What does Wellness Mean?
If you live on planet Earth in the year 2019, you’ve probably heard the word wellness thrown around a bunch. It’s such a vague word, but there seems to be confusion around associating the word wellness to food and diets. In the dictionary, wellness is defined as:
the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as a result of deliberate effort.
an approach to healthcare that emphasizes preventing illness and prolonging life, as opposed to emphasizing treating diseases.
Associating the food we eat to the idea of wellness can be helpful in some ways, but in many ways, I see it doing more harm. For example, feeding your body with nutritious foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains can fit under both of the wellness definitions above and be a healthy thing to strive for in your diet. But what if you were to enjoy a piece of birthday cake, eat some potato chips at a party, or eat a slice of pizza with friends? This is where I think the idea of wellness can backfire. Most people seem to identify wellness foods as “clean”, “healthy”, “good”, “low calorie”, and other diet-y terms. So enjoying other foods that don’t fit into these categories….would they be anti-wellness? According to the first part of the definition, wellness includes health of the mind as well as the body. When we don’t restrict ourselves from enjoying foods like cake, potato chips or pizza, we can allow ourselves to enjoy them without guilt, stress, or shame. Labeling foods under the term wellness seems to bring the same effect as categorizing foods as good or bad. They impose guilt around certain foods and praise around others.
So be careful around anyone selling anything around this word. Many diets are being hidden under the word “wellness” since dieting is finally starting to get the bad rap it deserves. Wellness should not include feelings of restriction, guilt, shame, self-criticism, or stress. Anyone promoting wellness who makes you feel any of these feelings should not be followed.
I’m going to attempt another definition of the word wellness under my own terms:
Nourishing my body with nutritious foods and allowing myself to enjoy foods that satisfy me and bring me joy.
Not spending time worrying, stressing, or feeling shame about the size of my body, the food I’m eating, or how much I need to exercise, but eating and moving in a way that keeps both my body and mind healthy.
Engaging in activities that bring me joy and make me feel good physically and mentally.
If you had to come up with your own definition of wellness, what would it be? Curious to hear your responses!
In Wellness (ha),
Dianna