Last Updated on 23/09/2022 by Jill Dumas
Free General Health Check
‘Feeling Healthy’
What does the phrase ‘feeling healthy’ mean to you? Is it absence of a diagnosed condition (ie diabetes?) Is it lack of being on pharmaceutical medication? Is it being able to run a 10k, even if you suffer from stiffness and joint pain? Most people don’t give ‘feeling healthy’ a second thought unless they’re suffering – suffering from gut pain, joint pain, period pain or worse. But actually, there’s a whole range of what ‘feeling healthy’ is, and I encourage you to give it more thought because at the end of the day, your health represents how you enjoy your life.
The Body Out of Balance
Our bodies are incredible, and are constantly striving for homeostasis and letting us know when there’s a stressor causing imbalance somewhere in the body. But often we go through our days ignoring these messages, these little health niggles. And more often than that, these niggles are bigger than niggles – they limit our quality of life, motivation and happiness.
Long ago I put together a health questionnaire with the aim to encourage individuals to recognise these messages from the body, the way it communicates ‘something’s not right, help me’, and to respond to them. I want to share it with you because my goal is for you to be in the best health you can for as long as possible. I want you to be in peak health, because in that state, you become unstoppable. Think of all you could do, achieve and be if you felt 10 or even 50 times better than you do today.
This short list of questions goes through different areas of the body and some of the most common niggles that mean something in your body could use your attention.
Take a few quiet minutes, tune in and reflect. Check all that apply. Are there areas of your health you could improve and optimise? Saying yes to any of the below gives you your starting point.
General Health Check
1. Do you have a low body temperature?
- I have cold hands and feet.
- I often feel cold, regardless of temperature.
- My pulse rate is regularly below 60 beats/min.
2. Do you have blood sugar issues?
- I get shaky or light-headed if I haven’t eaten for a few hours.
- I get moody (hangry) if I skip a meal.
- I have energy dips (or crashes) during the day.
- I often have food cravings.
- I binge eat.
3. How is your sleep?
- I find it difficult to switch off and fall asleep.
- I wake up in the middle of the night.
- I feel rested when I wake up in the morning.
- I feel hungry in the morning.
- I feel unwell or nauseous in the morning.
4. Do you have any of the following digestive complaints?
- Bloating
- Burping, flatulence or trapped gas
- Indigestion or heartburn after meals
- Constipation (defined as having less than one bowel movement daily)
- Diarrhoea
- Bowel movements are difficult to pass
5. On a scale of 1-5 (1=low, 5=high), what are your stress levels?
Stress is a very general term, and often we don’t realise all the areas that stress can manifest in, and the compounding effect of that.
- Physical (something physically hurts in your body)
- Mental/Emotional (work, family, life, social etc)
- Biochemical (hormonal imbalances, leaky gut, IBS, autoimmune, diabetes, hereditary)
- Nutritional (food intolerances, limiting diets, overconsumption of caffeine, processed foods or sugar, alcohol or drug use)
6. If you have stress from any of the above, how long has it been going on?
7. Do you engage in any stress-relieving activities to counter this? If so, what are they?
8. Do you find it difficult to lose and/or maintain a healthy weight even when you’re eating healthy and exercising regularly? YES or NO
9. On a scale of 1-10 (1=terrible, 10=fantastic), how would you rate your overall health and well-being?
How did you do?
If you said yes to more of the questions above than you’d have liked to, perhaps it’s time to give your health more attention. If you are interested finding out how personalised nutrition and lifestyle medicine can help improve and optimise your health, please do get in touch with me jill@jilldumas.com
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