A Healthier Lifestyle with Wellness

Wellness is more than freedom from illness or disease; wellness includes physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being. Wellness is also a process of becoming aware of choices and making healthy decisions. Through this understanding of wellness we learn to make healthier choices and lead healthier (and happier) lives.

A holistic approach to wellness also includes natural methods of preventing illness and disease rather than treating them after the fact. Incorporate these methods in your life and be sure to include:

• Eating more natural and wholesome foods, choose organic foods if possible.
• A healthy approach to moderate, regular physical activity and exercise.
• Limiting alcohol and tobacco and drinking more water.
• Building quality relationships with friends, family and loved ones.
• Getting plenty of rest and relaxation including sleep and meditation.
• Avoiding or managing stress in order to avoid stress eating and anxiety.

This process of wellness includes creating new “healthy” habits and eliminating those unhealthy ones as well. Habits like smoking, eating sugary junk foods, and avoiding daily exercise don’t promote long and healthy lives. Unhealthy habits also lead to chronic disease including hypertension and diabetes.

Through wellness education you can learn to:

• Successfully manage and control your hypertension by making simple lifestyle changes that can lower your blood pressure significantly and reduce or eliminate the need for medications.
• Help manage your type 2 diabetes through diet and exercise. The incidence of type 2 diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions. Research by the American Diabetes Association shows that dietary changes, regular exercise and losing excess weight can help you control and even reverse your type 2 diabetes.
• You will learn that one of the MOST beneficial things that you can do to improve your health and possibly extend your life is to stop smoking.
• Take the time to learn the basics of nutrition to help you make healthier choices in the grocery store and the kitchen. Learn more about macronutrients, micronutrients, fats, proteins and carbohydrates, and how to read and interpret nutrition labels and the difference between fast and slow carbs. Learn new ways to add new and healthy foods to your diet and which unhealthy foods you should eliminate.
• Learn about exercise including the types, intensity levels, and how exercise can help you lose weight and overcome chronic disease and even pain from arthritis. You’ll find in your wellness studies that your balanced fitness program should include strength training, cardio, yoga, and finally, how to make fitness and exercise a healthy habit.
• Your wellness research will help you recognize fad diets and how to design a sensible and nutritional eating plan instead like clean eating, paleo, or gluten-free. If you need to lose weight, you’ll be able to follow your own safe and effective weight loss program.
• You will learn how to avoid or manage stress and avoid the associated stress-eating.
• You will also learn that restful sleep is an important part of your wellness plan.

Build on all of these areas and find ways to combine all of these wellness steps into your new healthy lifestyle.