It’s safe to say we’ve all been there, you are tired, so you skip making dinner and eat an unhealthy snack instead. You have a night out with friends and skip the gym the next morning. When work piles up, the first thing that suffers is sleep. The problem is, the more often this happens, the more your health is affected.

This is where body respect comes into play. It’s really difficult to take good care of something that you don’t respect. Even on those days when you may not feel that you’re up for that workout or a healthy meal, your body is still working 24/7 to keep you alive. Surely that deserves a bit of recognition.

Go back to the basics

Body respect truly means taking care of your health and this can be accomplished by meeting your body’s basic needs. These days, health and wellness advice can be overwhelming and confusing. Often, it’s easier to just give up than to try and navigate these murky waters! Fortunately, it is possible to live fad-free in a fad-filled wellness world. And to do this, you just need to go back to basics. There is substantial evidence to suggest that specific lifestyle behaviours not only lower your risk of developing diseases, but also improve your longevity and quality of life.

There are five key habits that you need to remember when it comes to showing your body some respect.

1. Eat well: eat a diet rich in unprocessed, fresh food and eliminate refined sugars and carbohydrates
2. Move more: aim to exercise for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week. If 30 minutes is too much, break this up into 3 x 10 minute sessions throughout the day
3. Make sleep a priority: never skimp on sleep in favour of getting more work done
4. Avoid risky behaviours: don’t smoke, always use a condom, wear a helmet and don’t do drugs
5. Know your numbers: blood pressure and diabetes are both “silent” conditions, meaning they don’t easily show symptoms. Have your blood pressure and glucose checked at least once a year

Healthy habits get on well together

Each one of these habits has a positive spill-over effect into the others. If you exercise regularly and eat a balanced diet for example, you are less likely to be stressed, overweight or develop high blood pressure. If you prioritise your sleep, you’re more likely to have the energy to exercise. Furthermore, if you don’t smoke and overdo it at the bar on a Friday night, your risk for heart disease and several types of cancers is significantly reduced. If you know what your current blood pressure and diabetes risk is, you can take steps like exercising and eating well to address it.

The bottom line here really is that, respecting your body doesn’t need to be hard work, complicated or confusing. Sticking to the basics and making small sustainable changes will go a long way in improving your overall health. Adopt the concept of ‘progress’ and drop the idea of a ‘perfect lifestyle’. Expecting perfection guarantees you’ll feel like a failure at least some of the time!