How to Make Healthy Living Easy
By Sara Butler
If you were to ask random strangers on the street if they want to live healthily, the majority would say yes. Yet, many people don’t know how to exactly go about living their lives in a healthy way. In the United States, obesity is on the rise, and chronic disease right along with it. If you wonder how you can fight against the tide and start to live a healthy life, here are a few tips to help you get started.
Stay Active
Did you know that obesity correlates with the number of steps taken each day? It’s true! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that in Tennessee and Arkansas, two states where obesity rates are some of the highest in the country, people only took an average of 4,500 steps a day. The national average is 5,500 steps. If you can get your steps per day up to 10,000, then you’re making a real difference in your health and wellness. Regular movement will help keep your metabolism humming, too. So, try to get in those extra steps each day – it’s a lot easier than you think!
Eat Real Food
Put the emphasis on quality, not quantity, when it comes to the food on your plate. A healthy, great tasting dish in a healthy portion will do so much for your health and happiness. Try to resist foods filled with refined carbohydrates, sodium, and fat, even if a larger portion costs less money.
Have Fun
Making healthy changes in your lifestyle doesn’t have to be something you dread because it can actually be something fun. People have been found to be more successful at leading healthy lives if they do it from a place where they look forward to what they’re doing, not simply doing it be good and avoid bad things. The key to success is to find things you enjoy doing and eating and then let those things bring you happiness as you become healthier along the way!
Healthy living isn’t a destination, it’s a journey. And it’s a journey that will take commitment. You won’t be perfect every step of the way, but hopefully, you’ll have some fun and do some great things -- and you’ll do them happily and healthily. Enjoy your journey and the good health it brings!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Des Peres, Mo.