Given all the knowledge that can direct ourselves into living a healthier life, why would we not take this information and use it to feel our best? Why in our right minds would we ignore them?
Honoring our body goes hand in hand with mental health. When you accomplish something, you feel good, right? You want to keep trying harder because finishing something is motivating. On the flip side, many people choose not to try, and instead slack off in lieu of instant gratification. To choose to live on with unhealthy habits and repeat the same behaviors they ultimately feel bad about.
“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task, which, more than anything else, will affect It’s successful outcome.” – William James
Your self talk and the #choices you make directly and indirectly affects each and every moment of your day, and not only that, the people you influence. Lifestyle tools that are the foundation to maintaining and improving our health lay in how we incorporate exercise, nutrition, amount of sleep into our daily #lives. All this plays a role in what attitude we possess toward ourselves. It really doesn’t have to be difficult. It just takes planning and caring enough to take these steps to a #healthier way of life.
Here are the 4 life components to achieving more energy and better health:
1. Exercise
Exercise doesn’t mean you have to go out and kill yourself on machines. Just getting all your muscles to be active is productive. If your issue is time, at least do some stretching in the morning after you wake up, and some other time during your day. You should always get a doctors clearance for certain activities if you have injuries or health issues, but there are low impact activities like Yoga, walking, and swimming that are good options if you are limited.
Exercise is beneficial in lowering stress levels, a natural anti-depressant, and stimulates your hormones to release “feel good” chemicals to the brain and body. Heck, just by doing breathing exercises is productive…you need clean oxygen in the blood stream to help feed your cells energy, and clear your blood of toxins. The Mayo Clinic offers a guideline on how much exercise and strength training you should do to achieve and maintain good health.
2. Nutrition
Be mindful of when it is time to fuel your body, and when it is not. If you are getting in a lot of physical activity you may need more usable calories to sustain your muscles. Don’t eat when you are bored, find something to keep your body and mind occupied so you aren’t obsessing over sugary or fatty treats. Also choosing foods with usable nutrient value like fresh fruits and veggies (the ones that you can eat the skins on should be organic choices), eating lean cuts of meat (I choose 90% lean or more) and using healthier fats for cooking and sauce like olive oil and avocado oil. Keep the sugar intake low to none, as well as concentrated juices and sodas. Try not to eat fast food, or “save” your appetite for dining out because you will eat more than your body will use. For more complete info on nutrition, click here.
3. Sleep
Your brain needs rest just as much as your body does. Most people average 6 hours or less of sleep…for an average adult to function at your optimum, you should be getting between 7-9 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period. I personally take naps to compensate for lost sleep when I can. Your body recuperates and heals itself when it is at rest, and your brain/hormones also get a chance to settle down and do what it needs to do to help you, without environmental noise and interruption.
Lastly, do not sleep with the TV on! Your subconscious mind still operates when you are sleeping…getting subliminal messages from TV shows or infomercials is not allowing your brain to rest. If you need noise, listen to peaceful music that has no words which will stimulate good vibrational activity in your cells.
4. Attitude
If you treat yourself poorly you will limit your potential. When you honor your body you will feel on top of the world, and with that feeling you will accomplish more and feel more vibrant; which in turn affects confidence. When you move to a higher energy plane, you will work harder toward things you are passionate about and will feel an improvement in your mood.
Reflecting on yourself
When you don’t feel good about yourself, you experience low vibrational energy. This is when we feel symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and our immune system suffers. The more you are aware of how you feel and want to feel at any given moment, the quicker you can make a change. We can’t change yesterday, but we can do something to change how we feel in the present and forward!