Hello, out there! Welcome to the last month of what has been a mighty hard year for most of us. 2021 has got to be better!
It’s difficult to find any silver lining to this horrendous pandemic, but here’s something—for some of us, the Covid experience has encouraged motivation and focus simply by narrowing our choices and limiting the stimuli of the kind we normally engage with. One result is our increased interest in food from the prospective of nutrition and fitness. Strange as it may seem, there are people who have actually gotten healthier and lost weight during the past eight months! For others, though, a more predictable path—the stresses of change, threat of possible illness, or myriad other pressures have resulted in emotional eating and less moving or exercise of any kind. Even without contracting the virus, Covid-19 has for some inflicted damage to overall health and wellness.
We are now leaving behind the shock and disbelief phase of this pandemic, during which COVID imposed on us new ways of living on the planet. Mask wearing, hand sanitizing, physical distancing, and hunkering down have become the new normal.
But we’re resilient people, capable of any number of re-dos and re-sets. It can start with making a list of new projects and priorities. And if pledging to once again pay attention to your body and your health is on your list, then you’re off and running. But if you’re in survival mode or deeply into self-care as many are right now, take heart; you’ll get through this. For starters, write a target a date on your calendar for when you accomplish the one small change to your body and go from there, slow and steady. Decisions and outside changes can sometimes happen quickly. More realistically, though, true change can be slow and require all the patience and discipline you can muster. Just stick with it!
Denise’s
2 Cents:
Fitness is made up of components. Being fit correlates to your potential not only to live longer, but to be engaged and fulfilled in the process. It is not necessarily manifested in “how you look,” although your health can often be reflected in your appearance. As you begin to “shape up,” the positive changes in your mindset usually become the driving force on the path to true fitness. While on this quest, you may find yourself wanting to do more, to push yourself. Yes, that’s the lovely paradox of matching your inside experiences to your observable results.
Even during these difficult times we’re in, the core principles of fitness remain the same—okay, maybe with a little tweaking. Here is my list of what can help you develop a balanced and lasting lifestyle:
- Movement—how much and how often are goals you determine for yourself.
- Food that is grown in the ground without chemicals or preservatives; and animals products that have been raised and treated humanely.
- A home environment that feels safe and stable.
- Friends and family with whom conflicts that can be worked through with respect.
- The Outdoors. It’s not called “Great” for nothing!
- Sleep, deep and restful.
- Lots of clean water. Hydrate!
- Elevate your heart rate into certain safe ranges with exercise (at least three times a week).
- Understand your stress levels; and employ sane and legal ways to deal with them.
- Laughter is great medicine. A daily hearty laugh or two has been proven to raise the feel-good endorphins and dopamine in your brain.
- Pat yourself on the back. If you are reading this, you care enough to look forward, motivate, and make changes. That is HUGE! Congratulations on making it through this year!