There are many ways to live an inspiring life. It is definitely within your reach, you can even start to change today! A healthy lifestyle has both short and long term health benefits. Everybody knows that. If you’re too lazy to start, you might want to continue reading and make some changes today!
Often we do not know where to start. I think firstly we have to assess ourselves. Self-assessments allow us to solidify what we already know, for instance your strengths and weaknesses. It also helps to gain a new perspective and track our growth. Key benefit is that it helps motivate us in all aspects in life.
To know if you live a healthy lifestyle, these are some of the questions you can ask yourself:
- Measure your height and weight to check your BMI – are you healthy?
- How many times you exercise in a week?
- Are your eating habits healthy?
- Check your mood and energy. Do you feel like you’re always tired and emotional? Do you sleep well?
Then let’s get into some actions!
Move more
I think most of the people have a misconception of being healthy by only going to the gym. Do not get me wrong, if you have time and commitment for gym then that’s great! But you can also make it fun! Try to go for a hike with friends. Or walk your pet daily. There’s no need to stick to cardio equipment in the gym if you’re dreading it each time. So go out to the parks! I found out Skytrex Shah Alam is super fun too! (if you like outdoor activities!) But with two kids now I haven’t gotten the chance to go there myself. So I go to the gym. Other than cardio on treadmills I do some kickboxing and weight trainings with my trainer too.
Improve your diet
I have a few rules for myself in my diet.
- Drink plenty of water, avoid sugary drinks.
- On my plate I must have more veggies (leafy greens!), healthy protein, whole grains and fruits.
- Slow down and enjoy my meal. If you multitask while you’re eating you tend to eat more!
Don’t be too hard on yourself and you should pamper yourself one or two good meals (or your favourite food) per week!
And sometimes I like to start my day with this! 🙂
Manage Stress
Stress comes in different form. It could be work, environment, hormones change and etc. One of the ways to release stress is to breathe. If you feel that you’re not thinking straight, just stop and breathe for a minute. Repeat again until you find yourself feeling better.
For ladies, stress can cause even more problems! Poor hygiene, hormone change and etc – all these add on to our burden. Not only do we need to take care of our outer skin, we must learn to maintain feminine hygiene too. Ever since I started using Betadine Feminine wash I feel much more confident everyday! No more discomfort and I know I’ve done my part to prevent any kind of irritations.
Improve your relationship
To make relationship work, communication is the key. And this applies to all including your partner, family, friends or even colleagues from work. These are the people you speak to everyday and try to know them better. Challenge yourself to socialize at an event too. Who knows you might meet someone that would be able to help you in a long run, or maybe partner in a lifetime? 🙂
Jacob and Sophie are my happy pills and they are my priorities. Everyday I try doing as many activities as I can with them to improve our mother-child bonding. The development of trust between a mother and her child begins when they are brought together. It is the most special feeling in this world. Then when the baby becomes a toddler, they start to explore their surroundings more. And there’s another level of trust that need to be built. So there are many stages in building relationship with people including our children. One simple activity such as teaching Jacob how to ride a bicycle and I can tell he trusts himself through all the encouragement I give. With me by his side he knows he’s safe to cycle around too.
Last by not least, the siblings bond. It takes a lot of encouragement for Jacob to accept he’s not the baby anymore. By guidance, he knows how to take care of his little sister and start to love and trust Sophie.
So there you go. Simple steps to improve your lifestyle. It doesn’t require big effort but rather small changes to start. Life is too short my friends, so make it worth it! 🙂
