When it comes to our overall health, there’s many different aspects that work together. In fact, according to health education, there are 5 aspects of personal health. But I don’t want to talk about all of them today. I want to talk about the 3 that have made a huge difference for me in the past week. Yes, you read that right. This past week alone I’ve seen a difference in my health from working on these 3 aspects.
Technically, in health education terms, I’m only talking about 1 out of the 5 aspects. But to me, this aspect – physical health – can be broken into a few categories: diet, fitness, and sleep. You can’t focus on physical health without working on all of these. Something I just found out recently. And not in the way you might think either. You see, I personally thought I had worked on a couple of those without realizing I was just putting in the bare minimum.
Go Hard Or Go Home?
Fitness, that’s something I actually dedicated time, effort, and energy into. I exercised 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes, and the other 2 days my body was moving one way or another. However, sleep and diet were the categories I was lacking in without even really knowing it. Yes, I slept, but not as much as I should’ve been. (And everyone is different!) Yes I ate moderately healthy, but again, nothing like I should have been.
You know the saying, ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’? Well, now I like to think of it as, ‘A rainbow a day keeps the doctor away’. We don’t have to go crazy and quadruple our fruit and veggie intake all while adding supplemental nutrients on top on that while counting calories, carbs, and other contents in addition to that. It’s not go hard or go home. It’s that everything is good in moderation!
We’re still allowed to indulge every now and then. But we can’t just be putting in the bare minimum, or at least I can’t. All 5 of my health aspects run smoother when I take the time to focus on and nurture each and every one. It’s not like in school where I can say I’m good at one subject and suck at another. All of these subjects work together to make life easier and better for me!
For Goodness Sake
So, how have you been working on your health then, you might be asking? For starters, I recently had a health issue pop up. So I went and saw a doctor. And oddly enough, I left with orders to work on the 2 categories I haven’t been so good at and ease up on the one category I have been consistently good at. Fitness – lay off for a couple weeks. Sleep – increase daily amount. Diet – well, let’s just say there have been quite a few changes.
Laying off the fitness has not been easy for me because it’s something I did consistently for the past 3 years. Something that became a habit, second nature to me. As for sleep, it turns out that there’s an easy way to determine if someone is sleep deprived. Simply lay down during the mid-afternoon with a metal spoon in your hand and a metal tray on the ground. Look at the time before you close your eyes and wait to fall asleep.
When the spoon hits the tray, it will wake you up. Check the time that it took for you to fall asleep. If it takes less than 10 minutes, you are sleep deprived. If it’s between 10-20 minutes, you’re moderately sleep deprived. And if it takes more than 20 minutes, you most likely get enough rest. Give it a try and see what happens!
Taste The Rainbow
Like I said earlier, for me it’s more helpful to remember to eat a rainbow every day than just an apple. And I get that the saying had more meaning than that, so whichever way helps you remember, just use that! But when I say rainbow, I mean making sure I consume fruits and veggies in every color! Red from tomatoes or beets, orange from, well, oranges, and yellow from pineapples or bananas. Green from spinach or cucumbers, blue from, well, blueberries, and purple from plums or radishes. And so many more!
I’ve always been a pretty picky eater, which made me not focus as hard as I should’ve about finding a way to still get those nutrients. And it obviously goes a lot deeper, depending on your allergies and restrictions. But now I make sure to consume my rainbow! Whether it’s from the actual food, a fresh-pressed juice, or a smoothie. I also make sure to consume more yogurt for probiotics and gut health, nuts for protein and antioxidants, and multi-grain options for fiber and heart health.
Plus, I nearly doubled my water intake daily! (Which was pretty poor to begin with.) And I do take a once-a-day vitamin to supplement the things I may not get otherwise, but it’s a personal choice and preference. But here’s the thing – I didn’t have to completely cut things like ice cream and chocolate out of my life. I just had to learn to introduce other healthier choices into my diet as well!
If Not Now, When?
Look, us humans are pretty good at saying, “I’ll get to it.” And we’re also pretty good at procrastinating. But this isn’t something that anyone should wait to work on (if you don’t already consistently work on it.) It’s something to dive into right now! Not only will it pay off with a healthier version of you, but you’ll be able to take on life with a whole new insight, zest, and energy for life itself. So if not now, then when?
And while we’re talking about the benefits we can provide ourselves, check out ETM’s blog on how to have a safer summer here. As always, thank you so very much for being a part of ETM’s community! I encourage you to join discussions, interact with others alike, and be unapologetically yourself! Until next time, I hope I’m able to help make your life as simple as could be. (:
With all my love, Brandolyn – Earth To Momma
