Every new year you come up with the same resolution. It’s time to start living better! You’re going to finally go on a diet and lose weight!
You’re going to drink more water and fix your messed up sleeping schedule! It’s your year to shine! This resolution usually ends up falling apart by mid-February.
Knowing how to start living a healthy lifestyle and doing it are two different things. It’s hard to get a good groove going and keep it going.
We can help you get started. Check out this guide to learn how to make diet, exercise, and good mindfulness a regular part of your day this year.
Make Changes to Your Diet
You are what you eat. If you take good things in, you’ll put good things out. You need to try to get a good balance of fruits and vegetables.
It’s hard to have the energy to get through your day unless you eat some lean proteins. Whole grains and low-fat dairy are also important for helping you get up and go.
As you can see, you need a little something from each of the food groups. This is how to kick-start a healthy lifestyle.
Fats Aren’t Bad
You need to eat foods from all the food groups except for fats, right? You would be wrong. Fats have a bad reputation, but you need them in your diet to keep your immune system in good working order.
Fats will also leave your skin looking amazing and will keep you fuller, longer. That means you’ll have to eat less often, which will actually help you lose weight.
This being said, don’t fill up on fried Oreos at the state fair. Please don’t do that. You need healthy fats in your system such as fish, nuts, and avocados.
Spice Things Up
There is nothing worse than a bland meal. Feel free to sprinkle as many herbs on your food as you can to spice things up a little. It’s an easy way to get more nutrients into your body.
You can also use them to replace things that aren’t good for you like sugar and salt. All you have to do is look up a conversion chart online to make sure you get the substitutions right.
If you like spicy food, go all-in with it. Adding Cayenne pepper to a recipe can help you lose weight because it boosts your metabolism. Eating it will also fill you up fast so, you won’t eat as much.
Remember to Eat Your Veggies
The average person needs to eat 5 servings of veggies each day. That makes it a little hard to consume them all during one meal. Dinner isn’t the only time when you can sneak in something green.
You can throw a few leafy veggies on your sandwich at lunch. While leafy greens don’t go too well with pancakes or other sweet breakfast foods, you can make something savory like breakfast potatoes with spinach. Kale and other greens are one of the backbones to a good breakfast smoothie as well.
Eat Snacks… Healthy Ones
It’s two in the afternoon. You’re starting to feel a little hungry and you’ve already had your lunch break. It’s time to head to the vending machine down the hall for a quick snack.
Most of what you can find in the machine is chocolate chip cookies and chips. These will give you a quick burst of energy that will quickly start disintegrate as the day goes on.
That’s why you should always keep a small stash of healthy snacks near your desk. Dried fruits and nuts are perfect for this.
Stay Away from Sugary Beverages
You had a morning coffee, but it hasn’t been enough to lift the brain fog and wake you up. Time to reach for a second cup. We’re here to tell you to hold off on that.
Either hold off or don’t sweeten the coffee with sugar. Sugary drinks don’t do any favors for your health. The number one way to cut back on it is to stop drinking sodas.
Switch over to water or juice. Drink sparkling water if you get the craving for a little carbonation.
Get Some Sleep
As much as you think you can go to work on four hours of sleep and still be a functioning human being, you can’t. People need at least 7-8 hours of rest every single night.
If you tend to toss and turn for hours on end, it’s time to change up your habits. For one, don’t scroll through your phone at night. The blue light will disrupt your sleeping cycle and stop you from getting any rest.
Coffee in the morning is fine, but you should avoid drinking it in the late afternoon. It takes about ten hours for the caffeine to leave your system. So, if you chug an energy drink at 3, you could still be feeling its effects at midnight.
One of the biggest causes of sleepless nights is racing thoughts. Anxiety is no joke. You may want to consider talking to a counselor about what’s keeping you awake.
Keep the Right Company
If you want to know how to start a healthy lifestyle from scratch, the answer is to cut out anything toxic. This includes people. You need to be surrounded by those who lift you up.
They should energize you and have some of the same interests. If someone feels draining to be around, you should cut them out. We know, that’s easier said than done when that person is a family member or close friend. Still, you have to take care of yourself.
Get Up and Move
There’s more to exercise than helping you stay in shape. It also releases feel-good endorphins that will improve your mood. The problem is finding time during your day do to do that.
You don’t have to go to the gym every day. A small jog in the morning will do fine and there are a million small opportunities you can take to get off your feet.
Grab a Standing Desk
When you live a sedentary lifestyle, you end up taking in way more calories than you can burn. You don’t have to spend an hour in the gym to burn a significant number of calories off.
All you have to do is stand. If your current job has standing desks available, you should take advantage of them. They are good for more than helping you lose a little bit of weight.
Ergonomic furniture is designed to help stave off workplace injury. In the case of standing desks, it will keep your back in tip-top shape.
You can have too much of a good thing. You need a desk that can switch between standing and sitting. This way, you can spend some of your workday doing both.
Cut Out Some of Your Screen Time
When you get home from work all you want to do is unwind with a little bit of TV. You don’t feel like doing much on your days off either. We get it.
Still, you need to find a way to schedule a block of time each week when you turn off the TV. Take some time to go for a walk or play a game with your family. Anything more physical than sitting on the couch.
Find Little Ways to Walk Around
If you can’t pencil a morning walk into your schedule, it’s okay. There are other small ways you can get off your feet throughout the day. Try to park a little further away from your office building.
Take the stairs instead of heading to the elevator. Drink out of the fountain rather than pack a water bottle. This will give you a reason to walk down the hall every now and again.
Do Some House Work
Chores are a bummer, but they’re good exercise. When you’re living in a clean house, you’ll be less prone to anxiety as well. Your brain won’t have to dwell on everything that you have to do.
Get out in your yard and rake some leaves. Grab a duster and go around your entire house with it. Get out in the garden and get your hands dirty.
Even the smallest chore is a mini workout in some way.
Do Something Meaningful with Your Time
Time is precious. It’s one currency that you can never get back once it’s spent. You should use what little free time you have doing something meaningful.
If there is a hobby that you’ve always wanted to pursue, go ahead and go after it. If there is a song that you enjoy, play it on repeat until you’re sick of it. Cook a meal that you love.
Whatever you do, make sure it’s something for you. Nobody else.
Probiotics
Your body needs certain nutrients and vitamins in order to function well. If you’re not eating the right foods to get these vitamins, you’ll have to take supplements. One that you should be taking is probiotics.
It’s known to balance gut flora and assist in digestive health. This, in turn, will strengthen your immune system and keep your body working like a well-oiled machine. Having a healthy gut will also put you in a better mood.
So, check out ProbioZen reviews and if you think it’s the right supplement for you, take it at least once a day.
Be Aware of the Content You’re Taking in
All the information you take in each day affects your mood in some shape or form. It’s good to stay up to date with all the latest news in the world, but it can be depressing. When it starts to be too much, turn off the television and go do something fun.
Watching a 300-comment long argument on social media can be entertaining to some. If you’re one of these people, it’s good to know when you should talk away for the sake of your sanity, though.
Scary movies can be thrilling to watch, but if they make your heart race in a bad way, turn them off and go do something else. Always be wary of the content you’re letting into your brain.
Set Goals
It’s one thing to say that you want to change. It’s another thing to make that change happen. The best way to put yourself on the right track is by setting obtainable goals.
You won’t be able to set a killer workout regimen, change your diet, and cut out toxic people overnight. You need to set both short-term and long-term goals that will help you chip away at the mountain of things you want to accomplish.
Once you check off something on your list, don’t forget to reward yourself. Go get your nails done, buy a new workout outfit, take a walk through your favorite park, or take a brain break by going to see a movie. Just skip out on the buttery popcorn and large soda for the sake of your wallet and your diet.
How to Start Living a Healthy Lifestyle Today
It’s not easy learning how to start living a healthy lifestyle. You can’t make changes overnight and so, you end up feeling like you’re not going where you need to go.
As long as you start chipping away at your to-do list, begin eating better, create a workout regimen, and kick people out of your life who aren’t in your corner, you will start to slowly feel better. Let this year be your year.
Once you get your health on track, everything else will begin to fall into place. Check out the health section of our blog for more tips on where to begin.
