Achieving an optimal quality of life is a complete method of loving yourself and caring for your body, which incorporates a healthy diet, adequate rest and water, exercise, proper stress management and of course, regular check-ups. One aspect of fitness cannot work without all of the others. Exercise alone is just not enough!

Balancing the Healthy Living System

Exercise – Keep It Real!

As you begin your exercise routines again, the goal of your training is solid in your mind, and you may still be suffering from a little post-holiday guilt, so chances are you have been pushing yourself really really hard, and then your body starts to take a back seat to what your mind is pushing it to do. The warning signs of pain and fatigue start to go unnoticed, and as they begin to compound, stress begins to build up in you. You become so focused on the means to the end, that you disconnect from the body, and the ego takes over. Yes, you want to lose that holiday bulge, and yes, you may be over-zealous about your new fitness plan, but keep it real. Be aware that without balance, your reasoning becomes the body’s slave-driver, and this is what it looks like for someone who is addicted to exercise.

You can also draw from this analogy in your work life, another source of stress where your ego can take over. January, being a particularly stressful month, is a time when you can start to feel pain in your neck, your back and other places too. Be aware of the amount of tension that builds up in your body, and balance it with deep breathing and the right amount of exercise.

The Great Tormenter

Too much exercise will cause you to feel pain, as well as too little exercise. First-time exercisers, or those who have undergone a significant lapse in training, frequently experience soreness when starting back on their programmes.

Also known as “Delayed Muscle Soreness,” it peaks between 24 to 48 hours after a strenuous workout, and then generally disappears on its own. What it really means is that you’ve damaged and torn the microscopic connective tissue that surrounds your muscle fibres. (To speed the healing process, apply ice to the sore areas for 20 minutes, several times a day). The good news is that when your muscles are sore, it means they’re getting stronger. Gradual progression and conservative increases in intensity, frequency or duration is a recommended approach to preventing muscle soreness.

Rest

Exercise stimulates a positive response for your body and mind. Rest allows it! Think of all of the working aspects of your “healthier you” as a circle with each part interconnected. Begin to notice a few things: when one chain of the circle is broken, it affects all the other components. You cannot work out properly if you have not had sufficient rest, they are inter-connected and your body depends on them both.

When we’re under stress, sleep is the first thing to go, and inadequate rest adds to stress levels. It seems that you always get slammed with some illness or physical problem when you are run-down. Exercise helps insomnia because it makes you more tired at bedtime and allows for better quality of sleep.

Food

Diet and exercise depend on one another because we need fuel to expend energy during exercise so that we can reap all of its many benefits, and exercise has the amazing effect of making you want to eat right. If we consume more energy than we expend, our body converts the excess into fat and dumps it in various locations around our body: e.g. our hips, thighs, tummy etc. If we eat less than what we expend, then the body is incapable of functioning properly, fatigue takes over and quality of health declines. Eating the right foods will make our bodies function more efficiently and increase our energy levels.

Water

All of the processes that happen in our body require water. Maintaining an adequate intake can help the body to function more efficiently, especially in the areas of maintaining ideal body temperature during exercise and increasing fat utilisation. Also, water speeds up your metabolism, so don’t leave it out.

How much is enough?

You should drink 1/2 of your body weight in ounces of water per day. Recognise that you need additional water on warmer days and during exercise sessions. Urine that is clear to a pale yellow colour is the best indication of adequate hydration and a water intake level that will keep your body working at its best.

Total health results from balancing five aspects of healthy living all at the same time: Exercise, Stress Management, Healthy Diet, Adequate Rest and Water. Whenever you start to feel pain or tension, whenever you hit a plateau in your weight loss programme, if your sleep falls off or your energy level dips, you can always go back and check which of the five parts of the circle are broken. As soon as all of the components fall into balance, you will recognise it, because you will feel great and your body will work for you. The balancing act takes practice, so be patient with yourself! Each time the chain is broken, find out where and why and just put the pieces back together. The Healthy Living System works! Your goals are all being met and everything is possible this year.