Try for Consistency Over Perfection


Try to Achieve Consistency Over Perfection

Free Asian woman jogging in park in sunny day Stock Photo

Too many people think the best way to achieve one’s exercise goals is to focus on perfection. This means putting yourself through your exercise regimen every day, no matter what the consequences or what else is happening in your life. 

They may be effective in reaching their goals of hitting a certain weight or attaining a certain level of fitness, but these people tend to beat themselves up whenever they’re forced to skip a day’s workout or shorten their workout period. 

The more they focus on the days they’re unable to work out, the less they enjoy the overall benefits. This is called the ‘paralysis of analysis’. Achieving perfection in the way you attain the goal becomes more important than the goal itself. This is an unhealthy way to pursue what should be a healthy lifestyle. 

It’s often seen in type-A personalities who have trouble pursuing hobbies or sports unless they’re obsessing about them and trying to achieve perfection in them. These people want to be the best in every aspect of their lives. This type of thinking may seem positive, but it can lead to negative consequences the longer it stays a priority in their life.  

Find a Partner that Supplies Balance

If you find that you lose yourself in workouts to the point of obsessing about your progress towards your goal, a partner might help you pace yourself. 

However, you have to be aware that you’re becoming obsessive and not ruin the relationship with your workout partner for both of you to gain anything from the partnership. A partner can help you slow down, enjoy the overall process again and focus on the ongoing benefits instead of beating yourself up because of a perceived flaw in your routine.  

A partner may help you achieve the desired consistency over perfection. The first step is realizing your obsessive compulsions and making an effort to change. 

How To Deal With Muscle Soreness

Ways to Handle Muscle Soreness

Straining your body with many activities or a rigorous workout routine can leave your muscles feeling tight and sore. While uncomfortable, most muscle soreness is a normal part of the exercise process and signals that your muscles are stressed and are now becoming stronger. However, you can take steps to help alleviate this muscle soreness while your body recovers.

Heat Therapy

Sore muscles can benefit from strategically applied heat. Applying a hot compress to an area where muscles are sore not only feels good but helps to increase blood flow to the area in question. Increased blood flow brings essential oxygen and nutrients to those muscles, giving them everything they need to heal faster.

Massage

Like heat, massage is another great way to increase the blood flow to certain areas of your body. This can help muscles heal faster and relax your mind as your body recovers. Make sure you communicate with your massage therapist, so they don’t push too hard on sore muscles. The massage may feel a bit uncomfortable but should not be painful. Too much pain could damage your muscles more and increase healing time. 

Good Nutrition

Making sure your body has the nutrients to help your muscles heal can also speed up the recovery process. In addition to healthy meals that have a range of vitamins and minerals, you should ensure that you get enough protein during recovery. Furthermore, drinking plenty of water is necessary for the healing process. On the other hand, drinking too much alcohol or smoking frequently could lengthen recovery time as your body has to spread its energy between healing your muscles or dealing with other toxins.

Listen To Your Body

The most important thing for building muscle and dealing with soreness is to listen to your body and get enough rest for proper recovery. Make sure to schedule enough rest days and get plenty of sleep to ensure that you can fully recover before diving back into stressful exercises.

sleeping-baby-girl

Can Sleep Trackers Help You Sleep Better?

How To Use A Sleep Tracker For Better Sleep

Studies have shown that a good night’s sleep is one of the most important parts of good overall health. We know that getting enough sleep improves mental and physical performance, but it’s still difficult for many adults to get good sleep every night.

One approach to getting enough quality sleep is to use a sleep tracker. These devices provide information about how deeply you’re sleeping, how long you sleep, and how much time you spend in various stages of your sleep cycle. This article will give tips on using this information to improve your sleep habits.  

Track Total Sleep Time

Sleep trackers are great at telling you how much time you spent asleep. This is one of the most accurate functions of these devices, and it is a great way to set goals and motivate yourself to go to bed on time and establish good sleep habits. Building awareness around your sleep habits is the first step to adjusting them.

Track Daytime Habits Too

Some sleep trackers will have journal capabilities that allow you to track other habits as well, including water consumption, caffeine intake, stress levels, or physical activity. Tracking these other habits can help you understand what factors might affect the quality of your sleep. Sometimes simply avoiding an afternoon coffee could be all you need to ensure you get a good night’s sleep.

Check In With A Doctor

Sleep trackers can be helpful tools, but they cannot accurately measure every aspect of your sleep health. If you have persistent problems sleeping, check in with your doctor. A trained physician may be able to help you pinpoint the exact cause of your sleeplessness and build healthy sleep habits.

If you're spending a lot of time in the sun this Songkran, please be aware of the dangers of drinking while you're out on the beach or anywhere you're getting heavy doses of sunshine.

The Dangers of Sun and Alcohol

Sun and Alcohol are a Dangerous Mixture

If you’re spending a lot of time in the sun this Songkran, please be aware of the dangers of drinking while you’re out on the beach or anywhere you’re getting heavy doses of sunshine. 

Alcohol eases inhibitions. And while this can make people more social and is generally seen as a positive, it can also cause people to lose their self-control. When you’re not self-aware enough out in the hot sun, serious problems can arise that need medical intervention if the problem is not dealt with soon enough. 

Dehydration Danger

People who drink and stay out in the sun are much more prone to getting a serious sunburn because the alcohol dulls their pain receptors. 

But one of the biggest problems from too much alcohol consumption in the sun is the danger of dehydration. Alcohol is a diuretic. It causes the body to sweat and pass urine more often. And a body that has run out of liquid is in danger of heatstroke and exhaustion. 

When we lose our inhibitions and self-awareness, we often don’t realize when we’re becoming dehydrated, particularly when we continue to drink more alcoholic drinks and add to the problem. 

Everyone should learn the warning signs of dehydration and speak up whenever you notice them in your friends and family. The most common symptoms are:

  • Feeling thirsty 
  • A dry mouth, eyes and lips
  • Feeling tired when they shouldn’t be
  • Dark yellow pee that smells strongly
  • Feeling dizzy and lightheaded

If you notice any of these symptoms in your friends or family members, you should be adamant in insisting they’ve had enough fun for the day. Cut them off from any more alcohol and make them drink water until their pee has turned almost clear. They’ll probably thank you for your attention, though it may not be until the next day when they’re feeling better.

The Best Way to Approach Dieting

How to Get Dieting Results

Various diets promise to get you to your goal weight. Many of them become widely popular for a short while, only to be replaced later by some other fad diet. There have been diets saying that you should eat fewer carbohydrates, eat more protein, only eat uncooked foods, eat only Mediterranean foods, go on a juice cleanse, eat vegetarian, eat only fatty foods, and measure all of your food. 

Many people can feel discouraged after trying these fad diets because they usually state that they have a new quick fix to help them lose weight. The reality is that the only way to lose weight is to burn more calories each day than you take in. This article will give you some useful tips to help you do that without worrying about eating specific foods.

Drink Plenty of Water

Making sure that you are properly hydrated is an essential part of maintaining good health, but it can also help you lose weight. Drinking plenty of water will make you feel full, so you will be less likely to overeat.

Eat Better Foods

One of the best ways to start eating healthy is not to look at the quantity of food you eat, but the quality. Processed foods give you fewer nutrients but can make up a large portion of your calorie intake. And because processed foods contain a lot of sugars that won’t give you lasting energy, they will also leave you feeling hungry and wanting to eat more than you should. Starting to replace these calories with calories from fresh meats, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables will start you on the path to healthier eating.

Make Gradual Changes

One of the most difficult parts of sticking to a new diet is that they frequently ask you to change your eating habits significantly overnight. Those kinds of drastic changes are very difficult to maintain long-term. It is much more effective to start with some small changes to your diet that you keep building upon. 

Don’t Lose Hope

Keep in mind throughout your health journey that slip-ups are normal. Just because you make a mistake or don’t meet all your goals for a day doesn’t mean you have to give up entirely. Have patience and keep going.

Natural Skincare Tips

Natural Ways to Care for Skin

We all want to have beautiful skin and a clear complexion. It can be difficult to navigate a large number of special skincare products and know which ones will work best for your skin. Many of these products have harsh chemicals and ingredients that you may not want to put on your skin. 

They can achieve temporary results but might not lead to healthy skin long-term. The good news is that there are many natural ways to care for your skin and keep it healthy without harsh chemicals.

Limit Sun Exposure

One way that your skin gets damaged very easily is from extreme sun exposure. Ultraviolet light from the sun’s rays is one of the leading causes of changes in the texture and color of your skin. Ensure that you protect your skin with appropriate clothing or a safe, mineral-based sunscreen whenever you are outside.

Exfoliate

Another great way to maintain clear, healthy skin is to exfoliate your skin regularly. You don’t need to scrub with anything rough or abrasive, but a lightly exfoliating cloth or scrub will help to remove dead skin cells from the surface of your skin. This will help to give your skin a brighter shine and allow your skin to better absorb any skincare products that you apply.

Moisturise After Washing

Keeping your skin moisturized is another great way to maintain naturally beautiful skin. The best time to put on a light, natural moisturizer is right after washing your skin or face, when it is clear of other contaminants and ready to absorb nutrients. Another great way to make sure that your skin doesn’t dry out is to ensure that you are keeping your body hydrated and drinking plenty of water.