How To Keep Fit And Healthy

You have made that important decision to develop healthier habits than you currently practice. Let me say right away that it doesn’t have to be hard, as many people perceive. Do not picture yourself working out for several hours a day with a strict menu of probably steamed broccoli every meal. So, where do you start? I will discuss a number of strategies to help you keep fit and healthy.

Stop making excuses
The first step is probably to stop making excuses such as “too busy to go to the gym”, “too hard to source for healthy food”, “too tedious to maintain a healthy routine”. The excuses may or may not be valid. The important thing here is to resolve to give up the excuses and positively work towards a healthier you.

I would recommend you first visualize your fitness goals. What is it you really want to achieve? Do you see a fit and younger looking you in the future? Do you want to be free of illness and full of energy?

This will definitely insight you into kicking your bad habits. These may include smoking, excessive drinking, drug addiction and unhealthy lifestyles. I well understand that this might take some time but be sure it is worth the effort.

Walk more
Fitness is not fully realized by working out in the gym every day of the week. One key to lifelong fitness is incorporating more walk in your daily life. Do this consciously and objectively whenever and wherever you can.

An average goal will be about 10,000 steps a day. This translates to roughly 5 km of walk daily. This should not be hard to achieve.

Consider walking to the grocery store instead of driving. You may also want to go for some post-dinner stroll with your loved ones. Walk to and from work say two days in a week. Take a walk during lunch hour.

Remember to make use of your local parks which normally have ample areas for walking and running. In the absence of parks, you can utilize tennis courts or basketball courts.

RELATED: 10 Mind-Blowing Benefits Of Walking 15,000 Steps A Day

In line with walking, find activities that always keep you in some form of motion. An afternoon bike ride with friends is an awesome strategy to keep fit. You can also go for a weekend hike with family and friends. Other “enjoyable” exercises include swimming, bocce ball game and hiking.

Scientists have shown these outdoor exercises to be of major benefit. This can be attributed to the varied terrain of the roads, paths and trails which continually challenge your body in ways that the monotony of gym equipment cannot do.

Exercising outdoors has also been proved to positively impact your mental health. More joy is experienced outside as opposed to working out indoors.

Healthy Eating
There is a tendency with fitness enthusiasts to deprive themselves of all foods deemed unhealthy. This strategy may be short-lived, especially when you come to your moment of weakness, as regards your willpower. You will realize that those very foods you completely avoided top your list of most consumed foods.

I always recommend the 80/20 strategy to my clients. This allows you to eat healthy around 80% of the time, but still gives you time to enjoy your favorite treats here and there.

RELATED: 10 Benefits Of Eating Vegetables

Make vegetables part of your daily meals. Broccoli, sprouts, Brussels and kales should not miss in the house. These contain vital nutrients that keep you healthy. Their high fiber content also creates that feeling of being filled up so you don’t have to snack all the time. You can serve veggies as plain salad or roast them with oil and a variety of spices. Blending veggies into a juice is likewise an interesting method.

Make sleep a priority
The importance of a good night’s rest cannot be over emphasized. For long-term health, you should treat yourself to enough sleep each night.

Inadequate sleep has been linked to reduced weight loss due to an increase in the level of cortisol in your body. Lack of sleep also negatively affects mood, memory, concentration, metabolism, cardiovascular health, immune system and stress hormones. The body needs adequate sleep so as to repair, heal and rejuvenate itself. This cannot happen when one is awake. I recommend seven to eight hours of sleep every day.

RELATED: Sleep Deprivation Effects

Drink water
When it comes to hydrating the body, do not conclude that any fluid you take is as good as water. Though such contain water, plain water remains the best solution to maintaining a healthy body.

Water cleans the digestive system and other vital organs in our bodies. Water helps the skin to flush out toxins through perspiration. A well hydrated body is also essential for the brain to function properly.

Avoid high sugar soft drinks at all costs. These not only keep you fat, they also set you up for a wide range of diseases.

Consistency and moderation
To realize long term health and fitness, you will have to be consistent in whatever activity you engage in towards your health and fitness. The term routine in fact points to something that should be practiced on a daily basis.

Working out for six hours on Monday then taking a break for the rest of the week will do you no good. Such extremes will always wear you out and distract you from your goals.

RELATED: 10 Good Health Habits For Men

Aim to do everything in moderation over a long period of time. Experts recommend a minimum of 30 minutes of workout per day. This should be a good point to start out. You can pack your entire workout into these 30 minutes. This way, you will no longer cite lack of time as an excuse to not going to the gym.

Be Social
It is indeed very true that no man is an island. The human nature is to express feelings to others be it through talking, some sort of art, or music. If you are the kind who bottles up your emotions inside, you are very likely to end up in mental and emotional stress whose symptoms include physical pain, sleep problems, depression and eating disorders, amongst others.

You can take this farther by finding a workout buddy. This will not only help with accountability but will throughout keep you on your toes. I am sure it would be hard for you to cancel a workout session if you had already planned to have it with a friend. On the contrary, it would be very easy to cancel were it an individual affair.

Group exercises also form a platform for encouraging one another as regards the health and fitness journey. You are also able to get motivation from your workout buddies. Another advantage of working out in groups is the possibility of meeting new people and making friends with like interests.

Talk to your doctor
It is a great idea to find some time to consult your doctor regarding your level of health and fitness. Definitely, he/she is trained in this area and will offer first hand expert advice related to your particular situation.

The doctor may suggest what foods you should avoid. This may be related to conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes. For instance, low sodium diets are recommended for people with high blood pressure.

The doctor will also guide you on whether to take weight loss supplements or not. It is not always that all diet pills are safe for everyone.

RELATED: Health Problems That We Face In Our Daily Lives

If your doctor is able, ask him to review your meal plans and advice you accordingly. He may refer you to a specialized dietitian.

Make sure to visit your doctor frequently, say twice annually, or as you will agree with him. Do not wait till things get out of hand so you make that visit. This will help you know your body well, and when any creepy feeling sets in, you will not be taken off-guard.

Final words
The journey to “perfect” health and fitness is an interesting one in itself, with quite a lot to learn. In a nutshell, remember these 7 important things:

1. Visualize the healthy person you want to be and make the resolution to work towards it.
2. Engage in daily activities that keep your body in constant exercise.
3. Eat healthy, always.
4. Aim to sleep for 7-8 hours everyday
5. Keep your body hydrated by taking at least two liters of water on a daily basis.
6. Be consistent in exercise and diet.
7. Maintain a positive attitude always.

In all these, do not compare yourself to others. Everyone was made different. So esteem yourself highly and work towards the perfect you.

I hope you enjoyed reading these tips. I would be pleased to know your take on the same, on the comments section below. Also feel free to share these helpful tips with a friend.

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