Tips for a Healthier You

Who knows how it started for you. Maybe it was a trip to the doctor, a warning that health problems will be right around the corner if you don’t drop some weight, start exercising, quit smoking—fill in the blank. Whatever the causes, when your physical health is in decline, quality of life can plummet. Sometimes the hole you’ve fallen in can get so deep—one hundred pounds to lose, smoking a pack a day—that climbing back out can feel hopeless.

We understand because we’ve been there too. That’s why we can say with confidence that no hole is too deep to climb back out, no dark patch in your life too dark to keep you from finding the light again.

If climbing out of your particular hole sounds like something you want right now, read on. We’ve put together some of our best and most simple tips for returning to a healthier you.

For Your Mind

We start with your mind because overcoming the problems that face you first requires assessing the way you think about those problems.

So, how do you confront your problems? Do you see that extra weight in the mirror, look at that pack of cigarettes on your end table and feel a crushing sense of urgency? Do you feel like these problems, as serious as they are, must be dealt with right now? If you do, you’re like we were, and we understand just how difficult it can be to face those problems when they seem to carry the weight of the world.

That urgency only makes your problems seem bigger than they are. It also clouds your mind with fear when what you need is calm clarity. So try this: break your problem down into smaller parts, and don’t look at the long haul, but face things one day at a time. It’s like the old riddle: How do you eat an elephant? At first it seems an impossible feat. But the answer to the riddle is simple. You eat an elephant one bite at a time, one day at a time. Even monumental challenges can be overcome if you focus on the next step, the next right thing.

Mind Over Matter

Now, let’s look practically at what eating an elephant might look like in your life. Need to drop some pounds or else diabetes looms in your future? Need to quit smoking or else emphysema and cancer will become real possibilities? Take it one step, one day at a time.

This means coming up with small, reasonable exercise goals and building from there. Try implementing an exercise routine to keep you on track. Losing two pounds a week is a healthy and attainable goal, one that you can achieve with moderate exercise and healthier eating. That means light weights and moderate cardio three times a week, smaller eating portions, and a diet higher in lean protein, complex carbs, fruits and vegetables. Notice that you DO NOT have to exercise every day. And notice that you DO NOT have to change your diet entirely (there is still room for the occasional decadent treat). Rather, you take small, manageable steps to a healthier life, and always remember along the way that being healthy looks better than being skinny.

In the same way, replacing cigarettes with something like NJOY vapes will allow you to take manageable steps. For many, going cold turkey is just too big a step. That’s trying to eat the whole elephant at once. Why do that to yourself? Allow yourself a healthy cigarette replacement, one that you can use to wean your body off its nicotine addiction by gradually lowering the nicotine milligram amount—which you can do easily with e-cigarettes.

We understand what it’s like to want a healthier you. We also know it can be done. Whatever the problem you face, set humble goals, break those goals down into reasonable steps, and eat that elephant one bite at a time. Do these things and you’ll see small changes right away. Keep at it and you’ll be amazed at what a massive long-term transformation can come from simply taking things one day at a time.