Fasting

Is fasting healthy for you? Many people claim that fasting is indeed healthy for you with numerous benefits. In this little blogpost we are going to explore the pros and cons to fasting and the benefits of it. This blogpost is short and simple, right to the point.

FASTING BENEFITS AND TIPS

When it comes to fasting, I always recommend seeking your doctors' approval for health purposes before attempting a fast of any kind.

It is highly researched and stated that when we fast our bodies begin to heal and regenerate.

START EARLY MORNING

My tips for starting a fast are starting in the morning right after you wake up from already fasting at night during your sleep hours. Early in the morning gives us a better chance to start fresh with our day and this also makes it easier to start instead of stopping sometime mid-day. After night of already having a fasted state, we are already on the right track to continue into the fast.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF FASTS

There are intermittent fasts that many people benefit from which is having a short eating window and allowing the body to have more time to fast prior to the first meal. These fasts are a bit easier to do and maintain due to the fact that you are still able to consume food and beverages.

There are water fasts and dry fasts and the times vary for how long you are doing it for. One of the things that I think is very important when considering a fast is why you want to fast and how to do so safely.

COSIDERATIONS FOR FOOD CHOICES

During a fast the one tip I give is that our choices for food are healthy ones. This is something to be cognizant about due to the fact that there are a variety of foods marked as healthy and are not.

Stick to whole foods as much as possible as they have no processing with added ingredients

Fruit and vegetables are a great choice, but I would avoid the canned and plastic containers already cut and processed. Whole is better whenever possible always go with whole foods not processed.

My tip on coffee is plain coffee with no additives of sugar or cream

Staying Hydrated is absolutely important unless it is a monitored dry fast

HEALTH ISSUES AND FASTING

If it is okay with your doctor to proceed with a fast, then you may do so safely under a doctors' supervision

Depending on the health issue is what can affect what kind of fast you can do as well

IN CONCLUSION

Fasting is very beneficial for your health in many ways but always check with your doctor prior to beginning one. There are some people with health issues that may not be able to do certain fasts, unless your doctor is okay with it. Fasting has many benefits to our body and mind as a whole. I will be eventually going more in depth on health topics and tips, but for now I hope you all can take these little tips to help begin your health journey.

Healthy Skin

Healthy skin

Skin care is an important part of our health too because damaged skin can lead to infections and other things. It is important to take care of your skin and I am going to list some healthy tips to ensure great skin health.

Diet and lifestyle

The one thing that I think most people neglect is that our diet and lifestyle greatly affect our skin health. It's not just about fancy creams and face masks to help our skin stay healthy.

What we eat and drink does affect our skin because too much sugar can actually destroy our skin. Some people are more sensitive to foods that can lead to skin irritation and out breaks of acne.

Eat healthier foods such as whole foods for better skin and protect your skin from sun damage by proper skincare with spf and even wearing a hat to help not get too much sun exposure.

Avoiding smokey areas and pollution as much as possible given where you live can help greatly reduce negative effects on our skin

There has been so much research on the negative effects smoking has on our health and even damaging skin cells. If you do smoke than yes quitting would help improve overall health, but I know this habit can be a hard one to quit. There are tips to cut down and cut out nicotine addiction completely that I can post in another blog to help.

Exercise has been known to be a benefit to our skin too because it boosts circulation and helps with detoxification.

Staying hydrated is a major factor in contributing to healthy skin, so make sure to always have adequate water intake.

Hormones

Hormones play a crucial role in our skin health because they can contribute to acne and oily or dry skin.

Making sure our hormones are in balance is key and I know this can be hard especially for women during major hormonal changes such as pregnancy, puberty, perimenopause and menopause. I encourage speaking with health care specialists to help with these hormones.

Other ways for helping our hormones are our gut health by what we eat and drink. Sometimes we have to do an entire reset with our diet.

Stress can affect our hormones and tips for reducing stress is daily exercise, moving our bodies, journaling, meditation and yoga.

A good skin care routine

Finding the right products can be a lot of trial and error since some products can cause rashes and be too harsh. Depending on skin type and trying and finding what works for you is best.

Make sure that you wash your face not only at night before bed but also in the morning. With hectic schedules and busy days, sometimes we are so tired and just want to lay down right away and washing all your make up off prior to bed does not always happen. I cannot stress enough the importance of removing all make up before bed to avoid clogged pores.

Making sure to have clean pillowcases and bed sheets because after about a week it's best to clean our bedding due to our sweat, shedding of skin cells and dirt that can accumulate.

Exfoliate skin no more than 2 times per week to avoid drying out our skin of its natural oils to retain moisture.

Establishing a good routine that works for you is key but remember that washing our faces both am and pm help and also after any kind of exercise. Healthy skin care helps our skin stay youthful and glowing.

Balancing Health

Starting a healthy lifestyle can be an exciting journey filled with rewards. However, the demands of everyday life can cause overwhelm and challenges. Striking a balance between your everyday life and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is vital for long-term success. In this post, we will explore tips to help manage both aspects effectively.

A peaceful park ideal for relaxation and exercise.

Understanding the Importance of Health

Juggling responsibilities can lead to stress and burnout. Research shows that maintaining good health can enhance productivity, creativity, and decision-making skills. Here are some reasons why your health is important to take care of and maintain:

Increased Energy

Sometimes it can be hard to get started because we are waiting to have that energy to do things, however from my experience and research, that energy happens when we get ourselves moving to start

Regular exercise and a healthy diet can enhance cognitive function, helping you stay more focused.

Moving our bodies has been known to help with stress by alleviating it in a healthy way.

Establishing a Routine

Having a daily routine can impact your health and productivity. Here’s some tips for how you can establish your own routine:

Morning

Engaging in physical activity, this could be a brisk walk or workout session.

Having a healthy breakfast to fuel our bodies for the day helps greatly, unless one is intermittent fasting for health purposes

Meditating, or journaling for a few minutes can be a great start to clear your mind for better focus

set things out the night before to have a system already in place to achieve your goals

Work Hours

This can be difficult given your job specialty but try to schedule short breaks to stretch, hydrate, and recharge your mind.

Healthy snacks made in advance to take with you such as a fruit cup with yogurt and granola or even a nut bar.

Having these healthier alternatives already available for quick and easy access, helps especially in jobs where you do not always get that long refreshing break.

Evening

I cannot stress enough how important a bedtime routine is.

Screen time is something that we need to stop at least an hour or so before bed and even research suggests the benefits of no screen time prior to sleep. It helps the quality of our sleep.

Now this can be hard when we may have jobs that we get home at like 10pm or a late hour.

Sometimes we can end of scrolling just to unwind, this is not the best way to unwind. An alternative to try is reading or writing in a journal.

Try some warm soothing tea or a nice bath to just relax.

Writing down everything we plan for the next day so our brains can turn off and not go on a spree of endless thinking as we try to sleep.

Nutrition

Meal Planning

Plan your meals in advance to help stick to a healthy diet.

You can plan on what days work better for you and cook all your meals on that day.

This will help you stick to your nutrition goals and free up time for you to do more because your meals are already prepared.

Hydration is also important for maintaining health because our bodies need it, so keeping a water bottle on you or a cup of your choice to remember to hydrate.

Exercise

Finding things, you enjoy can help with your exercise goals.

It's important we stay active, if we want a health body and mind.

Research has shown how exercise impacts our minds in a positive way and even if we get only 15-20 minutes in daily, it can still help.

Incorporating movement into our day helps us stay on track.

We can do this by taking walks on our breaks or even just getting up to stretch and move around.

We can take the stairs instead of an elevator, there are many ways we can find to incorporate movement.

If we have a job where we are always on our feet, our movement can be different and stretching along with some light yoga to help our bodies.

Stress Management

Stress can impact our health leading to so many issues. Finding healthy ways to manage stress can be journaling, taking a walk to clear your head, seeking the right help, prayer, calming our nervous system with mindfulness techniques and just simply breathing.

It's important to manage stress before it leads to things like burn out, or even physical tension in the body.

Taking breaks to refresh your body and mind can help as well as stepping away from social media or our phones.

Surrounding yourself with supportive people.

Health Apps

Health apps can help to keep you on track with your fitness, nutrition and overall lifestyle goals.

You can start using these apps to help manage health goals and track progress.

Remember, your health is a valuable asset. Take proactive steps today to thrive in your health journey