With all the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it can be too easy, sometimes, to prioritize the wrong things. We worry about our jobs, our money, our looks, and what other people think of us – yet most often we forget to worry about the one thing we can’t afford to do without our bodies.
It’s been with you for your whole life, and (barring a miracle) it’ll still be around when you take your last breath. It’s seen you through good and bad times, rich and poor times, but we never appreciate the simple truth – it’s the only one we’ll ever have (unless you’re Hindu, and even then you only get a replacement if you did something wrong with the last one).
We have excuses aplenty, from lack of willpower and over-commitment to lack of money and understanding. But right here, right now, those excuses end.
So before you click off, take a moment to realise how marvellous your body is – and how unbelievably easy it is to keep it in good shape. One of the best things you can do for your health is to quit smoking. Cigarettes are one of the world’s biggest killers and we shall show you a good way below to stop smoking for good.
Stay Hydrated
Drinking water, and plenty of it, is one of the best things you can do for your body. Forget bottled, plain old tap water will suffice, and if you’re totally averse to the taste then a squeeze of sugar-free squash will take off the unpalatable edge. Not only does water keep your body in good condition, but it also flushes out toxins and ensures the healthy functioning of your digestive and urinary systems.
Stay Active
Even five minutes of exercise a day is better than none, and you’d be surprised at what counts. Housework such as tidying, vacuuming and polishing are all good ways of inadvertently burning calories, and walking the dog is an obvious contender. If you want something more focused, take a short jog around the block, play a game of badminton in the back garden (a shuttlecock has less tendency to bounce into neighbouring plots than a tennis ball) or invest in a short, sharp 15-minute workout DVD that you can put on while teas in the oven. For a more relaxing, sweat-free activity, yoga, swimming and aqua aerobics are all great choices.
Stay Sober
Okay, it’s unrealistic to suggest you go teetotal for life, but cutting back on alcohol can make a real difference. Beers, lagers and ciders have an astonishing number of calories in them, on account of all the sugar required to ferment them, and although white spirits like vodka are more conducive to a slim figure, they wreak havoc on your liver. Give your hard-working body a break for a few nights a week, and maybe limit drinking to one per night.
Stay Smoke-Free
Another crucial step in maintaining good health is as smoking is the leading cause of death in the UK, with over 80,000 each year in England alone linked to tobacco use. Nicotine is addictive, keeping you dependent on cigarettes, but it’s the tobacco and myriad added chemicals that do the most damage, with links to cancer, respiratory diseases, heart disease and hundreds of other related conditions. One way to cut down is to try e-cigarettes, which look and feel like the real thing but contain none of the harmful chemicals. The fluid that is put into an e-cig is called e-juice and it contains nicotine (which you can adjust by amount), water, glycerine, propylene glycol and flavourings, which make you both smell and taste sweeter. They’re a heck of a lot cheaper too, giving you more money to splash out on gym sessions, DVDs and Ribena.
Stay Food Smart
The above tactics will make a difference, but their real impact comes in combination, and nothing gives them a bigger boost than a healthy attitude towards food. We’re not saying give up the cream cakes and chocolate, the sharing bags of crisps you hoard to yourself or the oozing, gooey pizzas you order – just moderate your intake. Save ‘treat’ foods for weekends or nights off, invest in healthier cookbooks to enjoy your favourite meals in a healthier style, and try to stop food from being your go-to in times of stress. Great ways to begin a new eating regime are to include one piece of fresh food in every meal, be it fruit or veg – berries on porridge, a salad for lunch… anything that’s not tinned, ready prepared or frozen.
Keep these suggestions in mind, implement them whenever and wherever possible, and you’ll be sure to see results for the better.