23 Health and Fitness Tips That Are Truly Sustainable

Most of the health and fitness advice we get tends to be hard to implement and sustain. You may even find people arranging private GP London visits, in search of truly workable tips to help them remain healthy and fit. It is in response to this need, we have curated some 20 tips that should be easy enough for anyone, and sustainable.

Without further ado, if you want to remain healthy and fit, you just need to:

Fitness Tips

1. Find inner motivation

The way to develop this inner motivation is by figuring out why exactly you need to meet your health and fitness goals. It is not enough to have some fuzzy idea in this regard. What you need instead is something that is clearly written down, and that you can refer to from time to time.

2. Adopt a realistic approach, with consistency

This is with regard to how much time it will take you to adopt a healthy lifestyle, and attain your fitness goals. Don’t expect results too fast. Otherwise, you will be setting yourself up for disappointment, which then leads to a loss of motivation. Understand that the change of a single habit can take as many as 66 days so stay focused. And don’t lose heart if things don’t seem to shift better in the first month.

3. Pursue goals that are SMART

The acronym SMART expands to Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, TimeBound. The real aim is to have something against which you can measure your progress. There is also the aim of having something to which you can hold yourself accountable. Thus smart goal setting is very essential in these sorts of undertakings.

4. Only pursue targets that are manageable

People often fail to attain their health and fitness objectives because they are too lofty. Don’t fall into that trap. Only have targets for which chances of attainment are at least 8 out of 10. This will also help you avoid getting into disappointments, which can truly take your motivation away.

5. Note down the benefits you get through fitness and healthy living

These should be things that resonate deeply with you, at an emotional level. You should actually list them. Then you should keep on referring to them, in order to have high levels of motivation. Otherwise, it is easy to soon or later forget why you are working towards being healthy and fit.

6. Identify the outcome of not being healthy and fit

The aim here is to have another source of motivation. So you need to figure out what could go wrong if you don’t work towards being healthy and fit. Then always have this at the back of your mind, so that your motivation does not wane.

7. Have a proper workout schedule

This is better than only getting to work out ‘whenever you find time for it’.  Once you put the workouts into your schedule, the message your mind gets is that working out is a priority. Otherwise, there is a risk of working out being relegated to the category of low-priority affairs. If possible, try to schedule the workouts at times(in the morning) when you are least likely to overlook them.

8. Avoid comparisons with others

The problem with doing this is that it can lead to disappointment. That can in turn cause a major loss of motivation, especially when you don’t seem to be making progress compared to others.

You need to understand that people’s bodies are different. And what may be an easily attainable fitness and health goal for another person may not be so easy for you. Thus you need to be working towards your goals, not other people’s. As long as you are making some progress, that is what matters.

9. Use all opportunities for exercise

On top of the main scheduled workout sessions, there are likely to be numerous opportunities arise for exercise. And this is on a day-to-day basis. Don’t let these opportunities get lost.

Remember, through them, you may end up meeting more than you’d achieve through the formally scheduled workouts.

10. Truly celebrate small wins you achieve

What tends to hamper sustainability while working towards fitness and healthy living is loss of motivation. One way to avoid it, is by being conscious of the small wins you attain, then celebrating them in big ways.

11. Have proper workout plans

This is better than using an ad-hoc approach to your workouts. Going to gym for workout gives you a structure and a certain level of motivation. Moreover, you can join some classes like dance or zumba classes. You need to view the time you spend planning your workouts as time well spent.

12. Enlist the services of a personal trainer

There are at least three benefits you stand to gain, if you do this. Firstly, the trainer will help you do things in the right manner, in order to achieve the most ideal results. Secondly, the trainer will offer you plenty of encouragement, which you really need in this journey. And thirdly, the trainer will help you push beyond certain false limits that you set for yourself.

13. Take strength training very seriously

There are many benefits you stand to gain from strength training. Those include things like better heart health and optimal metabolism, increase confidence and possibly even reduce chances of osteoporosis. Therefore, whatever workout routines you opt to use, ensure that strength training is integral in them.

14. Take enough water

Chronic dehydration can keep you from attaining all your health and fitness goals. So it is important to be having plenty of water, on a day-to-day basis. In case you find that difficult, you can make the water ‘taste better’ by adding citrus pieces to it.

15. Eat better on a day-to-day basis

Most of us find healthy eating to be inconvenient. That is why we are unable to sustain it. So what you need to do is find ways of making it more fun and convenient.

16. Stop drinking too much alcohol

It is pretty much impossible to attain your health and fitness goals if you are drinking too much. It is therefore essential for you to find ways of cutting back on your intake of alcohol. Otherwise, your kidney will always be overworked. Your energy levels will never be low. And you will ultimately find that your progress toward the health and fitness goals you set is hampered.

17. Increase your intake of foods that are rich in energy

You do this in order to get the fuel necessary for your fitness workouts. Thus things like brown rice and potatoes as well as whole wheat pasta are indispensable.

18. Sleep well

You first need to prioritize your sleep hours and ensure that nothing interferes with it. It is also essential to have a pre-sleep winding down a routine hour before going to bed, This can help in improving your sleep quality.

19. Start exercise sessions with warm-up

Warm-up have many benefits, and you should never skip it before getting into an intense workout. It is only through a proper warm-up that you get the most ideal level of blood circulation, as well as an ideal body temperature, and raise your heart rate slowly. So it is not something to take lightly.

20. Finish all your workouts by stretching

The goal here is to do a cool-down stretch at the end. It means stretching once your muscles have become warm after exercise. It can really help, with regard to minimizing your subsequent soreness and help to recover your muscles to a normal state.

21. Go for fitness training with friends

If nothing else, this can help in being ‘responsible partners’ for each other.

22.  Use a music playlist

This can make your fitness training sessions more fun. The music in the playlist just needs to be something that really revs you up.

23. Try new types of exercise

The idea is to ensure that fitness training doesn’t turn into a boring, monotonous routine. Therefore variety is very important here.

Our London Doctors Clinic Private GP in London can help you with more personalized health and fitness advice.