Here’s an unpleasant truth: You could run and lift weights until you had the figure of your dreams, and it still wouldn’t make you healthy.
You may be wondering why that is, and the answer is simple: Well-being is as much a matter of the mind as it is the body, so there’s no reason you should focus on one while ignoring the other. In fact, a truly effective fitness routine should also contain activities that address your emotions and intellect if you’re really looking to become an overall healthier person.
That’s what self-care is all about. If you’ve never researched the term before, it refers to
practices that help improve your life from the inside out, and exercise is important to that endeavour. But there’s much more to it than that, such as …
Designing Your Own Workout Space
While exercising can make you feel better physically and mentally, creating your own gym at home can further enhance your overall health. Imagine that you have the ability to work out
whenever you feel like it without wasting time getting to the gym, or that you can hop on the
treadmill without having to wait to use it. A home gym offers more convenience and can make
you feel more motivated than going to the gym, resulting in consistency with workouts. Pick a
space in your home, and before you buy any equipment, look into hiring a handyman to install
things you shouldn’t do on your own, like electrical outlets, a ceiling fan, updated flooring, and a
pull-up bar. This service can cost between $214 and $766 in Buffalo, NY.
Planning Your Meals
Just grabbing whatever’s convenient is not only a one-way road to a larger waistline, but also a
frazzled mind. It turns out that a healthy diet helps to relieve stress, but that means putting some
effort into cooking meals at home that are high in nutrients and low in sugar and fat. Research
some recipes and create a meal plan, keeping it simple to save time and energy. If you’re just
too busy to shop for and create your own gourmet recipes, find a meal delivery service in your
area, and select its light and healthy option. These meals can run as cheap as $6.99 a person.
Pursuing Mindfulness
This refers to focusing your attention on what you’re doing in the present as well as the thoughts and sensations running through your brain and body, which you accept and let pass nonjudgmentally. The therapeutic benefits of mindfulness, a fundamental component of meditating, include reducing stress and achieving a state of calm. Build this practice into your life.
Going Outdoors
That doesn’t mean you have to drive off to Yellowstone and spend a few weeks sleeping out in the woods. It’s more about putting nature back in your life however you can because, quite frankly, you need it. Spending just 15 minutes under the sun jump starts production of vitamin D, which is vital to mental health, whereas a short walk in the park improves concentration.
Expanding Your Mind
Reading is one way to do this. As anyone would tell you, books make you smarter by teaching you about the world and adding new words to your vocabulary. That, in turn, makes you a better speaker, which could help you out professionally and socially. Your ability to concentrate will also improve, making your job a lot easier, no matter what you do.
Having an Active Social Life
Hanging out with your friends engages the endogenous opioid system in your brain, according to a writer with Fader, which in layman’s terms means that you feel good ... really good. Over the long haul, that can lead to a longer and healthier life, while in the short term, it makes you feel more positive.
Finding Pleasure
That simple walk in the park can put you in touch with profound aesthetic beauty that you never noticed before, and it comes from nothing more than flowers, trees, birds and butterflies. Take it in for a daily dose of inspiration and joy.
Setting Goals
Write them down on a piece of paper so you can see exactly what you’re striving for in life rather than wandering around lost, wondering what to do. Clear targets give you focus, says a writer with Code of Living, while also allowing you to measure progress and, perhaps best of all, giving you motivation.
Helping Others
Helping others is just as good for you as it is for them. There’s no underestimating the value of volunteering for the community, but you’ll get plenty out of the experience as well, and that includes a sense of purpose as well as some new life experiences and enriching friendships.
Follow this advice, and you’ll be healthier, stronger and feeling better all around. When you look in the mirror, you’ll love the person looking back, and not just because they’re in great physical shape.
Image via Pexels.
Written by Sheila Olson
of fitsheila.com