How healthy are you? Do you have a healthy diet? Do you exercise regularly? Do you drink at least 8 glasses of water a day? Do you get enough sleep every day? Do you live a healthy lifestyle?
Our body is our temple and we need to take care of it. Do you know that over 70% of Americans are either obese or overweight? That’s insane! Think of your body as your physical shell to take you through life. If you repeatedly abuse it, your shell will wear out quickly.
Life is beautiful and you don’t want to bog yourself down with unnecessary health problems. Today, your vital organs may be working well, but they may not be tomorrow. Don’t take your health for granted. Take proper care of your body.
Good health isn’t just about healthy eating and exercise — it’s also about having a positive attitude, a positive self-image, and a healthy lifestyle. In this article, I share 15 tips to live a healthier life. Bookmark this post and save the tips, because they will be vital to living a healthier life. 😃
1. Drink more water
Most of us don’t drink enough water every day. Water is essential for our bodies to function. Do you know over 60% of our body is made up of water? Water is needed to carry out body functions, remove waste, and carry nutrients and oxygen around our body. Since we lose water daily through urine, bowel movements, perspiration, and breathing, we need to replenish our water intake.
2. Get enough sleep.
When you don’t rest well, you compensate by eating more — usually junk food. Get enough rest and you don’t need to snack to stay awake. Also, lack of sleep causes premature aging and you don’t want that!
3. Meditate.
Meditation quietens your mind and calms your soul. If you don’t know how to meditate, don’t worry — Learn to meditate in 5 simple steps.
4. Exercise.
Movement is life. Research has shown that exercising daily brings tremendous benefits to our health, including an increase in lifespan, lowering of risk of diseases, higher bone density, and weight loss. Increase activity in your life. Choose walking over transport for close distances. Climb the stairs instead of taking the lift. Join an aerobics class.
5. Love yourself.
How much do you love yourself on a scale of 1-10? Why? How can you love yourself more starting today?
6. Soda and sugary drinks.
Soda is unhealthy, causes weight gain, and is an artificial stimulant. Go for plain water, green tea, or vegetable juices instead!
7.Don’t drink alcohol.
Like caffeine, alcohol is a diuretic. Not only that, but alcohol is repeatedly proven to have negative effects on our body and health — impacting the proper functioning of our brain, liver, lungs, and other major organs. If you drink alcohol regularly, it’s time to cut it out, or at the very least, reduce your consumption.
8. Go organic.
Organic foods are foods produced without synthetic inputs such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives. (Wiki) The organic movement is slowly catching on, with more supermarkets offering organic options. Organic food tends to cost more, but hey — would you rather save some money and feed your body with pesticides or pay a few extra Cedis for a cleaner, healthier body?
9. Prepare your meals.
Whenever I can, I try to prepare my meals. When you prepare your meals, you control what goes into them, rather than choosing between sub-optimal choices in a restaurant. Get quality kitchen equipment — it will be your best investment ever. Having a blender makes it a breeze to make your fruit/vegetable juices! Having a small oven makes baking and heating food so easy.
10. Learn to say no.
Don’t eat just because you’re out with friends or because other people offer you food. Simply say no and say you’re not hungry if you don’t feel like eating.
11. Stop smoking.
Smoking is detrimental to health, severely increases the risk of lung cancer, kidney cancer, esophageal cancer (of our gullet), heart attack, and more. Smoking “lite” cigarettes do not decrease health risks either. If you’re a smoker, quit not just for yourself, but for your family and friends. If you don’t smoke, stay that way and don’t start.
12. Have healthy snacks.
If you’re hungry at work, eat healthy snacks like fruits, vegetable juices, and yogurts. These are nutritional and don’t give you that sugar rush. Have them readily available so that you can get a munch and stop when you have your fill. Stay away from cookies and candy bars.
13. Juice/Blend.
Juicing/Blending is a great way to get vitamins and nutrients from fruits/vegetables quickly. Juicing is where you extract the juice using a juicing machine, removing the fiber. With blending, the fiber is not filtered away so you’re drinking the juice and fiber.
14. Hang out with healthy people.
You’re the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with, so the more time you spend around healthy people, the better it is. Dine with people who are health conscious and get workout buddies. It makes healthy living more fun! 🙂
15. Exercise good dental hygiene.
Not only does good hygiene make you a lot more desirable, but it is linked to better health. Brush your teeth twice a day, rinse your mouth after each meal, and floss your teeth at night
){kind=link}