Are you dragging yourself out of bed every morning? Lacking fitness or energy? You can blame that 4:00am kebab after you’ve spent a night on the tiles, but the root cause is often something larger – poor lifestyle choices.
Salvation does not lie in crash diets and miracle pills, and forget about Hugh Jackman’s personal trainer, they’re busy. You need a simple lifestyle change. Not an Oprah, Extreme Makeover ‘find the beauty within’ transformation, what I’m proposing requires less fanfare, but promises the same changes that will last long enough, so that you can still hit the turps. How? Simple.
1. Be Active
Walking from your chair to the copier and back doesn’t count. Afford yourself at least 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise per day. If that means running from your girlfriend’s house in your underwear because her parents have made an unexpected visit, or a run on the treadmill, then so be it. Your heart, and your girlfriend, will appreciate it.
2. Eat Well
This doesn’t mean raiding Nature’s Best and throwing out that frozen pizza that’s occupied space in your freezer since you moved into your house. The easiest way to healthy eating is increasing your daily intake of whole grains, fibre, fruits and vegetables and fish. Don’t deny yourself the things you love, but train your mind to think of them as a treat, not a sole option. Avoid trans fats, such as margarine, fast food, and processed foods. A reduction in the intake of these fats will lower your risk of high cholesterol and heart disease, which means you wont have a surgeon removing arteries from your calves and transplanting them into your heart when you’re 40.
3. Reduce smoking and alcohol
Aside from impairing your judgment to the point you think it’s acceptable to message your ex, alcohol can have other negative effects on your wellbeing, equally as damaging as the wrath of a woman scorned. Besides, Robert Downey Jr. can pull off the drunken superstar look better than you.
A glass of wine with dinner has been shown to be good for you, however, when you try to break Boonie’s world record haul of 52 cans of beer every weekend, you’re going to hit depths lower than the Australian cricket team’s current world ranking.
As for smoking, you know the risks, and I’m not going to babysit you. But what I will say is, if you don’t like the idea of an electric voice box for the rest of your life, let them go. You may think you look like Bogart with that durrie tentatively hanging from your lips, but you’ll end up choking harder than the St George Illawarra Dragons.
4. Sleep
Edward Norton suffered from chronic insomnia in Fight Club, and look how poorly that worked out for him. Sure, Brad Pitt was his alter ego, but he’s not yours. Sleeping 7 to 9 hours each night, and more importantly, maintaining a regular sleeping pattern, will recharge you physically and mentally. I’m aware this may be difficult with the impending release of FIFA14, but just like your alcohol intake, know your limits.
5. Relationships
Toxic friends are no different to toxic foods. The healthiest individuals are usually those who surround themselves with supportive and like-minded people. Avoid stress and negativity, and the people who carry more emotional baggage than the discarded contestants on The Bachelor. Your life isn’t a reality television show, so make it as drama free as possible.
Edited by Mr. J
