We all want to be healthy, but how do we know how to go about it? It's hard to figure out how to be more healthy. There are so many different factors that affect our health and wellbeing.
So in this article, I will be focusing on the 3 main pillars that affect our health and I will offer small steps to tackle each pillar. By the end of the article, you will learn how to improve your health, reduce stress and be happier in 2 weeks.
Keep reading.
The 3 pillars that I am referring to are a healthy diet, physical activities and good mental health.
#1: Healthy Diet
Let's talk about the first pillar which is a healthy diet. In my opinion, it is the most important pillar because by consuming the right food and drink, we can solve the majority of our health problems such as obesity, joint pains or other diseases.
So how do we tackle the pillar of a healthy diet?
Firstly, eat more vegetables and fruits. They are essential to weight loss. They also provides your body with essential nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and fiber. 5 or more servings of fruit and vegetables each day is recommended, and you should try to mix it up as much as possible.
To get your daily requirements, add some fruit and veggies to every meal. Stick to vegetables and fruits that are low in sugar or have a low glycemic index. For example, for fruits, go for guava, blueberries, strawberries, apricots, peaches, plums, pears and kiwi etc. For vegetables, you can go for carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, zucchini, and dark green lefty vegetables.
Secondly, get rid of unhealthy foods in your fridge and pantry. It's easier to make a change if you don't have a lot of junk food tempting you to make less healthy decisions! If you're serious about improving your health, it's best to start from the beginning. Replace junk food like potato chips, cookies with nutritious alternatives such as nuts and fruits. This will prevent you from reverting to your old behaviours.
Third, avoid highly processed fats and refined sugars. Processed foods that contains gluten and high in refined sugar are linked to diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and stroke. They satisfy you without providing the nutrients you need. Some of the processed foods we see every day are cookies, chips, donuts, cakes etc. All these are high in refined sugars and make us fat!
If you want to improve your health, I would recommend that you go for natural foods like vegetables, fruits, eggs, meat, fish, nuts and olive oil etc. For those with a sweet tooth, use honey or stevia instead of sugar in your coffee, tea, and baked goods.
Fourth, stop mindlessly snacking. Eating when you're not hungry is one of the easiest ways to gain weight. Before you grab a snack, stop and ask yourself how you’re really feeling—are you actually hungry, or just bored or restless? Sometimes, it’s really just emotional hunger or you are thirsty.
Snacks can only be eaten when you're hungry and whenever you do, aim for high-protein snacks to keep hunger at bay.
Fifth, try intermittent fasting. I am currently doing intermittent fasting every day. Intermittent fasting works with your body’s natural rhythms to help you burn fat and build muscle more efficiently. The most common intermittent fasting is the 16:8 ratio where you fast for 16 hours and eat only in the 8 hour window.
One simple intermittent fasting schedule that you can try is to stop eating after your dinner, say 6pm. You will only break your fast at 10am on the next day. This allows you to fast for 16 hours while taking into account your sleeping hours. Try it out and see how you feel.
Intermittent fasting is a deeply researched area to improve your health. If you are interested, I highly recommend that you google it and learn more about the benefits.
#2: Physical Activities
The next pillar is physical activities and this pillar is important to complement our healthy diet and building up our body to stay fit and strong. Let's see what we can do to increase our physical activities.
Firstly, create a workout schedule so that you can stick to it. Determine how much time you have each day to exercise. Set reasonable goals and create a strategy that you can follow.
If you're able to, make a goal of doing 30 minutes of cardio activity every day, five days each week. This is the recommended daily amount. You can schedule to go for a slow relaxing run, walks or even a Zumba lesson.
For me, I am not a big fan of running, so my physical activities are mainly strength training and tennis. I do regular stretching as well to maintain my flexibility and it helps my muscles to recover as well. I think the key here is to decide which physical activities work for you and stick to it.
Secondly, incorporate strength training into your routine. Building strength creates lean muscle mass and makes you look and feel healthy and toned. The best way to strength train efficiently is through compound movements (movements that work more than one muscle group) such as squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. Aim to do strength training at least 2 times a week, and make sure to focus on all the major muscle groups.
I would strongly advise you to consult a trainer or a savvy friend to learn how to perform compound exercises safely.
Next, you can also do high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to get fit fast. When it comes to losing weight and getting in shape, doing physical activities for short bursts of time at very high intensity is great.
Running a few kilometres or going for a long walk is a wonderful method to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but HIIT is one of the finest methods to rapidly develop strength and endurance. Here are a few things to take note of.
Keep in mind that HIIT isn't appropriate for everyone. Before you start this exercise, talk to your doctor.
Pick an activity that you can do well e.g. running, burpees, mountain climbers etc.
Start with a warmup of about 5 minutes. Then choose a shorter interval length, such as 30 seconds. Then do 30 seconds of high-intensity effort of your chosen activity, followed by a period of recovery, such as 30 seconds to 1 minute. Repeat the exercise 8-10 times, depending on your fitness level.
For example, try all-out burpee for 30 seconds straight, resting for a minute, and repeating 8-10 times. Increase the time interval or decrease the resting period as you get in better shape.
I suggest that you only do this 2 to 3 times a week to avoid injury or burnout.
Next, work out at home if you can’t get to the gym. Due to the pandemic, many people have started working out at home. It is cheap, time-efficient, and effective.
You can simply follow an instructor from YouTube and start doing their workouts. Alternatively, you can purchase a few pieces of equipment such as push-up bars, skipping rope, resistance bands, dumbbells or kettlebells.
I personally own the X3 Elite Bar so it's enough for me.
Here is one bonus suggestion:
Find a workout buddy to help keep you motivated. Working out with someone else not only keeps you on track but also makes fitness more enjoyable! Find someone who shares your workout routine and goals so that you are both motivated
#3: Mental Health
The last pillar that I want to talk about is mental health.
Your mental health and physical health are closely connected. Mental health plays a major role in people’s ability to maintain good physical health. A mental illness can make you miserable and can cause problems in your daily life, such as at school or work or in relationships. So don't neglect your mental health.
Let's look at the ways to improve your mental health.
Mental Health
Firstly, get at least 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Getting seven to nine hours of sleep each night is critical to maintaining a healthy life. You got to test out what is your optimal number of hours of sleep. Some will feel good and rested after 6 hours, others after 10. Experiment with sleeping a different amount of hours per night and see which quantity makes you feel best.
Getting a good night's sleep helps you learn, make sensible judgments, and cope with change. Sleep deprivation is also linked to depression, heart disease, and obesity.
You can create a good bedtime ritual. Relax with a book for 30 minutes before bed, do some stretching or drink herbal tea. It's also important to stick to a sleep schedule, even on the weekends, so that your body can stay consistent.
Next, you can try meditating. Meditating helps you to become more connected with yourself and the world around you, and it’s a great way to reduce stress. It aids in the reduction of ego and an understanding that your thoughts are simply thoughts, patterns that promote mindfulness, pleasure, and contentment.
The easiest way to start is to download meditating apps like Calm or Headspace. Most of them have a free version as well as paid version. The instructions are easy to follow and there are millions of users using these apps so try them out and see if you like them.
Another suggestion to improve mental health is to practice yoga. Yoga is a wonderful way to increase strength, flexibility, and mindfulness in your mind-body connection. It improves the core, back, arm, and leg muscles while allowing you to concentrate on just breathing and being present in your body.
What you can do is invest in a few classes to learn the proper technique. After that, you can either continue classes or practice on your own. You can also download a yoga app or follow yoga workout videos on YouTube.
Next, watch something funny to help you relax and unwind. Laughter has been scientifically proven to have a variety of health benefits, including lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Laughter is not only amusing; it also has several health advantages!
Watch your favorite funny movie or TV show or check out some standup routines on YouTube to relax and improve your mood. It’s always more fun to laugh with a friend or loved one, so get together and watch some comedy shows.
Lastly, make time to socialize to boost your happiness. Taking time to spend with your family and friends will make you happier. Even if you're pressed for time at work, taking just 30 minutes each day to eat a meal or call someone you care about can enhance your sense of connectedness and self-esteem.
So start scheduling time to connect with a friend and have a great catch up session!
Wrapping up, I discussed 3 ways to be healthier. Basically, you need to tackle the 3 pillars, a healthy diet, adequate physical activities and good mental health. Visualise that it is a triangular stool and each pillar represent one leg of the stool.
If any of the pillars is not taken care of, your health will be compromised. You may not feel it in the short term but in the long term, there will be consequences.
Let me know in the comment section, which pillar do you need to improve on? Is it the poor eating habits, lack of physical activities or neglecting your mental health?
Comments