Most people who are trying to improve their health think that they need to make plenty of sacrifices and adopt various habits that most people don’t think are fun. However, sometimes, the habits that you may think are good for your body could be causing harm than you realize. Despite what numerous health and fitness magazines might make you believe, some habits are not the perfect fit for everyone. In some cases it’s important to learn when you should ditch efforts that just don’t work for you. Here are five health habits that you should think about avoiding if you want to achieve your goals.
1. It’s always tempting to grab a little extra sleep on mornings that follow particularly long weeks or stressful nights, but it’s actually not good for your health. Alternating your stressful days with days spent catching up on pillow time can change the level of hormones moving through your bloodstream. As these changes happen, the blood vessels in your body dilate and constrict, triggering headaches and other problems.
2. Going for a run, even if you don’t feel like it, is not the best way to force yourself into fitness. Although there are some people who naturally love running, there are many who hate running above all other exercises. If you’d rather do anything but go for a run do something else, such as yoga, boxing, dancing, or even mountain climbing. The change will stop you from hating your exercis and give you a bigger chance of sticking to healthy regimens for the long-run.
3. Avoiding your favorite unhealthy snacks is usually a top tip when it comes to making your diet work. However, one of the worst things about trying to establish healthy eating habits is that you have to avoid everything that you love to eat. Eventually, this can make you feel deprived, which leads to a binging session whenever your will power is low. If you’re exercising regularly, and have a good diet most of the time, then you should allow yourself to indulge every now and again.
4. Obsessively counting calories is a terrible health habit that a lot of people engage in. Obsessing over your progress can make it more difficult for you to reach your goals, because you spend so much time stressing that you forget to enjoy the exercise. When you’re working out, avoid anything that you really dread doing beforehand, and try to have fun with what you’re doing.
5. Separating weight and cardio sessions at the gym has become increasingly popular, but if you hope to get the most out of a workout, then you should simply blend both. This might mean taking part in circuit interval exercises that combine strength exercises and cardio exercises, which is bound to be more intense. You could even take part in plyometric exercises, such as sprinting and jump-roping between your times with the weights. Not only does this approach save time, it also makes your workout more effective, helping you to get fit faster.
