On Instagram, I sent out a poll asking what people would like advice about, and one response I received was diet culture and how to stay healthy in the year 2021.
The first thought I had on this topic was that people need to know that your weight or size doesn’t define your health. Also, that if you want to change your exercise regime or food regime it should be a slow process and not just throwing yourself right into it, shocking your system. So, here are some tips on how to live a healthy lifestyle without developing a negative mental attitude.
- Love your body – The first piece of advice that I have is to love your body. This is one of the most important things that you can do, accepting who you are and loving yourself is a form of self-care. You need to do this before you do anything else to ensure that you don’t develop a negative mental attitude.
- Listen to your body– When your body tells you it’s hungry listen to it, it is important to have light snacks as well as meals throughout the day to keep your energy levels high to ensure that you have enough glucose in your body. Therefore when your body tells you it’s hungry or full, listen to it. If you’re not a fan of wasting food and don’t want to finish your meal because you’re full, put your leftovers in a box and keep it for later, there’s no harm in doing this.
- Start introducing light exercise into your daily routine -If you feel like you would enjoy exercising start with some light exercise every day this could be simply setting a goal for a number of steps to walk or starting the morning with some stretches, it is important to keep active in order to maintain your mental health, therefore, doing something like stretching in the morning will wake you up ready for the day.
- Don’t restrict – This is one of the most important things, similar to point #2, your body tells you when it’s hungry listen to it so don’t just ignore it, there are many healthy snacks that you can eat throughout the day which will help you slowly release energy.
- Introduce more protein and veggies – If you would like to start living a more healthy lifestyle it’s always good to introduce vegetables and fruit into your diet, protein is also important to ensure that you keep healthy. therefore finding some fruits and veg that you enjoy and adding them to a meal will ensure that you get enough nutrients throughout the day. Also if you’re not a fan of vegetables, soup can be a good way to eat them to ensure that you get all your vitamins.
- Hydrate – Drinking a few glasses of water a day can also help with a healthy lifestyle. It is important to stay hydrated, this will help to avoid issues such as headaches while also keeping your body happy and healthy. Sometimes drinking a glass of water in the morning and in the evening can help your metabolism.
- Carbs are important – We also need to remember that carbs are just as important as protein because carbs keep you energised throughout the day, meaning that you will release energy slower than you would if you ate something very sugary.
- Habit tracker – Another thing to consider is a habit tracker, for example, writing down how much water you’ve drank in one day and ensuring that you eat three meals a day, you could also track your exercise for example how many steps you’ve done that day.
- Mental wellness check-in -It could also be beneficial to track your mood and your mental wellness ensuring that you keep mentally healthy as well, is it important to treat yourself and make yourself feel loved.
In conclusion, diet culture can be toxic and if you are trying to live a healthier lifestyle you have to make sure that you keep your mental health in check as well because loving yourself is the most important thing to do.
