Healthy Living: Simple steps to a better life
Colin McDougall

When you watch TV or read magazines you get the impression that most people spend their days as lean, mean exercise fanatics who compete in triathlons, eat tofu, and drink a gallon of rain water a day.

If you dont fit this profile, you are not alone. Consider:

Seven out of 10 American adults don’t exercise regularly, despite the proven health benefits, according to a 2002 study based on more than 68,000 interviews for the National Center for Health Statistics.

80 percent of people in the US older than 25 are overweight based on the body mass index (BMI), a national guideline computed through a combination of weight and heightaccording to a Harris Poll released in 2002.

According to the American National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (CDC), in 2000 the most common actual causes of death in the United States were tobacco (435,000), poor diet and physical inactivity (400,000), alcohol consumption (85,000).

The writing is on the wall poor diet and physical inactivity is about as dangerous as smoking.

So, why dont we exercise and eat right?

For most of us, the answer is: time. Exercise and diet take time away from our work, our families, our lives.

Some of us have tried to fit exercise into our daily routines before and maybe even stuck with a program for a while, but finally saw too little gain for the effort and time it took.

Heres the good news: a healthy lifestyle wont consume you like it might have years ago. The science of healthy living has come a long way in recent years. Consider:

Modest but regular exercise has proven to raise the bodys metabolic rate, so that you burn fat even when at rest.

New strategies of exercise and diet bring results much sooner than ever before, without drugs.

A healthy lifestyle isnt only about working out and cutting out foods you like. Its also about applying a balanced approach to all areas of your life. For example, studies show that you can lose weight by simply watching less television.

Realistic health improvement for real people

We all know we should take better care of ourselves, but modern lifestyles with hectic work schedules, commuting, and family and social responsibilities make it difficult for us to live a healthy life.

But you can begin to live a healthier life. You can start slowly and work in more healthy practices. Interestingly, even small changes can lead to big improvements over time. Begin modestly by making a commitment to starting to do something and to stay with it. As you proceed, remember to be proud of your accomplishmentsyou will be doing more than 70 percent of the population!

The doctor will see you now

Before embarking on a fitness program and making dietary changes, talk with your doctor about your plans. If you have prior health conditions, especially cardiovascular disease, your doctor may want you to avoid certain exercises. If you are on certain medications, your doctor may give you valuable information on avoiding drug interactions with certain foods such as grapefruit and with some herbal supplements.

A special word to smokers

If you smoke, you know you need to quit. Modern research links smoking to a vast array of cancers, as well as heart and cardiovascular disease. According to the American Cancer Society, smoking alone causes one-third of all cancer deaths.

The bottom lineif you are a smoker, stopping represents the single best health action you can take. Talk with your doctorthere are new treatments available.

Some basic health objectives

It can be hard to know where to start when you want to improve your health.

Here are three baseline objectives for a healthier lifestyle:

Lose weight / Eat a more balanced diet

Get more exercise

Reduce stress

Lose weight / Eat a more balanced diet

Qualified health professionals agree the keys to losing weight are to eat less, eat a more balanced diet, and to increase your exercise level. In general, reducing your intake of protein and eating more fruits and vegetables is a good start. Try and reduce your intake of saturated fats common in fried foods. Your heart will thank you.

Here are some tips:

Eat a diet that contains lots of:

Whole grains

Fruit

Vegetables

Ensure you are getting an adequate supply of:

Vitaminsa daily multi-vitamin is good protection

Calciummany men and women do not get enough calcium in their diets, putting them at risk for osteoporosis.

Watermany adults do not consume enough water each day

Reduce your consumption of:

Fat

Sugar

Salt

Processed foods

Fast food meals

Alcohol

Other Tips:

Make your own nutritious lunch and take it to work. Youll save money and feel better too.

Buy veggies for snacks, such as small washed carrots or apple slices, which you can put into re-sealable bags and take to work.

Consider diet supplements for weight loss and health

Despite our best efforts, it is hard to eat a balanced diet everyday. Consider taking one or more of the excellent vitamins and supplements available, but check with your doctor first before taking them.

Today, you can get the latest high quality vitamins and dietary supplements at low prices and without leaving your home by ordering over the Internet. Here is an excellent example of a vitamins site.

Avoid fad diets

Use common sense and follow the advice of government health authorities, university nutritionists and other well-accredited health care experts. Reliable nutrition advice is available free by contacting your local health department and talking with a nutritionist.

Be wary of the latest Fad Diets put forward by authors. Healthy eating is not rocket scienceyou need to eat a balanced diet that includes the four food groups:

Vegetablesthree or more servings per day

Whole grainsfive or more servings per day

Fruitthree of more servings per day

Legumestwo or more servings per day

This is well documented by decades of research. Sure, the fad diets may help you lose weight temporarily but at worst you could seriously damage your health and at best, you will likely gain the weight back if the diet is not sensible and sustainable.

Get more exercise

The second key to losing weight is to add more physical exercise into your lifestyle.

Exercise takes some effort and time, so it is fair to ask why you should bother. The key reasons include the following:

Weight loss

Reduced risk of heart disease and stroke

Increased energy

Increased bone strength

Maintenance of muscle mass

Reduced stress levels

Better appearance

Research continues to show that any exercise is better than none. For example, regular walking or gardening may be beneficial in reducing your risk of heart disease.

Exercise

At a minimum you should strive for at least three 20-minute bouts of continuous aerobic (activity requiring oxygen) rhythmic exercise each week.

Other exercise levels will depend on your physical condition and goals. Consider a session or two with a certified personal trainer to accurately assess your current physical condition and plan an exercise regimen.

Easy ways for non-athletes to add exercise to their daily lives:

Get off the bus a stop or two early and walk to work or home.

If you drive to work, park in a new location and walk a few blocks.

Take the stairs at work. Get off the elevator a few floors down and walk up a few flights.

Ride a bicycleyou dont need a fancy bike, but you should always wear a helmet

Walkits cheap and it works! The average person can walk three to four miles an hour. This makes many short trips to the store within walking distance, saving you money on gasoline and providing a health benefit at the same time.

Try gardeningraking, weeding, and tilling will all give you exercise. If you have a small, level yard, consider a push mower. These mowers are quiet, cut the lawn beautifully, and give you exercise all at the same time.

Enlist a friend to join youhave fun together and stay motivated

Consider creating a home gym

More and more people are purchasing exercise equipment to use at home. The advantages include:

No wasted time traveling back and forth to the gym

Ability to use the equipment more often and at more convenient times

Increased chance of participation by all family members

Here are some tips in selecting equipment:

Determine what goals you want to pursuestrength training, aerobic training or cardiovascular training before you look at equipment.
Buy sturdy, quality equipment from known manufacturers.
Purchase equipment that will meet your needs now and as you improve
Buy from a reputable retailer, who has a large selection, low prices, and stands behind their products. For an excellent example for home gyms (click here) and other fitness equipment.

Reduce Stress

The good news is that by eating a healthier diet and exercising more frequently, you will have already taken two of the most important steps to helping your body fight stress.

Obviously sources of stress are a personal matter. Be alert to chronic stress you have trouble managing. This can sometimes lead to more serious conditions for both men and women, such as depression. If you feel you are having trouble coping, it is best to talk with your doctor.

If on the other hand, you have the everyday level of stress most of us face, you may want to try these stress-reducing tips:

Make time for family and friends

Avoid stressful thoughts by not listening or watching the news first thing in the morning and last thing at night

Try listening to music or practicing meditation

Take vitamins B6 and B12they are excellent for fighting the effects of stress and most adults dont get enough of these important vitamins.

How can I get started on a healthier lifestyle?

If you are not living as healthy a life as you want right now, you may be wondering how you will find the time and the resources to make changes.

The good news is you dont have to make all the changes at once, but do resolve to make some improvements. Time is always an issue, but time taken to improve your health will yield big improvements in many other areas of your life.

There has never been a better time to start, because thanks to the Internet you can purchase quality heath care products and equipment, quickly and efficiently and save money too! Heres a link to get you started with weight loss programs and healthy living.

About the Author

Colin McDougall is a successful freelance writer providing valuable advice for people seeking weight loss programs and vitamins. Visit http://www.weight-loss-and-nutritional-supplements.com and http://www.vitamins-source.com for more articles. He also offers other health and exercise related sites such as http://www.a1-hockey-equipment.com and http://www.paint-ball-gun-reviews.com. His numerous articles offer several healthy living tips.

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Eat Healthy for Life
J Bowler

Lets not talk about diets. Diets are punishment like being
sent to bed without dinner. Diets take some of the fun out of
living. Many diets or supplements are harmful to your health
or even dangerous, if you have certain risk factors.

Forget any past diet failures and push aside any guilt or shame
you harbor about your weight. Its time to look forward; not
back. You have the whole future in front of you to get better
every day. It’s time to eat healthy.

This is not a short term fix. Isnt your health more important
than your weight? Lets be sensible and talk about eating healthy
for life.

Dont get me wrong diets do help many people lose weight for
a time. Almost any restrictive diet can give one a jump start
on weight loss; and many people are so encouraged by the rapid
weight loss that they are motivated to stay on the diet.

Studies have shown that the only diets that work are the ones
you stick to. That why the majority of people who successfully
lose weight on a restrictive diet run into trouble when they
move to the maintenance phase. So again I say, you need a plan
to eat healthy for life.

As with most things in life, theres no ONE solution that
suits everyone. When choosing to eat healthy, a plan for the
rest of your life, you want to find one that YOU can live
with.

If your choice of plan starts with an initial (less than
nutritious) restrictive phase, consider what supplements you ought
to take during that phase. Also be sure that the maintenance part
of the program meets generally accepted nutritional guidelines or
that you can make it do so with minor adjustments or
supplementation. You definitely need to think long term when
choosing to eat healthy.

What Weve Known All Along

With all the diet programs, books, ads and fads these days, its
easy to lose sight of some really basic facts of some very
convincing long term health studies that can guide us to healthier
eating.

1.Calories In vs. Calories Expended

The human body is a marvelous machine. It can be pushed to great
lengths, like pre-exam all-nighters, or to perform amazing feats,
like running marathons or scaling mountains. But it is a machine.
It needs to be cared for and properly maintained.

The more it is abused or pushed to the max, the greater the chance
that parts will break down prematurely or beyond natures ability to
repair them. Like any machine, it needs fuel to operate. Give it
improper or insufficient fuel and it wont run as well, if at all.
Give it too much fuel and that will gum up the works. Now heres
where the analogy breaks down.

With a man made machine, excess fuel simply overflows and makes a
big mess. Unfortunately, the human machine has the amazing capacity
to create unlimited new storage tanks for excess fuel even to the
point of death. Further, once that excess fuel is stored, it is
difficult to dislodge but not impossible. Thats the
Calories In part of the equation.

The fuel you take in is burned by every single movement you make:
breathing smiling, kissing, walking, dancing, chewing and even
digesting your food. The more you move, the more fuel (calories) you
burn.

The part of your body that has the ability to move other parts is
muscle. Ergo the more muscles you have and the more you use them, the
more calories you burn. In fact, every ounce of muscle you add
increases your basal metabolism the rate at which your body burns
fuel.

One pound of fat contains 3500 calories. If you cut 250 calories from
your daily diet and burn another 250 calories with exercise, you
can lose one pound in a week!

The most efficient way to eat healthy operates on both sides of the
equation. Monitor your fuel intake of course; but just as importantly,
get moving to burn that fuel. And better yet, build new muscle to boost
your metabolism the rate at which YOUR body burns fuel. This
way youll burn more calories every hour of every day for the rest of
your life.

2.Secrets of the Worlds Healthiest Populations

Global epidemiological studies have identified some unusually healthy
populations and linked their health to diets that differ in significant
ways from the typical Western diet.

Japan, which has some of the world’s lowest rates of obesity, heart
disease, cancer and diabetes has a diet which is very rich in
carbohydrates. The Japanese enjoy rice, vegetables, beans, and fruits
at most meals.

They have a diet that is very low in saturated fat and red meats, but
high in fish which contain protective omega-3 fatty acids.

Other recent and very interesting studies lead to more healthful eating
tips. The Mediterranean food pyramid is based on research showing low
rates of heart and other chronic disease in certain countries bordering
the Mediterranean Sea compared to the West.

Research has isolated key dietary habits that are believed to account for
the difference. (Monounsaturated) olive oil is the preferred fat and
fat consumption (at 40% of total calories) exceeds the American Heart
Associations recommended max of 30%.

Whole grains and pastas form the base of the pyramid, so this is not a
low carb eating style.

The choice of proteins in order of preference is cheese and yogurt, fish,
poultry, eggs and (last and least) red meat. Further, proteins are grouped
at the top of the pyramid so they account for only about 15% of daily
caloric intake.

Its also important to note that the Mediterranean lifestyle incorporates
more natural physical activity as distinct from the Western variety of
mandatory exercise. You know, the I just gotta get to the gym today
or I have to miss my weekly tennis game Saturday. Now what can I do?!
variety.

If youre interested in following any low carb plan, limit the time you
follow the restrictive phase and take the information above into account
when you plan your maintenance program.

3.Health Risks of Long Term Restrictive Diets

In choosing to eat healthy for life, be sure to consider well-founded
dietary advice such as recommended by the American Cancer Society for
optimal cancer prevention:

Eat five or more (optimally nine) servings of fruits and vegetables
daily; include fruits and vegetables at every meal and for snacks.
Aside from the fact that many fruits and vegetables are good diet food
because they have low calorie density (high water and fiber content),
these foods are loaded with phytochemicals which work to prevent illness,
cancer, and other diseases.

Choose whole grains in preference to processed grains and sugars. Choose
bran, whole wheat bread, brown rice, oats, and whole grain cereals as
well as beans and legumes.

Limit consumption of red meats, especially processed meats and those high
in fat.

Current estimates are that nearly 33-50% of cancers can be prevented
through a eat healthy diet. The recommendations above come from hundreds
of research studies which show a link between cancer prevention and a high
intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. Hundreds of studies
also support the link between a high fat diet, high intake of red meats and
increased incidence of cancer

4.Magic Pills

Dont be taken in by some of the full page ads you see with before and after
pictures that promise weight loss just by taking some magic pill. In some of
them you can even tell that the same head has been pasted onto the fatter
body or the faces look dissimilar enough that you think, Thats NOT the
same person.

If youve read this far you know about the calories in, calories out
equation. Sorry, but its simple math and simple physics. A pill alone will
never do it.

However, that doesnt mean that there are no little magic pills that can
help you lose weight in the context of a healthy eating and
exercise plan. There is a lot of exciting research showing that certain
supplements can boost and sustain your metabolic rate as you age, increase
muscle tone and even help the body develop more muscle, such as Green
Tea Extraxt or DHEA.

Weight loss often results when people switch their focus from dieting in order
to get thin to choosing foods for health. This is especially true if they
also pay heed to the other side of the calories in, calories out
equation and get moving.

Common sense strategies, yes, but these are the only ones proven to work
long-term. Now, are you ready to Eat Healthy for Life?

This article is for informational purposes only. It does not purport to offer
medical advice.

About the Author

Jean Bowler is a life long fitness freak. She was a ballet dancer and teacher, a private fitness trainer and more. Visit her site, http://www.ageless-beauty.com for advice on diet and nutrition, skin care and more.

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