Indeed, again tips for a healthier life. We are all busy. There is not much time to exercise and sometimes you just crave something to eat. And then you really are not waiting for someone who tells you what is healthy and what is not. It is all about preventing that craving and creating opportunities. The following 12 tips for a healthier life show you that being healthy is not always difficult and time-consuming.
1. Healthy snacks
Everyone has an appetite and some people even experience this every day. Craving increases the chance that you will eat something that is not healthy. Why don’t you take some healthy snacks with you when you go out? I often have raw and unsalted nuts with me.
2. Drink water
Water is very important for good health. You consist for the most part of water. Moisture therefore has a huge impact on your moods, brain function and concentration. But that’s not all. Drinking water can also help you to lose weight. Water also gives your metabolism a boost, so you burn more calories. Handy; take a large glass of water before every meal. Your stomach will be full sooner, so that you are more saturated. This helps to get fewer calories.
3. Create a shopping list
Before you enter a store to replenish weekly stocks, make a shopping list. This list, of course, contains no tips for a healthier life. (Although if you put vegetables on it …). But this list helps you not to buy impulse purchases. For example, the supermarket is full of marketing tricks to make you buy more. But whether it makes you (and your family) healthier?
4. Enter the store with a full stomach
If you are hungry then you buy more food than when you have just eaten. We have all experienced this.
5. Opt for complete nutrition
Whole foods consist of foods that you can see, taste and smell what it is. A melon, carrot or onion look like a melon, carrot and an onion. And that’s how they taste. This should not be a tip, but in Western countries we eat more and more highly processed foods. Although they are useful, they are usually stripped of various (or practically all) nutrients. This increases the risk of being overweight and chronic diseases.
6. Eat quietly
Turn off the TV, put your phone away and read the newspaper later. Make sure you pay attention to what you eat. It appears that you realize better what you eat. And that benefits the number of calories that you (don’t) eat.
7. Eat seated
Quickly eat something. Yes, how often does that happen? With seated food I of course do not mean that you put a sandwich behind my PC. Seated food means that you sit at the table and your meal quietly works inside. Eating while sitting can also help you de-stress and that is also good for the number of calories that you (do not) eat.
8. Moving briefly is also moving
Do you always mail your colleagues to explain something, or do you walk towards them? Do you get some fresh air during the lunch break, or do you stay in the canteen? Are you taking the elevator or are you opting for the stairs? Just a few tips for a healthier life. There is a connection between the lack of exercise, poor physical health and a poor mental state.
9. Standing up longer and longer
We lead a sedentary life. We sit in the car, sit at a desk and when you get home in the evening you are sitting on the couch. An average office worker sits around 15 hours a day. Research shows that people who sit most often have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, diabetes 2, overweight and premature death. That is quite something for me. Standing costs nothing and gives you a lot.
10. Disconnect yourself from the technology
A good night’s sleep is an absolute condition for good health. Unfortunately, many people sleep too short and poorly. This is partly due to the neurotransmitter melatonin. Your body makes this neurotransmitter when it gets dim. You will get sleep. However, our body does not make this neurotransmitter in the light of the TV, smartphone and tablet.
It sounds simple, but your brain then thinks it is daylight.
Unfortunately, this habit can lead to depression and mood disorders. How do you solve that? They turn off the tech an hour before you go to sleep, grab a book, dim the lights and take a cup of tea.
11. Go to bed around the same time every night
Your body gets used to a certain rhythm. If you only go to bed around midnight every night, you usually experience little fatigue around 10 p.m. But if your alarm clock is around 6:00 AM, then you have only slept for 6 hours. That’s not much. Most people need between 7 and 8 hours of sleep a day to function properly. That is why it is useful, for example, to go to bed at the same time every day and take into account 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. Sleeping well has an impact on your memory, your concentration and your sense of fitness.
12. Relax, relax and talk
Everyone experiences stress and that is not a bad thing in itself. But when stress becomes chronic (and that is the case with many) then all kinds of annoying physical and mental problems arise. Occasionally visit a massage parlor, a coach or a sauna. Talk to your partner daily about your work, what is bothering you or about something that touched you that day.