The health advice I'd give my younger self
20 things I'd do differently if I were starting from zero
A few years ago, my skin started breaking out like I was a teenager again.
Except I was in my 30s, which made no sense. I tried every product I could find, and nothing worked.
Turns out my body had been trying to get my attention for a while.
It sent me down the functional medicine rabbit hole, and that's when I started looking at health as something holistic, something biological.
So, if I were to rebuild my health from scratch today, here's how I'd do it.
Get clear on why I want this Not “I want to be healthier.” Deeper than that. What do I actually want my health for? More energy for my work? Being present with the people I love? Feeling strong in my body? Once you know the why, it’s easier to navigate the setbacks. And there will be setbacks.
Pick one area to start You can’t fix everything at once. Trying to will burn you out in two weeks. I see this as a long-term lifestyle journey, not a quick fix. Pick one area, focus on it, and let the ripple effect do its work in other areas.
Name my obstacles before they become problems Travel, work deadlines, family commitments. What usually gets in the way? What’s my backup plan when it does? If your environment or the people around you aren’t supportive, you’ll need to get their buy-in or find support elsewhere.
Build a health care team A functional medicine practitioner. A health coach. A trainer. A nutritionist. This is the biggest investment you can make in yourself. Doing this solo is really hard.
Get blood work done Before buying supplements or starting a new meal plan, I’d want to see what’s actually happening inside. Vitamin D, thyroid, iron, cortisol, HbA1c. The basics that most doctors skip unless you ask.
Measure your baseline You can’t track progress if you’re not measuring, just like any other project. Beyond weight, think waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, body fat percentage, resting heart rate. Pick what’s relevant and write it down.
Make sleep non-negotiable I used to start working on presentations at 9pm, snack on chips while doing it, then wonder why I was waking up at 3am. Now I protect my sleep like my career depends on it. Red lights after 8pm. No screens in bed. A hot shower to help my body wind down.
Calm my body down every day Even with the healthiest diet, if my nervous system is constantly on edge, nothing sticks. I’d start learning to breathe again. Four seconds in, six seconds out. Anchor moments before meetings, before meals, before sleep.
Eat real food and learn to cook Growing up in Turkey, I was surrounded by Mediterranean food and didn’t know how lucky I was. Now I understand why it works: anti-inflammatory, colorful, plant-forward. I’d learn how to build a balanced plate and start seeing cooking as a skill worth investing in.
Use the power of my biological clock Morning daylight as soon as I wake up. The biggest meal around lunch, when the pancreas is most active. Aligning my energy and focus with my body’s natural rhythms instead of fighting them.
Run an elimination diet once a year Give the gut a proper reset. Remove the most inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy, and sugar for about a month, then reintroduce them one by one to see how my body actually responds.
Remove toxins from my environment The liver already has a lot on its plate. I’d swap chemical detergents, makeup, and perfumes for cleaner alternatives. More glass and wood at home, less plastic. For clothing: cotton, linen, silk where I can.
Move daily and see movement beyond the gym I started with weight training, but I’ve since diversified. Anything that gives me joy counts as movement now. Gardening. Dancing. Stretching. Yoga. And adopting our dog turned out to be one of the best things I ever did for my daily step count.
Let go of people who drain me This one took me the longest to learn. I was holding on to friendships that weren’t really friendships anymore. When you’re changing, your circle might change too. That’s okay. Social wellbeing is a huge part of health, one we almost never talk about.
Track and understand my patterns Some days I had energy. Others I didn’t. There was always a pattern. I started writing down what fills me up versus what drains me, and that’s actually how my energy shift journal came to life.
Understand your cycle and work with it For a long time, I didn’t connect why some weeks I had unlimited energy and others I could barely function. Especially for women, your hormones shift throughout the month, and your energy, focus, appetite, and recovery all shift with them. Starting a strict diet the week before your period is often a bad idea. Learning to align your food, movement, and rest with your cycle changes everything.
Rethink your relationship with alcohol Early in my career, alcohol was social currency. Certain groups, certain rooms, certain moments where saying no felt like opting out. I had to learn a few simple sentences and actually stand behind them. Because the more I understood what alcohol does to our health, the easier it became to choose differently. You don’t have to explain yourself. A decision is a decision.
Invest in therapy and find your blind spots A therapy is how you see the patterns you keep repeating. The sooner you understand yourself, the healthier every other decision becomes. And the sooner you stop that inner fight with yourself and with others, the more energy you actually have for living.
Remember that health is a spectrum “Not sick” is not the same as “thriving.” Most people live somewhere in the middle, functioning, getting through the day, but nowhere near their best. Every week, I check in: Am I truly energized enough to enjoy the life I’m building? If not, that’s feedback.
Take full responsibility for my health Health is not only about your genetics. The way you live, work, eat, rest, and move has a massive impact. Your lifestyle choices matter more than most of us want to admit, which means we have to do something about them. But it also means you have the power.
Your Tiny Experiment
Go back to step one. What do you actually want your health for? That answer is your compass for everything else on this list. And did I miss anything important? I’d love to hear what you would add. 💛
With energy,
Gözde
