Lifestyle, in general, means the way of living reflecting the characteristics of your inhabitants. Every move you make, every breath you take, is an opportunity to live healthier. Thus, following a healthy lifestyle is all about choosing to live your life in the healthiest way possible.
In the present scenario, all of us are living in a fast-paced world. Everyone is busy keeping up with work, juggling between maintaining work, lifestyle, and family. Anxiety, depression, loneliness, stress, and an unhealthy diet lifestyle have become major concerns for our health.
Moreover, many gyms, fitness centers, and public parks have been closed because of the coronavirus outbreak, prohibiting people from coming out of the house. People get stuck in their homes and continue their usual routine from their homes, such as begin their office work from home, and students start taking online classes remotely.
As we stay home, there is a high chance of suffering from obesity because there is no specific time spared, called break time like office and college do. So, people end up snacking or munching more often.
You have been telling yourself you want to live healthier, but you have no idea where you have gone wrong because sometimes simple mistakes or lack of mindfulness activities and knowledge have serious consequences on your health.
Here are a few lifestyle mistakes that might be hampering your health. If you can relate to these lifestyle mistakes, be aware and change as soon as possible.
15 lifestyle mistakes that hamper your health:
Being lazy
Laziness or being lazy is one of the greatest factors that hamper your health in a very serious way. Laziness not only affects your physical health but mental health too. It becomes more dangerous when accompanied by procrastination. It can make things even worse.
In the present scenario, especially during COVID-19, many people have lost track of time and have begun to live a sedentary lifestyle, which has proved to be very harmful. It may affect you in terms of mental health or gaining unhealthy weight, obesity, and heart-related diseases.
Drinking less water or drinking chilled water
The most important yet the most forgettable way to keep yourself healthy is to drink water. Staying hydrated is extremely important for every living being. Doctors advise you to drink 8 cups or 2 liters of water per day. Being hydrated regulates the functioning of your body in healthy ways.
Not only this, but it also has you to put much illness at bay and give you a glow and healthy skin. However, having chilled water during or immediately after a meal can interfere with your body work’s ability to break down unwanted fats, hampering your digestive system. Thus, it is always good to sip water after a meal but at a normal temperature.
Eating too fast
You may only eat a healthy diet full of fibers, proteins, and zinc, yet you feel you have put on some weight; the problem is not your food but your eating style. Eating too fast is also one of the several factors contributing to increasing your weight in an unhealthy manner.
When you eat too fast, food does not break into smaller pieces properly, making it difficult for your body to absorb the nutrients.
Not eating in moderation
Although you have been doing lots of exercise, yoga, and going to the gym, thinking lifting those heavy loads may help you be fit, but if you do not control your proportion while eating, what is the meaning of going to the gym? All your efforts to remain fit goes in vain.
Yes, even if you work out daily but do not eat in moderation, it is also one factor contributing to increasing your weight in an unhealthy way, leading to an unhealthy lifestyle.
Too many changes at once
Most people think or plan that from tomorrow I start exercising, doing yoga, eating an only diet that contains proteins, fibers, and low crabs, and making up their mind, but have you ever thought that “Is your body willing to adopt those changes at once?”
So many people get excited and decide to make several changes at once, but it does not result in long-term success. Changing your whole diet overnight, going to the gym out of the blue, committing to exercise daily may mess you up in a really bad way and is the recipe for failure.
Not sleeping on time
Sleeping the right amount of time is very crucial for your overall health. However, many people do not get enough sleep either because of their carelessness or workloads. Many people have a habit of surfing the web through their phones before bedtime and spend hours and hours, resulting in a lack of sleep.
When we sleep for the right amount of time (7-8 hours), at that time, our bodies rest, reset, and re-cooperate, making us more productive and fresh the next day.
Screen Time while eating
Using the electronic device in your weight loss journey to track what you eat and how much exercise you did, is very beneficial. However, using it while having a meal is another thing. Being distracted by watching shows, videos, or answering emails, leads to mindless eating. Overeating leads to obesity and gaining weight, thus ultimately leads you to an unhealthy lifestyle.
Always remember to put your phone down while dining and never allow your children the habit of watching cartoons while eating.
Wrong food pairing
There are certain foods which you can not consume together. Such a combination can interfere with your body’s digestive system, resulting in an upset stomach, indigestion, bloating, and gas. The wrong food pairings are ghee with honey, banana, melon with milk, fish, and milk.
Adopted overly restrictive diet
Eating healthy and a balanced diet is good for your health; however, an overly restricted diet rarely results in health benefits. Whenever people decide to go on a diet, they often restrict many things at once, cutting all the carbs, refined sugar, sweets, and number of meals.
Although cutting all these things may contribute to losing weight, remember they are not always a sustainable solution.
Standing and eating
The posture you keep while having food also plays a very crucial role in your digestion process. When you eat standing, you are more likely to overeat, making you more hungry, bloated, and gassy.
So maintaining a good posture while eating is a must, and that is why we should not drink standing water.
Drinking too much alcohol
Occasionally drinking alcohol does not harm anyone. However, if you drink 1-2 glasses per day or can not go without drinking alcohol, there can be a severe problem. It slowly turns into your everyday habit and becomes very difficult to get out of these things.
Consuming alcohol in any form is not healthy and must be avoided, especially if you suffer from chronic diseases. Alcohol impacts you immediately, and also it affects your vital organs slowly and may cause a serious complication in the long run.
Consulting Dr. Google
With access to the internet and smartphones in the hands of every single person, it becomes convenient to know anything related to any topic. Either related to health or finance, within a fraction of time.
But have you ever thought about how much truthful information is? We find it unnecessary to visit the doctor for a simple headache, but we feel like googling the symptoms and know what is exactly happening. And if you ever want to contract a deadly disease, consult google. It will make sure that you are going to die within minutes or a day.
Eating the same food every day
While consuming organic and healthy food, many people end up eating only fruits and vegetables. Some people even have only the same types of fruits and vegetables consistently. Although having fruits and vegetables may help you have better health, they do not make up all the nutrients, vitamins, and proteins that the body requires.
Thus, diversify your diet. Try to include 35% of fruits and vegetables, 35% of carbohydrates, 17% of high protein, and 3% of oils in your diet.
Sometimes oral medication is also important
Many people try to cure the common flu through home remedies, but if it is not cured within 5-7 days, it is very important to have oral medication; otherwise, it causes a serious problem when not treated in time. For example, a common cold may turn into pneumonia when not treated in time.
Thus, it is equally essential to make sure your body has that effective amount of the drugs all the time to fight against flu-causing agents.
Not going under regular health screening
There are many reasons for people not going for a regular whole body checkup. Among all of them, the most and silliest reason is “not necessary, I am all fit and fine.” Or “no time for health screening” or “too expensive.”
However, regular health screening is very important in maintaining your health, especially in old age. Many severe health problems can be tackled, and precautions can be made earlier if we go simply for regular health screening.
Conclusion
Health is the most precious gift one can ever get. Maintain a healthy lifestyle to live longer and happily without any complications in the future. If you are making any mistakes mentioned above, try to eliminate them as soon as possible.
WRITTEN BY
Alecia Carroll