For those who know me well, you will know I am very unhealthy. I used to eat a lot of bad food and hardly exercise. However, after years of doing this and hating the way I look, I am finally taking strong action and trying to live a better lifestyle. These tips are what I personally find are helpful. I am not a health expert and don't claim to have the perfect lifestyle but after a few weeks of slowly changing the way I live I thought I would share my tips for anyone else trying to live better.
Number 1: The transition. If you want to change the way you eat, exercise and live in general make the transition slowly. Don't change your diet straight away because this can make your body come out in spots, make you feel ill due to the dramatic change in sugar and fat intake and make you overly tired. I slowly introduced healthy snacks, cut down my meal sizes and decreased the amount of caffeine in my diet. After doing this for a few weeks I am now at the stage where all I drink is water and the occasional squash, eat fruit every day, all junk food is cut out and my portions are marginally smaller.
Number 2: Drinking water. I think it's basic knowledge that you drinking water is good for you in more ways than one. I have found that drinking between a litre and two liters of water a day has become very beneficial. I have seen less spots, my skin doesn't get dry and I hardly ever have a headache which I used to suffer with a lot. Water is very important when exercise is brought into your lifestyle, I try to do between 1-3 hours of exercise every day and that amount of exercise requires a lot of water to be consumed. When you exercise you sweat out so much liquid that it must be replaced otherwise you can become extremely dehydrated which i experienced during the first week of the gym.
Number 3: Exercise. Not only do I want to lead a healthy lifestyle but I am also trying to loose a significant amount of weight. In order to do this I have been doing between 1-3 hours of exercise 5 days a week. Exercise is great for making you feel better within your body and help with your self-confidence. Exercise is also great if you don’t want to loose weight because it allows you to sleep better at night and helps with keeping your organs healthy and your body’s fat percentage down.
Number 4: Friends. Linking with the exercise issue, having a gym buddy or a friend who will go on the healthy lifestyle with you can become very beneficial. I have two flat mates who are eating healthily along side me, allowing me to not fall into the temptations of chocolate and bad foods. Having this support is great because even on days when you don't feel great they are there for support, watching a film with your friends or going for a walk are better than sitting in your room along eating Ben and Jerry’s with Netflix (Even though that sounds incredible). Also somebody to go to the gym with or go for a run with is better than doing it alone as they can push you to do more than you would on your own. I have found having a gym buddy amazing as I feel more determined to go to the gym, I also feel less self conscious in the gym as I am with somebody who I can talk to and not feel in superior to those in better shape than I.
Number 5: Don't over do it. The reason I only do 5 days a week worth of exercise is because doing it every day can put a lot of pressure on your body and can cause damage. Make sure that when you exercise you don't push yourself to the point where you are hurting yourself or making yourself ache for days. I always have two days off once mid-week and the other on a Sunday allowing my muscles to relax. The term 'Cheat-day' I thrown around a lot and although I agreed having one day off a week is great, especially when hung-over, make sure you don't over do it. A cheat day is there so we can enjoy the foods we don't normally indulge in during the week but don't go crazy having an abundance of calories because it will diminish all the calories you've cut out on during the week. I usually just have one cheat meal.
Number 6: Keeping track. Keeping a diary or a food log is great when trying to loose weight and live healthier as you can track how your change is working. I know that keeping a diary for me is amazing because I can keep track of ho much I am eating, how much I am drinking and how much weight I am loosing. There is no point changing your lifestyle if it isn't benefitting you, so keeping track of how it is working allows you to see if this is the way forward or if more changes are needed. Now I’m not saying count calories because even I can't be bothered to do that but just keep track of what you are eating, drinking, snacking on and the amount of exercise being done. I have also found whilst loosing weight that taking photographs of your body during the weight loss process allows you to visually see the difference in yourself.
Number 7: Be Busy. One thing I have noticed was that when I was living unhealthily I was shoveling food mainly because I was bored not because I was hungry. So keep busy, revise, go for a walk, get a hobby just do anything to keep your mind off when the next meal is going to be. Don't boredom eat because that is when the convenience food comes into play. You will be bored but instead of cooking a meal or making a salad you'll reach for the nearest chocolate bar or packet of crisps.
Number 8: Food. Try and be in control of what you have in your fridge and cupboards. It has become so much easier to be healthy since moving to University because I have to do my own food shop so I am in control of what I am able to eat. If I do become bored and want chocolate or crisps I would have to walk to the nearest shop to get it which means I probably won't go get it. Keeping fruit, nuts and oats in the fridge is great because if the boredom does strike you can eat them and not feel bad about it later in the day. Take control of your diet.
Number 9: Structure. Having a structure to your life can be great such as having a max time in which you can sleep in till, what times you have meals, when you do exercise, when to do work. Doing this allows your day to run more smoothly and give your body a clock in which it can sync itself too. Having a routine can be beneficial such as I always do my exercise dvd's before I get ready in the morning so that I am not having to shower multiple times in the day. Having set times for meals allows my body to get used to knowing when I am going to eat, meaning I don't get hungry randomly in the day and eat more than I should. Keeping a routine just allows your body and your brain in sync with the day ahead.
Number 10: Enjoy yourself. Although I am pushing myself to be healthy and loose a lot of weight quickly, I am making sure that I am enjoying myself. There is no point living miserably just to be healthier or loose weight because the whole point of a healthier lifestyle is to be a happier person within you. That's why I think having a friend tae the journey with you is better than doing it alone; it becomes fun rather than a task.
Hope these are helpful to anyone trying to change his or her lifestyle or loose weight. Again I don't claim to be a health expert or know what I am talking about I am just going by my own experiences. Thanks x