We don’t tend to think about our health too much until we experience poor health. Then, it suddenly dominates our thoughts. It’s important that you put in an active effort to maintaining your health and wellbeing at all times. This can help you to remain in the best condition possible and to lead a full and happy life. Of course, knowing where to start can be difficult. Here are just a few areas of focus that you might want to take into account!

Nutrition

Calories are not the enemy. While countless diet books and fads will say that we need to cut calories and minimize them in our diets, this isn’t true - unless your doctor has specifically recommended this. Instead, we need to rethink how we see calories. We need to make sure that we recognize that calories are simply a unit of measurement that tell us how much energy a specific food will provide us with. Too few calories and your body won’t have enough fuel to get through the days healthily. Too many calories and our body begins to store fat away and we experience obesity and health consequences that commonly come hand in hand with it. The amount of calories you consume will depend on factors such as your sex, age and how much exercise or physical activity you get. The guide below should serve as a rough guideline.

Active women aged 14 to 30 - 2400 calories
Sedentary women aged 14 to 30 - 1800 to 2000 calories
Active men aged 14 to 30 - 2800 to 3200 calories
Active adults over 30 - 2000 to 3000 calories
Sedentary adults over 30 - 1600 to 2400 calories

If you feel you need to gain or lose weight, discuss this with your doctor. They’ll be able to make specific, tailored recommendations for you.

Exercise

It’s recommended that the average adult gets around 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise each week. Do you hit these targets? If the answer is no, you’re far from alone. A surprising number of people do not exercise enough and this can have a detrimental impact on your overall health and wellbeing. Fitness is important and getting sufficient exercise can help to keep you healthy and strong with stamina, balance and flexibility. The best way to experience success with an exercise routine is to find exercise you actually enjoy doing. So many people force themselves to the gym or out for runs when they don’t actually enjoy doing these things. Find something you like and you’ll be much more likely to actually go and do it each week. Some good ideas for many include cycling, fitness classes with friends, team sports, golf, dance, yoga, pilates, swimming, fencing, archery - the list goes on. There’s bound to be something you enjoy, so try a few different things and experiment until you find something you can genuinely see yourself engaging with once or twice a week.

Monitor Health Complaints

Do you have any health complaints or issues that flare up over time? It’s important that you have these seen to. While symptoms may subside and re-arise, they rarely go away completely by themselves. Sometimes, they will need special treatment, therapy or care to resolve or to minimize pain and discomfort. It’s important that you consult a medical professional about any issues you may be facing and they will be able to direct you on the right course to best suit your needs. Of course, many people worry about costs during this process. If you feel that the issue you’re experiencing was the fault of someone else, contact a relevant legal professional who will be able to help you resolve this financial worry by seeking compensation on your behalf. If you experienced a road traffic accident, an 18 Wheeler Accident Lawyer could help. What’s most important is that you receive the medical care and attention you need to return to the best health possible.

Get Regular Health Check Ups

There are health checkups that you should get on a regular basis. These will allow relevant professionals to take a look at your health and recommend any changes you may need to make to your lifestyle or treatments you may need to undergo to keep you as fit and healthy as possible. Here are some to schedule in.

Dental Checkups - you should visit your dentist once every six months. This will give them a chance to survey the health of your mouth. If they identify any decay, cavities, impacted wisdom teeth or other issues they will be able to resolve them with processes such as fillings, root canals or tooth removal. Book in with a hygienist too. They’ll clean your mouth thoroughly.

Eye Tests - an eye test should be carried out by a professional optometrist once every two years. They will use special equipment to take a look at the health of your eye from back to front. This can diagnose issues ranging from cataracts to diabetes. They will also carry out a vision test to determine if you need prescription lenses or not.

Cervical Screening - do you have a cervix and are over the age of 25? Chances are, you should be checking in for cervical screening. Anyone aged between 25 and 44 will be asked to go back for another screening once every three years. Anyone aged between 45 and 60 will be asked to go back once every five years. This check will determine whether there are any abnormal cells in your cervix or not.

Vaccinations - if you meet certain health criteria, doctors may recommend that you get vaccinated against different threats. This may range from COVID vaccines to flu vaccines. Check in with your doctor for personalized recommendations.

These are just a few areas of your health to focus on, but hopefully, they’ll get the ball rolling and help you to manage your own wellbeing!