The journey to attain ultimate health and wellness begins with building a lifestyle which supports them! A lot of it is through making healthy habits and choices part of your daily routine. WARNING: You do not need to completely overhaul your entire life all at once. That will create overwhelm! These changes can be made gradually.
Physical Fitness
I recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity daily if you’re physically able to. Strength training for all of the major body parts is recommended at least twice a week — you need to use your muscles & build them, to retain your strength as you get older — even for functional fitness such as bending, squatting, walking, lifting, carrying, etc.
If you are not already physically active, incorporating fitness activities into your life does not need to be a major challenge. Examples of moderate physical activity include dancing, brisk walking, bicycle riding, hula hooping, jump rope, even weeding your garden! More vigorous activities, jumping rope, rock climbing and swimming provide even greater health benefits.
To successfully integrate physical fitness activities into your life, make them part of your daily schedule. Set aside time in your daily planner and add a reminder to the event on your phone or watch. The most important things you can do are show up for the activity and perform some level of physical activity. Even if it does not equal the full 30 minutes, you’re still building the habit!!
Keys to Success:
Start with an activity you will enjoy.
If you are a social person, join an exercise group or workout with friends.
Remember every little bit counts. If you exercise for 20 minutes twice a day or in 10 minute increments throughout the day, you can meet the requirement of 2 hours and 30 minutes per week around your schedule.
Block out your exercise time on your calendar.
Diet
They say “you can’t out run your fork” meaning… your nutrition is a HUGE KEY to your health. People who eat well experience a variety of health benefits, better weight maintenance, lower chances of developing diabetes or heart disease and lower instances of illness. A healthy diet includes significant amounts of fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, lean proteins and unrefined grains.
Before you look to cut things from your diet, work on adding healthy choices to your meals and snacks. Take a proactive positive approach as you make changes to what you eat. Drink a non-carbonated beverage instead of a pop or soda; you can choose unsweetened herbal tea which still provides flavor, lemon water or plain water. Select brown rice instead of white rice with your meals. Just as with exercise, small changes add up to a complete transition to a more healthful lifestyle! Don’t make it overwhelming!!
Keys to Success:
Choose one or two small changes to incorporate into your diet each month.
Start taking a SIMPLE supplement regimen (message me to get the one I swear by & take daily)
Experiment. Eating healthy needs to be enjoyable for you to make it a part of your lifestyle. Try foods and a variety of ways to prepare them and enjoy the ones you like.
Make sure to keep your daily menu varied so you don’t get bored with your food choices and go off track.
Mind-Body Connection
Our emotional state can affect EVERYTHING. Foods high in sugar and fat satisfy the pleasure and reward centers in our brains. If we are stressed, sleepy, or unhappy, many of us reach for rich foods to make ourselves feel better. Sometimes this is a conscious decision; many times it is not. Also, feeling angry, unhappy or depressed saps energy, making it more difficult to exercise or pursue some other physical activity; we just don’t feel like it.
There are many ways to combat this cycle. Physical activities like yoga, pilates, tai chi and many others expressly cultivate a healthy mind-body connection for practitioners. Each of these activities use movement tied to breath awareness to focus and calm the mind and the nervous system. For me, I love getting outside in nature, gardening, riding horses, and playing with my animals!
Yoga includes breathing exercises and meditation as well. These activities build fitness and relieve stress. Some mind-body activities, breathing exercises, visualization and meditation, do not involve whole body movement; they focus on channeling mental activity and relieving stress.
It is important to keep the body healthy and the mind in a state of equilibrium to experience a sense of well-being. Equilibrium does not mean you become an automaton. It simply means you do not experience unrealistic highs or debilitating lows (depression). Being even tempered makes it easier to deal with stress, adapt to change and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Keys to Success:
Choose a mind-body activity to include in your schedule which suits your lifestyle and temperament.
Practice it consistently for the best results.
Make It A Habit
It takes 21 to 30 days of consistent application to make a simple action a habit. More complex accomplishments like establishing an exercise routine, daily meditation and dietary changes can take significantly longer.
The rate of accomplishment for more complex changes can be highly variable; do not give up even if you are not seeing immediate results. The key to changing established habits and acquiring new ones is consistency and persistence.
You can do this and you DESERVE to Thrive in every area of your life!!
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🇺🇸 To your health & freedom,
🍏 Elise
Integrative Health Practitioner
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None of the statements on my blog, in my programs, or within my emails are intended to be medical advice. All of my content is based on my own experience and advice from my own doctor, and through my personal research. Always consult your Dr. if you have concerns or a medical need.