Our well-being is our treasure, and we need to protect it. The nice thing is that people generally understand this. For example, 17% of Americans describe their overall health as excellent, and 58% say it’s good. Still, almost nine-in-ten (87%) want to take steps to live healthier longer, and seven-in-ten (70%) want to know the secrets to feeling younger than their age.
Just listen to what your colleagues mention when they get back from a holiday—how long they slept, how much time they spent outdoors, etc.
So, it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that when Reddit user Bald-Lawyer asked others on the platform to share the best health tips they’ve received, over 1,400 comments poured in, many offering simple, yet effective lifestyle changes. Here’s to looking out for each other!
#1
Walking is a perfectly good form of exercise; there’s no need to jog or try anything more elaborate.
Image credits: Kelivrana
#2
“Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly”
That can apply to many things.
If meal prep is stressing you out —nothing is stopping you from getting some raw veggies and incorporating them as snacks while figuring out how to make meaningful dietary adjustments.
If you can’t dedicate an hour a day to a structured workout routine —go on a walk, take the stairs instead of always using the elevator, do 50 high knees while you wait for your coffee to heat up, stretch, or do what you can in small increments it still counts and can help.
Just because you can’t jump in headfirst doesn’t mean the change isn’t worthwhile.
Edit: By the volume of responses on this I hope you all feel a little less alone and I hope you can all find one way to make your life easier. Happy Holidays and I’m rooting for you all!!! ?
Image credits: Comfortable-Lead-836
#3
Want to fix your lower back pain? Work out your core. Get strong you will hurt less. This is true generally as well.
If you are constantly undergoing stress you need to do the opposite and remove your self from the stress. As a massage therapist I have seen what happens to people who work 12+ hours a day who don’t do enough self care and it does not seem pleasant.
Stop going to chiropractors unless your doc or pt recommends you a specific chiropractor.
A great way to tell if a chiro is a scumbag liar is if they make claims like “if I adjust your c7 it will help your stomach issues”. Just walk out if you hear anything along those lines.
Also when chiropractors “adjust” your joints they are simply pushing that joint past its normal range of motion and the bubbles in your synovial fluid make that popping sound. It’s not your bones. It’s not your joint moving back into place.
Image credits: Bribo323
#4
What gets you to complete a goal isn’t being so strict you never break it it’s not letting set backs derail you.
Many people will be good for a bit but then have a bad weekend, get sick and binge or just give in and have their favorite foods. Once people lose the momentum they often say “what’s the point” and jump back into what’s comfortable. However if you want to complete your goal you got to just say “alright that was fun” and go back on to the grind for a few weeks again. Being able to jump back into your good habits is the key not being so obsessed with always staying strict to your diet/workout.
Image credits: rattler44
#5
Not one more drop of alcohol. Not one. I’ve lost 40 lbs, I’m stronger than I’ve ever been in my life (45M), and my mind is clear as crystal. People get caught up in the socializing factor of drinking ? and it has the potential to destroy lives. I’m glad I snapped out of it!
Image credits: Nairbfs79
#6
“Stop that or you’ll go blind” so I started learning Braille.
Image credits: Serge_Storm2580
#7
Learning to say f**k it and go to sleep. Stress kills.
Image credits: Puzzleheaded-Day1609
#8
A 5 minute walk is better than 0 minutes.
Image credits: Pokedragonballzmon
#9
Eat your vegetables… or suffer the consequences!
Image credits: mav747
#10
Embrace your authentic identity, don’t spend energy pretending to be someone you’re not.
Image credits: Miss-MiaParker
#11
If you’re diabetic get regular eye and feet checks.
Image credits: thumpingcoffee
#12
You’ve got to expend a bit of energy to get some energy. Sounds counterproductive but if you’re feeling fatigued, take a brisk walk or do a short workout or get up and stretch a bit and you’ll get a bit of pep back to last the distance of the day.
Image credits: schmel512
#13
Your body won’t change the way you want it to unless it is forced to adapt.
Image credits: hanginonwith2fingers
#14
Doctors are people and they can f**k up.
Image credits: biddily
#15
Stop thinking about the past, stop worrying about the “what ifs”. Learn from the past and focus on the next step.
Image credits: Lumiryn
#16
Probiotics everyday by eating yogurt or a pill. Eat more fruit and vegetables for fiber. Regular bowel movements. Use a bidet besides tp (don’t be a savage with paper).
Image credits: FlowJoeX
#17
Figure out how to cook. It’s a lot easier to stick to a healthy diet if you aren’t torturing yourself with boiled chicken, steamed broccoli, and brown rice all day.
Image credits: SLOBeachBoi
#18
Thinking about and trying to add fiber to every meal. Now poop very good.
Image credits: rhaegor09
#19
If you want quality life, lift weight. If you want longer life, run or jog daily for 30 mins.
Image credits: Thechillguy001
#20
Swimming is a great workout.
Image credits: HeartonSleeve1989
#21
If you can’t stop coughing, blow your nose. It works-even when you don’t think you need to blow your nose. Just learned it this year and I’m 40.
Image credits: SocialEmotional
#22
SLEEP.
Image credits: TonyTornado
#23
Always drink water when you get up in the morning, eat a varied diet, avoiding fried foods, and exercise. It has always helped me keep my body slim and full of energy.
Image credits: sting9997
#24
Stop drinking too much alcohol.
#25
You can do anything you want, but you can’t do EVERYTHING you want so choose wisely.
Image credits: AdaMan82
#26
As you’re approaching your 40s you can take one of two paths-start taking your health seriously or get ready to know your doctors on a first name basis.
Image credits: goatswithattitudes
#27
Calories are king. how you consume those calories is what matters. 500 calories is 500 calories but 500 calories of chicken and broccoli is better than 500 calories of potato chips.
#28
Learn to sleep. Literally 1/3 of your life and it’s vital for every other function in your body.
#29
If you struggle with little tasks like brushing your teeth regularly, put your toothbrush in the shower. If you keep your toothbrush on the sink, you’ll go blind to it. Of course there’s a toothbrush there, that’s where they live. But if you put it in the shower, you’ll go “huh. Weird place for a toothbrush to be.” And now you’re thinking about your toothbrush and well s**t, might as well brush my teeth while I’m in here.
And then when you inevitably go blind to it in the shower, you move it to the kitchen sink and brush whenever you do dishes.
Image credits: TopFisherman49
#30
I was measuring my resting heart rate while sleeping and tracking it over time. Another runner told me if I stopped drinking completely (not even one drink a day) it would go down 10bpm. So I stopped drinking. It immediately fell 4bpm and after a few months was down 6. I’m so happy about that I haven’t had a drink since.
#31
“The best exercise is the exercise you’ll do consistently”.
#32
No tip changed my life but weight training and martial arts did.
Image credits: sabrtoothlion
#33
Fat isn’t the problem, sugar is.
Image credits: DucktapeCorkfeet
#34
Protein, exercise and sleep. Is the key to happiness.
Image credits: Comfortable_You_7440
#35
Drink enough water everyday, have a good sleep and don’t smoke.
#36
Nothing is worse for your general health than a sedentary lifestyle.
Image credits: minmidmax
#37
Eat less sugar or stop eating sugar.
#38
Learning to properly manage my time. I realized that I was eating unhealthy food because it was quick and convenient. Now I plan ahead, and always have a variety of healthy food available. I also started managing calories like I manage money. Earn more money than you spend, and burn more calories than you ingest. I use a Fitbit to track my calories.
#39
Reading the nutritional labels on stuff. You’d be amazed how so many of the seemingly nutritious food are secretly killing you with lots of sugar, sodium, cholesterol and other harmful things in it.
#40
Learn to waste food. Too many of us eat past the point of full or eat something we’re not enjoying because we don’t want to waste it. It’s still being wasted, just you’re now the trash can.
#41
Spending more time in the fresh air. Meditation and breathing exercises have truly opened my eyes to my health—or rather, its actual state. Just one month of regular practice, and I can already see improvements in my sleep, digestion, and nervous system. Turns out, the brain needs oxygen too! ?.
#42
Two things:
1) It’s actually ok to not eat everything on your plate if it doesn’t spark joy.
2) Meals can count as meals even if they don’t include meat sometimes.
Both are contrary to how I was raised, and both completely changed my life and how I interact with food. Life is so much better now.
#43
When I first started my career, they put me in a traditional cubicle. My back – which already had a history of injury – started hurting within days. I accepted the status quo for a few weeks but then a friend suggested I try for a standing desk. It took a lot of red tape to make it happen, but I ended up with a nice drafting table and started standing while I worked.
It completely changed my life. I’ve been standing at work exclusively for 20+ years now. I don’t even have an office chair and haven’t for more than five years. My lower back pain has stayed mostly at bay (assisted by my addiction to cycling) and it keeps me up and moving at all times instead of sitting stagnant.
10/10 highly recommend.
#44
Eating pure protein and nothing else three days a week (fish, eggs, chicken, steak) and normal the remaining 4 days.
My body transformed itself as if I was killing it at the gym twice a day.
(Obviously no sugar, sodas or candybars like children eat).
#45
Brush your tongue with a copper tongue scraper. It will change your life and oral hygiene!
#46
Wear hat at winter. No more sinuses issue since then.
#47
Fast food will kill you slowly.
#48
Drink. Water.
Sleep at night.
Stop looking on screens for God’s sake.
#49
Walk 30 minutes a day. Going on 4+years now.
#50
Eat psychedelic mushrooms.
#51
Not eating anything after 6 PM = better sleep + lighter body + more freshness in the morning and less sluggishness overall.
#52
Meditation, cutting out alcohol, sleeping earlier and removing all negativity from my life!
#53
Be consistent in your healthy habits. Never give up.
#54
Stay active.
Started going to the gym 3x week at 22, got a Peloton bike at 28. Now I’m 33 and can’t go more than a couple days without working out… even if it’s just a walk. It’s become a lifestyle and has kept me healthy. It has also taught me to love and value my body. Looking good is a nice bonus too :).
#55
That hunger is okay. I know it sounds a little bit silly.
#56
Don’t worry about things out of your control.
#57
Going to bed and waking up at the same time everyday even on weekends.
#58
Stand on one foot when you brush your teeth.
A very common cause of death among older people is falling. As you age, your nerves slow down a little, your body weight moves around a little, your brain learned how to balance your body when you were about 18, and over 50 years your body isn’t the same, but your brain hasn’t kept up.
So, stand on one foot when you brush your teeth. I do right foot in the morning (starting off on the right foot, hah) and left foot on the evening. My balance is great. Doctor even said so, so I told him about the “stand on one foot when you brush thing” and I think he’s started doing it and also recommending it to his patients.
#59
Stretching every day, drinking tea.
#60
Stop drinking your calories.
Cutting out full fat (sugary) drinks cut down my weight and improved my overall health.
Because I grew up drinking fizzy drinks (cola/soda) I found flavoured sparkling water instead to drink and satisfy that craving.