Addiction is a disease, which means the best and most comprehensive treatment options approach addiction just like any other disease. We believe that addiction recovery in Boise is possible. If you had diabetes, you’d expect to take medication, regularly consult with your doctor, and make lifestyle changes such as modifying your diet. The same strategy works well with addiction. Changing your fitness and nutrition in rehab isn’t sufficient by itself to remedy your addiction. However, lifestyle changes can help make the recovery process easier, quicker, and less painful. Call 888.296.8976 to learn more about our addiction and mental health therapy options.
Why Do Fitness and Nutrition in Rehab Matter?
The human body is a lot like a machine. What you get out of it depends on what you put into it. If you fill your body with sugary garbage, you’re going to feel miserable. A well-nourished, well-tended body feels better and is better equipped to deal with the incredible challenges of getting sober.
Make no mistake: Internet gimmick sites and self-published books that claim the right lifestyle changes will cure all that ails you are unreliable. But solid fitness and nutrition in rehab can help you recover in many ways:
- Withdrawal often throws off your blood sugar, but you can maintain healthy blood glucose levels by exercising and maintaining a healthy diet.
- Eating the right foods may help expedite the withdrawal process.
- Regular exercise clears your body of toxic drugs. It also releases powerful endorphins that can give you a replacement “high.”
- In several studies, regular aerobic exercise has been shown to combat depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses.
A healthy lifestyle may also help combat some of addiction’s most common physical health effects. That includes cardiovascular disease, muscle damage, organ failure, and blood pressure issues.
Choosing the Right Approach in a Fitness and Nutrition Program in Boise
In a world increasingly obsessed with healthy, holistic living, choosing from many options can be hard. Moreover, the wide number of gimmicky products promising to change your life is often challenging to distinguish from sound nutritional advice.
So how to tell the difference? Talk to your treatment team about your fitness and nutrition program in Boise. Ask them what they think will work best for you. Also, be sure to consult your doctor before trying any new nutrition or exercise program.
Remember, the basics of good nutrition are pretty simple:
- Get plenty of exercise.
- Eat natural foods that don’t come from a box.
- Minimize your intake of high-fat foods, cholesterol, and sodium.
- Drink plenty of water.
You don’t have to pay a guru to get this advice, and any system that promises it will summarily turn your life around is probably a gimmick.
Nutrition in Drug and Alcohol Rehab
Research backs the importance of fitness and nutrition in drug and alcohol rehab. Here are some examples of specific strategies shown to provide a potential benefit:
- Get at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week. Doing so expedites the withdrawal process, improves overall health, and can help combat depression and anxiety.
- Spend at least two days per week on strength training, which can help reduce the muscle aches and pains that so often co-occur with withdrawal.
- Confine your exercise to daytime hours. Exercising before bed can give you a shot of energy that makes it difficult to sleep. A regular sleep schedule – including nightly dreams – is strongly correlated with faster addiction recovery.
- Eat plenty of lean proteins. Protein is like food for your brain, improving cognition and making it easier to manage your emotions. Good sources include fish, soy, nuts, beans, and lean chicken.
- Eat foods high in omega-3s, correlated with better brain and mental health. Good choices include nuts, flaxseed oil, and eggs fortified with omega-3 fatty acids.
- Include yoga or another form of meditation in your daily routine. When combined with exercise, meditation can reduce anxiety, help you more effectively cope with cravings, and stave off depression.
- Drink plenty of water. Not only does water help flush toxins from your body. It also helps you combat some of the unpleasant symptoms associated with withdrawal.
- Ask your doctor if any foods are known to either increase or decrease the effectiveness of the medications you take.
Don’t be overwhelmed by the wide number of healthy living choices. Try the options that seem appealing to you, and if they work, stick with them. If they don’t, move on to something else. To a certain extent, addiction recovery is a process of trial and error. What works for one person doesn’t always work for someone else.
Formal Fitness and Nutrition Therapy Programs in Boise
Your chosen rehab facility may feature a formal fitness and nutrition therapy program in Boise. This means that you’ll have onsite access to professional advice and resources. In turn, such ready access makes it easier to incorporate your efforts into other aspects of your treatment program. This simplifies the goal of focusing on fitness and nutrition in rehab.
Seek Fitness and Nutrition Therapy for Addiction at Northpoint Recovery
At Northpoint Recovery, we’re dedicated to fitness and nutrition therapy for addiction treatment. With our help, you can seamlessly integrate your efforts into your larger, customized recovery plan. In this way, we help you get the greatest possible support for your long-term sobriety. Call us today at 888.296.8976 to learn more about our services.