Healthy Lifestyle

A healthy lifestyle is more than just healthy living it is a way of life.

A healthy lifestyle is:

- getting enough exercise

- a nutritious diet

- recreation time

- healthy mind

- inner happiness

A healthy lifestyle is not:

- excessive alcohol/drugs

- over eating

- laziness

- emotional imbalance

- smoking

A healthy lifestyle is something all of us want but find hard to achieve. We have such busy lifestyles it is hard to find time to sit down to a home cooked meal, or take 30 minutes five days a week to do an aerobic exercise, or just take some time out for yourself and clear your mind of your day’s activities while thinking happy thoughts and watching the stress leave your body.

There are many ways we can sneak in some exercise to increase our fitness level.

- Take the stairs instead of the elevator

- Walk to the corner store instead of driving

- Take the dog for a walk

- Go shopping at the mall and park at the furthest spot from the door

- Do your own yard work instead of hiring someone

- Clean your house

- Play outside with the kids/grandchildren

These are just a few suggestions for getting more exercise without giving up too much time or effort. This makes for a great base to build on eventually taking you to higher workout levels. Everyone is at different fitness levels. Start at your personal level, set some goals, draw up a plan and then follow it every day.

Diet is also a good part of your health and wellness. Many of us have a few extra pounds we would like to get rid of. They were so easy to put on but tremendously hard to get rid of. A healthy diet could be as simple as omitting the late night snack while watching television or eating in rather than eating out. Weight loss can be like a rollercoaster, you go up in weight then down again, never stabilizing at that perfect weight.

There are a lot of health benefits to a good diet:

- Lower your blood pressure

- Lower your cholesterol

- Healthy heart

- Prevent diabetes

- Prevent stroke

- Lower your risk of cancer

- Prevent obesity

- Increase your immune system

These are just a few benefits of eating balanced meals but I am sure you can think of many reasons why you need to change your eating habits. Everyone has their own reasons, but are they important enough to motivate you to change? If not then keep doing what you are doing and eventually that excess weight will be too much to carry. Check with your doctor to see what weight loss program is right for you. Write down your goals and check them every day until the weight is off. It was a habit that helped you gain the weight and it will be a habit that helps you get rid of it.

Have you ever been so tired that you can’t think straight? You end up making a bad decision, or you come close to getting into an accident because your mind is in a different place? We need to take time out to recharge our batteries. A healthy lifestyle needs a healthy mind. Just like you need to watch the food that goes into your body, you also need to watch the food that goes into your mind. Have positive thoughts, forget about the word can’t. It is important to keep a sharp mind.

Things you can do to keep a sharp mind:

- Watch less television – read more

- Be more positive

- Be an optimist – the glass is half full not half empty

- Get enough sleep

- Smile more

- Have a healthy diet

- Exercise

- Work on puzzles that make you think, like crossword or math puzzles

Healthy living is a way of life and the choice is yours to accept it or turn it away.