What do you view as good health? Is it about having a specific body image? Is it a target weight? Is it a mindset of contentment with your life choices? Is it about having close relationships with your family members?
Defining health is complicated because it encompasses so many factors. Health can be related to your physical body, your mental condition, your social relationships, and even your professional circumstances.
Even though health is hard to define, you must prioritize it in your life. The healthier you are, the more enjoyment you can get out of life. Those who feel better physically, mentally, and socially tend to experience contentment more. Here are a few practices you can implement to support better health.
Table of Contents
Dietary Supplements
A healthy diet is crucial for the physical condition of your body. The trillions of cells that make up your body all require resources to function. They maintain the vitality of your skin, promote organ function, deliver nutrients throughout the body, and carry out every function that is needed for survival. Without a balanced diet that provides all the vitamins and minerals you need, your health could suffer since your cells won’t receive what they need. You can take nutrition a step further by adding dietary supplements to your diet. Dietary supplements can support overall health by injecting additional vitamins and minerals into your system. They work best when paired with a diet of fruits, vegetables, meats, grains, and dairy.
Understand Your Insurance Benefits
Insurance policies for healthcare can be extremely complicated. How many of us read through the entire plan when we sign up for a policy? Probably very few of us. Nonetheless, understanding all the major benefits of your coverage is crucial so you can promote better health. These benefits are what you are owed under the policy, so knowing what they are will let you take advantage of them. This is important so that you are getting the services you deserve. For example, veterans who file VA disability claims could get denied for various reasons. However, if you understand the benefits you are owed well, you can file an appeal to get an explanation for the denial so you can take further action and receive what you are owed.
Follow Doctor’s Advice for Exercise
Everyone’s body is unique. No one understands it better than you and your doctor. Exercise is a crucial component of physical health that can also benefit mental health. The key is to know what types of exercise are best for you. If you are not sure about how to work out effectively, then a conversation with your doctor about this topic could be very insightful. They can give you recommendations for what parts of the body need to be pushed and what kinds of activities can accomplish that. As you get older, your body’s needs will change, and a doctor can help you decide what exercises your body can still handle and what intense workouts may need to be avoided due to the growing fragility of your body.
Track Your Goals
Pursuing better health is not always a straight line. It can be a meandering path with lots of detours and obstacles that impact your progress. Trying to stay on top of your goals amid the complexities of life can be challenging. This is why learning to track your goals effectively is important. Have a larger goal that you hope to accomplish, but simplify it by creating smaller milestones that can be achieved on the way to the greater objective. Consider keeping a journal where you reflect on your accomplishments each day or simply express the challenges you are facing. Sometimes, looking back on where you have been can provide a lot of motivation to keep pushing.
Avoid Comparing Yourself to Others
One of the easiest ways to go off the rails with disappointment in your progress is by comparing yourself to others. Maybe you see others getting faster results, and it is frustrating you. Or perhaps you look at someone and want to achieve their body type for yourself. Comparison is the thief of joy, but it is also the thief of progress. Your health journey should have one focus only; to better yourself. That doesn’t include becoming like someone else. It simply means that who you are today is a small improvement on who you were yesterday. This is the essence of becoming healthier.
Remember to Give Yourself Grace
There are going to be times when you fail. You will be overcome by the distractions of life and miss a milestone that you had set. Often, this can lead to a downward spiral that ends with people giving up on their goals. Getting away from the “failure” mindset and thinking of these obstacles as temporary setbacks is a much more effective way to accomplish your health goals. Give yourself the grace to miss a workout or have a cheat day on your diet. Forgot to meditate this morning? No worries, just start again tomorrow. Forgiving yourself is necessary when you are on a long journey toward self-improvement.
