People who think that living a healthy lifestyle is just a matter of making the decision are wrong. In reality, it takes a lot of effort to adopt a healthy lifestyle and even more effort to maintain it over a prolonged period of time.
Furthermore, the notion of “a healthy lifestyle” is hazy in itself, as it involves getting rid of some old, unhealthy habits. The change might not be swift and requires time but there are at least 5 ways to adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle. If you start the change, your future self will be thankful for that in the decades to come.
Rethinking the way we commute
For millions of commuters nationwide, the fastest and the most convenient way of getting to work is in a passenger car. Although this might seem like a great solution, both you and the planet are hurting from it.
Even if you are ready to disregard the increased emission of CO2 gas, you harm your mental health through frustration due to traffic pileups and the price of gas nowadays. Not to mention the fact that you get zero physical activity trapped in a metal carriage sitting down for hours.
If you’re ready to think outside the box, you’ll realize that there are better ways to commute, all the while staying healthy. If the office is two blocks away from your home, why not simply walk to it; the fresh morning air will do good for you. An alternative to walking is cycling and an alternative to cycling is taking the train to your office. Even public buses are a great alternative to driving, especially now that there are more and more eco-friendly coaches.
Decaf anyone?
Drinking coffee, especially that first cup of the day early, is a ritual for many people. We just find it impossible to function normally at work without our daily caffeine intake. Although this has to do with the fact that coffee is, after all, a stimulating drug, it also has to do with the fact that we are used to drinking coffee.
Since our brain is already trained to recognize the smell and taste of coffee is a positive way, we can hack into our psyche by drinking decaffeinated coffee. Its taste doesn’t differ substantially from regular coffee but it doesn’t drug us, to put in those words, every time we drink it. In this case, adopting a healthier habit doesn’t involve giving up on something we enjoy so much.
Taking up vaping
Another example of how we can keep an old and seemingly nasty habit through its healthier variant is smoking. People who have been smoking for years find it hard, even impossible to quit because they keep coming back to this health-detrimental habit.
However, like with coffee, you don’t have to quit smoking, as the only thing you need to ditch are cigarette packs. Instead of inhaling tobacco smoke, you have the possibility to downgrade to vaping which is quite widespread. Not only can you order pods online and choose the color and design you like but you get to choose the taste of vape juice you’d like the most.
You are what you eat
Many shoppers don’t even dare read the labels of the most common grocery items they pick off the supermarket shelves. The data printed on these labels almost always indicated a high lever sugar or unsaturated fats, both of which are devastating to our health. Instead of turning your head the other way, consider changing your dietary habits because you are what you eat.
Instead of buying unhealthy food and eating out at fast food joints, you should opt for healthier food options. Growing a vegetable garden at the back of the house is one way to ensure there is always fresh food produce on the dining table.
If you’re not a fan of cooking or preparing your own meals, you can always go to a restaurant or find healthy food options online and have them delivered to your doorstep. You’d be amazed by the number of restaurants that work with food delivery services offering their customers healthy food options exclusively.
Sunburn or sunblock
You’d be amazed by the number of people who get cancer from sun exposure. The correlation is definitely there so if you want to adopt a healthy lifestyle in a coastal region of the world, then watch out for sunlight. In this case, life is not a beach.
Sunlight is not harmful in itself but overexposure to it can cause health issues, from mild sunstroke to aforementioned cancer. Caring for your skin during the hottest and the brightest days of summer should be a top priority.
Apart from drinking enough water (the bare minimum is 2 liters per day), you should apply sunblock to exposed parts of the body. Getting a tan is one thing but burning your skin is not something you should aim for the next time you head out to the beach.
Like we have said in the introduction, it is not easy to adopt and maintain any of the 5 healthy changes to your lifestyle. Some advice are easier than others, as everyone can painlessly transition from smoking to vaping and start buying decaf. Altering your dietary habits will not be such a smooth transition but you must be persistent above all!
