The road to a healthier and leaner lifestyle really is more than just choosing that diet coke with your bacon butty at tea break, but who says that these choices should stop you from enjoying the things you really want?

Take a look at our no-frills advice on ten easy ways to improve your physical and mental health and well-being.

Start as you mean to go on

Breakfast. It is an important factor in the quest for health.

We know what it is like when you are up early to head out on a job; the last thing you want to think about is throwing a bowl of all bran down your neck, especially when you’re struggling to find your socks or you’re being hassled by the kids.

Eating a decent breakfast however really is the most important way to set you up for a good day.

By consuming a relatively decent breakfast shortly after getting up, you are actually helping to kick start the burners, also known as your metabolism, meaning you will burn more calories during the day!

Focus will be higher, your ability to concentrate will potentially improve, and studies have even shown that those who eat breakfast have lower levels of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol.

Consistency is key

It is all well and good signing up for your new gym membership or dedicating to meat-free Monday during that conversation with your partner, but what’s the likelihood of you actually seeing it through?

The 21/90 rule is a great method for helping to adopt those new habits that you say you are going to. It really is quite simple.

Commit to adopting a new habit for 21 days and after those three weeks, the process of actively working towards that end goal will have turned into a habit, carry on to 90 days of pursuing that goal and it will have become a lifestyle focused on your health.

50 Winks

You know those nights when you tossed and turned, cursing the fact that you couldn’t sleep and had to be up in a few hours? Do you remember how you felt the next day? Crabby, beat down, unmotivated.

Sleep is as important for our physical health as it is for our mental health, it can impact on your body’s natural defences and your mental capacity to process information and react appropriately.

So how can you get a better kip? Make sure your bedroom is a calm environment by adjusting the light, heat and noise levels to suit you. Sleeping in a slightly cooler bedroom is actually a lot better for sleep quality than a warm bedroom! Try cutting back on caffeine intake later in the day, if that is your poison, an switch it up to herbal or green tea instead?

Accountability

Keeping yourself in check is not easy, sometimes it can be all too tempting to let yourself have that ‘treat’ or to fall off the health bandwagon completely. So how can you stay accountable?

In this day there are so many resources available at our fingertips; online health forums, social media platforms where others can help to motivate you, keeping an online journal, or even making sure to schedule that personal training session for the week.

If you’re not into using the higher tech options then how about asking a friend to keep you in check or even join you on your journey?

Student of Life

Healthy mind and a healthy body go hand in hand. What better way of keeping your mind healthy than constantly learning new skills?

Look up online courses, check your local area for tutors or even join a local group and get stuck in to learning something new.

Get organised

Meal prepping, picking outfits for the week ahead, writing down important things to sort, or even just making sure you put your car keys in the same place every evening. There are many ways that you can get organised.

Keeping yourself organised and consistent will only lead to a smoother and less stressful day, so what’s not to love?

Practice gratitude

There are so many beautiful things in this world; we just have to take the time to see them.

Did you know that practising gratitude will impact positively on your mental health? It can make you more patient, contribute to a better night sleep, and can even help to reduce the amount you eat!

Check out all the research and amazing benefits here.

Early bird

Our beds are cosy havens and we all know the struggle of not snoozing the alarm 1000 times over before finally dragging our sorry backsides out of bed.

And yet, that overwhelming sense of calm and content that comes from seeing the sun rise over the trees and hearing the birds chirping away really isn’t like anything else, is it?

If you struggle to get out of bed at a decent time then why not place your alarm clock (or phone if that is your alarm) over the other side of the room. This means that you have to get out of bed to switch it off and are less likely to hit the snooze and, well, snooze.

Off the Grid

We all know that sensation of being overwhelmed, phones constantly buzzing, emails rolling in, the demands for attention from friends, family and sometimes even complete strangers. So how best to tackle it?

Why not plan an hour or two during one evening a week where you go ‘off the grid’? The phone goes on do not disturb, the work emails can take care of themselves for a couple of hours, and your laptop/tv are switched off and put to one side.

Take a walk, read a book, sit with a friend for a really good uninterrupted catch up, or all three? For those few hours, unplug yourself from the fast paced reality and take some time for you.

Do what is best for you

Blogs and articles can give you great hints and tips, inspiring you to try out a new area of your life, or give you the motivation to get back on track. What they can’t do is understand you on an individual basis and recommend the perfect route for you to take.

Our final tip for your health is to do what is best for you.

If you know you thrive on 6 hours sleep, but think you could do with more accountability, then we hope our hints and tips were there to inspire you to try something different.

Make sure you stay safe and #GetEquipped.

Until next time,

The V-TUF Family.