How to Lead A Healthier Lifestyle This Winter

With the change of seasons, now is a good time to make some small tweaks to your lifestyle and build healthy habits for the future.

It’s difficult to break habits that took a lifetime to establish so don’t rush into it straight away. Think about your current lifestyle and realistically pick the area you most want to change. Doing this instead of trying to change everything all at once will mean you’re likely to stick to it. Below are some simply changes you can make in different areas of your life to improve your health this winter and beyond.

Quit Smoking

If you’re still a smoker then trying to quit or at least reduce the amount you smoke should be a priority this winter. Quitting outright is hard, that’s undeniable, but moving away from smoking cigarettes and to something like e-cigarettes (which reduce some of the negative effects of smoking) is a good transitory step to take. The starter kit from JUUL will provide with a discreet way to start reducing your smoking and all the tools you’ll need. Why not see how much money you can save by not purchasing your regular packs and saving it instead for a reward if you can go without smoking them for 3, 6, or 12 months.

Tweak Your Diet

Overhauling your whole diet is daunting and sustaining drastic changes requires heroic willpower. Look to make small tweaks that become part of your daily routine. Swap white bread for wholegrain, replace sugary fizzy drinks with flavour water, and add one extra vegetable to your plate at dinner. If you’re one of the people who cooks an average of the same 9 meals on rotation, then it’s time to try something new. The internet is full of recipes – pick a cuisine you enjoy most or an ingredient you’ve always wanted to cook with and give it a go. Tweaking your diet doesn’t have to be boring or expensive with a little effort and imagination.

Move Your Body

Exercising is undeniably good for your body but starting, and sticking to, an exercise regime can often feel impossible. Just like the diet tweaks advice above, start small and get used to moving your body on a regular basis. Commit to some low impact moves for a set amount of days per week – you don’t have to jump in to trends like HIIT or yoga straight away. Set aside 10 or 15 minutes (during an episode of your favourite show is ideal) and do some squats, stretches, or anything else you want. Once you’ve built this simple habit and started feeling the benefits of moving more, you can increase the duration or intensity slowly.

Rediscover Your Hobby

Many of us have left behind hobbies we used to once really enjoy. Maybe you liked painting or writing, or perhaps sudoku or reading was your thing. Busy lives tend to get in the way of enjoying the things that, paradoxically, we enjoy. Think of how you spend your week and crave out just one hour for yourself to spend doing something that used to bring you joy. Maybe you’ll realise just how fun and relaxing it can be to spend your time resting ‘actively’ and partaking in the hobbies you used to enjoy.