10 Simple Steps to Well-Being
Are You Taking Small Steps?
When we become aware of needing to make some changes around our health, we often want to go all out; we try to overhaul our entire body, completely change our diet, and fix everything else in our life all at once. It’s like trying to jump to the top of a mountain from the base in one giant leap. The changes we make when we approach it this way are rarely sustainable. In order for long-term change to occur, we need to create shifts that become part of our lifestyle, and this means taking small steps and incorporating them fully into our lives. In this way, even small, seemingly inconsequential changes can end up having a large impact on our health over time.
You likely already know a few things you could be doing to improve your overall health and wellness; in fact, take a moment now and think about what those might be. Are you doing them consistently? Many of us need reminders to do the things that we know we could do. Below I remind you of 10 simple steps you can take to improve your overall wellness.
1. Drink Enough Water
The body is 55-65% water, and every system of the body depends on water for proper functioning. Dehydration is common and linked to a number of problems, including fatigue, headaches, skin problems, cravings, sluggish thinking, and poor digestion. In general, think of drinking 1/2 your body weight in ounces per day—if you weigh 100 pounds, drink 50 oz of water. This does not mean 50 oz of soda, tea or coffee! If you don’t like the taste of water, try drinking it anyway for a couple of days; you might be surprised at how quickly your taste changes when you body begins to get what it really needs. Pay attention to how you feel; you may need to adjust the amount based on your physical activity and overall health.
2. Eat Real Food
Take a look at the food you have around your house right now. How much of it is real food? The less processed, the better. The easiest way to make sure you are eating real food is to shop the perimeter of the supermarket (though perhaps skip the bakery section). As Dr. Mark Hyman says, “there is no junk food; there’s junk, and there’s food.” If you find a lot of junk in your pantry, don’t try to throw it all out at once. Pick one thing a week and look at what real food you enjoy that you can substitute for the things you decide to eliminate.
3. Eat Locally and With the Seasons
Whenever possible, it makes sense to eat local; it’s good for you and for the planet. Eating local keeps you in tune with what is going on around you. When you vary your diet by season, it helps you get a variety of foods and balances your system with what is going on in nature. If it’s winter and cold out, cooling salads may not be as good a choice as a warming stew or soup. As Dr. John Douillard says, nature always provides a balance, so pay attention to what grows or is available in your area by season and let that inform your food choices.
4. Cook at Home More Frequently
Eating out is generally more expensive than cooking at home, and often not as healthy. Try for a week adding up the amount that you spend on eating out; you might be surprised to find how much you can save. Unless you are eating at a Mongolian Barbeque, when eating out you have less control over what goes into your food—often all ingredients are not included in menus nor do you get to see how your food is being cooked. Portion control can also be an issue; we often do not realize how much we are eating when a large plate of food appears in front of us and we are chatting as we eat. Instead of buying lunch every day, cook a large meal on the weekend and then take it to work for lunch the next few days. I used to make colleagues jealous of the yummy lunches I brought in to work.
5. Exercise
We all know we need to exercise, yet how many of us are actually getting the amount we need, much less a good variety? Aerobic exercise provides numerous benefits, including lowering blood pressure, moving blood and fluids through the body to help flush out toxins, increasing endorphins and lowering stress hormones, and controlling weight. Anaerobic exercises, such as strength training and interval training, strengthen bones and muscles, increase speed and power, and can raise metabolic rate. Stretching increases our range of motion and the flexibility of our muscles and joints. Optimally, we get some of each type in our exercise plan. Varying exercise can also keep it fresh and new. Sign up for a weekly yoga or pilates class, take a brisk walk a few days a week, and incorporate some interval or strength training to round out your exercise plan.
6. Create a Movement Diet
Our body deserves more attention than just during those few minutes a week we are exercising. We often do not pay any attention to it until we notice that our back or neck is aching after sitting at a desk for long hours, or our feet are tired from standing. As Jamie McHugh suggests, “Rather than dominating or forcing your body to perform in a pre-programmed way…collaborate with it and focus more on the pleasure and creativity of your body in motion.” Particularly if your work involves sitting for long hours in front of a computer, talking on the phone a lot, standing, or doing anything repetitive, create cues for yourself to check in with your body frequently to see what it needs in that moment. Intervene through taking a breath, making small movements, or even taking a walk, and see how you can create more ease throughout your day.
7. Assess Your Life
Wellness is broader than just what you eat and how much you exercise. Unhappiness in any area of your life can profoundly affect your wellness. In what areas are you not as satisfied as you’d like? Consider your home environment, relationships, career and finances, creativity, spirituality, and confidence. How might you make small changes in one or more of these areas that would increase your overall wellness?
8. Prioritize Self-Care
What do you do daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly to nurture yourself? If this area is a challenge, make a plan to start with taking some time for yourself this week. Perhaps take a bath, make time to journal, practice appreciation, or choose something else that refreshes you. Then, make a longer term plan to regularly incorporate self-care into your life, perhaps through a monthly massage, a short or long retreat each year, or a relaxing vacation.
9. Focus on a Quality
Choose a quality you want to bring into your life. Perhaps you’d like to experience more play, joy, appreciation, courage, or curiosity. Post reminders of your quality where you can see them throughout the day, and find ways to bring it into whatever you do. Be creative, challenge yourself to incorporate your quality into each activity. How can you be playful at work, add some joy into cooking dinner, or slip curiosity into talking with a friend? As you do this, notice how it changes your experience of what you are doing.
10. Think Balance
Practice moderation in all areas; if you change your diet, consider a 90/10 or 80/20 diet, where you follow it for the larger percentage of time and allow yourself a break the rest. If you do eat or drink things you would like to not be eating or drinking, do so with awareness and limit the quantity. Consider balance across the whole of your life; where is the majority of your time and energy spent, and does that focus truly reflect your values? Look for areas in your thinking and actions where you go to extremes; maybe you think you have to know everything before moving ahead on a project, or you can’t let anything go until it is perfect. Reflect on what balance would look like for you and decide on a step to move in that direction.
Though I list 10 ideas, the point here is not to try to change everything at once. Pick one area from those listed above where you suspect that implementing a small change would make the biggest difference in your life, and focus on that for the next week or two. Track your progress to keep yourself motivated, perhaps by writing down the changes you make and how you feel. When you pay attention to your successes you will be more likely to stay on track and experience more of them. Create a plan for yourself to then continue taking these steps one or two at a time, considering where you are at regular intervals—perhaps once a week—and reassessing what changes you would like to make next. We can all use a little support in making these types of changes, so consider how working with a health coach might help you stay on track. By following these simple guidelines and not attempting to jump to the top of the mountain all at once, you might be surprised at how quickly you actually get to the top, and find you are living a happier and healthier life.