More broad attention to these three rough categories is going to be way more positive than worrying about the single metric of weight or BMI. Doctors may recommend a raise or lowering of weight, but for ALMOST EVERY person that’s only as a means to the end of improving one or more of the broader cardio, energy, and immunity mechanisms.
Feels like a pyramid to me. If I don’t have good sleep and good hydration I struggle mightily to control my food intake, and if I’m eating too much then I’m aching so badly and feeling so sluggish that I barely get anywhere at the gym.
I’m not to great at managing sleep or food intake myself, but I’ve found that adding some flavoring to your water helps with hydration. I don’t mean those little squirt bottle things though, I mean more like tea. I used to make tea in the morning before school and when I finished it I would refill the water bottle with regular water from the water fountain. the flavor wouldn’t be as strong as when I first made the tea, but it made me go from almost never drinking water to drinking 1 bottle of tea (that water bottle was like 20 oz) and 2 bottles of water a day. they also make cold brew tea now, and from the couple times i’ve tried it it seemed to steep pretty well in ice water and had a good flavor. also as dumb as it may seem, having a water bottle with some cool gimmicky feature may help too. for example, i use an owala one right now and it’s been pretty helpful (i stopped doing the tea thing for a while bc i ran out and forgot to buy more) as well.
find new ways to enjoy or prepare fresh fruits and veggies, get cardiovascular exercise, bonus points if in the sun for vitamin d, avoid stress when possible, sleep 7 hours when possible, avoid smoking, alcohol in excess, and other substances that put strain on your body. take care of yourself emotionally and find time to be with people you love. drink water!
no one will be able to do all of these perfectly always and it is normal to struggle attain most or even any. but they are more precise and beneficial targets than “gain or lose weight” and they have much more immediate and noticeable outcomes :)
Stop eating processed foods. That’s what my doctor told me, and when I started taking the effort to make food from raw ingredients, not only did I start feeling a lot better in general, but my wife and I also learned a valuable life skill. Just the other day, she made chicken alfredo entirely from scratch, and it was amazing.
I didn’t realize how bad I was feeling until I stopped eating so much processed stuff and started feeling better. I was so used to feeling like shit, that my body just thought that was how people normally felt. I had no idea people were walking around feeling this good, and having this much energy.
To ammend even further: Health neither stops nor starts at weight in almost any case. Far better strategies for self care will instead look at:
More broad attention to these three rough categories is going to be way more positive than worrying about the single metric of weight or BMI. Doctors may recommend a raise or lowering of weight, but for ALMOST EVERY person that’s only as a means to the end of improving one or more of the broader cardio, energy, and immunity mechanisms.
Feels like a pyramid to me. If I don’t have good sleep and good hydration I struggle mightily to control my food intake, and if I’m eating too much then I’m aching so badly and feeling so sluggish that I barely get anywhere at the gym.
I’m not to great at managing sleep or food intake myself, but I’ve found that adding some flavoring to your water helps with hydration. I don’t mean those little squirt bottle things though, I mean more like tea. I used to make tea in the morning before school and when I finished it I would refill the water bottle with regular water from the water fountain. the flavor wouldn’t be as strong as when I first made the tea, but it made me go from almost never drinking water to drinking 1 bottle of tea (that water bottle was like 20 oz) and 2 bottles of water a day. they also make cold brew tea now, and from the couple times i’ve tried it it seemed to steep pretty well in ice water and had a good flavor. also as dumb as it may seem, having a water bottle with some cool gimmicky feature may help too. for example, i use an owala one right now and it’s been pretty helpful (i stopped doing the tea thing for a while bc i ran out and forgot to buy more) as well.
Any tips on taking care of your immunity, inflammation and energy level?
find new ways to enjoy or prepare fresh fruits and veggies, get cardiovascular exercise, bonus points if in the sun for vitamin d, avoid stress when possible, sleep 7 hours when possible, avoid smoking, alcohol in excess, and other substances that put strain on your body. take care of yourself emotionally and find time to be with people you love. drink water!
no one will be able to do all of these perfectly always and it is normal to struggle attain most or even any. but they are more precise and beneficial targets than “gain or lose weight” and they have much more immediate and noticeable outcomes :)
I would say most comes from eating a healthy diet and not smoking or drinking.
Also at least some movement throughout the day definitely helps.
In addition to what others have said, cut back on the sugar.
Stop eating processed foods. That’s what my doctor told me, and when I started taking the effort to make food from raw ingredients, not only did I start feeling a lot better in general, but my wife and I also learned a valuable life skill. Just the other day, she made chicken alfredo entirely from scratch, and it was amazing.
I didn’t realize how bad I was feeling until I stopped eating so much processed stuff and started feeling better. I was so used to feeling like shit, that my body just thought that was how people normally felt. I had no idea people were walking around feeling this good, and having this much energy.