15 Easy Ways to
Be Healthier
More and more research is showing that the key to lifelong good
health is what experts call “lifestyle medicine” — making simple changes in
diet, exercise and stress management. To help you turn that knowledge into
results, we’ve put together this manageable list of health and wellness action
steps.
We asked three experts — a naturopathic physician, a
nutritionist, and a personal trainer — to tell us the top five
simple-but-significant lifestyle-medicine changes they recommend.
Besides giving you three different takes on how to pick your
health battles, this list gives you choices you can make without being whisked
off to a reality-show fat farm — or buying a second freezer for those
calorie-controlled, pre-portioned frozen meals.
1. Think positive and focus on gratitude
Research shows a healthy positive attitude helps build a
healthier immune system and boosts overall health. Your body believes what you
think, so focus on the positive.
2. Eat your vegetables
Shoot for five servings of vegetables a day — raw, steamed, or
stir-fried. A diet high in vegetables is associated with a reduced risk of developing cancers of the lung, colon, breast, cervix, esophagus, stomach, bladder,
pancreas and ovary. And many of the most powerful phytonutrients are the ones
with the boldest colors — such as broccoli, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, grapes
and leafy greens.
3. Set a “5-meal
ideal”
What, when and how much you eat can keep both your metabolism
and your energy levels steadily elevated, so you’ll have more all-day energy. A "5 meal
ideal" will help you manage your weight, keep your cool,
maintain your focus and avoid cravings.
4. Exercise daily
Did you know that daily exercise can reduce all of the
biomarkers of aging? This includes improving eyesight, normalizing blood pressure, improving lean
muscle, lowering cholesterol and improving bone
density. If you want to live well and live longer, you must exercise!
Studies show that even 10 minutes of exercise makes a difference — so do something!
Crank the stereo and dance in your living room. Sign up for swing dancing or
ballroom-dancing lessons. Walk to the park with your kids or a neighbor you’d
like to catch up with. Jump rope or play hopscotch. Spin a hula hoop. Play
water volleyball. Bike to work. Jump on a trampoline. Go for a hike.
5. Get at good night's sleep
If you have trouble sleeping, try relaxation techniques such as meditation andyoga. Or eat a small bedtime snack of foods shown to help shift the
body and mind into sleep mode: whole grain cereal with milk, oatmeal, cherries
or chamomile tea. Darken your room more and turn your clock away from you.
Write down worries or stressful thoughts to get them out of your head and onto
the page. This will help you put them into perspective so you can quit worrying
about them.
1. Check your food ’tude
What we eat and how we feel are linked in very complex ways. A
healthy approach to eating is centered on savoring flavor, eating to
satisfaction and increasing energy, rather than focusing on weight. Check your
balance of low-calorie foods, nutrient-dense foods (providing many nutrients
per calorie), and foods that are calorie dense but nutrient poor. Most
Americans need to eat more fresh whole foods (in contrast to processed, highly
refined foods). Try to add more whole
grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and legumes into your meals. Pair
these carbohydrate-rich foods with a healthy fat or lean protein to extend
satisfaction.
2. Eat like a kid
If adding more fruits and vegetables sounds ominous, look to
“finger food” versions that preschool kids love — carrot and celery sticks,
cherry tomatoes, broccoli florets, grapes, berries and dried fruits. All are
nutritional powerhouses packed with antioxidants.
3. Be a picky eater
Limit saturated fats and trans fats, and aim to eat more foods
rich in anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids to cut your risk of
cardiovascular disease and maybe even
improve depressed moods. The equivalent
of just 1 gram of EPA/DHA (eicosapentaenoic acid/docosahexaenoic acid) daily is
recommended. Eating cold-water oily fish (wild salmon, herring, sardines,
trout) two to three times per week will provide both EPA and DHA. Adding up to
2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed and eating meat, milk and cheese from
grass-fed animals will provide you with a healthy dose of omega-3s.
4. Use foods over supplements
Supplements are not a substitute for a good diet. Although many
health experts recommend taking a multivitamin and mineral supplement that
provides 100 to 200 percent of your recommended daily value, each and every
supplement should be carefully evaluated for purity and safety. Specific
supplements have been associated with toxicity, reactions with medications,
competition with other nutrients, and even increased risk of diseases such as
cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
5. Get satisfaction
Both eating and physical activity are fun, sensory experiences!
In both, aim for pleasure — not pain. Pay attention to the nutritional value of
the foods you choose to eat, as well as your sense of satisfaction, relaxation,
tension, exhilaration and fatigue when you sit down to eat. Check in with
yourself as you eat, rekindling your recognition of
hunger, fullness and satisfaction when considering when and how much
to eat.
1. Give yourself
a break
“I spend countless hours doing cardio
and never seem to lose that last 10 pounds!” is a common complaint I hear from
clients. Give yourself permission to shorten your workout. Believe it or not,
overtraining could be the problem. Your body can plateau if not given adequate
rest to restore itself, ultimately leading to a decline in performance.
Fatigue, moodiness, lack of enthusiasm, depression and increased cortisol (the “stress” hormone)
are some hallmarks of overtraining syndrome. Creating a periodization program —
breaking up your routine into various training modes — can help prevent
overtraining by building rest phases into your regimen. For example, you might
weight train on Monday and Wednesday, cycle on Tuesday and Thursday, run on
Friday and rest on Saturday and Sunday. You can also help balance your program
by simply incorporating more variety.
2. Think small
Often the biggest deterrent to
improving health is feeling overwhelmed by all the available advice and
research. Try to focus first on one small, seemingly inconsequential, unhealthy
habit and turn it into a healthy,
positive habit. If you’re in the habit of eating as
soon as you get home at night, instead keep walking shoes in the garage or
entryway and take a quick spin around the block before going inside. If you
have a can of soda at lunchtime every day, have a glass of water two days a
week instead. Starting with small, painless changes helps establish the
mentality that healthy change is not necessarily painful change. It’s easy to build
from here by adding more healthy substitutions.
3. Keep good company
You can do all the right things — but
if you have personal relationships with people who have unhealthy habits, it is
often an uphill battle. The healthiest people are those who have relationships
with other healthy people. Get your family or friends involved with you when
you walk or plan healthier meals. Making healthy changes with a loved one can
bring you closer together as well as motivate you.
4. Make a list … and check it twice
Take a few minutes and write down all
the reasons you can’t begin an exercise program. Then look at the basis of each
reason. For instance, if you wrote, “No time” as one of your reasons, then
perhaps that’s based on a belief that an exercise program takes a lot of time.
Starting with even five minutes a day will have a positive effect because you
will have created a healthy habit where one didn’t exist before, and that’s a
powerful mental adjustment. A closer look at your list will expose those false
beliefs hiding behind each excuse.
5. Sign up for an event
Let’s face it, exercising just for
the sake of exercising or losing weight can get boring. Spice things up by
signing up for an event like a run/walk race or a cycling ride where you can be
part of a team. Doing so gives your workouts a new purpose, and it’s fun to be
around others who are exercising just like you — not to mention that most
events benefit nonprofit organizations, which doubles your feel-good high.
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