Do you take your health for granted?
I hope that you don’t because good health is one of the essentials to being able to fully enjoy your life. Because being tired, overweight, in pain, or dragging along just barely making it through the day takes away your joy. Being listless in life means that everything is harder than it needs to be which isn’t good because life is hard enough as it is. And besides your goal should be to manage your stress before your stress manages you.
The silver lining is that if you’re in a situation where you’re looking to start making personal transformations, building good health is a great way to start. To make it even easier you can divide your transformation into two parts:
1. Your attitude
2. Your physical self
For your attitude, you should examine your feelings about your health and the areas in which you can improve. Diet, exercise, sleep patterns and time for self-reflection should all be examined as you figure out if you might have past triggers that could hold you back when you start.
Now your physical self is about focusing on the outer you and your physical self. It won’t be easy, but can be done by changing some of your habits.
Drink More Water
75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Dehydration has a negative effect on your mind and body. Per USGS.gov, as humans we’re comprised of 60% water. Water helps every major organ in the body to function properly alleviating some of the stress that your body goes through each day. If you don’t like drinking water, check out my previous post on jazzing up your water.
Create A Morning And Evening Routine
Having a morning or evening routine can help you stay on top of things like brushing your teeth, taking any prescribed medications and having time for prayer, self-reflection or meditation. Make these things a daily habit.
Move More
Exercise should one of the most important parts of each day. But remember, exercise doesn’t have to be something elaborate. You can put more pep in your step as you complete your daily chores, take a daily walk, look at You-Tube videos or a website like DareBee to find body weight exercises or turn household items like water jugs into workout equipment. Figure out what you like and get started. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get fit. You just have to do it.
Check Your Pantry
The only way to keep bad food out of your diet is not to have it in the house to begin with. Instead, build a habit of buying healthful alternatives when you're out shopping. Your body will thank you. If you find healthy food ‘boring’ then consider finding and trying out new recipes to add some excitement from the same old same old.
Have A Sleep Schedule
We all need between 7 to 9 hours of sleep at night. One really good way of making sure you get enough sleep is to establish a regular bedtime and time in which to get up. So, you experiment until you find the amount of sleep that leaves you feeling rested and able to take on your day. For more tips, check out my post 7 Ways To Get A Good Night's Sleep.
Now, as important as it is to take care of your health on your own, you should always speak to your doctor prior to making changes to your exercise routine or diet. Consider having a checkup before beginning. It can be helpful because your doctor can give you advice and answer questions you may have about how this change fits in with your current health needs. It is especially important if you have a medical condition such as diabetes or a heart condition.
So that’s it, 5 habits to start when you want to transform your health. Don’t try every thing all at once – baby steps – It’s all about making time.
Let’s talk, what changes do you want to make to transform your health? Let me know in the comments section.
Water Photo by Mitchell Luo on Unsplash
Runner Photo by Bruno Nascimento on Unsplash
Cassandra Martin-Himmons is a facilitator, stress management coach and author of “Yes I’m Grateful,” a gratitude journal. She believes in empowering her clients to help them manage their stress and increase self-care. In her spare time, she enjoys papercrafting, volunteering and travel. Connect with her on Instagram or LinkedIn