Easy Ways To Start Your Journey To A Healthy Lifestyle
There is no better time to start a journey to a healthy lifestyle or make effort to maintain a healthy living than now. To do this and keep it going for the long term, small changes are the best way. These are times of uncertainty and stress. It is easy to find yourself in unpleasant habits or neglect the healthy routine that you’ve established.
A healthy lifestyle is beneficial to your body and mind, which puts you in a better position to deal with the challenges of the COVID 19 pandemic. We’ve put together some easy and practical ways to start your journey to a healthy lifestyle here…
- Journey to a Healthy Lifestyle – Love and Be patient With Yourself
Love yourself. Be patient with yourself on your goals. Go easy on yourself. Learn to fall in love with and enjoy the process. Look forward to the person you will become all through your life’s journey.
There will be bad days or days when you make unhealthy choices. You aren’t perfect. We all make mistakes but what we learn from them is what matters. Change does not happen overnight. If you find it hard or confused on how to respond to a certain negative vibe, talk to someone.
If you are reluctant to reach out to family or friends or you don’t have them around you, leverage online help groups, forums, or other offline support groups. Your situation should not stop you from reaching out.
There are situations that might threaten to drive you crazy, but love and confidence can see you through. You can also get counseling from mental health specialists that now offer remote counseling.
Relax with your favorite song, read comics, listen to and tell jokes or watch a sitcom to improve your mood
2. Try new things
Everything you’ve ever wanted is outside of your comfort zone. Try new things. Explore different foods, try a new recipe or attend a new fitness class with your friend. Step out of your comfort zone, switch things up and embrace changes no matter how little.
This will keep things interesting, help you stay motivated, and inspired you to permanently adopt this new lifestyle.
3. Pay attention To Your Meals
Paying attention to what goes into your stomach is another way to start a journey to a healthy lifestyle. Prepare your meals, eat regularly, and eat mindfully. Control your portion size and fats intake. When you prepare meals yourself, you pay attention to the ingredients and control exactly what goes into the meal.
This way, it becomes easier to makes healthy choices for your body. In grocery stores, you will find non-fat and low-fat alternatives, try switching your full-fat pantry staples to them over a period. Regularly eat a variety of foods and ensure they are in the right amounts.
That is the best formula for a healthy diet. Skipping meals, especially breakfast, can lead to out-of-control hunger, often resulting in helpless overeating. The brain is responsible for feelings of hunger and fullness, not your stomach. Take your time during meals.
Eat more slowly. This gives your brain enough time to send the ‘full signal’ to your stomach and allows the food to be fully ingested. Don’t wait until your plate is clean before you know it’s time to stop eating.
4. Drink Enough Water
You’ve probably heard this a hundred times before but we just need to remind you again. Drinking enough water is an important part of healthy living. Studies have linked water to reduced calorie intake. So, water can help you lose weight, avoid stress and also help you think more clearly.
A daily intake of six to eight glasses of water will do but you can still stay hydrated with coffee, tea, and low-sugar drinks if you aren’t a fan of water. It’s important to remember that vegetable and fruit juices/smoothies are high in sugar. Water does not have a substitute.
5. Limit Unhealthy Foods and Eat Healthy Meals
Choose nutritious meals with more fiber and protein and less sugar, calories and fat. Add more fruits and vegetables to your diet. Reduce your intake of carbohydrates, high sodium, and unhealthy fat. Stay away from eating junk food and sweets.
Reduce sugar and salt intake. Taking too much salt can lead to high blood pressure and increase your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Sugary drinks and foods are rich in energy but their sweetness and attractive taste should be enjoyed in moderation.
Reduce caloric nutrients such as fat, alcohol, carbohydrate, and protein. However, the most concentrated source of energy is fat. Physical activity helps you spend energy and make you feel good. If you are gaining weight, eat less and become more active.
6. Worry Less To Improve Your Mental Health
Have a ‘to-worry-about’ list. Whenever you are filled with overwhelming emotions or you have your mind spinning in different directions, get a pen and book. Write down anything and everything that bothers you all through the day.
Set aside a time later in the day to review the list. You will either be able to make a plan to address them or simply find out that those fears aren’t founded. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy found that fully 85 percent of the things we worry about never happen anyway.
7. Be Physically Active At This time.
Exercise regularly and make being physically active a habit. This is important for people of all health conditions and weights. You will get to burn off extra calories, improve your circulatory system and increase your muscle mass. More importantly, regular exercise helps you focus and improves overall well-being.
You don’t have to be an athlete to be physically active. Doing a home workout, running within your neighborhood, taking on some house chores, swimming, walking, and stretching in your office are all ways you can exercise.
8. Sleep Enough
Get good sleep and get enough of it. The immune system has a very strong connection to the quality and quantity of sleep you get. Sleeping for seven or eight hours every night will help your immune system to function properly. If you are well-rested, you will be able to cope better with stress and have better control over your cravings. According to research, lack of sleep can trigger overeating.
9. Stay Away From Alcohol and Cigarettes
Smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol will not protect you from any infection or sickness. They don’t make things better. They will neither make you feel better nor keep your mind away from unpleasant things.
If you must take alcohol, do it in moderation. If stress makes you turn to cigarettes or alcohol, then work to manage your stress level. Avoid your stressors. Managing your anxiety with cigarettes and alcohol may give you temporary relief but they will only make you feel worse in the long term.
Depriving yourself completely may also not work but gradually reduce it and continually make healthy choices all the time.
