Taking care of yourself is so important. The better you take care of yourself, the better your quality of life can be. It also potentially extends your life. But being healthy can often mean making changes to your lifestyle that may feel expensive, time consuming, and inconvenient. It is, however, vital that you make these changes. Here are a few to start with:

Managing Illness or Injury:

It’s particularly important to take care of your health and wellbeing when you are feeling unwell, hurt, or run down. This will help your body to recover as quickly as possible. If you experience an illness or injury, contact professional medical help – whether that’s urgent care or a standard appointment with your GP. They will be able to ensure that you get the medicine, therapy, or other treatment you need to get better.

Diet:

Of course, what you put into your body is your fuel. So, you need to make sure that you’re fueling your body the right amount and with the right foods. Let’s start by looking at calorie counts. Every person requires a unique amount of calories, but the amounts outlined below should serve as a good rough guide:

• Children aged 2 to 8 – 1000 to 1400 calories
• Girls aged 9 to 13 – 1400 to 1600 calories
• Boys aged 9 to 13 – 1600 to 2000 calories
• Active women aged 14 to 30 – 2400 calories
• Sedentary women aged 14 to 30 – 1800 to 2000 calories
• Active men aged 14 to 30 – 2800 to 3200 calories
• Sedentary men aged 14 to 30 – 2000 to 2600 calories
• Active adults over 30 – 2000 to 3000 calories
• Sedentary adults over 30 – 1600 to 2400 calories

Once you know your calorie count, you should do your best to eat as balanced a diet as possible. This means not cutting out any key groups. It also means eating everything in moderation – not too much or too little of one thing or another.

Exercise:

You should get one hundred and fifty minutes of moderate aerobic exercise every week or seventy five minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise every week. All too many people fail to achieve this. This is often because they can’t find a form of exercise that they actually enjoy, so there is no motivation to engage with it. There are all sorts of exercises out there, so you simply need to think about what you like. Do you like socializing? You may prefer team sports or fitness classes with members and instructors. Do you like building your strength? You could try weight lifting or machinery in the gym. Do you like being in the water? Swimming could be an option for you.

Or maybe you have children and would like to include them in your exercise routine to ensure you’re all getting the physical activity you need. Find a form of physical activity you all enjoy and commit to it. For example, if you enjoy baseball, consider watching batting videos and learning to improve your technique to help your children engage in the sport too. Exercise is crucial for the whole family, not just the adults, so don’t forget to include them. When you find activities that involve the entire family, it will make it harder to miss out on any exercise sessions.

These steps are simple to incorporate into your day to day routine. It’s just a matter of habit and building them into your schedule. Hopefully, you’ll be able to benefit from them because they can really make all the difference!

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