I understand better that most that we only have one life to live. We never know what's around the corner. Therefore, we should ensure that we take care of ourselves and prioritise our wellbeing.
To do so, we should adopt healthy living habits and stick to them, which can be beneficial in the long run.
To most people, healthy living means positively balancing both their physical and mental state. To some extent, this is somewhat true, as a change in one aspect can positively or negatively affect the other. However, there is more to a healthy lifestyle apart from being mentally and physically fit.
If you are trying to sustain a healthy lifestyle by eating right and exercising, unknowingly, there are certain habits you could be doing that are in fact counterproductive to a healthy lifestyle.
Read on to find out a few.
Procrastinating and Giving Excuses
Procrastinating is the act of delaying or postponing a specific action. If you postpone and manage to do the action, this is a good thing. However, if you postpone something and never do it, it can negatively impact your life.
Giving excuses is also counterproductive to becoming a better version of yourself. A person can procrastinate going for health checkups. I mentioned the importance of not delaying getting anything unusual you notice with your body checked out in my last blog post; you can procrastinate completing a study/work project, starting a fitness routine and many other things.
Apart from procrastinating, you could also be finding excuses for not doing something. It would be best to do away with procrastination and ensure you get things done there and then instead of putting them off.
Going to Bed Late
Lack of enough sleep can result in high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, or stroke. Besides, it is a significant hindrance in achieving glowy skin, regaining lost energy and reducing your fat mass. Our body needs sleep to heel and generate new healthy cells.
If you are the kind of person who always goes to bed late, and this is one I'm guilty of, or you don’t sleep at all, you should give these habits some thought. However, if you think you are experiencing sleep conditions such as insomnia, it would be best to seek advice from The ANP.
Eating Habits
Eating healthily can mean cutting down your calorie intake and incorporating the right nutrients into your meals. However, you could be having poor eating habits that may limit you from achieving a healthy lifestyle.
For instance, skipping individual meals such as breakfast is a poor eating habit. Eating a lot of food before sleeping is also another bad eating habit (again, I'm guilty of both and they are something I definitely need to work on) Such habits are detrimental to your health, and you should avoid them as much as possible.
Exercising Habits
Of course, exercising is a great way to sustain a healthy lifestyle and achieve your fitness goals. However, certain exercising habits can have negative impacts on your health. For instance, if you find yourself doing too many workouts to achieve immediate results, you should draw the line.
To know if you are exercising too much, there are multiple signs to look out for. If you rest for more extended periods and always find it hard to wake up, this can be a sign you are over-exercising.
If you always feel tired or unable to perform at the same level as your previous rep, you are over-exercising. Know your limits and take rest when need to have a healthy exercise routine.
Sometimes changing our life style can be hard. We don't have to do it all in one go though. Try making small (micro habits) changes and build on them. That way you are much more likely to stick to them rather than trying to change everything in one go.
These tips are practical and can help you avoid unknowingly falling into an unhealthy routine. Try and gradually incorporate them into your day to achieve and sustain a healthy life.
What habits can you change?
Love Tx