Well, Well, Well . . .

Are you eating well? Are you feeling well? Are you moving well? Only you know the answers to these questions, but there’s growing pressure from outside (work, friends, family, physicians) to answer “yes.”  Yet, you should be the one who most wants to get to yes. Does it seem like you’re juggling all this wellness pressure, all these wellness balls, not really getting anywhere, but not wanting to let them drop? Maybe it’s time to stop juggling and let them land—then you can begin to work with grounded and real solutions.

Wellness isn’t just losing weight, getting enough sleep, becoming more physically active or reducing stress. It’s more than the absence of illness. We all know healthy living doesn’t happen at the doctor’s office. The road to better health and wellness is paved with the small decisions we make every day. It’s paved with the choices we make at the grocery store, where we park, whether or not we take the stairs, whether or not we go through the drive-thru, whether we walk the dog or sit in front of a TV or computer screen, whether we pop a frozen pizza in the microwave or instead choose to steam some vegetables. These are the choices we juggle—and the decisions we make.

Almost 80 percent of all chronic disease is caused by three preventable health behaviors—physical inactivity, poor nutrition and overeating, and smoking. Chronic diseases are responsible for more than half of all deaths in the world and are projected to account for two-thirds of all deaths globally in the next 25 years. Preventable deaths. In fact, consider just one component of the choices we make that lead to chronic illness—food.  

The foods we choose to eat on a daily basis contribute 80% to whether we will develop diabetes, heart disease, or cancer—or not. Are you willing to make those better, more positive choices? 

What have you done to live well in the past week? Can you do more? Most certainly!