Make Amends To Your Body and Reclaim Your Health at Real Recovery
Health is an important part of recovery. Ask recovered addicts and alcoholics what key elements outside of the 12-steps have played a key role in their overall success – we guarantee that the top performers will mention exercise, eating healthy, and awareness of their mental wellbeing.
When you’re on the path of recovery, nutrition and exercise become powerful tools that can be utilized to boost your mood, increase your energy, and reduce overall stress. With so many benefits to be had, allowing health to play an active role in your recovery isn’t just about reaching your goals, but reclaiming your mind, body, and spirit in sobriety.
Like most things during active addiction, eating healthy and proper nutrition aren’t exactly top priorities. When you’re spending all your time, money, and energy on alcohol or drugs, it leaves you without any resources to keep your body in good shape. Let alone the fact that a heavy drinker can easily put away thousands of calories each day from alcohol alone. When coupled with the munchies or late-night food binges – it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to conclude that our nutritional habits have likely wreaked havoc on our bodies.
Although eating a well-balanced diet can be paramount to reclaiming your health in sobriety, it can be difficult to make the right food choices after years of making the wrong ones. Making healthy food choices does become easier with a little practice, and will payout tenfold in the long-term. As your body heals from the inside out, you’ll notice the difference that good nutrition can make:
Many associate “healthy food” with “expensive” but that’s simply not true. Many of our residents meal prep on the weekends so they have delicious, healthy, and quick meals they can reheat during the week. Many recipes can cost as little as $1.00 per meal. Still not convinced? Check out these recipe sites:
We often associate “take out” with easy but as it turns out, meal prepping is not only easier but faster and the cheapest way to meet your nutritional needs. Plus, with a little practice it’s far more delicious.
If you need a little more motivation just remember that quality dating material will always be impressed by someone with skills in the kitchen.
Sobriety can be an exciting new beginning that allows someone who previously struggled with a bad habit to replace their struggles with new practices and a healthier lifestyle. While nutrition plays a fundamental role in recovery, it needs to go hand in hand with physical activity.
Regular exercise during the early stages of sobriety can play a pivotal role in your sobriety. Studies have shown that exercise releases healthy “feel good” neurotransmitters, chemicals in your brain like endorphins, to the body, creating a natural “high”. Believe it or not, these are the same endorphins that are released and reinforce that “high” feeling that in part reinforces substance abuse use.
Breaking down the biochemical anatomy of the brain and substance abuse is outside the scope of this page, we’ll leave that to the medical professionals. What exercise does do, in simple terms, is help reintroduce healthy endorphins and naturally produced chemicals that your body creates to help heal the damage substance abuse has wreaked on our body and mind.
Not only will a regular exercise routine make your body physically feel stronger, there are several hidden health benefits from getting active, including:
Whatever your goals are when you hit the gym – just know the grind is worth the squeeze. If you’re hesitant, self-conscious, or haven’t hit the gym in a while, give a shout-out at your next community meeting and talk with the guys around you to find a fitness partner. Working out with a partner will help you remain accountable, motivated, and makes the whole experience more fun. Plus unless you’re looking to stay single for the rest of your life, it never hurts to shred that beer belly or gain muscle.
Recovery is all about getting out of our comfort zone, that is, if you seriously want to stay sober, get real results, and build that successful life you’ve always envisioned. Being proactive is always important and if relapse is a concern, learn more about relapse prevention here.
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Hillsborough, Manatee, and Pinellas County each have community healthcare services for uninsured, low-income adults. If you need healthcare services, please be proactive and use the following links for your county to learn more and see if you’re eligible:
As the Clinical Director at Real Recovery Solutions, Carlos Escobar leverages over 15 years of experience in Substance Use Disorder Treatment, focusing on therapies like CBT and REBT to foster client self-understanding and acceptance. His commitment to innovative, personalized care aims to profoundly improve the lives of those battling addiction and related mental health challenges.
