Self discipline can help you to make healthy choice, which can lead to a healthy lifestyle.
What is a healthy lifestyle, exactly?
Exercising regularly, eating nourishing foods, and reducing your intake of sugar and alcohol are just some of the recommendations for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Maintain a healthy weight for you.
Keep your weight in a healthy range can protect you from things like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
Your body mass index (BMI) and your waist circumference are two measurements that can help determine if you have a healthy weight. A doctor will also consider other factor such as your age, ethnicity, body composition, and healthy history when recommending a healthy weight range for you.
Remember, weight isn’t just a number on the scale. Everyone is different, so it’s best to work with a doctor to determine a healthy weight for you.
Eat Nourishing Food.
Our bodies need a variety of food to give us energy and keep them running. That means eating, a balanced diet that contains vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which can be found in fruits and vegetables (with a focus on leafy and green), whole grains, legumes, nuts, lean protein, and low fat dairy.
Of course, it’s Ok to have a treat once in a week, but it’s best if the bulk of your everyday meals and snacks contain some of those vital nutrients.
Limit processed foods and sugar.
It’s best to eat mostly nutrient foods. This means limiting highly processed food, like packaged and frozen foods, that typically have fewer nutrients but more calories, fat salt, and added sugar. You should also limit your intake of soda, packaged cookies and chips, candy, and sweetened cereals.
If you’re having a hard time giving up packaged snacks or fast food, you can try slowly swapping out these processed meals and snacks for whole foods.
Drink water and stay hydrated.
Staying hydrated isn’t just about quenching your thirst, it also keeps your body and brain running. Advice to have at least 3-4 liters of water in a day. Not only can drinking enough water improve your thinking abilities but may also help:
- Improve digestion
- Increase your energy
- Decrease joint pain
- Improve your heart health
Exercise regularly.
Moving your body has a host of health benefits, including:
- Boosting your mood
- Giving you more energy
- Building muscle
- Protecting your bones
- Losing or maintaining weight
- Helping you get better sleep
Regular exercise can also help prevent chronic condition like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer. You have to aim for at least 1 hrs for regular exercise.
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Go outdoor daily.
Being out in nature has a way of putting things in perspective, but it also has proven benefits for your mental health. Not only can soaking up the sun ease symptoms of depression, but it can make you feel more relaxed and focused, particularly when you take notice of your surrounding.
Getting outside can also ease feelings like worry and sadness and promote happiness, optimism, and a sense of connection with the world. Sunlight is also the best source of vitamin D.
Get enough sleep.
We all know sleep is important, but getting good sleep is really critical to your overall health. When you sleep, your body is actually completing a number of essential task, like:
- Maintaining bodily functions
- Repairing muscle tissue
- Restoring energy
- Processing new memories and information in the brain
For all of these reasons, it’s important for most adults to get between 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night.
Go easy on the alcohol.
Having a drink now and then is perfectly fine, but make sure to limit alcohol to more than one drink per day for women and one to two drink per day for men. Having more than that could have a negative effect on your health. In case you’re curious, one drink is typically defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor such as gin or vodka.
There are a few studies that suggest some alcohol could have benefits. However, recent research suggests number of amount of alcohol is really “safe to consume.” If you do drink, it’s best to do so in moderation.
Consider taking a multivitamin supplement.
Multivitamin maybe an important part of your routine, particularly, if you have a nutrition deficiency due to:
- Old age
- Pregnancy
- Malabsorption issues
- Certain medications
Outside of that, research is still mixed on whether multivitamins are effective at improving health. Taking a daily multivitamin within the recommended daily allowance likely won’t harm you either.
Takeaway.
Paying attention to your lifestyle and daily habits is the first step to making changes that can benefit your health in the long run. Think of these tips as a jumping-off point to maintain a healthy lifestyle and live your best life possible for as long as possible.