When it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle, it’s easy to believe that you have to suffer or make a lot of sacrifices to make it happen. Sometimes, you picture yourself living a boring and basic life, without any fun. And that’s definitely more than enough to put anyone off. But there seems to be so many misconceptions about healthy living out there, most of which are easy to believe. So you’ll be glad to know that, if you do want to get healthy, you don’t have to make too many drastic changes for it to happen. Of course, you are going to have to change your life in a few ways, especially if you want to see a difference, but not all of them are bad.
Because you can get healthy and still enjoy your life. You just have to be smart about how you do it. If you were to try and go cold turkey, and literally live off of cold turkey and start running everywhere, that could be quite challenging. But it’s also not very realistic. So even if, right now, you feel like the unhealthiest person in the world, you won’t be forever. Because we’re going to walk through a few healthy lifestyle changes that can make all the difference, and that will allow you to still be happy with your life too.
Food
Focus On Fuel
When you’re eating just for pleasure, you can find yourself opting for all the wrong things. At the same time, when you let your cravings take control, you can find yourself getting a little in over your head. Because one indulgence often leads to another. So instead, you should try to see food as fuel. When you do, you will find it easier to eat well. Because you’ll start to make decisions based on what’s best for your body, not what you’re emotionally craving.
Go Homemade
Next, you’re going to want to think about cooking a lot more. Although it’s easy to order a takeout, or buying yourself something that’s ready-made, these options aren’t always the healthiest for you. Instead, you should try to cook everything from scratch. That way, you know what’s in your meals, and it’s a lot better for your health too.
Try 80:20
From here, you may also want to think about trying to find a good balance with what you eat. Because this has to still be fun. If you try to eat well 80 per cent of the time, you should definitely think about enjoying what you want for the remaining 20 per cent. That way, you get to enjoy your food, but not overindulge – and it will seem easier to stick to.
Exercise
Set Some Goals
Up first, you need to think about setting yourself the right goals. Whether you need to lose weight, or you just want to benefit from more energy, goals can help you here. To inspire you, you may want to ready a weight loss success story and look for people that motivate you. You can then write out your goals, which will give you a guideline to work towards.
Find Your Feet
From here, you’re then going to want to work on establishing the right kind of exercise regime for you. Because if it’s not personal, you’re not going to either enjoy it, or what to stick to it. However, when you try out different exercises, you’ll be able to find your feet, and decide on a routine that works best for your lifestyle. Because going to the gym isn’t for everyone, sometimes you need to do a dance class or play tennis to get your workout in and still enjoy it.
Commit
But you’re going to have to do more than just try out different things if you want to become healthier. You need to commit to your new exercise regime too. Consistency matters when it comes to all things fitness; it’s how you get results. So no matter how you decide to work out, don’t set impossible expectations for yourself. Because you need to keep it up, whether it’s one day each week or three.
Move More
Above all else, to make this as enjoyable for yourself – and as easy as possible. So you’re going to want to try and be as active as you can in everyday life. Not just with working out. You might be able to bag yourself some quick wins with your activity levels by walking instead of driving or choosing to take the stairs.
Social
Get Out More
You may think that your health is just based on your diet and exercise, but that’s not taking an holistic approach to your health. Because your mental and emotional well being can contribute to your health levels too, and even make everything feel that much easier to stick too. And there are a bunch of health benefits of socializing that you’re not going to want to ignore. So make sure you get out more, you have every excuse to as it’s good for your health.
Find A Balance
If you think that you can’t go out and socialize because you’re trying to be good, then you’re wrong. You just have to learn to be healthy when you’re eating out. And these days, most places offer balanced menus. So what you need to work on here is your mindset, not banning yourself from going out. You need to learn to make the right choices when you do go out, rather than letting yourself slip.
Change Your Mindset
And let’s talk about that mindset of yours, because it can apply to more than just food. Yes, you need to pick healthier choices from the menu, but you should also think about doing healthier social activities too. You don’t always have to go out for a drink with your friends. You could think about playing sports or doing active activities, rather than going for some of the more unhealthy options. That way, you can still have fun, but make healthy choices too.
Family
Include Them Too
First of all, you’re definitely going to want to involve your family in your new healthy efforts too. After all, you’re starting to take care of your body, so why not take care of theirs too? If you really want to be healthy, then it’s important for everyone to be healthy too. And when you do it together, everything can often feel so much easier.
Spend Quality Time
From here, you’re going to want to think about spending some quality time together too. Again, we’re going for a holistic approach here, because your emotional health matters too. And the importance of family time should never be ignored. It could be what you need to feel better in your life too.
Get Active Together
So start to think of the ways you can get active together. Again, when you do it as a family, it can be so much more fun too. Maybe you want to go on hikes or cycle rides? Whatever you decide, getting active together can make things way more enjoyable for you all.
Focus On Mental Health
Finally, you should also think about your mental health too. Because when you’re stressed out, you don’t tend to feel as healthy. So relax more. Take some time out and don’t feel guilty about it. After all, it’s what your health needs! And when you look at it like this, who could ever think being healthy is boring!
Of course no visit to Cheddar’s is complete without dessert! The boys said they could handle their own hot fudge cake – so we let them give it a try (most desserts are big enough for 2 to share; but they’ve been good sports all year, so we let them get their own). In my opinion, I’d make a trip to Cheddar’s just for dessert!
