Making sure that you eat healthy meals is an important part of ensuring that you’re as healthy as can be, but it’s not everything. As you might expect, it takes more than just a healthy meal to make your body feel the best that it can be. It’s just the foundation. Once you’ve got that foundation, you’ll be able to add some extra elements that really help to drive your health forward. In this blog, we’ll look at some tried and tested methods for making yourself as healthy as can be.
Eat the Right Amount
It’s good to eat healthy meals, but remember that it’s just not what you eat, but how much. It wouldn’t make sense, from a health perspective, to eat three portions of a meal, even if it is “healthy.” It would be better than if you were to eat two portions of processed food, sure, but still not great. As such, it’s recommended to take a look at the serving size recommendations of the meals that you’re making. You can add or subtract from that amount a little depending on your body type, but it should be within the same ballpark.
Add Herbs to Your Diet
Adding herbs to your diet will help digest your food better, make the nutrients more bioavailable and it will enhance the flavor of your food. Herbs contain phytonutrients that cannot be accessed when taking herbal supplements. Adding simple herbs like fresh parsley, basil or rosemary will ramp up the food you eat. Many of the common spices we use also have great health benefits. So, go beyond salt and pepper to make your food taste great and sneak in some major health benefits at the same time.
Go Outdoors
Spending time in the great outdoors isn’t just fun. It’s also extremely good for your health, and not just your physical health — it can also push your mental wellbeing forward, too. Indeed, in one study, it was found that spending just 15 minutes in green spaces can help to alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression. There are also physical benefits to spending time outdoors, too, since most of the things you’d do there — hiking, cycling — will help you to work up a sweat. People can often avoid spending time in nature because they think it’s far from their home, but even if you live in a city, there’ll be some nature within easy driving distance.
Hit the Gym
You’ll need to really work up a sweat in order to be your healthiest best. Going to the gym on a regular basis is one of the best investments of your time you can make, since it can have such a profound effect on your mental and physical wellbeing. Don’t worry if you’ve never been to a gym before; they’re less intimidating than you might think, and, if you join a gym such as Fitness 19, will be more affordable than you might expect, too. It takes a little bit of determination to make going to the gym a habit, but once you have, you’ll wonder how you ever lived it.
Conclusion
Your health is within your control. While eating healthy ingredients will be a good starting point, it shouldn’t be the end of your journey. By eating the right amount at dinner time, spending time in the great outdoors, and hitting the gym to work up a sweat, you’ll be building the habits that contribute towards a healthy life. You’ll find that you feel better, look better, and that you have more energy than you thought possible, all thanks to some simple lifestyle changes.