Any person who has seen a healthcare professional has probably felt a certain way when being asked any question that pertains to their personal wellness. It stands to reason then, that those who see a healthcare professional more often because of their diagnosis get to feel that feeling a whole lot more. What feeling? Well, if you’re like me, the questions…

“Do you exercise?”

“How many hours do you exercise? ”

“Do you eat fast food? How many times a week?”

“How often do you have soft drinks? ”

“What does your diet look like?”

…evoke a sinking feeling I can only describe as guilt mixed with defensiveness. I imagine the “right” answers. The “perfect” healthy lifestyle that would result in my doctor beaming with pride while writing down my answers, maybe giving me a gold star and an A+ on my ‘Life’ report card.

“Yes, Doctor, I gave up soda years ago and follow a whole-food diet. Yes, even on holidays! My stocking is filled with quinoa and kale. Sugary things? No, not for me. Actually, I wake up at 5:30 am to go to the gym and use every machine available. Of course, even on weekends! Somehow, I also get 8 hours of sleep too! Do I get extra credit if I meditate?”

(Readers, I am currently eating discounted Easter candy for breakfast.)

For a long time, answering these questions and knowing what I was “supposed” to be doing ignited a sort-of fight, flight, or freeze reaction in me. I would feel defensive, (Is what I’m doing not good enough?) make excuses, (Have you seen the prices of gym memberships?), and ultimately, felt too overwhelmed to do anything at all. I would have so many voices in my head telling me what I “should” be doing, that I would be paralyzed at the thought of doing anything at all. It made for a viscous cycle of negative self-talk.

What I think many healthcare professionals and patients both miss is the concept of their own personal wellness. Individualized wellness. Unique wellness.

The creativity to personalize your wellness isn’t something that comes naturally and does take a good amount of self-reflection. But personalizing your wellness is vital to creating habits that will become part of your daily life.

The good news is that there are endless ways to personalize healthy habits. The bad news is that because of this, I cannot list every one of them. Here are some creative ways to personalize some common wellness tips:

Eating “Healthy”

Following a specific diet can feel restrictive, which leads to difficulty sticking with one for any length of time. Instead, you can try:

• Picking a popular meal from a whole-food or other diet plan. Make that meal once or twice a month, then add in some others. A great tip is to add “crockpot” or “one-pan” to your search terms. This will prioritize simple recipes that can be lower effort.

• Add fruit to a pitcher of water. Pick a week or two every month to have flavored water instead of soft drinks. This is also great if, like me, you buy fruit and tend to forget to eat it. Cutting up strawberries and cucumbers or other seasonal items and adding them to water tastes delicious and gets rid of the guilt I feel throwing out produce.

• I struggle with eating snacks when they are not pre-portioned, (I can eat a box of girl scout cookies in a sitting, not to brag… Caramel Delights if anyone is curious.) Pre-portioning snacks in sandwich bags after grocery shopping makes for more mindful snacking. This is not to say you must stick to the serving size listed. We can all agree they can be ridiculously small. I just eye out a delicious amount in a sandwich bag for a fulfilling snack so that I don’t accidently eat an entire family sized bag while watching a suspenseful period drama that rhymes with “Ridgerton.”

• Mix your food! I will be the first to admit I have used many “mom” tricks on myself as if I am a picky toddler. Peas in my mac and cheese, blended veggies in pasta sauce, baked green bean or sweet potato chips with popcorn as a snack, etc. Hey, vegetables with cheese are still vegetables!

Creative Movement

The gym is an anxiety-inducing space for many, and focusing on how many hours you exercise can limit ideas when it comes to creative ways to add movement to our routines, ESPECIALLY when dealing with fatigue or pain. A good way to start coming up with ideas for creative movement is to think about your hobbies and interests.

• Musical Movement. Are you a musical theater enthusiast? Maybe you play classic rock at the start of your day. Does metal actually chill you out? If you type your favorite music into YouTube, there are a plethora of workouts accessible to all. Want to walk in place for 15 minutes to songs exclusively from Disney movies? That’s there. A seated accessible workout to 70s Rock? They have it. (Tip: add “low impact” to your search for an accessible option if you rather not be seated)
• Dance it out. You don’t have to be a trained dancer to find joy in a new hobby. This doesn’t have to be a ballet class (although it can be!) but think about your interests! I recently found out that I am part Polish. I found a local Polish dance group that meets for free to teach folk dancing and I have made it a part of my weekly routine. This can also be a great way to appreciate other cultures through dance as well!
• Existing hobbies can be the key! Do you love to garden? If anyone says gardening isn’t a workout obviously hasn’t felt the lower AND upper body soreness after getting to the bottom of a dandelion root system. A way to make this hobby accessible may be to find a community garden with raised beds so you can garden on a stool, or instead of having to commit to your own garden every day, find a community park or nature preserve and volunteer for cleanup days! Movement, nature, and community!
• Stealthy workouts. Many people find adding some movement to a sedentary action helps them focus and gives them an opportunity to add in a workout to a busy schedule. Leg raises or glute squeezes while working at a desk or watching TV can be a great way to strengthen and stretch your muscles without paying attention to the clock! You can even do it randomly. I go on my tiptoes (fun name for a calf raise) for the 2 minutes my popcorn takes in the microwave. If I do that every time I use the microwave, that can be almost 30 minutes of exercise a week – 20% of the recommended amount!

It’s easy to lose sight of our goals when we have narrowed definitions of what wellness includes. I think we would all feel a lot more ‘well’ if we focused on what it could mean for ourselves and really create our own personal wellness.