How Can I Be More Healthy – Without The Crazy Long List.

Being healthy or healthier can be, if you read other ridiculously long lists, a goal you will never achieve. a 25, 28 or 50 point list sounds very daunting to anyone, fit or otherwise. Luckily for you, me and the rest of the sane world I have distilled it down to a mere 5. 5 that work, not breaking each point down into a million sub points. Just 5.

To be more healthy you need to improve your diet, occasionally fast, sleep well without taking gadgets to bed, having a solid routing that does not vary too much for the bulk of your normal week, and getting off the couch to do a bit of exercise now and then. Simple.

Let’s have a little look at how we can do each of these simple points with the minimum of fuss and effort. We’re all prone to being a bit lazy at times but we don’t have to turn into Olympians to make any progress.

Eat Better

This doesn’t have to break the bank. In fact, switching to some foods may actually save you money if not let you break even.

Sugar: Everyone loves it but why is it so bad for us? Well in very small amounts it can be acceptable but consuming too much sugar immediately causes your body to produce insulin. When you have high insulin levels your body takes this as a signal to allow glycogen into your cells. If there is too much glycogen your body tells you to store the excess in your fat cells.

Even sugar substitutes can cause spikes in insulin so avoid these too where possible.

Fat: It’s a myth that eating fat is bad for you. Many nutritionists are seeing the benefits of having enough fat in your diet, which is higher than previously thought. Avoid bad fats like trans fats. You get this in things like fried foods, like chicken, doughnuts, french fries. Eat good fats like avocado, oily fish, nuts, and egg yolks.

Carbohydrates or carbs: Most of us have been led to believe that carbs are good. It’s true but in moderation. Carbs come in 2 varieties. digestible and indigestible.

Digestible carbs can be described as very complex, slow energy release sugars. Sugar, as we know, is bad for you so eating some digestible carbs can actually be counterproductive and make you gain body fat.

They also come in simple and complex forms but are still essentially sugars. Simple carbs are fast sugar release, foods like fruit, milk, and honey

Complex carbs are slow sugar release, foods like grains and starchy vegetables like potatoes.

Proteins: Proteins are good for us. They provide the building blocks that helps our body recover. They also make us full and feel fuller for longer so another benefit if you are looking to lose weight without hunger pangs.

Food Goal: Replace at least half of your carbs with proteins, eat plenty of non-carb vegetables and ensure you eat enough fat too. Drop all processed foods, including anything with sugar or sugar substitutes like fizzy drinks. Eliminate bad fats from fried foods too.

Drink plenty of water too throughout the day to help you remain hydrated and less hungry if you reduce your calories so you have a small deficit.

Don’t eat

Intermittent fasting is another great way to get healthy. You don’t even need to skip and meals if you don’t want to either. Cool eh?

The aim of intermittent fasting is to spend less of your day with food inside you. When your body is empty and it still needs more energy then it start to call on your fat reserves to supply that energy.

Your stomach is usually empty 6 hours or so after your last meal so your body enters a fasted state between your last meal +6hrs and your next. For example, if you ate dinner at 7pm then you will not start your fasted state until 1am (maybe even later if you are asleep and not burning calories as much) you eat breakfast at 7am so your body will, at most fast for 6hrs.

If you eat at 5pm instead of 7pm and eat breakfast at 9am instead of 7am then you can increase the length of your fasted state to 10hrs. You will also be awake for part of that time burning more calories too.

If you want to step up to the next level try eating the same calories but in 2 meals rather than three, keep your meals about 4hrs apart if you can and you will be able to fast for 14 hrs.

Sleep

Making sure you don’t skip on quality sleep is a must as well. If you are prone to watching videos or surfing the net on your phone or tablet while you are in bad then try to stop. It’s a sleep killer.

you need to try and go to bed an hour after you have closed down your gadgets to ensure you get a good nights sleep. Turn your devices blue filter on. This helps eliminate some of the uv light that keeps us awake.

Try to avoid watching anything negative or fast paced as it may be in your subconscious when you fall asleep and give you bad dreams.

Make sure the room is dark and that you are not too hot or cold. If you need to drink some milk before bed as the chemicals in milk can make you drowsy.

Have a solid routine

Doing thing regularly and at the same time sounds mundane but it’s actually good for us. Have you noticed that you do the same things on autopilot when you get up in the morning?

These things are not just similar but identical. You make the coffee first, you use the bathroom next. You take a shower, you wash in exactly the same way every time.

If you think it’s not true then try mixing up your routine. If coffee is first, hit the shower. If you start by washing your head first then start at your feet. Chances are it will feel uncomfortable as hell.

Deep down we all crave routine so make your day where possible, routine.

Go to bed and wake up at the same time, this is important as is making sure you sleep for long enough as well.

Get a routing for your food too, try to eat at the same time so your body adapts, especially if you are intermittently fasting.

Don’t be a couch potato

While we are avoiding potatoes we are also avoiding you becoming one too. You don’t need to be hitting the gym for 3 or 4 hours every day. In fact a 20 minute brisk walk around the neighborhood or a bit of bodyweight exercise like pushups, situps and squats should do the trick and are free.

If you combine a healthy eating plan with some fasting along with a slight calorie deficit and a bit of exercise you will get leaner and healthier in no time at all and with minimal effort

In conclusion:

You don’t need to be fabulously wealthy to be more healthy. You just need a bit of focus, eliminate bad foods, habits and practices from your day and you will do well.

Gradually switching out the bad for the good will make the transition so easy you will hardly notice, mainly because you will be too busy feeling great.