​If you want to succeed in any walk of life, you’ll need to look after your body. Life can present many challenges, but if you’re physically healthy, you’ll be able to cope much better with anything that happens and be more likely to achieve your goals.
 
If you already strive to keep your body in top condition, feel free to skip ahead to the next section. If, like the author, you prefer a Toblerone to a triathlon, consider how your lifestyle is affecting your potential. This section serves as a reminder that if you want to have a long, successful career, you’ll need your body to last the distance. Even small adjustments to your daily routine can a make a big difference in the long run. So, if you’ve never thought much about your health, consider how you could make improvements in three key areas: diet, exercise and sleep. Here are some tips:

DIET

A varied diet is a healthy diet. Your body needs nutrients that come from a wide variety of foods, so avoid choosing the same things every week. Eating fruit and vegetables that span the rainbow of colours is a great way to ensure that your body gets the range of nutrients it needs. Alcohol is a depressant, so it may help you relax at first, but as you drink more it tends to amplify any feelings of anxiety or depression. If you want to reduce your weight, controlling the calories you eat is by far the most effective strategy. All weight-loss diets involve taking in fewer calories than your body burns each day, so choosing certain foods can help you accomplish this. Depending on whom you talk to, the secret to weight loss is either eating a higher proportion of foods that increase your metabolism or filling yourself up on low-calorie foods. Some foods can do both of these, so they’re a safe bet if you want to lose weight. The evidence that some foods burn calories faster than others isn’t strong. On the other hand, evidence that some foods are more filling relative to their calories is compelling.

EXERCISE

We all know that getting regular exercise is healthy, but there are plenty of us who simply don’t enjoy it. If the thought of getting sweaty and out of breath isn’t your idea of fun, you can motivate yourself to exercise regularly by:

- Reminding yourself of the benefits you’ll enjoy when you’re healthier
- Setting goals based on tiny increments - if you managed five minutes of exercise on Day One, aim for six minutes on Day Two.
- Finding a friend who also wants to exercise more, so you can encourage each other to keep going.
- Catching up with your favourite entertainment; exercising provides a great opportunity for listening to music and audio books or re-watching your favourite TV box sets.

If energetic exercise really doesn’t appeal to you, taking regular walks can have huge health benefits. Just taking a 45-minute walk each day (around 6,000 steps) will do you a world of good. This should make it easier for you to reach the recommended 10,000 steps - the equivalent of five mile - by the end of the day, especially if you avoid sitting at a desk or lying on a couch for too long.
 
SLEEP
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Sleep is important because it refreshes you physically and mentally. If you’re struggling to get a good night’s sleep, there are many remedies worth trying - ask your doctor for advice. Sticking to a deliberate ‘wind down’ routine can help. This means avoiding watching screens for an hour or so before you want to go to sleep, and doing the same relaxing things each night so you start to associate the routine with going to sleep. Your routine could involve taking bath, reading a book or reflecting on the five best things that happened to you during the day. These kinds of mindful activities are explored in more detail in the next section.
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