Prioritizing Health: A Personal Journey to Wellness and Balance

“Your health account, your bank account, they’re the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take out.”– Jack LaLanne

I’d like to follow up on last week’s blog, in which I discussed staying true to my personal wellness choices (Staying True to Whole Food Plant-Based Lifestyle: A Reflection). I’ve been reflecting all week on why this time, unlike others, I felt strong enough to stand firm in my decision. I believe I’m stronger now because I have a clear vision for what my balanced lifestyle entails. A balanced lifestyle is a way of living that aims to improve our wellness in all aspects of life, including: relationships, fitness, health, and emotional happiness. 

A Balanced Lifestyle Includes:

Sleep

Getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night is an important pillar in my life. Sleep can have so many implications on health, both negative and positive. I’ve struggled with sleep over the years and made it one of my first goals when I began this journey. Forming stronger sleep routines has truly changed my life. You can read more about the work I’ve done to improve my sleep in these two posts – Sleep Your Secret Weapon, Sweet Dreams. At the moment, I’ve been hitting my 8 hour sleep goal, but this is an area I still focus on.

Stress Reduction

Stress reduction is another key pillar. Stress without doubt wreaked havoc on my health. It was so bad that I wasn’t sure I’d ever get back to a healthy lifestyle. I was overweight, not sleeping, and most likely depressed. This was the lowest point of my health journey and I knew the only way to heal was to reduce my stress. I knew I not continue in my current situation.

COVID really changed the world and I was not exempt from that. A high stress job, coupled with personal events, created massive amounts of stress in my life. In 2023, three and a half years out from the onset of COVID shutdowns, I decided to walk away from the career I loved and devote my time and energy to my health. I’ve written about stress and my health in this blog post – Stress.

Social Connections

We are meant to journey through this life with others. Fostering and cultivating social connections and relationships is my third critical pillar. When we are too busy, or too tired to engage socially, we are missing out on an important part of wellness. Social connections can create feelings of belonging, being loved and valued. Who doesn’t want that? But, like everything else, relationships take work and time investments. It is definitely worth the effort, as strong social connections can have significant impact on our overall health. I’ve written more about social connections in this blog post – The Vital Role of Social Connections in Health and Wellness. I hope you’ll take the time to read it and then reach out to a friend, or loved one.

Nutrition

Eating a balanced diet, that your body responds too, is also an important pillar. Finding what works best for your body is the critical work we all need to do. There is not a one size fits all approach to nutrition and far too many competing options, which can be confusing. I’d recommend you spend your time figuring out the best path for you.

I chose my path, in consultation with my health professionals, by keeping a food journal and taking notes on how my body responded to certain foods. I noticed changes to my sleep, inflammation or bloating, along with other responses my body had to food. I used this knowledge to make the decision that for me, the best path was to shift to a whole food plant-based lifestyle. I’ve written about this nutrition journey in these posts – Change Our Thinking About Food, Eat to Live, The China Study: Reducing Health Risks with a Plant-Based Diet.

Movement

Movement has long been thought to be the most important piece of my health journey. While it is still one of my key pillars, I now know that it can’t be my only pillar, as I can’t use exercise to avoid everything else. I move my body daily and choose activities I enjoy. Walking twice a day is a staple daily activity that is non negotiable. I love playing pickleball as it’s great exercise and fosters strong social connection. Finally, I engage in yoga and strength training.

We all definitely need to move to stay healthy. It can’t be the only pillar we rely on though. Believe me, I tried to out run a bad diet for most of my life. I listen more to my body these days and pay attention, especially when I need to rest. That is something I never did in the past, to the point of consistently getting injured. I’ve written about my daily exercise routines in these blog posts – Move to Live, Healthy Lifestyle: Food, Exercise, and Joy in My Daily Routine

Prioritizing Health

A balanced lifestyle should include prioritizing your health above all else. It’s not about worrying over everything you do and labeling decisions good or bad. It’s about understanding the impact your lifestyle choices have on your wellbeing. I learned the concept of creating an IRHA – Individual Retirement Health Account, and make continuous deposits towards my longterm health. If you are living in balance, your deposits will outweigh your withdrawals. We all will make withdrawals as we live, but they are balanced out by many deposits along the way. I’ve written about this concept in this blog post – IRAH: Individual Retirement Account for Health – A Personal Transformation Journey

Next Steps

Ultimately, health balance is a deeply personal journey—one that requires self-reflection, and an unwavering commitment to your well being. It’s about finding what works for you and prioritizing your health. I hope you will take that first step. Here are a few more resources to get you started:

Baby Steps

Reclaiming Health: The Power of Taking the First Step

Longevity and Brain Health: Lessons from My 93-Year-Old Father

Healthy Lifestyle: Food, Exercise, and Joy in My Daily Routine

If you’d like to share your journey with us, please reach out via email at laurakump@reclaiminghealth.blog. I’d love to hear what’s working and not working for you. You can also reach out on Instagram, or Facebook, or in the comment section below.