With the majority of the world running at a faster pace, everyone sitting more, looking for quicker meals and the increased use of technology, a healthy lifestyle can feel much harder to attain.
By looking after your health in your younger years, you can prevent several major health conditions in your older years, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes. No matter how old you are, living a healthier lifestyle starting from today can prevent issues and may also reverse them if you already have an ailment.
My Top 10 Tips are:
Eat a more plant based diet. Research has show that regions in the world that have the highest population of people living to 100 years eat hardly any meat or fish and very little dairy. Plant based foods are predominantly low in cholesterol, have higher micronutrients, more fibre and have less saturated fat than animal products.
Eat the rainbow. Eating 5 or more fruits and vegetables per day is essential for your intake of key micronutrients, such as Vitamin C, Calcium and Vitamin E. Those who eat little to no fruit and vegetables are at risk of having low immunity to common illnesses, risk of brittle bones, risk of slow wound healing, to name just a few.
Eat less processed foods. Processed foods can contain many unnatural ingredients and thus pose a threat to your body. They are usually high in sugar and fat, both of which not only affect your weight, your mood, your energy but can also put stress on your organs, if eaten in high doses.
Move you body. Moving your body daily is essential. If you sit at a desk, aim to get up every hour and walk around for a few minutes. When on your lunch break, go for a walk. If you can, walk or cycle to work instead of driving. Take part in structured exercise that you enjoy, 3-5 days per week. If you enjoy dancing, dance. If you enjoy swimming, swim. Lifting weights is fantastic for bone and joint health so try to incorporate some strength training in your exercises.
Sleep for at least 7 hours. You need to sleep between 7-9 hours each night to recover and repair. Not sleeping enough can affect your ability to burn calories, retain water, zap your energy, affect your mood, make you eat more sugary foods and drink more caffeine. You cannot continue to drink more coffee to try and reverse the effects of bad sleep!
Drink more water. Think of it like this.... Food is the fuel for our bodies, like petrol is fuel to a car and water is to our bodies, like oil is to a car. Without enough water your body will start to shut down, like a car would without oil. Try having a glass of water next to you as you work and you can use your hourly break to go up and refill.
Don't smoke. Smoking, even just a little, can do so much harm. If you already smoke, get the help you need to cut down slowly and eventually quit.
Drink less alcohol. As well as being empty calories, alcohol is an addictive drug that consumed in copious quantities can do some severe damage to a number of organs, not just your liver. One gin and tonic on a Friday night won't do harm but drinking this amount or more each day, over time, most certainly will.
Manage your stress. Stress is a huge contributor to weight gain and other ailments. Find what makes you smile, makes you laugh, makes you feel good and do more of it as often as you can. Some go to suggestions are walking, baking, reading, dancing, singing, meeting with friends, playing games with your family, going for a bike ride, swimming, cuddling your dog, taking a bath and yoga.
Limit screen time. Technology is fantastic and has enabled us to do so much more over the years. An adverse effect of technology has been the huge increase in screen time for adults and also for children from such young ages, which is worrying. Where possible move away from your screen to give your eyes a break and avoid screen time for at least 45 minutes before bed.
Prevention is better than a cure! If you don't take action now, you could effectively be shortening your life.
By living a healthier lifestyle you can save yourself money, anguish, worry and pain and actually enjoy your life for as long as possible.
Are you finding it difficult to cut down on processed foods and meat? Are you uncertain of how to structure your workouts?
Get in touch now and I will help you start to make positive changes to your health.
