Finding My Prime

What does it mean to be physically healthy? For some, it means you purposefully set up a lifestyle that supports health management and feeling good most days.

Other people may think achieving physical health means blending activity, eating a balanced diet, and limiting harmful practices like smoking and drinking alcohol. While every person may have different ideas about what good health means to them, both of the previous scenarios support a healthy lifestyle.

Most experts agree that to achieve good physical health, you should embrace these four lifestyle practices:

1. Engage in regular exercise.
2. Eat a nutritious and balanced diet.
3. Learn to manage stress.
4. Get adequate sleep.

Of course, other essential factors are to improve your health or generally feel well. The above list does not include engaging in regular social interaction, being mindful of mental health, and avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol use. Balancing these lifestyle choices is essential to reduce your risk of chronic health conditions.

We’ll explain how the four lifestyle practices affect your health and offer tips to help you become your best self.

Why You Should Exercise Regularly For Better Health

Love it or hate it, exercise is a necessary part of good health. Research proves that regular physical activity supports feeling well and decreases your chances of becoming ill. On a positive note, how you choose to be physically active is totally up to you.

Most recently, sedentary lifestyles are associated with less than stellar health effects. It sounds unbelievable, but if you sit around more time than you do activities, it has as detrimental an effect on your long-term health as smoking. If you want to feel better and be healthier, your couch potato days should be limited.

Regular exercise provides numerous health benefits and improves body function to perform daily life activities. Here are other positive effects of regular exercise:

• Improved joint mobility.
• Increased muscle and bone strength.
• Increased stamina or endurance.
• Increased blood and oxygen flow throughout the body.
• Improved blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
• Reduced depression and anxiety.
• Support for body weight management.
• Improved sleep quality.
• Reduce the risks of chronic health conditions like heart disease and diabetes.
• Assists with managing health conditions like arthritis.

Our bodies are designed for activity, not staring at a computer all day. We are built to evade danger and instinctively opt for self-preservation. That’s why our body systems don’t function as well as they could when we act like sloths on the regular. 

How Much Exercise Is Enough?

Health experts recommend 150 minutes (at least) of moderate-intensity physical activity per week. Moderate-intensity activity means exercising to increase your heart rate to between 60% and 75% of your maximum heart rate and staying within that range for approximately 30 minutes. Your weekly 150 minutes should also include at least two days of strengthening exercises. 

Ideally, this is spread out throughout the week so that you move more days than not. A simpler way to approach this goal is to break it down into 30-minute intervals—plan for doing activities five out of seven days a week. If you’re not a regular exerciser, you should try to build up your activity time gradually. 

How Do You Fit Physical Activity In?

So, what does that information mean for you? You want to be healthier and feel better overall. However, you’re busy working and living your life and unsure where or how to fit in this extra exercise time. 

You are not alone. Many people feel the same way. We’re here to tell you it’s not super complicated and show you how to increase your activity level without spending an hour in the gym. If the gym is your jam, by all means, go to the gym — if that doesn’t seem to fit into your lifestyle there are many options.

It all adds up. One day you have time for a 30-minute virtual workout, but another day you can only manage to find 10 minutes here or there. Perfect! Seize the opportunities when they present themselves. Three 10-minute exercise sessions still equals 30 minutes.

Short intense workouts or activities, like running up and down the stairs at work a few times, are more effective than you realize. Moving more and sitting less overall can help improve your health markers in the long term. Adding activity to your day purposely helps improve your fitness over time. Parking farther away from the store to increase your daily step count or taking the dog on a couple of extra walks counts as an activity.

A Pilates class, a 20-minute HIIT workout, a weightlifting session, or a 40-minute walk are all great options. Mixing it up is a great way to improve your overall fitness level, optimize your time, and not get bored with activities. 

The idea is to change your mindset about what you think is the best workout and what provides your body with health benefits. Stop comparing yourself to fitness professionals on social media. Think long-term lifestyle changes, not quick fixes that statistically only last for a short time.

Eat A Nutritious Diet For Physical Health Benefits 

You may not want to hear this but your mom was right about eating your vegetables. More health experts are recommending a primarily plant-based diet to achieve balanced nutrition. No, you don’t have to give up all the yummy (not so good for you) food you love, but eating them in moderation is the key.

Notice we didn’t say you must  “Go on a diet” because that’s not a realistic approach toward better health, or sustainable for the average person. Remember, we are thinking of long-term lifestyle changes that improve health markers that work best for most folks. 

Why Eating A Nutritious Diet Enhances Health

Food is fuel for your body like gas for a car. Eating a balance of daily nutrients helps your body to function well. Everybody needs essential macronutrients which consist of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Micronutrients are also recommended for optimal health, these are more well-known as vitamins and minerals. 

Vitamins and minerals support your immune system, muscle and bone health, brain and heart functions. So, you can see, it’s important for your health to consume the recommended daily allowances of these nutrients.

The majority of macro and micronutrients are found in unprocessed whole foods. Can you get your calcium from a fortified granola bar? Some of it, yes. However, you also get preservatives and chemicals you can’t pronounce. Plus, whole foods are more bioavailable, meaning your body absorbs and processes nutrients from whole foods better than processed food.

Plant chemicals called phytonutrients are biologically active compounds found naturally in plants. These compounds provide nutrients that support antioxidant activity, which assists your body in repairing cell damage caused by environmental and lifestyle factors. 

Increasing the number of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, and legumes you eat improves your intake of these compounds. Phytonutrients are associated with numerous health perks including improved stress response and sleep quality. Those two benefits are worth adding some carrots and blueberries to your diet.

Essential fatty acids found in plants and fish provide health benefits as well. Omega-3 fatty acids support heart, blood vessels, and nerve tissue health. The correct balance of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids helps to control blood cholesterol levels and inflammation.

How Can You Eat Healthier Without Feeling Deprived?

You don’t have to be a registered dietician or biochemical engineer to ensure you’re eating healthfully. Today, numerous apps and websites provide recipes, help plan meals, offer nutrition advice, and assist you in setting goals to become physically healthier. The information is available, but you should ensure they’re reputable and trendy diet-backed.

Meal box delivery subscriptions offer another option for healthful time-saving meals. They provide meal ingredients from the weekly menus you choose. They’re conveniently delivered to your home, which means no grocery shopping. 

Of course, if you’re on a budget, subscription meal services may not work for you. The best method to increase nutrition in your diet is to keep it simple. Try these tips for a wholesome grocery shopping experience:

• Focus on the produce aisle mainly when you’re grocery shopping. Fresh veggies and fruit or frozen, as long as they’re not covered in sauces, are healthy choices.
• Canned beans without added preservatives or dry beans, if you’re up for cooking them, are nutritious carbohydrate sources.
• Lean meats, skinless poultry, and non-farmed fish are healthier options. Animal-free protein like tofu, tempeh, or seitan offers a plant-based alternative.  
• Whole grains and seeds such as oats, brown rice, and quinoa provide fiber and protein.
• Avocado, nuts, and authentic olive oil provide essential fatty acids.
• If you consume dairy products, consider fresh cheese like feta or low-fat cottage cheese instead of processed, and pick low-fat milk or plant milk.
• Avoid or limit processed foods since they offer minimal nutritional value.

Blend, Spice, Grill, For Better Health

A sneaky way to consume more fruits and veggies is by making smoothies. There are countless options to mix and match nutritious ingredients to toss in a blender, and then drink up. It’s like drinking dessert, that’s good for you!

Nutritious meals don’t have to be bland. Spend some time in the spice aisle. Try new herbs. Think of this as your journey to optimal health through flavor experimentation. 

Research indicates using herbs and spices in your meals provides health benefits. A few reportedly health-promoting spices and herbs include turmeric, red pepper or cayenne, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, and cloves.

When cooking your health-conscious meals try healthier options like grilling, steaming, or roasting instead of frying. Whether it’s vegetables or meats cooking with oil adds calories and oils have maximum temperatures or smoke points — past those points they become unhealthy. 

It’s worth some research of your own to develop a meal plan and identify healthy staples that you can prepare to help you stay on track during your journey to a healthier you.

Learn to Manage Stress, Your Health Will Benefit

Let’s be honest, everyone has stress. It’s a normal part of life. Those who know how to support their bodies while dealing with stressful life events are healthier long-term.

However, being unable to manage your stress can lead to physical health issues. Prolonged elevated stress levels cause reactions in several of your body systems that are not ideal. Chronic stress increases hormone responses which can lead to weight gain and poor sleep quality. It can cause increased blood pressure, and mental health issues, and flare up any existing health condition you may have. 

If you could learn to manage your stress before it becomes a chronic problem that would promote a healthy lifestyle. Through developing coping mechanisms and strategy techniques you can learn to manage stress instead of it overwhelming you. We’ll suggest a few suggestions for stress management that provide health benefits.

Mindfulness

When you feel like life is too much at that moment, you can choose to reroute your thinking. Instead of focusing on overwhelming feelings, focus on being present. 

Purposefully become aware of your body in the space you are currently occupying. Feel your feet on the floor or butt in the chair. Reach out and touch something nearby. Affirm you are safe in your space.

Breathe

Just keep breathing. Taking time to focus on your breathing calms the mind and body. Spending five minutes of your day inhaling and exhaling slowly lowers your heart rate and blood pressure, and reduces anxiety. 

Learning specific types of deep breathing exercises can be helpful long-term in managing your stress levels. Here are a few you can try:

• 4 – 7– 8 breathing is a form of breathing used in yoga practice. Inhale for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds, and then exhale for 8 seconds.
• In diaphragmatic or belly breathing you rest one hand just below your ribs on your diaphragm and the other hand on your upper chest. Inhale through your nose focusing on expanding the belly, then exhale through pursed lips slowly. 
• Box breathing is an exercise consisting of four equally timed breathing cycles. Inhale for 4 seconds, hold, exhale, then hold for 4 seconds.

Go For A Walk

A walk among trees is reportedly effective for stress reduction. Forest walks or hikes are associated with calming the body systems and improving mood. However, even if there is no forest near you, It is also soothing to get outside wherever and whenever you can.

That being said, almost any form of exercise can help reduce overwhelming feelings. Whether you choose to go to the gym, riding your bike, or dancing around your living room, moving your body is always a good idea to promote well-being. 

Journaling, yoga, and meditation are notably helpful for stress reduction. The point is, that you don’t have to be a passive recipient of stress, you can actively manage it and purposefully respond for the betterment of your physical health.

Quality Sleep Provides Health Benefits & How To Attain It 

Why does quality sleep matter? Sleep cycles throughout the night and spending adequate time in each phase helps your body repair itself. Short-duration sleep or frequently interrupted sleep does not allow these processes to occur normally — and thus you don’t attain deep-quality sleep.

During deep sleep, the health benefits happen, i.e. body maintenance and recovery from day-to-day life. When you experience poor sleep quality over a prolonged time it can cause disruptions in your hormone balance which can cause weight gain and irritability.

Sleep deficiency increases feelings of anxiety and depression.

Getting good sleep most of the time promotes numerous health benefits, such as:

• Improved immune system function.
• Improved mood.
• Improved stress response.
• Supports heart and brain health.
• Improved memory and cognitive function.
• Assists in the management of blood sugar, and thus diabetes.
• Decreased inflammation in the body.
• Improves energy levels.

So, we know good sleep quality is essential for optimal health but how do you get it?

How To Improve Your Sleep

Sleep hygiene is a recent term that encompasses a bedtime routine promoting good sleep health. This refers to doing things like reading before bed instead of using your electronics, not eating a heavy meal, or performing vigorous exercise too close to bedtime. 

Set yourself up for success in dreamland. Decrease activity levels within a couple of hours of bedtime. Quiet your mind by listening to music, journaling, or reading to improve your ability to fall asleep and get quality sleep.

During the day you can try several tasks that improve sleep. Avoid late-day stimulants such as coffee or tea. Exercising regularly not only helps reduce stress it helps you sleep better at night. 

Sleep apps on your phone may help with guided relaxation or calming sounds, but be aware of the glowing phone. Studies show ambient light can interrupt sleep patterns. A dark cool room is best for optimal sleep. 

Ideally, you want to purposely contribute to falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking up refreshed to improve your sleep health and physical health.

In summary, four science-backed ways to improve your physical health that as a bonus provide a framework for optimal mental health, are engaging in regular exercise or physical activity for 150 minutes per week (at least), eating a nutritious and balanced diet consisting of real unprocessed food, learning to manage stress, and getting adequate quality sleep.

Taking action and practicing these four tips consistently benefits your overall health and improves how you feel long-term. Good physical health is much more of a marathon than a sprint. Staying on the course is challenging but if you lose your way, our goal at Finding My Prime is to help direct you on your path to your healthiest version.