By Mr. Luke Coutinho,
Integrative & Lifestyle Medicine, Holistic Nutrition & Founder – Purenutrition.me
There’s no single way to be healthy, and I’m not here to tell you there is. Being ‘healthy’ in its essence is a way of life. Once you’ve established a certain amount of discipline in your body, staying healthy is easy – just follow a few healthy habits and you’re good to go. Let’s decode the factors that are bad for lifestyle and learn the ways to turn your health around by following a holistic and balanced life.
It’s important to remember that there are no shortcuts when it comes to staying fit. Go ahead, take the longer route, and most importantly stick to it no matter what.
8 important lifestyle tips to improve your health
A good night’s sleep is the need of the hour
Sleep is the most important factor when you are seeking a healthy life. With adequate amounts of regular sleep, you’re automatically changing the rhythm of your body and in order to do that, you need a get off the blue light enemy (i.e. your cellphone) an hour prior to bed-time. Breathing exercises can also be an effective tool for those who find it hard to fall asleep.
Get some physical activity
With a generation that is obsessed with binge-watching television shows, we need to indulge in physical activities that exhaust our bodies and not just our minds. It is no secret that working out is as good for your mind as it is for your body, but the key is to be consistent and make it a part of your lifestyle and not just to achieve your ideal weight goal.
Create & MAINTAIN an eating schedule
How many times have you heard people complaining about not getting enough time to have their meals or how busy their day is, that they don’t get time to have lunch or even a glass of water. This is a wrong practice and needs to be stopped at the earliest. What you feed your body decides how far you will go, so do not neglect nutrition, no matter how busy your day looks like. Another important aspect is meal timings – avoid eating dinner on one side and hitting the bed on the other side. This practice leads to problems such as digestion issues, bloating of the stomach, so always have a buffer time of about 45 minutes between your meals and sleep time.
Meditation for a healthy mind and soul
Our busy schedule doesn’t allow us use the full capacity of our lungs throughout the day. When you meditate before you go to sleep, you prepare your body to relax and this helps you to fall asleep. Try basic meditation exercises for about 10-15 minutes before going to bed and you will definitely see an improvement in your overall health and wellbeing.
Digital detox
We all know that screens of our laptops and smartphones are not only harmful to the eye but also to the mind. Looking at your smartphone screen before going to bed can disrupt your sleep cycle. Keep your gadgets away for at least an hour or so before you go to sleep and you will see the results yourself.
Don’t skip breakfast
Never skip your breakfast! Breakfast is considered as the most important meal of the day, so skipping it is the worst thing you can do to your body. Those who skip breakfast tend to gain more weight than lose any. A balanced breakfast includes fresh fruit or fruit juice, a high-fiber breakfast cereal, low-fat milk or yoghurt, whole-wheat toast, and a boiled egg.
Burn fat during intervals
To improve your fitness quickly and lose weight, harness the joys of interval training. Set the treadmill or step machine on the interval program, where your speed and workload varies from minute to minute. Build up gradually, every minute and return to the starting speed. Repeat this routine. Not only will it be less monotonous, but you can train for a shorter time and achieve greater results.
Curb your sweet tooth!
Got a late-night sugar craving that just won’t quit? To satisfy your sweet tooth without pushing yourself over the calorie edge, even in the late night hours, think ‘fruit first’, so resist that chocolate cake siren, and instead enjoy a sliced apple with a tablespoon of sugar-free nut butter (like peanut or almond) or fresh fig halves spread with ricotta. Then sleep sweet, knowing you’re still on the right, healthy track.
These changes are simple but only if you stay loyal to it. Make weekly goals for yourself and take small steps by adopting one change at a time and keep building on it by adding a new change every week.