Have you decided that 2022 is the year when you start to take your health and wellness seriously? Then good on you. There have never been more ways to get fit and healthy or more information out there to help you. In this article, we hope to provide a little more, with a few tips to make 2022 the start of a new you.
- Drink more water
It really doesn’t get easier than this. The simplest way to improve your health is to drink more water. There are a huge number of health benefits associated with drinking the recommended eight glasses of water every day. That includes:
- A boost to skin health and beauty
- More lubricated joints
- Better regulated blood pressure
- Better regulated body temperature
- Improved performance during exercise
- Weight loss
And that’s just a few. A great tip is to always start the day with a big glass of water and to carry a water bottle with you that you can sip as you go.
- Eat more fruit and vegetables
Once you have your hydration sorted, the next step is to change what’s on your plate. Studies have shown that people who eat lots of lovely fruit and veg improve their health considerably. However, the benefits do not come from eating the occasional side salad or having one or two bits of fruit a day.
You don’t necessarily need to revamp your diet to include plenty of vegetables, but you will have to think about what you eat more carefully. Here are a few creative ways to eat more vegetables, seventeen of them in fact. I can personally vouch for the ‘cauliflower crust pizza’ tip. It doesn’t sound like it would be good but it really is.
Don’t neglect fruit either (although we would have to argue that prioritising leafy green veg is generally a good move) Still we can derive a glut of vitamins and minerals from fruit too and it’s much easier to incorporate it into a busy schedule as you can grab it and go wherever you are.
More and more employers are also supplying fruit baskets for their staff. Recent figures reported from office fruit delivery company Fruitful Office suggest a post-covid surge in sales as staff return to normal working conditions and are more conscious than ever of keeping a healthy immune system.
If you’re an employee – speak to your team about corporately provided fresh fruit throughout the working day. It’s the same as the glass of water principle – you would be surprised how much water you will drink naturally (or how much fruit you will eat) if it’s readily to hand without you having to get off your office chair, and it’s certainly better than a few kit kats and three cups of coffee (or is that just me on Monday mornings?)
- Exercise frequently
At the risk of stating the obvious, moving your body is a great way to improve your health. Even light exercise can help to improve sleep, boost cognitive function and promote weight loss. The best way to exercise regularly is to incorporate it into your daily life, whether that’s riding a bike to the shops when you’d usually drive, going for walks, or playing with the kids in the garden.
Aim to do some form of moderate-intensity exercise at least three times a week for 150 minutes or more. Alternatively, if you’re short on time, do 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week, such as going for a run, swim or doing aerobics.
- Cut the sugar
Sugar is so ubiquitous in today’s food and drinks that most people have no idea how much sugar they’re consuming daily. It is packed into just about everything, from pasta sauces and yoghurt to granola bars, juices and soft drinks. Sugar has little to no nutritional value, but what it does do well is damage your health.
Eating too much sugar is bad for you for a whole host of reasons. It can cause weight gain, increase your risk of heart disease, has been linked to skin conditions such as acne, may increase your risk of cancer, can increase the signs of aging and can even accelerate cognitive decline.
Cutting sugar out of your diet entirely can be difficult, but you should at least be mindful of your sugar intake and check how much sugar is in some of the processed foods you eat so you can make more informed decisions.
What are your health and fitness goals for 2022? Please share yours with our readers in the comments below.