How to Overcome 5 Barriers to Achieving Better Health

Being healthy should be simple, right? All that you need to do is to eat right and stay active—consume less and burn more. However, while most you know the basics of being healthy and how it can be achieved, often in life it is rarely that simple. You’ll go through phases—these are just like a hot water tap they’re either turned on full, or turned completely off—where you are at a healthy weight and you feel great, and other times, you feel like your fitness levels have dropped, and you’re are carrying extra pounds.

Despite knowing the basics of what needs to be done to stay healthy, life sometimes gets in the way and your plans go south. In most cases, this is unintentional. Circumstances have just prevented you from doing what you usually would. Other times, you just become complacent and a little bit lazy and you cannot be bothered. Don’t worry it happens to the best of us—we feel meh and no matter how hard we try there’s no way to find our mojo.

Thankfully help is on hand. So, if you feel like obstacles are standing between you and your health goals, then there are ways to overcome these. It’s also okay for you to start your journey again so you can become the best version of yourself. Let’s look at how you can overcome your barriers to better health and start feeling your best now:

Barrier #1: Feeling like you don’t know where to start to get your health back on track.

Solution: Being unsure how to begin your health and fitness journey is a common issue many people face. Not knowing when or how to begin can lead to procrastination. So rather than thinking, ‘when can I start and how?’ As NIKE say, ‘Just Do It.’ The best time to improve your health is right now. So long as your doctor says it is safe for you to work out and switch to a healthier diet, there should be no reason not to get started. When procrastination is the issue, many people find it helpful to set themselves some goals. This lets you visualise what you hope to achieve and gives you a clearer idea of what you are aiming for. Make these goals SMART, and you will be well on your way to getting your health back on track.

Barrier #2: You have unhealthy habits, and you cannot break them.

Solution: Unhealthy habits have the power to ruin your attempts at becoming healthier, unless you get them under control. Behaviors that started as fun and activities you would do once in a while can soon develop into habits. If you find it challenging to break your habits and move on from these, you may find it helpful to speak to an experienced professional and to gain advice. Take a look at websites such as https://enterhealth.com/ to find support and get the help you need while freeing yourself of your habit and reclaiming your health.

Barrier #3: You hate the gym and dislike exercising.

Solution: Even if you hate the gym, it is still possible to improve your fitness and health. Many people dread visiting the gym as they don’t like the harsh lighting, exercising in front of other people, or enjoy using the equipment. The good news is you’re not alone. Not everyone likes the gym and thankfully there are other options. So, disliking the gym does not need to be a barrier to improving your fitness. 

If you feel that you hate exercise, the chances are that you don’t hate all training; you just haven’t found the right exercise yet. Everyone has activities that they prefer over others. So, finding the right exercise for you may be the issue here.

When you discover an activity you enjoy, it makes it easier to commit to staying fit and exercising regularly. Thinking about what you hope to achieve from your workouts is a great way to discover new forms of activity. If you want to improve your cardio, but don’t want to visit the gym, you could consider joining a club—martial arts, dancing, running —or playing team sports. Alternatively, if you want to work your muscles and take the strain off your joints, you could try swimming regularly. Swimming has the added bonus of being an excellent exercise for you if you don’t like getting hot and sweaty when you workout. Plus, it makes you feel lighter, which is great if you have limited mobility and find it difficult to move.

Barrier #4: You have a busy schedule and have no time for exercise.

Solution: If your life is crazy busy 99 percent of the time, you may struggle to fit in the basics, let alone make time for hitting the gym. If time is an issue, and you feel it comes between you and your ability to exercise, you may need to get creative. If possible, you could rearrange your schedule so that you block out a little time each week to fit in an exercise class, go for a run, or take a swim. Making sure that you keep this time free every week will make exercise a new addition to your schedule and allow you to keep up with this commitment. 

If setting aside a couple of hours each week is not possible, you could try to make exercise a more significant part of your daily routine. Upping your activity levels does need to involve sweating it out at an exercise class. Instead, you could simply look for opportunities to incorporate extra activity into your day. Taking the stairs, cycling or walking rather than driving, and walking in your lunch break rather than eating at your desk are all possible solutions to this issue.

Barrier #5: You have no time to prepare healthy foods.

Solution: Being short of time is an issue that stands in the way of many people and their health goals. If you feel that your busy schedule leaves you without the opportunity to prepare healthy meals, you probably find it really difficult to eat healthily. When your life is super busy, it is easy to slip into the habit of ordering takeout every night of the week and eating it slumped in front of the TV. But, you don’t need to sacrifice your health goals just because you don’t have time to prepare a three-course meal. There are many time-saving ways to make healthy meals. A tasty stir fry can be made in minutes with minimal effort required. Or, you could use a slow cooker so that you have a delicious, healthful meal ready and waiting for you when you return home from work.

Hopefully, these ideas have helped you overcome some of your barriers to better health and set you on a path towards feeling great. If you want more, then drop InShape News a line.

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