It’s the New Year, so it’s the perfect time to make resolutions. However, these aren’t the kind of resolutions you can break. These resolutions will keep you healthy for the rest of the year and hopefully for the foreseeable future as well. The only way you can enjoy another New Year’s Eve party is if you live to see it. Don’t worry we won’t impose any tight restrictions on you. Here are a few simple health tips you should follow this year.
Keep Away From the Fried Chicken
If you don’t want to collapse due to clogged arteries, you’ll have to make some sacrifices. Don’t let McDonald’s or KFC be the reason for your early demise. I know it’s impossible to avoid fast food altogether, but there are some of you who should avoid super sizing their meal every now and then. Eat some fruits and vegetables, it won’t kill you. Try to stay away from the meat as well. You don’t know what the hell they put in it anymore. You may think you’re eating beef, but you might just end up eating Seabiscuit.
Do Some Cardio
It’ll be naïve to think that you’re going to work out every day. However, it shouldn’t be presumptuous to think that you can’t run on the treadmill for a few hours each day. It won’t turn you into Rambo, but it’ll keep you fit. It’s not like you’re going to fight the Vietnamese anyway. All you need is enough stamina to get you through your day. Just an hour in the gym can do wonders for your health. You’re not exactly young and you’re not exactly getting younger. Maybe it’s time to keep that in mind more often.
Get 8 Hours of Beauty Sleep
People are often stressed out due to a lack of sleep. Don’t ever compromise with your sleep. The Sandman won’t like it. 8 hours is ideal, but you can extend it by an hour or so. Don’t oversleep, just sleep enough. Sleep deprivation can cause a whole lot of side effects such as memory loss, high blood pressure and a weak immune system. You don’t want to end up like Edward Norton in Fight Club, do you? One minute you can’t sleep, next you’re the leader of an underground terrorist organization. Try not to start Project Mayhem anytime soon, will you?
Try Yoga
Make a promise to yourself that you’ll learn Yoga this year. To motivate yourself to keep this promise, hire an extremely beautiful and flexible Yoga instructor. If that doesn’t motivate you nothing else will. Your body has become stiff due to years of servitude to the white collar. It’s time to flex those muscles and feel young again. When was the last time you touched your toes? Been long, hasn’t it? If you can’t even touch your toes, how do you expect to do the limbo after your retirement? Start preparing for your Caribbean adventure today.
Get a Health Checkup
Get a health checkup done at least once every six months. It could end up saving your life. You never know what diseases you’ve inherited from your paternal gene until you’re diagnosed with them. A timely checkup can prevent the need for in home care. As they say prevention is better than cure. Even a month means the difference between life and death when it comes to Cancer. Even Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease is a credible threat. It doesn’t hurt to be paranoid when it comes to your health. Only the paranoid survive. You still have to make it till the next New Year, remember?
Reduce Your Vices
None of the above tips are going to mean anything if you don’t stop smoking and drinking yourself to death. I understand you can’t go cold turkey in an instant, but you could reduce your dependence on it. This year should be dedicated to reducing your alcohol and nicotine consumption. Maybe next year you can think about quitting. The truth is you can do without your vices. You may think you need them, but you don’t. Kick those habits before they land you in trouble.
Thanks to these tips your New Year could end up being a new beginning. Don’t be the same person you were last year. It’s time to evolve and be somebody better.
The author of this post is Karen Fernandes, a freelance blogger who enjoys sharing her ideas and experiences online. She enjoys listening to jazz music and blogging about fitness tips in her free time. You can follow her on Twitter for more information.