laura AGAR WILSON

AN ALTERNATIVEhealthy living

<<MANIFESTO>>

ABOUT THE AUTHORLaura Agar Wilson is the woman behind the popular healthy living and lifestyle blog Wholeheartedly Healthy and holistic health coaching practice Uniquely Healthy Ltd. Through her blog and health coaching practice, Laura aims to inspire and educate other women on how to look after their health with good nutrition, exercise and a positive body image. She shares her experiences of losing over 60lbs following a life time of struggling with her weight.  Wholeheartedly Healthy follows Laura’s personal healthy living journey with a holistic view of what makes us healthy and happy and includes sharing whole foods

based recipes, and posts on the topics of wellbeing, fitness, beauty, style, home, parenting and running a blog and business.  Laura is a certified health coach with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and holds a qualification in diet and nutrition advice. She is a member of the Federation of Holistic Therapists. She also holds an MA in Community and Youth Work. She is Managing Director of Uniquely Healthy Limited and partner of the community based enterprise Feel Good Factory North East C.I.C. where she delivers a range of community based healthy living projects. Laura has been featured in Healthy Magazine as a Healthy Hero. She has also worked with Activia UK and Gok Wan on their Feel Good Campaign and various other brands including Alpro UK, BRITA, Maxitone, North Face, Natural Balance Foods, Next, Uniqlo and several small businesses.

Over the last 5 years I've learned a lot about diet, nutrition, fitness and self worth. I 've seen how it 's approached within the media and how different 'diets' fall in and out of fashion. Most of all, I've been able to look back and see how I have been affected by it all. 

Finally, I feel like I've come to a place where I have developed my own opinion and approach to the whole topic of healthy living, and to me at least, it's vastly different from a lot of what else is out there. 

With that in mind, I thought that it w o u l d b e w o r t h s h a r i n g m y approach in this manifesto!

ManifestoA published verbal declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political

party or government. 

A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus and/or promotes a new idea

with prescriptive notions for carrying out changes the author believes should be made. It often is political or artistic in nature, but may present an individual's life

stance.

ANAlternativeHEALTHY LIVING

Manifesto<<DIFFERENT THINGS WORK FOR DIFFERENT PEOPLE>>

Why this appears to be a difficult concept for some people to grasp I do not know! I get that we are all human beings and that in a wider sense, we all need similar things to survive. However, there is 7 billion of us on Planet Earth, to think that all of us will thrive on the same 'diet' is just bollocks. My personal experience, backed up with what I have seen from my clients and read about from other real life accounts and the more sciency stuff, is that different foods, amounts of foods, ratios of different types of foods, eating at different times of day etc, will all work differently for each of us. Generally, whole, unprocessed foods are where it's at, but within and around that, it's all individual and unique!

What works for keeping me healthy and happy, may not work for you. I believe that taking some time to discover what does work for you is worth it. That is why I called my business 'Uniquely Healthy' and why my strap line is 'find your own version of healthy'!

By Laura Agar Wilson

<<TAKE THE BEST + LEAVE THE REST>>

There are a trillion different 'diets' out there. Diet books consistently top the best sellers lists and it seems that every time you open a magazine there's a new diet craze. Maybe I'm going to buck the healthy living blogger consensus here, but, if you can look at this stuff critically, i.e. don't fall for it hook, line and sinker, then you can sometimes discover some great tips, recipes, new ideas and approaches. 

I've followed the latest diet trend more often than I'd like to admit, but it was all part of experimenting to find what worked for me, and ultimately, has brought

me to a place where I feel very confident in my choices. By bringing it back to me and my body, I know what works. 

So don't be put off by diet articles and websites, just read them critically and take the bits that work for you. Many 'fad' diet sites have some great recipe ideas that can be tweaked to suit you better. 

If you have done a fad diet don't beat yourself up - welcome to the human race! It's completely natural to want a quick fix, and sometimes, for some people, they can occasionally work, or at the very least, show you what doesn't work.

<<NOURISH YOUR BODY WITH HEALTHY FOODS + FEED YOUR SOUL WITH TREAT FOODS>>

I love healthy foods - veggies, fruit and other whole foods etc. I enjoy eating them and they make me feel good inside and I know that they nourish my body on a physical level (and a lot of the time, mentally as well). But, if I try and deprive myself of other foods that may be classed as less healthy - you know what I'm talking about here - cake, pastries, rich puddings, sweets (or maybe even that processed  artificiality  sweetened diet chocolate mousse - whatever floats your

<<LIFE IS MORE THEN FOOD AND EXERCISE>>

Why do you eat healthy and exercise? Chances are it's to feel good about yourself, live your life to the fullest, avoid getting ill and be able to fit into that dress or look good in a bikini. All good, valid reasons. But, what happens when the pursuit of being 'healthy' shoots past achieving those things you were aiming for in the process? I want to be healthy and happy and live life to the fullest - enjoying every experience that comes my way. I can't do that if I'm in the gym every day. I can't do that if I'm afraid of going out for a meal with my friends because I might gain 2lbs on the scales tomorrow. Yes, that time in the gym and self control and denial might give me a size 8 body, but is it worth it? For me, the answer was hell no! There is more to life than that - don't miss the point of healthy living. Ditto with doing exercise you hate - there are plenty of different forms of moving your body, you should be able to find one you can do with a big smile on your face! 

<<IT’S OK TO WANT TO CHANGE, JUST KNOW WHAT YOUR DIAL IT UP IS>>

I know I've just been talking about accepting your bodies natural shape etc, and I stand by that. However for some of us, including me, we can go beyond what is healthy and right for our bodies. For example, when I have been on holiday and eaten rather more treat foods I feel the affects of that imbalance - sluggishness, bloating, weight gain (to beyond that healthy set point for me). It's not about saying that I don't love my body and curves, but it is about saying I don't feel as healthy above my natural set point. It is ok to want to lose weight in that situation.

A lot of people in this position would jump on the fad diet bandwagon faster than you can say '5:2', and you know what, if that works for you go for it - just cast a critical eye over it first and then re evaluate, you might just change your mind. What I think is a much better approach is to 'dial it up' for a while. What is 'dialing  it up' you may ask? Well, I just love this way of looking at things - much better than 'going on a diet' (was there ever a phase to fill me with so much dread, I think not). Dialing

boat!), I'm just not a happy bunny. I spent a couple of years living in denial, and I was super slim, but I had lost a certain sparkle. When I find the right balance of foods that nourish my body, and foods that feed my soul I shine my brightest! It is a delicate balance though, and I know that when I have too many treat foods I start and feel bloated, head achy and generally crap. I also know that when I sway

<<WE ALL COME IN DIFFERENT SHAPES AND SIZES>>

Healthy is more than a number, whether that's the one on the scales, tape measure or your BMI. Some women are perfectly healthy and very slim, some women (like me) are perfectly healthy being more curvy. The trouble starts when you try and fight what your body is naturally. I've always been a little bigger than average, and when I forced my body down to a size 8 with utterly unsustainable over exercise and under eating, it made me very unhealthy - even though I was still a healthy BMI. I believe our bodies have a healthy set point, and when that need to fit into societies current ideal (remember this obsession with thinnest is a modern construct) makes us go past that, I don't believe that is good for us. The good thing is, that for most of us that healthy set point is going to give you a naturally gorgeous shape - that could be slender and toned, or fabulously curvaceous! The trick is to accept what you are and then damn well make the most of it!

it up just means changing your focus for a while - more healthy for your body foods and less treat foods. Adding in an extra workout for a few weeks. You might be the kind of person that needs more structure than this approach - then dialing it up for you could be keeping a food diary or even calorie counting for a while. The key is to see these things as points on a dial which you can turn up or down, not on or off which is the typical diet mentality.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my ramblings! As I said at the start, this is what healthy living means to me - but it might not be what it means to you, and that is

how it should be!

Why not write your own manifesto? Think about what living a vibrant, healthy, happy life looks like for you - write it down and stick it up somewhere you can

see it as a reminder.

Then go and revel in your own awesomeness!

<<LOVE YOURSELF AND BELIEVE YOU DESERVE TO BE HEALTHY + HAPPY>>

Out of everything this one can be the toughest. We are bombarded with images of the ideal body shape that is deemed to be the most desirable. Our hunger - especially as women - is seen as unattractive. Add on top of that any other issues you might have that come from your background, family, upbringing etc and you would be forgiven for never feeling good enough.

That was how I felt for a long time, like a failure, never good enough, unattractive, at war with my own hunger - not just for food but for a better life. I felt broken and unable to be fixed.

Eventually, I said to myself that enough is enough and slowly I started to change the way I felt about myself. I realised that being thin and being able to resist the food that other women couldn't, did not make me a better person, just as much as being bigger did not make me a bad one. I accepted that how I look was not a static thing and that putting so much of my own self worth into something that will eventually wither with age was really fucking stupid. Sometimes I have days when I look in the mirror and feel a bit chunky. Sometimes I look at my Instagram feed and see people posting 'before' pictures that look like how I am now (urgh!) 

But now, most of the time, I look in the mirror and genuinely think I look hot!

lauraxxx

My name is laura, I'm 4 stone less than I was at my heaviest and 2 stone more than I was at my thinnest. I'm a

UK size 12 / 14. I have a big nose and non existent eyebrows. I have a cracking pair of boobs. When I flex my butt muscles my arse looks pretty good too. I have a few stretch marks, but my colourful tattoos do a good job at distracting from

them.

I like my smile. I love salads the size of my head and smoothies with spinach in them. A day without coffee feels like something is missing.

I love than Reece's Peanut Butter cups...and salted caramel...together in a bowl with vanilla ice cream for

me please,

thank you.  

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Disclaimer

This guide is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of medical advice and treatment from your personal physician. Readers are advised to consult their own doctors or other qualified health professionals regarding the treatment of medical conditions. The author shall not be held liable or responsible for any misunderstanding or misuse of the information contained in this programme manual or for any loss, damage, or injury caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by any treatment, action, or application of any food or food source discussed in this programme manual. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

To request permission for reproduction or inquire about health coaching services, please contact:

Laura Agar Wilson:

hello@lauraagarwilson.com

lauraagarwilson.com

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