Picture yourself in your mind’s eye. Not this temporary version of yourself, but the version of yourself that you’ve always wanted to embody. Fit, lean, healthy, well toned and glowing from the inside out. It might be a version of yourself that you lost in youth when you discovered beer or McDonald’s Monopoly or it might be a version of yourself that you’ve long aspired to yet never quite gotten round to achieving. Capture that image in your head and ask yourself why you’ve yet to achieve it. Your first reflex will likely be to answer “Because it’s impossible”. Then come the excuses; “Not at my age, not on my income, not with my job, not with my kids.”. But while the road to perfect health and fitness may be strewn with hurdles and obstacles, not one of them is insurmountable.
Here we’ll look at some of the things that should not be allowed to prevent you from living the happy and healthy life you deserve.
Age
They say that age is just a number but that can’t be true can it? We all know that we reach our physical prime in our mid twenties and it’s all downhill after that, right? Wrong. Dead wrong! Even if you’re in your 50s or 60s and have already written yourself off as over the hill, it’s never too late to start making healthy and positive life choices like cleaning up your diet, exercising regularly, spending less time sitting, looking after your skin and getting away from the screens that are gradually playing a bigger and bigger part of your life. Age really is just a number.
Shame
Shame can be an unstoppable and crippling force. Body shame can keep those of us who are less comfortable with our bodies from going to the gym or stepping out for a run or even a brisk walk. Shame can keep those of us who have issues with alcohol and illicit substances from getting the treatment and the legal help they need; for the latter check out www.longtermdisabilitylawyer.com/disabling-conditions/substance-abuse-addiction-issues/ for advice on making a disability insurance claim. Shame can keep us locked into spiraling behaviors that will only serve to drag our physical and mental health down into the doldrums.
It’s easy to let shame be the master of you, but only you can conquer it.
Routine
It’s so easy to get locked into a routine. Get up, eat breakfast, go to work, come home, bit of TV, climb into bed, repeat. When these routines become more and more ingrained in the daily fabric of our lives it can be hard to find time for anything else. But the simple truth is that you have to make the time! Get up half an hour earlier to do your meal prep. Work out or just go for a brisk walk in your lunch hour. When you make time to do the things that matter, it’s surprising how easily your schedule molds around them.
Income
It’s a persistent fallacy that people assume that living a healthy life requires a sizable monetary investment. If your income is an excuse that you constantly use not to take your health into your own hands it may surprise you to learn that eating healthily can be much cheaper than you think and there are a range of exercises that you can do from the comfort of your own home.
So no more excuses. Start pursuing the health, fitness, body and mind you’ve always wanted. And start today!
