Reimagine Wellness

It’s time we take a new look at wellness. I mean, how many different wellness challenges have you attempted or how many times have you thought this will be “your” year come January 1st? If it’s more than one, that’s too many. The modern wellness challenges are meant for you to achieve results fast, but nearly impossible to maintain for the rest of your life. Now, I didn’t reinvent the wheel, however I'm going to show you how to approach wellness from a new perspective that can quite literally change your life. 

The Purpose of “Glow up with Meag”

To redefine how we think, feel, and act during a wellness challenge. In other words, develop a healthy relationship with ourselves, food, and physical activity. Too many wellness challenges are fixated on the results, a time frame, and an all or none method. In return, we become obsessed with our body image, the amount of calories we consume, and time spent exercising. This creates a stressful environment for our body, causing a prolonged release of cortisol. Having strict rules of what you can or can’t eat or the type of exercise you need to be doing can obtain results fast, but isn’t sustainable long term.

Our modern wellness challenges focus on external factors (body image, food, exercise, etc.). The goal of my wellness challenge is to concentrate on the internal changes that occur within our neuroendocrine system and focus on how we feel, not look. As a result, you will notice an improvement in both your mental and physical health. 

How to Modify your Neuroendocrine System

We know that the brain is our control center and it sends chemical messages to the rest of the body. The fascinating thing about the brain is that we can modulate, change, and recreate the chemical messages it sends out. The hypothalamus and pituitary glands have control over which hormones our endocrine glands release. As a result, we can create a new version of ourselves by altering our neurochemistry for an optimal internal environment. 

The hormones of top priority include:

  • Endorphins

  • Dopamine 

  • Serotonin 

  • Oxytocin 

  • Epinephrine (adrenaline)

  • Norepinephrine (noradrenaline) 

We are going to increase these neurochemicals by performing habits that target our mind, body, and soul. The potential list is endless, however, new habits are more likely to become long term habits with consistency, repetition, achievability, and the internal drive to change. Therefore, we are only going to focus on a select few habits that encompass the mind, body, and soul. I chose habits that you can make your own and are accessible for everyone. 

“Glow up with Meag” Wellness Program

Everyday for the next 3 months your goal is to complete the habits listed below. This timeframe wasn’t chosen at random. 3 months is a substantial amount of time to drill these habits into your lifestyle long-term as well as notice results from this process. 

Mind, Body, Soul Daily Checklist:

  • 30 minutes of movement (minimum): Move in all ways possible. There is no one way to exercise. Perform the type of exercise you want to perform. For example, weight lifting, pilates, playing with your kids, running, walking, etc. 

  • Read 1 page per day (minimum)

  • Take a cold shower: as long as you can withstand

  • Get outside: Vitamin D exposure

  • Drink more water: water is essential for all bodily processes

  • Non-restricted eating: Let’s not label foods as “good” or “bad” as this creates a negative relationship with food and a stressful body environment. Eat the foods you want to eat and learn to be mindful of your food consumption. 

  • Do something you enjoy: For example, make a cup of coffee, hammock, listen to music, get your nails done, dance in your living room, the list is endless.

Together, all of these habits modify the messages the brain sends out and hormones that are released for an optimal internal environment. 

Wellness is a Priority 

When looking at the list above you might feel overwhelmed. However, completing every habit from this list should only take you roughly 60 minutes per day (give or take) which is spread periodically throughout a 24 hour day. Everyone is capable of incorporating these habits into their daily routine, as long as they’re a priority. 

Simplicity > Complexity

You may also notice the lack of a strict routine within the list. It might seem too simple. That’s the point! The wellness industry loves to overcomplicate things, but guess what? Wellness doesn’t have to be complicated. The purpose of a simple list is to give you control over your wellness routine, put your own spin on it, and create something that you enjoy doing. This method won’t cause burnout and can be maintained for a lifetime.  

Believe in Yourself

I hope this wellness challenge finds you well. It is meant to instill healthy lifestyle habits without shaming or comparing ourselves to others. This should be something you enjoy doing and look forward to each day. Feel your physiology change within you and watch the external changes appear as an added bonus.