At IIN (Institute for Integrative Nutrition) we learn about the concept of Primary Foods versus Secondary Foods. Contrary to what you may be thinking, Primary Foods are not actual foods. Primary foods are sources of joy and satisfaction in our everyday life that help us feel fulfilled and purposeful. Primary foods sustain us in all the ways food nutrition cannot. I believe that a person can have the healthiest diet and exercise regimen in the world and still be unhealthy and sick if they have imbalance in their primary foods.
My next step in addressing my mood issues and bringing balance and fulfillment into my life is to work on my own primary foods. The picture to the right is called the Circle of life, it is part of an exercise to figure out the areas of Primary Foods that need attention. It can also be used as a tool for tracking progress. I can do this exercise every month or at other intervals to see what progress I have made.This is how the exercise works:
- Place a dot on the line in each category to indicate how satisfied you are with each area. Place a dot at the center of the circle to indicate dissatisfaction or on the periphery to indicate satisfaction.
- Connect the dots to see your Circle of Life.
- Identify imbalances. Determine where to spend more time and energy to create balance.
You can see from the dots and connected lines on my Circle of life that there is some imbalance. My Circle of life is definitely not a circle! My primary foods that need attention are Career, Health, Physical Activity, Social Life, Confidence and Spirituality. Over the next four weeks I am going to address these areas of imbalance and let you know how I am doing it.
In the 1st week (Starting today) I am going to work on Physical Activity and Career. Two areas that are connected and have a large impact on my daily well being and level of happiness. I have a job that requires me to sit in front of a computer for about 8-9 hours a day, spending my days like this has caused back and neck issues for which I go to a chiropractor and a massage therapist. There is a lot of pain on most days and this situation is not helped by the fact that 50% of time my job is so stressful, with tight deadlines that I don't get up from the chair for up to four hours at a time. Couple that with a complete lack of exercise outside of work and you have a stiff, painful and out of shape body. Therefore my goal for this week is to take a 5 minute walking or stretching break every two hours while at work and to add in 20 minutes of walking every night after work.
I will be implementing this by creating alarms on my phone to go off every two hours while at work to remind me to get up and move as well as reminders in my calendar so I don't forget to walk after work. If you are also trying to increase your level of activity I invite you to join me; create reminders and/or alarms for yourself to get up and move, whatever it is that you like to do for movement is great! Let me know how you are adding in daily activity by posting a comment at the bottom of this post.
Wishing you whole health and wellness!
In the 1st week (Starting today) I am going to work on Physical Activity and Career. Two areas that are connected and have a large impact on my daily well being and level of happiness. I have a job that requires me to sit in front of a computer for about 8-9 hours a day, spending my days like this has caused back and neck issues for which I go to a chiropractor and a massage therapist. There is a lot of pain on most days and this situation is not helped by the fact that 50% of time my job is so stressful, with tight deadlines that I don't get up from the chair for up to four hours at a time. Couple that with a complete lack of exercise outside of work and you have a stiff, painful and out of shape body. Therefore my goal for this week is to take a 5 minute walking or stretching break every two hours while at work and to add in 20 minutes of walking every night after work.
I will be implementing this by creating alarms on my phone to go off every two hours while at work to remind me to get up and move as well as reminders in my calendar so I don't forget to walk after work. If you are also trying to increase your level of activity I invite you to join me; create reminders and/or alarms for yourself to get up and move, whatever it is that you like to do for movement is great! Let me know how you are adding in daily activity by posting a comment at the bottom of this post.
Wishing you whole health and wellness!
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