As difficult as it can be to accept, healthy and happy people are not just born to know how to take care of their bodies and feel better about themselves. Like everyone else, they have had to spend time understanding their body and finding out what works and what doesn’t. One of the most key differences between those who find it hard to get driven to live a healthier lifestyle and those who are ready to go all the time are their habits and how they cope with them. Of course, not all habits are damaging-some, like drinking plenty of water, are healthy. However, any habit you have will have some impact on your health and overall well-being, and if you want to live your best life and be fit and healthy, you need to get rid some of the less desirable ones. Here, we look at the ones you may need to shelve.
Stop with the poisons
One of the worst things you can do for your body is to smoke, drink alcohol, or take meds, whether they are illegal or prescribed. Putting these in our body daily is not the path to a safe lifestyle. Eventually, our bodies will begin to shut down, leaving you vulnerable to disease and sickness. The problem with these habits is that they are extremely difficult to break-they are addictions. However, once they are split, you will be shocked by how much better you feel. If you are struggling to give up alcohol or avoid taking drugs, clinical support might be the way forward. When it comes to smoking, a lot of people prefer to turn to e-cigarettes and E-Liquid to help them handle the cravings. CBD Oil from Penguin CBD can also be beneficial to some, who are craving the releasing effects of cannabis without wanting the effects that THC can bring.
Be more active
Although technology is generally a wonderful thing, more and more of us have been persuaded to live a far more sedentary lifestyle because of it. Instead of going out, we are on our phones or computers, watching our favourite Netflix shows and sitting in front of a screen that is running all day. We do not even need to leave the house to get our grocery shopping any longer-we can have that delivered to the convenience of our own home! We spend the whole night lying down, waking up and getting into a car, or on a bus or train to get to work where we sit down again, sit down working on a computer all day, and get back home.
Since we are so tired from long working hours, our leisure time is usually spent sitting down. All this sitting around is far from healthy for our welfare. It can cause problems with our weight and circulation, which has a knock-on impact on just about any other aspect of our wellbeing. This sedentary lifestyle pattern that many of us have inadvertently found ourselves in needs to be broken if there is a possibility of being healthy and fit. This means waking up and going for a walk or a run, going to the gym, going for a swim-even jumping off the bus a stop earlier and finishing the rest of the trip on foot! The more you exercise, the more enjoyable you will find it.
Make better diet choices
We all know that a big, greasy pizza takeout or a huge slice of cake is not healthy, but if consumed in moderation and as part of a healthy and balanced diet, it is okay. Too much fast food and junk, though, will make us put on weight and clog up arteries, even if we look fine on the outside. It can lead to elevated blood pressure and increased risk of heart attacks, heart disease and stroke, as well as increasing our risk of developing different types of cancer. It makes us feel exhausted and lethargic, too.
To maintain a balanced diet and keep you feeling good both inside and outside, do your utmost to eat a minimum of five servings of fruit and vegetables every day, oily fish up to three times a week to help improve your mental energy and a lot of protein to keep you feeling full and giving us energy. Try to minimise the amount of fat, sugar and salt in your diet, and do not forget to review the labels for processed foods.
Get plenty of sleep
Having enough sleep is one of the most important things that we can do for our health. Try to get about eight to ten hours of decent sleep every night. If you are unable to sleep, minimise the amount of caffeine you drink, turn off your devices at least an hour before bedtime, and take a warm bath to calm your body and mind. Implementing some meditation or mindfulness can also help many people sleep better.
Know your own mind
Just because your family and friends are choosing to do something that does not mean you are going to have to follow the same path. This tendency of falling in with the rest of the crowd and deciding to conform to what everyone else is doing is something that can create a lot of problems. If you know you want to go to the gym after work, but everyone else you know is going to the party, it may seem like you have to go and join them. Dropping this habit and being your own person when you want to, and need to be, is important. Once you can follow your own course, you will be able to choose to do things that make you happier, like going to the gym and not the party, for example. It does not matter what they all do – it is what you want to do that really matters.
By making any of these improvements, you will soon begin to feel happier, healthier and fitter!