By the end of today, you will be healthier than you were last night. It’s true that health is not a fad, but what is even truer is the fact that there is no reason why you can’t start towards a healthier future right away.
Regarding the checklist, we’ll give you one. Here are the steps you need to take for healthy living:
Step 1: Take stock
The first step is to find out the status of your health. Here’s what you do for that:
Meet your doctor and dentist: Catch up on your regular health checkups. Ask questions on whatever is bothering you.
Measure your vitals: Check your height and weight to find out your BMI (Body Mass Index). It’s better to measure you waistline as well in order to find out if that is risking your health.
Jot down you activity: What do you do all week long? Where is the time and potential to go anextra mile? What variety is there in your activities? Most doctors have recommended at least 2.5 hours of moderate workout or 1.25 hours of strenuous workout every week. Plan accordingly.
Write what you eat: Write everything down, especially the fatty items which you would be terribly ashamed of. Do not judge yourself immediately.
Check your emotional quotient: By this, we ask, are you emotionally stable and have you taken sufficient rest? Sleep for at least 7 hours each night to live healthy. Consult a doctor if you show any symptoms of anxiety or depression.
Step 2: Put out fires
Treat your chronic health problems to begin living healthy immediately. Any heart diseases, depression, diabetes, arthritis, or other conditions should be enough to go see a doctor right away. Cut down smoking if you are into it.
Arrange for that long due appointment to the doc.
Step 3: Move more
Increasing physical activity is a great idea. Here are some tips on how you can achieve the same easily:
Have fun while onto it: Friends are always a stress-buster. So, if you’re thinking of taking that hike or a walk, call them up. Same goes if you’re joining a gym or a dance class, or even a karate class. It’s always better if you have fun company around. This takes care of both your health and mind at one go.
Keep track: A visible record helps when you exercise. It motivates you to do better. If you aren’t doing enough, you will. And if you are doing enough, you’ll be inspired further.
Set goals: This is the easiest known way to mankind to build confidence. Start off by setting an easy goal, and go on making it a bit tougher with each week or month depending on your bigger goal. Reward yourself regularly to find encouragement to keep moving.
Add activity into the mundane: Since something is always better than nothing, just make sure that you go that extra mile wherever and whenever you can. If you take an elevator to your office, start by taking the stairs. If you usually drive to your local grocery mart, start walking instead.
There are a lot of fitness-bands in the market these days that can encourage you to do the same.They will regularly tell you how many calories you are burning.
Step 4: Upgrade your diet
A simple nip and tuck in your usual diet is more advantageous than you can imagine. Make yourself aware by following these tips:
Stop thinking, start doing: Instead of just making endless plans of starting with a healthy diet “next Monday onward,” why don’t you start doing it tomorrow itself? It will help you catch hold of your life and will motivate you further. Start by having a nice chicken salad for lunch today, instead of the usual Rajma-Chawal?
Stop feeling guilty: See, we all binge-eat one in a while. We are humans, after all. Just stop feeling guilty about it. You’ll end up getting stressed emotionally as well apart from adding unexpected calories to the body. Eat peacefully right now, diet tomorrow.
Plan: The biggest deal-breaker is clumsy planning. Just go to the same grocery mart we were talking about a while ago, and buy a lot of veggies and healthy items. Stock them up in your refrigerator instead of the usual fare. If you have nothing unhealthy to eat at your home, chances are you will eat healthy only.
Give proper time to eating: Do not multi-task while eating! Just sit down and enjoy your meal properly. Chew the food till the end of eternity and sate yourself. If you watch TV or converse with someone while eating, you’ll definitely eat more than you should.
Get the rainbow: Eat everything. Do not just eat a particular vegetable or a fruit all through the day, it doesn’t provide all the basic needed nutrients. Start by having at least 5 small meals everyday instead of 2 mildly heavy meals.
Step 5: Manage stress
Dude, you aren’t living the saddest life in the world. So, start enjoying it a bit without feeling guilty about it. Follow these simple steps to do it:
Make maintenance a routine: Meditate, take Yoga lessons, get positivity back in life and make it stay for good. Always keep your stress in check. Do not wait for the alarm bell before acting.
Kill stress: Since we are an advanced race, there are bound to be issues and complications with other specimens. But do not let these issues boggle you down. Kill them before they harm you. If you are angry with somebody, take several deep breaths before you finally calm down. It actually helps.
Feature Image Source: sterling-wellness.com
