The new year is often celebrated with parties, drinking, and lots of good food. But after the parties are over, many people take the opportunity of a new year to give themselves a new beginning and start prioritizing their mental and physical health. In fact, the most popular New Year’s resolutions are all about self-improvement, with living healthier coming in at number one. Whether you have made a resolution or you are just wanting to start living a better life, here are our 4 top ways you can improve your health and wellbeing this year.
Regularly Check Your Body
Getting used to and regularly checking your body is an essential thing that everyone should be doing. It is important to know what to look for when checking your body, the main things we suggest you keep a lookout for are unexpected lumps, moles that change in appearance and blood in the stool or urine. All three of these can be early signs of cancer, so it is crucial that you regularly check your body to not miss any of the early warning signs.
Cancer is a scary disease, but thankfully treatment for cancer has come so far that the survival rates are much higher than they were, even more so if the cancer is caught early on. If you do notice any of these signs, tell your doctor immediately. If you have found an unexpected lump, your doctor will likely send you for a whole body MRI screening. A whole body MRI screening is an effective medical tool that can be used to detect malignant abnormalities like cancer and can be provided by health experts such as Ezra. If you have never had a whole body MRI, the idea can seem a little scary, but the procedure is completely painless, and it could potentially save your life if it detects the cancer at an early stage. So, take the time to get to know your body so you can recognize any potentially harmful signs.
Start A Hobby
Starting a hobby can be a great way to improve your health and wellbeing. Hobbies give us a creative outlet to explore endless possibilities and learn about things we have always wanted to know. A lot of people choose not to take up hobbies as they feel like it may be too time consuming. However, a hobby is not a full-time job so there is no outside pressure or time schedule that you need to adhere to. Your hobby is completely your own and it can be a great form of escapism from the busy world.
Alternatively, if you are not looking for escapism, hobbies can be a nice way to socialize and meet new people. Why not join a class or a workshop to meet like-minded people and pick up a skill at the same time. You may find that a lot of people join classes at the start of the year as part of their resolution, so a lot of the workshops could end up being too crowded. Consider waiting a little and join in the Springtime as the classes may be less busy, and you will have a better opportunity to learn.
Create An Exercise Routine
Creating an exercise routine is often portrayed as an intense thing you must be doing every day, but that isn’t the case. You do not have to sign up and pay membership to a gym either, it can be something you do from your own home. The power really is in your hands to design a routine that works for you and works around your schedule. First, think about your fitness goals and then think of what steps you need to take to get there.
A fitness goal should not be defined by weight loss because you may find that you gain muscle weight once you start working out. Instead, think of your fitness goals as personal achievements like being able to do 50 push-ups, or running a distance in a certain amount of time. These sorts of goals will be much better to work with as they are more fitness-focused instead of being centered around weight loss.
Although you don’t need gym equipment to start working out, there are plenty of great at-home workout equipment pieces that can help make your workouts a bit easier. Once you have some fitness goals lined up, research what equipment can be used to help you reach those goals. If you don’t know how to use some of the equipment, or you’re not sure how to fit it into your routine, then look up some tutorials online. There is an abundance of helpful fitness advice online that is free to use, so take advantage of that when creating your new exercise routine.
Eat A Balanced Diet
Eating a balanced diet is an obvious but effective way to improve your health and wellbeing. The festive season is a time full of rich, decadent food, which causes many people to think that they must jump into a strict diet regime the minute the clock hits midnight. However, this doesn’t necessarily need to be the case. Eating a balanced diet will always be more effective and healthier for your body than engaging in a restrictive diet.
While these diets can often be effective in quick weight loss, they are not a permanent solution nor maintainable for your body in the long-term. Your mind and body will be a lot happier if you eat a well-rounded, balanced diet. It also means you do not have to give up your favorite snacks either, instead balance your snacks off with healthy fruits and vegetables. If you are starting to exercise regularly, you will find that you are hungrier too, as your body needs extra calories to replace the ones it has just burnt off. Eating a balanced diet and having an exercise routine go hand in hand, and you may find that doing both will greatly improve your physical and mental health.