If you try to make big changes to your diet and lifestyle in a short space of time it will increase the odds that your efforts won’t last the test of time. It is much better to make small incremental changes to your habits if you want to enjoy longer lasting health benefits.
Here is a look at how to start habits that stick, details of why portion control helps and how to put more fruit and veg into your daily diet.
Start some new habits
Many of us tend to have the same bad habits. Too much alcohol, smoking, not enough exercise, or a poor diet. All these things can contribute to potential health problems at some point in your life.
Whether you are guilty of some or all of these poor habits it is possible to change your ways and improve your long-term health prospects. It just takes a new way of finding a solution that works.
Dramatic changes to your diet and lifestyle are going to put your body and mind under pressure to rebel against your new regime. The trick is to introduce some new healthy habits one at a time. Building up to a whole range of changes but not all at once.
Stop before you finish your plate
You may have been brought up to believe that it is wasteful to leave any food on your plate.
Finishing every meal completely every time is likely to be expanding your waistline and won’t be helping your health either. If you can teach yourself to stop eating when you feel nearly full, you will actually be helping to slow down your aging process.
It has been found that limiting calories lowers production of T3. This is a thyroid hormone that slows metabolism and increases the aging process. Leaving a bit left on your plate is a good habit to get into as it reduces the impact of T3 production.
Turn off the TV more often
A sedentary lifestyle will increase your risk of health problems like heart disease. If you are watching more than two hours a day of TV this could be taking a serious toll on your long-term health.
A good move would be to consider the idea of installing some exercise equipment in your home. Check out home gym comparisons and find the exercise options you want.
Once you have your home gym installed, get into the habit of turning the TV off and raising your heart rate with a quick workout. Even a short physical workout instead of couch-surfing will be giving your health prospects a serious boost with this change.
Eat more fruit
When was the last time you actually ate any of the fruit stacked up in your fruit bowl?
It seems that the average American eats less than two servings of fruit and vegetables each day, which is well under the recommended guidelines. It only requires a small change to up this daily quota to a more acceptable level.
Start treating the fruit bowl as a source of food rather than an attractive centerpiece and move it to a place where you are just as likely to help yourself to an apple than reach in the fridge for something less healthy.
Whether you are trying to lose some weight or give up smoking, making a few small incremental changes to your habits over time will help you adjust more easily to your new routine.
This should help you stay on track and give you a greater chance of making those changes become permanent habits.
Harvey Browne is a fitness instructor. He has always been into sports and has now built up a clientele of mostly over 50s. His articles appear on health and fitness blogs as well as over 50s blogs.
