When you’ve made the decision to adopt a healthier lifestyle, it can be difficult to know where to start. However, adopting a healthier lifestyle is always a positive change to make, regardless of age and current fitness levels.
Creating a healthy lifestyle isn’t just about changing what you eat and doing more exercise, it’s about adopting a more productive mindset, taking care of your mental health and looking at yourself and your body in a positive way.
Small changes can make a huge difference, and it doesn’t all have to be done at once – set yourself a goal to perhaps change just one thing and work on it until it becomes a habit.
Here are some small habits to start living a healthier lifestyle:
Eat Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A good breakfast helps to replenish our energy levels, as well as protein and calcium used throughout the night, helps to improve our concentration levels and helps to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. It also can be beneficial in providing nutrients to your skin, creating a healthy glow.
Make Some Healthy Substitutions in your Diet
One of the key elements of a healthy lifestyle is a balanced diet. Make sure you’re eating plenty of greens, having regular-sized portions and drinking lots of water. However, it can be difficult to change your eating patterns overnight, so why not start by making some healthy substitutions in your diet?
Replacing white bread, white pasta and white rice with brown is an easy substitution that can make a huge difference. You can also try finding healthier alternatives to substitute for unhealthy snacks you might consume during the day.
Get Some Exercise
Nobody is suggesting that you immediately start training for a marathon, but upping your exercise levels will have a positive impact on both your physical and mental wellbeing. Going for a 30 minute walk each day is a great place to start, or why not try swimming, an aerobics class or even sign up for a dance class? Try to find an exercise or sport that you enjoy to help with your motivation to get in shape.
Sleep
It is estimated that 1 in 3 adults don’t get the recommended 8 hours of sleep each night. Sleep is a vitally important part of our health and wellbeing, serving several physiological and psychological functions, including improving our focus, boosting our immunity, mental health and fertility, reducing our stress and anxiety levels, and even lowering the risk of serious health problems like diabetes and heart disease. Why not try going to bed half an hour earlier than usual, switching off your technology, reading a book and allowing yourself to fall asleep naturally?
Correct Your Posture
Good posture can noticeably prevent aches and pains, as well as reducing strain on your ligaments and improving your health overall. Whilst it’s not something that can be fixed overnight, it’s worth remembering to sit up straight to avoid problems later. If your work involves sitting for long periods of time, try and work at a standing desk at points throughout the day. Stand up straight and pull your stomach in as you’re walking and take a few minutes each day to stretch your whole body.
Go Outside
Being outside has a huge number of benefits including improved focus, a boosted immune system, and positive effects on your mental health. Spending time outside can help to reduce stress levels and feelings of anxiety, reduce blood pressure and lower our heart rate. Being outside improves the mood and encourages calm. While you’re outside, take some time to do some breathing exercises and be mindful of your surroundings.
Remember that you don’t have to do everything all at once – creating a healthier lifestyle is all about small steps, feeling positive about the changes that you are making and creating one habit at a time.