The Power of Prevention: Promoting Women’s Health Through Lifestyle Choices

By: Matt Weik, BS, CSCS, CPT, CSN

In today’s world, women’s health is a major concern, and much of it comes down to lifestyle choices.

Going back to your childhood years, like most kids with lightning-fast metabolism, your diet could have revolved around pizza and cheeseburgers without the scale even so much as budging. Today, just passing by your favorite chain restaurant seems to add inches to your hips and thighs.

Life doesn’t seem fair sometimes, right? 

Many women seem to be stuck in a cycle of trying to not only maintain their physique but also maintain health, longevity, and well-being. 

In this article, we are going to dive deeper into the power of prevention and list some actionable items that you can start implementing today in order to achieve your goals. If you’re ready to take control of your lifestyle choices, we have a plan in place for you below. 

Let’s get started!

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to treat or diagnose any condition. It is recommended that you speak with your doctor before starting any exercise program, making changes to your nutrition plan, or adding any new supplements into your current regimen.

How to Promote Lifestyle Choices That Align with Women’s Health

If you’re worried about women’s health and what the future may hold for you, what we’re about to cover should be comforting. While there’s no sure way of health issues not popping up down the road or even tomorrow, your lifestyle choices now can help make a difference.

Below are some actionable items that should be on your daily and yearly women’s health checklist. 

1. Daily exercise

Regular exercise is key for women’s health and is one of the lifestyle choices that some women find hard to fit into their schedule.

With being a mom, wife, and/or career-driven, your schedule is tight as is. However, getting in 30 minutes of exercise a minimum of five days a week is ideal. The American Heart Association recommends getting 150 minutes of exercise per week.

To simplify the process, below is a sample full-body workout that you can implement if you currently don’t have an exercise plan in place. Best of all, you can do it in the privacy of your own home; no gym membership is needed. 

And for cardio, you can always use the great outdoors and walk around your neighborhood or go to a park, etc.

Below, we’ve also included a brief on how to do each exercise to help you understand the movement and form needed.

Exercise Descriptions:

• Squats: Stand with feet hip-width apart, bend at your knees, and lower your hips toward the ground, keeping your chest up and back straight. Push through your heels to return back to a standing position.

• Push-Ups: Start in a plank position, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Lower your chest toward the ground, keeping your elbows close to your body, then push back up to the starting position. You can either be up on your toes when doing this but if you’re not strong enough for that particular version, you can be on your knees instead.

• Lunges: Step forward with one foot, bending both knees to lower into a lunge position. Push through the front heel to return to standing, then switch legs and repeat.

• Plank: Hold a push-up position, with hands directly beneath shoulders and body, forming a straight line from head to heels. Engage core muscles and hold for the desired duration. You may also do this exercise while resting on your forearms.

• Glute Bridges: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Lift your hips toward the ceiling, squeezing your glutes hard at the top, then lower yourself back down slowly.

• Tricep Dips: Sit on the edge of a sturdy chair or bench, hands gripping the edge beside your hips. Lift your hips off the chair and walk your feet forward, then lower your hips toward the ground by bending at your elbows. Push back up to the starting position.

• Bicycle Crunches: Lie on your back with your hands behind your head, knees bent, and feet lifted off the floor. Rotate at your torso, bringing your opposite elbow to your knee while extending the other leg.

• Russian Twists: Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet lifted off the ground. Lean back slightly, then rotate your torso to one side, tapping your hand on the floor beside your hip. Return to the center, then rotate to the other side.

Perform each exercise with proper form and in a controlled manner. Start with a warm-up (5-10 minutes of a walk) and finish with stretching to prevent injury and enhance flexibility. Adjust the intensity of your workouts by modifying the number of sets, repetitions, or adding weights as needed. Consistency and progression are key to seeing the results you desire.

2. Nourish your body

When looking to improve women’s health, you should absolutely look at the food you’re consuming daily. If you’re someone who eats junk all day, you probably always feel tired, sluggish, and non-productive, right? 

That should actually make sense because you’re putting ultra-processed junk in your system. 

Your lifestyle choices dictate how you feel and how your body responds. By feeding your body complex carbohydrates, lean protein, and healthy fats, your body can become more optimized and perform at a higher level.

Related Article: Ozempic – A Game-Changer or a Risky Route to Weight Loss?

Replace unhealthy food choices with a healthier version and try to eliminate all sugary beverages and alcohol to be replaced with water or zero-calorie beverages.

3. Take care of your skin

Your skin can say a lot about you. Everything from dryness possibly stemming from poor hydration to wrinkles and fine lines showing everyone you’ve taken a few trips around the sun. But you can actually prevent many of the issues that could arise with your skin health.

What some people fail to remember is that their skin is the largest organ. Just like you want to take care of your heart health, you should also focus on your skin health.

As part of women’s health and your lifestyle choices, start putting more emphasis on your skin health. Daily cleansing to start and end your day is a great idea to remove dirt and oil that can accumulate on your skin. Choose a cleanser that matches your skin type (oily, dry, sensitive, etc.). 

Keeping your skin hydrated is essential for skin health and overall women’s health. Use a moisturizer to help keep your skin looking and feeling its best. You can apply a moisturizer to your skin after cleansing. This can help lock in moisture and keep your skin looking healthy.

You should also focus on sun protection. While being outside and taking in some natural vitamin D from the sun is key to supporting your mood, there also comes some potential risks associated with exposure to the sun. 

Consider protecting your skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays by applying an SPF 30 or higher sunscreen daily. Surprisingly, even on cloudy days, the UV rays can still damage your skin.

4. Prioritize mental health

Women’s health isn’t just about the physical aspects, it’s also mental. Mental health is a real concern these days, and it’s something you need to stay on top of. With so much going on, it’s easy to experience increased levels of stress and even anxiety.

While managing multiple roles and responsibilities, it’s key to practice stress management techniques such as medication and deep breathing. Finding a quiet spot to unwind can help promote relaxation, lower stress levels, and reduce anxiety. 

It’s imperative that you prioritize mental health and self-care activities that you enjoy as part of your women’s health routine to rejuvenate your mind and body.

5. Schedule regular health screenings

As we age, health risks can become more problematic, and staying on top of women’s health and regular screenings becomes critical. Preventative healthcare is key to catching any potential issues early and addressing them immediately. 

This isn’t meant to scare you or to say that something will ever pop up, but catching things early on can speed up the time it takes to correct any issues, and without getting these preventable healthcare screenings, you may never know something was wrong.

Schedule regular check-ups with your doctor and follow their recommendations for screenings, such as Pap smears, mammograms, and women’s health physicals. 

6. Implement a strategic supplement strategy

When it comes to women’s health, even making changes to your nutrition and lifestyle choices isn’t always enough to fully optimize your body. That’s where the addition of key supplements is crucial. 

For example, it can be challenging to get all the micronutrients your body needs each day through whole foods alone. Therefore, the use of a multivitamin supplement formulated specifically to optimize women’s health is vital. 

Vitamyna’s For Her formula includes a Food-Based Multivitamin, Super Omega-3, Resveratrol, Vitamin D3, and Magnesium Glycinate to address any nutritional gaps you may have in your diet.

Additionally, healthy aging is also key to women’s health. You want to protect your body down to the cellular level. To support this, bumping your supplement up to something like Vitamyna’s She’s Timeless formula is the perfect solution as an all-in-one supplement. 

She’s Timeless utilizes powerful nutrients and antioxidants, such as a Women’s Food-Based Multivitamin, Super Omega-3, Resveratrol, CoEnzyme Q-10, Berberine, NAC, Magnesium Glycinate, and Fenugreek. This powerful combination can help support healthy aging and overall women’s health.

Utilize the women’s health strategies found in this article and apply them to your life. Changing your lifestyle choices to align with optimized health is key to helping prevent illnesses and support healthy aging. Give the strategies above a try to help look and feel your best!