The New Year offers an ideal time to reassess and reset your lifestyle choices and goals to help identify what you can (and should) improve on.
Diets and exercise generally feature heavily on most men’s New Year resolutions. But these are just a few of the ways you can pursue a healthier lifestyle.
This year, we encourage you to add “balance” to your list of men’s health goals for 2022. This means understanding how your mind and body work together and finding ways to nourish and enhance each area for better men’s health today, tomorrow, and into the future.
It Starts with Creating Healthy Habits
Making better lifestyle choices begins with implementing healthier habits into your routine. But remember habits are not usually created overnight. In fact, it’s always easier to bite off too much change at once—especially at the beginning of January, when we’re all fueled by renewed aspirations to make this year better than the last.
5 Men’s Health Goals for 2022
In this article, you’ll discover practical tips to help you turn a few healthy choices into regular habits in 2022 and beyond!
Ready to get started?
1. Set Realistic Fitness Goals
Ask yourself this: what is your ultimate goal towards achieving physical fitness? Maybe it’s running in a 5k marathon, learning a new sport like boxing, or joining a community hockey league.
You first want to decide what your physical goals are and then find ways to achieve them. If you’re planning on competing in a 5k marathon, for instance, you’ll need to set a consistent running schedule, with strength training sessions in-between, to help build stamina and improve your agility and timing, so you feel ready for the big race!
The important thing here is to set realistic goals for yourself with enough time to achieve them—but also with a set deadline, so you have something to work towards.
You’ll want to consider your body goals, too. Maybe you want to build more lean muscle mass or finally lose that guy gut? Body goals for men can vary, and sometimes, they solely focus on one key area vs. the whole body.
Consider balance here, as your fitness goals should really focus on achieving a full-body workout in order to benefit each area equally.
If you’re a planner, it’s okay to schedule a leg day on Tuesday and arms and abs’ day on Wednesday—just be sure you’re working towards a balanced workout throughout the week and not giving too much attention to certain muscles while neglecting others, as this could lead to injury.
As always, be sure to consult with a doctor before trying a new workout routine.
2. Understand Nutrient Density.
Counting calories isn’t nearly as important as making sure you’re getting a well-balanced meal that provides the energy and nutrients your body needs to thrive.
When it comes time to visit your local grocery store, try to choose nutrient-dense ingredients. These are foods that carry a higher amount of macro- and- micro-nutrients per calorie serving: “[They]… are rich in vitamins, minerals and other nutrients important for health, without too much saturated fat, added sugars and sodium,” (American Heart Association).
Nutrient dense foods may include:
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Nuts
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Salmon
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Avocados
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Vegetables
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Whole grains
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Non-fat dairy
This also means skipping out on more calorie-dense options that offer you little to no nutritional value or are packed with added sugars.
A few examples might include:
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Soda beverages (diet or regular)
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Baked goods
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Chips
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Ice cream
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Frozen meals (e.g. pizza, lasagna, breakfast sandwiches, etc.)
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Sports drinks
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Concentrated beverages (i.e., fruit juice)
“By choosing more nutrient-dense foods, you’ll get the beneficial nutrients your body needs without consuming too many calories,” (AHA). Nutrient density can also help you keep your meal planning more balanced, as you’re no longer focusing on getting just one or two ingredients, or food groups, at a given time.
3. Use Variety as Motivation.
In your nutrient meal planning, and with each workout, make sure to maintain a healthy balance of variety—nothing kills a good habit like boredom.
When you exercise, be sure to rotate through aerobic, strength, and flexibility workouts. Try something new like swimming laps or attending a yoga class.
For cooking, try to change up how you prepare your meal options: grilling, baking, air-frying, or stir-frying.
4. Get Some Shut Eye
Sleep is often sacrificed with the best of intentions. If you’re getting up earlier to hit the gym or pack a homemade lunch, make sure you aren’t doing it at the expense of a good night’s rest.
Be aware of your current habits, too. Remember, you’re not going to make the switch from being a night owl to a “morning person” overnight. Plan ahead to make your evening and morning routines as easy as possible, and try to minimize stress and screen time before going to bed.
Sleep is incredibly important for everyone’s health, not just men. It plays a vital role in both your physical and mental well-being:
“Sufficient sleep, especially REM sleep, facilitates the brain’s processing of emotional information. During sleep, the brain works to evaluate and remember thoughts and memories […] a lack of sleep is especially harmful to the consolidation of positive emotional content. This can influence mood and emotional reactivity and is tied to mental health disorders and their severity…” (Sleep Foundation).
5. Meet with a Men’s Health Expert
A key way to stay on top of your wellbeing is to work with a men’s health clinic to help ensure your hormone, vitamin, and blood levels are at the right numbers. Whether as a proactive, or reactive measure, regular consultations and check-ins are a vital part of staying healthy.
DID YOU KNOW that a recent survey showed that well over half of men do not seek a doctor’s care proactively—it takes a major medical issue to bring them to a clinic on their own accord.
Living a healthy lifestyle is an excellent goal, but one that is best supported by regular doctor visits. At EveresT Men’s Health, we’re here to help make 2022 the year you take another step closer to optimizing your mental and physical well-being.
Our men’s clinic can help create a custom plan for your health, run tests to ensure that the habits you’re building are reflected in your health, and catch any illnesses or conditions early on for the best chance of success in treatment.
We perform comprehensive exams to help us create a complete picture, including:
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Testosterone Levels
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Key Vitamin Levels
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Blood Levels and Indicators
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Body Composition Measurements
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And More!
Once we have your results, our men’s health doctors will work with you to build a personalized plan that addresses any concerns and helps you live an improved life.
Ready to Take Our Men’s Health Challenge?
Whether you’re concerned about Low T symptoms you may be experiencing, or you want to pursue a holistic approach to better health and wellness, our team at EveresT Men’s Health can help.
Our medical services are designed to fit your individual lifestyle and help you achieve your goals, as you age. We offer three convenient locations in Eagan, Woodbury, and Plymouth, as well as a concierge service that gives you direct access to a team of medical providers right from your smartphone.
To schedule an appointment, or to learn more about our services, contact us at one of our locations today!
We look forward to making 2022 your best year yet!
