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Healthy Action Plan

So, why aren’t we focusing more on our health?  It’s simply poor lifestyle choices…. We overindulge, choose the wrong foods, less active, and letting stress and anxiety take over our lives. What can we do today to take action on our health?

Tips to maintain a simple healthy action plan:

1. ABM– Always be moving- keep physically active, whether it’s getting away from the office chair for a walk downstairs or going outside during lunch to gain some much needed sunlight. Just doing stretches, can get the blood flowing and revive that inner energy to regain focus. Strive for 30 minutes of exercise 3-5 days a week. Find an exercise you enjoy so you’ll maintain a regimen.
2. Get cooking– be creative in the kitchen and make your own meals at home. This way you encorporate the ingredients and you stay healthier. Plus it’s fun, gets you on your feet and a great family activity.
3. Choosing the right foods- Always shop around the outside perimeter of the store as this is where you’ll find the wholesome goodness of fruits, vegetables, meats, unprocessed, dairy and preservative-free foods. Keep in mind that dietary guidelines have changed to where half our plate should be filled with fruit and vegetables. Plus you never have a label to investigate prior to purchasing as there is only one ingredient. Keep in mind- to benefit from satiety, wait 20 minutes after your meal to cue into your hunger levels.
4. All in moderation- Keep a balance in your daily regimen. There will be days when life happens and you can’t maintain the My Plate routine along with the daily exercise plan. That Ok- Keep yourself in check knowing you’ll get back on the wagon tomorrow. Life is all about things coming at you when you least expect it- which is one thing that you can never be prepared for when it happens. That’s why you have a backup plan to slide the goal to the next day and never overwhelm yourself with anything- especially something that is out of your hands. This will in turn, help alleviate the stress and anxiety that you get if you’re a perfectionist. I’m one to always have everything in check, but I’m realistic to surprises so let yourself go if everything doesn’t fall into place.
5. Live a simple life- sometimes going off the grid isn’t a bad thing. One thing I’ve learned is to not let social media rule our lives…. It can consume our time and lead to insecurity, which can be on stress and anxiety. Limit your time and spend quality time with family and friends. Take time to eat at the dinner table while discussing how their day went or what’s new in their life. It seems we get so wrapped up in what others are doing, thinking, feeling and finding out what’s going on with our family and friends through a Facebook post. Remember, you’re not living their life and they aren’t living yours so take care of yourself first. Otherwise, you can’t be there to help others.
6. Meditation- It may seem silly at first or you feel out of place, but studies have proven the effectiveness on certain breathing methods to the poses to relax help alleviate some of that stress from your day. Try sitting by yourself for 10 minutes with no one around you and just take a breath in and breathe through your nose to let go of all the chaos that may have happened throughout the day. Another way to encorporate exercise is yoga, which aids in the meditation process.
7. Let’s not forget sleep-strive for 6-8 hours. Remember, your body is like a machine, you need to oil it and keep it in tip top shape for it to run properly and keep taking you from place to place. If you’re not getting enough sleep, you’re causing oxidative damage, which causes your cells and DNA to build up, which reduces our longevity.
8. Laugh- amazingly enough if you laugh for 10-15 minutes per day, you can burn up to 40 calories so why aren’t you laughing….. It helps release the endorphins to feel relaxed and not let things get in your way. Spend time with family and friends to gain the much needed benefit of humor and social experiences without focusing your social interaction on technology.

In summary, living longer depends on how we react, what we choose to do, and how we live. Remember, it revives you from the inside out by choose wiser food choices, letting go of the things we can’t control and making wiser choices to alleviate stress in our lives. All you have to do is remind yourself of the simple life that our grandparents lived and how much of a difference it made on longevity and happiness.

As always consult your health professional. I hope this article finds you in good health.