5 Smart Moves I Made When I Got Serious About My Health

Health is a tricky thing. It never bothers you, until something is broken. Then, it takes a lot to fix.

That’s why making it a priority is important in the first place.

But as you can imagine, it wasn’t a one-off decision. I never reached the point, where I said: “I need to change everything.” Instead, over time I reached several points, where I decided to level up my health.

Sometimes, these points came naturally, sometimes they involved many hours of research on my side. I spent years reading books, trying things, failing, repeating, and failing again, to finally find 5 smart moves that helped to feel better than ever before.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to do that, too. Instead, save yourself time and learn how 5 smart moves can improve your health.

Implemented regular exercise

This was the easiest.

Why? Sports were almost always part of my life.

Only in kindergarten and pre-school, I didn’t do anything. Then over the course of 25 years, I started playing football for many years, lifting heavy weights, tried some American Football and running, and got into cycling.

I’m definitely a sporty person and love trying out new things.

Not because I was born that way, but because I was raised this way. My father was always a physical person, too. He worked hard his whole life.

All of this has helped me to:

• run a half-marathon
• ace in a tough mudder
• cross the Alps on a bike
• get in shape
• do 6 muscle-ups in a row

I don’t list this here to brag. Instead, I want to inspire you to try new things, push yourself, and work towards a certain goal.

Our bodies are incredible. Sometimes all they need is a bit of movement to enable us to achieve big things. How?

By making movement a habit.

It doesn’t need to be the things I listed. Do what’s good for you. Go for a walk to get ideas, go on a run to leave your busy day behind, work out in the gym to fight anger or sadness, or hit the road to break your record for cycled kilometers in a single day.

Takeaway: Movement is an essential part of being a human. Nowadays, it’s easier than ever before to skip, but we need it. Go out there, do something with your body, and have fun while doing it.

Adopted a balanced diet

As soon as I started going to the gym, my whole eating routine changed.

Knowing that I’d need more protein, I looked for ways how I can incorporate it into my daily eating. It involved more meat, dairy, and eggs.

Because my mother wasn’t always eager to cook a fitness version of a meal, I learned cooking. Or better said: meal-prep.

I started counting my calories, which made me more mindful of what I ate because I knew how many calories a single chocolate bar had. But it freaked me out, too.

It was exhausting. I was worrying all the time about calories, and at some point, I decided to quit it.

Then a huge change happened. After my Ethics school teacher showed us videos of the meat industry, I decided to turn vegetarian. I stopped eating meat and fish.

And I even cut down on eggs and dairy. All while I was still working out in a gym, trying to gain muscle.

After another two years, a second huge change happened: I turned vegan. No dairy, no meat, no eggs, and no fish. I even skip honey most of the time.

I felt better than ever.

But only after being vegan for another two years, while working out all the time, I realized I had created a certain eating pattern.

It was my sister’s birthday.

The weather was amazing, the people happy. We were enjoying ourselves and had a good time laughing, eating, and drinking and I had a couple too many slices of chocolate cake.

Then, dinner followed.

I felt sick. I was frustrated and angry with myself. Not only that, but I decided I needed to burn what I ate before. How? By running a half-marathon the next morning.

I got up at 6 am, had a coffee, and some water, and started running. I ran for about 2 hours, came back, and felt better. Not because I burned the slices of chocolate cake because I didn’t (not even to mention dinner).

But because I had realized my flawed eating pattern. I ate clean for about three weeks, only to stuff my face on a single day and feel both: guilty and sick.

I changed things. Likewise, I decided to eat mostly clean on weekdays and allow myself something on the weekends. That’s how I found a way to eat almost whatever I wanted and stay in shape.

Takeaway: Don’t force a certain diet. Find something sustainable that works for you. Skip processed foods and eat mostly whole foods. And no, you don’t have to turn vegan if you don’t want to.

Increased my water intake

I was never a bad drinker, ask my pub friends. Just kidding.

But it still wasn’t good enough. Because the average person drinks two glasses of water too little. Every. Single. Day.

My parents never focused on drinking enough. They drank when they drank, but there wasn’t any thought behind it. This made us all drink too little.

Only when I started going to the gym, I became more mindful of the amount I drank. I started understanding how important staying hydrated is.

Then, at some point, I met my best friend a bartender turned nutritionist, who even explained to me the metabolic processes water is involved in.

Don’t worry, I won’t get into details here, but let’s just say. Drinking water is essential.

Men should aim for at least 3,5 liters. Women for at least 2,5 liters.

I changed things. I incorporated habits of drinking 80% water, 10% tea, and 10% coffee every single day. And I avoid shallow calories, like sugary drinks, sodas, and juices most of the time.

Takeaway: Staying hydrated is critical on many levels. It will even make you sexier. Drink mostly water, go easy on coffee and tea, and avoid sugary drinks most of the time. If you feel hungry, try drinking water instead, first.

Made sleep a priority

I was never a night owl.

But I wasn’t strict about my sleep, either. I’d go to sleep between 11pm and 1:30 am, depending on how long I could bear looking at a display. I had no sleep hygiene, let alone a time to wind down.

Although I knew how important sleep is, from reading many books about it and looking for ways to grow more muscles, I never made it a (true) priority.

Sure, I had this shallow intention. But I never set an alarm clock for my bedtime.

In Germany, I relied more on coffee to get me ready for a 6:30 am gym session and the uni/office afterward. In London, I skipped between one and three hours of sleep to at least have some spare time.

Only when COVID-19 hit, and I came back to Germany, I started making sleep a priority. I found a regular rhythm, where I’d wind down at 10:30 pm at the latest to sleep by 11:15 pm. All to stand up again at 7:00 am.

It works.

Not because I was born for it, but because I made it a routine my body can rely on. When I get my sleep, I never feel tired, I gain muscle, and can even go long stretches without relying on coffee (although I still drink it because I like its taste).

Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. Sometimes I go to an after-work party until 3 am. Other times I go to the movies and am in bed at 1 am. Whenever I do that, I make sure to get a bit more sleep in the next few days. Why? Because I made sleep a priority.

Takeaway: Sleep is more important than we think. It might be something, we need anyway and can shorten a few times, but eventually, you’ll cut in your flesh if you keep neglecting it. Make sleep a priority, too, and profit from better focus, more alertness, increased creativity, and being able to talk to people in the morning.

Incorporated regular meditation and mindfulness practices

I didn’t have a religious or spiritual upbringing.

I wasn’t baptized, and I visited churches, mosques, and synagogues as a tourist — not as a faithful believer. Mindfulness wasn’t a buzzword either in our household.

Yet again, it was my Ethics teacher in high school who sparked my interest in meditation and mindfulness. He was charismatic, strong, and had a certain sense of humor, which stuck.

He told us he meditates daily. We laughed. He laughed, knowing how naive we were back then.

Then he dared us to sit still and close our eyes for a minute.

We did it.

But no, there wasn’t a huge revelation, which made me a believer in mindfulness. Instead, it was painful sitting there for a single minute with our eyes closed. It felt like an eternity. In hell.

Some of us, quit.

I barely made it to the minute, and he asked us how we liked it. We laughed again. He laughed again.

But my interest was sparked.

Weeks passed, in every so often he told us about his meditation practice. I was curious because it sounded promising. How it made him calmer, more empathetic, and less frustrated.

Even more weeks passed, and I looked for something that could help me manage my nervousness before a football match. I tried masturbation, not thinking about it, sleeping longer, and some other things without seeing the results I liked.

Then, I remembered meditation.

I tried it. I sat down for 5 minutes, closed my eyes, and focused on my breathing. It helped. That was the point where I realized meditation is awesome.

Because of these promising results, I started doing it daily. I felt calmer, less frustrated, less stressed, and overall better.

But it wasn’t a happily ever after.

At some point, I started neglecting it. I couldn’t feel the benefits anymore. Instead of doing it daily (or even twice per day), I skipped days. Then, skipped days became skipped weeks. Even months.

I lost my way.

And that’s when I felt how stressed I became. How frustrated I was. And how insecure I felt. I decided to make it a habit once again.

Now, I’m meditating for 10 minutes every single day. My goal is to reach 30 minutes every single day and keep doing it.

Takeaway: Meditation has the potential to change your life for the better. But it isn’t a one-off thing, as Dan Harris put it in his book “10% Happier”. Make mindfulness a part of your life and you’ll feel better about anything. I promise.

What’s left?

Your health is the highest good you have. Treat it like that. Get inspired by what I did and make it a priority in your life.

Why?

Because if you take care of your health, you can deliver big. In sports, at work, and in your relationships (yes, even the one with yourself).