5 Hacks to Improve Your Health
Let's face it. New year's resolutions typically don't work out. Usually, because they are unrealistic and often unachievable. But that doesn't mean your health goals will fail. The key is to keep your health goals focused and and small, so you feel like you're hitting milestones all year long to keep you motivated. Here are our 5 health hacks to improving your health all year long.
1. Feed your soul. Often times, we get caught up with resolutions in thinking about what we wish we could be instead of something so simple. We can be our best selves right now, it just depends on how you show up. You already have the ability to be your best self. Why not hone into it and let it shine. Be real, keep a gratitude journal and do something for yourself each day that makes you smile. Try not to be too hard on yourself, it's ok to have goals for fitness or work, but the best goals are met by taking small steps one at a time.
2. Be well stocked at all times. You'll have less of a hard time staying away from junk foods and snacking if they aren't available. It's easier to eat better, when you have healthy options right in your pantry. You have full control over what you bring into your food environment. The hardest part is keeping yourself disciplined in not going out of your way to give in to your snack cravings.
3. Invest in Your Mental Health. We spend hours in the gym working on our physical health, but if happiness is the goal, shouldn't we be investing some time in our mental health? Just like physical exercise, there are many different types of mental health exercises you can do to work out your happiness muscle. Meditation is an example of a mental health exercise that can re-center you and help break you out of the stressful, fight-or-flight response that comes with the daily grind. Breathing exercises, journaling, expressions of gratitude are also some of the many other mental health exercises you can do in just a few minutes of time each day, all of which can help you feel balanced and focused so that you are better equipped to achieve any of your goals. WHOLE, a free happiness app from The Happy Broadcast, offers loads of activities you can try to help improve your mental health. The app includes a daily mood check-in to help you self-reflect and recognize the triggers that are affecting your mood, as well as hundreds of other fun activities that help guide you on your journey towards a happier mental state.
4. Ditch the diet. Focus on being balanced. Fads and crash diets are never a healthy option. Instead of an unrealistic goal of losing an immediate 20lbs, try incorporating a healthy goal instead. For example, calculate the macros you need every day to hit your goals. Then, focus on eating proper nutrition to hit those macros. This helps create a balanced diet instead of a crash diet.
5. Include protein at each meal. Protein is absolutely essential for a healthy diet. It stabilizes blood sugar, helps build lean muscle and curbs pesky cravings. If you're looking for an easy way to get your required amount of protein each day, try a nutritious protein shake that you can have multiple times throughout the day.
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