5 Myths About How To Have A Healthy Life
To get in shape and have a healthy life you don’t need to go to the gym. If you don’t have time for it, try going for a walk or exercising at home.
Living a healthy life is one of many people’s New Year’s resolutions. And although every day there are more people who achieve it, there are still many who find it difficult. Mainly, because the myths that still exist around how to achieve it fall.
Let’s take an example: at the beginning of the year, many rush to join a gym, without taking into account the type of routines, the time to adapt to exercise, among other important aspects to get used to and succeed in the long term.
Then they show up at the gym on the first day and find themselves lost, surrounded by people doing different exercises. They lift weights, run a bit on the treadmill, try to do some sit-ups, and when they’re out of breath, they go home and lie on the couch.
After one or several more attempts, they may lose the urge to go to the gym and end up abandoning their purpose of getting fit and living a healthy life. They associate exercise with effort, pain and fatigue, all negativity. And the excuses are as present as the myths that we are going to comment on next.
1. I don’t have time to exercise
In fact, you can start your path to a healthy life simply by dedicating 30 minutes of sport to your day . You do not have to spend many hours exercising if you consider that your schedule is very tight.
If you’ve never incorporated physical activity into your life before, it ‘s best to start small. You can simply start with an activity that fits your current lifestyle, such as walking. Other options that you can consider would be the following :
- Walk to dog.
- Do a stretching session at home.
- Take a walk around the outside of the building.
- Take the stairs instead of using the elevator.
- Park your car far away, to to walk more.
- Vacuuming, sweeping the floor, or mopping the entire house.
When you work harder, you feel better, increase your stamina, and naturally increase your physical activity over time.
2. To see results I need to spend hours in the gym
We understand that walking is not your thing, but you have a 6 month gym membership. This is because nobody usually has time to spend several hours a day in the gym.
Most of the time it is enough to incorporate activities of different kinds into your day to day. Before we already mentioned several examples but you can also buy your own machines and use them at home.
A simple treadmill or a basic elliptical is quite cheap and saves you a lot of time. The best thing is that the few minutes you have free at home you can take advantage of them to exercise without spending extra time.
3. I can achieve results only by doing cardio or weight lifting
Fake. Even though this is your favorite workout, Focusing solely on strength or cardio doesn’t mean you’re doing a full workout. On the contrary, it will end up leaving you frustrated.
You may lose weight with cardio, but you’ll get to a point where, if you’re not toning your muscles, you’ll have saggy skin. On the other hand, toning up without doing cardio won’t get you far either. Ideally, you should combine a healthy mix of both workouts for the best results.
4. I train regularly and because of this I can eat whatever I want
This may be the biggest myth of all. Many people have the wrong thought that they can eat whatever they want while exercising a lot in the gym and this is not true.
Diet represents about 80% of the effort to have a healthy life . It is a critical part of improving your overall health. In fact, you can keep a Healthy weight by modifying your eating habits. However, keep in mind that the important thing is not how much you eat, but the way you eat.
It is not necessarily about you following a very strict diet or depriving yourself and eating a lot less. Rather, it’s about eating more of the foods that are good for your body, such as:
- Fruit
- Protein
- Healthy carbohydrates
- Vegetables (especially green leafy ones)
By making these simple substitutions in your meals, you will achieve a long-term healthy life. If you think you are eating healthy and your weight is not dropping, try keeping a food diary or well consult with a nutritionist as soon as possible.
You may need to make modifications to your diet until you get on the right track to your goal.
5. Having a healthy life is too expensive
One of the most widespread myths in the population is that having a healthy life is too expensive. This is because they limit themselves to thinking about foods labeled “bio, light, gluten free ” and the like. They may also be limited to thinking about supplements specially designed to lose weight, increase muscles, among others.
However, to have a healthy life it is not necessary to stick only to these types of products. Actually, prioritizing the purchase of fresh food (not necessarily organic) over ultra-processed, junk, candy and others, it is enough and economical!
When you stop investing money in sweets and grocery products that do not contribute anything to your health, stop ordering every two by three and, in general, minimize the consumption of everything that is not fresh and homemade, you will begin to notice benefits in your health, your appearance and your wallet.
On the other hand, who said you were forced to pay for a gym to move? If you do your research, you can find training routines online that can be great to start with. You can also take advantage of the green areas of your city or town to walk, jog and do other activities.
As you can see, having a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive if we stick with our purpose, look for solutions, discard excuses, and take advantage of what we do have on hand.
Remember that everything you invest in a healthy lifestyle will be much more pleasant and satisfying than any prescription or outpatient treatment.
