Top 5 Health Lessons I Learned This Year
Introduction: Over the past year, I’ve embraced several transformative health habits that have significantly improved my well-being. A lot of these ideas are things most people will inevitably be aware of, but for some reason, not a lot of people decide to act upon them. I want to stand here as living proof of someone who has: ran multiple half marathons and long endurance races; lifted significant amounts of weight consistently without injury or burnout; progressed in my professional field; and found the time to explore my creative interests in my free time. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, then give these health tips a shot to help you solidify your goals and shoot for your greatest potential.
5. The Power of Walking: Again, it’s like I wake the horse back up consistently just to beat it to death again. Walking feels like the most basic human trait and motor function. With today’s sedentary lifestyles growing, the health defects of not walking have been showing all over the place. Walking is a simple yet powerful exercise that anyone can do. It helps with weight management, boosts mood, and allows you to enjoy nature. It’s accessible to all fitness levels and is a great way to stay active without needing intense training or equipment. Speaking to the lads out there (because I’m not sure if the ladies come around to this), but man, a solid session of “walking it off” really changes your whole perspective on life. I have heard it be called, and have called it, a philosopher walk. This is because taking a walk outside feels like you are more in tune with your emotions, ideas, and philosophical thinking patterns. Could that just be me? Yes, it probably is. But nonetheless, walking is unbelievably powerful in today’s day and age.
4. Prioritizing Overall Health: Overall health and fitness have become a priority in my life compared to what they were in the past. In the past, I often neglected my health, which affected my clarity and motivation. I would call this the “zombie brain” effect. Not a scientific term by any means, but maybe one day it will be. This is what happens when you neglect your health for too long and put it on the back burner. Everything in your life begins to fall apart piece by piece after your health. Look at the majority of the successful people in your life, or people that you look up to. I guarantee you a good portion of them have taken the steps to prioritize overall health or been on a health journey of some sort.
This prioritization, in turn, enhances the rest of everyday life: the pursuit of your professional goals, emotional regulation, the ability to form relationships, etc.
For me, I remember way back in the day that there were really only two things I looked forward to in life: the next time I ate and the next time I got to sit there and do nothing for a whole day. I always wondered why that was the best portion of life for me. It was normally because I just wanted to pig out and die on the couch instead of achieve or try for anything. Looking back at it now, I literally love going to sleep because I know I get the chance to get after it the next day. I know I get the ability to put my best foot forward the next day and impact the world in some big or little way.
So put your health first, and watch your life begin to clear up, and your goals move closer and closer to reality.
3. Understanding Caloric Intake: Let’s take this wayyy back to when I played high school football. Playing football as a lineman (somewhat, big fella in the front), I was used to overeating to maintain size. The more times we could go to Pizza Street (RIP, one of the greatest buffet pizza joints of all time) and pound whole pizzas, the better. It wasn’t until after football when I noticed my brother had changed his weight completely. He was also a lineman, and literally the moment his last season was done, he dropped weight like it was nothing. He had it all calculated on this thing called “MyFitnessPal.” He was able to consistently add calories, macros, and nutrients to the application, and it would tell him EXACTLY (rough estimate of course, but in comparison of what we actually knew - it was good as gold) how much he needed to eat to lose weight. Wow, this seems incredible. Surely it has to cost a bunch of money. NOPE, IT IS LITERALLY FREE. Not very often do you have basically a doctor in your pocket for free. This awareness single-handedly changed the way I look at food and what portions of food were necessary to lose weight and maintain a stable, healthy body weight. So thank you to my brother on this one. Hopefully, I am paying this forward.
2. Structured Resistance Training: To be honest with y’all, I have been cheating. I have been working out and weightlifting since I was nearly 13 years old. Obviously, I still don’t believe I look like any sort of Hulk, but I have had the background and knowledge to know what I need to do in the gym. This is a cheat code for me, but that doesn’t mean it is inaccessible to everyone else. If you use that handy-dandy Google-box of yours and look up “starting 3-day whole-body split workouts,” you will run upon thousands of resources that give you exactly what you need. YouTube has even given us the ability to know exactly what form and rep/set structure to use as well. So USE YOUR RESOURCES!!!
Having a well-structured training program is key to making progress. It maximizes time at the gym, keeps you focused, and ensures you’re on track with your goals. I’ve learned to cut my gym time significantly by having a clear plan, which is essential for fitting workouts into a busy schedule.
1. Prioritizing Quality Sleep: What if I told you that every person in the world really does have multiple personalities or personas in their own body? If you want to know how this is possible, show me the difference between you getting a good night’s rest and you getting little to no sleep. Believe it or not, many people in this world don’t even realize there is a whole other person waiting to come to light from just a few more hours of sleep. From renowned author and speaker on the importance of sleep, Matthew Walker: "The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep."
Getting 7-9 hours of sleep each night has been transformative. I’ve noticed it improves my mood, boosts recovery, and enhances overall performance. Creating a restful environment, like making the room pitch black and using Night Shift on devices, has been key. Engaging in calming activities like meditation, breathing practices, or reading a book helps quiet the mind and prepare for rest.
If you focus on adding these practices to your regular routine, that person of hope will begin to come to the surface. Life doesn’t seem as pointless or pathetic. The more you let yourself get good sleep, the more you allow strength to enter your every move.
Conclusion:
These lessons have profoundly impacted my health journey. By focusing on sleep, structured workouts, caloric awareness, overall health, and the simplicity of walking, I’ve found a balanced approach to well-being. Implementing even one of these habits can make a meaningful difference in your own journey. Thank you to 2024 for all of the health knowledge it has given me, I hope to bring this knowledge to everyone. For 2025, I hope to continue learning and paying that knowledge forward.
Thanks yall :)
