Living a healthy lifestyle is not easy, that’s for sure. Busy schedules and take-out dinners equal disaster for our health and wellness. Our unhealthy habits can put us at a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and mental health issues.
You don’t need to wait or make excuses as to why you can’t when it comes to starting to get fit and healthy. You can start at any time of the year and today is the best time to begin your journey towards a healthier you.
Are you ready to get started?
Start Eating a Healthy Diet
To get fit and healthy, it all starts with the right mindset, a healthy diet, and exercise.
Have Realistic Expectations
Having lofty expectations about going on a diet might just set you up for failure. It is important to keep your goals and expectations realistic, especially at the beginning of your health journey. Setting realistic goals increases your chance of sticking to them in the long run.
Track Your Food Intake
Tracking your food intake is a big help in going on a healthy diet. We tend to overeat when we are not able to monitor and review our food intake. By tracking what we eat, we can analyze our eating habits and be able to make changes to our diet.
There are several food tracking apps that you can use to help you track your food consumption. Food tracking apps also allow you to track your calorie intake and your carb intake, which is a helpful way to lose weight. But a pen and a handy notebook can work just as well, too.
Shop Smart
Don’t fall into the temptation of eating unhealthy foods by shopping in the wrong grocery aisles. Avoid buying junk foods and processed snacks, as well as canned meats that contain preservatives and unhealthy trans fat. If you live with people who eat food that is not conducive to good health, try to keep the tempting food in places you don’t get to see much. Out of sight, out of mind.
Another shopping tip is to never shop when hungry. Studies revealed that we tend to overshop for food when we are hungry, and there is a higher tendency to shop for junk foods.
Start Exercising Regularly
Choose An Exercise That Works For You
Running, cycling, weights, HIIT, yoga, or Zumba? The choices may overwhelm you. But the good thing about it is that there is a workout that can work for you. Do you like building friendships and feeding off others’ energy? Then a group class would work for you. If you like spending some time by yourself to clear your mind, running might do the trick. Don’t be afraid to dip your toes in different fitness routines to see what you like.
Make a Time To Exercise and Stick to Your Schedule
A lot of us find it difficult to make time for working out. One way to help you stick to it better is to set it as an appointment. You wouldn’t just cancel a work meeting, right? Apply the same mentality when it comes to exercising. Pencil it in your daily schedule and try to work out at the same time slot to help you build the habit.
Start Small and Exercise To Your Ability
Setting realistic expectations for yourself will increase your chances of sticking to the workout in the long run. There is no need to exercise like a pro-athlete on your first attempt. The key to exercising regularly is to slowly build up your routine. If you don’t have an hour every day to work out, you can start with as little as 10 minutes a day, and build your way up. You can also try exercising twice a week and slowly increase it to three, four, or five times.
Final Thoughts
We all know that having a healthy lifestyle will greatly benefit our well-being. It takes discipline, determination, and motivation to change our unhealthy habits. Though it may be challenging at times, we can be sure that we will eventually reap the rewards of having a healthy and fit body.