Ultimately, a healthy lifestyle yields the most optimal health results for men and women. Yes, a diet will make you lose weight, but if you’re not committed to eating healthy and staying active for a lifestyle, you will gain the weight back. Making realistic resolutions this January will contribute to your overall success. Choose resolutions that will make your life happier, more meaningful and most importantly, healthier.
Less Stress
Stress is one of the most important factors leading to disease and obesity. It hinders our body from working properly and learning how to cope with stress (if it is inevitable) is important for one’s health. Try to limit stressful situations in your life as much as possible for optimal health.
More Self Esteem
Feeling comfortable in your own skin is important for a long life. Self-love is important when working toward realistic weight loss and fitness goals as it gives you the pep you need to push forward. The more comfortable you are with yourself and your goals, the better the chance you will succeed.
Eat Healthy Food
The more passion you have for the food you consume, the better. Cultivate a healthy relationship with food that helps you focus on nutrition while still enjoying the food you prepare. Just because it’s healthy doesn’t mean it isn’t flavorful or enjoyable to eat. Incorporate new superfoods into your diets and try new recipes with your partner or friends on a regular basis.
Increase Activity Levels
The more active you are, the more likely you will be to not develop illness or disease. Aerobics and resistance training are important for living a healthy and long list. The more you exercise, the better you will feel and the better your body will look and function.
Change Your Eating Habits
Never eliminate one entire food group from your diet. This sets you up to fail. Choose to limit consumption of certain foods, but don’t deprive yourself from treats. Practice moderation and allow yourself cheat days where you consume maintain weight loss calorie intake. Ultimately this reduction approach is realistic more so than the all or nothing technique some people choose to implement. Don’t act as if a diet is a punishment. Concentrate on eating adequate servings of fiber, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and calcium.
Make Regular Health Exams
Staying up-to-date on health screenings may not be the most exciting thing on your agenda but it helps you to live a more healthy life. Regular physical exams help to stop any developing health issues before they go full force. An osteoporosis screening test also helps prevent bone loss and helps the treatment process begin before deterioration occurs. Mammograms are another important screen for breast cancer; women under 40 with one or more risk factors have regular screenings, while women over 40 beginning having one annually. Pap smear which help to screen for cervical cancer are recommended for women within three years of onset of sexual activity or at 21 years old, screening occurs every 3 years. Regular pelvic exams should occur annually. Other important healthy screening includes cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure, sexually transmitted diseases and depression.
Keep Memory Intact
According to the University of Pittsburgh, walking just six miles a week can help protect your memory as you age. Their study found that individuals who walked six to nine miles weekly had a greater gray matter volume (bigger brains) than those who didn’t walk as much. This increased volume has been linked to fewer age-related memory loss problems.
Quit Smoking
According to Real Simple, cutting smoking can reduce the risk of developing cancers of the esophagus, throat or mouth. After just 15 years, the risk of developing lung cancer is as low as someone who never smoked. Ultimately cigarette smoke contains 250 chemical or more toxic chemicals. These chemicals contribute to the compromise of the body’s ability to fight of bacteria, disease and even infection. According to the American Lung Association, the immune system works at it maximum ability after smoking ceases.
References: