How you live your life comes down to the actions you perform. The actions are either actions that help you attain what you want from life or not.
That is the same when it comes to your health and wellbeing.
The clients I have helped over the years who achieve the best long-lasting results are the ones who have consistently implemented the right actions, or what I will call from now on, habits and behaviours.
Where most people fall down when it comes to improving their health and wellbeing, is the inability to do the right things over and over again and, therefore, not making them a habit.
In this blog post, we will look at what are the right habits and behaviours that need to be performed to achieve good levels of health and well-being.
Habit No.1: Perform Some Form Of Physical Activity A Day
Enough evidence shows that moving the body improves overall health and wellbeing on a physical and mental level.
Physical activity can be anything from high-intensity exercise, strength training or moderate-intensity cardiovascular work.
The benefits from performing physical activity can range from increased cardiac output (stronger heart and larger lunges), stronger bones, muscles and ligaments, a more efficient Lymphatic System (the body's way of getting rid of toxins), more oxygen to the brain to help increase mental capacity, reduced stress hormones, to name just a few benefits.
Habit No.2: Only Eat Food In It's Natural State
The most important reason that we eat food is for the nutrients that it provides. The correct type and amount of nutrients are required for the body to function at its optimal best.
The main difference between food in its natural state (organic) and food that is not (non-organic) is that organic food is richer in nutrients than non-organic.
Food that lacks nutrients is less beneficial (less healthy) and requires a high consumption to compensate for the nutrient shortage—causing us to overeat.
Habit No.3: Reduce Your Level Of Stress
Stress is any time your body switches into 'fight or flight' mode. Fight or flight is the body's response to a situation where levels of the hormone cortisol increase, prompting your body to either remove itself from the situation or to physically fight.
In 99% of stressful situations that our modern world throws at us, we are unable to fight or run away from. We just have to deal with it through none physical means. This doesn't allow the body to use the increase in cortisol and ends up storing it as fat around the organs of the body.
Try to avoid stressful situations when you can and if you can't, look for ways to relax as much as you can when you can. This will help reduce levels of cortisol throughout the day.
Habit No.4: Only Eat Carbohydrates From Fruit & Veg
As in Habit 2, the more natural carbohydrates we consume, the more nutrients the body will absorb. After being stripped of their nutrients (either by the digestive system when we eat the food or through food manufacturing when we create the food), all carbohydrates end up being used by the body in the form of the sugar Glucose.
The only carbohydrates with high levels of nutrients and a low glucose effect are fruit or veg in their natural state. All other carbohydrates are lower in nutrients and have a higher effect on Glucose levels.
Higher levels of Glucose lead to higher body fat storage (through increased levels of the hormone Insulin), uneven energy levels (leading to decreased performance levels) and an increased chance of developing Type 2 Diabetes.
Habit No.5: Get 8 Hours of Sleep Every Night
The best way to reduce the negative impact of too much stress on your body's health is to allow it to recover properly.
Countless amount of research has shown that 8 hours of sleep is the optimal amount for the body to recover fully, as it is only during sleep that the body produces high levels of growth hormones. The more growth hormones the body produces, the fewer stress hormones are produced.
Of course, there is more to living a healthy life than the above five habits, but these should form the foundation needed to improve your overall health and well-being.
Struggling to stay consistent. Here are three ways I can help;
1. Finding out what habits you should be doing or stopping is the first step to gaining control over your health, fitness and wellbeing. Take my free 50 & Beyond Health Audit and in 3 easy steps, find out what you should start doing today.
2. The number one reason people fail to improve their health is not consistently sticking to the correct healthy habits. Join one of my free 30-Day Habit Challenges to learn how to maintain good habits and achieve your desired health goals.
3. If you are someone who is looking to make a change to their health today, book a free one-to-one health call and have a chat about what specific and personalised health strategies are right for you.
Chris, myHealthCoach
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