3 Tips To Create Lasting Health

Trying to find the one thing that will improve your health for the rest of your life, is like trying to eat a big enough meal so that you never need to eat again…

We all want to improve our health, whether we openly admit it or not. Because at the end of the day, the healthier we are, the happier we are.

Being able to run for the bus with no worries, to pick up and play with our family and friends. To not have anxiety about sinister health conditions. Health really is the underpinning of happiness.

And because there is not just ‘one thing’ we can do to make us healthier; we are often overwhelmed and choose to do nothing.

So, this week I want to share with you my Top Tips for longevity and how to create long and lasting health for you and your loved ones. But I will warn you, this stuff is simple, but it can take some effort to do. And the appeal of a warm sofa and sugary treat is going to do its best to tempt you away from changing this Winter.

So here goes.

Long term health is not about taking the easy route. It is all about creating some adversity and challenge into your life and routine. The saying “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger” holds some truth.

Adding adversity and struggle forces your body to adapt; if your body is encouraged to adapt on a consistent and smaller scale, over the long run it will build resilience and strength. It is this, that supports your longevity and wellbeing.

So here are my Top 3 Tips to introduce some ‘healthy stress’ into your lives:

1.       Fasting
Intermittent fasting is a great stressor on the body. It forces us to dip into our reserves and essentially resets our physiology. Not only is it great for weight loss, but it really helps to bring down inflammation and fight aging.

2.       Lifting weights
The research now clearly supports that losing weight is NOT the best thing to do for our health. Of course it is important, but the most important thing is building and strengthening skeletal muscles. This increases bone density and helps regulate blood sugar. Essential for long term skeletal health and offsetting diabetes.

3.       Cold exposure
Cold plunges are very popular now and rightly so. While I do not have one, I do only shower in cold water. Cold showers stimulate the release of ‘cold shock proteins’ which rapidly repair the body. Other benefits of cold are boosting your immune system and increasing your metabolism.

How does this look on a daily basis?

Simple, reduce your eating window by either starting food later in the day (maybe 11am or 12pm) or finish eating by 5pm. Add some weight training to your daily routine; this can be the gym or simply some light weights at home, but make sure to stress the muscles. And finally take a cold shower, even just 30 seconds in the cold daily.

As I said, that warm sofa and mince pie sounds more appealing… or does it.
How does living a long, healthy, and happy life sound?

With love,

Tom