The past year has stressed the importance of staying healthy. Because of the pandemic, more people have grown to realize that they need to clean up their act and become healthier. According to a recent survey, as many as 60 percent of Americans expressed interest in becoming healthier. Another 51 percent said they’re interested in losing weight.
You may also be interested in becoming healthier in the next year, you could be wondering how you can get started. Beginning your journey to a better, healthier you can be very intimidating.
Below are five ways you can start getting healthier and ensure you have a better and brighter tomorrow.
- Get Checked
The first step to getting healthy is by going to a medical professional and having the state of your body assessed. There is a general reluctance in going to a doctor or a hospital to get a check-up, but such fears are holding you back. A routine physical can reveal medical conditions before they can become more serious. It also lets you address them beforehand by changing your lifestyle or taking the appropriate medications.
Advice from medical professionals is also desirable before you make any drastic lifestyle change or undergo certain procedures. Perhaps you want to get vaginal laser treatment or you want to run a 10-kilometer run. You could benefit from a doctor’s input before committing to either option.
- Reduce Sugars and Salt
One of the biggest challenges to getting healthy is the staples of the American diet. Too much of the food in grocery aisles and in your own refrigerator is crammed to brimming with sugars and salts. Taken in moderation, sugars and salts are perfectly fine, but they currently oversaturate American food stuffs. Everything from breakfast cereals to preserved meats are full of these substances.
You can start by making healthier choices in what you eat that specifically decrease these substances. For example, whenever you have a continental breakfast, you can switch out sugary jams and peanut butter with fresh fruit and almond butter instead. Another change you can make is reducing your consumption of soda.
- Get Moving
Physical activity is another facet of healthy living that most people are sorely in need of. With the advent of the pandemic, most people have been confined to their homes. Even health-conscious people were deprived of their usual workout places like gyms or athletic parks. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get moving and exercise at home.
Thanks to online fitness instructors and other physical health enthusiasts, there is a wealth of information on the internet for people who want to exercise. The trick to get moving is by taking things slow. Don’t overexert yourself when beginning your exercise routine as doing so can not only discourage you but also lead to injury.
- Gradually Reduce Vices
“Vice” is such a loaded and judgmental term, but for the purpose of this article it refers to actions that actively expose your body to harmful substances and situations. Some of the most common vices in America include smoking and drinking alcohol. However, vices can also include activities like not getting enough sleep, overindulging in video games and similar things.
You can’t begin your journey to health effectively until you take stock of your vices and make a commitment to reducing them. Going cold turkey, or stopping completely, can be very hard to do, so you should take steps to decrease your indulgence. For example, instead not playing video games at all, you can schedule your hours of play and decrease it’s time allotment by 15-minute increments.
- Heal Your Mind
One often ignored aspect of improving your well-being is your mental health. However, the events of past year have exposed just how sorely people need to take care of their psyches just as much as their bodies. People have reported feeling isolated, alone and anxious because of everything that’s going on.
Do everything you can to take care of your mental well-being. Do you feel stifled at your job? Take a day off to relax and declutter your mind. Feeling lonely? Take time to reconnect with your friends over the internet and catch up. Your mental state is just as important to your well-being and you should never undermine it if you want to remain healthy.
It has been a challenging year and there are still uncertain times ahead. Staying healthy in both mind and body is one of the best ways you can ensure you are ready to take on the future. So begin your journey to a better, healthier you today
