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Staying Fit and Healthy can be a challenge. But the benefits of maintaining a healthy weight are tremendous. There’s really no way around it: in order to lose weight and keep it off, you have to cut calories and exercise. Under the best circumstances, exercise and diet aren’t something you do once or twice per day, but they fit into a balanced lifestyle of wellness. Juke Performance outlines six ways to make fitness a habit.
Getting Enough Rest at Night
Time cites studies showing that regularly getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night can help reduce your cravings for unhealthy foods and help you feel full, both of which make it easier to stick to a diet. More quality sleep can also rev up and maintain a healthy metabolism, which will burn fat and calories faster. Of course, getting better sleep will also keep you in a better mood and boost your energy, so that you’re more likely to enjoy exercise, as opposed to thinking of it as a chore.
Eating Healthier Foods
To lose weight, eat fewer grams of fat and fewer calories. That’s really all there is to it. But to be healthy, you need a balanced diet. If the goal of losing weight has led to depriving yourself of needed nutrients, the weight loss has come at a cost and the weight is also likely to come back once the diet has ended. Diets that severely restrict one type of food over another are rarely beneficial in the long run. Eating a balanced diet, which includes beans, veggies, fruit, and protein, can also help boost your immunity, improve your brain health, and prevent disease. A healthy diet will also provide the energy needed for exercise.
Finding The Right Workout
If your workout is a chore, you’re not as likely to do it. You’ll dread going to the gym and will see little benefit for your state of mind. It may be worth trying something new instead of what hasn’t been working. Take up tennis, spinning, yoga, or CrossFit. There are so many exercise options out there, so why limit yourself? Verywell Fit suggests adding weight training to keep the muscles strong and to burn more calories during workouts.
Boosting Your Mental Health
If you struggle with mental health issues, you are more likely to struggle with your weight. Do what you can to keep your mental health managed by working with your doctor or therapist. You can go from a negative feedback loop, where you don’t feel good, and that’s exacerbated by not exercising, to a positive feedback loop, where you feel better about yourself and more energized. While you are burning calories and building muscle, your brain will be firing up the endorphins that can lessen feelings of depression and anxiety.
It’s especially important for those with leadership roles at work to learn how to mitigate stress. As ZenBusiness points out, managers have exasperated levels of stress due to the nature of their work; not only are they responsible for daily operations and the bottom line. they’re also managing employees who are dealing with stressors in their own lives and roles at work. Fitting in an exercise regimen may be difficult when one’s “free time” is limited with increased work hours, but it is important to invest at least a small amount of time staying fit.
Investing in a Home Gym
You don’t need a full-scale home gym to stay fit. You can add a few inexpensive pieces of equipment to make exercising easier on your schedule. A Swiss ball, resistance bands, and kettlebells are great tools to give you a full-body workout at home. If you have limited space, these small items can easily be stowed away in a closet or corner, and you can pull them out when you need them.
Keeping Your Body Hydrated
You don’t have to cut out all the other drinks that make you happy(remember, don’t deprive yourself). Just drink more water. If you are trying to cut down on sodas, try drinking a glass of water when you get a craving. You’ll be less likely to drink one if your thirst is already quenched. Water is important to your body for so many reasons, from preserving kidney function to increasing energy, but drinking more can also make it easier to lose that extra weight.
If you want to maintain a healthy weight, these six tips can help you live a balanced lifestyle. Taking care of your wellness can have a profoundly positive impact on your body and your mind.
Juke Performance is the creator of the MASS Suit, the world’s breakthrough full-body resistance suit designed to target muscle groups to provide better results faster. Find out more today! [email protected] or 818-865-9922