Many people are convinced that health is an external issue, beyond our control, as if it were a matter of chance that some people get ill and others do not. Often, subconsciously, we don't want to link the state of our health with the way we live, because this awareness would entail making inconvenient and uncomfortable changes. However, it is worth believing that you are responsible for the state of your own body and that every change, even the smallest one, starts in your mind.
Patience and motivation
When changing your lifestyle, you need to be aware of the importance of motivation and not losing sight of your goal. It's very easy to give in to temptation and thus squander many hours or even days of sacrifice. In a sense, it doesn't matter what exactly we want to change, the pattern is always similar. Lifestyle changes affect both our health and our appearance. It seems that the most common and illustrative example, clearly reflected in our appearance, is changing our eating habits. The diet example is a good one because it is easy to visualise - much easier than the often outwardly invisible benefits of quitting smoking, for example. No matter what kind of diet you're on, and whether you're just giving up eating sweets or stopping eating after 7pm, in some ways the whole process is accompanied by the same emotions. At first, we may simply long for the style of eating we were used to before going on the diet. We may even feel sluggish and have headaches for the first few days after stopping eating regular sweets. Because of the reduced calorie content, we are constantly satiated in the stomach or we may feel weak, and yet sometimes the weight stagnates for days. However, the best way to change any habit, including eating habits, is to change gradually, stretched out over time. Therefore, even if you feel that your weight is not going down and it seems that "you will never lose weight", you should be aware that persevering with your resolution will sooner or later - after a week, ten days or a month - bring results. What's more, we can achieve benefits not only visually or in terms of health, but also psychologically, because we will feel satisfaction, pride in ourselves and the awareness of victory over our own weaknesses, which can mobilise us to further transformations in other fields.
The human body is a complex and any change affects it holistically. A great example of this can be the transition to vegetarianism - as it turns out that excluding meat from the diet can significantly affect our taste. This is related to the presence of zinc in the foods we eat, and this mineral is found in high levels in red meat and oysters. Research conducted at Tokushima University in Japan has shown that this element also has a binding role in taste-related issues. Zinc is also present in plant-based foods such as pulses, nuts, dairy and whole grains, but the phytic acid in these foods interferes with the absorption of this mineral and can therefore alter the sense of taste. The same study showed that vegetarians may need up to 50% more zinc than meat-eaters.
Lifestyle changes
Of course, it is difficult to adopt changes overnight, even with the best intentions. They should be introduced systematically. However, whether you are planning to move to another city in the near future or lose five kilos, there are a few common points to note when making planned modifications:
- Listen to your own needs. They are always an individual issue. Analyse your own strengths and weaknesses. Accept your own mistakes, it is human to err, but try to learn from them for the future - in the knowledge that you may still repeat them, even many times, but you will definitely succeed at one of them.
- Learn to be calm. Without the help of external tranquillisers like alcohol or cannabis. Find the calmness of your mind, this will help control your emotions and reactions.
- Determination and courage to achieve your goal will definitely come in handy. Not all the people around you will be accepting of your new life, but it is never possible to please everyone.
- Organise your work. Treat your schedule as your greatest ally in the battle for the amount of free time you won't waste fighting your own clutter.
- Set your biological clock. Whether you're just starting to run, changing jobs, relocating or going on a diet, introducing some routine into your body and sticking to it can help you apply your new schedule.
- Leisure time and nurturing friendships. Your new schedule should never lack time to take a breather and talk to loved ones to help loosen up.
photo: shutterstock
No matter how big a change you are planning to make in your life, it's worth having patience, developing new habits and not waiting nervously for the results, and sooner or later you will definitely succeed in changing what you want. You have to believe that you are the blacksmith not only of your own destiny, but also, and perhaps above all, of your health.
