“New Year, New You.” This is a phrase used often around this time of year. With the beginning of a new calendar year, many people choose to make goals to improve their lives and their health over the coming months. What many people fail to realize, however, is that sometimes these resolutions do more harm than good. Here are four ways your new year’s health initiatives could actually damage your health.
1. You over exercise without proper hydration. Exercising is a wonderful way to care for your body and improve your health. Unfortunately, many people don’t understand the full toll working out can take on your body if you don’t already exercise regularly. On top of common stress injuries like torn muscles and inflamed joints, dehydration is a real danger when exercising intensely. On top of your regular eight glasses a day, you should aim to drink an additional glass of water for every thirty minutes of exercise. It is also a good idea to drink a glass or two an hour before and during the hour after exercising.
2. You work out in too-tight clothing. Choosing a new workout outfit can be great motivation for some to get moving, but you should be conscious of the fabrics and the fits that you choose. Studies have shown that working up a sweat in tight fitting, non-breathable clothing will trap moisture and cause bacteria to grow. This is bad news for those prone to UTIs and other infections, and this can even cause a new outbreak in someone who has never experienced a bacterial infection before.
3. You choose an extreme crash diet. Watching what you eat is a great way to lose weight; drastically slashing calories is not. When you over-restrict calories, you cause stress on your gall bladder and dropped cholesterol, which could lead to gallstones. Reliance on strictly “diet foods,” could also cause undue stress to the kidneys because these foods are often loaded with sneaky sugars and sodium. Remember to care for your digestive system when dieting by choosing low sugar foods that are high in fiber and vitamins.
4. You choose a well recommended “healthy diet” without consulting your doctor. Diets are so tricky because each person is so unique. We all have different nutrient requirements based on our height, weight, activity level, and medical history, so in many cases a popular “healthy diet,” could actually damage your health if you don’t do your research. Anyone with a history of diabetes or insulin resistance should be very careful about diets that require you to manipulate the amount of carbs that you eat because an insufficient or highly sporadic intake of carbs could wreak havoc on your insulin levels. With any major change to your health and fitness routines, it is always a good idea to consult your doctor. They will be able to work with you to carefully create a plan that has your body and your history in mind.
The important thing to remember is that even a small step towards better health is a big step towards progress. With the help of our specialists, we hope to help as many people as possible choose to make 2017 a year of health.
