It’s not difficult adopting a healthy and active lifestyle. You just need to make a few changes, here and there, in your regular lifestyle. That simple!For most Americans who maintain a healthy weight, eating the right foods and not smoking is a great healthy lifestyle. It may seem so, but is it enough? Oh, yes! We do eat all those ‘good’ foods. Haven’t we all heard of those fantastic low-carb and low-fat diets? Haven’t we heard of those great diets popularized by those Hollywood stars we so idolize?We need to ask ourselves: Are these diets going to help?Change Your LifestyleYou have been eating a balanced diet all this time: proteins – the vegetable and animal kind, carbohydrates and fat. That’s good! But have you been eating in the right way? This is the change you need to bring to your lifestyle, to improve yourself. It’s not very difficult.Eat chicken and fish as part of your animal proteins diet. Avoid eating beef, pork and their byproducts. For vegetable proteins, go for soy and soy products, such as soybean hot dogs, hamburgers, and sausages. Eat fruits and vegetables as part of your carbohydrates intake. Avoid breads and pasta. Be choosy about which fruits and vegetables you eat. Go for the low-starch variety, such as black beans, broccoli (raw) and mushrooms (boiled). Avoid bananas, prunes and grapes. They have high sugar content. For fats, include almond, macadamia nuts, and olive oil in your diet. Avoid using vegetable shortenings and butter.That takes care of your healthy lifestyle. Now how about making a self improving change towards a more active lifestyle?A More Active LifestyleOf course, you are not aiming to participate in the Olympics, nor are you aiming to be the next Schwarzenegger. But, you need to be a bit more active. Our very lifestyles lead us to a life that is not active. We lead very sedentary lives. This is what adopting a slightly more active lifestyle will do for you:o Reduce heart attack and stroke risks
o Maintain flexibility vis-à-vis your age
o Improve your joint movements and normal movement range
o Prevent osteoporosis
o Improve memory in older persons
o Reduce stress, and depression and anxiety symptomsIn addition, the best thing an improved lifestyle will do is boost your self esteem.These are some of the things you need to do to be slightly more active:o Stop using that remote control. Get up to change channels on your TV.
o Do not use the remote to open your garage door. Get out of your car and manually raise that door.
o Don’t use that leaf blower; use the rake itself.
o Take the dog out for a walk every day instead of just letting him out.
o Going up three flights? Use the stairs, not the elevator.
o Walk around when talking on the call. Don’t keep sitting or reclining.Adopting a healthy and active lifestyle . . . it’s that simple!