Have you ever heard the phrase too much of a good thing is bad? Well, this is very true in regard to your health and wellness and adopting healthy behaviors. Often times we hear about the risks of not participating in healthy habits, but it is also important to realize more isn’t always better. Take a look at the “U” below:
One side of the “U” you see the words “not doing it.” This could relate to exercise, eating your veggies or drinking water. Perhaps you currently aren’t doing any of these things, which can lead to health complications, injury and higher risk for disease. On the opposite side, you see the words overdoing it, this is when you take something and do it too much, turning it unhealthy. Similar to not doing it, this can also lead to health complications, injury or increased chance of disease. But what about right in the middle? Well, that’s the magical sweet spot. That’s where we want to aim.
As we adopt healthy behaviors it’s important to recognize we shouldn’t be all or nothing. We also shouldn’t be doing the same exact workout and eating the same exact foods every day.
Throughout the last eight weeks, you learned about a lot of healthy behaviors. It’s important to reiterate that with these healthy behaviors, your target should be on the pot of the gold. For example, in a previous week, you learned while HIIT workouts have some very awesome benefits, if you complete them every day (overdoing it), you take a healthy behavior and make it unhealthy. Over doing it sets you up for overworking your body which can lead to injury, a decrease in the functionality of your immune system or lead to exhaustion, burning yourself out and withdrawing from exercise all together. We can find similar parallels is various facets of health and wellness including eating vegetables, avoiding entire food groups or having a lack of variety in diet or exercise.
That is where this “U” mindset comes in.
Whether we talk about finding balance or using the “u” mindset, it all leads us to the same conclusion: We have to find our happy medium that promotes longevity and overall health. How can we successfully implement exercise, HIIT, healthy eating, etc. that will help us stay on track for the long haul? How much is too much that would cause us harm? These are important questions to answer as you plan out your healthy eating and exercise.
By aiming for the “U”, you aim to implement health and wellness not for a season or to reach a short term goal, but to achieve a lifestyle that leads to a long, happy life.
By: Lauren Scotti