To live a long life, most people need to adopt a healthy lifestyle. The sooner you do it, the better, as a sedentary lifestyle and poor diet can decrease your life expectancy by as much as twenty-five percent.

It can also cause many chronic diseases that can affect your life and make it harder to live and be happy. A healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be complicated or tedious. In fact, if you do it right, it's gratifying and something you will never regret starting. Here are five habits to help you enjoy a healthier life:

IDEAS FROM ME

Keep It Simple and to the Point

You don’t need dramatic overnight change to make a difference. High expectations like this cause too much stress and anxiety and only lead to failure. Instead, find one thing simple to change each day and then make it more complex as you go. For example, start with only drinking water and nothing else. Once that is a daily habit and something you don’t even think about, adjust your daily calories, or add in exercise.

Don’t Strive for Perfection – Keep It 80/20

Healthy isn’t about being perfect. You can still be healthy and have a few treats or breaks here and there. A great rule to follow to make a healthy lifestyle more enjoyable is the 80/20 rule. The rule states that if you are 80% good, the other 20% won’t have that much effect. Studies show that a cheat day here and there can be beneficial and help keep the weight off longer.

Reject Negativity and Stress

Replace negative thoughts with positive ones even if you don’t believe them at first. Avoid people or activities that only bog you down and find communities with similar goals and interests instead.

Make It Fun and Meaningful

Gym membership is not required to be healthy if you don’t want to. You don’t have to be on a diet or run every day just because everyone on social media does. If it doesn’t inspire you or is not enjoyable, find different activities or diet plans. Many healthy options may work for you. To enjoy a healthy lifestyle, you should find suitable activities for you that make you excited.

Be Consistent and Persistent

Create repeatable habits that allow you to stay consistent and encourage persistence. Start each morning with a green smoothie, short jog, or a large glass of lemon water, for example. Anything that gets your day started on the right foot, and you look forward to doing.

As you can see, with the right habits adopting a healthy lifestyle is easy, rewarding, and enjoyable.

QUOTES FROM THE PROS:

“The human body has been designed to resist an infinite number of changes and attacks brought about by its environment. The secret of good health lies in successful adjustment to changing stresses on the body.” -Harry J. Johnson

“Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open.” -Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar 

HOMEWORK:
 

Who in your life is willing to support you as you make important changes to your life? Who else (family, friends, co-workers) do you need to get on board?

See you in class,

Dante