No matter what your current health and wellness goals look like, chances are you have set these goals to improve your overall quality of life. You set goals because you want to feel better, enjoy life and connect with yourself and others in healthier and more holistic ways. Here are five keys to total wellness that can help you and each of the women you love to achieve your health and wellness goals.
Diet
You’ve probably heard more than once, “you are what you eat,” and after hearing it so often, you’ve probably begun to tune it out. But the reason this saying has endured for so many years is because it is true—not literally, of course. This doesn’t mean that you have to refrain from eating foods that taste delicious but are filled with fat and calories; it just means you need to eat a balanced diet. If you know you will be eating fried chicken and chocolate cake at a nighttime cookout, try to eat lighter during the day, focusing mostly on vegetables and fruits. Your body needs certain nutrients to function properly. It needs a combination of healthy carbohydrates, fats and proteins to keep all of its organs and processes running smoothly. Your priority when choosing food must reflect balance if you want to achieve your total wellness goals. Still, experts agree that a splurge now and again won’t hurt. Some experts even encourage having a bit of your favorite things daily to stave off cravings.
Nutrition
Nutrition education is the natural complement to building a healthy diet. Most people are not as knowledgeable about food as they should be regarding what to eat, what not to eat and how to choose the right food combinations at each meal. When you start to learn how food can support your body, building a healthy diet becomes a lot more fun. For instance, bananas contain potassium, which helps the kidneys function and staves off muscle cramps. Women often begin learning more about food choices by working with a meal planning service that can create healthy meals with balanced nutrition. To begin, simply making time to visit websites for different services can help you choose the right service quickly and easily.
Fitness
Fitness is about more than just physically exercising your body; rather, it’s about achieving an overall fitness of mind, emotions and body. When you exercise you burn off toxins, ease stress, discover new strengths you didn’t know you had and give your mind a chance to rest. Busy people often cite exercise as a time when they can allow their minds to wander, temporarily let go of stress and worry, generate new ideas and process their daily life. When you make fitness a regular part of your body’s daily life, your mind, emotions and relationships all benefit too.
Motivation
Your motivation depends heavily on your goal-setting process, and in return, you may set high goals for yourself as you become more motivated. Accurate information and healthy self-esteem are essential to setting and working toward your goals. When you have accurate information about your overall health and wellness, you know what is not working well for you and what you need to change in order to feel better. But only when you have healthy self-esteem will you be willing to act on the information you have.
Overall Health
Another term for overall health is life balance. If you are a parent you probably already know all about life balance, but even many parents struggle to find time for their careers, their families, their activities and themselves in the course of a continually hectic daily schedule. It can take some time to experiment with different options and find the balance of activities, obligations, togetherness and alone time that works best for you to maintain optimal overall health.
When you have a foundational understanding of these five wellness keys, you have the information you need to create a life that clearly reflects your priorities, values, hopes and dreams.
About the Author: Mei Huang initially struggled to eat healthy when she came from China to the U.S. as a student. Today she has gone back to the simple, natural foods she loved as a child and enjoys the benefits they offer to body, mind and overall quality of life.
