There are only 4 things you need to do regularly and well to have optimal health. Most people can guess them if they stop and think about it hard enough…. can you??
- Exercise / Movement
- Nutrition / Good fuel
- Sleep
- Stress Management / Mental Outlook
We call them the pillars of health. Each is essential for good health, and each one affects the others..
Exercise impacts all of the other pillars. When you exercise more you sleep better. When you exercise you decrease mental stress, and improve mood. In fact, the biggest impact of exercise is on your brain and mental processes. Many people will argue that exercise is the cornerstone habit because when people focus on exercise, their nutrition changes naturally as well. This creates the ripple effect throughout your health….
It can go the other way too…..
Stress can negatively affect your nutrition. Not only does stress change how your body processes food, but it also affects what you generally choose to eat.
Stress will punch your nutrition plan right in the mouth!
If you are stressed out – do you tend to reach for a bag of carrots or a bag of chips? Stress eating is a big weakness in people’s nutritional plan. As Mike Tyson’s coach famously says: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”
Sleep is what people tend to try and cheat…
You can’t cheat sleep!! When you get a full uninterrupted night’s sleep you will have more energy to exercise, more patience for life’s small challenges, and more mental clarity to make good choices. Sleep has a major impact on our health and recovery. Without good sleep our body can’t repair our muscles as effectively from exercise, and it can’t clear the waste products produced by the brain during the day of thinking thus allowing it to consolidate memory and heal.
Focusing on good nutrition has a far reaching impact on every aspect of life, and every system in the body. Good nutrition can reduce inflammation and pain. It can improve brain function, and increase energy. It can heal disease, and improve immune function. Our food is medicine, and it is taken daily.
Think of the 4 pillars of health (exercise, nutrition, sleep and stress) as the 4 legs of a table.
You need all 4 legs to be equally strong for that table to be strong and effective. If you cut one of those legs off, then the table gets wobbly and fails. Your health is the same way. You only have to sacrifice one of the 4 pillars of health, and your health will get wobbly and possibly fail.
Do you want to live a happier, more energetic, more fulfilling life? Then focus and prioritize your health. Everything else gets better from there!
Not sure where to start? Take our 1 minute test!
Take an honest look at yourself and evaluate yourself on the 4 pillars: Grade yourself on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the best, and 1 being poor).
1- Exercise: Do you exercise regularly? Do you prioritize movement and physical activity in your day? This can include walking at lunch time, having physical hobbies like salsa dancing? Do you lift weights, or participate in a regular fitness routine?
2- Sleep: Do you fall asleep easily and stay asleep all night? Do you get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep most nights? Do you wake up rested and ready to start the day?
3- Nutrition: Do you eat a lot of meat and vegetables? Do you snack a lot? Are you aware of the amount of carbs and sugar in your food? Do you consciously choose foods high in protein and fat, and low in carbs? Do you eat a lot of processed foods? Do you eat out at healthy options or fast food? Are you confident in your education and choices about healthy food?
4 -Stress: Do you take time to slow down and relax? Do you meditate or do yoga, or any other breathing practice? Are you aware of what and when you are stressed out? Do you have have a specific stress management strategy that you can name off the top of your head?
So where do I start?
Look at your scores and choose the lowest score. This is your priority. This is where you can make the biggest impact right away. Remember, as one improves it creates a ripple effect.
Still not sure? Do you consider yourself healthy or unhealthy?
If you consider yourself unhealthy: We find that starting with nutrition first makes the biggest impact, and gives you the confidence to keep improving. Our recommendation for nutrition plans would be the Ketogenic Diet or Intermittent fasting.
If you consider yourself to be healthy: Start with fitness and exercise. Just finding an exercise routine you like that you can do daily will make a massive impact in mood, energy, stress and sleep!
We can help!!!
If you don’t think you can do this on your own we are here to help. If your not sure WHAT to do, we are here to help. Our fitness coaches are amazing at helping people get moving, and walking them through nutrition plans that fit their life and personality.
Can’t exercise because of pain or injury?
Our therapists can remove that barrier to getting moving and started on the path to good health!