The Four Foundational Ingredients for Health and Wellness
When a house is being built, the first thing that goes down is the foundation. The concrete is poured to be the stabilizing base on which the rest of the house can be built. Without it, the house can be decorated beautifully but it will only stand for a short time before it falls from the lack of stability and grounding.
It’s helpful to think of a home’s foundation when we think about our own health and well-being. Before we can really focus on some of our personal goals, we need to look at what we’ve got established to stabilize us. What are the practices and rituals that keep us strong and give us true longevity?
I like to think of these as non-negotiable in my life. They may seem basic, but they offer the baseline for health and wellness. Without these, my body and mind won’t function at its optimal level and any goal I go after won’t be sustainable. We have got to focus on our foundation first, then we have the grounding to soar to greater heights.
These are the four non-negotiable health and wellness foundation ingredients:
Sleep
Water
Nutrition
Exercise
It sounds basic, right? But a house’s foundation is made up of sand, cement, and water. Pretty basic. But it’s solid and it works. Let’s expand on each of these four non-negotiables a bit.
Sleep. When we sleep our body’s systems shift into restorative gear. You can think of it like putting your car in neutral, but your body isn’t idling doing anything. It needs this time to rest and regenerate. Muscles, organs, and cells are repaired, our immune system is strengthened, and our hormones do their essential work to ensure we experience optimal wellness when we’re awake.
Studies show that most adults require between 7 and 9 hours of quality sleep every night. It’s important for you to determine what your optimal number of hours is and to stick to it as consistently as you can. Sleep is not indulgent, it’s necessary for true health.
Water. It’s estimated that about 60% of our body’s weight is water. Body temperature, proper elimination, functioning joints, and healthy tissues all rely on our body’s having adequate water. And we lose water throughout the day through sweating, urination and bowel movements, and all those rom-com movies that move us to tears. Just kidding! But truly, we need to restore our body’s water to keep everything moving forward smoothly.
Like sleep, how much water a person requires varies but a good rule of thumb is to drink at least half your weight in pounds in ounces of water each day. So if you weigh 150 pounds, aim to drink at least 75 ounces of water. That’s about 5 16-ounce glasses. That can be hard to do at first, but making hydration a non-negotiable in your day is key for good health.
Nutrition. There are so many fads and trends out there telling us the best way to feed our bodies. I’m not going to get into any specifics but encourage you to think about the quality nutritional value of the foods you eat. A diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean protein is a good baseline. Dr. Joe recommends a plant-based vegan diet which is a great option. Essential Source and Super Greens are super helpful and easy additions to your daily routine to boost your nutrients from plant-based sources.
The old saying still goes junk in, junk out. If you want your body and mind to perform at optimal levels, you need to fuel it with clean, nutrient-rich foods. Period.
Exercise. We have to move our bodies. Sedentary lifestyles are so detrimental to our health. Make it a goal to raise your heart rate, if even for a few minutes, every day. Carve out a few minutes every morning for some gentle stretching to get fluids moving and to work out tightness. If you already live an active lifestyle, go ahead and set goals to push yourself to higher levels of fitness. But if the word exercise makes you want to crawl under the covers and hide, I encourage you to find some physical activity that you love to do, something that brings you pleasure and do that every day. Dancing, walking your dog, simple yoga poses, riding your bike around the block, strolling in nature–these are all simple daily activities you can incorporate to get your body moving. The more consistent you are, the more your body is going to crave it, so make the commitment to move with pleasure every day.
The foundation has to come first. Pour these four essential ingredients into your day and focus on getting yourself and your health on solid ground. Which of the four non-negotiables is most challenging for you? What are you going to change today to help ensure your health is built on a strong foundation?