We often assume weight, diet, and exercise are the only determinants of our health. The truth is, every body is different and health is complex and nuanced. Diet and exercise are only two pieces of a very large puzzle. Having one picture of health that we compare ourselves to is inaccurate and incredibly harmful. Still, striving to understand and care for our bodies requires us to check-in and assess how we are doing daily. Luckily, there are many ways to measure our wellbeing we are without looking at our physical body in the mirror.

Here is a list of positive non-weight focused ways to assess your wellbeing:

Quality and quantity of sleep.

In order to show up in the world as our best selves, we need to get adequate and consistent restorative rest. In our hustle culture, it seems like everyone is running on empty in order to get further at work, meet their family’s needs, and keep up with the world spinning on high around them. But remember the saying “you can’t pour from an empty cup”? You can’t show up for your job, your family, or yourself if you literally have no physical and mental energy to give the areas of your life that are most important to you.

Some things to consider to help get better sleep:

Build a bedtime routine to help you wind down before bed and feel prepared for the next day. Create a mental checklist of things to set you up for success like: prepping any meals to make your morning easier, setting out your clothes for the next day, doing your skincare routine, flossing and brushing your teeth, reading a chapter in a book, writing journal reflections, or doing a meditation (Sleep casts on Headspace are my personal favorite wind-down activity! They’re like little zen bedtime stories.)
Create a restful environment by eliminating electronics in the bedroom, surrounding yourself with peaceful colors and comforting textiles, and remembering to wash your sheets/bedding regularly. Consider investing in a sound machine and blackout curtains if you’re a light sleeper or live in a city, and/or a sunrise simulator alarm clock if you struggle with waking up in the darker months.
Make sure you are getting adequate food during waking hours. A common sign of not getting enough to eat during the day is waking regularly throughout the night (even when we aren’t awaken directly from hunger pangs). Try having a snack two hours before bed to see if that makes a difference for you.
Consider adding more physical activity to your life to help balance stress, challenge your body, and create healthy need for rest.

Energy levels throughout the day.

What is your energy and focus like during the day? You may be tired from not getting enough sleep, but you may also be:

Overstimulated or burned out by your workload
Not eating enough, not eating the right foods for your body, or not eating frequently enough during the day (Check out my post What Does it Mean to be Consistently and Adequately Nourished for more on this)
Spending too much time in front of screens and too little time engaging in movement
Relying too heavily on caffeine or not managing your stressors effectively which can both put a strain on your adrenal system

Start by focusing on getting enough to eat, working on stress management, and practicing good sleep hygiene mentioned above.

Digestion.

Our poop can tell us a lot about our health, especially if we are experiencing chronic issues when it comes to bowel habits or digestion.

A great place to start is by noting your bowel habits. You don’t have to dissect your poop, but noticing patterns around how firm or loose your stool is can help identify whether you are eating enough of the right foods for you.

Chronic constipation may mean that:

You aren’t eating enough insoluble fiber
You aren’t drinking enough fluids throughout the day
You aren’t eating enough food in general to form full, regular stools
You aren’t moving your body regularly enough

Chronic diarrhea or soft, unformed stools may mean that:

You aren’t eating enough soluble fiber
You might be eating too much sugar or sugar substitutes (in excess, sugar alcohols, like xylitol and erythritol, draw water into the digestive tract and can cause diarrhea)

Bloating, abdominal pain, gas, and abdominal discomfort can accompany constipation and diarrhea, or exist on their own for any of the above reasons, too.

If you experience stress about food or anxiety during mealtimes, you increase the likelihood of having digestive symptoms. Ironically, many people are anxious about different foods causing health problems (like gluten or dairy causing bloating) and the stress itself causes those symptoms. Sort of like a self-fulfilling prophecy, but the food is not the culprit, how we feel about it is.

And sometimes, foods truly just don’t agree with us no matter how we try to slice or dice it. And that sucks. But in order to honor our individual body’s needs, we may have to limit or eliminate those foods.

In the event that you feel that you are experiencing issues with a food, it may take some experimenting to discover if it’s truly bothering you or if your concern about it bothering you is causing you issues. This is a great example of how nutrition coaching or counseling can help support you! Working with a coach, you can develop mealtime skills and learn to use a food journal through a non-diet lens to discover your food and/or emotional triggers for digestive distress. I love to help people through this because no one should have to eliminate foods they enjoy without just cause!

Note: Chronic bouts of diarrhea and constipation can also be a sign of irritable bowel syndrome — a digestive disorder that results in chronic diarrhea (IBS-D), chronic constipation (IBS-C), or switching back and forth between both. It’s important to talk to your doctor if you experience these on a weekly basis.

Satisfaction with meals.

We often overlook how we feel about our food when considering how well we are doing. But our eating experience is just as important as the contents of our plate. How we feel before, during, and after our meals helps us gauge how well we are nourishing our bodies and our tastebuds.

Check out my post Six Things to Reflect on Before Eating for more on understanding the importance of satisfaction.

Self-care.

Take an inventory of your self-care activities.

Are they:

Realistic and sustainable? It’s important to remember that self-care is supposed to be in support of you. If some of your self-care activities aren’t working for you anymore, it’s okay to let them go or put them on pause for a while. Find ones that are more realistic for who you are right now and that you can continue to do regularly without stress or conflict.
Fulfilling and meaningful? With the ease of social media, it’s easy to feel pressure to replicate someone else’s self-care routine. Find what fills you up. Hate bubble baths or hiking? Cool, skip those. Like baking or playing games instead, sweet! How can you add more of that in in a way that serves you?
Nurturing and effective? In other words, make sure what you’re doing is working. Give yourself permission to grow and let go of things that aren’t serving you anymore and allow space to discover new things. If the workout that you used to look forward to isn’t feeling the same anymore, ask yourself what you need now instead.

Social connections.

During the height of the pandemic, we all realized how important social connection is to our wellbeing. In the hustle and bustle of work-home-then-back-to-work that is our life each week, it’s really easy to forget to nurture those connections. Think about who fills you up in your life. When you think of a really recharging weekend, who is around you? How can you nurture those connections so you can feel that way more often?

Who is in your community? Your neighborhood, your church, your workplace, your internet space, your favorite restaurants. These are all areas filled with people to connect with, if you choose. Are there meaningful connections here that you want to explore? How can you make that happen?