I think we might all know someone who suffers from a heart complication. Personally, I know 3. They are all in my family, and growing up with the knowledge that heart complications (and a multitude of other illnesses like deep vein thrombosis and cancer) are already in my DNA is scary.
It also gave me the extra boost that I needed to take my health seriously and to help others to do the same.
I write about diets and weight loss a lot. That’s because I had a lot of pain surrounding my body, especially my belly fat. And while I love fun, fat burning activities, I know that working out seven times a week isn’t really my thing.
Weight loss and consistent healthy eating is also something that my audience struggles with. So of course, my goal is to inspire you all and to empower you on your healthy eating and weight loss journey.
To help you to see food as something that heals your body instead of something that hinders your lifestyle and confidence.
But it can still go a lot deeper than that. And this 5 post series on daily habits will be exploring simple ways that you can heal your mind, body and your relationship with food.
You’ve already taken the steps to address your physical health by reading some of the weight loss and low carb guides. And hopefully, you’ve read our popular post on how to change your relationship with food and regain control of your eating habits.
Bear in mind that a healthy heart is more than just the food you eat.
You’ll find that your lifestyle habits and DNA also play a big role. This is why not all of the habits on this list revolve around food. These habits for a healthy heart are also meant to be general information and not medical advice, so please consult your doctor if you have something serious going on.
But all of that aside, here are some things that I often do to keep my heart healthy, plus a few that I’m hoping to do more of.
5 Daily Habits For a Healthy Heart
1- Go Outside and BREATHE
You know what I mean- that deep and fulfilling breath that you can feel in every part of your body.
BREATHE like you want to feel oxygen in every part of you. You’ll notice that you feel more energized and your brain will feel stimulated. You also feel much calmer.
Your entire body thrives on oxygen and your heart and lungs work together to make sure every cell in your body gets it.
So get out of your apartment and try to get as much fresh air as possible. You’ll immediately feel the difference in your heart, lungs, brain, and energy.
2- Do At Least One Physical Exercise
This could mean walking, gardening, hiking, working out or doing yoga.
Anything to get the blood pumping and your heart more active should do the trick.
As I said earlier, I don’t enjoy working out obsessively. So I walk to places that are within walking distance instead of driving. I also do yoga (stretching, really) just because it makes me feel good. Other people love it for the calming effects.
Physical exercise is especially important if you’re like 80% of people (including me) who are mostly sedentary. You know, long hours at the office desk, writing long blog posts, college lectures, that sort of thing. You need the physical exercise for a healthy heart.
3- Be Mindful of How Your Heart Reacts to Stressful Situations.
Stress is a fixture in modern life even though it doesn’t need to be.
I can’t tell you how to live, but I can tell you deserve to be happy, healthy and stress-free, and no one is going to care more about that than you.
If you’re healthy and strong and it’s positive stress that helps you to fix things, sure. But when you know that stress can negatively impact your heart’s health, it’s time to start fixing some things.
4- Release Your Emotions
I was going to say laugh, but maybe you need to cry too, and that’s ok. Emotions can weigh us down or lift us up.
Just find out wherever you are on the scale and bring it back into balance. Social connections are also very important for a healthy heart.
If you’re an introvert, or you live away from your family and friends, find a way to get social. We’ve all heard that researchers have proven that people with deeper social connections can live longer and recover from illnesses much better. Give yourself the advantage.
5- Eat as Healthy as Possible
Healthy foods, water, nutrients- your body needs them to survive. You should also be aware of the way that your body uses fat- does it burn it or store it?
With this knowledge, you can either change your eating habits or change the way that our body uses fat. We focus on fat specifically because the right diet can help your body to burn more fat- both the one you eat and the one that’s already stored in your body.
Those are my top daily habits for a healthy heart that I do daily. I hope that you aren’t too disappointed by the lack of complication, but the fact is, the best things to do in life are often quite simple.
Laugh, go for a walk, drink some water, take a multivitamin. I really hope this simplicity was something you needed, and that these five habits for a healthy heart are things that you will start doing right now.
Let’s start with number one yea? Go get some fresh air.
If you feel like something more serious is happening with your heart though, you should definitely go see a doctor. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to your health, and nothing on this website is medical advice.
I appreciate you reading this post and I hope you loved reading it as I loved writing it, completely relaxed at 6 am at my Grandma’s house. You guys should thank her in the comments, she’s the family member who’s inspired me to write this entire series. 🙂
Our next post is about daily habits for a healthy gut. Subscribe in the sidebar if you loved this post and want to get the next post in the Daily Healthy Habits series, plus get access to exclusive content and weekly inspiration.
Until the next post, here are some recommended readings:
- The only low carb diet guide you need for weight loss
- How to take control of your eating habits
- How to know if a low carb diet is right for you
Take care!