Month: October 2024
8 Tips for Reaching Your Health and Wellness Goals
Are you ready to embark on a journey towards a happier and healthier you? Achieving your health and wellness goals doesn’t have to be such a pain. By implementing practical strategies and making sustainable lifestyle changes, you can transform the way you live. Whether you’re aiming to shed a few pounds, boost your energy levels, reduce stress, or simply improve your overall quality of life, this article will help you with all the right tools and knowledge you need to succeed.
From setting realistic goals and creating a supportive environment to nourishing your body with healthy food and engaging in regular physical activity, we’ll discuss every aspect of your health and wellness journey.
- Set SMART goals
Before diving right in, it’s important to define your goals clearly so you know what actions to take. Set Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) goals to keep yourself focused and motivated. Break down large goals into smaller, more manageable steps to avoid feeling overwhelmed and abandoning your journey.
- Find your ‘why’
Understanding your motivation behind pursuing a healthier lifestyle is also important. Identifying your ‘why’ will help you stay committed, especially during the most difficult times. Whether it’s improving your health, boosting your self-esteem, or trying out a new hobby or skills, having a clear reason will fuel your determination.
- Create a supportive environment
Make sure you surround yourself with people who encourage and support your health and wellness journey. Share your goals with friends or family to keep yourself accountable. Consider joining clubs, classes, or an online community with like-minded people who can offer you advice, support, and motivation in the long run.
- Don’t take life too seriously
Learn to loosen up and have fun! Taking life seriously may add to your mountain of stress, so just shake things off and keep yourself entertained every now and then. Look for something new to try, like playing online games or casinos. Search for the best online casinos and try your luck! Just remember to set a budget beforehand so you don’t go overboard. Alternatively, you can enroll in cooking or baking classes, learn pottery, join a book club, try a new workout routine, or have regular pamper dates all by yourself to keep your overall well-being intact.
- Prioritize sleep
Getting enough sleep is essential for better physical and mental health. Aim to have at least 7–9 hours of good sleep each night to allow your body to rest and recharge. COmmit to a consistent sleep schedule, create a relaxing bedtime routine, and design your space to help you get a restful night’s sleep.
- Nourish your body
Fuel your body with nutrient-dense foods. Prioritize eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats to keep your body energized. Learn to prepare your meals more often than ordering fast food to have full control over ingredients and portion sizes. Lastly, stay hydrated! Drinking plenty of water helps keep you energized throughout the day.
- Move your body regularly
Make sure to incorporate at least 30 minutes of physical activity into your daily routine. Find activities that you will enjoy such as walking, running, playing badminton, doing pilates, dancing, or yoga.
- Limit screen time
We all know it’s hard to stay away from our phones, especially in today’s digital world. But excessive screen time is proven to disrupt sleep patterns, increase stress and anxiety, and lead to sedentary behavior. Make sure to set limits to your screen time, especially before sleeping. Take regular breaks from your devices to rest your eyes and mind.
Wrapping Up
By following these tips and staying committed to your goals, you’ll be well on your way to unlocking your full potential and experiencing the transformative power of a healthier lifestyle. Remember, small steps are better than nothing at all. So, start today and embrace your journey towards a happier and healthier you!
5 Things Walking Can Do For You
If you have PCOS, or if you’re anxious or need to blow off steam, there are a lot of things that run through your mind about what to do. Being in a mental funk is tough. It also gets worse when you’re also suffering from a metabolic disease with a lot of crappy other symptoms to boot.
However, small things can help manage mental funks and PCOS—and they work with additional steps like self-care, self-acceptance, and eating well. Of course, it is exercise!
Walking, to be specific, is a low-intensity exercise that can help you deal with anxiety and PCOS and is a great way to get active.
In this article, we’ll list what it can do for you!
Boost the Mood
You can walk to boost your mood when feeling down or in a funk. Research shows that even ten minutes of walking can improve your mood. If you do it in some greenery, you may reap more benefits!
The odds of mood improvement with walking are high and even better than the usual NBA odds. Just like how betting on NBA odds has historically helped people get into a better mood because of its high in relation to gambling, it’s the same for walking and its effect on people, except this is a healthier way to feel good. We say this because studies back it up. According to Dr. Melina B. Jampolis, M.D., author of The Doctor on Demand Diet, sunlight can help as regular walking can change how your nervous system is wired and even decrease anger and hostility. During the colder months, it’s best to do this, too, because it is when seasonal depression is on high, and it helps boost the mood.
Aerobic Activity
If you walk a lot faster and more frequently, you can access more of its benefits. Although you will start walking on average, you can work your way up quicker and end up walking a lot more. I started out walking 3000 steps as per the advice of my PCOS dietician.
After that, I raised it to 5000, and then it became 6000, but my tracking then got to at least
6200-6500, and then sometimes I’d hit 7000 above. When I’m outside, though, sometimes I can hit as high as 15000 steps. It’s a beautiful activity for aerobics and increasing personal endurance.
Better Heart Health
Walking helps reduce one’s blood pressure – a vast improvement to one’s heart health. According to research, for 1000 daily steps, your systolic blood pressure lowers by .45 points. That’s how powerful walking is!
As said in The New England Journal of Medicine, those who walked enough to meet the physical activity guidelines had fewer chances of developing cardiovascular conditions than those who did not walk regularly.
Incorporate Physical Activity Into Your Life
You don’t need to walk a thousand steps all at once. Instead, you can do small bouts (ten minutes) three times and go for longer sessions. For weight loss, the period needs to last more than 30 minutes. To improve, you need to keep upping your activity level.
We suggest:
- Taking the stairs
- Walk nearby
- Take a stroll with the dog
- Doing errands
With this becoming a habit, weight loss will be achieved easily. If you have underlying conditions such as prediabetes and PCOS, you also need to alter your diet so that it can effectively support weight loss.
Sleep Quality Becomes Better
If you use melatonin, added physical activity improves your quality of sleep. Those who walk daily have experienced the added effects of walking in their sleep through reduced stress and pain.
Wrapping Up
Walking is a great boon in many ways. The majority of its benefits are related to health – and some to mental health. It goes a long way. However, if done regularly, you can get more boons from walking.