Change is a process that requires commitment, effort, and patience — but the rewards are very beneficial, especially if you are introducing healthy habits that will help you maintain long-term optimal health.

When transitioning into a healthy lifestyle, the most important thing to focus on is achieving long-lasting results.

Adapting to a new lifestyle can be exciting but also intimidating. Rather than starting with drastic measures, we recommend these three basic healthy lifestyle changes that can be easily implemented into your daily lifestyle:

Reduce Your Screen Time

According to recent studies, the prolonged use of social media is associated with health repercussions like anxiety and depression.

The average person spends approximately 22 hours and 45 minutes per week on their phone — according to a survey made by RescueTime App.

Here are some tips on how to reduce your screen time:

• Designate time to do an activity you enjoy.
  Focus on the things that matter by prioritizing them on your schedule. For example, try setting 25 minutes per day to do activities such as reading, meditating, gardening, etc.
• Stop carrying your phone with you everywhere around the house.
  To avoid using your phone while doing other activities — such as eating, going to the bathroom, and spending time with family — assign a place for it. Only allow yourself to use your phone when in the designated spot.
• Switch to desktop.
  Make social media less accessible by removing apps from your phone and use them only on desktop. Rather than waking up and immediately opening Twitter, before even getting out of bed, you will have to make time to turn on your laptop, sit down and log in.

Nurture Your Body

The first and most effective step to start a healthy eating lifestyle is to change your perspective about food.

It is essential to stop viewing food as a medium to achieve weight loss, but instead viewing it as an aid to prevent illness, reduce health risks, improve your bodily functions, and enhance your overall health as a result.

In order to switch your mindset into eating healthier, we recommend the following:

• Avoid Food Guilt.
  Labeling food under moral values — such as good or bad — leads to self judgement when choosing unhealthy foods, which may also cause unnecessary anxiety and stress. Instead of carrying the guilt when having a treat, try to indulge in moderation. Healthy eating is not about restrictive diets, it is about finding a balance that allows you to make a long term commitment.
• Keep track of your relationship with food.
  What we eat has an impact on our physical and mental health. To eat mindfully, we recommend tracking how your body reacts – emotionally and physically – to food. It may help you make better and more consistent food choices that have positive effects on both your body and mind.

Meditate

Meditation — the practice of being in touch with oneself to cultivate emotional stability — has been scientifically associated with the following benefits:

• Reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and even pain (physical and emotional).
• Improve your memory.
• Increase energy and efficiency levels.

This can easily be implemented into your daily life, seeing that you only need to invest about 5 to 25 minutes per day.

There are plenty of free resources that offer guided meditation. You can even download an meditation app to your phone to guide you through the steps and track your progress.

Z.E.N. Foods aims to help you to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle. We offer healthy meal delivery plans that are tailored to your nutritional needs and cravings. Contact us today and speak to a consultant to find out how we can help!