The 7 Health Changes I Made That Broke Every Rule I Was Taught
No protocols or programs. Just the honest stuff that actually moved the needle.
I’ve been getting asked what the most impactful changes I’ve made are. Today, I wanted to share some of those ideas, even the ones that are a little off-the-cuff.
To be upfront, this isn’t going to break down the specific diet changes (I’ll break those down throughout the summer). And yes, I know I’ve been really elusive with what diet changes I’ve made, and it’s for good reason. Because honestly, none of the diet changes would have mattered without the other things I did.
It’s exactly why I built the Summer Walking Club — and why I’ll be walking right alongside you this summer, using the same tools to help you create your own changes.
If you’re not in yet, I want you to join me. And I promise, it’s so much better than last year.
The 7 Health Changes I Made That Broke Every Rule I Was Taught:
01: I Changed My Story
I know, this isn’t sexy at all. And you’re probably inclined to skip over. But can I be honest? This was singlehandedly the most important change I made.
I got honest about the story I was believing about my health, my body, even my life, and started to take note of where I was living it out. It was startling to recognize how much of my story was creating all the things I wanted to change… and yet it was the story holding me to those things.
Sigh.
The story you tell yourself is truly creating your reality. Not in a ‘manifesting’ kind of way, but in a deeply neurological one. In fact, research shows that cognitive reframing, literally changing the narrative you tell, changes how your brain processes threat, stress, and possibility.
The story you tell shapes your stress response, your habits, and ultimately, your behavior.
Your story (or at least the story you tell yourself) is linked to identity, perspective, and pattern. This explains a lot about why you can’t get yourself to do the things you want to do. It’s not that you can’t. It’s that you’ve been running on a story that leads you somewhere else.
What I love most about story-work is that it can always be rewritten. Even the past, which is perhaps the most important space to rewrite.
The health space, in particular, is saturated with negative stories. It’s the worst-case thinking, or the stories that revolve around: “it’s too hard,” “you’re not capable,” “you’ll never get there.” And yet, all of that can also be rewritten.
When I rewrote my story, editing it through a new lens and seeing it from numerous perspectives, my health not only changed, but so did the way I showed up in all areas of my life. Story work is some of the most powerful work you could do.
We’ll be diving into story work in the weekly devotional of the Summer Walking Club, drawing on Bible stories to help you build a new story.
To start story-work, ask yourself, What is the story I’m believing about my health? Where do I see myself living it out? Is it helping me get to where I want to go?
02: I Stopped Wearing Sunglasses
Talking about stories, somewhere along the way, I picked up the stereotypical story that the sun is ‘bad.’ It’s common. So common that most people just believe it without question. I did too, until one day, as I was lying in the sun, catching rays, I quietly wondered, if the sun is so bad, why does it make me feel so good?
Now, I know you could say that about a lot of “not good’ things. But it at least opened the door for me to start looking for another perspective I might have missed. Honestly, I knew there was another view, because for the vast majority of human history, the sun wasn’t avoided. It was essential.
When I started digging into the research, I found far more evidence in favor of regular sun exposure than against it. Morning sunlight, in particular, plays a significant role in regulating cortisol, melatonin, and circadian rhythm, all of which affect energy, sleep, mood, and metabolism. Of course, sunlight exposure is also a primary driver of Vitamin D synthesis, which is linked to immune function, bone density, and inflammation.
Like anything, how you use it matters. I’m not advocating for burning your skin or eyes. But I have done the deep dive into the impact of sun exposure, specifically through your eyes, and have found the value for myself.
It has changed the melanin in my skin. I rarely burn anymore, which is a huge shift as I have very fair skin.
It has changed my energy output. I literally come alive in the sun.
And it has helped me become fat-adapted.
I still wear a hat at midday and find shade when needed. But I haven’t worn sunglasses in over two years, and I genuinely can’t see myself going back.
**This conversation also applies to contact lenses, as most block the beneficial rays of the sun.
03. I Stopped Living in Health Fear
If you’ve been here a while, you know I’ve been through a mold and Lyme disease journey. And if you’ve been through anything similar, you know how terrifying the world can become afterward. I was constantly assuming the worst about my environment (I genuinely thought I was going to be exposed to mold everywhere I went.
It was exhausting. And deep down, I didn’t even believe it was helping me. Even though I was consumed by it.
The research backs this up. Fearing what’s hurt you doesn’t actually help you in the way you think. For most people, it makes them more unhealthy. Chronic fear and hypervigilance keep the nervous system in a sustained stress state, which ironically suppresses immune function… the very thing I was trying to protect.
I was so focused on avoiding what might hurt me that I was depleting the resources my body needed to actually defend itself.
As I shifted my story (seriously, point one is everything), I made a conscious decision to redirect my energy from attempting to micro-manage my environment to building a body that’s resilient enough to handle whatever it encounters.
That doesn’t mean recklessness. It just means I’ve taken my fear and turned it into action. And it’s made an enormous difference in both my health and my quality of life.
04: I Got Serious About My Sugar Consumption
My knees were the wake-up call. Nobody has to have stiff knees in their daily life, and you can’t even blame aging. It’s really a result of your lifestyle. And for me, that was my diet.
I was consuming far more sugar and refined carbs than my body could efficiently use. I had even spent most of my nutritional career trying to back up why sugar wasn’t the problem. Even though I never could, I still attempted.
But once I got honest about my sugar consumption and made real changes, my knees stopped hurting. It might seem silly, but I can now do a full squat with no pain.
Of course, the science is pretty clear on this one. Excess sugar consumption drives systemic inflammation, and inflammation is a primary driver of joint pain, fatigue, and a long list of chronic conditions. High sugar intake also disrupts insulin sensitivity, which has downstream effects on energy, hunger, and mood.
Not to mention, if you're regularly craving sugar, that craving is a symptom of excess sugar consumption, not a sign that you need more of it. The more you eat, the more you want. That's the cycle.
05. I Focused on Building Healthy Structure (Both Mentally and Physically)
In the last few years, I shifted my view from losing weight (scarcity) to building structure (abundance). I moved away from trying to lose weight and started working on building stronger muscles, better posture, and greater physical and mental resilience.
And the research on this is compelling. Skeletal muscle is one of the most metabolically active tissues in the body, and building it improves everything from insulin sensitivity to cognitive function to longevity. Muscle mass is also now considered one of the strongest predictors of long-term health outcomes.
What I love about this work is that the physical structure of your body does not begin and end in your body. There is a direct correlation to the strength of your physical body and the strength of your life (or ability to show up in life).
It’s the story of the three pigs made biological. How you build the house determines what kind of stress it can withstand and how much.
That’s why I’ve become such an advocate for consistent movement, and why I keep handing out weighted vests like they’re candy. Because building a strong, resilient structure changes you, and not just in a vain way, but in your ability to get out and live.
06: I Started Having More Fun
I know, I know. This sounds like the least “health” tip I could give you. And so cliché. But I genuinely think this one is underrated and, honestly, one of the more impactful.
Somewhere in the pursuit of health, I think a lot of us (myself included) made health really serious. Like, suffocatingly serious. Every choice had weight. Every meal was a decision. Every workout was loaded with meaning. And all of that seriousness became its own kind of stress.
But when I started loosening my grip and letting myself have fun, I became more in control. I started to make better decisions without the weight. And honestly, I think that really comes down to the difference between making decisions in clarity versus under stress.
Your body genuinely responds differently when you’re enjoying your life versus trying to white-knuckle your way through it.
I think we could all stand to loosen up a bit. Take a breath and remember, if it’s not fun or at least a little bit enjoyable, you’ll never stick with it. That doesn’t mean your workout has to be fun or that you have to love what you eat. It’s not about making everything fun, but about creating a more fun life overall.
Take kids, for example. When their life is fun, they’re rather unconcerned with what they eat. Honestly, when kids are having fun, it’s nearly impossible to even get them to eat. That’s the kind of fun I’m talking about. And when’s the last time you had fun?
Fun isn’t a compromise. It’s actually a good strategy.
07: I Started Having More S**
Okay, I debated putting this one in. But then I thought, why not? It’s one we should probably talk about more.
The truth is, intimacy was something I had let slip in the busyness of life and the weight of my health journey. I also made the justification based on the story that women just have no “drive.” I followed the stereotypical ideas that s** was a chore.
And I didn’t even fully realize how much that was costing me until things shifted.
Here’s what I’ve come to believe: The health of your relationships changes you in powerful ways, s** or no s**. But if we’re talking about sex, research shows that regular sexual intimacy is connected to lower cortisol, better cardiovascular health, stronger immune response, and improved mood.
It’s not a side note to your health. It’s part of it. Connection, touch, and intimacy are biological needs, not luxuries. And truthfully, I think family structures are collapsing because of the stories and narratives that disconnect us from this need, these intimate spaces with our spouses, and have led people to find them in artificial ways.
It’s not the same.
I think we talk a lot in the health space about what to eat, how to move, and which supplements to take, and almost never about this. Which is interesting, because it’s one of the most human things there is.
So I’m not going to be weird about it. I’m just going to say, don’t neglect it. It matters more than we give it credit for.
Here’s what I want you to notice about this list.
None of it is extreme. None of it requires a perfect diet or a gym membership or a complete life overhaul. What it required was a decision to show up consistently, honestly, and with a little more grace than I’d given myself before.
That’s exactly what the Summer Walking Club is built around.
Not punishment. Not perfection. Just movement, community, and the kind of small daily decisions that quietly change everything over time. We’ll be diving into story work through the weekly devotionals, walking together through the summer, and cheering each other on in ways that actually stick.
I built this because I needed it. And I think you might too.
If you’re already in, I’ll see you June 1st. Sneakers on.
If you’re not in yet, there’s still time to join us here.
