Myths to Healthy Lifestyle and How to Make Healthier Life Choices

Choosing a healthy lifestyle is not an easy choice to make. But let’s be realistic, having bad habits in your life will take a toll later.

For instance, you could develop chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, etc. It will not only impact your life quality but also your pocket. Purchasing medicines and appointments with the doctor are expensive.

So, why not learn how to make healthy lifestyle choices?

In this blog, you will find tips and information that will be useful for you. Take advantage of the new purposes of beginning a New Year.

Maybe your friends and family are willing to have better habits and make healthy lifestyle choices. Ask them and if they do, don’t hesitate on creating a Facebook or WhatsApp group to stay motivated. 

Myths about healthy lifestyle

First of all, we are going to discuss the most common myths about choosing a healthy lifestyle. This will help you to clear your mind of false information. Hence, you will be ready to embrace new information that will be helpful in your new journey.

1. You need to be always on a diet

No, no, no, no, and no. Being on a diet that a health professional gives you is only needed if:

• You want to lose weight

• You are pregnant, as well, trying to get pregnant or breastfeeding.

• You want to gain muscle

• You are becoming vegetarian

And also, even if they give you a diet, that is not forever. There are a lot of studies out there that say that being on it for a long time is bad for your mental health.

Why? Because you will become frustrated as you will feel in some way restricted. And there are new healthcare trends changing lives fast too.

This is something that not all people know. But after reaching your goal so flossing weight, gain muscle, etc., you need to enter a maintenance stage. What does that mean? That you will learn to eat healthy intuitively by choosing good food for your body. And good news, you will be able to eat more. 

Sounds great right? If your path to becoming a healthier person includes losing weight, go for it. Don’t be scared, as now you know, being on diet will not last forever.

Go with a nutritionist, and search on the web. There are a lot of diets, like keto or Mediterranean. Find some specialist that works with that type of diet and you will be ready to go.

2. You need to exercise every day

This is also a common lie. There’re some intense gym people out there that go to the gym every day. This is not good for your body.

For your muscle store cover, they need to rest. If not, eventually, you are not going to perform the same when doing exercise. As well, you will be more prone to injuries; and believe me, getting recovered from an injury is not an easy thing to do.

Keep in mind that some days, you will not feel like exercising. Instead of not going to the gym or other activities that you have chosen, do something else.

Doing some exercise that is not as intense as the one that you are used to also works. It is better to do a little thing than nothing. Go walking alone or with your dog, play with your kids, or go and ride your bicycle for a few minutes.

Something is always better than nothing when choosing a healthy lifestyle.

3. You need to take supplements

Incorrect! For sure you have heard of protein, creatine, and all the vitamins that a lot of the people that exercise take. Guest what? You don’t actually need them.

Protein? You can find enough of them in your food. Maybe if you’re trying to gain muscle you will need to add more protein to your diet. But that’s it. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on huge jars of protein powder.

Let’s understand it in the right way; taking protein shakes is not bad. But they’re not needed. Also, other supplements as creatine are not required. Your body does its own creatine, don’t worry about it. Vitamins are also found in fruits and vegetables, don’t purchase vitamin supplements.

4. Having a healthy lifestyle is expensive

No, it doesn’t have to be. You don’t need to be subscribed to a gym, eat organic expensive food, or purchase a lot of supplements (as now you know). You can exercise everywhere! You can go and run in the park and swim in the sea or lakes.

Do you want to lift the weight? Actually, you can lift your own weight. Or you can just work with resistance bands; you will have the same effect on your body. 

But food, what about the food? You just have to make sure that you are eating food that is good for you. It could be whole grains, raw and fresh food like fruits and vegetables.

Also, fats are needed, just pick good fats. There is not necessary to purchase expensive food, just buy good food for your body.

How to get started with a healthy lifestyle?

Now that we have discussed the myths about healthy life, let’s talk about what you can do.

Certainly, it is a path that requires discipline and tons of patience with yourself. Don’t try to start doing everything perfectly and without failing. The best is to start putting small new goals.

1. Drink tea

As easy as that? Yeah, for sure. Some types of tea help you to boost your immune system and gives you energy, for instance, green tea is a perfect option. There are some amazing health benefits of green tea, so definitely it is a must. Other teas are really good as well. 

Peppermint tea can help you a lot if you have some gastrointestinal issues. Chamomille tea has anti-bacterial properties. Also, they are other ones that can help managing stress and relaxing.

There are a lot of options out there in the market. You can do your research and check what tea works better for your purposes. 

2. Setting goals on food

How about starting with eating vegetables in every meal? This is a simple way to start and doable. Don’t feel guilty if in one meal you didn’t make it; you will have a lot of meals ahead of you to eat your vegetables.

After you feel that you have it under control and you already reach your first goal, go for another one. Maybe try to eat more whole grains instead of donuts, cake, or things like that.

Remember eating good is not a punishment. You are going to keep eating the food that you like as hamburgers, cake, etc. Keep these numbers in mind 80/20. 80 percent of the food that you eat needs to be healthy food. For the other 20 percent, you can eat whatever you want. Simple as that.

So maybe once a week you can eat your favorite hamburger or that milkshake that you are craving.

One important tip: Every food can be cooked healthily. They’ll taste similar to the not healthy ones, but they will not be the same.  Keep your mind open with the flavor.

There are plenty of healthy recipes for desserts and food on Instagram. Take a good dive on the internet to check a recipe that you like, check the reviews, and try it.

3. Exercise, the key to a healthy lifestyle

Yes, exercise is so important for health. It will increase your serotonin, so you will be happier. It helps with managing stress, reducing the risk of having a heart attack, etc.

But a lot of people think that doing exercise is only going to the gym. I have good news for you; exercise is not only going to lift weight.

The main problem that a lot of people have is that they choose the wrong exercise for them. Don’t stick to one thought (like going to the gym).

They are as many types of exercise as stars in the sky. Just choose one that you really like. One that will make you get out of bed happy for going to do it; one that you will be willing to do without excuses.

If you are not sure what the right one for you is, just try them. Think if you like a team sport or single sports. That way you reduce the list in the type of activity that you will like. 

Some ideas for you about sports and exercise to start a healthy lifestyle:

• Running

• Swimming

• Yoga

• Sports in a team like volleyball, soccer, rugby, etc.

• Single sports: Tennis, karate, judo, etc.

• Go for a ride on your bicycle, skateboard, rollers, etc.

• Dancing

Some points to keep in mind for a healthy lifestyle

Now that we have talked about the changes that you can do in your life, let’s be clear about this. Changing habits is not easy. Be patient with yourself.

If by any chance you are feeling guilty for not eating well one day or not exercising, then don’t worry. Remember every step that you already take. Look back and check all the habits that you had slowly changed for the betterment of your body.

Also, doing little is better than doing nothing. If you weren’t able to accomplish the goals that you set for a day, then take it easy. Do not punish yourself with double exercise the day tomorrow.

Don’t try to eat less after eating something unhealthy; just go back to eating better and exercising in a normal way. You will not get fatter or unhealthier for just one meal. 

One last thing about maintaining a healthy lifestyle

Now that we reveal the myths about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and talk about the things that you can actually do to have a healthier state, do it. Do not hesitate, just do it. Don’t start on Monday, start now.

To buy healthy food, write down recipes for every meal of the day. Do it all week; then you can do a market list with the ingredients that you will need to cook them.

If you are going for the drinking tea option also, check options. In this case, there are a lot of reasons to choose organic tea. But if you think this alternative is expensive for you, regular tea will do. 

Finally, support is really important.  Find a friend or a family member that is also trying to be in better shape. That way both of you can stay motivated easily.