Forget Fad Diets: How to Change Your Lifestyle and Your Health

Now summer is here and trips to the beach might be booked, a lot of us might be thinking of ways to lose some weight. We want to feel happier in ourselves and be healthier. There is certainly a lot more flesh on show in summer! But the thing is, fad diets aren’t the way to do it. How often has the weight just piled back on, as soon as you start eating normally again? The key to being healthy and then staying healthy is changing your habits. This will then change how you do things in everyday life. These form new habits, and you will be on the way to a healthier life. So what are some of those things that we should be working on and changing?

Moving More
Moving more is key to being able to have a healthier life. How many of us drive to places that are walking distance? Do you choose to take a lift when you don’t need to? Moving more in our everyday life will make a big difference in our health and lifestyle over time. Getting something like a step counter is a great way to monitor how much you do. There are apps that monitor your activity levels too. You might be surprised how little you do when it is counted! You should aim for around 10,000 steps per day. 

Start a Regular Exercise Regime
It is a good idea to include an exercise regime in your daily life too, alongside just being more active. If you don’t already, it might feel like a daunting task. You might lack motivation and need a bit of guidance getting into exercise. So I’d recommend getting an excellent personal trainer to start with. They will show you what to do and get you achieving your goals. They will be with you every step of the way. A personal trainer is also fantastic if you've been out of action for a long time, maybe after injuring yourself, they can pick up on things that you might not even notice and stop an injury from happening in the first place.

Cut out Certain Foods
I think that life is a little too short to cut out everything that you like; if you are exercising, then everything should be allowed in moderation. If you have certain foods that you overindulge in, then it might be a good idea to cut them down, though. You might have a bag of crisps every day or always buy a big bar of chocolate at the petrol station. Things like that can be cut out of your diet. Fill your diet instead with whole, filling, and unprocessed foods. For example, I adore pasta..I could write an entire post on just my love of pasta, I'm not kidding. But I make it possible to eat pasta as often as I like by making sure I don't cover it with fattening sauces, or overloading on cheese (so difficult) and instead try to incorporate as many veggies as possible! 

Meditation
Something like meditation or yoga is a great way to stay focused in life. A healthy mind can lead to a healthy body. It allows you time to think about your goals and how you want to achieve them. It can be a nice time to be by yourself and evaluate things in your life. People that do this regularly are much happier and positive than those that don’t. The key to changing your life is evaluating things and making changes. As well as being positive and focused.  I've taken the step this year to really commit to yoga, so now every single morning I spend at least 10 minutes (usually more) just stretching and taking the time to wake my body up properly, rather than just shocking it into action with a dose of caffeine! 

So that's just a few ways you can make a real, lasting change in your life and how to hopefully feel (and look) better for it. Remember, make sure everything you do, you do for you. 

Do you have any other tips or advice for a healthier lifestyle? Drop me a comment, I'd love to hear them!

Stay safe, x

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