Don’t you wish you were twenty again? Everything in your body and health was at its prime when you were in your early twenties. You could convince yourself that you could eat and do anything you want without repercussions because you were still young. Many leave worrying about leading a healthier lifestyle until later.

Well, this is later. You’re an adult now. Whether you’re in your late twenties, in your thirties, or older, it’s time to face the fact that you need a healthier lifestyle to maintain or improve the overall condition of your well-being. If you are just realizing the importance of a healthier lifestyle, don’t worry. It’s never too late to get started.

Pursue a Healthier Diet

Fast-food meals are great and convenient, especially for professionals who spend more than eight hours in the office and have no time to cook breakfast or dinner. If you want to go for a healthier diet, though, you will have to make a little effort. If you are really busy, you can go grocery shopping once a week and plan your meals in advance. There are full meals you can prepare in advance that you can freeze—to be reheated later in the day or week. Be sure to stock on fruits and vegetables to remind yourself that you need to eat healthily.

Make an Effort to Exercise Regularly

It doesn’t have to be a full workout at the gym every day. As a professional, that kind of commitment can be too much. It can be as simple as a few minutes of stretching exercises and walking around your neighborhood. You can also try other forms of exercise, such as Zumba or yoga. These activities are usually performed in groups, so your yoga or Zumba instructor and group mates can encourage you to keep going whenever you lose your motivation to exercise.

Engage in Environmental Conservation

Another form of a healthy lifestyle is environmental consciousness. You need to start thinking about what you can do to help reduce waste and conserve energy. For example, if you live in a neighborhood where the supermarket, school, day care, and other important structures are close, you won’t need to use your car and waste fuel when you go on errands. You can get a simple golf cart instead. It’s energy saving since it’s electric powered. It’s just a matter of knowing the right golf cart charger to use — just an idea you can explore.

Engage in Life-Enhancing Hobbies

A healthy lifestyle doesn’t just involve a healthy body. You need to nurture your mind and soul as well. You can do that by trying out hobbies that can add flavor or fulfillment to your life. Some activities you can try for now are gardening, music, visual arts like photography or design, and many others. Who knows? Maybe you will find a hobby you’re extremely good at, and you can turn it into a fun side gig.

Participate in Activities That Keep the Mind Active

You’re an adult, so it means you will age soon enough. That’s why you need to keep your mind sharp. Block a few days a week—or even just on the weekends—to indulge in mind-enhancing activities like chess matches, crossword puzzles, card games, and even actual puzzles.

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

There’s this joke going around the internet that the real adult drink isn’t alcohol but water. And only when you’ve reached actual adulthood can you see the truth in that joke. It’s a fact that water is your body’s real MVP—not to mention it does wonders to your skin. Ignore the inconvenience of going to the bathroom every few minutes. That’s a small price to pay for a properly hydrated body. Consider your water bottle as one of your best friends, and never let it leave your side.

Surround Yourself with Relaxing Things

Keep your constitution calm and stress-free. Stress is one of the major sources of mental concerns like anxiety, and it can also lead to burnout. If you do not do something to prevent or address that problem, there’s a big chance that it can have physical manifestations. That’s why in your workplace and especially in your home, surround yourself with things that relax you like plants, aromatherapy, uplifting colors, and soothing music.

Taking a healthier path isn’t easy for most people. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t turn it into an interesting—if not, enjoyable—experience. The suggestions above are just a few ways to get you going. You can do less or more depending on your priorities and availability.

Realizing that you need to make healthier choices and acting on that realization with a proactive approach is a start. If you’re not confident that you can motivate yourself, gather some of your closest friends, and propose that you give this healthier lifestyle a try. You can be each other’s cheerleader, and it’s a way to strengthen your bond as well.