Consciously\nand unconsciously we spend most of our days assessing whether one or more parts\nof our bodies are healthy. Maintaining good physical health is crucial to\nliving a well-balanced life. When your body is healthy, you can do your best at\nwork and maintain stronger relationships with those in your life.\nUnfortunately, physical health is one area where it\u2019s very easy to fall out of\nbalance. For a variety of reasons, we go through periods where we eat all the\nwrong foods or stop exercising. And then sometimes, we simply become sick or\ninjure a part of our body and must take some time to recover. Regardless of\nyour current health status, you can achieve better balance by (1) choosing better\nhabits and (2) developing routines that reflect best practices for your age and\nyour goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\nwanted to start by sharing a little of my own health journey and how it has\nimpacted my life lately. I have been living with Lyme disease for the past\neighteen months. This illness has affected my life in big and small ways. As a\nresult, I have learned to redefine what balance looks like for me while\nnavigating symptoms and medications, and living a temporarily slower pace of\nlife. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nLyme disease I manifested resulted in continual bronchial infections (the\nweakest part of my body), and I had to take several rounds of antibiotics to\ntreat them. I am eternally grateful that my very astute internist listened\ncarefully to my symptoms\u2014particularly my extreme fatigue\u2014and that I was treated\nwith the right antibiotic within three weeks of my symptoms appearing. A year\nlater, my doctor ran tests for Lyme disease as well as a variety of other\nconditions I had never heard of. I am happy to say that everything was\nnegative, so I was very lucky to be treated so early with the correct\nantibiotic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
During\nthis time, my doctor supported my recovery in other ways. She helped me make\nsome dietary changes, and also recommended that I take a break from exercising,\nwhich was no fun at all for this gym-loving gal. However, my reprieve from the\ngym was necessary. It took me a year to build up my immune system and my\nstrength so I could get back to my workouts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While\nI am now finally back in the gym and feeling more like myself every day, I have\ngained a deeper respect for the healing habits needed to care for ourselves in\ntimes of stress and the importance of finding the right balance we need during\ngood times and<\/em> hard times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your\nhealth circumstances are probably different from mine, but the lessons I\nlearned over the past year apply to anyone as they go through life. Injuries,\nillnesses, and even diseases can appear out of the blue and throw us wildly off\ncourse. When a health challenge occurs, your picture of balance may need to\nshift temporarily or even permanently. Whether you\u2019re regrouping after a knee\nor shoulder replacement, recovering from an injury, or fighting cancer or\nanother serious illness, it is imperative to seek the best medical and\nnutritional advice you can find while examining, with your advisors, what\nbalance might look like as you make adjustments and choose the habits that will\nhelp you become your healthiest self in this<\/em> present moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some pointers I learned that might help you find balance on the road to better physical health, no matter where you are in your journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Start\noff with a healthy body audit. <\/strong>The first step in getting healthier is\npausing to assess how you feel right now. Ask yourself these questions: \u201cDo I\nfeel good right now?\u201d \u201cAm I happy with how I feel most of the time?\u201d \u201cDo I feel\nstrong and capable?\u201d \u201cDo I have enough energy to make it through the day or do\nI find myself losing strength as the day progresses?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n If\nmost of your answers are \u201cyes,\u201d think about what you are doing right (and keep\ndoing those things). Further, consider whether new habits might help you\ncontinue to thrive. If the answer is \u201cno,\u201d don\u2019t worry. There are plenty of\npainless ways to nurture your body so it can perform at its best. You\u2019ll see a\nfew suggestions below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wildly\nout of balance? Forgive yourself, first and foremost. <\/strong>If your physical\nhealth is far from where you would like it to be, forgive yourself\nimmediately\u2014and commit to giving yourself the nurture and self-love that you\nneed to make healthy changes in your life. Negative self-talk will only hold\nyou back from better health. Remind yourself of what you love about yourself\nand add something new to the list each day. It is difficult to develop new\nhabits that will help us when we don\u2019t focus on the positive good it will\nengender once our new habits are making us feel better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cook\nmost of your meals at home. <\/strong>Restaurant food can be heavy in salt, fat,\nand sugar.But when you eat homecooked meals, you control the\ningredients in your meals and can focus on healthful ingredients. If possible,\naim to cook most of your food at home and save those restaurant meals for\nspecial occasions. You will quickly notice the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start\nthe day off right\u2026with a plateful of veggies. <\/strong>Adding lots of\nveggies to your breakfast plate helps ensure that you consume your recommended\ndaily servings of vegetables. (Work with your doctor to determine your\nrecommended vegetable intake.) Even if your subsequent meals are light on\nveggies, you will have already started the day off right with a healthy\nfoundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My\ndoctor helped me come up with a meal plan that requires me to eat several small\nportions of beans daily, along with ample veggies and proteins. I use breakfast\nto get a head start on these requirements by doing the following: First, I like\nto saut\u00e9 a large handful of spinach and scramble in\nan egg once it wilts. Then I add a small portion of protein-rich beans to the\nplate. Finally, I include one more vegetable like broccoli or asparagus. My new\n\u201ctypical\u201d breakfast keeps me full into the early afternoon and gives me plenty\nof energy until my next meal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Be\non the lookout for hidden sugars in your food. <\/strong>There are good\nreasons why medical researchers and doctors now recognize that, for most of us,\nsugar is \u201cpoison.\u201d It\u2019s a good idea to monitor your sugar intake, because\nexcess sugar consumption can lead to weight gain and a range of health\nproblems. You likely already know to go easy on the desserts and soft drinks.\nBut be aware that added sugar can also hide out in foods you may not suspect,\nsuch as fruit-flavored yogurt, smoothie shop drinks, coffee drinks, sauces and\nmarinades, and other savory dishes. Talk to your physician about how much sugar\nis acceptable for your diet and be sure to read labels so you are 100 percent\nsure of what you are eating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Enjoy\nhealthful<\/em> snacks.<\/strong> Choosing unhealthy snacks like cookies and chips can\nderail a healthy diet and counteract your workout efforts. But you don\u2019t have\nto give up snacking altogether; just make sure you are snacking on foods that\npack a nutritional punch. Some tasty snack ideas include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Splurge\non the foods you love (once in a while).<\/strong> It\u2019s important to stick to a healthy meal\nplan most of the time<\/em>. But if you have a craving for your favorite\ndessert or comfort food, there\u2019s usually nothing wrong with indulging an\nappropriately sized portion without a lot of guilt or worry. I eat fairly\nhealthy most of the time, so it doesn\u2019t worry me that I enjoy a glass of wine\nand an occasional ice cream cone in the summer. It\u2019s all about moderation! But\nremember: If you have questions about healthy carbohydrate or sugar\nconsumption, speak to your nutritionist or doctor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Seek\n(and more importantly, heed) expert advice.<\/strong> If you need some healthy habits to\nget you started on the road to better health, don\u2019t hesitate to contact an\nexpert. A visit with a health coach, a nutritionist or physician, or a personal\ntrainer can give you valuable personalized feedback. Ask all your friends and\nrelatives\u2014and your medical team\u2014for recommendations and interview them to find\nthe one who relates to your issues. But it works only if you value their\nexpertise and listen to them. So be prepared to follow their advice to the\nletter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s\nan example of why this is important: As previously mentioned, my Lyme disease manifested\nin multiple bronchial infections that wouldn\u2019t go away. When this occurred, my\ndoctor advised me to temporarily stop exercising to enable my body to recover.\nHowever, I felt certain I would soon feel better without<\/em> altering my\nnormal routine. I kept working out hard, and to my surprise, my sore throat and\nother symptoms persisted. I realized my doctor had been right. I stopped\nworking out in the gym and restricted my exercise to walking and gentle\nstretching for a while. Sure enough, my throat fully healed and I continued to\nfollow my doctor\u2019s orders to the letter until I fully recovered. This\nexperience also taught me that walking and stretching alone is a great\nexercise\u2014it\u2019s all about doing what you can do, not what you wish you could\ndo. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Choose\na sustainable fitness routine. <\/strong>Don\u2019t drive yourself crazy trying to fit\nin an intense workout every day.Create a workout schedule that you can\ntruly stick with\u2014and balance strenuous workouts with more relaxed exercise. A\nbalanced schedule might entail moderate to heavy cardio workouts twice a week\nwith a gentle yoga class in between. And if you don\u2019t currently get much\nphysical activity, remember, it\u2019s never too late to get started and reap the\nbenefits of exercise. In fact, a new study<\/a> revealed building\nmuscle in your seventies and eighties is just as possible for non-exercisers as\nmaster athletes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/breakfast.jpg\")
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