Getting the most out of life as well as your health doesn’t happen by accident. Nobody trips and falls into a fresh, new body. At some point, we all have to take a hard look at where we are and think about where we want to be. This is less about a sudden and complete overhaul than about making the small, everyday choices necessary to get you from here to there. Welcome to By The Way’s inaugural wellbeing section, Checking In. Here are a few health choices to live by in 2018...
Include more fresh fruits and vegetables and hold back on processed, packaged and fatty foods. Take care in preparing your own food and ditch the take out – not because you want to look like a photoshopped fashion ad, but because caring about yourself means taking care of what you put into your body. Don’t waste your fantastically evolved taste buds on mediocre food; you deserve better. Make every meal worth it. Check out the recipes on pg17 for some vegan delights you might want to try.
Don’t belong to a gym? We live in a beautiful country and it’s summer. Take the dogs and kids for a walk outdoors, where you only need a smile and walking shoes. Moderate daily exercise keeps your body healthy, naturally boosts your body’s endorphins (happy chemicals) and can help you feel more still, balanced and fit.
You may think you have a thick skin, but splash a little sunscreen on it and it’ll love you forever – or at least longer. Your skin is your largest organ, so keep an eye on it too. Examine it every day when you’re out of the shower and familiarise yourself with how it looks and feels. This is not just for appreciation’s sake – though there’s no doubt you are a work of art – it’s mainly so that you will immediately notice any changes to beauty spots, freckles, colouring, shape and sensitivity. Which means you can seek advice from your doctor in time to treat an underlying skin condition, before it gets more serious.
Who doesn’t love an ice-cold glass of fresh water on a hot summer’s day? It’s like taking a refreshing dip in a cool, natural spring. Turns out that’s not by accident. You are primed to enjoy water more than other beverages when you’re hot or thirsty. Our bodies are predominantly water and nature does love symmetry. Water is vitally necessary to maintain healthy cells, remove wastes from the body and it can help fight off fatigue.
And floss regularly. This is not only good for your teeth, but for your immune system too. Who knew?
Regularly get your blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels checked and know your HIV status.
Tobacco, alcohol and drugs are bad for you. These toxic substances are also highly addictive, so double-whammy there. The easiest way to avoid getting hooked on toxins? Just don’t try them in the first place. And if you already struggle, there are some very good programmes out there to help you stop abusing your body. Read the research, make informed decisions and get help if you need it from a professional you trust.
Adopt a positive outlook and seek meaning in your daily life and work. Every day should feel like an exciting gift you can’t wait to unwrap, instead of some sort of chore you have to complete before you get to “the good days”. Try to do a little something for someone else every day, even if it is just a hug or an understanding smile. People appreciate the little things even if they don’t notice them right away. Soon you’ll find you have a willing and supportive tribe when you need it and this will in turn help to feed your positivity. There’s that symmetry again!
This is easier than you think. Expect to win and approach whatever you’re doing with confidence that you will succeed. And don’t forget to celebrate the small victories. You ate some fruit for lunch? Hooray! You managed to tick off an item on your to-do list? Well done! Achieving great things is about all the little steps you took to get there.
