Healthy Living: 8 Lifestyle Changes To Start Making Now

Lifestyle changes do not occur suddenly. It starts with the realization that a change is needed. It became apparent that I needed to make some changes when my body began to give me obvious signs. I decided to pay attention to those signs because I simply wasn’t functioning at optimum performance. I haven’t totally radically changed my lifestyle but I am well on that journey. The occasional (more frequently) lapses occur but I am at a better place than I was at the beginning of summer.

1. Drink water

I am certainly the last person that should be saying this but I say this in regards to my recent experience. A couple of months back, I noticed I got tired easily, I had headaches and feverish temperature. I eventually discovered I was severely dehydrated. Since 60% of our body is made up of water, water is an essential part of our lives. The recommended amount of water daily is 8 glasses (1.9 liters) of water. If you are like me and you are not a fan of drinking water, then you can make drinking water fun by buying flavoured water instead. I knew I wasn’t going to consciously stick to drinking water so I installed an app, bought a water bottle but truthfully, I can do better than I am now.

2. Take vegetables, fruits & reduce eating processed foods

This is the second on my list because this came highly recommended to me. I noticed my diet lacked veggies. In fact, I was more inclined towards rice (different varieties) or chicken/processed food. I limited my choices because I was too afraid to try other types of food being in a new area. I still stick to cooking familiar dishes but I take note to eat food with veggies at least once a week (I am doing a poor job of that by the way). Drink smoothies and eat snacks that have healthy fruits and vegetables in them.

3. Take multivitamins

I know my appetite has improved lately since I started taking multivitamins. I dislike drugs (I count multivitamins as drugs), so I got the gummy bear version. Now I look forward to taking them because they are chewy and yummy.

4. Don’t skip breakfast

I put this on the list because I have heard it severally and seem to have seen the difference since I started paying attention to this. Once I started to take the multivitamins, my eating habit picked up considerably, I began to crave eating in the morning and now I can see the difference. This one is especially for people who have to get to work early and may want to skip breakfast. Rather than skip breakfast which is one of the most important meal, read how to start getting to work early. Learn how to prep simple meals that take about 5mins.

5. Eat small portions of food

Speaking of breakfast, I have a habit of eating just once and anytime I am hungry. Sometimes, that hunger prompting never happens and I eventually forget to eat. Try to eat small portions and have a 3 square meal, rather than eat large chunks once or twice during the day.

6. Try to get enough sleep

I realized that another contributor to my fatigue was doing a lot and getting less sleep. I noticed that at night when I am working rather than giving my body some rest, my body temperature became rather high. To function properly, your body should get enough rest. According to research, sleeping below six hours cuts down the life expectancy of individuals and may cause long term health issues. Not only that, ever wondered why you have mood swings? You may not be getting enough sleep.

7. Put all gadgets away

The use of gadgets every time is not advisable. I for one use my laptop 70-90% of the time. Try and replace gadgets with books, taking a walk, and conversation with friends. If you have strong reasons for being on your phone or laptop for an extended period, you may need to adjust the light.

8. Keep track of your progress

Monitor the changes you have made and ensure you are sticking to them daily. How can you track your progress? Have a list of all the changes you may want to make starting from this list and review them daily to see if you have followed through. If you haven’t, don’t be discouraged and don’t quit, try again.

See Also

Five Easy Workout Ideas For A Tight-Knit Church Community 

Conclusion

If you believe there are things you do need to change, do not wait for the warning health signs before making a change. Buy organic products, exercise (I keep repeating this in my posts because I am lagging here and I have seen the usefulness of it), and reduce oily food, reduce junk foods etc.

Do not limit yourself to the list here, this is a list I came up with, you may have been doing some of this before, so find out what peculiar lifestyle changes you need to start making to live healthily.

Photo by Benjamin Voros on Unsplash