As the saying goes, your health is your wealth and it’s important that we look after ourselves. Being healthy shouldn’t be a chore. Being healthy is all about lifestyle choices and ultimately about balance in your life.
Choosing the Right Food
The food you put into your body can affect your mood, energy levels and of course, your waistline. People have become obsessed with dieting. There seems to be a new fad diet every week and the truth is that while they might work in the short-term, they are not a feasible long-term solution. Men, generally can eat 2,500 calories per day to maintain their weight, while a woman can eat 2,000 to maintain her weight. However it should be more than just a numbers game. Learn to enjoy your food, choose fresh, natural, unprocessed foods and get excited about your food. Scrap the word diet from your vocabulary. You need to make the choice to eat healthy for the long-term; it should be a live-it, not a die-it.
Make Time for Exercise
The biggest excuse most people have when it comes to exercise is that they don’t have the time. First, you need to make the time. If something, anything, is important enough to you, then you’ll make the time to do it. Instead of hitting the snooze button three times, get up on the first alarm and go for a jog. Sacrifice an hour of TV in the evening and go play soccer with friends. Exercise doesn’t have to be boring. Find an activity you enjoy and people you enjoy doing it with. It can be a great way to meet new people, reconnect with old friends, spend time with family and get outdoors. Stop making excuses and make time instead.
Get Enough Rest
Getting enough sleep is almost always overlooked when people start to think about a healthier lifestyle. If you are starting out on a new exercise regime, then your body needs time to recover. Top athletes, with personal trainers will often have a rest period built into their day to aid recovery. Different people require different amounts of sleep, ranging from seven to nine hours. Experiment and find out what the optimum amount of sleep for you is. Proper sleep will improve your mood, help you maintain a healthy weight, improve athletic performance and increase your ability to pay attention.
Support and Accountability
With the fast-paced lifestyle a lot of us live these days it can be very easy to slip and give into unhealthy choices. It’s often easier to go to the drive-through after a long day at work than it is to go home and cook a healthy meal. You might prefer a beer than a smoothie when things are not going your way. Surrounding yourself with positive, health-conscious people can make these moments much easier to deal with. Whether it’s a friend, family member, partner or even an online community, having support around you is invaluable. What’s more is it provides you with a level of accountability.
Making the time and effort to look after your body will pay dividends immediately; this is an investment each and every one of us should make. You will feel better, look better, have more energy and smile more, that I can promise you.
