Eating well and exercising are both important factors of life, but if you have never really paid close attention to either, then it can be a little difficult to start. Many people assume that in order to start focusing on their diet and exercise, they have to become an expert overnight, but this is not the case.

Starting an exercise routine and eating healthily are all things that can’t be rushed, and you shouldn’t put too much pressure on yourself to do it straight away. Putting too much pressure on yourself will only leave to feeling overwhelmed, so just take your time and understand that it is a process.

So, if you are wanting to make some healthy changes to your life, then we have created this beginner’s guide to help get you started.

Do Not Restrict Yourself

One of the most important things to understand when you are trying to be healthier is that you should never restrict yourself. Restricting certain food groups can be extremely damaging to both our physical and mental health.

Eating a healthy diet has always been about balance, and you should never take advice from diets that advise you to cut out certain things completely. Having a balanced diet will always be the best way forward as it allows you to eat lots of healthy foods while still having room for your favorite snacks and treats. Restricting your diet is a very slippery slope, so it is best not to get into that headspace to begin with.

Get To Know Your Body

When we start to make any lifestyle changes like diet and exercise, you should first take the time to understand your body. Everybody is unique, which means that they may respond to diet and exercise in different ways. Because of this, it means that there is no one set way to live healthily, so you need to know how your body works to make changes that are right for you.

If you have done a bit of exercise before but then stopped, you should reflect back and try and understand why that sort of exercise didn’t work for you. It could be that you pushed yourself too hard or simply didn’t enjoy the exercise. The same goes for your diet too, if you have tried eating healthily before, but it didn’t stick, try and figure out the reason for this.

When people try to eat healthy, they start restricting certain foods, which will never work in the long run. Once you understand your body better, you can start making changes that work for you.

Find Exercises That You Love

As mentioned above, one reason you haven’t kept up with your exercise routine could be that you just haven’t found any exercises you love. A lot of people assume that when you start exercising, you have to follow the same routine as other people, but this is not the case. In order for you to start exercising regularly, you need to actually find exercises that you enjoy doing.

A really good way to figure out what exercises you love is to start taking classes. Gym classes are so diverse, which means that you have plenty of options to choose from. Once you have found classes that you like, you can start properly preparing your body for exercise. If you plan to go to the gym in the morning, then starting the day with a protein shake for breakfast is a good way to get your body ready for the gym session.

Work Out What Your Goals Are

A good way to help motivate you on your fitness journey is to work out what your goals actually are. Having some goals or a target in mind can help push you further as you actually have something to work towards. For instance if you want to grow in size, a HGH supplement might be what you’re looking for. If you want to lose weight, a calorie restrictive diet might be worth researching.

Not everyone is going to have the same fitness goal, so just take the time to figure out where you want to be in a year’s time. It could be helpful to have some sort of timeline to work with as this will give you a clear indication of where you are in your fitness journey. Although goals are very helpful, again, it is important that you do not put too much pressure on yourself and just work slowly towards your own personal goals.

Introduce More Plant-Based Options

Veganism has become a hot topic in recent years, and there is good reason for that. Not only is veganism good for the animals and the environment, but it can also be good for your health too. As pointed out previously, restricting your diet is not going to be helpful on your fitness journey, so you shouldn’t give all animal products up just yet.

Instead, what we advise is to start eating more plant-based options instead of meat and dairy. Red meat and dairy can both be unhealthy for the body, so if you are swapping them out for vegan alternatives once a week, you could be making a big difference to your health.