The importance of both physical and mental health simply makes for good practice. Don’t let obstacles get in your way. A little advice on common barriers and solutions for overcoming them from the American Heart Association:
Barrier: Lack of time
Solutions: Monitor your activities for one week and identify at least three, 30-minute slots you could use for physical activity. Select activities that you can fit into your home or work routine so you’re not wasting time on transportation to another venue to accomplish them. Walking in your neighborhood, climbing stairs at your office or exercising while you watch TV are all good options.
Barrier: Lack of motivation and/or energy
Solutions: Plan ahead. Schedule physical activity for specific times/days and “check” it off your list or calendar each time you complete it. Determine what time of day you feel more energetic and try to fit activity into that time frame. Join an exercise group or class and seek others in the group to help motivate you and keep you accountable to attending.
Try the following tips from our health partner Livongo to create healthy habits.
Stress eating: Break free from emotional habits
Eating fast food seems to make you feel better when you’re under pressure. Having a tough time with the family or friends? Nothing helps like digging into a plate of home-cooked comfort food. These are prime examples of emotional or stress eating. It’s not uncommon to use food to cope with feelings. Soothing yourself with food is a familiar way for people to deal with stress.
Unfortunately, stress eating can be an obstacle to your good health. The good feelings you get from indulging are short-lived. In the long run, they may harm your health. There’s a growing link between the food you eat and how you feel physically, mentally and emotionally. But in the heat of the moment, how can you prevent the indulgence?
Stop, relax and breathe - Quietly sit with yourself. This helps space between your decision and intake of food.
Be mindful of emotions - Proceed with awareness of your feelings.
Observe your body’s level of hunger -Rate it on a scale from 1-101 = uncomfortably hungry10 = uncomfortably fullChoose to eat if you’re hungry or take a pass if you are not. The goal is to eat until you feel satisfied at about a 7-8 on the scale.
Practice mindfulness
Practicing mindfulness can help your health in so many ways. Mindfulness has been shown to:
Reduce fatigue and stress
Boost immune system
Lower heart rate
Allow feelings of calm and connectedness
How to do it?
Find a comfy place to sit or stand where you won’t be interrupted.
Close your eyes if you can.
Take some slow, deep breaths and concentrate on inhaling and exhaling.
Become less aware of your surroundings and focus on physical sensations and emotions.
Thoughts will pop into your head, just like leaves falling into a stream. The trick is to simply notice the distracting thoughts. Without dwelling on them, let them drift away like leaves in the current as you focus back on your breath.
Keep up this cycle for a few minutes to relax your body and mind. This practice is like exercise for your mental muscles.
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