Being healthy is among the most important aspects of life. It affects your general productivity and gives you sufficient energy for your day-to-day activities. You are more likely to be happier and satisfied with your life when you are healthy. While most people attach health to what we eat, there are so many other factors that come into play for one to be healthy.
Proven Ways for a Healthier Way of Living
Besides eating right, you need to exercise regularly and manage stress. It is an all-rounded system that incorporates physical, mental, and social dimensions of life. Let’s take a look at some proven tips for healthy living.
Eat a Balanced Diet
A balanced diet is the number one tip to healthy living. Your diet should contain different foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains. Try as much as possible to avoid processed foods and replace them with whole meal grains and foods. By eating the right food, you not only enhance your immunity levels but also get that glowing and refined skin.
Take a Lot of Fruits and Vegetables
Doctors recommend that you eat at least five portions of different fruits and vegetables every day. While it seems like a lot, it is something that everyone can do. You can incorporate some fruits in the morning for breakfast; take some as a mid-morning snack, some vegetables during lunchtime, and a glass of fresh fruit juice a few hours before dinner. You will only need to spread them throughout your day.
Reduce the Intake of Saturated Fats, Salt, and Sugar
While you need some fat in the diet, it is essential to check the type of fat you are taking. The major types of fats are saturated and unsaturated. Taking a lot of saturated fat can increase the amounts of cholesterol in the body, and this quickly leads to health complications. To avoid such issues, you should limit the intake of these fats, sugars, and salts.
Get Active and Achieve a Healthy Weight
Exercising keeps your body energized, muscles well-built, and your vital organs in the right state or shape. Also, it reduces your risk of getting serious health conditions associated with being overweight. You can check whether you have a healthy weight by using a BMI healthy weight calculator. In order to know the best and most suitable exercises, you should talk to a fitness expert and get a personalized plan.
Limit Your Smoking and Alcohol Intake
Do you take alcohol or smoke? While these two make you feel alive and excited, you need to limit the intake as excessive intake affects your body and vital organs. You can begin by controlling the amount you take daily to limiting the number of days that you consume the products. Within no time, you will feel comfortable letting go.
Always Practice Safe Sex
While sex may be fun, healthy, and exciting, you need to protect yourself at all costs. Sexual health is crucial and can hugely affect your overall health. Therefore, you should protect yourself from sexually transmitted infections and diseases.
Hang Out with the Right People
Your social life is as essential as your physical health. While confining yourself behind closed doors gives you some peace and privacy, you should also let in a few friends and hang out with those that make you feel happy and appreciated.
Speak to Someone Trustworthy when You Feel Down
Are you feeling down or disappointed? Depression is a common illness in the world, taking a toll on over 300 million people. It may have different symptoms, such as feeling hopeless, having negative thoughts, and having suicidal thoughts. Learn to open up and share your feelings with someone that you trust and feel most comfortable with.
Go for Regular Check-Ups
When was the last time you went for a health checkup? Well, most people ignore this till when they are sick. You should visit your doctor for regular checkups as this helps identify health conditions early enough to avoid detrimental outcomes. With the checkups done in good time, you can get quick treatment and even cures for your health conditions.
How to Start Healthy Living Habits
We all know how hard adjusting can be, especially to a habit. We will share some tips to help you get started on your healthy living journey:
- Change one thing at a time- You can choose to start by eating healthier and balanced diets, and later on, you can take up exercising. Do not just start all of them at once.
- You should always start small, especially when it comes to exercising. You cannot wake up one day and start running 5km per day as you will quickly get burnt out.
- Flexibility is also an essential aspect as you make adjustments towards healthy living. If you want to stop taking sugar, you need to do so over a few weeks gradually. You can reduce your intake from three teaspoons to two, and eventually to one.
- Start from where you are as you go forward- For example, if you love buying and eating fruits, you can purchase more fruits as you get rid of unhealthy foods gradually.
- Don’t criticize yourself or feel bad if you fall off the healthy eating wagon. Be patient with yourself and appreciate the progress that you make.
Healthy living does not have to be a difficult process. While most tips encompass what you eat, you must also strive to be happier and better. It is a life-long journey and an entire lifestyle change.