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Change your lifestyle
Healthy living should be a way of life rather than a shorterm fad.
A healthy body and mind, balanced diet and regular exercise are all part of ensuring a happy and healthy lifestyle. If you hope to improve your lifestyle, take it slowly so that your body adjusts to a healthier way of living.
The following tips can help you kick start a healthy lifestyle:
- Dump the junk. Avoid eating takeaways, chocolate, crisps, sweets, buns and fizzy drinks whenever possible. If you do eat this stuff, don’t gorge on it! Have a small pack of crisps or a couple of squares of chocolate.
- Try to pick good quality food. Don’t buy ‘low fat’ ready meals when you can make a healthy meal yourself, made with real ingredients such as fresh veg and wholegrains. Real food is better for your body AND your mind. Check out the Mind Food Guide for further info on this.
- Forget about magazine and celebrity diets, they don’t work. Many people who follow these diets put on even more weight after they go back to their normal eating habits. If you think you need to lose weight, talk to your doctor about a healthy diet, suited to you.
- Start exercising regularly and eat healthily (if your plate’s heaped high make sure it’s a mountain of vegetables). Persuade a friend or family member to start exercising and eating healthily with you. It’s a lot easier to stick to a new routine when you’ve got support. Try lots of different sports until you find one you enjoy- exercise shouldn’t mean punishment. Bear in mind that exercise releases endorphins in the brain. Endorphins are our natural painkillers and they make us feel happy and relaxed. So if you find the right exercise, it really WILL make you happy.
- Don’t spend all day glued to the TV or computer. Everybody needs to get at least an hour of activity every day. That could be a walk, a game of footie, a swim, a jog, cleaning the house or dancing all night with your mates!
- Drink plenty of water every day. Sometimes we eat when our body is really looking for water. So, don’t confuse thirst with hunger. Plus, being dehydrated can wreak havoc on your energy levels and mood. No fun!
- Drink less alcohol, it contains loads of empty calories…beer bellies got that name for a reason!
- Make sure you enjoy your food instead of eating because you’re bored or feeling down or angry. If you feel like eating when you’re not actually hungry, get active! Clean your room go for a walk or call a friend. Anything to take your mind off food!
- Make time to have a laugh. Studies show that laugher helps bolster the immune system AND that it improves your mental health too. So check out that comedy club or laugh yourself silly with your friends.
- Spend time with good friends and close family. Hanging out with your closest confidantes will help to boost your overall health and wellbeing.
- Make time for sleep. Sleep is extremely important to your health. Long term sleep deprivation is associated with everything from depression to weight gain to diabetes. So hit that snooze button.
- If you’re worried about your weight, talk to your doctor about a healthy eating plan.
