As soon as any of us opens our phone, we’re bombarded with ads saying “How to get a six-pack in six weeks” or “5 easy ways to slim your waist.” According to the vast wealth of knowledge at our disposal, having a healthy life is supposedly easy. As we all know, however, that is not the case. The barriers to maintaining a healthy lifestyle are prevalent in today’s world. Many of us work long hours, have families and friends to take care of, and have other priorities that take precedence over regimented exercise. Additionally, maintaining a healthy diet is both daunting and potentially expensive. With diet, meal prepping, and personal chefs, it comes as no surprise that diet is a main point of dissonance today. While there are also more simple solutions to these complex problems, the problems themselves aren’t excuses; these are what millions of people have to navigate every day. With that being said, Once we understand that, the path to living a healthier, more fulfilling life is much more clear.
The first thing we must understand is that no one individual is the same. As we mentioned earlier, everyone has different obligations in their daily lives. Additionally, whether it be age, injury, or even genetics, everyone’s body is different. Therefore, making your health journey your own and no one else’s is imperative. Having said that, this journey doesn’t have to be taken alone. Community efforts are great for maintaining a healthy life. For example, morning walks with your significant other before work or playing tennis with buddies on the weekend go a long way in establishing a healthy lifestyle. This also doesn’t mean you can’t get ideas and motivation from your favorite pages on social media. This only means comparing your progress to others will take you off your path and negatively affect your progress.
The second thing we must understand is that this journey is taken one step at a time. You don’t have to make drastic changes in your lifestyle right away to live healthier. For instance, taking a 10-minute walk around the neighborhood each evening can make significant improvements to your health but also to your psyche. That 10-minute walk may soon turn into 15 minutes and an additional 15-minute walk in the morning may also start to occur – leading to >150 minutes of walking per week. This is called the snowball effect, and it can make the first steps to a better life easier for those ready to move forward.
Stay tuned to see how the great healthcare professionals at Cenegenics can help you continue your journey to a healthier life!
Contributor: Jayden Nixon - Senior Analyst, BNR Medical Consulting
