Summer’s coming up. Maybe you want to get back in shape for all those outdoors activities and beach vacations. Or maybe you just want to stay active and healthy.
Staying active is one of the best things anyone can do for their bodies. Our bodies were designed for activities more strenuous than sitting around all day. By giving your body the exercise and activity it requires, you can live longer and healthier, avoiding all sorts of issues.
Here are 10 different things anyone, even you, can do to stay active and healthy.
1. Add more movement to your daily life.
As said earlier, the best way to stay active is to move around more, especially in your daily life. There are a lot of ways to accomplish this. You can accomplish this anywhere, whether at home, school or work. For example, when you go to the bathroom, if you have time, pick the one that is further away. When you go grocery shopping, make two trips to the car rather than one. These few added minutes can build up over time.
2. Take regular walking breaks.
Don’t stay seated in one place for too long. In addition to being inactive, it can cause damage to your back and posture. A good rule of thumb is: for every hour you sit, spend ten minutes walking. If you have been sitting at a computer, this has a bonus effect of reducing eye strain by giving your eyes a break.
3. Take the scenic route.
If you’re not in a hurry to get somewhere, why not take the scenic route? If you’re walking somewhere, try taking a different route than your usual one. It will be refreshing to see different sights rather than the same old ones every day. You might even discover something new and exciting. Similarly, instead of escalators or elevators, try walking up and down stairs whenever you can.
4. Get rid of junk food
There are so many reasons to avoid junk food. Most junk foods contain sugars and other additives that make them fun to eat. However, these sugars can cause a huge number of health issues, including diabetes, heart disease, aging and weight loss.
Sugary products provide feel a burst of energy right after you consume them. However, since this energy is in the form of carbohydrates, they are used up by the body very quickly. Once these sugars are used up, the body feels hungry, causing you to eat more and gain weight.
5. Switch to a healthier diet.
Many foods contain high amounts of fat, sodium, nitrates, et cetera. They all have detrimental effects on the human body. For instance, fatty foods can cause cholesterol to build up in the body, leading to heart disease. Therefore, to stay healthy you can change your diet to avoid unhealthy foods.
A healthy diet usually consists of a wide variety of food. Particularly healthy foods include starches, fibers, fruits, vegetables and fish.
6. Watch how many calories you’re taking in.
Eating too much is just as bad as eating unhealthy foods. The body’s daily calorie requirement varies from person to person, but for adults it is usually around 2000 to 2500. Eating too many calories will cause you to gain weight.
You should also avoid having too many snacks outside mealtimes. It is best to eat three square meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You should also drink plenty of water – at least 6-8 glasses a day. If you’re exercising, you should drink even more to avoid dehydration.
7. Set a time aside for exercising regularly
In order to build up a fit and healthy body, one needs to build a regular routine for exercising. If you think “I’ll exercise when I feel like it”, you may start skipping days because you’re engrossed with something else or just “don’t feel like it”. This is really bad for building up the habit of exercising to stay fit. Therefore, by setting aside anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour a day, you can make exercising a habit and a part of your daily schedule.
7. Keep yourself motivated.
People are driven by incentives and motivations. The reason you have decided to start staying healthy and active is your motive. Even simply avoiding possible future health issues is a great motivator. With a busy schedule, it can be difficult to keep up with regular exercising. Other people get tempted by junk food easily. In these cases, it’s important to keep your goal in mind and persevere.
8. Get plenty of rest.
Another part of staying motivated and continuing various activities to stay fit and healthy is getting rest. The body needs time to rest between exercising. It also needs 6 to 8 hours of sleep every night. If you don’t sleep enough, your body will suffer from sleep deprivation. This leads to high blood pressure, heart and kidney issues and loss of mental focus.
None of these are conducive to a fit and healthy body, so be sure to get a good night’s sleep.
9. Buy exercising gear to get serious about it
A lot of exercises can be done by yourself with no equipment. However, in some cases you may need to get equipment. For instance, if you live in the middle of the city with no good places nearby for jogging or running, you could get a treadmill at home. Getting fitness equipment at home also helps keep you motivated. After all, you have spent money on staying active and healthy. There’s no need to let that go to waste.
10. Don’t go at it alone. Join a gym or fitness center
Trying to stay active and healthy but feeling lonely? That’s what gyms and fitness centers are for. You can exercise and stay active alongside other people, and maybe even make a few new friends on the way! These places will also have trainers and exercise gear, saving you from having to buy equipment and providing you the expertise of trainers who can show you exactly what you should do to stay active and healthy.
