Whether you want to make a few tweaks to your lifestyle or a variety of significant changes, you should read as much as you can on the subject and get ideas of how you can implement these suggestions into your life. You might want to know exactly what it is you wish to achieve in the new year, and starting with improving your health is paramount to ensure you have the energy and the means to achieve your health goals. The new year brings with it hope for a better you, a healthier you, a more active you.
It’s not often one thing alone that changes how you feel; it’s a culmination of small things that have a large impact when grouped, like changing your diet, beginning a new hobby, getting more sleep and drinking more water. Sometimes all you need is a little push in the right direction, and you’re on your way to further self-discovery and improved health, fitness and happiness. Lifestyle hacks can make your life simpler when all you need is to be shown a new way of approaching things.
Finding the Diet That Works for You
Diets are age-old, and no one diet works for everyone. Try different diets until you unearth the one that really works for you. You may feel like you’ve tried all the diets out there, and while you may have had success with some, you don’t feel like there’s one that suits you entirely. This is perfectly normal. It can take a combination of a few diets to help you in the end. For example, you can combine the elements of three or four diets before you unlock what helps you lose pounds and keeps you feeling positive about your journey to becoming fitter, healthier and content with your body.
Try not to be so hard on yourself if it takes longer to see results than you hoped – just be sure to be making healthier decisions wherever possible, like having water instead of sugary fruit juice and choosing vegetables over higher calorie foods like cheese. Avoid empty carbs like pasta and white bread; white bread features next to nothing in the way of nutritional content. You should try to pick complex carbs instead, go for wholemeal bread over white.
Get More Good Fats in Your Diet
It’s not always possible to banish one food completely. It’s easier to avoid foods that we know are bad for our bodies and are easily recognisable in our meals. You may know what to avoid, but some foods should be introduced into your diet plan for improved health and general wellbeing. Try to increase your intake of good fats. These are found in avocados and nuts and seeds while limiting trans-fats and saturated fats.
Coconut oil is an example of an MCT, which is a type of fat that is absorbed far more quickly than others. MCT’s are efficiently burned, which in turn means your body will be far less likely to store the energy from them as stubborn body fat. This allows you to lose the weight you need to during your diet. Calories consumed by eating fats from MCT’s are almost always exclusively burned. KetoMCT can be taken on the go when you’re in need of quick energy, like times when you might out walking and hiking for the day, or if you’re otherwise struggling to introduce these fats into your diet.
Get More Exercise
Whether you’re running, jogging, walking or swimming; it all helps. When we exercise our body needs energy, and it needs it fast. We burn fats through the process of metabolisms, such as aerobic metabolism, otherwise known as exercise, or physical exertion.
Plain and simple; if the calories you’ve consumed are not completely used, then they are instead stored as body fat. Incorporating more exercise into your day is simple – walk instead of taking the car on short journeys and go for a stroll in the evening if only to take the dog out for a walk or to see the sunset from a nearby field or open space. Swimming is a great low impact exercise if you’re concerned about the impact of the heavy activity on your joints.
Don’t Overanalyse
As long as you’re working towards your goals and seeing results, then you’re doing what works for you. Preoccupying yourself worrying about what the scales say isn’t a conducive way to spend your time. Muscle weighs more than fat, so don’t get overly obsessed with what the bathroom scales are telling you. If you’ve been busy shifting fat but gaining muscle, you should be congratulating yourself.
Consider using a tape measure and measuring the circumference of your stomach and arms to get more of an accurate reading of your progress. Better still, get weighed and measured using the technology at your gym.
Get to Bed a Little Earlier
Early to bed and early to rise. Having a poor night sleep can impact our lives more so than we think. During sleep, our cells can repair themselves, and we give our minds the rest it requires to keep our bodies working to optimum function. Think seriously about getting a new mattress if you’re experiencing back pain or in the morning. You should try to get a good long rest on a comfortable mattress, even if this means you retire to bed an hour earlier than you usually would.
Try to relax your brain before initially getting into bed, for example reading for half an hour can calm your mind before you settle down to sleep. Consider putting your phone down and away from you too before bed as the action of being on your phone stimulates your eyes and brain. It’s vital that you get more sleep to feel more energised.
Don’t Be Too Hard on Yourself
The key to dieting and keeping weight off is consistency, and the best way to ensure you keep going on a diet is to enjoy it. Try to start slowly; if you set unachievable goals and targets for yourself, you’ll be disappointed when you don’t make them, and this will have a knock-on effect on your confidence and you could see your goals crash around you. Start small and go from there, watch your body and your confidence grow in time.
