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CREATING A HEALTHIER LIFE: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO WELLNESS
IMPROVING OUR PHYSICAL WELLNESS
A healthy body. Good physical health habits. Nutrition, exercise, and appropriate health
care. These make up the physical dimension of wellness. A few ways we can get there
might be choosing things that make our body feel good and trimming back the things that
bring us down. We can also feel better by creating a routine that balances activity with
inactivity, and that is manageable within our obligations and needs. Our body is intelligent,
and learning to listen to it more deeply may be very important and empowering.
AREA THINK ABOUT… RESOURCES
Nutrition
• Do you have access to fresh, healthy food?
• Are you in a position to eat at home so you
can better track what you are putting into
your body?
• Are you improving your diet by setting small
goals for small changes each day, week, or
month?
• Check out local food co-ops if one is in your area for good,
aordable food.
• Visit USDA’s Choose My Plate (http://www.choosemyplate.
gov) or Food Pyramid.com (http://www.foodpyramid.com).
• Meet with dietitians and nutritionists if you need help, or try
programs like Weight Watchers.
• Explore self-help support groups and organizations, like
TOPS or Overeaters Anonymous.
Physical
Activity
• Are you getting regular physical activity
whenever you can, and making it fun?
• Have you been taking “shortcuts” to exercise,
like parking further away from the store and
taking the stairs instead of the elevator or
escalator?
• Have you identified your healthy Body Mass
Index and begun working toward it, one day
at a time?
• Join and visit local gyms, YMCAs, and fitness clubs, or join a
neighborhood pool.
• Look through fitness and other magazines for exercises you
can do at home.
• Check out free resources, such as YouTube, to learn how to
do yoga or other exercises.
• Search for tracking tools like http://www.myfitnesspal.com
that will show how far you’ve come.
Sleep
• Are you getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night
whenever possible?
• Are you avoiding exercise within a few hours
of bedtime, as well as “screen time”?
• Are you avoiding large meals before going
to bed?
• Try managing your routine to carve out time to rest and
sleep, and cut back on caeine.
• Explore the tips found on Healthy People. gov (http://www.
healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.
aspx?topicid=38), Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.com/
health/sleep/HQ01387), and Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (http://www.cdc.gov/sleep).
Alcohol,
Tobacco,
and Other
Drugs
• Have you tried tools that can help you
cut down or quit using tobacco products,
alcohol, or other drugs?
• Are you reaching out to family or friends
instead of using substances when you are
going through a tough time?
• Are you being mindful of triggers that make
you want to use substances and do you have
a plan that can help you avoid them?
• Find support groups and 12-step groups, like Alcoholics
Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA), in your
community and attend meetings.
• Consider engaging in hypnosis, acupuncture, or nicotine
replacement therapy to curb the smoking habit (http://
health.howstuworks.com/wellness/smokingcessation/
tools-to-help-successfully-quit-smoking.htm).
Medication
Safety
• Do you wear medical alert jewelry to help
others help you?
• Are you storing medications properly and
reviewing the expiration dates?
• Do you carry a list of your medications with
you in case of emergency?
• Talk to your doctor, using a process of shared decision-
making when you are unsure about a prescription or need
guidance. (http://media.samhsa.gov/consumersurvivor/
sdm/StartHere.html)
• Learn more about potential side eects from Consumer
Med Safety.org (http://www.consumermedsafety.org) and
Consumer Reports (http://www.consumerreports.org).
Preventive
Medicine
• Do you visit your doctor, dentist, or other
health care provider for routine care and
monitoring?
• Do you know how to check your blood
pressure, waist circumference, and blood
sugar to prevent chronic conditions like
diabetes?
• Discuss preventive health care with your doctor, dentist, or
other health care provider.
• Visit your local public health center and use HRSA Find A
HelpCenter (http://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/) to find the
closest location to you.
• Consider seeing a holistic health provider or attending
community health fairs.