Nutrition and exercise have a direct impact on our mental, physical, and emotional health. Recovery is a time of deep healing and intense work and we need fuel in the form of healthy and nourishing food. However, there’s more to eating than calories and nutritional facts and there’s more to exercising than simply getting it done. A balanced diet and regular exercise are essential. However, our attitudes, habits, and rituals around eating and moving our bodies is arguably just as important as the habits themselves. Here are five simple ways to improve your relationship with your health and create sustainable foundations for lifelong wellbeing.
- Listen to your body’s hunger and exhaustion cues. This sounds simple but we aren’t really encouraged to listen to our bodies. Our minds get most of the attention. What does it mean to listen to your body? Well, if you’re feeling exhausted, let yourself take a break from the gym. If you’re hungry, eat. While it’s nice to have a schedule and stick to it, we also have to take time to listen to the innate needs of our bodies. Meditation and mindfulness practices can help with this process.
- Tune into how you feel after you eat. Let your mind get quiet and ask yourself how your body and mind are feeling post-meal. This will provide vital information about what foods make your body feel good.
- Don’t judge yourself. If you skip a few days at the gym or eat some sugar, don’t judge yourself. This will only make the situation worse. Simply acknowledge the fact that it happened, ask yourself what you can learn from it, and move on.
- Drink water consistently. Sometimes when we think we’re hungry, it’s actually just intense dehydration. Drink water upon rising and throughout the day. This will keep your energy up and your brain clear.
- Find healthy foods and exercise practices that you love. There are lots of ways to be healthy. Hopping on the latest trends or forcing yourself to do workouts or eat foods that have been labeled healthy even if you don’t enjoy them is not a sustainable practice. There are plenty of healthy food options and myriad ways to move your body. Sustainable wellness involves joy and happiness, not dread.
Tree House Recovery of Orange County, California is a premier men’s addiction treatment facility that uses eight different modalities to help our men become the best versions of themselves they can be. We teach our men that every day of their journey is something to celebrate, and that recovery isn’t a sprint– it’s a marathon. To get started with Tree House Recovery, call us today at (855) 202-2138.