How to Keep Healthy
Maintain healthy eating habits. Avoid fad diets like
the plague; to get all the nutrition the human body needs, eat carbs,
protein, and fat (yes, even fat!) at every meal.[1]
By doing so, you'll have a healthy heart, healthy brain, and a fully
functional immune system. Eating highly varied foods will also help
insure you get all the vitamins, minerals, oils, and enzymes your body
craves.
- To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume.[2] That’s all there is to it. With the exception of sweets, eliminating one area of the food pyramid from your diet won’t replace the need to simply consume fewer calories.
- Avoid skipping meals, which is hard on the body. Some people even recommend eating up to 6 mini meals a day instead of 3 large ones, which can sustain energy and steady blood-sugar levels[3]; however, many people end up turning their “mini meals” into junk food sessions and end up consuming not just more calories, but emptier ones.[4] Be honest with yourself before making this choice.
- If you want to work on portion control, eat low energy-density foods (i.e. more substance, fewer calories). Fruits and vegetables, for example, are packed with not only vitamins and minerals, but also water and fiber, making them take longer to digest and keeping you full longer.[5]
- Drink more water. This helps flush metabolic wastes to keep your metabolism in top shape.[6] Water can also help you feel fuller, so drink at least a half-gallon (2 liters) of water every day (or more if you are active or live in a hot climate).
Stick to an exercise regimen. If you don’t want to pay for a gym membership, try strength-training at home. The muscle you develop will help increase your metabolism: the bodies of muscular people burn more calories even while they’re at rest.[11] To keep your heart in shape, do cardio. One particularly effective way to improve your cardiovascular health is to do interval training, which means alternating between low- and high-intensity activity. This has been shown to be a quick and extremely effective way to improve heart health and endurance.[12] (Anyone over the age of 60 or who has heart disease, high blood pressure, or arthritis should consult a doctor before attempting interval training.)
Pursue your passions. No, not everyone can make a living playing sold-out concerts, traveling around the world trying new foods, or churning out bestselling fantasy novels, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on your dreams. Set some time aside to practice an instrument, do art, take photos, build models, weld, bake gourmet cakes, or whatever else enriches your free time. If you want to learn something new, take an evening or weekend class. If you can’t think of anything interesting off the top of your head, take the time to find a hobby. If you’re convinced that there isn’t enough time in the day to pursue any outside activities, try to cut back on a time-wasting activity like channel-surfing or hitting refresh on Facebook.
Limit your vices. Quit smoking, beat drug addiction, and, if necessary, stop drinking. Avoid other risky behaviors like speeding, fighting, unsafe sex, and excessive thrill-seeking.
Improve your psychological health. Prioritize developing meaningful relationships above simply being social. Practice self-disclosure, which means sharing things that are unique to you (your thoughts, fears, favorite movies and music, pet peeves, etc.) with those you trust. This has been shown to be of immense importance to not only forging deeper interpersonal connections, but also feeling validated emotionally.[13]
- Learn how to have a healthy relationship. If you think you’re in a manipulative or controlling relationship, get out of it. It’s better to stand strong on your own than be held back by a so-called companion.
- Learn how to understand your emotions so that you can truly know yourself.
- Learn how to cope with emotional pain and, if necessary, deal with emotional abuse.
- Enrich your sex life. In addition to the psychological benefits of a healthy sex life such as reduced depression, this has been shown to have a wide variety of health advantages including increased immunity, decreased pain, and better fitness.[14] Better still, it’s something you can do with or without a partner. If you do have a partner or partners, be sure to practice safe sex.
Be hygienic. Wash your hands thoroughly after coming into contact with a sick person, using the bathroom, or anything else that could make you sick. (If you’re not sure what “thoroughly” entails, sing Happy Birthday to You in your head as you scrub.) In addition to flossing regularly, brush your teeth and tongue at least twice daily to limit plaque and harmful bacteria.
Make little lifestyle changes. Don’t tire yourself out by making large gestures toward health without addressing the small stuff. Instead of running yourself ragged at the gym three days a week, park farther away from the store, walk the dog more often, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or weed your garden; instead of attacking your veggies and dip distractedly in front of the computer or TV, set time aside to slowly enjoy each meal and prevent mindless overeating.[4] Get your new habits to stick by tackling them at the grass-roots level.
Remember to do everything in moderation – including moderation. Turning each aspect of your life into something you need to check off a list can not only make you feel trapped, but also make you more likely fall (or possibly even throw yourself) off the wagon. Allowing yourself the occasional indulgence to blow off steam will make you much more satisfied with your new lifestyle choices.
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