Renee DeVries, DC, DACBR, associate professor and director, radiology consultation services
What does wellness mean to you?
Wellness means creating a balance between physical and emotional health. This includes eating well, managing stress, staying active, and maintaining positive relationships.
What do you do to stay well?
Staying well involves doing everything in moderation. I try to eat healthy, which includes limiting my portions and fat intake. However, a strict, regimented diet doesn’t work for me and I feel much happier and content if I can give in to eating something I love every once in a while. I also stay well through aerobic workout on my elliptical machine and by lifting weights.
How do you work wellness into your day?
Working wellness into my day involves making time for me. I get up early and go down to my basement and workout on my elliptical machine where it is quiet and away from the stress and events of everyday life. In the summer, when it is warm out, I love to run outside. Also, on my lunch hour at Northwestern, I try to lift weights three times a week to build muscle mass. During the day, I have a small, healthy lunch, for example, yogurt and fruit, and for supper, I love to find new, healthy recipes I can cook for my family.
What are your biggest struggles for maintaining wellness?
The biggest struggle is maintaining that balance, because sometimes, for example, I might feel that I have eaten poorly for a day or had a “bad week” where I might indulge more than I should. Instead of beating myself up, I forgive myself and move on, telling myself I will do better next week. However, it’s important to remind myself of the mentality that I’m not on a “diet” but rather eating healthy so I can live well and feel good my entire life. It can be a personal struggle at times, but thinking about it in this manner makes it all the more fun and enjoyable.
How do you find time to workout?
I made the conscious decision that it is important to make the time every day. Making the time means getting up early to do my aerobic work out and lifting weights on my lunch break.
Why is being well important to you?
Being well is important to me because I want to continue being an active, vibrant, healthy woman my entire life. I’ve seen people look decades older than they really are and I want to be that 80-year-old that looks 60.
Do you have any recommended resources for wellness?
The HealthyU Web site is an excellent source for any and all health-related information. Because I love to cook healthy meals, I’m always looking for recipes and a great source is Cooking Light, the nation's largest cooking magazine. Also, because you can’t indulge all the time when you go out, I find Dotti’s Weight Loss Zone Web site helpful because it lists what smart, healthy choices are available at many nation-wide restaurants along with their calorie and fat counts.
