8 Tips To Boost Your Health That Have Nothing To Do With Weight
Hi Musers, today I want to talk about tips to boost your health without focussing on weight. Many critics of the body positivity/liberation movement insist they are merely worried about fat people’s health. I personally don’t believe this. They don’t seem to show any signs of concern for extremely thin people even though being underweight has been proved to be more dangerous to one’s health than being overweight.
I do care about health, though. One of my greatest tools in my journey to body liberation was the book Health At Every Size by Lindo Bacon. One of the key takeaways is that you will achieve far greater health benefits by focussing on healthy behaviours rather than weight loss. This brilliant approach focuses on improving your physical, mental and emotional health rather than posting weight, which is only about the number on the scales.
So, let’s get started.
1. Quit Smoking
I’d like to believe no one smokes nowadays, but a wander down any high street proves otherwise. If you can’t give up altogether, then consider vaping. Your lungs and your wallet will both thank you!
2. Reduce your alcohol intake
No tips to boost your health would be complete without this one. I enjoy a pint of cider or a Havana Club and coke as much as the next the person. However, drinking to excess has a whole host of health problems. Drinking more than 14 units a week can put you at risk of strokes, heart disease, liver disease, certain types of cancer and even brain damage. Alcohol also acts as a depressant that can damage your mental health. You don’t need to stop drinking completely but try to keep your intake below 14 units per week.
3. Exercise
Remember, the focus is improving your health, not losing weight. So you need to do some form of exercise that gets your heart rate up but that you still enjoy. Making yourself miserable is not the goal. If you love the gym, then great! Are you a demon in the aerobics studio? Have at it! Any activity you enjoy and will keep doing is fine, yes, even sex 😉. Other options include dance lessons, a martial art, swimming, yoga and hiking. Hiking brings us to…
4. Get outside
In general, we do not spend enough time outside. Our bodies are starved of the sunlight needed to produce enough vitamin D, and our mood suffers. That’s why getting outside in the fresh air and soaking up some sun can improve your physical and mental health. Studies also show that spending time in nature lowers stress levels and enhances feelings of wellbeing, so if you can head out to a country park or local dene, even better.
5. Take a vitamin D supplement
As I explained in point four, we rarely get sufficient sunshine to make enough vitamin D for our bodies. Taking a supplement can improve your mood and energy levels all year round.
6. Eat more vegetables
Many of you may be rolling your eyes at this point and having flashbacks to your childhood. Your Mum trying to tempt you to eat just a little bit of veg. The fact is, though, that vegetables are low in calories, high in fibre and packed with necessary vitamins and minerals. (Check out my guide for more info). Try to “eat the rainbow” by eating lots of different colours of vegetables to get the nutrients you need. To me, this is one of the most important tips to boost your health.
7. Reduce stress
When we become stressed, our body produces the hormone cortisol. This is a necessary part of the fight or flight response, but too much can affect your health badly. You can get rid of cortisol by exercising, but your cortisol levels may never be at normal levels if you are continually stressed.
That’s why it’s important to find ways to relax. Options include spending time in nature, meditation, yoga, keeping a journal, or seeing a therapist. Explore all these options and find what works best for you. Long-term, though, my tips to boost your health include finding ways to remove stress from your life.
8. Do a social media audit
I recommend checking in with yourself regularly when it comes to social media because it can have a dark side. How do you feel after you look at it? Stressed? Envious? Miserable? Lacking in self-worth? If your social media is affecting you in this way, there are two paths you can take. The first is to have a detox, take time away from social media completely for a while.
The second is to go through every single person or group you’re following and again ask yourself how their posts make you feel. If it’s bad in any way, I recommend you hide their posts or even unfollow them completely. Then go out and look for uplifting people and pages to follow. Ones that make you smile and feel good about yourself.
Those Are My Tips To Boost Your Health…What Are Yours?
Those are my top 8 tips to boost your health, but I could easily have come up with lots more. Maybe there’s a part two in our future 😃 In the meantime, if you have any tips you’d like to share, please pop them in the comments.
