Five Wellness-Focused Habits for Fighting Obesity
Updated: Sep 7, 2020
Five Wellness-Focused Habits for Fighting Obesity
The best way to improve your life is to find and embrace new, healthy habits not just for a few weeks or months, but also for life. Try these suggestions to replace bad habits with better, wellness-focused habits.
Get Moving
Instead of thinking of exercise as a “dreaded chore,” change your mindset. Treat exercise as an investment. Schedule it like an appointment on your calendar each day. Set goals to stay focused and then reward yourself with new clothing, a new book, or something else that makes you feel good. Find activities you enjoy — you don’t have to spend time at the gym. Instead, focus on quality and quantity. Aim for 30 minutes a day, and if you’ve been fairly sedentary, start with three 10-minute sessions.
When you view exercise as play, it becomes fun. Enlist the help of your friends, family, and critters to participate in activities that get you moving but don’t scream exercise. Play more actively with your kids. Turn on the music and have a dance party in your basement.
Eat Healthfully
Diet: It invokes so many negative feelings because what most of us think when we hear the word is “a temporary and highly restrictive program of eating in order to lose weight.”
Author Meg Selig recommends eschewing the “diet” mindset and adopting a healthy-eating mindset instead. She and other experts know that following a lifelong program that includes healthful food choices and activity is best.
So where do you start? Simply, and with small changes. These few rules are the only ones you need to follow, to start:
Eat mostly real (not processed) food.
Avoid liquid calories.
Choose calories that come from healthy foods — lean proteins, healthy fats, and good carbohydrates (from vegetables, fruits, and grains).
Drink lots of water. Often, we mistake thirst for hunger. Try a glass of water first, when your stomach’s sending you messages.
Use a fresh food delivery service. These services will bring you pre-portioned ingredients so it’s less likely you’ll overeat.
Hire a nutritionist to create healthy meal plans and provide extra support.
Get Rest
U.S. adults average 6.8 hours of sleep a night, yet most adults need between seven and nine hours each night. Restful sleep is a critical component to your overall health, so if you’re looking for solutions to improve your sleep:
Turn off electronics at least an hour before bedtime.
Avoid caffeine after 3 pm.
Create an inviting sleep environment with room-darkening shades, cooler temperatures, a noise machine, and comfortable pillows and mattress.
Develop a pre-bed ritual to help your body relax — it might be a warm shower or bath, curling up with a good book, a cup of tea, an evening stroll, meditation or mindful breathing — whatever works for you!
Maintain the same sleep schedule seven days a week. If you stay up and sleep later on days off, you can throw off your circadian rhythms.
Address Mental Health
Many Americans have a mental health condition. Some studies have found a connection between mental health issues and obesity.
Other studies indicate that obesity and other psychological disorders, including low self-esteem, body dysmorphia, and eating disorders, are bidirectional (i.e., they influence each other). Depression and anxiety often lead to decreased motivation and withdrawal from social activities. So if you’re struggling with a serious mental illness, seek professional help.
Wellness coach Lynne Patzelt can help you define your goals and then take specific steps to achieve those goals. Her expert guidance and encouragement can help you make lasting positive changes in your life.
Add a Hobby That Promotes Activity
When you engage in a leisure activity that you enjoy, you’ll be happier, healthier, less stressed, and less bored. Best of all, many hobbies can be healthy and fun. You might try:
Dancing
Getting (and training) a dog
Walking or hiking
Traveling
Yoga
Non-competitive sports leagues
Water sports: swimming, kayaking, or canoeing
For the maximum effect, find a fitness routine and diet that work for you and your specific situation. Addressing mental health issues is critical, too. And don’t underestimate the importance of finding and incorporating a variety of activities that you enjoy into your routine so nothing becomes stale or boring.
Photo Credit: Pexels
About the Author: Dana Brown has 15 years of caregiving experience, and after seeing some patterns of poor health she became determined to help inform people about healthy living She createdHealthConditions.info, to provide Internet users with helpful content and resources that will lead them to making healthier decisions.