If you weren’t able to meet your fitness goals in the past year, there’s still time for you to get on with it. There are plenty of things you can do now for you to look and feel better. While this isn’t going to be an overnight change kind of thing, it’s still something that’ll be a very life-changing thing for you to accomplish for this year.

It may seem like common sense to care for your body, but not everyone does. It takes more than just what you eat to be healthy. Looking and feeling more beautiful means going back to basics with taking good care of your health. Beauty isn't just skin-deep, so you've got to go deeper with taking good care of your health.

Looking for some tips to be a healthier and more beautiful you? Here are some very important suggestions for you:

1. Start Eating Healthier

Do you skip meals because you're too tired or too busy to sit down and have a hearty meal? While you might think this is helping you lose weight, the reality is it isn’t. Having unhealthy patterns can only lead you towards more weight gain, simply because you try to compensate for the meal you haven’t had. Many ancient health and beauty secrets boil down to treating your body better, so eating healthy is a necessary first step.

Eating more frequently will help you burn calories and stay full until your next meal. It also helps to keep your body from storing more fat for later.

Here are some practical tips on how you can practice healthy eating:

• Choose food that’s high in fiber or whole grains, such as potato skins and brown rice
• Incorporate a lot of fish in your diet, particularly oily fish like salmon, mackerel and trout
• Eat less salt
• Buy Optimum Nutrition to compensate for the days when whipping up healthier meals just isn’t possible
• Keep yourself hydrated with the minimum requirement of six to eight glasses of water daily

2. Cut Back on Sodium

Sodium is the number one contributor to excess weight and feeling bloated. Sodium retains water, so if you’re feeling less confident about your physique because of looking puffy, this is one way for you to remedy that feeling.

Here’s how you can quickly remedy your sodium intake:

• When you purchase prepared and packaged food, be sure you check wisely. Check the label to find the ones with the least amount of sodium per serving.
• Whenever you can, choose to shop for fresh poultry and chicken, not those injected with antibiotics or a sodium solution.
• If you have to purchase canned vegetables, opt for those labeled with ‘no salt added’ and also without a salty sauce.

3. Exercise

You don't need to spend hours walking to keep your body healthy—even just thirty minutes every day is more than enough to make all that difference.

If you don’t fancy walking, there are also other exercises you can do. The range is so wide—from beginners to experts, you’re sure to find something that’ll suit you.

The goal is to keep your heart rate elevated for a longer period—this will help you burn more calories. Even if it doesn't happen immediately (because you still have to get your daily calories), once you're doing it consistently, it'll start to make a difference.

Here are other good reasons to convince you to start exercising today:

• It leaves you having higher control over your weight.
• It supports your cognitive function, as when you exercise, you’re able to pump more oxygen to your brain. This can keep your brain healthier.
• It combats many health conditions and diseases such as stroke, arthritis, and many forms of cancer.
• It improves your endurance.
• It improves your mood simply because you start feeling better about yourself.

4. Bulk Up Your Diet with Fiber

Especially when you’re just starting on your diet, it can be quite a challenge to be mindful of your portions. If you really feel hungry and you need to eat, don’t deprive yourself of this need. What you can do instead, so you still feel full without necessarily consuming unnecessary fat and carbs, is to keep yourself full is to have food filled with fiber. These are powerhouse food such as broccoli, seeds, and whole grains.

5. Keep a Positive Attitude

Keeping a positive attitude is also one way to be healthier and more beautiful.

The mind is a very powerful key player. Often, what one puts their mind to believe, they’re actually able to manifest it on their physical body. Having a positive attitude can also keep you from taking chances with yourself by engaging in things that you know you shouldn't be doing, like smoking or drinking too much alcohol.

In today’s stressful environment, however, this is often easier than done. It can be so tempting to drown and succumb to the pressures and expectations set by the society and demands of your life. But there are ways for you to keep a positive attitude, no matter the situation. Some of these are:

• Start a gratitude journal. No matter how routinary, basic, or dark your day may been, there’s always at least one thing to be grateful for. There are so many blessings in life that are easily taken for granted. Starting a gratitude journal can help you be mindful of these little things. Little as they may be, however, these are still blessings that can keep you going with a smile on your face as you go to bed at night.
• View failure as motivation. No one’s life is perfect, no matter how staged their social media posts may be. Don’t fall into the trap of jealousy as this can only dampen your spirits. Everyone goes through failure so, if you’re going through one right now, you’re not the only one—it’s just not everyone likes to talk about it or post about. Rather than let it eat you up, however, view failure as motivation. That failure can be your stepping stone to jump right back to the success you’re so longing for.
• Treat yourself to some self-care every day. Self-care doesn’t have to be expensive. Once in a while, you can splurge on yourself, especially after working so hard. But don’t let it be too long before you can even give yourself some TLC. Think, some quiet time at home, a good book to read, keeping your feet healthy, an uninterrupted bath with candles and a bath salt—whatever it is that’ll help you relax, go for it.

Conclusion

As this year has just opened, there’s no better change you can do for yourself than to be a healthier, and to feel more beautiful about yourself. You can start by taking advantage of these great tips.

By living a healthier lifestyle, you’ll enjoy life more, and your friends and family will come to love you more. Everyone deserves to be beautiful, and there is nothing more important than looking and feeling great. Being healthy means that you are happy with yourself, and the people in your life. You can accomplish great things and have a fulfilling life.