One of the best signs that you are healthy is that you have more energy. Eating healthy, exercising regularly, and managing stress are the most important things you can do for your health. They are your energy management system. But life is complicated! Doing the big three consistently can add to the stress. In this article, I will share how to make it simple to do all three so you are exercising well to restore your energy management system.
The 3 most important things you can do to have more energy
The Big Three recommendations that show up for nearly every medical condition are:
Eat healthy
Get enough exercise
Manage stress
Why? Because these three are your energy management system
Nourish - take in food water and air to fuel cells
Move - turn that fuel into movement to survive and thrive
Rest - restore fuel stores in cells so they are ready to move
Simplify eating healthy, exercising regularly, and managing stress
The Big Three are designed to work together. One helps the other but one cannot work without the other.
When they are seen as separate tasks, one tends to undo the other.
Exercising, preparing healthy meals, and meditating take time, increasing stress.
Stress causes cravings to eat unhealthy foods and limits time and energy for exercise.
Exercise is seen as a way to burn off the extra calories from stress eating.
The solution is to see the connection between each one, doing each one for the purpose of taking care of your whole person and focusing on how they help you manage your energy well.
This mindset of being well now as you eat, move, and rest embodies trust in how you are hardwired to thrive. Instead of doing these things to take care of your body, you are providing resources so your body can do its job to take care of you.
Rest well. Nourish well. Move well.
Using the terms rest well, move well, and nourish well, changes your mindset about these activities:
Rest Well is any time you are in the well state. You can be sleeping, moving, standing still, active or inactive.
Nourish Well is when you are actively supporting your well-being, whether that is through food, a mindful breath, connecting with your core why, or doing something that brings you joy.
Move Well is when you are moving the way your body is designed so you feel strong, relaxed, and confident in your body as you move.
Exercising for well-being is when you see how these three work together so you can use exercise to rest well, nourish well, and move well. Exercising Well is when you move your body as well as your awareness to flow from stress to well easily at any moment of your day, freeing up your energy to fuel what matters most to you in life.