Improve Your Physical Wellness With These 8 Steps
Physical wellness is recognizing the need for physical activity, proper nutrition, and sleep and preventing illness and injury or managing chronic health conditions. Additionally, it is implementing these activities into your daily life. It is:
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- Managing your weight in healthy ways.
- Exercising regularly (at least 150 minutes per week, according to the CDC).
- Getting 7-9 hours of sleep each night and feeling rested in the morning.
- Seeking advice from healthcare professionals if you have a health concern that you cannot solve on your own.
- Avoiding abusing or misusing illicit drugs, prescription, or over-the-counter medications.
- Drinking alcohol responsibly (i.e., designating a sober driver, avoiding binge drinking, etc.).
- Maintaining healthy eating patterns and a balanced diet that includes fruits and vegetables.
- Staying hydrated and drinking water throughout the day.
- Consistently practicing good hygiene (i.e., showering, brushing your teeth, etc.).
Looking to improve your physical wellness? Here are some tips:
1
Exercise regularly
Exercise is beneficial for a multitude of reasons– it helps us complete our body’s stress cycle, it releases endorphins and other mood-boosting chemicals, it boosts our self-esteem, it improves our creative thinking, it increases mental alertness, it increases our energy and stamina– just to name a few. The CDC recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise per week, which should include a combination of aerobic activity (i.e. walking, running, swimming, cycling, etc.) and muscle-strengthening activity (i.e., weight-lifting, push-ups, sit-ups, etc.). The best way to exercise regularly is to find something you actually enjoy doing, so experiment with different types of workouts to find what works best for you.
2
Auto-schedule check-up appointments
Make it easy for yourself to keep up with these appointments and avoid the unnecessary stress that comes from making phone calls and finding an appointment. Don’t wait until you need an appointment for a specific reason and tackle your physical health preventatively rather than reactionarily.
3
Eat a healthy diet
Start by making small changes that are barely recognizable, like replacing white rice or pasta with brown rice or whole-wheat pasta. As mentioned before, start with small, attainable goals and build up from there. Make it convenient for you to eat healthy and inconvenient for you to eat unhealthy by removing unhealthy foods from your home if you have trouble resisting the urge. Load your shelves with healthy snack options. If you’re not sure where to start, we recommend consulting with a nutritionist or referencing the CDC’s dietary guidelines.
4
Reduce caffeine intake
This is specific to individuals struggling with anxiety or panic disorder, as caffeine can exacerbate those symptoms. Our body’s reaction to caffeine mimics our stress response: our sympathetic nervous system gets activated and adrenaline is released into the bloodstream. Ideally, caffeine should be limited to less than 100 mg per day.
5
Be planful with meals
We’re all busy and don’t always have the energy to prepare meals from scratch once dinner time rolls around. If you’re one of those people, be strategic. Prepare your meals on Sunday evening, order a food subscription service (i.e., Hello Fresh), or prepare in the morning using a CrockPot.
6
Create accountability
Have a hard time holding yourself accountable? Find ways to create accountability externally: schedule a workout class at a gym that has cancellation fees, plan a walk with a friend who will rely on you to show up, sign up for a meal subscription service that automatically sends fresh food to cook, etc.
7
Let go of black-and-white, all-or-nothing thinking
This type of thinking usually causes us to burn out when developing healthy habits because it makes us feel that we have to keep up with unrealistic standards we set for ourselves. The 30-minute walk I do is better than the one-hour cycling class I didn’t do. Set small, achievable goals for yourself and allow for flexibility.
8
Focus on discipline rather than motivation.
Motivation is emotion-based and fleeting. Motivation isn’t always useful when creating healthy habits because it often occurs only after taking action. Discipline, on the other hand, is the ability to take action in a consistent manner regardless of emotional state. If we let our emotions dictate our behaviors, we will be pulled in all sorts of different directions, most of which will lead us off-track of our healthy habits.
At Embodied Wellness Center, we take a holistic approach to mental health treatment. Interested in holistic therapy or want to learn more about it?
*Disclaimer: The content posted on this website is for marketing and educational purposes only. It is not, nor is it intended to be, psychotherapy or a replacement for mental health treatment. Please seek the advice of your licensed medical or mental health professional, and do not avoid seeking treatment based on anything read on this website.
