Ask anybody who is a fitness guru, they will say that being fit and active is very important to their lifestyle and that they have benefitted hugely from the steps they have taken to look after their health. When you are striving for a healthy lifestyle, you’ll find you don’t get ill as much as when you weren’t as active. You’ll also find your mindset is a lot more positive and you feel better within yourself on a daily basis – when you aren’t looking after yourself, it’s not uncommon to feel sluggish and unmotivated.
Every now and then, our fitness can take a dip. When you get out of your routine, you can start to stop exercising and neglect your diet. It’s ok to have a down day however, it’s important you try and change this when you realize you are going down the rabbit hole too many times.
If you are looking to improve your fitness and live a better lifestyle, you have come to the right place. From drinking more water, prioritizing your diet and getting more sleep, to exercising more and drinking less, we have put together our guide on 8 fitness tips for living a better lifestyle.
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Give yourself time for recovery
Recovery is super important in ensuring you stay at optimum health. If you find that you’re ill and put yourself back to work too soon, you can end up feeling worse and needing more time off. The same goes for if you exercise and hurt yourself. If you don’t enable yourself the proper time to let your muscles heal and go straight back into it, chances are it’s only going to get worse. You should look into things which are designed to help with the recovery process such as compression boots for legs.
These are inflatable garments that cover your feet and legs and help you to recover much faster. You can also have ice baths, sports massages and more than can help your body recover from your workout quicker. Above all, if you find you’ve injured yourself through working out, give yourself enough time and don’t rush to get back into it until you are ready. You can always seek expert advice and guidance if you aren’t sure, to make sure you don’t injure yourself further.
Stay hydrated
Hydration is vital for being healthy and we’re all guilty of not drinking enough water. One of the best things you can do to stay hydrated and keep on top of your water intake is get a large 1 litre water bottle. You are recommended to drink 2 liters of water a day but this isn’t practical to carry around, so by having 1 liter you can just fill it up twice and soon you will reap the benefits! The more hydrated you are, the better your skin and overall health will be as well as your energy levels.
Get plenty of sleep
Sleep is one of the most vital and overlooked aspects of our health that needs to be changed. Not getting enough sleep can lead to a plethora of not only short-term but long-term health implications, such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease, anxiety and chronic fatigue. To avoid this from becoming a real issue, have a solid bedtime routine and ensure you get eight hours of sleep a night on average. Some people might need more or less, but you want to check your number doesn’t deviate too dramatically from this. Try things such as no screens before going to bed, unwinding an hour before you sleep and having good quality bedding to ensure you get a good rest.
Work on your diet
One of the most important things you need to do when you are wanting to live a better lifestyle is work on your diet. You could be working out all the time, but if you aren’t watching what you’re actually putting into your body, you’re not going to get anywhere fast. There are many things you can do to work on your diet and you’ll be surprised that even if you think you eat healthily, there are many more things you can do.
Start by ensuring you have enough balance in your diet, with plenty of lean meats, proteins, fruits, vegetables and nutrients. Try to cut back on fatty foods and sugary foods too. It can be a good idea to meal prep your food as this way you won’t end up eating poorly due to running out of time to cook dinner as you will have something ready in the freezer or fridge for you to eat.
Cut out any bad habits
We all have bad habits and anyone that says they don’t might just not be aware of what they are. Bad habits can range from smoking and vaping, to eating poorly or not taking care of your mental health. You might drink too much alcohol or eat takeaways too often. Whatever it is, the first thing you need to do is recognize you have this bad habit, then work to cut it out. Replace things like takeaways with ‘fakeaways’ where you make healthier versions at home.
Speak to your healthcare professional about how to give up smoking and limit alcohol to weekends or once a week. Again, if you are struggling to give up any of your bad habits, it can be worth getting additional support. This can ensure you don’t fall off the bandwagon and get the correct help to make sure you come out the other side. If you think you have a multitude of bad habits, don’t give them all up at once or be too hard on yourself. Don’t go cold-turkey on things such as sweet treats, allow yourself one or two days a week and you’ll find it’s much easier to stay consistent with it.
Exercise regularly
Regular exercise is another vital part of living a better lifestyle and one of the main reasons people say they can’t is because they ‘don’t have time’. This might feel like the case, but in actual fact, we all have the time to exercise we just don’t want to. Exercise can take as little as half an hour out of your day and you can soon reap the benefits from such a small window of time taken. If you don’t want to exercise, it could be that you just haven’t found the right workout for you. If the idea of going to the gym fills you with dread, you aren’t alone – there are many people that feel the same!
Luckily the gym isn’t the only workout you can do. Instead, why not try going to a class such as a Body Pump, Circuits or Aerobics? You could also try doing a sport such as tennis, football or rugby. As mentioned, it could be that you enjoy exercise, you just haven’t found your calling yet. It’s worth joining a local gym or sports club and trying it out before you commit long term. You could also rope in a friend or a family member to come with you. Working out is always a lot more fun when you are not having to go alone and into a group of strangers. You can see it as an excuse to catch up as well as get fit and healthy at the same time.
Be consistent with your plans
When it comes to living a healthier lifestyle, consistency is key. There is no point eating well and doing exercise if you only commit to it for a week or two. While you might see a short term difference (which tends to be due to losing water weight), you will just pile the weight back on as soon as you stop. In order to really be healthy you need to foster long-term healthy habits that you can do all the time. Commit to certain days that you workout and always try to do it at the same time. This way your life can easily fit around it and you will automatically block out other things so you can do this.
Eat healthily as often as you can and if you do decide to have a day off, make sure it is just a day and doesn’t turn into you slipping back into your old ways. Consistency can feel difficult at the start, but once you have made solid habits you will find it much easier to stick to. If you have someone doing it with you it can be a lot easier as well as you won’t want to let each other down so will be more likely to stick with it!
Have you got any fitness challenges that you are aiming to complete in the coming year? What tips would you recommend to someone looking to improve their lifestyle? Is there anything that you think we are missing in our guide on fitness tips for living a better lifestyle? Let us know in the comment box below, we look forward to hearing from you.