Are You Ready for a Healthy Lifestyle?
By Sara Butler
When it comes to getting healthy, you hear a lot about changing your lifestyle habits. Getting to, and maintaining, a healthy weight is really important for your overall health as well as your spinal health, but it’s not as if there’s some type of magic wand you can wave and voila! ... you’re a picture of health. If that were true, you probably wouldn’t be reading this! Here are a few things you need to consider to pick up healthy habits and turn your lifestyle around.
What’s Your Current Lifestyle Like?
One of the reasons lifestyle choices are so important is because it determines what kind of choices you make in your daily life. Are you on the road to health or not?
What choices are the most important? Choosing not to smoke, regularly exercising, and eating a well-rounded diet are a few. So ask yourself -- what kind of choices are you making each day and do they contribute to your health or hurt it?
How Do You Spend Your Day?
It’s time to think about what you spend most your day doing. Ask yourself these questions:
- How long do you sit in the car?
- How long do you sit at a desk?
- How long do you watch television?
- How many hours do you log on a computer?
- How much sleep do you get each night?
- How much alcohol do you drink?
- How much fast food do you eat?
- How much junk food do you eat?
Noticing behaviors that aren’t healthy is one step in the right direction. Once you’ve identified where some of the problems lie each day, you can address them. Understanding your bad habits is half the battle!
Healthier Activities
Instead of spending all your time sedentary, you should seek to get your body moving and pick up some healthier habits along the way. Being active doesn’t just mean hitting the cardio machine at the gym. It can also mean working in your garden, cleaning your house, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and taking a walk over lunch.
A few tips to help you get started:
- Plan your meals and snacks
- Read food labels
- Eat fruits and vegetables each day
- Track your calories
- Find a way to deal with stress healthily
Choosing health and wellness isn’t the easiest course of action, but it’s the smartest. The more time you devote to healthy behaviors in your life, the easier it will be!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Riverside, Calif.