Everyone wants to be as healthy as possible, but there’s a big difference between wanting something and actually putting it into practice When you’re young and don’t have kids, being healthy might be easy. You just exist and bam, you’re healthy. But life has a nasty way of piling things on you, and then being healthy becomes something you have to actually try to achieve.
Speaking of kids, while they can act as little drains on your energy, they’re also a great incentive for staying healthy. If we put it as harshly and as simply as possible, you want to be alive for as long as you can so you can be there for your children as they grow up, turn from children to teenagers to adults in their own life, and then maybe have children of their own.
You can’t control everything in your life, including your death. But you can do everything you can to keep your heart beating and your body moving. So, let’s get away from the slightly morbid line of reasoning and focus on how you can stay as healthy as possible.
Go to the Doctor
Yes, it’s an obvious one. But let’s be honest, nobody wants to go to the doctor. How many times have you noticed a weird symptom or needed an appointment for something and then put off going to the doctor for as long as possible? If you’re more organized than that, well done, but you’re probably in the minority. It’s easier to hope something goes away on its own than to bite the bullet and get an appointment.
But while we’re being honest, is the doctor truly that terrible? Does it take hours out of your life and result in agony and despair? Or is it just inconvenient?
Now think about the reasons to go. First, have you ever heard the saying “monkey see, monkey do?” Kids are like monkeys. If they see you do something, they’ll be more likely to do it themselves. This is why you can tell your kids to eat their greens until you’re blue in the face, but unless they watch you do it, they’re going to continue to enjoy a vegetable-free lifestyle for as long as they want. The same applies to the doctor.
If you don’t like going to the doctor, how do you think your kids feel? But if you admit you don’t like it, and go anyway because you understand that your health comes first, maybe you can convince your kids that it’s worth it.
Besides, the doctor is pretty much the best and only way for you to get a diagnosis. If you wait until a symptom is unbearable, you might have put yourself through needless suffering for an easy fix. Or worse, you might have let an illness progress to a point where the treatment is a lot more difficult than it needed to be. People have died through preventable or treatable diseases that were caught too late.
So, fight for your health and fight for your family. Get yourself to the doctor.
Diet and Exercise
While we’re still on the subject of general health, let’s tackle the big subjects of diet and exercise.
Without going into a massive amount of detail, a good diet consists of a good balance of nutrients and the appropriate calories for your needs. But what does this mean in real words?
“You are what you eat.” It’s a phrase that about twenty years ago was used to encourage people to cut fat out of their diets, but let’s recontextualize it. Your body uses food as fuel and building blocks to repair itself.
If you run a car and you always give it the worst fuel that will actually work, the car isn’t going to thank you. It might run, but it’ll be inefficient at best, and, at worst, you can damage the engine and cause issues later down the road. The same thing applies to your diet.
Healthy food can be tasty food, you just need to be smart about it. Use plenty of spices and seasoning. They don’t just make your food taste better, but some herbs and spices are really good for you. Cut down on processed food and increase healthy snacks. Again, your kids will follow your example.
But what about the calorie thing? Well, let’s discuss that in relation to exercise. Everyone needs to exercise. Our bodies are designed to move and, if we return to our car analogy, if you leave it sitting on the driveway, it’s going to deteriorate. Keeping fit keeps you young, improves how you look, and can massively reduce the risk of cardiovascular disorders.
When you exercise you burn calories. So, if you want to lose weight, lower your calories and put your body in a deficit. But if you want to maintain your weight or even bulk up, you’ll need to figure out how many calories you need and, ideally, boost the protein in your diet.
Lifestyle Habits
As well as eating right and moving as much as you can (playing with your kids can be surprisingly good exercise), there are other changes you can make to your lifestyle to maintain your health.
First, cut down or cut out bad habits. Smoking kills, it’s plastered everywhere and it’s no longer a surprise to anyone. So, if you smoke and want to extend your life and improve your health, you already know a good way to do it. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.
Really, any addiction is bad for your health. While alcohol isn’t terrible in and of itself, it’s way too easy to drink too much. Alcohol is basically a poison and alcohol abuse is as deadly as any drug addiction. Never take it for granted and pay attention to how much you drink, how often you drink, and how much you “need” that beer or three after work each day.
As well as the bad habits, it’s a good idea to think about good habits. Sleep is that thing everyone needs more of, but it’s more important than just feeling groggy when you wake up. Sleep deprivation is genuinely a killer. It destroys your concentration, increases stress, increases the risk of car accidents, and makes you miserable and grumpy in the short term, as well as potentially leading to bigger issues in the long term. So, improve your sleep habits.
You should also replace the bad things you drink with good things. Alcohol and sugary drinks are a great treat, but it’s best to replace them with plenty of water. Even tea and coffee should be limited to a few cups a day, as long as you stay hydrated.
Sexual and Men’s Health
Most of the advice here focuses on general health and cardiovascular health. But what about the specifics? Every health problem has the potential to be serious and, even if it won’t kill you, can impact on the quality of your life.
For example, erectile dysfunction might be the butt of a few jokes, but it can be difficult to deal with and might be a sign of a more serious problem. If you’re ever concerned about your sexual health or urology issues, like an enlarged prostate or issues urinating, see a doctor.
It might be serious, or it might be a sign of aging, but there is always something to do about you. You can get some medication online, ideally armed with the advice of your doctor, so visit website to try to get things back to how they should be.
Mental Health
One of the better things about modern life is that it’s no longer a big stigma to admit when you’re suffering. It can still be hard for men to open up, and there is still pressure to be stoic no matter what, but your mental health is a part of your physical health.
Life is hard, and it’s okay to find it hard. Find people you can trust and speak to them. Some men offload everything onto their spouses and, while that is what they’re there for, try to talk to your friends as well. This way it’s easier to support one another without relying completely on each other for emotional strength.
In some cases, it’s necessary to speak to a mental health professional. Again, nobody likes going to any doctors, but it’s worth it to get some quality of life back.
Skin and Hair Care
Finally, another aspect of health that some men still neglect is good skin and hair care. Look, the routine of washing everything in the harshest and plainest cleaner you can find might have worked when you were younger, but come on, a bit of moisturizer never hurt anyone.
Look after your skin and give your hair some love. It doesn’t take a lot of effort, but the effects are plain to see. You will look and feel much better.