Taking care of one’s digestive health should not require upending your life or routine. There are ways to elevate your wellness while sticking to your everyday responsibilities and we are here to show you how!
Like with any other aspect of one’s health, upgrading your digestive health requires you to start by looking within. The actions you take on a daily basis, big and small, have a massive impact on how you feel and how your body is able to successfully operate. It is important to take note of your current daily habits to be able to evaluate what is helping vs. hurting your journey towards wellness.
Self-evaluation does not stop there. Due to the gut-brain axis, digestive wellness requires one to look within their brain alongside their habits. How you think and feel impacts how well your digestive system works. Today, we are going to discuss how you can elevate your thinking and everyday habits to better serve your wellness goals.
How to Shift Your Everyday Habits to Help Support You On Your Wellness Journey
Sustainable wellness comes from shifting those everyday habits from one of mundane routine to intentional wellness. These adjustments can help to enhance your already established routine making it more likely that you will stick to them in the long run. This approach to elevated wellness acknowledges the realities of daily life while not diminishing your work towards your goals. Let’s dive right in.
Dietary Adjustments for Success
Meal times and the substance of our meals is something we get to choose for ourselves everyday. Over time, it is natural to gain a certain pattern in the way you eat. In fact, building a meal schedule and plan for yourself is recommended to help you stick to dietary goals. However, if you implement discouraged eating habits such as eating at irregular times, overeating, or eating with distraction, this can create a routine of destruction on your digestion.
Instead, we must shift these eating habits to benefit our digestive tract. Avoid consuming food really late at night before bedtime as this can cause complications such as indigestion. It is also recommended to eat at similar times each day to help train your digestive tract and thus make it more efficient. When it comes to how you eat, make sure you are avoiding eating with distraction and instead take the time to eat your meal with intention. Avoid eating while watching tv or working.
Lastly, try to build a better relationship with you and your body’s intuition when it comes to eating. Our bodies have an internal way of signaling to us that we are satisfied after a meal. However, sometimes it can be easy to overlook this signal due to eating too quickly and too much at once. Practice patience and eat at a slower pace to eat the proper amount that your body actually requires.
Prioritizing Movement With a Busy Schedule
With household chores, social appointments, and the stressors of work, it is a miracle that anyone seems to find time to move their bodies. The harsh reality is that many of us do not find the time. We often let physical activity fall to the wayside in order to successfully check off all of our other responsibilities from our to-do list. It is these choices that bit by bit can tear away at our health. Physical movement is crucial for maintaining not only an efficient digestive system but maintaining our overall health.
Find ways to implement movement into your busy schedule in a way that is attainable and sustainable. Here are some quick ways to add small, but impactful movement into your daily life
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Practice desk stretches each day to avoid sitting in a sedentary position for too long during work hours.
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Dedicate 10 minutes after each meal to walk around your local neighborhood.
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Wake up and do one form of exercise for five minutes (i.e. push-ups, running in place, sit-ups)
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Take the stairs instead of the elevator and choose to walk/bike instead of driving whenever possible
Sustainable movement does not need to include a gym membership or one-hour each day, but instead just your dedication in small spurts throughout your day.
The Power of Elevated and Positive Thinking on Digestive Health
Now let’s explore how a more positive thought pattern can benefit your digestive health. When stress, anxiety, or other distressing emotional patterns linger for a long period of time, your body will enter a state of fight-or-flight. This trigger causes your body’s attention to shift from your digestion leading to digestive complications. The trick is to learn how to combat these emotional discrepancies.
Implementing Mindfulness Activities Into Your Life
Mindfulness is a powerful tool that can help you feel more centered mentally and physically. Try adding mindfulness practices to your day-to-day life to help mitigate potential episodes of stress of anxiety that arise.
Mindfulness activities include, but are not limited to :
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Grounding
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Meditating
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Yoga
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Walking
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Journaling
Creating and Fostering a Support System
Human connection is a massive driving force in how we can feel about ourselves and the world around us. It is important to not overlook the power of having a support system by your side when trying to achieve a wellness goal. The people you choose to surround yourself with impacts your view and thus should not be ignored. Make sure you are fostering connections that are intentional and that will fill your cup rather than bring you down. If you have yet to reflect on your current social circle, now might be the time to evaluate and make changes as needed.
Shifting Your Internal Dialogue
The way we think impacts more than you might think. Negative thoughts can trigger a stress response from your body that can cause a host of health complications. Your body will produce more cortisol and adrenaline than is called for. If you find yourself consumed by negative thoughts, work to find ways to shift this pattern. Consider writing down your negative thoughts as a way to expel them from your mind and give yourself positive affirmations throughout the day.
All in all, taking care of one’s digestive health is attainable for all regardless of one’s routine. Take the time this week to make shifting your habits a priority!