In an age of health-conscious individuals, if you feel it’s too late for you to start your fitness journey, think again.
If you have gotten tired and weary of fitness habits too early, it’s time to take charge and let not your age stop you. Doctors believe that the brain can be trained to change whether it is 18 or 80. Your brain can be wired to believe what you constantly told it. So, you are never too old to adopt new healthy habits.
Here is a list of things that would help you not only to be healthy but slow down the aging process.
Be Physically Active:
Taking out about 30-60 minutes for a moderate-intensity workout most days a week can keep up your energy levels. It is also beneficial to get good sleep and keep your weight in check.
Women who exercise tend to have healthier blood pressure and cholesterol levels; they have a lower risk of heart diseases, diabetes, and dementia. Exercise helps keep away menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, sweats, and moodiness and keeps the body agile.
There are many ways one can keep the agility game up. Keeping a fitness tracker can be a good motivation to keep a count of your steps for starters. Being mindful to take the stairs to get home or parking the car away from the destination can help you walk or burn some calories.
If you are already in a fitness regime, challenge your friends, set a common goal, and get into a healthy competition. Level up your fitness game while there is scope for improvement. You may try a variety of routines that boost your strength, balance, flexibility, and endurance.
Watch What You Eat:
There are all sorts of diets and meal plans out there to help you shed those calories, but health is not all about losing the extra pounds. A healthy plate is beyond the bland and uninteresting palate. A balanced diet that includes all vitamins and nutrients can be rather colorful and appetizing if you choose wisely.
Be mindful while shopping for your monthly grocery and cut down on refined sugars and flour from your cart. Avoid packed food and opt for fresh food as often as you can. If you have to consume packed food look at the ingredients before you buy it from the store. Women must include enough fiber in their diet. Plant-based food like legumes, whole seeds, vegetables, and fruits are rich in fiber.
Not all food supplements are harmful, you may include some as per the doctor’s advice.
Limit Drinking and Caffeine and Stop Smoking:
Too much caffeine results in insomnia, anxiety, dehydration, heart palpitations, and stomach upset. Avoid drinking coffee after 2 p.m. or at least after sunset to avoid caffeine interference with your sleep.
Alcohol affects women differently than men. The structure of women leads the body to absorb more alcohol and takes longer to metabolize it. The ill effects of alcohol are seen quickly and last longer for women. Alcohol addiction is a cause of many cancers, liver dysfunctions, and cardiac health.
As for smoking, it is only wise to quit it the moment you read this. Smoking not only affects respiratory health but is a cause of heart-related issues as well as cancers. Women who smoke are likely to go through menopause earlier than those who don’t. Cutting tobacco from your life can be an invisible boon in many ways.
Make Sleep your Priority
Most women don’t realize that having good sleep is very important to improve overall health. The demand of modern life makes it hard to get a good sleep at night. Good sleep is a daily obligation, so those who make up for their sleep on weekends and stay awake all week are not making the right choice.
Getting an adequate amount of sleep is needed to feel rested and balanced. It keeps you productive and keeps stress and emotional instability at bay. Women who are unable to get adequate sleep tend to gain weight and are more emotionally unstable than those who do.
Set a pattern to cultivate better sleep habits. keep away from your phone or screen at least 30 minutes before bedtime. Listen to soothing music or meditate, write a journal or read a book.
Break the Monotony
Scheduling and planning your days to achieve your desired goals is great, but one must consider taking breaks at times when routine begins to feel dull or when the mind requires a bit of rest or change. Rejuvenation breaks are encouraged in corporate setups. These breaks could be anything that calms you or allows you to break the monotony. Engaging in a hobby, parenting pets or plants, meditating, learning a new skill, or a musical instrument can be more effective than pills for some.
Annual Health Checkups
Major illnesses can be prevented if detected at the right time. Women’s bodies are subjected to change with age, hormonal modifications etcetera. Health checkups are excellent ways to check for serious health concerns like breast cancers, uterine cancers, cholesterol, diabetes, and blood pressure. These checks can also ensure if you require a mammogram, pap test, HPV screening, or osteoporosis screening.
Any age is the right age for a woman to take control of her life for a healthy living and a happy life.
