Living a Healthy Lifestyle the Fun and Easy way

Living a healthy lifestyle is a problem for many since the fast-paced lifestyle we now live-in don’t give us the pleasure of living a healthy lifestyle. What we should know is that a healthy lifestyle can only come from a balanced lifestyle. When we talk about a balanced lifestyle, we must know the key points, as well since it is the answer that we are searching. A balanced lifestyle means having enough time for work, family and relationships, relaxation and fun. We should also have a combination of exercise; a sensible diet; reduction of caffeine and sugar; avoidance of alcohol, tobacco and drugs; stress reduction and getting enough sleep. These are the makeup of a healthy lifestyle.

Physical activity or exercise is a great way to prevent stress from occurring. Our exercise routine should consist of a combination of stretching, muscle toning and aerobic exercise. 30 minutes is enough to keep up with our everyday living. Exercise should be done at least three times a week.

Walking is the simplest exercise that we can easily incorporate on our daily life. If you are going somewhere, park your car in the farthest space rather than closest space possible. Take a few trips around the grocery store with your cart before going to the counter.

A healthy lifestyle also needs a sensible diet. Eating three moderate or five small meals involving a balanced diet dispersed regularly throughout your day helps in maintaining blood sugars and fuel for your mind and body for the rest of the day. Limit the consumption of caffeine and sugar as the body thinks of them both as drugs. They can affect the level of the hormone and blood sugar, and eventually lead to an increase in stress production.

Your diet should contain protein, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, carbohydrates, and fats. Lean proteins (like beef, pork, chicken, fish, legumes, eggs and dairy products with reduced fats) are better than non-lean proteins (like fatty cuts of meats, organ meats, bacon and sausage) and processed meats (like luncheon meats). These foods should be limited to a few servings a week. Dairy products such as milk, cheeses and yogurt should provide the entire dairy product that your body needed.

The majority of your diet should comprise of fruits and vegetables. A large range of fruits and vegetables should provide a better balance of vitamins and minerals than those vitamin tablets and capsules.

Carbohydrates are important in order to maintain energy and help with mental clarity. They should be included in your diet. Whole grains can provide you with enough vitamins and nutrients and are digested at a slower rate, which reduces the spikes in blood sugar.

Fats should be also included as they are very essential to the human diet. They provide us with essential fatty acids and allow for better uptake of nutrients. Olive oils, canola oils, nuts and nut oils can provide us with the right fat that we need.

I’m sure that you have heard some expert saying that exercise and diet is all you need to have a healthy lifestyle, but this isn’t true. We won’t be healthy if we still smoke, drink, and abuse drugs. We can still enjoy a moderate amount of alcohol since they are good for the body. Just remember that anything in excess is bad for our body.

The level of stress differs from person to person. Stressors may result from personal, family, financial, peer and professional problems. The most crucial step to stress management is identification of the stressors in your life. After you have identified what has stressed you out, you can begin to work on the issues.

A stress journal can help you with maintaining a stress-free life. It is useful in keeping track of the causes of your stress, how you felt physically and emotionally, your response actions and what you did to make yourself feel better.

Once stressors have been identified, we should try to change the situation by avoidance or alteration. Then work on changing your reactions through adaptation and acceptance. There is an old saying that ‘all work and no play makes a man boring;’ having fun is the best way to avoid stress.

Don’t forget to have enough sleep. Sleep lets your mind and body to refuel, regenerate and energize. Getting enough sleep helps you think clearly, react appropriately, maintain motivation and give you the stamina so that you can enjoy the various aspects of your life.

Though, including all of these aspects in your daily life is impossible, the more habitual you are to include them the better your chances of maintaining a healthy lifestyle become.