Many people ask me how I stay fit and balance my busy schedule, all while maintaining my exercise routines and eating healthy. So, here are my top 10 tips for living a healthy life.
1. Intuitive eating
We are intuitive eaters by nature, but there are external factors that tell us to ignore our body’s signals. Among them are restrictive diets, eating patterns, and beliefs, as well body dissatisfaction. Diets based on guilt and punishment are not sustainable in the long term, and they are definitely not healthy. Intuitive eating is the process of honoring your own health, and listening and responding to the body’s messages to meet your physical and psychological needs. It is a process of awareness and connection between the mind and body. It helps you find a healthy and stable weight range without having to restrict yourself. Intuitive eating is an approach that allows us to reconnect with our body and make decisions based on self-care and compassion.
2. Stay away from refined sugar
You can get sugar in healthy ways like through fruit, so you don’t need to consume processed sugar, which can lead to various short-term and long-term diseases like obesity, vitamins and mineral imbalances, immunosuppression, increased cholesterol and triglyceride levels, diabetes, cavities, gingivitis, aging, and digestive tract conditions. If you stop consuming refined sugar, you’ll start to lose some weight. This kind of sugar turns into fat because it’s empty calories. You’ll also reduce your anxiety levels since refined sugar alters energy and insulin levels.
3. Drink enough water
Although it’s possible to survive a few days without food, you can’t live without water because it’s essential to your physiological functions. Every day we lose water through breathing, perspiration, and shedding toxins through urine. For our body to function properly, we must replenish this water supply by consuming drinks and foods containing water. One’s fluid needs depend on their age, weight, and activity level, but in general, 2.7-3-7 liters per day is recommended.
4. Eat an early dinner (ideally before 7pm)
The simple act of modifying our meal times and adjusting them to our circadian rhythm can be the key to improving our health. Eating an early dinner helps us maintain a healthy weight and prevents metabolic diseases. When we eat earlier, we feel lighter at bedtime, improve digestion, and sleep much better.
5. Avoid soda
This point is similar to not consuming processed sugar. Sodas are empty calories that don’t end up quenching your thirst and only dehydrate you further. In addition, they slow down your metabolism, can cause allergies or hypersensitivity, increase the risk of kidney stones, irritate the stomach, and play a role in developing diabetes. Think twice the next time you’re about to order one!
6. Increase your vegetable consumption
This is the best way to feel full and eat healthily. The vitamins, minerals, and other components in vegetables are essential for human health. The fiber they contain is super important for reducing cholesterol levels in the blood. Also, their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties help keep our health in balance. These natural products promote proper digestion, and increase intestinal volume, which helps regulate appetite. Finally, they are very safe foods, not as prone to bacteria as animal products. Try to consume 5 servings of vegetables in your daily diet.
7. Observe your body and learn form it
Just as I mentioned when talking about intuitive eating, it’s very important to know your body and what works for it, what foods bloat you, what intolerances you might have, etc. Don’t expect your body to be perfect. No body is. Accept and want the body you have. It is yours, so show it some affection by caring for it and taking the time to get to know it and listen to it. You will be amazed at how much you can improve your health if you pay more attention to your body’s signals.
8. Help your body with supplements
Dietary supplements can be very good for preventing diseases, improving the state of your body, and adding nutrients to your diet. Sometimes the food we eat is not enough to cover our vitamin intake. Meet with a doctor to figure out what type of supplements you need, whether vitamins, minerals, proteins, fatty acids, or antioxidants. A specialist can help you figure out what’s right for you, based on your activities, age, pace of life, and more.
9. Get moving
Exercise is a powerful medicine. In addition to being an important part of a healthy lifestyle, exercise prevents health problems, strengthens our body, increases our energy levels, and helps reduce stress. As a plus, it helps us maintain a healthy body weight and increases our muscle tone, so get moving and stay active. This is a great form of therapy since we release endorphins that make us feel happy. If you’ve never exercised before, start with a 10-minute period of light exercise, like a brisk, daily walk. From there, you can gradually increase the intensity and time of your exercise. Try to exercise 5 times a week for at least 30 minutes. and consult your doctor before starting an exercise routine so that you know which exercises are best for your personal goals.
10. Don’t be fooled by miracle diets
It’s hard not to be tempted by miracle diets or fad products that promise quick and easy weight loss. However, beyond causing fluctuations in our weight, the diets can spur nutritional deficiencies, which pose risks to the body. These diets can cut out essential nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, vitamins, fats, and fiber. If you follow a diet like this for a long time, it can lead to serious illnesses. In addition to damaging your body with these treatments, it’s very difficult to maintain them in the long term, so it becomes frustrating when you regain the lost weight. You could even develop an eating disorder. The bottom line is to away from miracle diets and products!
XO
Sira