When you are still young and healthy, thinking about getting old isn’t exactly appealing The last thing you think about is how to boost your future health. But if you don’t give some thought to ageing at this stage, it can be even harder to live in a way that promotes a healthy life down the line.
These tips will motivate you to build lifelong healthy habits that Future-You will thank you for.
Understand The Importance Of Today
Sparing a thought for how to boost your future health at this stage in your life is crucial, as you’re still in a position to make a significant impact on your health outcomes.
If you start thinking about your health only at an advanced stage in life, you lose countless opportunities to build positive habits and fine-tune your lifestyle in beneficial ways.
When you’re struggling to stay motivated to build healthy habits into your day for the sake of your future self, remind yourself that this is your golden opportunity to look after yourself. If you leave it until later on in life, it could be too late.
Eat Well
Diet is something that many of us pay attention to when we’re young, if only as a way to promote weight loss. But weight-loss aside, a diet rich in nutrients is vital if you want to have a healthy body in the long-term.
Not only does eating well help you balance your energy levels, but it also makes sure that your body’s natural defenses are well equipped to fight. There is a harmful misconception that you can eat whatever you want when you’re still young because a youthful body is more resilient.
However, what you eat now will directly impact your body when you get older. Everything from the health of your skin to the strength of your bones comes down to getting sufficient vitamins and minerals over a sustained period of time.
The sooner you get your diet sorted, the sooner you’ll begin to see a difference in your health overall.
Think of each and every healthy meal you eat now as an investment in your physical health for many years to come. Each meal can boost your future health in the long run.
Build Self-Esteem
Research has consistently shown that positive self-esteem improves long-term health outcomes by promoting adherence to positive lifestyle habits.
In other words, when you’re feeling lousy about yourself, you’re less likely to make a grilled chicken salad for dinner instead of grabbing a pizza from the supermarket.
On the flipside, if you feel good about yourself, your chances of sticking to your healthy habits on a daily basis are greatly improved. Self-esteem is a complicated thing.
Feeling good about yourself means something different for everyone, and will depend on various factors such as your upbringing and goals in life.
For many of us, a strong motivator of our self-esteem is related to whether or not we feel comfortable with how we look. This doesn’t mean that unhealthy beauty standards should dominate your every waking moment.
Rather, it can help your self-esteem to feel comfortable in your own skin. This will take different forms for you, depending on your personal preferences.
Whether you decide to get a facial or do an online hair loss consultation, looking after your appearance is a great way to boost self-esteem and promote your long-term health habits.
Give Your New Habits Time To Settle
You may think that you owe it to yourself to enjoy each day while you’re young, and that means enjoying your food, and relaxing. Well, sure, that is true, but only up to a point.
Bad habits, like living a sedentary lifestyle and eating a poor diet may feel good when you don’t have anything to compare it to. But, give it time. Once you start to change your lifestyle, you’ll soon realise that your old habits were doing you harm.
When you first start to eat healthily and exercise, you may find it less pleasant than watching TV or eating McDonald’s, but after a while, these habits will start to seem preferable to your old habits.
Drink Plenty Of Water
Staying hydrated every day is one of the best ways to promote your health as you age. As an average-sized adult, you should aim to drink eight large glasses of water a day, but the exact amount you need will depend on various factors.
However, drinking loads of water might not be easy when you first get started, and you might find it hard to remember to keep refilling your glass. Until your routine is a solid part of your daily life, it may help to use external cues to trigger your hydration schedule.
Set calendar reminders, or make use of handy Post-its around your house or office to keep nudging you that it’s time for another glass.
And before you suggest that coffee and tea should count towards your daily tally, these stimulating drinks are not considered a water replacement, as they actually dehydrate the body, rather than keep you hydrated.
That’s not to say that you should give up your morning Americano—just make sure you drink an extra glass or two of water to compensate for the dehydrating properties of your favorite morning brew.
Whether you’re eighteen or thirty, you can start preparing to age well today! These tips will help you stay motivated to live a long and healthy life and help to boost your future health and wellbeing.
