How To Boost Your Physical Health, Starting Today
Many of us have the vague goal of wanting to lose weight or be healthier. However, it’s unlikely any of us will follow through on these notions until a health scare or life event encourages us to follow through. Unlike centuries ago, we lack a sense of immediate urgency when it comes to food or physicality because life is less survival of the fittest with no need to hunt, track, and gather our next meal and more who can be wealthy enough to survive as a get-it-to-your-doorstep couch potato.
So how do we challenge ourselves to improve our physical health? We must challenge ourselves to make better choices, because the life we live today may not be the same tomorrow.
1. Challenge Yourself to Eat Mindfully
"When you eat mindfully, you nourish not only your body but your soul." — Thich Nhat Hanh
There are a lot of misconceptions and misunderstandings about eating mindfully. Simply put, eating mindfully means being fully present and in the moment with every decision as you eat and engage in the act enjoying the food itself. Here is a small list to help you eat more mindfully.
Remove distractions that aren’t other people’s physically present company. No phones, no books or magazines, no computers, files from work, etc. If it is not a person at the table sharing the meal, it goes.
Engage your physical and emotional senses with the meal. Do more than taste things as good or bad. Then chew, swallow, digest. Enjoy the way your food smells, observe the colors and presentation, note how the textures affect congruence. Genuinely assess the emotion that stirs from a meal that fills your stomach but your senses as well.
Pay attention to the food choices and the choices of the space you are in to immerse yourself in how it all comes together for your eating experience.
Mindfulness as a practice increases gratitude and awareness.
2. Challenge Yourself to Fast
"Fasting is not just a physical discipline; it can be a spiritual feast." — Jentezen Franklin
On the other hand, challenge yourself to fast, even for short periods. If you are sleeping 6-9 hours per day, look at your schedule to see that you trim the window of your eating period by a few hours to start, whether it’s waiting to have your first meal, eating your last meal earlier, or a combination of the two.
Intermittent fasting daily could make your fasting and eating window look like 14-10 hours or 18-4 hours. Listen to your body and a good doctor or nutritionist. Many find as they adjust, they eat fewer calories overall or can better listen to their body asking for what it needs instead of what they want or what is convenient.
3. Challenge Yourself to Refocus Your Attention from Food
"Cravings are not commands." — Melissa Hartwig Urban
Spend less time thinking about food and satisfying cravings. Rather than heading to the kitchen for a snack the moment you think you have a sugar craving, delay the treat until you have completed the task at hand or eaten or done something healthy first.
For many, the cues they recognize as hunger are actually thirst. However, that does not mean satisfying the need with carbohydrates of juice, sports drinks, or soda. Instead, have one glass of water, even carbonated or flavored water first.
Wait a few minutes and you will likely have less of the snack than you would have grabbed initially or none at all. The same results were found in older adults when they chose to complete what they were doing before having a snack or to reach a set stopping point. With younger participants, a change of activity had a similar effect.
4. Challenge Yourself to Avoid Chemicals
"Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food." — Michael Pollan
If you are hungry or have a craving that must be satisfied, try to achieve fullness with real, natural foods and non-processed meals and snacks. Studies show that these foods are harder for the body to process and lead to many modern epidemic diseases like diabetes or even cancer.
For something sweet, consider whole fruits, nut butters, and foods sweetened with honey. For saltier tastes, consider a selection of nuts, fish, and vegetables. And remember, if you can’t live without baked treats and sweet drinks, homemade is best. You can control the amount of sugar in your recipes and work to consciously, gradually reduce and replace the known amount of sugar.
5. Challenge Yourself to Walk and Run
"Walking is man’s best medicine." — Hippocrates
Part of what kept early people so healthy was the sheer amount of walking and running their daily lives included. These two means of exercise work every muscle in the body, have known cardio benefits, and directly combat most of the epidemic diseases of today.
Obesity is the number one issue, but it spills over to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and other health issues that only get worse each day we don’t make a change. Today's small change could be a twenty-minute walk after dinner or a fifteen-minute run before your morning shower. We can all spare a few minutes to gain years in our life.
6. Challenge Yourself to Have Active Fun
"We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." — George Bernard Shaw
Rather than living passively watching movies and sporting events, live actively. When your kids ask you to play, get up and play. If you feel tired or winded quickly, motivate yourself to do what is necessary to be able to play longer next time.
When your company retreat has relay races, participate and be inspired to be healthy enough to finish a little better next time. Invite your friends for game night but choose games that make you stand up and move rather than sit around a table. When your wife wants to go dancing, take her and know she’s not worried that you are good at it, but that you are on the floor moving with her.
Challenge yourself to improve your physical health for the ways it makes your life healthier overall.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Improving your physical health starts with one bold move. Whether it’s a morning run or simply saying “yes” to dancing, every little step counts.
If you're ready to define your wellness goals and map out a personalized path forward, I invite you to schedule a Clear Strategic Session today.
Your health is your wealth—start investing wisely.
Joe Mitchell, Esquire is a High-Performance Coach and EFT (Tapping) Practitioner, who has logged over 35 years of in-depth study of personal and spiritual development. In his studies, he has done hundreds of self-development courses, spiritual retreats, and health-related workshops. Coach Joe is a certified yoga teacher, meditation teacher, NLP Practitioner, and a graduate of three coaching academies. Two years after he graduated from Harvard Law School, he became a monk for five years. In 2016, after over 20 years as a solo criminal and personal injury attorney, he decided to turn his heart’s passion into a career as a Success Coach, Motivational Speaker and Trainer. For information on Coach Joe’s programs, high-performance videos and to apply for a Free High-Performance Session, book a Strategy Session with Coach Joe today.
