Have you ever heard the term “the control of your of life, lies within you”
Well now is the time to take control of your life and live it on your conditions. Recently since the pandemic has finally started to slow and life is returning to some form of normal, some people also call it the “the NEW NORMAL” we all want to get out there and live our lives to the fullest! This year it might even be your New Year’s Resolution to live life to the fullest.
Whether you need more money, less stress, or just want to live without regrets, this article will give you everything you need from start to finish to live a happy, healthy and fulfilling life in 2022!
Winter holidays are just around the corner and many people are making plans to travel and enjoy the year-end and beginning of a new year somewhere nice and with their loved ones….
We need to remember after the pandemic is just slowing down that now is the time to improve your health! In 2022, many people are looking to set a new year’s resolution that will improve their health and wellness. But there are a lot of contemplations to make before you start. What should you do? How can you stay encouraged? And what is the best way to improve your diet while maintaining an active, hale and hearty lifestyle?
In this blog post we’ll discuss all these queries so that when 2022 comes around, you’re ready with a plan in place!
what is your New Year’s Resolution for your improved health?
Improving your health is a noble goal, but it’s also incredibly vague. Your health is comprised of many different functions in your body, including your metabolism, your digestion and elimination, your skin health, your muscles, your endocrine system, and much more.
What exactly about your health do you want to improve? Is the struggle about losing the baby weight after having a baby? It can be possible that you want to improve the quality of life for a chronic illness like diabetes or high blood pressure. Or maybe you’re aiming at improving emotional wellbeing by reducing stress levels through slight changes. You’ll find many benefits from improving your health!
In general, there are several things you can do to improve your health. Start with
1) Clean eating
2) Following a regular exercise routine
3) Practicing stress management
4) Removing toxins such as smoking or any other drug or alcohol intake.
Incorporating these habits will include a range of new routines including new workout plans, healthy eating habits, and being cognizant about everything. It won’t be easy. But the more capacities you include in your plan, the more complete your health transformation will be. For instance, if you want to improve your health and only make an exercise routine, then your plan is half-finished. You may gain muscle, but you may find that you still have other health issues.
By giving attention to all four areas, your health will improve drastically in many different ways that you will be able to see!
Let’s answer a very important Question…
How do you stay motivated towards improving/betterment of your health?
So there are multiple ways you can keep yourself motivated to bring yourself towards the healthy you!
You can think and aim to improve your health as a new year’s resolution by cooking healthy
What one needs to remember is, improving your health is not an objective you can complete in a weekend or even a season (as we do binge-watching on Netflixthon). This is a long term objective that will take all year or even longer depending on how you start, when you start, the objective you set for yourself and the present state you started in? So how do you stay encouraged through a year or longer of pursuing this objective? First, you can start by committing to improving your health on a specific day.
For example, let’s start with baby steps, you could commit to a week at a time then work backwards. Once done with a week from there to set goals for the next days or weeks of improvement to stay motivated. You can also use interim rewards as motivators: give yourself something like a new workout outfit that will be a gift for and waiting in your closet if you meet your milestones.
For the long term health goal, decide what is most important to you when it comes to improvement- weight loss or muscle gain? Write down specific short and long term goals so that every day feels like progress on this journey of health.
If your objective includes making your body toxin-free and removing toxins such as quitting smoking or becoming sober, don’t try to do it in isolation or by yourself. It will be a lot easier if you reach out to others for support. Look around for people in the same state of affairs as you and build associations that encourage you to be in a good health and quit those things that are draining your health from you.
You can also:
1) Use affirmations.
2) Set up answerability strategies with a friend.
3) Invest in a gym membership. (You will not want to waste money, so you’re more likely to go as opposed to if it is free.)
4) Just do it. Don’t wait for motivation to strike.
Some things just need to be done rather than it being planned and strategies, these approaches will help you stay motivated toward your objective. Improving your health as a new year’s resolution can seem overwhelming, but when you break it down into small components, stay committed to it, and stay motivated, it will be easier to stay focused on getting to the result.
How will you know that your health is improving?
Speaking of the result, how will you know that your health is improving? Here are some signs that your health is on the track of restoration:
• You can breathe better
• Your energy levels improve
• You have a stronger immune system that combats diseases more effectively and heals quicker. It also thwarts illnesses from developing in the first place.
• You sleep better than ever before
• You’re more confident because you feel better about yourself.
• Food tastes and smells stronger than ever before
Women exercising to improve their health in the long term
• The clothes may fit looser
• The digestive issues resolve themselves when you start getting healthier
• The skin looks clearer and has more vibrancy
• Women can carry heavier things (your children, for example!)
• going up and stairs are no more excruciating, you can do it without getting winded
• your joints don’t ache
But don’t be surprised if it takes a month or more before you start to see these changes. Like I said above, this is going to be a long term goal. Healthy weight loss happens at 1 to 2 pounds a week, which means you might start to feel looser clothes after 3-6 weeks. And it may take 6 months of actively improving your health before you notice that your sleep and immune system are improving.
So if you find this taking much longer than you had anticipated, don’t get discouraged. If you can be consistent for a few months, then it will be easier to see the improvements that you’re looking for. Keep going!
12 Ways to Rock Your New Year’s Resolution to Improve Your Health
1. Eat more vegetables
When it comes to improving your health, the starting line to start with a healthy lifestyle is your plate. Studies have shown that people who eat more vegetables improve their health manifolds. It means that it’s more than just the occasional salad or vegetable side dish or a one in blue salad meal, but ensuring their addition to your meals at least once a day. Add tomatoes and mushrooms to your eggs in the morning. Eat carrots with hummus for lunch, and serve a sweet potato and peas with meat in the evening.
2. Drink more water to improve your health
One of the first steps towards improving your health is by drinking more water, which is at least 3 litres of water a day. It sounds unpretentious, but it can be challenging for people who have a tough time recalling to drink enough throughout the day. To mend this pattern of behaviour, start with a big glass of water first thing in the morning. You can also attempt carrying a bottle with you and sipping on it throughout the day.
And make sure it’s water. Nothing replaces water as soda, coffee, tea, and energy drinks give you tons of sugar and other chemicals that could derail those health goals you have. So stick with H2O!
3. Exercise frequently
Lifting and carrying your children or your nieces and nephews is a great motivator for getting in shape
Moving your body is an amazing way to improve your health. Studies have shown that even the lightest exercise can increase or maintain cognitive function, improve sleep and promote weight loss. Make time for an activity you enjoy (going on a walk, doing yoga) at least thrice a week. Try interim training where you substitute or interchange between high-intensity bursts of energy followed by short periods of rest.
Another way to continue your workout is to find a buddy for some accountability and regularity in your actions. If you can’t run or don’t like yoga much, there are tons of options for you. Walk. Rock climb. Hike in nature. Play with your kids!
Remember: No, Exercise without Diet Won’t Help You Lose Weight
4. Give up smoking for good health
Quitting the smoking habit can be difficult, and you may have already tried not once but maybe many times. But it’s worth it to improve your health in the long run and live a healthy long life.
When you decide to quit smoking, the first week is the hardest, but after that, you will feel better. Be less lethargic and be more energetic. One should also see the health benefits of quitting smoking include:
• Fewer coughs and chest infections
• Less risk of heart ailment, lung cancer, or even stroke
• Reduced breathing difficulties (which improve asthma)
• Minor chance of developing mouth or throat cancers
Well, if compared with the previous scenario, that is a huge improvement on your health.
5. Emphasize fibre
Fibre is the material in your food that doesn’t break down, and it helps with digestion. One of the calmest ways to advance your health in a better manner is by adding more fibre-rich foods into your everyday meals and overall diet. Fibre also helps keep our cholesterol levels down, and it can prevent constipation or haemorrhoids as well. So how much should you aim for? It is suggested to aim for around 30 grams a day from food sources like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes.
6. Try Intermittent Fasting
A few years back no one paid much attention to Intermittent fasting, it has become more popular in recent years. Fundamentally, it involves cutting your food intake to a definite time frame and then abstaining for the remaining part of the day. Many people, working on this concept use the 16/8 method, which means that you eat only during eight hours of the day and fast for sixteen hours, part of which is overnight.
So for instance, your normal regular day starts at 6:00 am and don’t eat anything just yet. Eat your lunch at 11:00 am. Then you can have a snack in the late afternoon, and eat dinner around 6:00 pm. Then completely abstain and stop eating at 7:00 pm for the night. Turn in at 10:00 pm for a full 8 hours of sleep.
It has been proven that intermittent fasting has many health benefits, including weight loss and increased energy.
7. Get enough sleep
One of the most important things and mantras to a healthy life is “GET ENOUGH SLEEP”
We wonder why to sleep never gets enough credit for all the good it does for our health. Sleep can improve learning, improve mood and improve memory. Sleep deficiency can cause problems with attention span, problem-solving skills and the ability to memorize information. It’s no revelation that sleep-deprived doctors make twofold as many mistakes in surgery as their well-rested colleagues.
Sleep is also important for our bodily health. It can improve recovery after a workout, keep blood pressure lower and improve glucose control. Research and multiple studies have shown that sleeping less than seven hours per night increases the threat of death by all causes from 13% to 18%. For individuals over 65 years old, this increase is even more dramatic (from 16% to 26%).
These days many people find it difficult to sleep, If you’re finding it difficult to improve your sleep, try setting a time to hit the sack and ensure sticking with it. Make sure the room is dark before going to bed, turn off screens at least 60 minutes before bedtime and avoid caffeine after noon. And if all else fails? There’s always melatonin!
8. Meditate
One of the oldest and most soul searching and peaceful act is the act of meditation. It can also do wonders for your health. It can boost your immune system, lower blood pressure and improve heart rate. It also has the potential to reduce stress, anxiety and depression.
When you first try meditation, ensure you find a comfortable place where you won’t be distressed or disturbed by anything or anyone. Sit straight in a chair, on the floor or even cross-legged. Keep your back and neck straight but not stiff, close your eyes and relax every muscle as you breathe deeply for three to five minutes.
Start with short sessions of meditation each day, and consider using mala beads, this is a sure shot and very relaxed formula to better health and improve the immune system.
9. Practice your favourite self-care regularly
Self-care like deep breathing is important to our complete healthy self
Self-care can improve health in plentiful ways. It can make your mood better, improve your immune system, improve sleep quality and duration, improve mental health symptoms, and particularly reduce stress levels. It is a fact that if and when our stress levels are high, our health will be negatively affected.
The following are some practices you might want to include in your self-care routine: journaling/art therapy, spending time with friends and family, reading for fun (not related to your work), taking a bath to relax, playing music, or even laughing.
Choose one or all of these practices, depending on what suits you best!
10. Avoid drugs and consume alcohol in moderation (or not at all)
It has become a socially acceptable thing for youngsters to consume use drugs with friends and even resort to using alcohol, but drinking in moderation is important. It’s also worth observing that not drinking alcohol at all has been linked to a longer life expectancy than restrained drinking, according to a study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Alcohol intake can also lead to weight gain which in turn increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease.
If you’re someone or you know someone who is struggling with addiction to something, whether it be a substance or a behaviour, we sincerely recommend you seek professional help from an addiction counsellor.
11. Cut the sugar
By cutting out sugar from your body, you’ll improve your health in a lot of ways. Sugar is directly linked to obesity, heaviness and tooth decay, not to mention energy crashes and blood-sugar problems. Many people around us don’t even realize how much sugar they’re consuming because sugar is packed in everything, from pasta sauces, to granola bars, to yoghurt, each and everything has some amount of sugar in it.
If you’re craving and want to have something sweet then try having some fresh fruit or make yourself a smoothie with plain (unsweetened) Greek yoghurt instead! A piece of healthy advice, you can thank us LATER!
12. Alter your mindset to improve your health
One of the most basic and important things to start your health regime and move towards a healthy life is “SETTING YOUR MIND TO IT”.None of this is possible without a healthy mindset. When you think healthy, you can be healthier. One way of doing this is by taking a few minutes every day or week to meditate on positive thoughts or words of affirmation like “I am healthy. I am strong”. “I am happy”. I am content”
If you need convincing that your mindset needs a change before setting your new year’s resolution to improve your health, then do see this video. Dr Joe Dispenza explains exactly how mindset works… and it can change your life.
Conclusion
This blog post is only scratching the surface of what you can do to improve your health, but we hope that these 12 tips will help get you started on this New Year’s resolution journey.
Improving your health in 2022 is a big goal and should be taken seriously. But when you break it into smaller pieces, it becomes more manageable. Don’t forget that seeing the kind of improvements you are hoping for may take a while – so stick with it!
