Spring is here and it’s time for a refresh! This is the season of rebirth so let’s use this time to take on a new healthcare routine to up our wellness game throughout the rest of the year. Here are five things you can do to instantly kickstart your new health routine!
Diet
The diet industry is one of the most profitable industries in the United States. Different fad diets, cleanses and products are being pushed at us from every direction and leave us feeling like if we just find the right one, we will see positive changes. What the diet industry doesn’t want you to know is that maintaining a healthy diet does not actually require any of these things. What it really requires is consistency and balance in the long term. The best thing you can do to kickstart your health routine is to ditch fad dieting and gimmicky weight loss products in favor of more sustainable options. Here are three key factors in improving your diet:
· CICO: This stands for calories in, calories out. It means that weight loss, gain or maintenance is determined by the amount of calories you eat and burn off. No matter what your goal, it is helpful to know what your ideal amount of calories are per day. You can determine this amount by finding a TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) calculator online. Your TDEE is determined by your age, height, weight, gender and activity levels and is entirely unique to you. You don’t need to rigorously track your calories every day, but making sure that you are in the right ballpark will help keep you healthy and satisfied with your diet.
· Macronutrients: There are three macronutrients that all whole foods contain: carbs, proteins, and fats. All three are essential in achieving long term health. Any diet that requires you to remove or limit one of these groups is not going to be sustainable in the long term and can lead to unwanted weight fluctuations and poor energy. A good rule of thumb is to make sure that you are including all three of these components at every meal. For example, a slice of avocado toast with a poached egg is a perfect balance of carbs from the bread, fat from the avocado and protein from the egg.
· Produce: In addition to including all the macronutrients, you will want to also make sure you are including fruits and vegetables in your meals and snacks. If you’ve ever heard the saying “eat the rainbow” when it comes to produce, this is because of the micronutrients that are in different colored fruits and veggies. There are dozens of micronutrients that we can become potentially deficient in if we don’t maintain a well-balanced diet. So make sure you aren’t skimping on the produce.
Exercise
When we think about exercise, many of us have an all or nothing approach. If we can’t get to the gym for a strenuous workout five days a week then what’s the point? That kind of thinking can really prevent you from reaching your health and wellness goals. We don’t need to overthink exercise. If you want to sweat it out five days a week in the gym that’s great! But if you can only manage a walk around the block twice a week that’s great too! Something is always better than nothing, so don’t sell yourself short with this mentality. Find a form of exercise that you genuinely enjoy and try to make time for physical activity when you can.
Supplements
In addition to fad diets, the diet industry has been great at pushing supplements. It can be really difficult for the average person to discern which supplements are beneficial and which are a waste of money. Let’s take a look at one of the most recent supplements to go viral on social media: collagen peptides. So, what are peptides? Our bodies are primarily made up of proteins. They give structure to our organs and internal systems and are made of amino acids. Peptides are smaller, intermediate-sized chains of amino acids. Peptide supplementation has become popular because they are easier to absorb than standard proteins and are made from components that are found in our food. When using a collagen peptide supplement, you can expect to see improvements to your skin, hair, nails and joint health.
We like this supplement because it is nearly universally safe and made from the peptides that are naturally found in our foods. Early research has also shown that there is a link between peptide supplements and bone and joint health. Talk to your doctor if you think peptide supplements are right for you.
Vitamins
A multivitamin is going to be your catch all for your nutritional needs. Even the healthiest and greenest of diets can still have deficiencies. Find a good multivitamin for women or for men that will help close any nutritional gaps in your diet to help kickstart your health routine. Also don’t forget about kids vitamins. Parents of picky eaters probably already know how important it is to have a vitamin specially formulated for kids on hand. Everyone can and should benefit from a daily multivitamin.
Self-Care
Lastly, you don’t want to neglect self-care. Taking time to care for yourself and your surroundings is essential for your mental health. Make sure you make time to tidy up your space, change your bedsheets, and clean any dirty dishes. Your environment can deeply affect your mental health so make sure to take care of your space.
Also, maintain a good skincare routine, do your makeup and put on an outfit you love even if you aren’t going out. Things like this help improve our mentality and make us feel put together. It also doesn’t hurt to invest in some new beauty or skincare products from time to time. Check out Derma E if you want to revamp your skincare routine. All of these things together are going to be the formula to kickstarting your spring healthcare routine in 2022.