my passion to help others achieve their full health potential, inevitably turn those I care about away because I come off as authoritative or intimidating. I know that Elizabeth and I are in the same health and wellness space, but not everyone else is.
As I mentioned earlier, Elizabeth has an innate ability to communicate with her readers like they are a friend and she knows exactly how to explain nutrition in an easy to understand, non-intimating or authoritarian way. So even though most of the content in her book was information I breezed right through because of my nutritional health education, she wrote The Health Habit for ANY woman seeking better overall health. I am thankful for Elizabeth’s approach with this book. It reconfirms that the best way to connect with any audience as a health coach, regardless of their education level, is in a simple, to the point, and easy to follow way.
The book is broken down into 7 steps PACKED with all the information even a nutritionally uneducated woman can follow. She gives you the basics and teaches you how to implement them into your daily life. I particularly love the chapter on being a “qualitarian” and learning to create an eating style that works for you. This is something every health coach strives to do with clients and I really appreciate how Elizabeth made it so easy to follow, implement and achieve.
My paperback copy is covered with pink highlights – far too many “gems of information” to mention but here are a few of the highlights from my highlighted pages on achieving a Health Habit:
- Set your health goals in 3 parts: Identify the desired outcome, outline daily actionable steps and name the desired outcome.
- Consistency beats perfection.
- Find an eating style that works for you and get your gut under control.
- Create structure in your diet and know what you’re working with – determine your numbers and work within them.
- Become conscious of your environment and your mindset – how you spend your days is how you life your life.
- Your health is more than just what you eat. Your physical environment influences your food choices.
- Reduce harmful chemicals.
- The importance of self care and how it increased self awareness leading to a feeling of freedom in all areas of life.
- Take control of your day – a morning and evening routine and implementing exercise that works for you.
- Intangibles are the nonphysical, not-so-evident aspects of your life that affect your health and trigger health and unhealthy habits. Figure them out.
- Self awareness in relationships, career, internal dialogue and belief systems are all areas that allow you to make more conscious choices.
- Hurtful things that have happened in your past may not be your fault but it’s your responsibility to heal them.
- Happiness from the inside out will always improve your physical health.
- Strive to achieve happiness every day, be kind to yourself, be gentle with yourself and allow for more flow and ease.
My biggest take away is that no matter how stressful, busy or complicated life can be, we all need to take time for ourselves. The more we invest in our own health by making time each day to focus on what is most important, we can achieve overall well being, happiness and health, which in turn creates a healthier environment for our loved ones. I believe if I am able to carve out that time for myself each day, I will be a better mom, health coach, friend and woman.
The second half of the book is an easy to follow action plan and full of delicious recipes. The 28 day kick start plan gives readers a flexible, enjoyable way to eat delicious whole foods. It starts with the basics and allows the reader to choose the best choices for herself. She includes everything from how to stock your kitchen to what to look out for in restaurants. There is also a recipe index in the back for quick reference, which I find very helpful. Elizabeth doesn’t miss a beat. This truly is the most comprehensive guide for any woman looking to achieve her own healthy habits.
So just when I was wondering about the health habits of the successful, influential people that I follow, Elizabeth sent me her book. I am thankful for the easy to follow, brilliant ways she explains how my own health habits can be achieved. It will take work, dedication, changes to my every day routine, and most of all, self love. All of this came at just the right time for me and I am excited for the thousands of woman all over the world who will also be achieving their own healthy habits.
Elizabeth, thank you for the 18 months you spent creating this beautiful book and for the opportunity to read and write about it before it launches. This is a must read for anyone looking to better their health through nutrition and life-style choices to achieve a complete state of well-being. I plan to recommend it to all of my friends, family and nutritional health clients. Keep up the great work! xoxo
- Title: The Health Habit: 7 Easy Steps to Reach Your Goals & Dramatically Improve Your Life
- Author: Elizabeth Rider
- Publisher: Hay House
- Release Date: August 20, 2019
- Format: Full-color hardcover, audiobook, and full-color ebook/kindle edition will all be available on pub date. Available on Amazon and at Barnes & Nobel and other major retailers.
