How to Maintain Your Health
Health is something that is easy to take for granted. When we start losing it, it's hard to believe we spent so long not valuing it. To ensure that you stay as healthy as possible, we've outlined a guide that should help you do just that - detailing your physical, mental, and emotional health. Why would you want to live any other way?
part 1 / Having a Healthy Diet
1 Emphasize fruits and veggies. A healthy diet is one that's full of vitamins, nutrients, and color (well, in addition to being balanced). And the easiest way to do this is through piling on the fruits and veggies. They're nutrient dense but not calorically dense - meaning you can eat bunches and bunches without destroying your waistline and it's good for you. And, of course, the fresher the better!
Most all fruits and veggies are good for you, but some are better for you than others, arguably. If you really want to zero in on mother nature's power, you'll add kale, spinach, carrots, celery, cranberries, blueberries, and pineapple to next week's grocery cart. [1] That's every color of the rainbow, too!
2 Add in lean meats, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains. As good as fruits and veggies are, you need some other stuff in their to mix it up and stay balanced. When you go for meat, milks and cheeses, and pasta, make sure you choose lean meats, low-fat dairy, and whole grain pasta. That generally translates to white meat (without skin), low-fat or non-fat milk, cheese, and yogurt and brown pasta, quinoa, and oats.
When it comes to grains, the browner the better. White grains should not really be in your diet. If it's white, it's been processed and all the nutrients have been taken out. Then it's just empty carbs.
3 Cut out processed junk. If it's in a package, odds are it's not super good for you. And if it's in a package that does not go old for years, that goes double. Turns out the FDA does not even regulate all the stuff that goes into them and your body does not regulate the additives, either! They're not even recognized as food-like things. Your body just stores them away, not knowing what to do with them. Gross.
The FDA does not regulate all labels, either. Words and phrases like "all natural," "free-range," "additive free," and "pure" are just claims companies can make without retribution. [2] So if you're buying something packaged that makes a claim that seems unfeasible ... it's possible it is.
4 Drink up the H2O. If you're looking for a miracle on Earth, water is the closest you'll probably get. Stay hydrated and just about every part of you will stay healthy - your skin, your hair and nails, your organs, and even your mind. And you can lose weight, too! Studies show that you could lose 5 lbs in a year by just upping your water intake around a liter a day.
Part of the reason behind the weight loss is that drinking water keeps you full, but drinking cold water also ups your metabolism. In fact, drinking cold water (17 ounces, to be precise) can up your metabolism by up to 30% for 10-40 minutes. So get icy with your workout and you could burn even more calories.
5 Cook - the right way. Since you're cutting out all that processed gunk, you inevitably will find yourself in the kitchen more, finally putting your passive Food Network viewership to good use. Cooking is great for your budget, your skills, and your waistline, but here's a couple things to keep in mind:
If you can, go as raw as possible. Frozen and canned veggies are all okay, but raw is so much better. None of the nutrients has been taken out in the processing.
Use the right kind of oils, like olive or safflower. They're full of the good kinds of fat. Do the same with cheeses, butters, and spreads - try to find a lighter version of their full-fat counterpart.
Avoid frying and battering your foods. Chicken is good for you, but not if it's covered in bread crumbs, fried in fatty oil, and doused in sugary condiments.
Do not salt your foods! The American Heart Association recommends keeping salt intake at under 1,500 mg a day. That sounds doable until you realize that a teaspoon is 2,300 mg. [3] Oof.
part 2 / Having a Healthy Lifestyle
1 Exercise. There is no way around it: having a sedentary lifestyle is just about the best way to drive your body into the ground. You have to stay active in order to stay healthy. If you do not use your brain, you lose it - and same goes with your muscles! So whether you want to run 5ks for breakfast or you just walk the dog every night, do something. Your body craves it.
The CDC recommends 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity, including some cardio and some strength-building activities. [4] That's 2 and a half hours, by the way. 2.5 hours out of 168. That's reasonable, right? And the more vigorous your exercise, the less you need.
If you're overweight or obese, the only way you do not know that losing weight is in your best interest is if you've been living under a rock that does not get wifi. Even losing 10 pounds can make significant improvements to your health.
2 Moderate your alcohol intake. And by that, we mean 1 drink a day for women and 2 for men. [5] And no, that does not mean 7 in one day of the week; you can not bank 'em, saving them for later. 1 or 2 drinks a day keeps you healthy and, you know, not making stupid decisions. Be winning!
And by "drink" we mean 1 12-ounce can of beer or 4 ounces of wine or one ounce of hard liquor. And if the drink is not super sugary, even better.
