By staying healthy in your 20’s and 30’s you will have less of a chance of contracting heart diseases. You can stay healthy into your middle age if you are able to keep up with these simple health habits. If you create healthy habits during these years you will find that it follows you as you age.
We tend to gain most of our weight in our twenties. It is especially difficult to focus on our health during this age as we trying to get a higher education, find a career, start a family, and everything that comes with getting older. We are so busy trying to live our lives, and create a good future, that we sometimes forget that our health is the most important aspect of our future. Here are just a few things that can help you to create some great health habits to help you in the future. Remember it only takes 20 days to form a lifelong habit.
Weigh Yourself
You should regularly weigh yourself. You don’t want to carry around extra pounds as it is really bad for your health. As stated above, we tend to gain excess weight during our twenties, as we tend to put off things like the gym while we try to build for our futures. If you are keeping an eye on your weight, it will be much easier to keep up with it. It is much easier to lose 5 pounds than it is to lose 20. Plus, if you are weighing yourself regularly, you will start to make better food choices as you are constantly aware of your weight goals.
Learn to Cook
If you know how to cook you will save money and be able to live a healthier lifestyle. Basically, you won’t be eating out as much, which will save you money. Also, fast food adds unnecessary fats and sugars to your diet. You should be focused on adding fruits and vegetables to your diet. You should also be looking into healthy alternatives to your favorite snack food. Stay away from the sugary snacks and add any health item in its place and you will see results. You will be able to develop a healthy eating pattern that will follow you into your middle age.
Cut Back on Sugar
You should try to avoid excess sugar in your diet. You can easily cut excess sugar out of your diet by cutting out: sugary soft drinks, breakfast cereals, or adding sugar to foods. Excess sugar can lead to diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Sugar does not have any nutritional value for you, so you should really watch how much of it you eat. By looking at the nutritional value on the back of boxes, you will be able to see how much sugar is in everything you eat, and I think you’ll be surprised.
Have an Active Lifestyle
Exercise is good for your body and your soul. You should be exercising for about 30 minutes a day. This may seem like a lot, but it can add up quickly. Just making small lifestyle changes like walking to work, or taking the stairs, can add up to be a lot. All you have to do is be active for 30 minutes, whether that is in the gym or at home, it is an achievable goal. If you have a pet, or a family, get them involved in your exercise routine and it will make it easier for you, plus you may even begin to look forward to it. Remember that you can exercise at home either in the morning or at night, or both, and hit your 30 minute a day goal.
Eat Your Vegetables
This is one of the basics, eat your vegetables. You have been hearing it your whole life, so why not do it? If you start incorporating vegetables into your diet, you are sure to feel healthier and see results. Try getting steamed vegetables as a side instead of french fries, or even add extra veggies with your wings. Small changes make a big difference.
Portion Control
Portion control is vital to eating healthy. Portion control can help you to drop weight and keep a stable weight afterwards. Once you begin to think about portion control, you will find yourself making these portion decisions automatically as time goes on. When it comes to portion control, not everything has to be a small portion. For example, eating large amounts of fruits or veggies will not make you fat, but it will fill you up. When it comes to small portions, you should have smaller portions of sweets and processed foods. Don’t forget to eat your proteins either. You should eat protein with every meal. Remember that protein is in many things including dairy products, meats, nuts, and much more.
Exercise Routines After the Weekends
If you like to party, which most of us do in our early to mid-twenties, you probably know how much junk you can consume over these times. Make sure that you are exercising a lot to offset all these fun weekends. Since you consume way more calories than on a normal day, the best way to offset this is with exercise, there is not much else that can offset this.
Love your Job
Your work environment can have a large impact on your mental health. Your job in your twenties can affected all other jobs that you have in the future. If you become used to hating your job, you will walk into every job that you have in the future with the same mindset, or at least you will be more likely to begin hating a job. Also, if you love your job, you will be less likely to be depressed, stressed, or have trouble sleeping. Find a job you are passionate about, and you will find that this will motivate you and create big expectations for your future career.