The journey to ultimate health and wellness begins with building a lifestyle that supports you. A health and wellness oriented lifestyle is built by making healthy habits and choices part of your daily routines. These changes can be made gradually.
Physical aptitude
The US Department of Health and Human Services published the first Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans in 2008. Recommends 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per day or a minimum of 2 hours and 30 minutes per week for adults ages 18 to 64 . Strength training is recommended for all major parts of the body, legs, hips, arms, shoulders, abdomen, back and chest at least twice a week.
If you’re not already physically active, incorporating fitness activities into your life doesn’t have to be a major challenge. A wide range of physical activities meet the guidelines. Examples of moderate physical activity include dancing, brisk walking, biking, and more.
Keep in mind that 30 minutes of moderate activity provides the minimum necessary for health benefits. More vigorous activities, jumping rope, rock climbing, and swimming provide even greater health benefits. Expanding the amount of time spent in physical activity also increases the health benefits.
To successfully integrate fitness activities into your life, make them part of your daily schedule. Set aside time in your daily schedule and add a reminder to the event on your phone or watch. The most important thing you can do is show up for activity and get some level of physical activity. Even if it doesn’t equal the full 30 minutes, you are still developing the habit of physical activity.
Keys to success:
• Start with an activity that you enjoy.
• If you are a social person, join an exercise group or exercise with friends.
• Remember that every detail 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 based on your schedule.
• Write your exercise time on your calendar.
Diet
Along with physical fitness, maximum health and well-being depends on a healthy and balanced diet. People who eat well experience a variety of health benefits, better weight maintenance, less chance of developing diabetes or heart disease, and fewer cases of illness. As recommended by the 2010 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a healthy diet includes significant amounts of fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, lean protein, and unrefined grains. The recommendations also suggest reducing sodium, added sugar, trans fats, saturated fats, and cholesterol in the diet.
Before looking to cut things out of your diet, work on adding healthy options to your meals and snacks. Take a proactive positive approach as you make changes to what you eat. Drink a still drink instead of a soda or soda; You can choose unsweetened herbal teas that still provide flavor, lemon water, or plain water. Select brown rice instead of white rice with your meals. As with exercise, small changes add up to a complete transition to a healthier lifestyle.
Keys to success:
• Choose one or two small changes to incorporate into your diet each month.
• Experiment. Eating healthy should be enjoyable for you to make it part of your lifestyle. Eat different foods and a variety of ways to prepare them and enjoy the ones you like.
• Be sure to keep your daily menu varied so you don’t get bored with your food choices and get off track.
Mind-body connection
Our emotional state can affect our food choices, our level of physical activity, and our ability to maintain positive social engagement. Foods high in sugar and fat satisfy the pleasure and reward centers in our brain.
If we are stressed or unhappy, many of us look to rich foods to make ourselves feel better. Sometimes this is a conscious decision; many times it is not. Also, feeling angry, unhappy, or depressed depletes energy, making it difficult to exercise or perform any other physical activity; we just don’t feel like it.
There are many ways to combat this cycle. Physical activities such as yoga, Pilates, tai chi, and many others expressly cultivate a healthy mind-body connection for practitioners. Each of these activities uses breath-awareness movements to focus and calm the mind and nervous system.
Yoga also includes breathing and meditation exercises. These activities improve fitness and relieve stress. Some mind-body activities, breathing exercises, visualization, and meditation do not involve movement of the whole body; they focus on channeling mental activity and relieving stress.
It is important to keep the body healthy and the mind in a balanced state to experience a sense of well-being. Balance does not mean that you become an automaton. It simply means that you are not experiencing unrealistic ups and downs or debilitating lows (depression). Being balanced makes it easier to deal with stress, adapt to change, and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Keys to success:
• Choose a mind and body activity to include in your schedule that suits your lifestyle and temperament.
• Practice it constantly to get the best results.
Make it a habit
It takes 21-30 days of consistent application to turn a simple action into a habit. More complex accomplishments, such as establishing an exercise routine, daily meditation, and diet changes, can take much longer.
The rate of making more complex changes can be highly variable; Don’t put an end to your quest for ultimate health and wellness if you’re not getting immediate results. The key to changing established habits and acquiring new ones is perseverance and perseverance. You can reach your goal!
