Resolution 101, making 2018 your healthiest year yet.
The first step in your journey to good long term health is to understand what good health is and what steps you’ll need to take to make it happen. In this article we’ll give you the information you need before we show you how to decide on your own goals. We’ll also teach you which issues to tackle first.
Why too much information is bad for our health
When we need a simple answer to a question we usually just type into a search engine and look for a response. Try this to research health related questions and the answer is often a little harder to find. Much of the material is about health dangers, diets, exercise crazes and expensive memberships. In addition, many sites are obviously sponsored by supplements, gym chains or equipment retailers. With so many products and services struggling to be seen it can be hard to access the information you need or trust that what you are reading is genuine. This is at best frustrating and at worst dangerous.
When you decide to make a change to your lifestyle you have already achieved something momentous. If the first search for better health leaves you overwhelmed and confused you may feel beaten before you begin. So how do we find reliable health information, what are the key basic measures of good health and what are the dangers of straying too far from these measures?
5 simple tests for great health is a short read with all the lowdown you need on basic health measurements including how to take them and what they should be. It'll cut through the confusion and give you a clear starting point.
When to change, when to maintain
Once you have taken your basic health measurements you can then choose your starting point, your one big change. This may be selected based on the most health focused, for example a high blood pressure reading, or the more superficial, for example losing weight for a planned event. Unless you have been advised by a health professional to tackle a specific issue, for example diet change to avoid type 2 Diabetes, it’s best to opt for the simplest change first.
Learning how to make changes is the key to achieving good long term health and every positive result you have will strengthen you for the next. In addition, improving many of these basic readings will have a positive impact on the others so by tackling one area you may even remove the need for changes in other areas, too.
Completing these tests may give you distressing information but this is only the ‘jumping off’ point. It’s important to be realistic with your expectations. If we don’t have this data we will have no way of measuring the achievements to come but don't be disappointed with your measurements. If all your trousers are XXXL it’s unlikely that your body fat percentage will fall into the healthy category.
This information will help guide your plan. Understanding how to prioritise your health objectives will prevent you from making drastic or pointless efforts which may sap your desire and interest in the broader goal.
Take away from today: Find your basic health level and decide which aspect is easiest to change first.
Enjoy Good Health!
