3 Keys to a Healthy Lifestyle

A Healthy Lifestyle is Great – and Green and Eco Friendly Too!

We all want to live a healthy lifestyle. We want to feel great, look fit and healthy, have plenty of energy, and successfully cope with everyday stresses.

Not everyone manages it though.

And sometimes it can seem as if this ideal, healthy lifestyle is far, far removed from our current state.

But it doesn’t have to be.

I’m NOT going to tell you about some wonderful exercise routine, or some magical food that’s going to fix everything for you (although some can help).

Instead, I’m going to show you how you can make small changes, that add up to big differences.

Will you see a New You, tomorrow? Well, no – it takes more than one day.

But these three keys will set you on the path to a healthy lifestyle – and because the path is easy to manage, you’ll automatically improve your chances of living a much healthier lifestyle.

Let’s start with the basics.

Basics of a Healthy Lifestyle

You won’t find a miracle product here. No glowing recommendations. No sugar coating.

A healthy lifestyle means you need to:

1. Regularly engage in some form of physical activity
2. Eat fresh, whole foods
3. Feel a sense of well-being that eliminates mood swings

It seems obvious and simple – but sometimes it also seems more difficult to achieve than it really is.

So, let’s look at these 3 keys – exercise, food and well-being – and I’ll show you some cool tips on how to improve each one.

Key 1: Food for a Healthy Lifestyle

“You are what you eat” – we all know it’s true!

When you eat well, you

• feel so much better, and your overall health improves
• manage your weight
• have a lower chance of developing diabetes or heart disease
• have lower instances of illness.

Eating well means eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables with some lean protein.  That’s the basics. There are so many “diets” out there – yet there’s so much obesity.

As a general rule, “diets” don’t work. You might lose weight initially, but the only way to keep that weight off, is to eat healthily most days.

But that doesn’t sound much like fun!

Here’s a great tip.

Don’t look at what you CAN’T eat.

Instead, focus on adding healthy choices to your meals and snacks.

For example:

• Add an apple to your morning snack
• Drink a non-sweetened herbal tea (loads of different flavours) instead of a soda
• Choose brown or wild rice instead of white rice with your meal, or sweet potatoes instead of potatoes.
• Add some freshly chopped tomatoes and cucumber to your main meal

Small changes add up to a complete transition to a more healthful lifestyle.

And reducing the amount of junk food and meat is good for the planet as well as for us!

Related: 5 simple ways to get more vegetables into your diet

Your Keys to Success:

• Choose one or two small changes to incorporate into your diet each month – focus on adding health.
• Eating well needs to be enjoyable for you to make it a part of your healthy lifestyle. Try different foods, prepare them in different ways and enjoy the ones you like.
• Make sure to keep your daily menu varied so you don’t get bored with your food choices and go off track.

Key 2: Exercise for a Healthy Lifestyle

If you are an adult (aged 18-64) then, on average, you should make sure you get:

• 30 minutes every day OR
• At least 2 hours and 30 minutes per week

of moderate aerobic activity, including strength training.

Remember, “moderate aerobic activity” can take whatever form you want. Don’t just think that means a gym, or some difficult, high-intensity leaping around with weights.

Start looking at exercise in a more positive way.

What sorts of things do you like doing?

• If you love gardening, it’s moderate aerobic activity.
• If you love being outdoors, hiking is moderate aerobic activity
• If you need to go to the shop, can you walk or cycle there? That’s moderate aerobic activity
• If you like to dance, dancing is moderate aerobic activity.
• If you enjoy walking, a brisk walk is moderate aerobic activity.
• If you’re sitting at your desk and need a break from work, get up and do some stretches, then walk upstairs – that’s (brief) moderate aerobic activity.
• If you enjoy the company of friends, take a spinning or Pilates or Zumba class. They are moderate or even vigorous aerobic activity.

If you are not already physically active, don’t make it into a big deal.

Just start doing things that you enjoy.

All of the activities listed above are quite simple and don’t need specialized equipment, so they’re green and eco-friendly too!

If you want to know the difference between “moderate” and “vigorous” physical activity, here are some examples:

Examples of Moderate Intensity:

• Walking briskly (3 miles per hour or faster, but not race-walking)
• Water aerobics
• Bicycling slower than 10 miles per hour
• Tennis (doubles)
• Ballroom dancing
• General gardening

Examples of Vigorous Intensity:

• Race walking, jogging, or running
• Swimming laps
• Tennis (singles)
• Aerobic dancing
• Bicycling 10 miles per hour or faster
• Jumping rope / skipping
• Heavy gardening (continuous digging or hoeing)
• Hiking uphill, or hiking on level ground with a heavy backpack

Whatever form of exercise you do, the key is to make it a part of your daily schedule.

Set aside time in your daily planner and add a reminder to the event on your phone, tablet or watch.

Always show up for the activity, and always do something – because even if it’s not for the full time, you’re still building the habit of physical activity.

Related: Top 5 Outdoor Workouts

Keep in mind, 30 minutes of moderate activity provides the minimum required to gain health benefits.  Start small if you’re not doing much exercise now, or add a little more / do something different if you already exercise.

Your Keys to Success:

• Start with an activity you will enjoy.
• If you are a social person, join an exercise group or workout with friends.
• Remember every little bit counts. If you exercise for 20 minutes twice a day or in 10-minute increments throughout the day, you can meet the requirement of 2 hours and 30 minutes per week around your schedule.
• Block out your exercise time on your calendar.

Key 3: Mind-Body Connection for a Healthy Lifestyle

How you feel – your emotional state – can affect everything.

Depending on your emotional state, you can:

• Enjoy healthy food – or choose junk food
• Get a little exercise or a lot – or sit and do nothing
• Maintain positive social engagement – or not.

When you’re stressed or unhappy, it’s easy to reach for foods that are high in sugar and fat – because they satisfy the pleasure centres in your brain.

Sometimes this is a conscious decision; many times it is not.

Feeling angry, unhappy or depressed saps your energy, making it more difficult to get up and move – you just “don’t feel like it”. So you feel worse – but the funny thing is, getting up and doing something will actually make you feel better than eating junk!

Physical activities such as yoga, Pilates, tai chi and many others expressly cultivate a healthy mind-body connection (and they’re green and eco-friendly).

All these activities, as well as meditation, use breath awareness to focus and calm your mind and nervous system.

When your mind is in a state of equilibrium and your body is healthy, you experience a sense of well-being. (Equilibrium, by the way, doesn’t mean you become a robot! It simply means you don’t experience unrealistic highs or debilitating lows).

Being even-tempered makes it easier to deal with stress, adapt to change and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Your Keys to Success:

• Choose a mind-body activity to include in your schedule which suits your lifestyle and temperament.
• Practice it consistently for the best results.

Make It A Habit for a Healthy Lifestyle

It takes 21 to 30 days of doing a task consistently to make it a habit.

More complex accomplishments can take longer.

We’re all different, and some changes will be quicker to take effect than others – that’s fine.

As long as you’re doing something each and every day towards your goal of a healthy lifestyle, you will get there – consistency and persistence pay dividends!

Small, simple changes are easier to achieve and maintain long-term.

Start making small changes to your food, your exercise, and the mind-body connection today!

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