6 Simple Things You Can Do Now to Improve Your Health

It is now easier than ever to let yourself go – there’s tons of easily accessible and cheap junk food and very little need to stay active throughout the day. A poor diet, lack of exercise, sleeping only 4-6 hours a night and great amounts of stress are all contributing to a very poor overall health of the population. Keeping yourself healthy and in reasonable shape is a lifelong struggle, but there are some simple ways of achieving this goal. Let’s look at some of the things you can do right now to get started on the path to becoming a healthier and happier individual.

Step 1: Get Tests Done to Determine Your Current Health and Fitness Levels

It is important to understand the state that your body is in before committing yourself to any kind of major diet change or exercise regime. All it takes is a trip to a Walk-In lab and you can get tested for allergies, test your hormone levels and your heart health. This will help you decide on the right type of training going forward – e.g. if you have a weak heart you shouldn't be running sprints, and you want to stay clear of foods that will irritate you or cause an allergic reaction.

Step 2: Cut Out Trans-fat and Avoid Fried Food

Trans-fat is the worst kind of fat that has been linked to a variety of health issues and should definitely avoided in your diet. Try to use olive and flaxseed oil, and eat nuts which contain healthy fats. Butter is alright in small amounts, but you should try to avoid deep-frying food or soaking it in vegetable oil in a frying pan – try baking or boiling food instead.

Step 3: Start Incorporating Fruit and Vegetables Into Your Meals

Fruit and vegetables contain all kinds of minerals and vitamins that the body needs, as well as insoluble fiber which helps regulate the digestive system and slow down absorption of sugars by the body. You should have a generous serving of different types of salads with every meal, and you can have a bit of fruit as dessert. Try and mix it up – a simple way of ensuring variety in your diet is to mix and match different colored fruits and veggies throughout the week.

Step 4: Start Running or Do a Similar Aerobic Activity for 15-20 Minutes a Day

When you think about it, some 15-20 minutes really isn't a lot of time – you can easily run late for a meeting for just as long if not longer when you get caught up in small mundane chores. It only takes about 5 minutes to slip into an old shirt and sweat pants and out on your running shoes, then another 15-20 minutes of running and 10-15 minutes to catch your breath and shower. When all is said and done you can go for a decent run, rest and be ready to do something else in about 40-45 minutes, even if you can run for quite a bit and take a long time to shower afterward.

Step 5: Do Some Form of Resistance Training at Least Twice a Week

Heart health and endurance will be significantly improved with running and aerobic exercises, but you will need to train your muscles with a good amount of resistance if they are to grow and allow you to reap a number of health benefits that come with having well-developed muscles. You will need to do several major exercises to ensure that you are working all the muscles sufficiently, but this can be done with about 2 whole-body workouts a week – which takes 45-60 minutes of your time and is something even the busiest of us can fit into their schedule.

Step 6: Ensure You Get a Full 8-9 Hours of Sleep Per Night

The last, but not the least, sleep. Try and avoid staying up late playing around on your computer or satring at your phone. Instead, turn off the lights and hit the hay a bit earlier so that you can get enough sleep to allow your body to rest, recover and regenerate.

With these few simple steps, you can definitely be able to get yourself in good shape, as long as you stick with the habits you develop in the long run.