For many people, the phrase ‘living a healthy lifestyle’ can mean hours of strenuous exercise at the gym and eating only green, leafy vegetables for nourishment.  However, this is not always the case. Enjoying a healthy lifestyle is a simple matter of making certain life-changing choices.  These include the following:

o Move!

It is that simple. If you incorporate plenty of movement in your daily routine, you will eventually see positive results. This is what you can do to make your day more productive.

  • Walking to your colleagues’ desks instead of sending e-mails
  • Parking a couple of blocks away from your office so that you can walk to your destination
  • Taking the stairs instead of the elevator/escalator
  • Giving the hired help a day off so that you can indulge in a spot of spring cleaning
  • Gardening
  • Walking your dog or cycling with your children instead of watching endless re-runs on TV

Always remember that every little bit counts. If you are overweight, even losing a mere 10 percent of your body weight will mean a substantial reduction in blood pressure and heart diseases.

o Stick to Unprocessed Stuff

Organic, unprocessed food is incredible! The more food is processed, the more empty calories it contains. This is why you should swap your white bread with multigrain or whole wheat bread, your white rice with brown rice and so on. In fact, it is always better to cook at home rather than ordering a prepackaged and precooked meal from the nearest restaurant or convenience store. 

o Say No to Sugar

In the grand scheme of things, sugar does more harm than good when it comes to a person’s health. It increases your caloric intake, and in the long run, it can lead to diabetes and other illnesses.

A carbonated soft drink can easily contain 250 calories. Drink a couple of them, and that is 500 calories. These soft drinks, however, will not really fill you up, and you will still feel hungry and eat a full meal. This means another 600-700 calories. If you repeat this process three times a day, you are bound to run into problems later on in life.

o Avoid Alcoholic Drinks

Hard liquor not only packs a caloric wallop, but it also makes you feel really hungry as well.  Alcohol can send your brain into starvation mode. Your brain, in turn, sends out signals to your body telling it to engage in eating, even if you’re full. All this means that you end up binge eating.

Worse than that, an excess of alcohol in your body dilates your blood vessels and increases your blood pressure. If you are a habitual drinker, this dilation will become permanent, and you will be at greater risk of a stroke or heart attack.

o Conclusion

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is all about moderation and common sense. If you follow the tips given above, you will be sure to see a few positive results very soon.