The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and a key focus is Health/Wellness. No matter what your purpose or mission is in life, one of the most key components in your life will be your health and fitness. If you’re healthy, you can accomplish most things. The following contributed post is entitled, 10 Simple Ways to Improve Your Health and Fitness.
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When it comes to improving our health and fitness levels, we usually think that we have to do things that are beyond boring: it’s all about eating salads, and spending your evenings in the gym, or whatever. In fact, this is not true. We can push ourselves to an improved state just by making subtle changes to our lifestyle. Below, we outline some of the most influential changes that you can make. Adopt them all (or as many as you can), and you’ll find that you’re on the path towards living a healthier, fitter life.
Review Your Lifestyle
Before you can figure out how you’re going to reach the top of the mountain, you need to figure out where you are. In health terms, this means taking a look at your lifestyle and figuring out your positive and negative health points. We’re pretty busy these days, and that means that we rarely get time to sit down and review our lifestyles. It is worthwhile, however. You might find that you’re making a few fundamental errors which, if amended, would lead to much improved fitness levels. So ask yourself: are you living a healthy or unhealthy lifestyle?
Get Walking
It’s not something that is often discussed, but the way we live is a bit unusual. At least in terms of how all the other humans on earth have lived, that is. There has never been a point in human history when people have sat down as much as they do now. Some people spend the vast majority of their day off their feet. They’re in the car, or sitting behind a desk, or watching television on the couch. Make no mistake: this type of sedentary life will have a hugely detrimental impact on your health in the long run. Fortunately, it’s one of those things that can be remedied relatively easily. Get moving! You can incorporate more activity by making subtle changes to your life. For example, could you cycle to work, or park further away from the office so that you can walk a little? Can you take the stairs rather than the elevator? These things might seem inconsequential, but all tallied up, they can make a big difference.
Working Up a Sweat
Of course, while building more activity into your lifestyle will be a good start, it might not dramatically improve your health and fitness levels. It’ll just put you on the right path. There is no substitute for working up a sweat — it will do wonders for your physical and mental health. And the beautiful part of this stage is that there are various ways that you can go about it. You can work out in the gym if you’re drawn that way, but you can also look at running, cycling, playing team sports, hiking in the outdoors. Whatever you’ll find the most enjoyable, essentially (this will ensure that you stick to your activity).
How to Eat Well
What we feed into our body is super important when it comes to our health and fitness. It is the foundation for our health, the building blocks. You can’t (or shouldn’t) expect to reach your peak state if you’re forever eating unhealthy foods, no matter how much exercise you’re doing. People tend to think that eating healthy meals is a time-consuming or laborious task. Not so! Indeed, there are plenty of easy to prepare, twenty minute meals that’ll put you on the path towards healthy eating. At a minimum, you should avoid those obviously unhealthy foods. That fast food burger might task good, but it’s a disaster for your body.
Cutting Down on Vices
We all like to have fun, but sometimes, the ways in which we have fun can have a negative impact on our health. Take, for example, how we socialize. We can end up drinking too many alcoholic drinks and smoking too many cigarettes. While these things are sometimes presented as normal, the truth is that they can both have a hugely negative impact on our health. So it’s worthwhile looking at cutting down, or stopping them altogether. Easier said than done, right? There are things you can do to make it easier. If you want to stop smoking, take a look at mtbakervapor.com, and transition to vaping instead. To moderate your alcohol intake, you can look at social activities that don’t involve alcohol. If you do have to spend time in a bar, then consider alternating your drinks from alcoholic to non-alcoholic options. You’ll barely notice that anything’s different at the time, but will feel the effect when it comes to your bank balance and how good you feel the next morning.
Into the Outdoors
We tend to think of ourselves as somehow apart from nature. It’s something that happens away from us, in other places. We’re civilized! As much as we want to deny the animal side of our existence, the fact is that it’s there, and always will be. We’ve come to understand in recent decades just how important it is to have nature time in our lives. Studies have shown that it can have a significant impact on our physical and mental health. If you can’t recall the last time you were surrounded by nothing but the great outdoors, look at making it part of your lifestyle. No matter where you live, there will surely be a beautiful spot near you that you can visit.
Taking Care of the Mind
For too long, we’ve thought of our health only in terms of the physical. Our body is what’s important. You can see the thinking behind this idea, but there’s little wonder that it has been shown to be too limiting. There’s been an explosion in mental health conditions in recent years, and indeed, the problem is only projected to get worse. As such, it’s important that we’re taking the time to ensure we’re in a good mental space. You can do this by limiting the amount of stress in your life, and taking breaks when you feel overwhelmed. Meditation can also do wonders for your mental wellness, too.
Sleeping Well
It’s much harder to be at our healthy best if we’re tired. It might not feel like it, but you’ll be less likely to work out and prepare a healthy meal if you haven’t slept well. Long-term sleeping problems have also been associated with more serious health problems too. So if you’re not sleeping all that well, look at making some changes to your routine. If you improve your pre-sleeping routine to include less screen time and more relaxing activities such as reading and meditating, you’ll find that it’s much easier to reach the land of Nod.
Trips to the Doctor
It’s worth remembering that while you can influence your health in many ways, there are some areas in which you’ll need help. Take what’s happening under the hood, for instance. If you have an illness or genetic condition, then it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to manage your health and fitness all on your own. Take the time to find a doctor who knows what they’re talking about and that you trust, and work with them to find lifestyle adjustments that’ll push you in the right direction.
Setting Goals
Finally, look at setting goals for your health and fitness. It’s all too easy to get blown off course when life gets busy. Having a target will help to keep you on the right path, and will also cultivate discipline over time.
