With the cost of living going up and up, it can be difficult to manage those healthy habits under a tight budget. So here are five quick tips that you can do to help improve your whole health.
1 – 30 Minutes of Daily Movement
Whether it is taking a walk around the block, at a park or along the rail trail; an exercise class, pilates, yoga and many other options, simply moving your body for 30 minutes can do wonders for your whole health and cardiovascular fitness.
2 – Drink 2L of Water Daily
Keeping our bodies hydrated with water is incredibly important as we are 80% water and our body needs water to complete the vital functions that we need to live.
3 – Consistent Sleep Routine
Setting a specific bedtime and wake up time allows us to maximise our body’s natural hormones and chemicals to help us have a restful and restorative sleep. If we can get this type of sleep for 7-9 hours a night, then our body has time to rest and repair.
4 – More Home-Cooked Meals Than Takeaway + a Balanced Diet
When we cook at home, it usually includes regular consumption of fruit and vegetables, meaning we are eating nutritious foods with lots of vitamins and minerals enabling our bodies to recover, maintain and improve our health. Whilst takeaway tends to be often high in sugar, saturated fats and other processed foods which can have a big impact on our heath, stemming from our waistline, gut health and most importantly our heart health.
5 – Limiting Sugar, Alcohol, Caffeine (Especially Coffee) And Soft Drink Intake
As tasty as foods with these ingredients in them can be, they are not great for our health, and can have a tremendous impact on our gut, liver, heart and many other organs. You may begin by trialling 1 or 2 completely-free days, for example, no alcohol on two days of the week, and slowly begin to reduce how much you are consuming each day. While it is okay to have these foods in moderation, limiting your intake can improve the function of our gut, liver, heart and other organs.
I recommend focusing on one tip at a time, so it becomes a habit and succinct into your daily routine. Too much change at once can be a big shock to your system and is harder to stick to!
If you are having any trouble with any of these tips to improve your whole health, please speak to one of our allied health professionals or your GP.