With the health of the U.S. spiraling way out of control, how can we sit back and not try to regain our overall wellness? There are many different facets that affect our overall wellness which is why I have put together a list of the 10 tenets of ultimate health for this blog post.

With projections showing that 75% of the U.S. population will be overweight by 2020, it is time right now to take our health more seriously! Maintaining optimal health is not difficult to obtain when you are educated on what it takes to be healthy. Healthy does not mean giving up everything you love to eat and running 15K every day.

In part 1 from earlier this week, I covered the overview of the health outlook of the U.S. and what the causes are for this surge in the overweight population and what we can do to stop it and protect our own health. If you missed part 1, you’ll want to go back and read up this growing problem among us!  Visit part 1 here!

So, for part 2 of this 4 part series, I am going to share with you 10 simple strategies that will help improve not only your physical health, but also your emotional and psychological health. Imagine what your life will look like when you are radiating health in all areas of your life?

Eat mostly plants.

By eating mostly plants, you will be getting the wide variety of foods that are necessary for ultimate health. How much of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds are you currently getting? Is your current diet providing the necessary nutrients? Hint: if your diet has a lot of “popular” or fast food in it you aren’t getting the nutrients that are vital for optimal health.

Eat less meat, dairy, and animal products.

There has been study after study that show that those who eat less meat and dairy products are healthier and have fewer incidents of certain cancers, diabetes, obesity, and most of all heart disease. Try switching to the mindset that meat and dairy products should be used like a topping instead of the main course. Your body will thank you!

Eat less processed foods including white flour, bread, etc.

First, processed foods are just a bunch of chemicals thrown together to look like food. It doesn’t have the vital nutrients you need to thrive. Don’t pay attention to marketing; they are just trying to get you to buy their food. Real food doesn’t need advertising.

White flour and bread act like sugar in your body by causing a spike in your blood sugar, a spike in insulin which leads to your body storing the extra sugar as fat. That is the secret behind weight gain. Choose 100% whole grains and you won’t get fat like you would with white junk.

Get social.

It’s important for your psychological and emotional health to get social. Hang out with friends. Laugh. Have fun. By doing this more you will be overall healthier and ready to take on what life throws your way.

Work on taking up some hobbies.

It’s important to find a hobby or something that you really enjoy and do it! Our minds love to enjoy things! What do you enjoy doing? How does doing this make you feel? This is a huge way to combat the stresses of life and you have fun doing something you love.

Get moving.

We all know physical activity is important for our overall health, but how many of us truly try to get moving as much as possible. For many of us the gym is intimidating. Physical activity is not limited to the gym. It means going for that walk with your family. Walk the dog. Take the stairs. Park at the end of the parking lot or get up and walk around your office building every hour in order to get moving. Your body will feel so good just by getting moving! Our bodies are not meant to be couch potatoes!

Spend some time on yourself and de-stress!

We all have so much stress in our lives. We also spend most of the time we do have on doing stuff for our families like making dinner, playing chauffer, going to sporting events. What we fail to do is to take a little time each day for ourselves.

You are not superman/superwoman! You can’t go doing everything for everyone else and neglecting yourself. Believe me; if you spend a little time on yourself, you will be in a better state to better take care of your family and others. When you are not emotionally satisfied by taking care of yourself, you will not be able to adequately take care of your family.

Volunteer.

On the other side of things, it feels great to help out others. It’s a great way to relieve stress and improve your psychological health. When you are able to volunteer and serve others, you might be surprised with how much you learn about others and yourself. It’s a great way to get that emotional uplifting! Try it!

Make sure to go outside every day.

Now I understand that this is not possible in lots of places in January. However, it’s important for your psychological and even physical self to get that exposure to nature on some level each day. Nature offers a great stress relief and rejuvenation that provides a great boost and motivator to complete and be successful in other areas of your life. Relax and enjoy nature in some way! Hint: in winter, buy a bouquet of flowers from the grocery store and put it on the table and take time to smell the flowers! It feels great doesn’t it?

Detoxify your life.

There is so much going on in our lives and hitting us from all directions such as the pollutants in the environment, toxic chemicals in our cleaning products and our food, and the overall emotional stresses in our lives. How are we supposed to combat it all? Detoxify your life. Research how to detoxify yourself. Whether you decide to detoxify through your diet or by taking more time to emotionally recharge yourself from the toxicity in your life pulling you down, it’s important to detoxify.

By focusing on improving your health in all the different areas of your life, you will feel more empowered and inspired. Imagine how your life will look when you have your health under control and can focus on achieving all those awesome goals you have for yourself. For one-on-one support to improve your health get the help of a health coach!

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Stay tuned for parts 3 and 4 where I will cover the basic nutritional information that you probably haven’t even thought of that could improve your diet and keep you from that 75% of overweight Americans as well as different ways to improve your health by attacking the “get moving” strategies that will have you wiping the sweat off your forehead that comes when mentioning anything remotely having to do with a gym (not going there promise!).

So, what do you think? Do you have any to add to this? What else make up living on overall healthy life? What strategies do you have to share with others? Leave me a comment below and let me know! Don’t forget to share this post with your friends by clicking on the icons below!

To your health journey success,