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Going Green, Going Healthy, Going Strong, Health, Lifestyle, Tips

5 Easy Ways to Start a Healthier Lifestyle

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Starting a healthier lifestyle is all about committing to lifelong health. When your desire to change overpowers your desire to indulge in unhealthy habits, you are ready to start a healthy lifestyle. If you are serious about making changes, here are five tips on how to begin a healthy lifestyle to get you started.

  1. Start Eating Healthier

When you decide to lead a healthier lifestyle, the first thing to work on is your diet. Begin by incorporating healthy foods like fruits and veggies into your meals rather than completely changing your eating habits. Your body and mind need time to adjust, so don’t rush the process.

If you take it slow at first, you can change your eating behaviors. Include health vitamins into your daily eating plan to make up for any nutritional deficiencies you may have. Over time, you may discover that you are more capable of changing up your meal plan completely!

  1. Keep A Schedule

As human beings, we have internal body clocks that keep in time with nature. This means we need to begin paying attention to the sunrise and sunset and how these times interact with our eating and sleeping habits.

With so much artificial light in our lives, it can be challenging to know what time to go to bed, wake up, eat, and so on. Your best bet is to stop eating before 7 pm and wake up as early as possible while still getting eight hours of sleep. Aim to go to bed around 10 pm, and you are golden for an early start.

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  1. Incorporate Some Exercise

Give yourself time to adjust to exercise. As you start to build a habit of regular exercise, you can increase the intensity. You might consider joining a gym or hiring a personal trainer to help you reach your goals. Remember that caring for your body is caring for your mind.

  1. Practice Letting Go

We all know that stress has adverse effects on your body. An important part of building a healthy lifestyle is learning how to let go of the stress that we carry. Make an effort to take up a daily practice of letting go.

Whether you choose to meditate, enjoy a home-cooked meal, or take a bath, make your rituals intentional so that you notice the stress lifting from your shoulders.

Self-care is critical to building a healthy lifestyle. You can find many meditation apps for download to help you work on letting go. Try integrating them into your daily practice to help you destress. The more you practice, the easier this process gets.

  1. Keep A Journal

You can find journals that incorporate fitness logs and food diaries as part of their template format to make things easier to keep track of. There are also grid paper journals that make it easy to customize what you write into organized boxes.

As you make changes, you will want to be tracking your progress. Keeping a record of your thoughts and feelings about your lifestyle changes will make it easier for you to reflect and look back on areas you can improve upon. Journaling is also an excellent outlet for stress, helping you to improve your mental health as well.

The Bottom Line

Starting up a healthy lifestyle means taking baby steps and tracking your progress as you go. Do what works for you regarding your eating habits and exercise, and prioritize sticking to a sleep schedule that honors your internal body clock. Do all of these things, and soon, you will find that you have reached a healthier state of being.

Going Healthy, Going Strong, Health, Lifestyle, Tips

The Steps You Should Follow Before Starting a Workout

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Taking part in a fitness workout is a great way to improve your health, and though it sounds like a popular pastime to many people, actually starting the workout is easier said than done. Many people will already have a good idea about which activities they would like to participate in, so the next step for them will be to think about the steps needed to start their workout.

From looking for the perfect pre-ride snack if your chosen exercise is cycling, to gathering the right equipment if you are playing rugby or football, knowing where to start can be very beneficial to the success of your workout.

So, let’s learn more.

Eat a Healthy Snack

One of the first things that many people decide to do before starting a workout is to grab a healthy snack. This is because it helps to give your body the fuel it needs to complete all of your workout without experiencing any difficulties. Everyone knows that your desired workout will lead to your energy levels taking a hit, but eating a healthy pre workout snack can provide you with enough energy to complete it.

Sports such as cycling, for example, require someone to use a lot of energy because it is a strenuous activity that requires you to use different parts of your body at the same time. Furthermore, taking the time to ingest a healthy snack , that has energy boosting properties beforehand, will not only give you increased motivation to achieve your goals, but will also mean that your endurance performance will be heightened too. Even if you don’t feel like eating, this is something that you should definitely consider doing. You will feel better for it afterward.

Gather Your Equipment

As well as gathering any balls, sticks, or posts that you need for your activity, you also need to think about your workout gear. Exercising isn’t a fashion show and what matters more than anything is your comfort level. At the end of the day, you need to be comfortable because if you’re not comfortable, you will find it much harder to complete your workout. The most important piece of clothing you need to consider when exercising is your shoes. If you are a runner, you need to find shoes that are designed to be run in and not shoes that are meant for cyclists or hikers. Similarly, if you’re into deadlifting, you will need lifting gear such as wrist straps and a lifting belt from Turtle Strength Australia. It really is that simple.

As well as your fitness gear, if you know you need certain pieces of equipment, be sure to get that in plenty of time before your workout. For example, if you are joining a local football club, you need to make sure you have football boots, shinpads, and maybe even Kinesiology Tape to help support certain areas of your body. This is because some clubs might not provide this, but you will expect them to provide the footballs and goal posts.

So, if you’re trying something new for the first time, preparation is key.

Consider Your Fitness Level

Regardless of your age or gender, everyone will have varying fitness levels. Because of this, you need to make sure that you don’t compare yourself to others, as there is a very high chance that you won’t be able to match them in terms of fitness. By knowing what your own fitness levels are, you will be able to design a workout program around these levels to ensure that you are meeting any goals and targets that you have in mind.

Not only that, but accurately assessing where you are fitness wise will allow you to measure any future progress you make since you started. Seeing how far you have come in your fitness journey will provide the motivation you need to continue pushing forward in order to meet your long term goal. There are many guides you can follow to determine how to assess your fitness level before starting your chosen fitness regime.

Everyone should strive to live a healthier life. It may come easier to some than others, but the most important thing to bear in mind is that you shouldn’t give up. There is something out there for everyone, and once you have found a workout that brings you happiness, and more importantly, results, it will become increasingly easier to work toward any targets that you have.

Before you know it, you will be a fitness expert, and you will be able to reflect on how far you’ve come with joy and satisfaction.

Going Healthy, Health, Life

How to Manage Lymphedema Swelling

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The thing about lymphedema is that you must learn how to manage the swelling that comes with it. It’s not easy, but there are various ways for you to manage your lymphedema so that you can avoid complications and reduce fluid buildup. Here are some ways you can effectively manage lymphedema swelling:

A lymphedema pump

Whether you have upper extremity lymphedema or lower extremity lymphedema, there is something that can help you with any type of swelling you may have: a lymphedema pump.

While those with lymphedema have to learn how to treat their issues with a massage at home or with a physical therapist, there are devices designed to do it for them. The process is more relaxing and effective for those already dealing with pain and discomfort. It helps stimulate lymphatic function while decreasing swelling, significantly improving a patient’s quality of life.

Compression garments help

Compression garments are common among those dealing with lymphedema as they can greatly reduce swelling and discomfort. Patients with lymphedema are encouraged to wear them throughout the day while taking them off to sleep at night.

It may take some time to get used to wearing them. For those who are fashion-forward, the good news is that there are designs made to be easily hidden, depending on your affected area. For those who have to show their affected area, for example, your arms, you’ll find that there are some garments that have been designed with fashion and trends in mind. Beyond the stylish factor of these garments, you want to be sure you’re wearing the right compression level for your needs.

Don’t forget your exercise

Getting daily exercise can help manage the swelling as well. It can be focused exercises for the affected area, as well as daily movement like going for a walk with your pup or going to a gym with an indoor pool to get some laps in.

Movement helps blood flow, but more importantly, the flow of fluids to avoid them collecting in the affected area. Join a gym, buy weights and exercise equipment for your home, or simply practice yoga with online fitness classes in the comfort of your home.

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Eat well and manage your stress

From the foods you eat to the way you live your life, it’s important to decrease stress along with inflammatory foods if you want to manage lymphedema swelling effectively. Foods you should be eating include ginger, garlic, turmeric, berries, fish, greens, and more.

A diet rich in antioxidants could be especially beneficial. When you don’t have time to cook, consider ordering a food subscription designed for healthy eating. Practice things in your life that help you decrease stress, whether that looks like meditation or spending more time with friends. Not only will it relieve your swelling, but your overall health.

CDT

This is basically a therapy designed with everything you should be doing to care for your swelling. This includes a skincare routine, daily exercise, and manual lymphatic drainage. You may only need to focus on this type of therapy to avoid swelling by doing it for two weeks, or in more severe cases, it could take months to help you decrease swelling.

Skincare is helpful because it helps prevent infection caused by dry, chapped skin or cuts.

In Conclusion

Managing your swelling and pain is essential. If left uncared for, your swelling could result in more severe issues. You want to avoid surgery if at all possible, so try practicing these different methods for managing your swelling and discomfort. From healthy food to exercise, there are ways to keep swelling down and ensure you live a relatively comfortable life. Speak to your healthcare provider about the best treatment for you.