Well, it’s finally feeling like summer. Chances are you’re planning a vacation; some time away to rest, relax and enjoy the nice weather. Before you grab your suitcase and load up the car, we would like to ask you to pack up one more thing…
Everybody likes to “get away” in the summertime. Well, why not take a permanent vacation from an unhealthy habit that’s been keeping you from your best life?
We’d all like to live healthy…hit the gym three times a week, eat perfectly balanced meals…you get the idea. But let’s be real; the fact is none of us are perfect. We’ve all got bad habits and while some can be pretty harmless, others pose serious health risks. Below are my Top 5 Unhealthy Habits Worthy of a Permanent Vacation. Nothing earth-shattering but you’ll surely recognize how these common mistakes are sabotaging your health and your lifestyle. This summer, choose at least one that you’re willing to pack away for good.
1. Processed Foods: You are what you eat and never has this statement been more pertinent than today, as the “on the run” lifestyle supersedes the health of our families. From breakfast to supper, many families are relying heavily on processed foods. If you read the labels you’ll find processed foods are high in preservatives, additives, sodium, and bad fats. Despite the long list is ingredients, these foods are short on nutrients.
Eating habits can be directly linked to many chronic diseases: heart disease, diabetes, strokes, high blood pressure, cancer, allergies, and more. That makes what we put into our bodies of utmost importance to our overall health. While adopting healthier eating habits can feel overwhelming at first, we suggest starting by choosing two real foods to add into your daily diet. This could be as simple as drinking more pure water, eating an extra fruit a day, adding a salad to lunch, not eating after 7:00 pm, etc. These changes will create a healthier you and inspire healthier habits throughout your family.
2. Couch Potato Lifestyle: Get up and move! Just 30 minutes will change how you view your day. The positive effects of exercise and movement include increased energy, better sleep, improved digestion, positive attitude, positive self-worth, maintained body weight, increased muscle mass, increased focus/concentration, lower blood pressure, lower risk of all chronic disease (heart disease, stroke, cancer, high blood pressure, asthma, allergies, anxiety, depression, fatigue, etc.).
Imagine a drug that listed these types of side effects on the label; it would be a hit! Just a half-hour of activity is all it takes to make a real difference, but it’s up to you to do it.
3. Symptom Chasers: A symptom is the body’s way of telling you something is changing. It doesn’t always mean something negative or that there is a problem. More often it indicates your body is functioning as it should.
For example, a fever is a signal from the body that it is fighting an infection. A fever also boosts the immune system. When we take an over-the-counter fever reducer, the immune system stops working even though the infection isn’t gone. In the majority of cases this means that it will take longer for the fever to complete its cycle and the body to fight off the infection. The only way to truly live a wellness lifestyle is to maintain the highest possible level of body function, thus allowing your body to heal naturally. Suppressing symptoms with a pill, covering symptoms with a potion, or masking symptoms with a lotion, without seeking the root cause of the problem, is a short-term approach to living well.
4. Not Taking Responsibility: Do you take personal responsibility for your health or do you rely on a third party to make your health decisions for you? Before you answer, consider whether you allow your insurance provider, your workplace or the government to dictate your health schedule, treatment options, and health practitioners.
The responsibility for your health is squarely your own. Educate yourself and determine what a healthy lifestyle is to you, then find a way to make it happen. Be ready for the ripple effect that will likely take place…When you make positive lifestyle changes, hundreds of other people are positively impacted as a result.
5. Negativity: Thoughts become things. What you think about will show up in your life. When you focus on what is good – what you are grateful for – how much love is around you, you will begin to attract more into your life. Alternately, when you worry and see things as negative or bad, that is what you will show up for you. The only difference between a positive and negative thinker is the lens they look through. As Wayne Dyer says, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
Dr. Tiffany
