Living a healthier lifestyle means focusing more on all aspects of your health. Whether it be your physical health or your mental health, there is a lot that goes into bettering your lifestyle. Balance is the key. Here are a few easy tips to help yourself find that balance and live a more healthy lifestyle.
Exercise
You guessed it — exercise is very important for your overall health. In fact, adults who do more than seven hours of physical activity a week have a longer life expectancy. While doing a lot of exercise each day will obviously have its benefits, it doesn’t have to sound so daunting. For many, exercise is the last thing you want to do. But you can exercise without even realizing it.
For example, just getting more steps in each day that you normally do is exercise. Take the stairs or the long way around when walking somewhere. Even just stretching when you wake up and before you go to bed is a good way to add some movement to your day. However, fitness experts recommend adjusting your workout routine every two to five weeks for a harder workout. So if you’re starting with extra steps and stretching, that’s fine, but be sure to ramp things up as you get more used to spending time each day working out.
Eat Right
You likely guessed this one too! Eating the right balance of foods is crucial for your health. You have to be sure you’re getting the right amount of each food group to have a balanced diet. This will help you to be your most energetic, healthy self. It will also help you to keep your weight at a desirable amount, especially in combination with exercise. Though losing weight isn’t the most important reason you should eat right: you should focus on eating right because it’s what fuels your body. What you put into your body really has an impact on how you feel, think, and go about your life. If you’re not eating right, it can affect your physical health but also your mental health.
Take Breaks
Here is where the balance comes in. While exercise and eating right are all good for a healthy lifestyle, they would not be healthy if there weren’t ever any breaks. In fact, you shouldn’t work out every single day. Rest days are important for your muscles to heal and for your brain to relax. Similarly, cheat days for diets are beneficial, as well. Allow yourself the simple pleasures every now and then or else you’ll crave them even more later. Eating a donut on occasion will not ruin your healthy lifestyle. The balance is how you stay your healthiest, so be sure to loosen up sometimes.
Taking breaks is also a big part of protecting and caring for your mental health. However, taking breaks looks different for everyone; it can look like you getting coffee or a drink with a friend, a day off from work, or buying yourself something you like. For example, 86% of people say receiving flowers makes them feel special. As such, an act of self-care might mean buying yourself some flowers. Maybe instead of buying flowers, you use one of your cheat days and eat junk food. Each person’s self-care can look different from another’s. Only you will know what will serve you best, but be sure to act on it when you need it!
Once you have managed to find a balance between working out, eating right, and taking time for yourself, you will have accomplished living a healthy lifestyle. However, it doesn’t end there. Living a healthy lifestyle is an everyday job, and something that you can’t ever give up on. While you may need longer breaks sometimes, be sure to stay with your routine to ensure a healthy lifestyle.
