You can say that being healthy is freedom. It’s freeing to be able to use our bodies in its best shape…whatever way, shape, or form it comes in. When we take care of ourselves, we can do more, both physically and mentally.
We all know our lifestyle plays a big role in our health. Many problems can be relieved or fixed by making healthier choices.
The thing is, we go through so many things throughout life. So…we must continue to reinvent ourselves as we go along. Each stage in life will bring you new challenges.
Whether that is career changes, relationship changes, social life changes, marriage, divorce, having kids, growing kids, children leaving the nest, deaths, aging parents, etc.
We must adapt to these changes.
Good news…we can start any time! It’s never too late to reap future benefits of choosing a healthier living today. Of course, the sooner, the better.
I’m a firm believer that our health has a close relationship with our happiness!
Benefits
You’ll Be Happier
Healthy habits tend to lend themselves to making us happier. Physical exercise release endorphins that help make us feel happier. As we get to healthier weights, we become happy with the ease of moving around.
Once you start doing the things that get you healthy, you feel better immediately.
Starting can be difficult, but it certainly starts with the decision to do so.
You Can Do More in Life
When you are in better shape mentally and physically, you can do more in life. You have more energy to contribute and in turn you gain more happiness. Who doesn’t want to do more of what they want with their lives?
Helps with Disease Prevention
We all have heard the stories and perhaps have seen it for ourselves. Diseases caused by unhealthy habits start to disappear as health increases. For many, symptoms caused by diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. can be relieved by making healthier choices. I know it’s easier said than done.
You will often find that it’s hard for us to give up the habits we’re used to such as sitting on the couch to watch TV and eating our favorite snacks. Or being diagnosed with diabetes, but not wanting to give up carbs. Many would rather continue with the medications/shots in order to continue to enjoy the carbs.
I’m not saying it will work in all cases, there may be some that can’t find a way to alleviate the symptoms caused by diabetes and other diseases. But there are many benefits to eating healthy and adding more exercise to your life.
We must make those tough decisions to change!
Lowers Depression
When we put our health first, we aren’t only talking about eating right and getting exercise. This includes loving ourselves…self-care. When I say self-care, I am including relationships with ourselves as well as with others.
So, on top of our physical health, we must take care of our mental health. Doing so will help in lowering depression.
We all need love and that includes self-love. Love yourself enough to take care of you.
Know that you matter and choose the right people to be around. You deserve people that truly care for you so don’t include just anyone into your lives. The people around you have a long-lasting memory in your brains.
So, it’s important to choose wisely and not to depend on others for your main happiness.
You Will Be the Example
Staying healthy is not only good for us, it has an impact on those around us. It can help remind others to get on track as well.
We all motivate each other, it’s a cycle.
As a parent, you can really set the example for your kids. They will have the opportunity to understand that healthy food doesn’t have to be thought of as gross. And they will see that exercise is an important part of life.
Learning healthy habits at an early age is a HUGE plus!
Ways to Stay Healthy
Here are some ways to continue your path to healthier living.
1. Create a Vision Board
You can start by adding your goals for the year to a vision board. It can serve as a reminder to keep focus on your goals. As long as you put it up somewhere to be seen.
2. Pay Attention to Yourself
For example, you can manage your weight by continuing to monitor it while adjusting your choices.
Look into why you make certain choices to see if there is something you can do about it.
- What are your triggers?
- Do certain people contribute to the problems?
- Are you making time for yourself (self-care)?
3. Schedule Time for Health
Ensure you add time to your schedule to meet your health goals.
Don’t leave it up for chance.
If you notice that you aren’t meeting your exercise or other health goals, adjust the time.
Try to add time for meal prep to get your nutrients and avoid eating fast food.
4. Get Physical Exercise
Start small and find what works best for you.
Set goals that you know you will make, whether that is working out at home, outdoors, going to the gym, etc.
If you are looking for help in getting started at a gym, I wrote a post on overcoming gym intimidation.
5. Make Healthy Eating Choices
Make the choice to cook more. Doing so saves money and calories.
Try to eat a more plant-based diet. The idea is to add more fruits and veggies into your body, not necessarily to cut food groups out. You can do things like Meatless Mondays or adding more veggies to recipes or as sides. Here are some recipes to try:
Use the rule of moderation and avoid overeating. Practice portion control and cut down on carbs, sugars, processed foods, etc. Again, I’m not suggesting any extremes. We don’t want to backslide. We want to make changes that are maintainable over a lifetime.
You can also try using MyFitnessPal to keep track of the calories, carbs, and nutrients in the food and portions you eat.
6. Take Nutrition Classes
Give seeing a nutritionist a try. It will add to your education about health.
Find classes online and local programs that teach about health. Our local Natural Grocers provides free classes given by nutritionists to the public.
7. Manage Stress
Find ways to relieve stresses in your life.
It is important to learn to keep calm in high stress situations.
Setting aside me-time can also help.
8. Get Enough Sleep
Try to get enough daily sleep and add more for physical activity.
Basically, ages 18+ should get 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Read more about it here.
9. Perform Brain Exercises
Starting brain exercises early in life is great in prevent things like early Alzheimer’s. You can challenge your brain with puzzles, crosswords puzzles, thinking games, thinking challenges, and by learning something new.
Pick up new hobbies that require you to learn.
Brain exercise should be continuous throughout your life. Never stop learning.
10. Stay Active at Work
If you work a desk job or one that requires you to sit for long periods, try to incorporate things you can do to stay active. We spend a lot of time at work and moving around is important.
There are several areas to focus on in our health. The list can be exhaustive…
So please comment with some ways or suggestions that you use to stay healthy.