This summer I turn 40 years old and I find myself in the same conversations with my peers. "I'm out of shape, tired, overwhelmed, anxious and stressed out." "How do I find time for myself?" "How do I lose the extra 20 lbs that I carry around since having kids?" "What kind of exercise can I do with the little free time that I have?"
A recent article by Harvard Health was really helpful for me. It confirmed my feeling that small changes in our daily life can become new habits that make a big difference over time.
The author talks about the six pillars of lifestyle medicine:
eating healthy foods
exercise regularly
easing stress
getting restful sleep
quitting tobacco/alcohol
nurturing social connections
To avoid feeling overwhelmed I suggest starting with each pillar and making on small lifestyle change. For example, I stopped drinking diet soda and swapped it out for water. According to Penn Medicine drinking diet soda is very dangerous. "It leads to more weight gain, it has been linked to type-2 diabetes, it can cause heart problems and it can increase your risk of having a stroke by nearly 50%. Next time you’re out to eat or craving something sweet, put down the can of diet soda and instead grab a healthier alternative such as a glass of water sweetened with natural fruits."
Each morning I start with a 10 minute yoga/meditation routine. This helps to start my exercise as well as easing stress. This article from the National library of Medicine proves the efficacy of regular yoga. This study evaluated the effects of 10 min/day of yoga for 1 month on musculoskeletal discomfort and mood disturbance of home-office workers. After 1 month, significant reductions were observed in the discomfort of eyes, head, neck, upper and lower back, right wrist, and hips/buttocks, as well as reductions in discomfort severity, frequency and interference for the neck, upper and lower back for the yoga only group.
We can all feel that we are too busy to make big changes however sometimes it's just a handful of helpful changes that will lead to the biggest long term success!
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