We can always be more healthy. For me, simple day-to-day tricks do the thing. We all know the basics, eat six small portions a day, a lot of vegetables and fruit, exercise at least three times a week, etc. But health isn’t just about food but small things we can do to improve every little aspect of our body and mind. It’s not something to do once in a while, but every single day. You can tell when someone is healthy and happy and in a good mood – which does not happen every day – but it’s good to fall on some basic tricks that can help you feel like your healthier self.
I do this one all the time. I normally don’t use the elevator but there are times you can’t avoid it. I’m lucky to live on the second floor so I almost always use the stairs – unless I’m carrying five grocery bags. This is very easy to do and in certain circumstances it saves you time while you exercise. You can do it every day and you know it’s the right choice. Doesn’t it feel good to climb those stairs and exercise that butt?
I always start my day this way. If I’m in a rush I just drink a glass of water but at lunch have it with a lemon squeeze. It’s easy to do, no fuss, no complication, no sugar or anything that’s going to make you feel bad. It’s a great way to boost your immunity system, has a lot of vitamins and potassium. It’s also a good way to help your digestion and cleanse your system. It improves your skin, levels of energy and replenishes body salts.
Walking anywhere and everywhere is also important. Instead of taking the car for small errands, if you can, walk there. Back home it’s so easy to walk to places. You can walk to the center of the city, to the beach, to the supermarket. I almost forget I have a car back there. Walking improves your mood, helps you enjoy outdoors and it’s just a good exercise without you even noticing it. I’ve never walked so much as I walk in Manhattan and it just makes me feel good afterwards.
Yes, butter, cream, sugar, gluten, wheat are all a lot more tastier but they’re not that good for you. I am intolerant to wheat, so sometimes I have to choose food that doesn’t contain wheat. Automatically, it’s more healthy because wheat is normally processed, ergo, no good for you. Butter and cream and sodas taste way better than the options but there are a lot of healthier options to these ingredients – like home made jam, yogurt, honey. Nowadays it’s really easy to do the right choices given the offer supermarkets and farmer markets have.
Moisturising is one of the most important things you can do for your body. My skin starts to break whenever I don’t moisturise. Wether it’s my face, my legs, my neck, my hands. I’m always pointing out to M. the importance of moisturising and am always getting him – at least – face creams. It’s a way to tell your skin that you’re taking care of it and making it glow. Never underestimate the power of a good moisturiser.
It’s not always about food, exercise or choosing better. We should never forget to laugh and smile and actually feel grateful for what we have. When we’re laughing, we’re reducing stress, anxiety and worrying less. Yes, it causes wrinkles but it’s for a good reason. I love laughing and making people laugh. We have to be able to laugh about things, and especially ourselves.
I actually learnt this one from M. I remember the first time we ever talked about it. He was still playing professionally and was having the most awful day. I’m not going to pretend to remember what went wrong with his practice but I remember meeting him at the end of the day and he said “let’s go to McDonalds”. We went, picked it up, went to the supermarket, got a bunch of candy and went home to eat it all. He said to me that he was having the worst day so he would take as much advantage as he could so the next day he would feel like himself again. And we did. So if you’re having a bad day, just take advantage of it, do all the bad things you shouldn’t do, so the next day you feel like back to normal.