Your health is the most important thing you have.

Without good health, it’s impossible to live a long life, a quality life, or the type of life you want to live. However, so many people focus on the wrong aspects of their health.

They want to look good on their Instagram feed, and that makes it so easy to forget the essential elements of health. Sure, looking good is a bonus, but it’s about being healthy and feeling good. Simply looking good means nothing in terms of health.

It’s time to start on the right foot by understanding what makes your health worthwhile.

This is what you should know about the latest health trends (and what actually works):

1. It’s not just about what you eat.

Most people feel that their overall health is directly related to what they eat, but this is not always the case. What you eat is important, but it’s not as important as how you eat and what you do with your life. Your overall health is related to what you eat, sure, but it’s also related to getting enough sleep, minimizing the stress in your life, and rest. 

Eating a healthy diet helps you cultivate more energy and a stronger immune system, but you can’t assume eating right is all it takes. You also need adequate sleep, and you need to cut out the fat in your life. Not just in your diet, but in every aspect.

Do you spend time with people who drain you and make you feel negative all the time? It’s hard to be healthy when you have a negative outlook on life. Do you drink too much even though you eat well? It’s a problem. 

Also, think about ways you can boost your metabolism outside of exercise and healthy eating. Programs like the thrive experience have helped many lose weight (and keep it off) with minimal effort. 

2. Moving is key.

Many health experts know you need to move your body, and they recommend you spend time every day doing something active. You don’t have to join the gym and lift weights for hours every day, but you should do something active.

The key here is to find an activity you enjoy. Getting physical doesn’t have to feel like work or a cause you to want to quit before you even get started. 

The key to good health is moving your body for 20 to 30 minutes each day. Get out and take a walk, learn to garden, and play with the kids. Join exercise classes, join the gym, join a team.

Whatever you do, do it all the way and enjoy yourself. Sedentary lifestyles are dangerous, and movement helps you obtain more energy and focus more fully on how you feel as a whole. 

3. Lifestyle changes are the best diet options.

If you want to get healthier, you can’t just focus on a diet or an exercise plan. You must focus on an overall lifestyle change, and you should do a little at a time. Shocking your body with a total lifestyle change in one day on the first is not the answer.

Ease into something small every week. Try an exercise class two days a week and gradually add days at the gym or long walks or jogs to your routine a week or two later. 

Start by eliminating one drink from your nightly routine until you’re ready to remove the second drink. Try adding one healthy food to every meal before you begin adding a second.

Making small lifestyle changes a few at a time is a great way to become more accustomed to the life you want rather than shocking yourself with too much change all at once. 

The main takeaway:

You’re not perfect. You will fail. You will have off days and days you don’t stick to good health practices.

Forgive yourself, move on, and do better the next day. Don’t sabotage yourself because your expectations are too high.

You have the power to change your life, but you must change it in a way that works for you.