The journey to attain vibrant health and wellness begins with building a lifestyle which
supports them. A health and wellness oriented lifestyle is built by making healthy habits
and choices part of your daily routines.
You do not need to completely overhaul your entire life all at once.
These changes can be made gradually.
Physical Fitness
If you are not already physically active, incorporating fitness activities into your life does not
need to pose a major challenge. Examples of moderate physical activity include dancing,
brisk walking, bicycle riding and more.
Keep in mind, 30 minutes of moderate activity provides the minimum required to gain health benefits. More vigorous activities, jumping rope, rock climbing and swimming provide
even greater health benefits. Extending the amount of time spent doing any physical
activity also increases 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 of physical activity.
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
Along with physical fitness, ultimate health and wellness hinges on a healthy and balanced diet. 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, lean proteins and unrefined grains. You might also lower salt, added sugar, trans fat, and saturated fat.
But 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.
Keys to Success:
· Choose one or two small changes to incorporate into your diet each month.
· 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.
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 and dietary
changes can take significantly longer.
The rate of accomplishment for more complex changes can be highly variable;
do not end your quest for vibrant health on your wellness path, if you are not seeing immediate results.
The key to changing established habits and acquiring new ones is consistency and persistence.
Small steps add up, and always acknowledge your successes.
You can reach your goal!