I am sure most of you reading this know the rest of the title... “Took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference.”

The roads by which I speak of are the pathways that lead to sickness and the pathways that lead to wellness. If you are like most Americans, you probably have some idea of what you ‘should’ be doing to be healthy. Doing it, however, is often a different story.

Let’s take a look at getting yourself on the road to wellness in a way that is easy to implement and achieve.

First and foremost, it is important to have an operating definition of wellness. Wellness is simply your body functioning the best it possibly can at any given moment of your life. There is a simple four-part tagline, which was taught to me by my mentor, James Chestnut D.C., that gives you the basics of how to achieve overall wellness.

So here it is: In order to be well, you must eat well, move well, think well and rest well. That is it. Simple so far isn’t it? So then why isn’t everyone doing it? Why are so many people that we know marching down the road to sickness, disease and suffering? Do they just want to be sick? I highly doubt it.

Most of us have tried to change roads only to find it too difficult. Then we are left feeling like failures and doomed to say, “I tried that wellness stuff. It just didn’t work for me!” Unfortunately, the problem doesn’t lay on the road itself but rather the path taken to get there.

The first principle to understand in moving on your path to wellness is the principle of add first. Simply put, you start on your road by adding healthy eating, moving, etc. without taking anything away from yourself. What do I mean by this? I mean that before you begin to remove the bad stuff from your life, you could add the good stuff first. For instance, rather than removing ice cream from your diet, you could begin to add more vegetables.  This way you begin providing your body with the tools it needs to thrive, without feeling that you are “giving up” or “cheating yourself” out of the things you enjoy.

The first addition I recommend for all of my patients is to add water throughout the day. Add until you reach one half your body weight in ounces per day. This is a simple first step that makes it easy to succeed. The name of the game in changing roads is setting up a system where you succeed early and often. I know that if you add more water, which is absolutely essential for life and optimal health, you will be starting on the road of wellness.

So that’s it for your first lesson in getting on the pathway of wellness.  You can now begin on the path to a body and mind that will help you take the road less traveled. This will make all the difference in getting not only what you want, but becoming who you want to be.  To schedule a complementary wellness consult with me, click here or call 805-781-9155.