Why You Need a Wellness Plan and How to Create One

A wellness plan is geared toward achieving overall health in all facets of your life. It’s a multi-dimensional look at your well-being. Wellness is defined by Merriam-Webster as the quality or state of being in good health especially as an actively sought goal (lifestyles that promote wellness). A wellness plan takes into consideration your mental, physical, spiritual, financial, professional, intellectual and environmental health. When creating a plan for your health, you will need to assess each area of your life to determine what your goals are. Asking yourself a few key questions can help you discover opportunities for an improved quality of life and create goals accordingly.

Here are some key questions to consider when assessing aspects of your health:

Physical health includes your medical wellness, your fitness levels, your sleeping patterns and your recreational activities.

• What are your fitness goals?
• Are you at a healthy weight?
• Do you smoke, drink to excess, or take recreational drugs?
• Do you get adequate amounts of sleep?

Nutritional health questions to take into consideration.

• Do your nutritional habits support your lifestyle?
• Do you eat plenty of whole foods, vegetables, and fruits?
• Do you drink enough water?

Mental wellness includes how you deal with stress and how you manage your emotions.

• What emotions do you feel most often and how do you cope with them?
• Are you able to let little things go or do you dwell on them?
• Do you feel overwhelmed by occurrences in your life?

Spiritual wellness is less about religion and more about having values and beliefs that provide a purpose for your life and your place in the world.

• Are you able to spend reflective time alone?
• Do you feel fulfilled in your life?
• Can you find comfort and meaning in your daily life?

Emotional wellness means you are attentive to your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as well as to the feeling of those around you.

• Are you accepting of your feelings and able to remain positive, despite life’s sometimes unpleasant moments?
• How is your self-esteem?
• Do you have healthy relationships and friendships?

Intellectual wellness is the practice of engaging in creating and mentally stimulating activities. It includes analytical thinking, learning, and problem solving.

• Are you frequently bored?
• Do you have creative hobbies?
• Are you able to see all sides of an issue?
• How are your time management skills?

Professional health is having a career that satisfies and engages you. It’s having a positive attitude towards your job.

• Do you feel fulfilled by your career?
• Do you feel appreciated at work and well compensated?
• Are you confident in your abilities to do your job and mentally stimulated by your work?

Financial wellness is your financial stability.

• Are you living within your budget?
• Are you able to build up a nest egg for your future?
• Are your student loans and credit card debt manageable?

Environmental wellness is a respect for and being in harmony with your environment, including your personal space, community, and the planet.

• Do you spend enough time in nature getting adequate sunshine and air?
• Are your surroundings tidy and comfortable?
• Do you make a conscious effort to save energy, reuse, and recycle?
• Do you participate in community affairs?

Now that you have asked and answered these questions, it’s time to decide what goals you would like to establish. Keep them achievable and realistic and make both short term and long term goals.

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Here are some examples on how to set your wellness goals:

Physical wellness

• See your physician and address any health concerns you may have.
• Have a local gym or fitness facility give you a fitness evaluation. Have a professional show you how to use the various machines. Increase your activity slowly.
• Add more walking into your daily routine. Here are easy ways to get more walking in your day and to increase your daily steps.
• Maintain a healthy weight. Our Precision 550 Extra Wide Digital Scale offers a comfortable extra wide platform to stand on and with weight capacity of 550lbs, it’s the highest on the market. The scale also has a beep feature, the scale beeps hen your weight locks in, allowing user to step off and have an easy view of the readout. The large LCD display has a blue backlight and is easy to read from any distance or angle.

Nutritional wellness

• Not sure what eating plan works best for you? Consider speaking with a nutritionist for guidance.
• Increase the amounts of vegetables you eat and be sure to drink plenty of water.
• Choose whole foods rather than prepackaged meals.
• Learn what proper portion sizes are. Our Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scale will help you measure out the perfect portions. The scale also comes with a free EatSmart Calorie Factors book to help make calorie counting easy.

Mental wellness

• Make time for relaxation and reflection each day.
• Practice deep breathing, yoga, and/or meditation to manage stress and anxiety.
• Take a time out when you are distressed, a short walk can help lift your mood.
• Some sadness is normal, feelings of despair are not. Seek a therapist or support group for help.
• Never go off or reduce medication for mental health on your own, always see your mental health professional first.

Spiritual wellness

• Similar to mental wellness deep breathing, yoga, and meditation can also increase your spiritual well-being.
• Spend some time in nature and pay attention to your surroundings.
• Think positively, reframing negative thoughts will help relax you.

Financial wellness

• Set up a realistic budget that lets you live within your means.
• Consider sitting down with a financial planner to prepare for your future.

Intellectual wellness

• Take a class, online sites such as Coursera offer many for free.
• Read, do word and number puzzles to keep your mind sharp.
• Debate someone and choose the side opposite of how you really feel.

Write down your goals and choose which ones you will begin working on first. In the beginning, it’s best to pick 2 – 4 goals to prevent yourself from becoming overwhelmed. Once you have achieved these, move on to the next 2 – 4 goals. Be sure to always work on different areas so your life remains balanced. When one area is neglected, it can affect other areas. For example, when your relationships are out of balance it can impact your physical and emotional well-being. PRO TIP: For your wellness plan to work, you will need to track and measure your goals. Use a calendar to create a reasonable timeline to hit your goals.

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Here are some tips to stay accountable to your wellness plan:

Keep track of progress with a journal and make notes on how you feel. Commit to journaling 2-3 times per week.

• Are you feeling happier or more content?
• Do you feel physically stronger or have more stamina?
• Are you losing weight? Is that weight body fat or are you losing muscle? An easy way to keep track of your body composition is with our Precision GetFit Digital Body Fat Scale. Seeing the numbers of pounds and percentage of body fat lost or percent of muscle increased can be powerful motivation for you to continue!

Update and tweak your plan as needed.

• Some goals may take more or less time than you planned on; adjust your timeline accordingly.
• If something isn’t working, do not be afraid to adapt your plan to one that works better for you and your lifestyle. Situations can change and you may want to adjust as well.
• When you do reach a goal, consider how you feel. Do you want to lose more weight, work on a new area of fitness, or save more money? Create new goals to accommodate those desires.

Get support.

• Whether it’s a buddy, family member, or professional, have someone who can provide support and encouragement throughout your journey.

There are many aspects to health. When you take charge of your overall health, you can function at your highest potential and get the most happiness out of your life. It will take some time and practice, so remember to go easy on yourself.