If you’re in recovery from an addiction or mental health disorder, you probably spend a lot of time attending to your mental, emotional, and spiritual health: keeping yourself in a positive mindset, talking with a support group or therapist, fostering loving relationships. These are all wonderful things to do and will contribute to your overall good health.
However, with all the time that recovery activities can take–on top of your everyday responsibilities at home and at work–you may find your physical health lagging behind. But feeling strong and capable in your body is just as important as keeping your mind and emotions healthy. In fact, physical illness, chronic pain, tiredness, chronic stress, and general dissatisfaction with your body and fitness level can contribute to relapse.
So how can you give your body a little more love and care without letting nutrition and exercise turn into either extra stress or substitute addictions?
Let’s start by singing the praises of nutrition and exercise in case that helps motivate you. Exercise and nutrition combined have numerous, powerful benefits for your body–AND your mind. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), physical activity provides both short- and long-term benefits.
Short-term:
- improved mood
- improved thinking
- improved energy level
- better sleep
- better perspective
- decreased anxiety
- decreased depression
Long-term:
- stronger muscles and bones
- stronger lungs and heart
- increased chance of living longer
- decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers
- decreased risk of serious illness from COVID, flu, pneumonia
So you know exercise and nutrition are good for you, but how can you incorporate them into your routine in a sane, sustainable, and inexpensive way? And how can you maintain physical activity and good nutrition as the weather turns colder and the days darker?
Great questions!
Exercise/Physical Activity
Here are some suggestions for physical activity:
- Think of it as movement or physical activity rather than exercise. “Exercise” sounds like a formal program requiring spandex and gyms and getting up at 5 a.m. Physical activity can be anything that gets your body moving.
- Remember that your body likes to move in different ways. It likes activity that gets the heart pumping. It likes activity that stretches the muscles. And it likes to do things that help it get stronger.
- Keeping those points in mind, think about your typical day. Maybe you can stretch your arms up over your head and reach down toward your toes a few times before your shower or breakfast. Maybe you can fit in a short walk one or two times a day. Maybe you can do a few pushups or lunges while you’re waiting for dinner to cook.
- Remember that physical activity doesn’t have to be long or intense to be effective. People have been excited to find out that actress Helen Mirren swears by a 12-minute routine she has done “off and on” for most of her adult life.
In short, everyone and their brother wants to tell you how, when, and how much to exercise, but it’s your body. Approach physical activity as an act of love and support for your body, and that might help keep you motivated to care for your body long-term–through hot and cold, sun and rain.
Nutrition
If you’re like many of us, you start to feel overwhelmed when you try to find out how to eat a healthy diet. There seem to be as many diet recommendations as there are stars in the sky, and the amount of information and marketing can become exhausting and confusing.
But when it comes down to it, we all know the basics of what is good for us and not so good for us.
Good: relatively unprocessed meals that prioritize fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats.
Not so good: prepackaged meals or foods/drinks high in sugar or unhealthy fat.
If you want more details and a plan to follow, most doctors recommend the Mediterranean Diet, which has been referred to by many as the Gold Standard of all healthy diets.
A big barrier to healthier eating can be time. Here are some time-saving tips:
- Buy cut veggies and fruits to use as snacks (more expensive but faster than cutting up your own).
- Take some time on weekend to cook a big portion of food that you can eat throughout the week.
- Make breakfast the night before. You could mix up a serving of overnight oats or prep fruits and veggies for a morning smoothie.
- Buy or make your own trail mix to snack on instead of potato chips or a candy bar.
- Plan your meals each week. This will help you stick to healthier choices when pressed for time.
Bottom line(s): Do your best. Sometimes we want to lay around all day and eat “junk” food. Allow yourself to be different every day. Make the choices that result in the least anxiety. Find people (preferably people in your household) who can share your interest in nutritious food and physical activity. And, finally, forgive yourself often. Remember that your goal is not to “be good” and “do life right.” Your goal is to develop a friendly relationship with your body and to trust that you will take care of yourself.
If your recovery from addiction or mental health ever starts to feel like too much, contact our team at Elevare. We can help you understand which treatment options will help you renew your commitment to healing.
