Physical wellness has several sub-components, but it is all has to do with the physical body and taking care of it now and in anticipation of the future.

Of course, this component includes engaging in regular exercise and eating well, but it also includes getting preventive checkups and screenings, having healthy habits and behaviors, and protecting yourself from potential harm.

With warmer weather coming and lifting many restrictions from the past year, some people may realize that they may want to drop some weight before venturing outside and socializing again.

But before embarking on this, consider that many of the drastic measures to lose weight or quick fixes are temporary and often result in weight regain when old habits return. What can help with weight loss? Here are the top five myths regarding weight loss.

Have you set a goal to “eat healthier” and thinking about what foods to stop eating? Shift that mindset and focus on what to add to your diet. Research suggests that depriving yourself of foods, or anything, you want can increase your desire for it. In my more than 20-years’ experience working with clients, I encourage ADDING foods rather than taking them away.

Occupational wellness is having satisfaction with your career or job. It also includes finding balance in both work and non-work activities and commitments, including knowing when to say “no” to maintain that balance.

Even if you are retired, this is still an area of wellness to consider.

Technically there is a difference between a career and a job, but that is mostly is based on attitude for our purposes here.

One of the on-going things I see and hear is people using food groups and nutrients as interchangeable. They aren’t really.

Like the time my friend said she wasn’t going to have any carbs for lunch – then had a salad and a glass of wine. Really. That was a HIGH carb lunch. I would estimate that 80% of the meal was carbohydrates. It could be more. Look it up.

We hear a lot about sodium. We get too much, and we need to cut back; processed foods and restaurant foods are high in sodium. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 recommend that we limit “Sodium—Less than 2,300 milligrams per day—and even less for children younger than age 14.”

Are you a life-long learner? You should be. And this doesn’t mean you need to go to school forever and ever. That’s the stuff of nightmares for some people.

Intellectual wellness is the aspect of wellness in which you continue to expand your mind by increasing your knowledge, skills, and even your creative abilities throughout life. 

Excess abdominal/belly fat increases the risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and triglycerides, and heart disease – all preventable diseases. When considering a BMI between 25 and 35, waist circumference can help find the risk for these diseases.

Does how you eat affect your immune system? Absolutely. Eating healthy can reduce your chances of getting sick this winter just as much as poor eating can increase the risk of getting sick. Your diet has a significant role in helping you defend against viruses and other germs that can get you sick.

Emotional Wellness is the component of wellness related to our ability to develop inner strength and learn and grow from experiences.  

Let’s face it, 2020 was a year that tested our emotions. There were things we experienced that we could never have imagined. It was probably one of the more stressful times of our lives.

People often use the number on the scale to assess their weight and have a number in mind for their healthy weight. But there is more than just weight that helps evaluate and figure a healthy weight.

Are you honest with your health care provider? Are they being clear with you?

Both sides need to get better at communicating, getting clearer with what they mean, and being more honest with themselves and their healthcare providers.

Support your social wellness this week by reaching out with a text, a phone call, or a card in the mail to one person each day this week. Just to say, “hello.

Most people know that it is effortless to gain weight: one major holiday, a celebration, a vacation, a global pandemic, eating while “binge-watching” anything, or any number of things.

I often hear in media stories the number of calories a person should have based on just the fact that someone is a man or a woman. I hate this because this is just too general to suggest that ALL women have the same calorie needs or that ALL men do.

Wellness isn’t the pursuit of perfection – as if there is such a thing when it comes to health.

Wellness is outsmarting our genetics, our environment, and the easy-to-adopt less-than-healthy-habits.

Wellness is a choice but it also requires action.