During the last half of this year, I finally got "used to" the clean eating and regular workout. Sometimes I still have days when I don't care about my diet and the exercise at all. But the healthy lifestyle is a "long distance race" (I know it sound like a cliché but it's true!) and I'm not so far yet. I'd like to devote this article to all of you, who want to eat, move and live healthier life and who aren't so sure how to start :)
Food, Exercise, Mind
What does it mean to live healthy? For me it means physical and mental health together. What we feel is as important as what we eat and if we workout. I've been very moody since my childhood. I can be happy about little stupid things and other stupid things can break me into pieces and I just plow through without energy for several days. If you want to change your healthy lifestyle, don't think only about food and exercise but sometimes focus on your mental health too :) Focus on things that make you happy and don't force yourself to do things which steal your energy.
80/20 Rule
The base of the healthy lifestyle is balance. The thing I'd love to share with your is the "80/20 rule" - 80% of the time you eat healthy and the 20% of your diet can be consist of anything. It means that if you eat three meals a day, then three of them can be not so healthy. If you eat five times a day, then seven of the meals are "cheats". It's simple - most of the time you're trying to eat healthy and sometimes you just eat whatever you crave, no matter how much sugar, fat or how many calories it contains - ice cream, pizza, chcocolate or pancakes - just whatever you like and what you maybe used to feel guilty about. In fact, in that moment when you crave something really unhealthy, it's somehow easier to eat half od the fridge and apologize everything by that old well-known spell "since tomorrow ..." Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. It is an awful habit, that I'm trying to get rid of. Because after this, you just feel regret it, you're disappointed by yourself and it doesn't help your "healthy mind" at all. The 80/20 lifestyle is a great way to get rid of these swings and for me, it's a goal that I'd definitely like to get to.
More natural & less processed food
The rule of the healthy lifestyle is mostly about eating more natural food and less processed food. While shopping in a grocery store, try to buy products, that contain as little ingredients as possible - no artificial colors, preservatives, stabilizers, emulsifiers, etc. Try to add more fruit, vegetables, whole grains and high quality proteins. I'm "usually vegetarian", I eat only fish and time to time a chicken or turkey so I'm trying to add some other proteins to my diet plan. I quite like tofu and I'm fond of trying more salads with legumes. .
Choose the workout you enjoy
We all know that the exercises like the burpees, jump squats or mountain climbers are effective. Very effective. But if you hate them to death (like me) and you do them just because you "have to" .. do you think that you'll keep working out in the future? We're all different - someone likes running, someone likes cycling and someone prefers to go to a fitness center and dance with others during zumba lesson ... If you find a type of workout you really enjoy, it will be much easier to start exercise regularly.
I exercise 5-7 times a week, 30-60 minutes and my workout is a combination of pilates and cardio exercised. My cardio consists of Just Dance on Xbox (don't you dare laugh! It's tough workout!) and some videos on youtube or workouts on Pinterest. I avoid burpees and exercise like that and i do them just when I feel like doing them.
Keep your motivation
Sometimes, when something is not easy in the beginning, we just give up. Starting a healthy lifestyle requires strong will. An important point is to keep your motivation, realize all the benefits, that the workout and new diet plan have. First of all, forget about dieting. Diets are designed usually just to lose weight, they are for short time and after that time, all the kilograms and unhealthy habits come back. Rather focus your attention on healthy, balances healthy lifestyle and for your motivation, choose your overall health, good feeling, more energy, strength, better condition etc., than just simply losing weight.
What does it mean to live healthy? For me it means physical and mental health together. What we feel is as important as what we eat and if we workout. I've been very moody since my childhood. I can be happy about little stupid things and other stupid things can break me into pieces and I just plow through without energy for several days. If you want to change your healthy lifestyle, don't think only about food and exercise but sometimes focus on your mental health too :) Focus on things that make you happy and don't force yourself to do things which steal your energy.
Food diary
What really helped me in the beginning was keeping a food diary. If you decide to write literally everything you eat, it forces you not to eat the "bad" things. Because if you read the journal in the evening .. it simply feels better if you know you ate a yogurt with fruit for breakfast instead of some donuts. And if you're not really a "diary person", you can try some of the smartphone apps where you can write what you ate and also add a photo (which is also a great future inspiration) - for example I really enjoy YouFood app.The base of the healthy lifestyle is balance. The thing I'd love to share with your is the "80/20 rule" - 80% of the time you eat healthy and the 20% of your diet can be consist of anything. It means that if you eat three meals a day, then three of them can be not so healthy. If you eat five times a day, then seven of the meals are "cheats". It's simple - most of the time you're trying to eat healthy and sometimes you just eat whatever you crave, no matter how much sugar, fat or how many calories it contains - ice cream, pizza, chcocolate or pancakes - just whatever you like and what you maybe used to feel guilty about. In fact, in that moment when you crave something really unhealthy, it's somehow easier to eat half od the fridge and apologize everything by that old well-known spell "since tomorrow ..." Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. It is an awful habit, that I'm trying to get rid of. Because after this, you just feel regret it, you're disappointed by yourself and it doesn't help your "healthy mind" at all. The 80/20 lifestyle is a great way to get rid of these swings and for me, it's a goal that I'd definitely like to get to.
The rule of the healthy lifestyle is mostly about eating more natural food and less processed food. While shopping in a grocery store, try to buy products, that contain as little ingredients as possible - no artificial colors, preservatives, stabilizers, emulsifiers, etc. Try to add more fruit, vegetables, whole grains and high quality proteins. I'm "usually vegetarian", I eat only fish and time to time a chicken or turkey so I'm trying to add some other proteins to my diet plan. I quite like tofu and I'm fond of trying more salads with legumes. .
We all know that the exercises like the burpees, jump squats or mountain climbers are effective. Very effective. But if you hate them to death (like me) and you do them just because you "have to" .. do you think that you'll keep working out in the future? We're all different - someone likes running, someone likes cycling and someone prefers to go to a fitness center and dance with others during zumba lesson ... If you find a type of workout you really enjoy, it will be much easier to start exercise regularly.
I exercise 5-7 times a week, 30-60 minutes and my workout is a combination of pilates and cardio exercised. My cardio consists of Just Dance on Xbox (don't you dare laugh! It's tough workout!) and some videos on youtube or workouts on Pinterest. I avoid burpees and exercise like that and i do them just when I feel like doing them.
Sometimes, when something is not easy in the beginning, we just give up. Starting a healthy lifestyle requires strong will. An important point is to keep your motivation, realize all the benefits, that the workout and new diet plan have. First of all, forget about dieting. Diets are designed usually just to lose weight, they are for short time and after that time, all the kilograms and unhealthy habits come back. Rather focus your attention on healthy, balances healthy lifestyle and for your motivation, choose your overall health, good feeling, more energy, strength, better condition etc., than just simply losing weight.
Do you have your own tips about how to start a healthy lifestyle, do you follow some rules about workout or diet plan?
What do you think about anorexia and „ana pages”? Your opinion?
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely sure that anorexia is an illness and it shouldn't be considered as "lifestyle" as the people on pro Ana blogs say. Whatever the reason to start starving yourself is, it usually leads to very serious problems. The "ideal" weight is not everything. And I feel really sorry about people who think that starving will make them more satisfied with themselves anyway...
DeleteThe website is looking bit flashy and it catches the visitors eyes. Design is pretty simple and a good user friendly interface.
ReplyDeleteceliac disease