Simple Ways to Live a Healthy Lifestyle

Simple Ways to Live a Healthy Lifestyle

Definition:  Living A Healthy Lifestyle

Generally, a healthy person doesn't smoke, is at a healthy weight, eats healthy and exercises.  It sounds so simple, isn't it?

The trick to healthy living is making few changes, following more steps, adding fruit to our cereals, having an extra glass of water.  These are just some ways that we can start living healthy without more changes.

Exercise:

One of the major problems in the world today is “inactivity (lack of activity).”  We know it is good for us, but avoid it like the plague either because we are used to being inactive or afraid that exercise has to be energetic to be worth our time.  The truth is, movement is movement (am I rite?) and the more we do, the healthier we will be.  Remember even moderate activities like chores, gardening and walking can make a difference.

Just adding a small movement to our life can:

• Reduce stress
• Improve joint stability
• Increase and improve range of movement
• Help maintain flexibility as you age
• Maintain bone mass
• Improve mood and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression
• Enhance self esteem
• Reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes
• Prevent osteoporosis and fractures
• Improve memory in elderly people

So, even if we choose for few changes and a more modest weight loss, we can see the benefits.  One study has found that just a 10% weight reduction helped obese patients reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and increase longevity.

Simple Ways to Move Our Body

We can start the process of weight loss now by adding a little more activity to our daily life.  If we are not ready for a structured program, start with small.  Every little bit counts and it all adds up to burn more calories.

• Turn off the TV.  Once a week, turn off the TV and do something a little more physical with family.  Play games, take a walk.  Almost anything will be more active than sitting on the couch.  Do you agree with me?
• Walk more.  Look for small ways to walk more.  When you get the mail, take a walk around the block, take the dog for an extra outing each day or walk on your treadmill for 5 minutes before getting ready for work.
• Do some chores. Shoveling snow, working in the garden, raking leaves, sweeping the floor.  These kinds of activities may not be 'vigorous' exercise, but they can keep us moving while getting house in order.
• Pace while we talk. When we're on the phone, pace around or even do some cleaning while gabbing.  This is a great way to stay moving while doing something we enjoy.
• Be aware.  Make a list of all the physical activities we do on a typical day.  If we find that the bulk of our time is spent sitting, make another list of all the ways we could move more -- getting up each hour to stretch or walk, walk the stairs at work, etc.

Eating Well

Eating a healthy diet is another part of the healthy lifestyle.  Not only can a clean diet help with weight management, it can also improve our health and quality of life as we get older.

• Eat more fruits.  Add it to cereals, salads or even dinners
• Sneak in more veggies.  Add them wherever we can -- a tomato on sandwich, peppers on pizza, or extra veggies in pasta sauce.  Keep pre-cut or canned/frozen veggies ready for quick snacks.
• Switch salad dressing.  If we eat full-fat dressing, switch to something lighter and we'll automatically eat less calories.
• Eat low-fat or fat-free dairy.  Switching to skim milk or fat free yogurt is another simple way to eat less calories without having to change too much in our diet.
• Make some substitutes.  Look through our cabinets or fridge and pick 3 foods we eat every day.  Write down the nutritional content and, the next time we're at the store, find lower-calorie substitutes for just those 3 items.

Creating a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to mean drastic changes.  In fact, drastic changes almost always lead to failure.  Making small changes in how we live each day can lead to big rewards, so figure out what we can to be healthy today.