We know that physical health is fundamental to our well-being. But the wealth of information available today can make it confusing.
Let’s explore how to navigate and kickstart our well-being in midlife.
As we all want to be vibrant and healthy, many industries are competing for our attention by aggressively promoting their products and services.
It is almost impossible to know all alternatives and choose the right direction for you.
But not all hope is lost. The basic principles of staying healthy are surprisingly simple:
- Establish good eating habits
- Be physically active
- Prioritize sleep
- Find ways to relax and release stress
Challenges in Focusing on the Basic Principles
You might know the basics for a healthy life, but following them is a different story.
Modern lifestyle, stress, convenience and plethora of food choices, combined with lack of time can make things very challenging.
A healthy diet is essential to our well-being.
But, how to choose the right one to follow?
Vegan, Mediterranean, Paleo, Keto, which one is right for you?
What kind of exercise, cardio, strength or a team sport?
I know how you feel. It is too much, and you need a lifetime to go through all the relevant information. Who can you trust to give you good advice? Your doctor, your dietitian or your personal trainer?
Pursue Expert Advice and Educate Yourself
Not going it alone on this journey has tremendous benefits. Apart from maximizing your chances for success, it can also keep you safe.
Depending on the kind of advice, it is best to seek the right specialist in each field, pursue second opinions and always discuss your choices with your doctor.
Doing your research is extremely valuable. It will help you have informed conversations with the specialists, better understand and – in some cases – challenge their recommendations and find the right well-being practices for you.
Although some lifestyle adjustments will be necessary, be realistic on your goals and the way to achieve them. There is nothing more demotivating than not being able to make some of the changes, and it might lead people to quit altogether.
Embrace This Stage of Life, Listen to Your Body and Mix Things Up
During your research, you will come across plenty of success stories and specific solutions that led to terrific results for the ones who implemented them.
While those stories can be inspirational, be mindful that what worked for some, can have no (or even negative) impact on others.
There are great well-being practices that will bring us excellent results, but they are not the same for every one of us and not the same for each period of our lives.
The best diet for us in our 20s and 30s might not be so for our midlife and beyond, and the same goes for exercise.
On top of that, changing things up seems to be valuable, certainly for the exercise but also nutrition.
Our bodies have developed throughout the millennia around seasonality, variety, and availability of food options together with the different physical activities we had to engage to feed ourselves. So, it is only natural to thrive with variety.
Another aspect to consider at middle age is that our body needs different things than when we were in early adulthood. We are at a different phase of our life circle, and it is logical to require another nutritional and fitness regime.
You have probably noticed already that you gain weight easier than in the past and you don’t lose it with at the same rate as you used to.
In most cases, physical activity has diminished, but even if it has not, our body seems to be operating differently.
Therefore, listening to your body and to how it reacts to different eating, moving, sleeping, and relaxation routines is fundamental to your efforts for great well-being and expanding your health span.
Do your research, talk to your doctor and specialists, take action, test things out, and make adjustments by listening to your body.
Start Today !
