75% of men and 60% of women in the US are either overweight or obese. Too many of us are guilty of having sedentary lifestyles and eating high-fat processed foods.
Chances are, you’re part of the statistics. But maybe you want to turn your life around so not only can you be healthier, but also add years to your life.
Don’t know where to start? Don’t worry. Here are 7 key tips for becoming healthy.
1. Don’t Give Into Fad Diets
First things first: don’t buy into fad diets. You know, things like Adkins, Master Cleanse, and the cabbage soup diets.
The basis of all these fad diets is significantly reducing your caloric intake. While you may lose a ton of weight in the beginning, the effects won’t last for long. As soon as you come off the diet, you’ll gain all the weight back.
Plus, many of these diets are unhealthy. Sometimes, they instruct you to eat way below the recommended daily caloric intake, or they tell you to eat things that aren’t too nutritious, or both. This can result in you feeling lethargic and weak.
2. Add a Daily Walk
You may have a busy schedule, but you should always make time for your health. One way you can do so is by penciling in a short 20-min walk every day.
If there’s a park near your house, make yourself walk to it and back daily. It may not seem like much, but it can actually do wonders for your health. Not only does this get the blood flowing every day, but being out in the sun can help you produce more vitamin D in your body.
Great times to go for walks include after your meals on lunch breaks or after dinner with your partner when you’re at home. This can give you time to bond with your coworkers or your spouse.
3. Get Enough Sleep
Adults need to get 8 hours of sleep every night, but seldom do we actually get that amount. While you may think you can function just fine on 5 hours, you’re not giving your body enough time to rest and repair itself.
Those cups of coffee may help power you through the day, but they’re only a bandaid for your exhaustion. Try and get as close to 8 hours a night as you can, and you’ll feel a real difference.
When your body can rest and repair properly, you’ll find it easier to lose weight and get fit. It can also give you a clearer, more positive mindset, which can motivate you to do more while exercising.
4. Switch to Healthy Snacks
For some people, they’re fidgety and like to munch on things while they work or study. How many times have you been guilty of reaching for a bag of chips while you’re reading a book?
Before you know it, you’ve gone through bags and bags of that stuff in a week, which really adds up when you look at the calorie counts.
It may be a difficult switch at first, but replace your bags of chips with bags of fruit, carrot sticks, or trail mix instead. These are filled with nutrients that’ll keep your energy levels up. Plus, if you’re fidgety, you still get the tactile satisfaction from reaching in those bags and pulling out those little bits of snacks.
5. Swap out Sugary Drinks
You may not realize it, but those sodas you guzzle throughout the day can really have an impact on your health. Not only are they empty calories, but they can also ruin your teeth, along with other detrimental health effects.
It may be bad to switch to juices as well. This is because many of them are made from concentrates and have high amounts of sugar.
The best thing to do is to swap out your sodas and juices for unsweetened tea. What’s great about tea is you can drink it all year long. In the winter, have it hot, and when the summer comes, switch to iced tea.
6. Add Supplements to Your Diet
Adding leafy greens, fruits, and grains to your diet will certainly help you become healthier. Not only are they packed with nutrients, but certain grains will also keep you fuller for longer.
However, that’s just part of the equation for eating healthier. You’ll also want to add some supplements to your daily regimen.
Try as we might to eat a balanced diet, it just doesn’t happen at times. For those times, supplements will give you that extra boost you need.
Shop here at Rich Minerals to see which types of supplements are right for you. For example, there are some for healthier bones while there are others for healthier cardiovascular systems.
7. Drink More Water
You can never have too much water. In fact, most people are dehydrated and don’t even know it!
Increasing your water intake has lots of health benefits, such as clearer skin and fewer ailments. It can also help you feel fuller for longer, which results in smaller portions of food. But in order to enjoy the benefits of drinking water, you also have to make sure that you’re only consuming clean and safe water. Make sure to always use a TDS tester to measure inorganic or organic substances present in your drinking water. Having high levels of TDS means it is unfit for consumption and can cause several diseases. You can also use water filters to ensure your family is drinking safe water.
Becoming Healthy Doesn’t Have to Be Difficult
As you can see, becoming healthy isn’t impossible. The key is to start small but go steadily.
If you try to make multiple major lifestyle changes all at once, it might be too challenging, which can cause you to feel disheartened about changing your ways. It may even cause you to fall back to unhealthy habits you had before.
So remember: any progress is good, even if it’s something small, like drinking 1 less can of soda a day. With some steadiness and patience, you’ll find yourself living a healthier and happier life!
Want to read more about being healthy? Then take a look at our other blog articles!