New year, simpler year

I took a walk outside on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day without headphones. It was the first snow in weeks, and I wanted to be alone with my thoughts, and pay more attention to the sights and sounds around me.

Outside is my best side, and recently I’ve been beyond busy. And I’ve missed nature. Nature, like food, is medicine.

The past few months, I’ve really felt the urge to simplify my life. For those that know me, they already describe me a minimalist, but more than ever, I’m feeling drawn to simpler life. Maybe you are too.

Back in mid 2020, I opened my own brick and mortar outpatient physical therapy clinic in Newport Beach. My business mentor at the time was a pediatrician who had recently left her job at a big hospital after being fed up with the broken healthcare system. She started a concierge practice with the goal of providing better care for her patients, and making space for more balance in her daily life.

Something she said really stuck with me. She told me

“we never know when it’s our time, so we must seek balance every day.”

For her that meant seeing a few patients a day, playing with her kids after school, cooking at home, and getting outside to break a sweat once a day.

This year, I hope we can do the same.

For me that will look like getting outside for at least a 20 minute walk, cooking most meals at home, 7-8 hours a sleep a night, a strengthening workout, building my business, one check-in with a family member, and quality time with the man I love. Every day.

What will it look like for you?

More cooking at home

If I’ve learned anything from working as a health care provider the past decade, it’s that FOOD IS MEDICINE.

It’s easier to control what goes into your meals, when you prepare them yourself. It’s also the most affordable way to nourish yourself and your family.

If you like to cook, or want to learn how to cook simple meals at home, from real food ingredients, consider following me on

YouTube @dr.lindylouise

Learning to say no

Opportunities come our way, but if they don’t serve us, then our time and energy is best spent elsewhere.

This might mean abandoning your FOMO.

This might look like setting boundaries.

This might sound like saying no.

For example, I no longer see patients past 4:00 pm. If I do, my night spirals into rushing to get dinner together, skipping a much needed workout, not being prepared for the next day, and eating dinner too late.

What boundaries will you set for yourself this year?

Tip from the field

I visit between 4-6 patients a day. The people that age best, eat real food.

They don’t start their day with boxed cereal like Raisin Bran. They eat eggs. Or some other natural, whole food.

In 2020, I treated a 99 year old man who said that his entire adult life, he started his day with eggs and bacon. At the time, I thought this man must be healthy in spite of that breakfast. This was before I really understood the power of food as medicine. I was wrong, he was likely doing so well, because he spent a lifetime eating real, whole foods.

Lesson? Eat the real stuff. If it was made in a factory, and hard to replicate at home, it’s probably not good for you.

Happy New Year, and thanks for your readership.

xo,

L