Tips for Wellness Month: Exercise, Diet & Sleep

August is National Wellness Month, and we at Gerstenberg Clinic are excited to see you in the clinic to focus on prevention and long-term health personalized to your individual circumstances. However, certain things are so universal that you can get started on personal wellness today!

Exercise

Walking and moving physically for work are beneficial in comparison to being sedentary, but most people need more exercise than this to be healthy.

1. Zone 2 movements (heart rate above 120bpm) for 150 minutes a week while doing typical cardio activities like jogging, cycling, rowing, swimming, etc. If your heart rate is at this level, even cleaning the house can be exercise. This intensity is more than walking, but it is usually less intense than most would expect (and it is key not to get your heart rate too much above this level).
2. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) once a week, where you push yourself to your maximum safe speed/difficulty for even as little as 30 seconds, is beneficial. A proper warm-up and cool-down are important, and the length of the exercise can be raised from 30 seconds to up to 4 minutes as it becomes easier. Even Olympians benefit from something called the Norwegian 4x4 where a 10-minute warm-up is followed by 4 minutes of high intensity, 3 minutes of slow movement, then 3 more repeats of 4 minutes fast and 3 minutes slow, before a 5-minute cool-down. Most people will be doing much less than 4 minutes and 4 cycles, but anything helps!
3. Strength training at least twice a week, using the whole body and compound movements of at least 2 joints per exercise. Form (or the pattern of movement) is much more important than the weight. Gradually, the amount of weight can increase, and the amount of rest can decrease to achieve progressive overload. 4 ideal exercises to start with are squats, pushups, rows, and farmer’s carry.

Diet

There are only 3 things that are possible to eat (called macros): Protein, Fat, and Carbs.

1. Protein is the best dietary choice; it has less energy than other macros and is essential for life. A zero protein diet would be fatal, so we must eat it. Protein has few calories and helps support lean, healthy body mass like muscle and bone. Protein can come from animal products or a combination of beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.
2. Fat is also a good dietary choice in limited amounts. Fat has the most calories of the macros, and that is why it must be limited. A zero-fat diet is fatal as well, but it can easily be overdone. Olive and avocado are good plant sources of fat and make the best oils to cook with. Animal fats are also acceptable when they accompany proteins as above. It is key to avoid fats in processed foods, sometimes called refined or hydrogenated seed oils.
3. Carbohydrates are the sugars that make up the majority of plants. It is a fact that the human body does not actually need to eat any carbs at all; however, most people do not thrive by never eating any plants again. The key to eating carbs is to focus on an indigestible carb called fiber. The recommended daily serving of fiber is 30g, and the average American gets only 15g or less. There are benefits to getting up to 50g. The best carb choices are whole unprocessed plants which are at least 25% fiber. Try googling “broccoli total carbohydrates and fiber”. 2.4 grams of fiber divided by 6 grams of total carbohydrates is 0.40 or 40% fiber (that’s a good choice).

Overall, it is good to avoid processed, ready-made foods because the food often has peculiar fats which cause problems in our body and has little to no fiber.

Sleep

Optimal health for most adults requires 7 to 9 hours of restorative rest each night. To enhance your sleep quality, maintain a consistent routine, disconnect from digital devices sixty minutes prior to bed, and limit late-day consumption of stimulants or large portions. It is important to wake up at the same time every day and to nap for less than 1 hour during the day. Oftentimes these 2 choices alone will fix most sleep problems as your body adjusts to the new routine. Many find keeping their sleeping environment chilly, dim, and peaceful to be beneficial.