Want to have a Healthy Lifestyle? Get Started with these 5 Changes Today!

Mariam Nadeem
7 min readFeb 20, 2021

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Do you ever wake up and think you have had enough of your unhealthy routine and it’s time you get on track? Do you ever have to drag yourself to work looking half asleep barely able to keep your eyes open while you encounter your colleagues looking exactly the opposite of you? Well, consider this your lucky day because we are going to help you get started with your healthy and happy routine, and guess what? You only need to bring these few changes in your life to look full of energy and healthy all or at least most of the time. But as we start, remember that shifting to the healthier side of your routine requires time and a bit of effort, you can’t instantly have your healthy genes shine, what we guarantee is that IT WILL WORK but with a little patience and hard work.

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1 - Look Out for Healthy Lifestyle Facts

Remember when we were students and our teachers would ask us to question everything to get a better understanding of things we were doing or learning. Well, you’ll have to use that technique here too. Start with questioning, do a little research on what is beneficial for you and what is not your cup of tea. Meet people who have brought healthier changes in their lives and observe how they carry out their routines. This will not only help you learn a thing or two but will also motivate you into thinking if they can do it, why can’t you? The more you ask the better grip of a healthier lifestyle you will get, which will help you in adapting faster and in better ways. Not only this, but also stay in touch with a doctor, could be a general physician, a nutritionist, or a dietitian to help you set your living and eating habits according to what your body requires so that you get a sufficient amount of nutrients as well.

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2 - Take Care of Your Mental Health for a Healthy Lifestyle

Taking care of your mental health is something that should be at the top of your priority list, and this is something you should not only do when you’re following a healthy routine, but your mental health should be kept in check even when you’re not. Your day is usually determined by how you feel when you go to sleep or when you wake up in the morning. Spend some time with yourself and think about how you can improve your mental health. Give your mind some peace and know that it will take time to adjust to new things, take it slow but do it the right way. Manage your stress levels, know when you’re doing less or overdoing something. Just because you have started your healthy journey does not mean you will get a plain road to run your car, the road gets bumpy and it will take time, but with good mental health and motivation, you will eventually get to your destination. Mental health is not the only thing that helps with a good healthy lifestyle; it works the other way around too even though, mental health professionals can be seen underestimating the link between mental health and lifestyle changes. But the researches carried out these days show how the two are interlinked. A healthy lifestyle can help you reach stable mental health through different factors. One way of staying mentally healthy is to get an adequate amount of sleep. Who doesn’t want to have some good hours of sleep? So, the best way is to not sleep too much or too little. Research conducted in the UK (2017) shows, 51 percent of people in the UK fail to have a good amount of sound sleep with most of them being women which later affects their mood the other day. Fix your sleeping schedules, there are a lot of ways out there that can help you get better sleep, follow them and get some good hours of sleep and you will observe a difference in your behavior the next day you wake up fresh and early not having to rush everything.

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3 - Improve Your Eating Habits for a Healthy Lifestyle

While following a healthy lifestyle another important thing to keep in check is your eating habits. Sadly, you will have to say goodbye to all those fast, cheap, and easily available food options which also means skipping all the delicious *cough* unhealthy food. Keeping a check on your food feels like a chore but health cannot be served to you on a gold platter; you will have to work hard to earn it. Healthy people spend lots of time planning their meals, trying to eat in portions, which, is the healthiest way of eating. Research from 2019 carried out in Canada states how people have added fruits and vegetables in their daily routine as an approach towards a healthy lifestyle also stating how eating food in portions by keeping calorie count in check have helped them a lot in staying healthy. Keep your focus on natural food which will not only give you energy but will also provide your body with an adequate amount of fiber, vitamins, and other essentials for healthier living. While you are at it, don’t forget to have breakfast regularly. Having breakfast in the morning has so many more advantages than you can think of, people who do this are way more active than those who skip it, it does not only keep you fit and healthy but also helps your brain work faster and better than others. Breakfast has been proved to be very beneficial for people who are growing and also for those who lack basic nutrients. So if you want to impress people at work, breakfast is one of your keys to success.

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4 - Drink Water For a Healthier Lifestyle

Drinking a lot of water also counts as a habit of healthy people. In Canada, people have been trying to adapt to a healthy living style by drinking lots of fluids including water. People who drink water first thing in the morning are said to have a fresher day compared to those who don’t. A survey carried out in the US shows people mentioning efforts they have made to stay healthy, and 31% of the people are frequently trying to stay hydrated for a healthy routine. Water does not only keep you full, stopping you from overeating but also keeps your skin look healthy and glowing, and to be honest, who doesn’t want that. Doctors always recommend drinking at least six to eight glasses of water a day in order to stay hydrated and function properly. Around 50 to 60 percent of our body contains water which is why it is very important to keep your water intake in check for a healthy lifestyle.

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5 - Go Outside and Take a Break for Healthy Living

You might not realize this but learning something new every now and then can help your brain heal and have you come towards a healthier lifestyle. Leaving all your stress and office problems back at home and taking a break can do wonders for people who are always carrying piles of work on their backs. Go for a simple thirty minutes’ walk if you cannot think of anything else. Walking helps maintain a healthy weight and it also helps you clear your mind of all the doubts you have. It does not require any kind of equipment; it can be done how you want and when you want to do it. And while you’re putting minimal effort, you are gaining a lot more than you think, one of them being free vitamin D if you decide to walk during the daytime. Vitamin D is essential for your bones, so if you need to stay healthy, you first need to take care of your bones. So, go outside and while you walk to clear your mind, have some vitamin D.

Listen to your body, it requires time but it will heal. Do what is best for you in the long run! Investing in a healthy lifestyle is not a short-term project, it will give you benefits that will last long term and be favorable for both your physical and mental health. Don’t leave things for tomorrow, start today.

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Mariam Nadeem
Mariam Nadeem

Written by Mariam Nadeem

Literature major, trying to make a living out of my favourite skill that is writing.

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