Taking care of our health is something we should all prioritize, but it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the different advice out there. The key is making small, manageable changes that fit into our everyday lives. Simple things like adjusting your diet, getting a bit more sleep, or finding ways to move more can really add up over time. It’s not about aiming for perfection but making gradual improvements that can lead to lasting benefits.
Starting with one small change is often the best way to go. Whether it’s cutting back on processed foods or setting aside a few minutes each day to relax, those little steps can help you build healthier habits that stick. The goal is to find what works for you and take it one step at a time, building up a routine that makes you feel good inside and out.
Highlights of the Podcast
00:04 - Importance of rethinking health
01:31 - Integrating health into daily life
03:04 - Taking action
04:48 - SMART goals
06:19 - Sleep and routines
09:25 - Diet adjustments
11:09 - Identifying obstacles
12:41 - Getting professional help
14:06 - The importance of personal responsibility
Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:00:04] All right. So I was talking to me over the weekend, um, we had some family over and I was talking, uh, one of my cousins and we were talking about what it's going to take to actually get healthy. Um, and stay healthy and do that whole thing. And we're going to have to re kind of rethink the way we run our lives and the way do everything. We really want to be there. Um, one other things that I've been talking about is if we want to get everybody healthier, one the things we're gonna have to look at is actually getting a hold of our 20 to 30 year old girls within and getting them cleaned up, not just, not, just detoxing their body from all the, all the diet drinks and alcohol and all the processed foods and all that trash, but we're gonna have to teach it. We're gonna have exercise them so that they can get functionally fit so they can actually carry babies. We're going to have to start working on their mental function, things like that. We have, we have not only the worst healthcare, like getting sick and stuff like that, we are the worst mental healthcare in the world as well. that we are legitimately at the bottom of every type of healthcare we can. And the only way that we're going to actually get around that, we're not going to find some new drug. We're not gonna find some news surgery. Uh, we're gonna find new, you know, Totic or tincture that's going to fix everybody. You know, what we're to start to do is start to recognize we have to change our entire mindset. We've got to change what we think about healthcare. We were to change about what we thinking about self care. We're going have to the way that, cause the thing I talked to the, my biggest job, the actually the thing that I find the most fun. Uh,.
Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:01:31] And actually kind of the whole reason I feel like I'm what I do is I try to fit all the things in people's lives, you know, it's like, Hey, you got to change your diet. Here's how we're going to do it. Have you had eaten this food? Have you eaten this? Food? Like walking people through it. Then we're just like, hey, what are you doing for, how are you doing your sleep? You know, like, have you set a wake time? Have you set up bedtime? Are you, you, are you sleeping like this? Are you doing these things? And you know that's the thing that, again, I find the most fun. that I think people actually need is for me to kind of walk them through all of the things, but we're going to, if we want to be healthy, we're gonna start looking at all the different pillars. We're gonna have to start looking at them and deciding what is it that I have to do to now be healthy because we're gonna have to give some stuff up. We gonna have to move some stuff around. We have to reprioritize things. And so that's the thing that I feel we should all start to sit back and kind of be like, all right, hold on, you know, obviously I got to pay for the house and this and that. Maybe, maybe we downsize the house. Who are we? you know, downsize the cars. And I realized, you know I live in Frisco. So I realized how crazy that sounds everybody, but maybe that's the thing we got to do. You know, reprioritize all the things on our list and then be like, okay, what can I do to wake up a little bit later, go to bed a little earlier? What can I to, you now black out the room? What can do to eat a little cleaner? What can you do to start exercising? How do you start integrating these things into your life? Everybody wants to be healthy. And I think the thing is, is that, because this is what I find when I talk to people is that people want to be healthy and they're willing to do some work, they just don't know how to integrate it in their lives.
Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:03:04] But I think if we kind of take a step back when it's like, all right, what's really important because you talk to people who were, who have dementia, you talk people who have cancer, you talked to people who are, you know, pretty ill or have family members who are pretty ill and you know mothers of autistic children, things like that. All of a sudden it's kind of one of those things where you're like, yeah, everything, all the things don't matter if you're not healthy. You know, people say that all the time, but that's, that's kind of where it is and we know a lot of people know I talked to, they know they're on a path to being mentally, physically, emotionally, just destroyed health-wise and they're not doing a whole lot to change the path because, and maybe it's cause they don't know and that's great and that's why people watch the stuff. That's why they're online. But we're gonna have to start kind of changing the way we think about stuff and being like, Hey, instead of just watching stuff, which is great, like get the information, start taking action, start moving forward on some of these things, you know, join a, join, uh, a class, like, you know, we've got, you know, like a vibe five class or a orange theory class or like whatever, like a step class, spin class, something, you know, go do something like, okay, I'm going to go do this three days a It's called, when we do it, we call it tasking. You know, instead of being like, Hey, you know, I need to get in shape. Great. That's a thought. That's not a plan. If we've got to start getting plans put together and we, the way that I help people do them is with a series called smart. So basically what you do is you set your plan, you set a way of measuring your progress in the plan, and then you, you said that's achievable that you can actually do, and you put a timestamp on it. And you're like, all right.
Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:04:48] So this week or in the next 48 hours, I'm going to do this thing. That's going to get me closer to my school, my goal. Uh, and we're going to all have to kind of start working towards that thing. We're going have to start being like, okay, here's what I want. I want more functional movement. I want, you know, I want to lose some fat. I want too. You know, get overall healthier. Okay. Well, what are we going to. Um, you don't have somebody to help you kind of walk through that framework of, okay. We're gonna do this. Then we're gonna this. I'm going to do this. Come up with a plan in your own, but you've got to come up with a plan that is, like I said, is set in that timeframe where you're like, Hey, I want to do this thing by this time, you know, in this way. Great. Now you have a plan. That you can actually take action on not just I want to be healthier soon, or I don't want to have a heart attack, so we're actually going to have to start changing the way we're thinking about things and put action into them. We're after to start actively moving forward on them. These are some of the things that, you know, are going to be really, really beneficial. So, you know. Let's say, you know, sleep, like I want to get better sleep. All right. Find a time. This is Mrs. People don't, it's always like, I should go to sleep at this time. No, you should figure time to wake up. And this is weird, but pick a time to wake up every morning that you can wake up every morning and then backdate how long you're going to be able. You're going be able to sleep, um, because you have to start setting routines and that's the easiest way to set your routine is when do I have to get up most days when you figure out that time now back up six hours and be like, well, this is when I have to be asleep.
Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:06:19] So back up, you know, 20, 30 minutes so that I have to be in bed at this time. You know, one of the other things you can do is you can, okay, if I've got to be embedded, I'm just picking times, 10 o'clock, I'm going to get off my phone at 9.30, or nine, or something like that. So I'm not staring at that phone with all those lights, all the frequencies of lights that are keeping us all awake, you now, this type of thing. So actually start setting your goals. Don't just be like, I want to get better sleep. Great, that's a fantastic thing to want, but it's not It doesn't have a goal set to it. So, you know, if you want to start getting healthier, just remember, I've got to do, we gotta do some stuff in your diet. And the first thing you want to do on diet, like if you're going to do this sort of stuff, strip out some of the processing, like everybody tries to take this giant bite out of this huge health Apple. And then they don't, you know, they can't chew it up. And so like, okay, I'm just gonna give up small bites, small steps, that type of thing. Strip out some of the process. You know, this is one of the things that when I work with people is what we go through. It's like, Okay. Like, that's why I always ask people, what are your 10 favorite foods? Because like, here's how to make and eat these foods without the trash in them. So that's one step. And then, you know, what am I gonna do about my sleep? All right. You know, get off the phone. Set a wake time, set a bedtime type of thing. Great. Now just execute that for a couple of weeks. Then we'll start stripping other things out. So these small steps. So if you guys haven't set a bed time, I'm sorry, set awake time instead of bedtime, try doing that. Just sit down and be like, okay, by the end of this week. It's Monday. That's a long time. You should probably be like by tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to come up with, you know, what I need to do and when and how I need to do it.
Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:07:55] So set that first, set the sleep times and be like, okay, that's what I'm doing for sleep right now. Like maybe you come back to it two weeks from now, maybe come back for a month from now when you come back from it three days from now. But set that thing for your sleep, right? Cause you got all these different things you got to function in. Then sit back and be, like, okay, I'm gonna try to strip out some of the processing in my foot. by the end of the week. That one might take you a little bit longer because you start going through your food and you're like, everything I eat has trash in it. Yeah, it does. So maybe you figure out, hey, when I make this dish, I'm gonna start doing X, Y, and Z. Or maybe if you wanna be super healthy and be super awesome with this sort of stuff, decide that you're going to start stripping out a food that's terrible for you. Like, I'm going to quit eating cereal, which I realize I just give half of you panic attack, But. Think about that one. Like, okay, I'm just gonna eliminate this one thing. What am I gonna replace it with? Give yourself five or six options you can replace it. And it's one of those things where I've had people be like, I'm gonna quit eating cereal, I'm going to start eating bacon and eggs. I'm like, that's a great change for a lot of people. Not for everybody, but for a lotta people, bacon and egg is a much better change than cereal. However, you're gonna have to factor in, making bacon and an eggs and eating bacon and eggs does not take the same amount of time. It's not as easy as making cereal and eating cereal and then putting the bowl in the sink. So. You're gonna have to factor in, okay, I've got, you know, I need seven more minutes, 10 more minutes. I need to do these things. Like here's how I'm gonna walk through that. Walk all that through in your head.
Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:09:25] If you don't have somebody walking through with you and try to figure out, okay, here's how I'm going to do this. Uh, you'll pick a meal that, you know, really, you know, you shouldn't be eating or pick us, pick something like Oreos, right? So if you're like, I like Oreo's cool, try to find. This is one of my favorite things to do. Try to find an Oreo replacement that is just better. It doesn't have to be perfect. It's just better, right. So, you're okay. I found one that still has the dyes and this and that, but it doesn't, have the sugar. Great. You've made a big step forward. Great. That's fantastic. Like you don't have to go from zero to a 10 all at once, you know, cutting out. And we can start kind of walking through it. Apparently there's no sound on my YouTube. I'll have to figure that out. But those are some of the things that we can kind of start chipping through and see if we can't figure out a way to process those things back through. So if you can start doing these little things, it's going to add up to a lot over time. You don't to have to be go from, like I said, from a zero to 10 overnight. You know, these are the things that working with a coach can kind of walk you through and be like, okay, have you done this? Have you done this? Have you done this, you know, but those are the things that if we really want to start getting healthy, we're really going to have to start kind of figuring out what do we do? Like, what's the next step? Like, where are we starting? Where are we trying to go? And what are the steps to get from point A to point B? So sit down and kind of figure that out and then figure out what's one thing I can do. Just one thing instead of time. Be like, okay, I can do. You know, I can figure out the replacement for cereal in two or three days. I can decide that I'm gonna stop using my phone 30 minutes before I go to bed tonight. Great. And if you don't successfully get through it, great. Did you try? Fantastic. Then you can go through and be like, why was I unable to do it? And here's the fun thing. This is the great thing.
Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:11:09] If you're like, I couldn't do it because I had fear of missing out or I couldn'd do it because of X, Y, Z. Great. Now you're starting to figure out that you have attachment issues. Maybe you have addiction issues. Maybe you've got stuff that you weren't aware of beforehand, that's holding you back. This is where we started going through and be like, do you need to break this thing? Or why are you making the decisions you're making? As we start going through that, that's when you start looking at that. That's when I start looking at the NLP stuff, like, okay, how do we now fix your psychology so that this is no longer something that's driving you to do X, Y, and Z? There's lots of little things in that, but just kind of walk through and try to figure out, hey, I've got X, I got Y, I'm trying to, trying to get here. What are the small steps I can take? But think about it, it has to be achievable. You've got to be able to fit it in your life and you got to put a timestamp on it. Like, I'm going to do this by tomorrow. I'm gonna do this, by the end of the week. I'm to do by whatever. And, you know, maybe it's one of those things where you're just like, I need help doing this. I'm just, I mean, I make my list of people who can help me today, right? So the next 24 hours, I gonna make a list of the three, four, five, six people that I really think can help. Fantastic, that's a big piece of your goal. There you go, knock it out. You've made a list of people who can help you. And then once you do that list, then you're like, okay, now I'm gonna go through and I'm going to sort through this list and figure out who the two best people on my list are. Right, I'ma give myself 48 hours to do that, right? So now it's three days in, and now you have the two best people you can have to work with. Now just start, you know, get with them and see how you can work with them and get going. You've now done the biggest step you can in your health.
Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:12:41] If you're gonna find somebody who's gonna help you walk through this, Like offload that offload, that burden of you know, figuring it out to them. Like I spent, God, I've spent 20 years working on trying to figure it out for me. So, you know the easy thing is like, if you value your time, you hire somebody who's spent the time figuring it all out already to help you walk through it. This is what you do with any mentor or any coach. Like, you now, what have you done? Like, oh, I spent 20 working on, you know learning to build the right buildings. All right, well then I should probably hire you to build a building. So I've sent 20 years learning how to be the great lawyer. I should really hire you to be my lawyer. I shouldn't be my own lawyer. Like that type of a deal. but pick your people that you can go through and you can get this stuff done with and start making the small changes because you know, that's the way, that's really the way all these things happen. I've met so many people who try to make these big changes and they last maybe two or three weeks because they bit off way more than can chew. And they didn't understand how the pieces were going to fit in their life. But if you'll start thinking, okay, I know that I need to do X, Y, and Z like it start with sleep. It's the easiest one. Cause people are complaining about their sleep all the time. Figure out how to get that fit in your life. And then try to figure out how to start stripping some of the process out of your, out of your diet. And these changes will make the biggest impact on you, um, all the way through. Now, the next one I would tell you to do is start working on some gratitude stuff. Um, but those are the ways that those are the ways. That are going to be probably the easiest way for you guys to start getting healthy. And no one's going to do this for you. Like no one can do this for you, that's the thing.
Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:14:06] It's like, you know, it's like I want to have big arms like you do. And I'm like, great, you're going to have to go to the gym. You're going have to do the curls. You're gonna have to do the work. No one can do it for you because it's your body. So if you want your health or your family's health to get better, you need to start changing the way you're thinking and recognize that this is the thing you've got to do. Like all, like you can do it all by yourself if you really want to. Like I'm not trying to say you can't, um, you know, I've done it and I haven't even done it all by myself. hundreds of thousands of dollars going to school, learning from neurologists, learning from, you know, some of the best guys in the area, you know, partnering up with people, um, you know, that's the, like, I, I've learned a lot. It was so funny because I learned so much about how to do work on, uh, my female athletes because I had pregnancy chiropractors in my office teaching me how to pregnancy work because like you, you want to talk about how the pelvis works in a woman. Like if you go through the pregnancy stuff, like you're like, oh, Here it is at normal. Here it is all the way throughout the pregnancy. Here's how it is at the end. You learn so much about it. But that's the thing. Like you have to get with these people and you have do these things. So, you know, it's been, for me it's 20 something years of hardcore, all day, everyday dedicated work. And that's how long it took me to figure out how to get where I'm at. For me and my family to get to where I am at. So, hiring a professional to do it is really, really beneficial. But there's a lot of small changes you can make.
Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:15:35] And the sleep is the easiest one. figure out when you're gonna wake up, figure out your bedtime, put a time limit on that and be like, I'm gonna figure this out by the end of the day. I'm going to figure out that, you know, I'm to do this. Now here's the thing. Once you figure it out, you look at your calendar and be like, oh, I promise to be here. I promise it'd be here so I can't start it yet. All right. When can you start it? Like, will my calendars open up? Like, fit it in. Like get started. If you're like, well, you know, I can only do five of the seven days. That's a lot. That's more than half. Like get it started on it. And you'll figure out how to fit your life into those parameters. So don't let yourself fit into somebody else's schedule or somebody else his life, fit your into your schedule. Um, but that's kind of one of those big things is if you want to get healthy, you're going to have to change what you think about it. This isn't to go to the doctor and the doctor makes me healthy. This is the, I do these things. I make myself healthier. I am healthy because of what I've done for me. And if you need to have a guide, help you guide through it, like great hire somebody, hire me, hire a trainer, hire somebody. to help guide you through it, you will save substantial time, energy, and money, I guarantee, in headache. I guarantee you, if you hire somebody.
Dr. Matt Chalmers [00:16:44] And you're gonna end up finding that, for the most part, you're going to get what you pay for. But, you know, on the other side of that, if you're healthier and you're not sick and you are able to do the things you want to do, it is going to end up saving you money at the long run. A lot of my business owners I work with, it makes them money, because they're able to go do their job better. They're able sell better. there will run their company better. they have clarity of mind and they have energy in the whole thing. But that's the thing. If you're thinking that someone's going to come up with a pill or someone's gonna come up with a thing that helps you do this thing, that's not how it works. You got to do it. And so, you know, whether you're a hiresmith or not, remember, change your mindset. Your health is entirely up to you. You've got to do it, there's no pill, there is nothing that's going to get you there. So sorry to be a downer at the end, but that's how it is. If you guys have any other questions, hit us up questions@chalmerswellness.com and we'll get you guys going. Thanks for your time.
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Dr. Matt Chalmers
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