A fresh start to wellness this new year for Livermore
It’s that time of year, when resolutions are made to become healthier but often times, as the days and months pass, we forget about those resolutions and are back to our same unhealthy patters. A big down fall to resolutions are that they are symptom based instead of wellness based and are often times things we want to accomplish over night such as losing weight or running a marathon. A better approach to resolutions this year might be setting lifestyle goals that allow for wellness such as:
- Weight loss-it is now estimated that 1 in 3 adults in the US are overweight (from WHO) and research has shown that 95% of those who lose weight will eventually gain it back (within three years). That is why it is a better approach to look at lifestyle changes such as nutritional changes and physical activity.
- Nutritional Changes-start small by increasing your low-glycemic vegetable intake, the greener the better and avoid high-glycemic vegetables such as corn, potatoes, carrots and peas. Start by eating one extra low-glycemic vegetable a day; in a month, add another vegetable to your diet. Within 5 months you will be adding the recommended daily allowance of vegetables and you’ll be feeling healthier and losing weight.
- Move more-Start small by picking two days a week and walk out for ten minutes, then walk home. If you miss one day then go the next day but don’t give up. After two weeks, add a day and then after 6 weeks walk out for fifteen minutes. The ultimate goal is to walk 45 minutes at a time four or five days a week.
- Decrease Caffeine, Sugar and other chemicals-Slowly cut back the amount of caffeine daily by drinking one less soda or one less cup of coffee. If you only have one cup or one soda a day, drink ¾ of it instead of the full glass or cup. Slowly, you will cut out unnecessary and unhealthy caffeine. This goes for sugar too. Cut back on sweets by limiting the number of desserts per week to 1 or 2. Start small by skipping dessert once per week for a four weeks and then cut back on two desserts until you are only treating yourself to one serving a dessert per week.
- Less Over-the-Counter Medications-self-medicating can be dangerous for those who aren’t aware of drug interaction risks as well as the side-effects of the chemicals in these drugs. Talk to your family wellness chiropractor about any over the counter drugs you take and why; it may be that there are healthier, holistic options you haven’t considered.
- More restful sleep-Research has shown that eight hours of sleep is vital to your mental and emotional wellness. Try going to bed a bit earlier to make a change. If you sleep at 11pm try going to bed at 10:45pmm and then after a few weeks 10:30pm and so on. Insomnia can have several possible causes such as drinking caffeine or eating too close to bedtime, as well as stress. If you sleep fitfully consider your mattress, diet or physical activity.
- Decrease Stress and Increase Peace-one of the biggest demands on our time is television and computer time, with the average person wasting four hours a day. Imagine reducing this to one hour; that adds three hours to a day or 21 hours to a week. Think about what you could do with almost an extra three day every week.
The concept of baby steps is not new but where we can apply it could be. The areas of our lives that fall under the category of wellness are limitless, only we know where we really want to make a change. Make small changes over a longer period of time and you will succeed to becoming healthier in 2010.
