4 Ways to Put Health and Well-Being First

4 Ways to Put Health and Well-Being First

When life gets hectic and there are other things to worry about like taking care of children and getting work done, it can be easy to lose sight of the importance of looking after yourself. Often, we take our health for granted. If you’re keen to start putting your health first, here are some steps you can take to make your health and well-being a priority.

Move More

Inactivity is one of the most significant risk factors for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some forms of cancer. Living an active lifestyle offers benefits for both physical and mental health. If you don’t hit the weekly target of 150 minutes of moderate exercise, it’s a good idea to try and increase your activity levels. You don’t have to join a gym or spend hours running around the park or lifting weights to get fitter and reap the rewards of regular exercise. You can try all kinds of activities, from golf, tennis, swimming and cycling to dancing, climbing, kayaking, hiking and home workouts. If you’re new to exercise, try and build up your fitness gradually, increasing the duration or the intensity of your sessions as you get stronger.

Have fun with exercise, get friends and family involved and try and make physical activity part of your daily routine. If you don’t feel confident joining an exercise class or going to the gym, you can follow online workouts at home, invest in home gym equipment, or tune into virtual training sessions. As well as making a concerted effort to exercise more, you can also make simple changes to your everyday life, including walking or cycling instead of taking the car out and using the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.

Watch What You Eat

Your diet is crucial for optimum health and well-being. We tend to get carried away talking about our diet in relation to weight loss, but the numbers on the scale are not the only outcome of planning menus and deciding what to eat every day. The most important concern should always be nutrition, as your body is reliant on the food you consume to provide essential nutrients. When you draw up a shopping list, or you think about what you’re going to eat in the coming days, prioritize nutrition. Make sure your diet is healthy and balanced. Aim to eat plenty of different types of fruit and vegetables, cut down on processed, fatty foods, increase your fiber intake and try to stick to main meals. If you tend to live on takeouts, or you eat on the go, and you often rely on snacking, make meals in advance. You can batch cook at the weekends and prepare lunches the night before work.

If you are considering making changes to your diet to try and lose weight, it’s critical to seek medical advice and to take great care when looking at diets and eating plans. If you’ve been looking at juice fasting tips, or you’ve read about celebrity diets or new fads and trends, it’s wise to get a professional opinion. In many cases, fad diets can lead to significant, swift weight loss, but the results are unsustainable, and the diet isn’t healthy. Cutting out food groups can also make you experience cravings. The best way to lose weight safely if you want to drop a couple of pounds is to adopt a healthy, balanced diet and increase your activity levels. These are long-term changes, which will benefit you for years to come.

Understand The Importance of Mental Health

If somebody said the word ‘health’ to you, what kinds of images or phrases would pop into your head? For many of us, it would be images of running or tucking into a fruit salad. We tend to automatically think about physical health, but mental well-being is equally important. Mental health should be a priority for everyone. Just as you can take steps to protect and nourish your body, you can also adopt preventative measures to shield and boost your mental health.

Try to reduce and manage stress, take time out to recover and rest, exercise frequently, make sure you get enough sleep, and surround yourself with people who have a positive influence on you. If you have a hectic lifestyle, or you struggle to unwind or switch off, it’s also beneficial to devote time to hobbies and interests. Creative activities can be particularly cathartic if you have difficulty expressing or managing emotions, or you find it hard to wind down. It’s also crucial to understand that there is help out there for mental health conditions in the same way that treatments and therapies are available for physiological illnesses and injuries.

Get Enough Rest

In the US, around 70% of adults don’t get enough sleep. Most of us can cope with the odd restless night, but if you experience sleep troubles on a regular or an ongoing basis, it can take its toll on your health and your mood. Sleep is vital for enabling the body to heal, rest, and recover. If you don’t get enough sleep, you may be more susceptible to illnesses and infections, you might feel irritable or emotional, your performance at work might suffer, and you may also be more prone to anxiety and stress. One of the simplest and most effective ways to improve your sleep quality is to adjust your routine. Spend part of your evening doing something you find relaxing, set times for going to bed and getting up and avoid checking emails or scrolling through social media feeds late at night. If you get into the habit of going to bed at 11pm and getting up at 6am, for example, your body clock will soon adapt and you should find it easier to get to sleep.

Many of us feel like we’re juggling a lot of balls at the same time. If you’re working, you’ve got kids, you care for relatives, or you’re studying, it can be difficult to ensure your health comes first. The reality is that taking your health for granted can be hazardous. It’s not possible to prevent every illness, but there are steps you can take to look after yourself and reduce the risk of developing health problems. Make time for physical activity, ensure your diet is balanced and nutritious, prioritize your mental well-being and make sure you get enough rest to allow your body to recover and heal.

How to Build New Habits

How to Build New Habits

Have you struggled to kick bad habits and build healthier habits in their place? If so, chances are you may have blamed this on a lack of willpower and felt like a failure when you didn’t break a bad habit or successfully build a new one into your life.

You may be tackling it from a less than ideal perspective. What if you approached it differently with a new angle?

To break bad habits and build healthier new ones, it’s helpful to understand how habits work. Habits are not formed instantaneously. They require thoughtful, inspired action to make them stick and become a natural outgrowth of your life. Did you know it can take up to 21 days of doing something before it can be established as a habit you do automatically?

Start Small

Don’t dive in thinking you can do amazing things from day one. Chances are it will be a tough task to do. Start with something small and see how you get on. Once you’ve successfully created one new habit, then build your way to other, more significant, patterns you want to establish.

Motivation

Motivation comes in different forms to different people. Some like the feel of constant congratulatory recognition from others and thrive off the positive feedback. Others may prefer to keep it personal and track their new habits in more discreet ways. Do whatever works for you.

Share on your social media accounts to keep yourself accountable and have others as your witness. Keep a record or a journal of the changes you are making, how you feel day to day, and what has made things easier or harder each day. This will give you an indication of when you form the habit and don’t have to keep reminding yourself to do it.

A visual habit tracker that is clearly visible in your home or workspace could be an extra incentive to hit those targets and build those new habits. Fill it in each day to see how well you are getting much in the same way as a child’s reward chart. Or even use an app on your phone to help you stay on track to hit your target. There are many apps available these days to help you do this.

Build On Small Steps

Once you have the small details in place, the more significant steps will naturally fall in line. Let’s take exercise. You started small by adding a 15 minute walk in your local neighborhood five times a week. Once you have formed this habit and are making good progress with it, then look at adding slightly longer walks once or twice a week or one workout class.

Use this method to form all of your habits no matter what they are and set yourself up for success by creating the lasting foundations for sticking to better habits. Doing it this way will enable you to break down your goals until they are in more manageable chunks and more natural to accomplish.

How to Take Care of Your Health

How to Take Care of Your Health

You know how important your health is. It’s your lifeline. Yet, for some reason, some of us still don’t take the necessary steps to look after it. It’s our lifeline, so we should want to do everything possible to keep it in good shape. Where does one start? It can be overwhelming, right? Some of us simply might not know what kinds of things we should be doing. If this is the case for you, then you’re in the right place! Below, let’s look at some of the ways that you can stay healthy.

Always Seek Medical Help

You should always seek medical help if you think that there’s something wrong and you need advice as to what you should be doing. Medical help is there for this exact reason. Failing to get medical help could put you in a dire situation that could get worse over time. Perhaps the medical professional will find nothing. Great because peace of mind is the great jewel of life.

If there’s something wrong, you can get ahead of it. Ignorance isn’t bliss in the face of a medical issue. With ignorance, there’s nothing that can be done. The people you’re going to see have trained extensively to be able to provide you with the best possible advice and care. Isn’t it better to make use of that?

Follow Any Necessary Treatments

If you do have a medical issue that needs attention, follow any necessary treatments. For example, if you have an infection and you’ve been given antibiotics, make sure that you take the whole course. It’s not going to do you any good to just take half, feel better, and then stop. You were given that amount for a reason, so finish taking it to get the best results. If you don’t, then you’re probably going to have the same kind of infection in a couple of weeks or months, or worse become resistant to the antibiotic.

Another example, perhaps that you’re looking into hearing loss recovery and you’re going to be using hearing aids. Sometimes these take a while to adjust to, but this doesn’t mean you should stop wearing them. If they aren’t working right now, then talk to your audiologist who will be able to change the settings for you, or recommend a different type of hearing aid, depending on the problem.

Make The Necessary Lifestyle Changes

If your medical professional says that you need to make some lifestyle changes, do yourself a favor and make them. Eat better food, make time for consistent exercise, get the proper sleep that you need, drink plenty of water daily. Things like this you should really be doing anyway, but if you’re not then these are a great place to start.

Other things that you should be watching out for and doing is cutting down on drinking and giving up smoking. If you do these things, you could be making whatever condition you have worse. As such, you might want to think about cutting back now, and then doing it slowly, rather than going cold turkey. The important thing here is to do what works best for you to make the right changes for your health.

Don’t Put Yourself In Danger

Finally, don’t put yourself in unnecessary danger. Excess alcohol consumption is dangerous. Taking illegal drugs is dangerous. Taking more than the recommended dosage of prescription drugs is dangerous. Chain smoking is dangerous. And binge eating is too. There are so many things that can harm your health and you’ve got to recognize what they are in order to avoid them. Putting yourself in danger is a silly thing to do, especially when it isn’t necessary. You can enjoy a glass of alcohol without taking it too far.

I hope that you’ve found this article helpful and that it offered a better understanding of how you can ensure you’re making healthier choices. Good luck!

Weighing in on Popular Health Programs

Weighing in on Popular Health Programs

Health and wellness is now an issue of nationwide importance.  The majority of Americans are obese or overweight. Fast foods, as well as processed foods, are primary culprits. Similarly, insufficient time to exercise is yet another factor. Lastly, in some parts of the country, excessive junk meals, particularly those comprising of fried foods, place the majority vulnerable to not just obesity problems but heart problems too.

Weight Loss Programs

To fix the issue, health organizations have created a market for weight loss programs. These programs have knock-on benefits, such as more energy, improved confidence, and better oral health. Dentists near me have spoken out about the benefits of eating right in terms of fighting plaque and having better breath too!

Below, I am going to take a look at some health programs, providing an honest assessment. While a lot of people will say you shouldn’t follow programs like this, some people need the discipline they provide. There is nothing wrong with that so long as you choose with care.

21-Day Fix Extreme Review

The 21-Day Fix Extreme gives you the majority of similar attributes as its predecessor (the 21-Day Fix) had. This more recent version is a more intense course.

Is the 21-Day Fix Extreme Plan Best for you? 

If you are seeking a quick-fix workout plan built to transform your already fit physique into the best body that it can be, you’ll benefit from acquiring 21-Day Fit Extreme, produced by BeachBody.

This workout plan includes workout routines that provide sufficient variety and scope to help you stay inspired, and these kind of challenging exercises are accessible in a hassle-free DVD format.

Additionally, this extreme workout plan, which triggers impressive upgrades in barely three short weeks, offers beneficial and realistic meal plan instructions, along with plastic containers, which ensure the right portion sizes. Portion control (together with routine workouts) is vital for weight reduction!

This program is simple because it shocks the body system into being toned, fit, and lean. It’s not a long-lasting fitness/diet plan, though you will likely plan to continue making use of these fitness guidelines for a long time. This plan is intended to provide tangible outcomes, which promote personal satisfaction using total body reliance, without having to take several months to finish. You can use this as a kickstart basically.

So, who would fare the best with the 21-Day Fix Extreme? 

This program is perfect for anybody trying to shed weight. However, the same is valid for almost all legitimate weight loss programs. Therefore, listed below are a few sets of people that the 21-Day Fix could be ideal for.

  • Those that have failed at losing weight before this.
  • Those not able to maintain long-term diet plans.
  • Anyone who requires results quickly.
  • Anyone who hates visiting the gym.
  • Those who do not like determining and also weighing meal portions.

PROS: 

  • Effective Workouts: The 21-Day Extreme makes the most of your time and effort, and also focuses on all parts of your body.
  • Meal Control: Keep healthy and balanced, and quit guessing at mealtimes.
  • Meal Schedule: Keep to the plan of six meals per day, and ignore the treats that may weigh you and your body down.
  • Customized Moves: I want to emphasize, this program is not for newbies, however, the modifiers do offer you some flexibility.
  • 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee: In case the 21-Day Fix Extreme is not for you, then simply return it within one month.

CONS: 

  • Challenging: Some individuals aren’t quite prepared for the challenges that the 21-Day Fix Extreme demands from them. Always keep your personal expectations as realistic as possible, and also don’t carry out this workout until you are totally devoted.
  • Short-term Preference: It’s good to look good for one day, but the majority of us would like to look good at all times. Carrying out the 21-Day Fix only once each month or two will help keep you in shape and toned, however, many people struggle after the first round or after a couple of days.
  • Boring: The meals along with the workouts combined means you will end up denying yourself regularly. It could get dull rapidly if you’re not accustomed to it.

All in all, this is a good option to consider if you are looking to go for an intense workout program that will give you great results. You are only going to sustain these results with a continued effort, though. There is no magic fix! There are two diet plans featured in this system. The standard 21-Day Fix Extreme meal plan provides you with useful suggestions regarding how to get the most from your containers. And there is the competitor’s meal plan, which happens to be a personal favorite, and is based upon the way you gear up for an important event.

VEGA Review 

Lots of people in today’s modern society are concerned about their well-being more than they have ever been before. In terms of health, bad and good carbohydrate foods are an essential focus.

Good quality carbohydrate foods provide the body with nutrients and include:

  • Whole grains
  • Meats
  • Fruits
  • Vegetables

Bad carbohydrate foods are foods that do not give the body nutrients, and they include: 

  • Carbonated and alcoholic beverages
  • Cookies
  • Chips
  • Candy

Lots of people want to know more about the Vega One dietary shake simply because they wish to shed weight and enhance their quality of living. When greasy and fatty meals are ingested, the body experiences digestion problems. It feels sluggish and processes slow down. When this occurs, the entire body is vulnerable to storing fat. Extra fat leads to many medical problems, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and obesity. Lots of people have an interest in Vega One reviews, as they are curious about how previous consumers received this product and whether it will benefit them.

What’s in Vega One Shakes?

Vega One dietary shakes are derived from whole food ingredients:

  • 160 calories per portion
  • 20 grams of multi-source protein, which is plant-based
  • Six green servings
  • Up to 20% of the daily required dietary fiber
  • 50% of required minerals and vitamins
  • Probiotic
  • 1 .5 grams of Omega 3
  • Anti-oxidants
  • Virtually no sugar is added

Everyone is attracted to Vega One shakes because, out of the numerous nutritional shakes on the market, Vega One is totally free of:

  • Soy
  • Sugar
  • Gluten
  • Dairy
  • Synthetic sweeteners
  • Synthetic colors and flavors

Vitamins & Minerals In Vega One Nutritional Shakes

  • 15g of Proteins:
  • Hemp seed proteins
  • Sagi-seed proteins
  • Sprouted whole grain brown rice proteins
  • A signature-blend of plant-based proteins, which contains essential amino acids
  • 6g of Fiber: Fiber consumption aids in sustaining normal sugar levels and bowel health. Fiber likewise helps individuals feel satisfied and lessen hunger, which helps with healthy weight regulation and weight supervision.
  • Inulin
  • Pea
  • Flax

Anti-oxidants:

  • Acai berries
  • Grape seed extract
  • Pomegranate seed
  • Mangosteen
  • Vega One includes 2.7 cups of anti-oxidants of well-known 1000 ORAC 4, 200mg mix.
  • Greens
  • Broccoli
  • Spinach leaf Alfalfa grass
  • Kale
  • Vega One’s green mix consists of three portions of veggies in each scoop.

What do these shakes taste like?

Vega One dietary shakes come in many different flavors, such as:

  • Berry
  • Natural
  • Vanilla Chai
  • Chocolate
  • French Vanilla
  • Coconut
  • Mocha

The texture and consistency

The consistency and Vega One nutritional shakes are extremely smooth. A lot of nutritional shakes have a grain-like texture and a thicker consistency as a result of the ingredients that are used. However, these shakes are natural, meaning they are not processed and are free from foods that have been refined, thus helping the shakes to possess an even texture.

How long can you expect your hunger to be cured for?

Our study shows hunger is curbed for at least two hours, and potentially up to four hours. As opposed to other dietary shakes we have tested, the Vega One shakes eases you to a hungry state rather than making the person feel they are starving after two to three hours of ingesting the shake.

Our degree of satisfaction regarding Vega One is high. We really like that this shake offers the things they say they will. This nutritional shake is a pleasure to drink due to its fantastic taste and an excellent range of flavors.

Pros 

  • Excellent nutritional base
  • All natural
  • Probiotics and anti-oxidants are included
  • Fair price
  • Low-calorie
  • Excellent taste
  • Good assortment of flavors
  • Support by way of recipes

Cons

  • Expensive compared to most alternatives
  • Not natural

Final words

Absolutely no workout plan can guarantee success. Particularly if you don’t adhere to the plan. A high level of self-discipline is essential for these products to perform. These are just two examples of many that are out there today. If you do decide to go down one of these routes, do choose with care and make sure you look at the ingredients. This is always going to be the most telling sign and you need to be aware of what you are putting in your body.

Staying Comfy While You Workout

Staying Comfy While You Workout

Exercise has so many benefits. It can boost your mood and improve your mental health. It can have a positive effect on your circulation, your heart health, your weight, and the rest of your body. It’s a great way to spend your free time, and well worth it.

But, it’s one of the few things that hurt when you are doing it right. After a great workout, your body will ache. The day after, you’ll struggle to sit down, and your body will be sore. If you are pushing yourself hard, you may even feel it while you are working.

That doesn’t mean that all pain is good, however. A few aches are normal, but you shouldn’t be in extreme pain while you exercise, nor should your clothes rub or chaff. Here are some tips to help you to stay comfortable while you exercise.

Invest in a Sport’s Bra

One of the most common exercise injuries for women is back pain, thanks to poor chest support. If you wear a smaller bra size, you might not think that you need to invest in a supportive sports bra specifically for exercise. But, it’s a worthwhile investment, whatever size you are. A good sports bra will prevent injuries, back pain, and keep you comfortable and well supported while you move.

Prioritize Supportive Shoes

If you are going to spend money on one thing for your gym bag, make it shoes. Supportive shoes protect your feet and ankles, keep you cool, and can even help you to run faster. Shoes should be comfortable and offer support to your ankle. If you run a lot, it can be worth getting your stride tested and finding the right pair of shoes for you.

Buy Clothes that You Like

There are plenty of sports clothes on the market, and there’s no real right or wrong. The outfits that you choose will depend on your body, as well as the exercises that you do. They should offer support, compression and keep sweat away from your body, but it’s also important that you like them, and that you feel confident in them. Curves N Combatboots have some fantastic options.

Dress for The Weather

There’s a lot to be said to dressing for the weather and for your location. Leggings and a crop might be perfect for a gym session, but you might not want to tackle an outdoor run like this. Make sure you’ve got something waterproof, sunglasses, and a hat that are all suitable, and dress for the particular day, activity and location instead of just having one outfit for everything.

Stay Hydrated

If there’s an absolute must when it comes to staying comfortable, it isn’t what you wear; it’s your water bottle. Stay hydrated by sipping water, and you’ll be more comfortable while you work out, and your body will recover faster afterward.

Expect Your Body to Change

The leggings and sports bra that fit you well today, won’t always. Our bodies change over time, and even more so when we work out, or try new routines. If things start to get a little tight, or you don’t have the support that you need, consider buying new gear.

Staying comfortable will help you to work harder. If you feel good, you are more likely to push yourself harder, to enjoy yourself, and to stick with it.

How a Restful Night’s Sleep Can Benefit You

How a Restful Night’s Sleep Can Benefit You

A good night’s sleep is critical to one’s well-being. Sleep plays an important part in many aspects of health, including recovering from addiction, injuries, and illness. When you burn the candle at both ends, poor sleep is sure to follow. And regular poor sleep patterns can have a negative impact on your mind and body.

Creating a good sleep pattern can help you to get the relaxation your body and your mind needs each day. Focusing on the quality of your sleep can have massive benefits to your overall health, not to mention your mood.

Concentration

Poor concentration and being easily distracted can be directly correlated to poor or non-restorative sleep. This can have negative implications on your day-to-day life, especially if you have stressful events or a busy day coming up. Stay alert and improve your strategic thinking and alertness by tweaking your sleeping patterns to help you get more restful and energizing nights sleep.

For some people, it might be difficult to get a restful night’s sleep that boosts memory, energy levels, and concentration. The reason could be an underlying condition like sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a significant cause of disrupted sleep, meaning you might need sleep apnea treatment to help you finally get the restful nights sleep that has been eluding you.

Boost your immune system

Most people know that when they’re run down, their immune system suffers and impacts their health. A breakdown in immunity can mean it takes longer to recover from minor ailments such as colds and flu. Boost your immune system by ensuring you’re taking the steps to encourage a night of healthy sleep to help your body identify, remember, and attack the bugs that attempt to hijack your health system.

Emotional well-being

How often have you felt down, stressed, irrational, or anxious due to a miserable night’s sleep? Lying awake in the dead of night can amplify your fears and worries. Removing the time you spend awake each night and working towards a restful night’s sleep can help you to feel better in the morning, making you feel better and ready for the day ahead. In stressful times, one of the first areas to be impacted is your sleep. But working on creating a routine that encourages a consistent and rejuvenating sleep can help you to prepare yourself emotionally for anything you need to face.

Tips to a Good Night’s Sleep

Try these easy tips to encourage a healthy sleeping habit and improve your health and well-being.

  • Remove electronics from the bedroom
  • Turn TV off
  • Use lavender to help you to relax
  • Avoid strenuous exercise when close to bedtime
  • Try a relaxing bath
  • Indulge in meditation and mindfulness to help you calm your mind before bed
  • Find your optimal sleeping temperature. Being too hot or too cold can interrupt your sleep during the night
  • Change your mattress

Also, if you wake up in the middle of the night with a plaguing thought, jot it down on a notepad placed by your bedside. This will get the thought out of your head and prevent it from playing on a loop and onto the paper for you to deal with when you’re awake. When you allow the thought(s) to stay in your mind, it will loop endlessly. Soon you’ll find yourself staying awake so you don’t forget the thought. By placing it on a notepad, you’re essentially safeguarding it. Your mind will then be able to rest knowing you won’t lose it to sleep.

And one more very effective tip: Sleep with your dog! Inviting your furry family member into bed with you can have amazing benefits.

Applying some of these tactics should help to get your mind into rest mode and spark pleasant dreams.

Cheers!