5 Signs you Need to Start Living a Healthier Life – and how to start living it

Beating rush hour, getting through the crowds, stuck in traffic, working overtime, Friday work drinks, partying, and being hungover over the weekend… Only to do it all over again every week. Does this sound like you? Working hard and playing harder in London often leaves the best of us ignoring symptoms that indicate we need to start taking care of ourselves. Failure to recognise signs that we need to start living a healthier life could mean we are heading down a path that will lead to bigger health issues.

Here are five signs that suggests our body is trying to tell us something:

1. Sadness occurs for no particular reason. It could be that we haven’t allowed ourselves any ‘me time’ because work can be manic, leading to overtime, and causing us to stress even after we have left the office. Sometimes we need a good catching up with friends and family but just can’t seem to fit the time in.
2. Thirst is a big giveaway. We all know keeping hydrated is very important! They say we can go without food for a couple of weeks but we couldn’t survive without water for five days. If you’re always thirsty, you’re not drinking enough fluids and for all you party animals out there, that does NOT mean you can go drinking the night away!
3. Headaches can put a downer on your day and even the next. Headaches are usually caused by one or more triggers. It’s a good indication that something is not right in your daily routine whether it be emotionally (stress, anxiety, depression…), physically (tiredness, lack of sleep, work hours…), dietary (missed meals, dehydration alcohol, caffeine…) or medication (sleeping tablets, diet pills, other prescriptive pills…).
4. Sexual desires are non existent. Loss of libido could be down to many reasons such as hormonal changes, fatigue, and stress. Medication can also affect sexual desires but it could also reflect your relationship and the lack of attention to one another. Let’s make sure we are doing everything we can in the bedroom… that’s to all the men AND women out there!
5. Fatigue might be the result of you working too hard and not sleeping enough hours to make up for your tiredness. Do you find that you’re tired by midday? Maybe you’re consuming too much carbs at breakfast and lunch that you’re put into a food coma before end of play. Fatigue is the cause of many things whether it be stress, over exerting yourself, poor diet or lack of sleep.

There are plenty more signs but these are some of the most regular occurrences and it’s trying to understand when our body just doesn’t feel right. So, how can we turn that frown upside down? Here’s our ways to kickstart a healthier way of living.

Healthy foods are a great start. After all, we are feeding it into our body. Our body needs certain kind of foods to stay strong and healthy. Keep your diet low in sugar and minimise your consumption of fizzy drinks, confectionary and white bread. Water, herbal or green tea, coconut water or green juice are good drinking alternatives. Au natural.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Avoid late night snacking and start eating breakfast. Our metabolism works fastest at the beginning of the day and we need to eat something to get it going. Like me, if you don’t have much of an appetite in the mornings and often find you skip this meal everyday, start by having something small. It’ll prevent you from binging later at lunch when you become extremely hungry.

Eating junk and high-carbs could lead to a bigger waist line (oh dear…). Set a time limit whereby you can no longer eat anything later than that. It’s when you notice that you are snacking around midnight that you need to put a stop to it. If you must snack, make sure it is low in fat and sugar.

Exercise and staying physically active is key. Get those energy levels up and release those endorphins for a happier, healthier quality of life! It doesn’t have to be strenuous or hardcore like hours on a treadmill. Just being outdoors and going for walks makes all the difference. If we can do at least 10 minutes a day, we’ll notice a big change in our body so jog around the block, take the dog out or dig out that old bicycle. If the weather is not permitting (as you often find in the UK) you can work on housekeeping – sweeping the house works.

Get a friend to join you if it’ll help, it’s always more fun when you have company and time sure files when you’re having fun.

Sleep seven to eight hours a night. It may sound like a lot but your body needs adequate time to recover from a hard and stressful day at work or partying/socialising. Sleep is when your body repairs itself. Feeling energised and ready for a new day means our concentration is increased and we are ready to tackle the day’s challenges.

Social activities are important for a good balance in life. Socially isolating ourselves is not good for our mental wellbeing. Building a strong social network makes life more fun and means we get to actually live a little! Make a list of activities you enjoy or want to try and make it happen.

Tip: Keeping a progress diary can help monitor eating habits and daily routines. Don’t hold back on information and be honest to yourself. Only you will have access to this and when you read back on a week’s worth of content you’ll find areas where improvement needs to be made.

So, back to our body not feeling right. By making these small changes that don’t break the bank and can work around our hectic London lifestyle, we’ll start to feel a big difference. When we are in a good state of mind and health, we make better decisions. Here’s to a longer, healthier life!

Have you got any other tips that we’ve missed? Is there a particular hurdle you’re trying to overcome on your journey to integrating a healthier lifestyle? Let us know.

Written by mY – crazy about food, passionate about travel and all things fun.
Her utmost desire is to go bungee jumping off Victoria Falls Bridge, border of Zimbabwe and Zambia.