Healthy living isn’t a luxury reserved for the fitness experts. Anybody can take steps towards looking after themselves better, and it doesn’t require a strenuous daily workout at the gym or a crash diet. Adopting a healthy lifestyle is about adopting a consistent routine that centers around taking care of your body and mind.
Think of maintaining your health in the same way as maintaining your car or your smartphone. You need to keep it running on a frequent basis but you shouldn’t overexert it if you want to avoid damage.
Oh, and regular check-ups are a smart idea for physical and mental health. Here are some ways in which you could better maintain yourself if you want to embrace healthy living.
Healthy living: Keep your body active
The first and most simple step to better maintain yourself is to keep your body active. Again, this doesn’t mean overexerting yourself. If you don’t like hitting the gym for hours at a time then that’s fine. All that matters is you find some way to keep your body active to some degree every day.
Physical activity is about more than helping you lose weight or keep in shape, although both of those things are important to maintain good health. Keeping your body active is important because it keeps your heart healthy, reducing the risk of heart disease and other illnesses in the future.
It also does a lot to keep your mind alert, happy, and active. It can help to reduce depression, anxiety, and stress, meaning that you’ll feel more motivated to exercise in the future once you take that initial plunge and just start.
If you’re struggling to find a form of exercise that works for you then think outside the box. If you hate the gym then you should try a style of exercising that’s a little more sociable and fun. Group sports might be a good option for you.
Of course, if the opposite is the case and you’ve never been into sports then you might want to try the gym instead. There’s jogging too. You could head to your local park and turn a pleasant scenic environment into your daily exercise routine. You can also try cycling and use the appropriate performance-measuring tools if you want to make this a serious, full-time hobby.
Even a brisk walk can make a huge difference and help to keep your body active. Set yourself a goal of hitting 10,000 steps a day. Soon you’ll see positive changes in stamina and general mental health. Healthy living, yes, that’s what you’re doing!
Healthy living also involves keeping your home clean, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Cleaning frequently touched surfaces is one of the best hacks.
Visit your doctor regularly
This is something that most of us don’t do often enough. If you want to maintain your health then you need to put more effort into seeing your GP regularly. It’s not something to reserve for serious medical problems. Seeing your doctor on a more frequent basis is important to prevent problems from developing in the future. Not all health problems are immediately noticeable.
Of course, not everybody can visit their local GP as quickly or as easily as they want to. You might want to look into home health care services because there are options in this digital era to contact your doctor using nothing more than a tablet and an Internet connection. There are so many different medical services and options in the modern age; there’s really no excuse to avoid getting a check-up, whether you’re experiencing health problems or not.
Check your mental health
A final but crucial point for healthy living is to check your mental health frequently. This is something you should check every day by taking a few minutes to close your eyes, switch off from the world, and reflect on your thoughts.
Living healthily is all about emotional stability, so eating well and exercising frequently isn’t enough. You need to focus on your breathing and your body from time to time; switch off all the noise in your life and ask yourself whether you’re okay.
If you think you’re experiencing anxiety, stress, depression or another mental problem, don’t sweep your mental struggles under the rug. This statement is true whether it’s a new mental health issue or you’ve always suffered in this area.
It’s important to make your mental health as much of a priority as physical health. Look to your sleeping pattern first. In the majority of cases, mental health problems start with sleep deprivation. Make sure you’re not only getting 8 hours of sleep but 8 hours of quality sleep; even a more comfortable mattress can change the way you feel when you wake up each morning.
Great post! Especially that last tip. Most articles about wellness and health don’t even broach the subject of mental health and how it is very essential to our general fitness.
Very interesting read!
These are helpful tips, good reminders!
Glad to hear it, Wendy :)
Very helpful ❤
Great to hear!
Great points. We have to be watchful and notice the alarming signs.
Exactly! Wonderful to see you, Inese :)
Again such a great post on health and fitness, Christy. Agree with you that maintaining yourself has to be done on different levels. While balance is hard to achieve, we can always try to live a better life by the choices that we make consistently, regularly. For the longest time I grew up in a culture that prided on eating rice every day and that going to the doctor was only meant for when you are sick. Having been an adult for a while know, I realise that rice doesn’t always bode well with my body (and carbs and sugar), and going for therapy for my anxiety had a big impact on my life. Mental health is so important, and my therapist taught me that it’s important to have something to look forward to – and for me, that is writing and blogging and having some good tunes to listen to :) Amazing writing as always and sending you a big hug from across the miles <3
Mabel, I love your comments! Your reaching out for anxiety support is wonderful to hear – and I know you are only going to benefit from the therapy. As for what you say about balance, you’re quite right that it’s not easy to achieve for any of us, even those who make it seem simple to do. Many hugs, I feel your hugs and adore them!! <3
Wonderful advice here dear Christy.. And since my retirement I noticed that I need to make myself exercise more.. While I do gardening.. Its amazing how when you sit for long periods in front of a computer screen or with my knitting.. How quickly your muscles cease up.. And lose their power..
So a month ago I started again some Rumba exercises and small weight lifting for my arm muscles.. While I ached to begin with, I am slowing building up muscle strength again..
Sending Love and Hugs my friend xx <3
That’s wonderful about your gaining muscle mass, Sue! I love hearing about your fitness journey, in addition to your gardening and other pursuits. A well-rounded lifestyle is reason to smile :)
Some days better than others LOL ;-) haha.. so it may not always be so well rounded than a little square at times haha.. xxx
I have gained such a lot of weight in the past few months – stress and comfort eating. I seriously need to remember these tips, and just get my routine and mental state in order. Deep breaths!
Breathe deeply and know it takes time… I’m here to support you, dear friend :) Love you!
I’ve missed your health posts, Christy. This one is a good reminder for me to get back into my daily exercise routine after being on hiatus for 7 weeks. Going to fire up the treadmill :) ♥
Woohoo you’ll be hitting the treadmill and I’ll be off to the dance floor soon ~ Let’s get our workout on, Tin! Wonderful to see your smiling face here again <3
Aw, thanks, girlfriend! ♥
Good points Christy…
Physical health….still riding my bike
Mental health….still work in progress
You’re on the right track, Pete ~ Keep at it :) So glad you stop by here xx
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I have nominated you for The Unique Blogger Award. :)
Your tips are perfect Christy…eating healthy food, exercising and sleeping well are the three basic requirements of keeping the physical and mental balance. :)
Great post Christy, a spot on for Virtual Assistants like me who are so busy working from home that health looses it’s priority and health issues begin. A good reminder to start my daily dose of check ups and exercise. :) Had to share the post
So glad you find it relevant, Ayesha! Thank you for sharing the post too :)
On point as always ❣❣
Waving! Happy weekend, Jyo <3
Great health-related articles,dear Christy.We all roughly know about what is good or bad for us,but it’s wonderful to have a good source of constant information and learn more things.My ancestors strongly supported the maxim “νοῦς ὑγιής ἐν σώματι ὑγιεῖ ” – “(a) healthy mind in a healthy body”.Thank you for sharing with us this wonderful series,my friend :)
I suppose you could look at these as little “reminders for the day” Doda! I like what your ancestors said – so nice you shared it with us :)
Make sure that your articles sensitise us,they daily contribute to our well-being.Keep going dear friend Christy :) xxx
So nice to have your support, Doda! xo
You’ll always have it … :) xxx
Glad you mentioned that the ‘mental’ us is just as important as the ‘physical’ for us. But it’s interesting how a brisk walk can help a person in the doldrums suddenly see the joy in the color of the trees and the smile of a child. Walking, helping others, eating our veggies, and BREATHING are all great benefits to mind body and soul. Love your posts, Christy.
Oh yes, I love how you describe the benefits of walking, Pam! :) :)
Walking has ‘saved my soul’ many times. ;-) xo
Awww, I just went for a walk today and am now reading your lovely comment :) Have a nice weekend, Pam!
Wonderful post Christy,
in healthy body, healthy spirit , right !
Yes!! Thanks for the cheerful comment, Ben :)
The “sleep” part popped out at me, Christy. I miss “sleeping like a baby” but those days have been long gone for several years. I usually sleep for a solid four then toss and turn until it’s time to get up – and that’s if I fall asleep right away. So, no, I don’t sleep well anymore and it’s all hormonal, so I’m riding it through until it passes. Luckily, I work part-time right now, so I don’t have to get up super early for work. If I did, I’d probably need more coffee. :)
I’m glad you’ve been able to get by on that little sleep, Lauren, but hopefully soon you will manage to get 7 hours of sleep… I can just imagine you awaking so well-rested with a smile :) I’d love it if one day you tell me you’ve done exactly that!
I would love very much to tell you that, Christy, but I don’t see it happening anytime soon. I’ll keep you posted though. :)
Thank you for the reminder of exercise- don’t want to do it, but have to, now ;)🏃🏻♀️🏃🏃🏻♀️🏃
Awwww ~ For exercise, I love how I feel after it’s done. A sort of exhilarated feeling. Maybe you just haven’t found a fun way to work out… yet ;) I like dancing the best!
What gym class is dancing ? That’s what I would love ❤️
Ohhh just saw this comment know! Have you tried zumba? Or dance lessons, such as salsa? These are both great examples of dancing + exercise <3
All of your points are right on, Christy! However, it takes the you, the me, the they, the us and more. Your tips are great, and I.. we all are advised to adhere.