If you'd like to learn how to start a healthy lifestyle, but don't have a clue how to get going, you've come to the right place!
Many men want to get healthier, but they often get discouraged and stop trying if they don't know the best ways to get started.
Having the right attitude, meeting fluid goals, getting good sleep, eating the right foods, and keeping your body moving through exercise and activities of daily living are the keys to success. Take action by making a few simple healthy lifestyle changes, one at a time, to increase your chance of success without feeling overwhelmed.
Develop personalized health goals and stick with them. You may gradually increase activities of daily living, increase time spent exercising, or boost your exercise intensity. Add healthy eating habits, stress-reduction strategies, more water, improved sleep, or other simple changes until you reach your health goals.
We're going to show you exactly how to start a healthy lifestyle and maintain it for life!
In this article, you'll learn about:
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- The benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
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- How to get started TODAY.
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- 10 tips for success for men over 40.
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- What NOT to do.
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- And more!
But before we get into all that, I want you to check out these 5 simple lifestyle tweaks that you can make to improve your health today!
Welcome To The Fit Father Project – Your New Nutrition and Workout Resource!
At the Fit Father Project, we specifically help busy men over 40 get back in shape by offering free information and resources on our website, backed up with our Fit Father 30X (FF30X) Program.
This article will teach you how to start a healthy lifestyle, but we're here to help you make a whole slew of healthy and sustainable lifestyle changes that will last.
Everything we do here at the Fit Father Project aims to simplify eating and exercise for you, so you can get in great shape and stay strong and healthy for your family — without any unnecessary complications.
Sound good? Good. Let's dive in!
The Benefits Of A Healthy Lifestyle
Getting started on your journey toward a healthier lifestyle offers an array of benefits for your overall health and wellness.
Examples of such benefits include:
- Leaner body mass
- Smaller waist circumference
- Reduced risk of chronic diseases
- More energy
- Improved athletic performance
- Longer life expectancy
- Stronger immune system
- More self-confidence
- Improved mental health
- Better quality of life
- Easier healthy weight management
Improving everyday health habits lessens your risk of developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, osteoporosis, arthritis, or other chronic conditions.
It also reduces your chance of having a stroke or heart attack.
Here are the 5 healthy habits of people who successfully lose weight and keep it off.
How To Start A Healthy Lifestyle: 10 Tips For Success
Use the guidelines below to begin your journey toward better health, a longer life expectancy, and improvements in quality of life!
Set Specific Goals
Research has found that setting goals increases your chance of successfully making healthy lifestyle changes. You might set goals for your waist circumference, cholesterol, blood pressure, body weight, exercise, hours of sleep, and servings of protein or fiber-rich foods.
Choose non-food rewards for meeting your health goals, such as taking a day off from work, going on vacation, or purchasing something you've been saving up for.
Alter Your Attitude and Mindset
Changing your attitude is crucial when learning how to start a healthy lifestyle. Make it a top priority to adopt the habits you've been striving for.
Prioritize eating less junk food, not smoking, drinking less alcohol, and being active every day. Make a list of your top priorities and get in the mindset of achieving each goal you set, one at a time.
Meet Daily Fluid Requirements
Drinking too little water is a common barrier to living your healthiest life. But it's one of the most important things you can do for your overall health. Water hydrates you, makes calorie control easier, helps flush out body toxins, and maximizes your energy levels.
Set a goal of consuming about 16 cups of total fluids daily. However, you might need additional water if you sweat a lot or are in hot temperatures.
While all fluids count toward meeting daily fluid requirements, water is one of the best choices. Plant milk, cow milk, 100% fruit or vegetable juice, protein shakes, plain kefir, tea, and coffee are other excellent options.
If you're trying to lose weight, try drinking about 2 cups of water before each meal to help you feel fuller from fewer calories.
Minimize Stress
Ongoing stress may alter your hormones, increase blood pressure, and lead to increases in appetite and undesirable weight gain. Try a few simple tricks, one at a time, to keep stress levels at bay.
Take time off from work, lighten up an overly busy schedule, or try relaxation techniques. Consider traveling, yoga, massage, tai chi, regular exercise, spending time outdoors, reading a book, watching a movie, going for walks, listening to music, or doing guided sleep meditation before bed.
Focus On Vegetables, Healthy Fats, and Protein
If you're wondering how to start a healthy lifestyle, begin by altering your eating habits! You don't have to “diet” to achieve superior health and wellness.
Just focus on nutritious foods that keep your metabolism high, help you feel full, and make it easier to control calories. Focus on the following types of foods:
- Fiber-rich plant foods: fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds
- Heart-healthy fats: olive oil, coconut oil, walnut oil, other plant-based oils, avocados, nuts, seeds, nut butter, and olives
- Protein-rich foods: very lean organic meat, chicken, turkey, duck, fish, seafood, eggs, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, milk or plant milk, legumes (peas, beans, lentils, etc.), nuts, seeds, nut butter, tofu, seitan, veggie burgers, and other plant-based proteins
Whenever possible, fill each plate of food the Perfect Plate way. Choose a variety of foods from each group!
- Half full of non-starchy vegetables
- One-fourth full of protein foods
- One-fourth full of fiber-rich starches (starchy vegetables, legumes, or whole grains) and heart-healthy fats
Here’s A Free Weight Loss Meal Plan For Busy Men 40+
Discover exactly what to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner to lose belly fat & feel energized 24/7 without hard dieting...
Get Daily Exercise
Exercising daily is simple with the right workout plans in place. You might cycle, jog, lift weights, play basketball, or use a rowing, stair climbing, or elliptical machine.
Combine strength training with cardio exercises to get ripped!
Alter workout routines regularly and aim to complete about 30-60 minutes of planned exercise most days of the week. Even if you have just 20 minutes to spend doing planned exercise, it's better than skipping workouts entirely.
Improve Your Sleep Habits
Getting a good night's sleep is more important than you may think to maintain exceptional health.
Insufficient sleep can cause poor workouts, physical and mental fatigue, and fluctuations in hunger hormones, which may increase your appetite and the risk of unplanned weight gain.
When possible, aim to get at least seven hours of high-quality sleep every night.
Set a regular bedtime, sleep in a cool dark room, and avoid alcohol, smoking, large meals, caffeine, feeling hungry, and looking at screens before bed. Use a fan or a white noise machine to block out sounds that may wake you up.
Signs of sleep apnea include loud snoring, waking up tired, and excessive daytime fatigue. See your doctor if you suspect you have this common sleep disorder.
Increase Activities of Daily Living
Staying active all throughout the day, not just during exercise, can boost muscle definition, enhance healthy weight management, and reduce your disease risks.
Aim for at least 45 minutes of activities of daily living each day.
Consider going golfing, playing outside with your kids, walking your dog, doing yard work or house chores, or having a job that keeps you on your feet. All activities that get your body moving count toward meeting your 45-minute activity target.
If you already complete 45 minutes of activities daily, set a higher goal!
Take Dietary Supplements for Men
Knowing how to start a healthy lifestyle often means taking dietary supplements for men. Even when following nutritious meal plans, many people don't consume enough essential nutrients from foods alone.
Consider taking Fit Father Project supplements designed for busy dads of all ages. You may also try probiotics, multivitamin supplements, protein supplements, omega-3 supplements, or other dietary supplements for men to get healthier.
Your doctor can complete routine blood tests to look for potential deficiencies in vitamin D or other essential nutrients. They may suggest you take extra micronutrients to correct a deficiency and reduce unpleasant side effects, such as hair loss or physical and mental fatigue.
Attend Routine Medical Checkups
Seeing your primary care doctor at least once a year helps them detect possible medical problems or disease risk factors before they become serious.
Low testosterone levels, a common condition among men over 40, can cause weight gain, decreased metabolism, sexual dysfunction, fatigue, and reduced muscle mass.
In addition to starting a healthy lifestyle, your doctor may suggest trying testosterone therapy or taking testosterone-boosting supplements.
After age 30, your Testosterone levels start declining. Add in some stress and a “less than perfect” diet… everything gets worse fast. You feel tired all the time. It’s hard to lose fat. It feels like you lost your edge. That’s the sad story that happens to most guys 40+. But now, it doesn’t have to be that way for you….
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*Please know that weight loss results and health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice – simply very well-researched info on how to start a healthy lifestyle.
