My Wellness Routine

by Dr. Andrew T. Brady, Chiropractic Physician

My philosophy on health has always been shaped around my belief that preventing an illness, disease, or injury, is always better than trying to find the cure once it has already happened. The greatest impact you can have on your health, that is within your control, comes from your choices, habits, and routines. People often ask me what my wellness routine looks like, so I thought I’d share a few things that I do for whatever that is worth you:

Dietary

• I make a point to eat an organic fruit and vegetable with every meal (preferably raw).
• I avoid dairy and refined grains as much as possible Monday through Friday afternoon. I tend to be less strict on the weekends – I do love a pizza night!
• I try to avoid all sugar. This one isn’t hard for me, I feel lucky that I prefer savory over sweet.
• Sodas are virtually non-existent in my diet. I drink lots of water and have an organic protein shake after each workout.
• I supplement vitamin D, Omega 3’s, probiotics, and an organic whole-food multivitamin every day. These essential nutrients are hard to obtain in our diet, so supplementation is recommended.
• I limit my red meat intake to 1-2x a week. When I do eat red meat, I make sure it’s grass-fed and organic.

Exercise

I typically exercise 5 days a week, sometimes 6. Most of my workouts are a mix of weights and cardio with 1-2 days of rest and recovery. Recovery is an area that I have put more focus into lately and it has really changed how my body feels on a day-to-day basis (less sore, less fatigue, and more driven to exercise). I also just purchased an infrared sauna for my office and will be adding a few sessions a week for purposes of recovery.

Mental Health

The definition of being healthy includes both physical AND mental health. What good is a healthy body with a sick mind? Your thoughts can either move you toward optimal health and wellness or can move you to sickness and disease. This is why I make gratitude exercises part of my wellness routine. Most days a week I try to think of 3 things I am grateful for. This may sound hokey, but research shows that doing these simple exercises helps to improve happiness, overcome adversity, and makes you more mentally fit.

Sleep

This is an often overlooked, but extremely important, pillar of wellness and restoration that so many are deficient in. Eight hours each night is what I TRY to accomplish as a minimum. While I fail in this area almost every week because we have 3 young children, the nights when I do get at least 8 hours of sleep, I notice significant differences in my energy, my mind is much clearer, my workouts are better, my attitude is better, and my overall sense of wellbeing is better. Remember – sleep is your body’s time to rejuvenate and repair. If you’re getting less than 8 hours of sleep every night, I urge you to try to improve in this area of wellness.

Chiropractic Adjustments

I have been getting regularly adjusted since I was 18 years old. Being a chiropractic patient has helped me in so many ways I can’t even imagine not having it be part of my wellness routine. It helps me sleep better, feel less sore, have more energy, my workouts are better, I have less stress and anxiety, and it gives me an overall sense of well-being. A spine without nerve interference can be a very powerful tool in healing and restoration and will continue to be a very big piece of my wellness routine puzzle.

There are a few other things I don’t have the space to include, but this lays out some of the most important things for you. I try to stay disciplined with this routine, because there is no greater asset than your health. So, what does your wellness routine look like?

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