Sick of feeling tired and sluggish or under the weather? Suffering with fatigue and low energy, or worried about how your lifestyle could be affecting you long term? Here are some ways you might be damaging your health without realizing, and what to do about it!
Not Eating Enough Fruit & Veggies
Many of us overestimate how much fruit and veg we’re consuming. It’s easy to think that bit of salad in your sandwich or the olives and mushrooms on your pizza are contributing, but you need far more than this to count. A portion of salad should be 80g to count which is a salad bowl full, while smaller amounts do count, you need to ensure you’re meeting that five a day target. Have a piece of fruit with lunch, switch out a sandwich for a salad at lunch and pile on veggies at dinner. Snacking on things like olives or carrot sticks dipped in hummus, or dried/ tinned/ fresh fruit will all help you to get there. Make it part of your daily eating habits.
Skipping Out on Health Appointments
Guilty…Doctors, dentists, opticians- they’re never much fun to go to, but it’s important to be attending your routine appointments. Doing so means any potential issues can be spotted early, at the most treatable stage. We all lead busy lives and it’s easy to put off these kinds of things, but your health really should be a priority. Make sure you’re getting the best dental care by booking in every six months and getting checked over. Attend your annual physical at the doctor where they can check things like your weight, blood pressure and blood sugar. Have an optician look into your peepers every two years (or more often if you have any problems) to ensure your eyes are at optimal health.
Sitting down
Sitting down for large chunks of the day is linked with poor health and risk factors to things like heart disease, obesity and diabetes. Scarily, this is still true even if you workout regularly and are active the rest of the time. Consider switching to a standing desk to alleviate this.
Filling up on coffee
Coffee is safe for most people, but it’s important to remember that it is still a drug. Caffeine has a considerable effect on the human body and lasts longer than you might realize. Drink too much or too close to bedtime and you’ll find yourself not being able to sleep which comes with its own set of health problems. Also guilty and I can vouch that this can lead to a poor nights rest, and a vicious cycle of drinking more coffee again in the morning. Consider cutting down your cups of coffee, and perhaps have a cut off point during the day if it affects your sleep. You can always switch to decaff if you struggle kicking the habit.
Relying on conveniences
In this busy and ever moving day and age, it’s hard not to rely on conveniences to make it possible to meet all of those overwhelming obligations. Convenience foods might save you time, but they’ll be costing you when it comes to your wallet and your health. They might look innocent enough- microwavable versions of foods you cook yourself- but they can be loaded with sugar, fat and salt. Skip the conveniences, start batch cooking instead. Make large meals and then portion the leftovers into Tupperware containers and freeze. You have your own healthy microwavable meals then.
Are you guilty of neglecting some of these things despite knowing better? How do you keep yourself accountable when dealing with your own health? Let me know in the comments below and thanks for reading!
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