Everywhere you look you see ways and methods on how we can improve our health. Things like "what we need to eat?" and "how to what types of exercises to carry out". Well, here are 3 things that you can do right now that will immediately allow you to reap rewards, have a positive impact on your well-being and overall health.
- Increase water intake
60% of male bodies and 55% of female bodies (roughly) are made of water. Your body depends on it to carry nutrients to cells and to flush out toxins found in organs. Getting the right amount of water every day is crucial. We here lots of numbers when it comes to how much and when, but I go along the lines of drinking roughly 2.5 – 3 liters per day - in other words I make sure I chug roughly 2 full 1.5 liter bottles per day.
Ensure you divide your intake throughout the day. I kick start my mornings with at least a half liter of nice cold water (or 1 large glass), at times Ill squeeze in some fresh lemon juice for flavor. I make sure to have water at every meal or at least at every other meal sipping while I eat. What that also means is that you need to avoid soda! Period. You can make the exception, like we do at home. Our household rarely buys any carbonated drinks like Coke or Pepsi. If we are on the go or travelling we make the rare exception, but we tend to grab fresh pressed juices, lots of water, and the occasional coffee (if Starbucks is around). Splitting your intake throughout the day, even those moments where you don’t feel like having a drink, will seem a lot less daunting in comparison to drink 3 liters at once.
I also read, now I write this with caution, that some doctors recommend taking coffee, milk or other drinks that consist a majority of water as alternatives as they may have low calories and they also consider that these fluids count towards your daily fluid intake. To me, I need to do more research on that. I'll stick with pure water at this point.
Recent Twitter Post:
I've done it months on end however who's in for a 30 day water only challenge? Comment "I'm in" and like! (1 glass of fresh juice/week)
— Hermann Kratochwill (@iamhermannk) June 25, 2017
- Exercise
This is a given! Logical that this would be on the list, no? Yes, but here still a few words on the matter. Exercise reduces risks for chronic diseases and improves balance and coordination along with supporting weight loss. It is recommended to exercise 150 minutes moderately per week. That is a bare minimum for movement and that is something I believe just about anyone can manage. We're speaking of a mere 2.5 hours out of 168 hours available per week to move, moderately. Alternatively at least 1.5 hours (90 minutes) vigorously for adults per week. Again this depends on various factors, but gives you an estimate. (I could write and discuss a variety of topics, however this is just for simplicity in regards to the 3 things you can do now and that you need to keep in mind.)
My tip on this is to break it into short bursts. If you don’t have a lot of time in your schedule, break up your routine into 15-20 minute workouts each day and make sure you burst in those sessions. Focus and drive. You do not need to be on in the gym or on the treadmill for hours at a time to reap benefits.
- Adopt a Mediterranean diet
The Mediterranean diet is a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, olive oil, nuts and fish. I am not a huge fish fan but have come to love Salmon and Tuna along with shrimps. There are numerous studies that show the benefit of this type of diet. As the basics are filled with antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, you can avoid various diseases, support weight loss and studies have shown improvements in cholesterol levels.
Again this goes with caution. I could say adapt a hamburger diet or a banana diet, but in a large mass - everything can have bad results. Its a matter of common sense and knowing what and how much to eat, when. Listen to your body and make smart decisions when you open the fridge. The reason I list it as my third point is that adopting a Mediterranean diet ensures you eat a broad base of healthy foods.
In Closing
These are three quick and easy things you can do each and every day from liquids to solids to movement. Integrating them into your daily routine and daily life may be a different challenge for you and something with which you may need help accomplishing, but we will touch on those subjects as well. Keep in mind though that the simple, most basic, logical things in life are often the ones we overlook the most. There are so many things we can do to improve not only the length of our life, but the quality of those years and so I encourage you to crush your limits and do one of the above mentioned things today. Commit to making a few small changes, and see how they improve your health over time.
What are your thoughts? I invite you to comment below!