Most people give up their goal of starting a healthy life too early. It’s not because they were not serious about it. But it’s because they didn’t focus on the right things that give the most results.
Also many times we focus too much on small things.
Those small things (I’ll talk below) make them feel that they are moving in the right direction. Cause, it’s fun to talk about, feels good, can post a picture about it on social media…
But when it comes to getting results… it hardly manages to show improvements.
When they can’t see the results that they expected… they go insane at first…then start blaming… they realize that their condition is still the same as it used to be, unhealthy, poor body fitness level… can’t figure it out… ultimately they give up.
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What’s in their head?
The first thing that comes into their mind is – the system/trainer/equipment was not good enough.
Others use steroids and lots of dangerous stuff (they can’t take) which gives them such results.
They try to look for what shortcuts others did(pills and supplements that promise to make you slim within one week…)
Ultimately they try to measure their own efforts.
There are hundreds of pictures of working out and drinking green tea and coffee without sugar… and many more.
But it did nothing serious at all.
But why? If they did everything that they were supposed to do then why the results are not that good.
It’s because of two things:
- Not focusing on key things plus stressing about small things
- Following a plan that’s made for someone else and not for you.
This sounds simple but those are the main factor. I will explain both in brief.
After those, I’ll talk about what to focus on and what not to do (If you want to be healthy in life by spending less time.) And how to develop the right mindset, so that you can accomplish your fitness goals by doing fewer things.
Things feel great but have less impact
“Things which make you feel you are doing a great job maybe isn’t the thing which will give you better results.”
Most of us have other things to do in life. We just can’t allocate a lot of time for fitness and wellbeing like models or bodybuilders.
Because their profession demands them to look in a certain way.
They spent a lot of time crafting their body.
Daily 40 to 90 minutes spent in fitness and self-care is more than enough to look good, be healthy and prevent many diseases.
But this can only happen when you focus on things that move the needle.
When we try to do a lot of things, (in a short period of time) we get overwhelmed and lose our focus. It doesn’t work.
This is why you need to focus on bigger things (one at a time).
Example:
In the summer holiday, you went fishing. You only have two shrimps to catch fish.
You saw a bunch of small fish swimming up and down in the water near you. Anyone can catch two fish from that spot.
But those fishes are small and you have two shrimps.
Then suddenly you hear the noise of splashing water. You see a big fish, a little bit far away from the bunch of small fish. It’s a big fish, you can see it under the water, blurry but still visible.
So what do you do now? Try to catch the big fish or return home with two small fish.
How to be healthy by doing fewer things.
So, now you know those small things bring fewer results but make you overwhelmed.
These are the things that give you the most results:
Eating healthy food (more). Also, have some food which is tasty and makes you feel happy ( can be healthy or a little less healthy.)
It’s important to feel good.
In this way, you don’t need any cheat day and you can maintain it for years without even realizing you are eating healthy.
Allocating your time is also important. Because we got 24 hours and only a few hours we get out of them for self-improvement… so, doing things that have a bigger impact needs to be our priority.
When you are just starting out you need to master the basic things first, you need to follow a strategy that’s made for you. And you need to avoid doing advanced things before you reach a certain level.
Don’t stress yourself for things which have less impact
This thing can make you feel good but it doesn’t worth the time it requires.
1. You don’t take sugar in your coffee/tea but drink soft drinks
Don’t cut one spoon of sugar from your tea/coffee if you like it that way.
Instead, you need to focus on whether you are drinking coke.
Because 300ml of coke… contains equal if not more sugar than 7 cups of tea/coffee.
Also, don’t get confused with normal tea/coffee with the fast food company versions (if you see all its ingredients you’ll call it desserts and not coffee.)
You know what I mean.
One cup of that coffee has 35-40 grams of sugar, cream and more and more calories.
Drinking coffee doesn’t add too many calories, just keep it simple, black. Or add some milk sometimes.
2. Keep your workout gears simple and comfortable
Your workout gears don’t need to be fancy.
Instead, choose what makes you feel comfortable.
When you are going to run for 10-15 minutes, you don’t need to spend too much money or time choosing the right shoes.
For that purpose, a pair of comfortable sports shoes will get the job done.
Don’t forget your main purpose. Here it’s running. So, focus on running 15 minutes every day.
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3. Too much calculating calories and planning don’t take you close to your goal
There are people who even search on google to find out calories in the fruits.
It’s the last thing you want to do when you want to be healthy.
Of course, you should avoid eating those fruits (if there are any) that does not suit you. But normally eating fruits are beneficial for your health and body.
4. There is a time to eat fast food
Snacks are made for breaks and not for normal meals.
Carefully choose what you eat and when you eat it.
In your lunch/dinner eat something nutritious. It can be roasted chicken, fish, veg, salad, bread or rice… but stay away from fast food/oily food.
Related: How to stop eating junk food.
There will be always things out of your control but you should be happy by knowing about things which are in your control.
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