Living a healthy lifestyle is paramount, we’ve heard people say it so many times but do we know what it is all about? Being able to live a healthy life goes beyond eating the right kinds of food and exercising.
To live a healthy lifestyle involves eating healthy and nutritious foods, regular workouts, proper sleep, quitting bad habits; such as smoking, heavy drinking, etc, staying happy, and being positive.
It enables us to be able to perform well in all aspects of our lives. Being able to live a healthy lifestyle cannot be achieved overnight. You have to follow a good plan that surrounds healthy habits by doing this.
Then subsequently, your body and mind will begin to adjust and these habits become a part of you. Having a healthy lifestyle comes with numerous benefits.
Benefits of living a healthy lifestyle
- It will enable you to stay active and achieve your goal. When a person isn’t healthy our chances of doing activities that we love are drastically reduced.
- Your ability to make positive decisions will be enhanced due to your sound mental balance.
- The rate at which you feel tired or exhausted will reduce because you’re eating the right things and taking care of your body giving you more strength to function.
- Your physical appearance will improve because with a balanced diet your body and mind will stay strong and healthy.
- You’ll tend to appreciate yourself more.
- It limits your chances of falling ill and having conditions ranging from a heart attack, stroke, some cancers, etc.
The following steps below are ways you can follow to live a healthy life and enjoy your life to the fullest;
Simple Ways To Live A Healthy Lifestyle
1. Eat healthily
I always say to myself “You are what you eat”. What you eat is closely related to your health. Your ability to make healthier food choices can help in preventing or treating some conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
A healthy diet can help you lose weight and lower your cholesterol level. A healthy diet includes foods from “MyPlate”, which is made up of fruits, vegetables, protein, grains, and dairy. This replaced the food pyramid in 2011.
2. Regular exercise
It is generally recommended that we should get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. According to the NHS “One way to do your recommended 150 minutes of weekly physical activity is to do 30 minutes for 5 days a week”.
Studies have shown that exercise is an all-natural treatment for depression.
Exercising not only helps in burning excess calories and strengthens your muscles and bones, but it can also help to control blood pressure and blood sugar levels. It reduces the stress level and helps you sleep better.
3. Lose any excess weight if you are overweight
Being overweight can increase your risk of having several health conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, stroke, etc. it can also be a contributing factor in having arthritis.
4. Trace the health problems in your family
Knowing the health history of your family can help in allowing you to either detect or avoid future health problems you can have.
This way you have an upper hand in being able to curb the health issue or prepare for it before it comes, so it doesn’t take you by surprise
5. Do a regular checkup
Having regular check-ups allows us to monitor our health. Tests like a prostate test, cholesterol test, and breast cancer screening are highly important.
Regular visits with our doctors can allow you to catch problems early when they are easier to treat and often cure. Visiting your doctor does not only include your primary doctor but also includes your dentist and eye doctor.
6. Avoid smoking. Smoking and tobacco use are harmful habits
Smoking harms almost every organ in your body, making you a more likely target for heart diseases, mouth, lung cancer, and throat. The sooner you quit the better.
Secondhand smoking is also dangerous, if you live with a smoker support them in quitting, and if they are adamant and refuse to stop, ask them to take it outside. Your health is more important.
7. Limit your alcohol consumption
Drinking moderate amounts of alcohol has some health benefits, it can help in lowering the risk of heart disease, but they are serious downsides to drinking, such as higher risks of liver disease and cancer such as throat, liver, and pancreas cancer.
Alcohol abuse also contributes to deaths from car wrecks, murders, and suicide. So you shouldn’t start drinking for the sake of good health. When you do decide to take alcohol, limit it to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.
8. Get enough rest
Sleep is one of the most important things we need as humans, otherwise our body starts to shut down gradually when we deprive ourselves of sleep.
In the nonstop society that we live in, sleep is on the lowest part of the list, but it’s a must for good health.
Furthermore, chronic sleep deprivation raises the odds of heart diseases, diabetes, strokes, obesity, and many other illnesses. Getting enough sleep also helps to keep you safe.
Driving while sleeping is just as bad as driving while you’re drunk. If you don’t usually wake up feeling refreshed, try slipping into bed 15 minutes earlier every week until you feel you do.
9. Take more water and less sugar
It’s a good idea to avoid added sugar in whatever you eat; sodas, sports drinks, and energy drinks may be a bigger source than you realize.
Some studies have shown that just a soft drink or two a day makes you 26% more likely to get type 2 diabetes.
Sugary drinks have also been tied to heart attacks, gout, and obesity. It’s always better to consume more water rather than all these drinks. Experts recommend that we drink 2 liters of water which is equivalent to half a gallon of water a day. Always stay hydrated.
10. Secure your mental health
Keep your mental health as stable as possible. Read books, or engage in activities that allow you to have a positive mental state of mind.
Doing things that can improve your mental health can help to boost your outlook. You become happier and less stressed when you live a healthy lifestyle.
