This week, Mackie Shilstone, a fitness expert and sports manager released an article advocating five lifestyle changes that he feels would best improve a person’s health. As expected, the list is comprised mostly of things we already know lead to an unproductive and unhealthy lifestyle, but I’d like to reinterpret his article on how giving up these things plays an active role in beginning or maintaining the holistic recovery process.
Lifestyle Changes
Fast food: Giving up fast food in favor of healthier foods, especially whole grains, fruits, and vegetables can have a tremendous impact on a person’s overall health. Not only do they make you feel better, but they put your mind and body in a place where it is better able to cope with any adverse situations that arise in your life. Although recovery is a difficult process, having a clear mind and body is essential and can help make each additional step a bit easier.
Alcohol: Especially for those in any recovery, abstaining from alcohol is a valuable tool to help maintain your wellness. Many times, people with different addictions feel that consuming alcohol is an option, but the use of alcohol has dual negative effects. Not only does it lead to environments where it is easier to slip back into old patterns, but it is also incredibly dangerous to your health. Regardless of whether you are in recovery or not, abstaining from alcohol is an implementation that can only have positive consequences in your life.
Soft drinks: Instead of grabbing a soda, always think water first. Water is the best thing for your body. It’s pure, healthy and in turn, helps your body become healthier because of it. From the holistic approach, water can do nothing but good for you, while soft drinks have no nutritional value and adverse health effects associated with them. To lead the best holistic lifestyle possible, water, along with other wellness techniques, is essential to maintaining the body you have worked so hard to regain.
Fried Food: Again, this is one of those foods that we know are terrible for us, but tend to love. In terms of recovery, it’s essential to remember how hard you worked throughout the whole process. Hurting your body for any instant gratification that will ultimately be detrimental to the lifestyle you have worked so hard to cultivate is never worth it.
Smoking: The culprit of smoking is a difficult foe to combat. Because it is legal, many people do not treat it with the seriousness given to other drugs, but this should not be the case. Smoking has an array of negative consequences. It is, first and foremost, an addiction. Beyond that, it causes your body to look older, deteriorates positive growth, and, among other things, reduces your physical abilities. For a holistic outlook to work, a body that is treated well is essential. Smoking also makes you less able to do many of the holistic exercises that your body greatly benefits from. This list, while not encompassing, presents a variety of good points on the necessity and helpfulness of abstaining from these negative lifestyle choices. Although they are not all that is required to maintain recovery, they provide an initial platform to help you begin the process and rid your life of toxic patterns that may exist. For more information on drug and alcohol abuse and recovery, visit dmclarityway.wpengine.com. (photo via)
