It doesn’t really matter how long you’ve neglected to take care of your health; start making changes that will improve your life and the lives of the people around you.
Increase Your Metabolism Naturally
Your resting metabolic rate determines how much fat you burn on any given day, without exercising – and unless you’re spending a lot of time doing manual labor, then it’s possible you’re not burning much fat. So how does a person boost metabolism naturally? Here are five simple ways to burn more fat:
- Eat more protein: Food generates what’s called a thermic effect (TEF), and when this happens, the body experiences a 15-30% rise in metabolic rate, meaning you get to burn more calories. Protein causes the highest rise in TEF, and it also makes you fuller for longer.
- Drink cold water: People who drink water instead of sugary beverages have an easier time losing weight, and this is because cold water causes a temporary boost on metabolism. Drinking just 0.5 liters of water can boost your resting metabolic rate by up to 30%.
- Try high-intensity workouts: This is not for the faint-hearted, but engaging in high-intensity workouts puts a lot of pressure on the body to raise energy, and this is what leads to fat burning. Sustaining these exercises for extended periods can have an amazing effect for anybody who wants to lose weight. For the best results, mix up your exercises and throw in a few high-intensity workouts to speed up your metabolism.
- Spend time on your feet: Sitting down all day at your desk can have horrible effects on your health, which is why some health experts describe sitting as ‘the new smoking. Just standing up on your feet causes an energy deficit which is filled by burning additional calories to raise energy. According to this study, you can burn an extra 174 calories by standing up for short periods and breaking up the amount of time you sit in one place.
- Drink green tea: You’ve probably heard about the health effects of green tea, one of which involves boosting metabolism. Green tea is very low on calories, but it contains a ton of antioxidants that are valuable to your health, and its weight loss benefits might help you overcome that workout plateau that so many people dread.
- Consider trying other ways to boost metabolism, such as taking an extract from artichoke, Shatavari or cannabidiol.
Be Active Daily for Mental Health
Exercise has a profound impact on our mental health, and this is caused by chemical changes in the body that affect our mental wellbeing. One of the ways exercise boosts your mental health is by reducing high-stress levels, which, as we all know, affects far too may people today.
Going out every day in nature reduces stress levels and allows us to get back to an optimal state of being, where cognitive function is enhanced, and our connection to nature is strengthened.
How often do you run, or go out in the park? Finding time for these things can mean the difference between a calm, relaxed state of mind and a tense, angry person. Join a fitness group if you find it difficult to incorporate physical activity into your daily life, and make a point to be active outside of your work.
Be Active Daily for Physical Health
Being inactive jeopardizes all the vital body systems including cardiovascular health, energy levels, eyesight, the musculoskeletal system, the immune system, and practically every major organ.
However, much of this damage can be avoided with simple adjustments to your daily routine, such as starting your days with a morning workout. A 30-minute workout can tone your body, burn excess calories, keep your cardiovascular health in check, reduce stress levels, and improve your quality of life. It also encourages you to take better care of your health, and this change in life choices could promote fitness.
Eat Superfoods Daily
The term ‘superfood’ is a rather modern description of foods that contain a high amount of essential nutrients including things like vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. When incorporated into your daily diet, these foods improve your body’s ability to get rid of toxins, burn fat, and they also stimulate the immune system to fight diseases.
The antioxidant property found in many of these foods prevents opportunistic infections and may be useful in eliminating many of the carcinogens that lead to cancer, including free radicals. Here is a list of a few superfoods:
- Garlic
- Green tea
- Berries
- Nuts
- Yogurt
- Quinoa
- Broccoli
- Salmon
Eat more superfoods to get quality vitamins, minerals, and fibre. Remember, you need a good supply of antioxidants and phytonutrients to prevent chronic illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
Maintain Healthy Bodyweight and Body Fat Levels
Having too much fat around the waist could be extremely bad for your health, more than having fat in other areas.
Now, a couple of pounds of extra body weight probably won’t make you ill, however, being overweight can affect your energy levels, the joints, respiratory health, and it can also impact on mood. Perhaps what makes bodyweight such an integral part of health is the impact it has on our physical and mental health.
Maintaining a healthy bodyweight reduces your risk of developing potentially severe diseases including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and even stroke.
The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a good place to start when measuring weight, but something else keep in mind; factors such as age, gender, and genetics tend to influence your ability to stay within the ‘normal’ range. Therefore, diet and exercise may be needed to keep the weight off.
Laugh and Smile More Often
Smiling is one of the easiest ways to boost your energy levels, mood, and health. It’s the same thing with laughing – it’s like medicine for the body and soul. Smiling actually reduces high blood pressure, and a smile can, in fact, boost your immune system –even a fake smile. Here are five reasons you should smile to promote fitness and health:
- Smiling improves your mood. This is based on so many personal experiences, and this study published on the Scientific American supports this claim. Even though emotions start in the brain, the muscles in the face can either reinforce or transform those feelings. The enhancement of more positive emotions teaches the mind to see possibilities, instead of being limited.
- Fake smiles are good too. The mind can’t tell the difference between a fake smile and a real smile, and both can make you feel happy, even when there isn’t any particular reason to feel happy. You don’t even need to hold a contrived smile for long for it to have an effect; however brief the smile is, it has a positive impact on your body and mind.
- Smiling retains the brain to think positively. Did you know that our minds are naturally wired to think negatively? It is part of our survival (defense) mechanism and it serves a purpose in the natural order; however, the more you laugh and smile, the mind moves toward a positive state of being and stays there. This can really shorted the whole pursuit of happiness.
- A smile can strengthen your body on a cellular level. This happens, because laughing releases tension in the body, and according to some experts, the cells can distinguish between danger and safety, and they have their own way of establishing homeostasis. The thoughts too, can have a powerful effect on the cells, and being able to laugh seems to send a message of health and rigidity.
Proper Sleeping
Sleep plays a vital role in your health, and this is because many biological processes that are essential to survival happen during sleep. For instance, healing and repairing of muscles, joints, and blood vessels happens during sleep, and a lack of proper sleep has been linked to some of the most severe illnesses including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney problems, and even stroke.
Getting at least 7 hours of sleep every night is enough for adults, and any more or less can have unpleasant effects. For anybody involved in a weight loss program, or doing any kind of fitness activity, it is vital to get proper sleep so as to keep the immune system working and also to facilitate weight loss. Keep in mind that sleeping problems also cause cognitive decline; including memory loss.
Improve Your Digestion
The most common problems affecting the digestive tract are constipation, IBS, inflammatory bowel disease, diarrhea, and heartburn. But all these problems can be avoided by watching your nutrition; which is why we recommend taking these steps for optimal digestive health:
- Eat whole foods
- Start taking probiotics
- Avoid fatty, acidic foods
- Eat fiber
- Eat more white meats
- Drink water
- Avoid overdrinking, and smoking
Conclusion
There is a lot that you can do to improve your quality of life, but one of the most important things you can do to improve your health is to watch what you eat. Having a workout routine is also important, but the idea is to maintain balance between body and mind, and to be mindful all the time so you don’t pick up bad habits.