When we think of an active and Healthy lifestyle, particularly managing health after retirement, things can get a little boring to consider. We might picture someone only eating celery for lunch, giving up their long-beloved baking hobby, or having to walk ten miles a day simply for the pleasure of feeling alright in themselves. This can make us feel quite tired just thinking about it. 

But does healthy living have to be such a chore? Or is it possible for us to consider a better and more appropriate means of staying in shape, both physically, mentally and spiritually? Does healthy living actually require a cost? Or is that something we just assume to stop us from exploring the topic further?

It’s a complex question, and many will have their take on it. However, we would like to explore it further here, and potentially come to some of our own conclusions. You never know, this might be the insight we all need to look at health with a renewed mindset.

So let’s begin:

Find Dietary Helpers

To the uninitiated, dietary helpers might sound fairly unreliable. They sound as if they would require a dodgy underground connection in a dilapidated gym to even find. But that’s not the case, of course. Dietary supplements are a multi-million dollar industry, and completely above board. You just need to be careful when finding what might be effective and what might not be, as like in any industry, there can be a lot of snake oil out there.

We would recommend using dietary helpers that can help you detox, increase your energy, reduce food cravings and also help you with your nutritional needs. Add some fish oil for your joints and potentially a multivitamin, and you’re doing brilliantly already. We’d recommend doing research ahead of time, as you decide to shop the full range of items best suited for your needs.

Don’t Go It Alone

When we consider healthy living, we can often feel trapped within ourselves. We know that ultimately, our health affects us, is navigated by us, and generated by the decisions we make (at least for the most part.) But there’s no reason why these facts should mean you go it alone. You don’t have to, in fact. It’s fully possible to make healthy living a social experience. For example, one of the powerful elements of any weight watchers group is the ability to meet each week, to measure progress, to talk through your challenges and to hear the experiences of other people. Joining a class like this isn’t a bad idea.

You might also join a class dedicated to learning new healthy recipes, perhaps from an incredible array of world cuisine. We would also recommend getting involved in a social activity. A walking club can be a fantastic means of getting out and doing a little hiking from time to time, especially walking predefined routes. Perhaps inviting a friend to come and attend a swimming class with you could help, or a pool zumba class. Remember – fitness can be tremendous fun if you let it! It can help you be social, get your exercise in, and come hope feeling fully restored and nourished thanks to both experiences. If you do that, there’s every chance you’ll start to look forward to your fitness sessions, a sentence you might have laughed at years ago.

Do What You Can

The most important thing about living a Healthy Lifestyle is that you make it work for you, and not the other way around. This can sound counterintuitive to begin with. Of course, a healthy lifestyle is not something we get to ‘decide’ for ourselves.  A cream bun that we eat isn’t a better alternative than a salad just because we will it so. But if a healthy lifestyle is routinely burning you out, making you feel tired, or is simply not fun, think of another way you might tailor it to your advantage.

You don’t need to run to get your exercise if it hurts your joints, for example. Swimming can train even more muscle groups, be even more intense, yet is absolutely brilliant for your joints, because you are naturally suspended in the water and rarely experience hard impacts (unless you’re going to be diving, which we wouldn’t recommend as exercise, of course.)

Do what you can. Do what works for you. You might believe that following a ketogenic diet is the best way by far to get ahead and better your diet. This might be the case. But also, you might simply transition your normal cooking approach into something much more familiar, only with reducing the calories of snacks and eating more wholesome meals. Remember as well that slowly transitioning into good habits can be a great idea. Lessening your alcohol intake as much as possible can be a great start, for example. It all depends on your goals, and what you hope to do.

Give Yourself Time

Remember, there’s no need to become your fittest and most agile self by the end of next week. These things take time. Focus on small, sustainable changes. Even walking your dog for ten minutes longer can be a great option this week. Take care of small achievements and feel pride in them, and then continue forward to the next goal. If you can do this, you’ll be extremely surprised just what a fantastic positive effect you can have, and how the changes quickly stack up.

Give yourself one year with this mindset and new approach, and you’ll look back at the previous you with true surprise. Gradual changes might not be noticed immediately, but when looking back, seeing how far you’ve come can be motivation itself. There’s an eternal wisdom in the tortoise and the hare’s fable, and this is one of the places where it manifests most profoundly. So be sure to keep that in mind.

With this advice, we hope you’re much better able to feel comfortable following a life of fitness.