There's a challenge in my community that I've enjoyed participating in over the past few summers. It's called the "100 Mile Challenge" (sounds fun, right?). The challenge is for you to walk, run, or treadmill 100 miles in 90 days. I look forward to this challenge every summer because it motivates me to get more exercise, which, in turn, makes me feel healthier and have a better mood. I'm a couple weeks into the challenge now, and I can tell that exercising has helped me feel different than when I sat around like a blob. That got me thinking about healthy living and how it affects physical, mental, and emotional well-being. What are ways to maintain healthiness? Here are some things that I think make for a healthier person:
1. Exercise
This is a pretty basic step when trying to feel healthier. Not only does exercise make my body feel better, but it clears my mind to help me think. Find exercises you enjoy to help motivate you to keep doing them. Find fun challenges like the "100 Mile Challenge" to help you reach your goals. Even a little exercise goes a long way!
2. Eating right
Food is fuel; if you keep eating deep dish pizza and ice cream for every meal, your body will not receive the nutrients it needs. It's okay to still eat foods you enjoy, but moderating unhealthy with healthy is the way to go. Don't go on crazy diets or starve yourself; that is till depriving your body of what it needs.
Support
If you want to succeed in anything, you need accountability and support. You need someone challenging you to reach your goals and continue on to the next goal. Have someone who will check on you and how you're doing. You can even get someone to exercise or eat healthy with you to help when times get tough.
4. Setting goals
c1.staticflickr.comYou can't start going anywhere if you don't know where you're going. You'll just flounder about until you get fed up and quit. If you have set goals to aim for, you'll feel more accomplished and can track how far you've come. In the Challenge, there are badges you can earn for checkpoints you reach. This gives me something to move towards instead of feeling overwhelmed by 100 miles of walking.
5. Rewards
Why should you complete this goal? The feeling of accomplishment is nice, but you need something more concrete than that. You need something specific to motivate you to keep going. It could be a sweet treat after eating healthy and exercising; it could be a nice pamper day after working hard all week; it just needs to be something that you think is worth the effort.
I'm not a doctor or anything, so these things aren't all inclusive to everyone. Consulting your doctor, dietitian, therapist, or another professional is the best way to make sure you are doing what is healthiest for you personally. These are just general, applicable things that I know have helped me before.
I hope they help you too!