How to maintain a healthy lifestyle
by
:
1/6/2010
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is actually easier than most people realize. It starts with the right mindset – and once you have that mindset, once you care about how you live your life and what you put into your body, it’s easy to make the right choices.
Learning how to maintain a healthy lifestyle begins with the recognition that healthful behavior begins in the mind. The right mindset makes a considerable difference in successfully adopting healthier habits.
Mind-Body Connection
The mind-body connection is a significant factor to consider as you develop new patterns of habit that include following healthy eating guidelines as well as adopting regular exercise. Behavior is a manifestation of thought. When you begin to change your patterns of thought, your behaviors naturally follow.
Unhealthy Thought Patterns
Harmful patterns of thought can have a direct impact on your progress. Unhealthy fad diets are prime examples of programs that reflect some of the damaging theories about weight loss and lifestyle habits. Some thinking patterns that can interfere with healthful decisions include:
Diets are temporary. A diet, by definition is a way of life. The term comes from the Latin diatea, literally meaning "manner of living." Dietary changes should involve permanent changes in lifestyle in order to ensure proper maintenance.
The desire to lose weight quickly can be detrimental because the process feeds into the cycle of overeating and under-eating. The cycle is harmful on a physical and on a psychological level.
Unhealthy foods are good. While processed, sugary and fatty foods can be delicious, they can lead to health problems if you eat too many of them.
Unhealthy foods are bad. No food is inherently good or bad. Denying yourself an occasional treat is unrealistic and it can lead to binge eating in some cases.
Too many changes at once can ultimately lead to failure.
Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle may require change. With the right strategy, you can make the necessary changes. Some strategies take a little time to develop but you may be dealing with habits that have been in place for many years.
Goals and Objectives
Set realistic goals and objectives organized in small steps. Behavioral changes are difficult, especially when habits have been practiced for a considerable time. It helps to have short-term goals that lead to a primary objective. For example, instead of focusing on losing 50 pounds, you can focus on losing 2 pounds per week.
Small increments are more tolerable than great leaps. Breaking tasks down into small, doable steps leads to accomplishments that build on one another until you reach your main objective. Consider some small changes in lifestyle that can help.
Activity
• Use the stairs instead of the elevator
• Park you car father away from stores, offices or other buildings you visit
• Take a brisk walk around the block after dinner
• Play outside with children
• Start your day with a long stretch and a deep breath
Dietary
• Replace afternoon coffee or soda with green tea
• Add more vegetables and less meat to your favorite dinner recipes
• Put your eating utensil down after each bite
• Have a dinner salad on a large plate and the main course on a small plate
• Prepare quick, healthy snacks in advance
• Drink a glass of water before each meal
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