Healthy living will change your life and help you maintain healthy weight
What is healthy living?
Healthy Living can result to a pain-free life.
Key take away
Healthy living is real wealth. Walking about 30 minutes a day is a good starting point. Cost you nothing. I enjoy walking under the trees in the Netherlands. “Amsterdam Bos”
Table of contents
- Food varieties
- Rich Carbohydrate foods
- Only unsaturated fat
- Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits
- Low Salt and Sugar intake
- Eat when hungry, mind the portion size
- Liquid, water-drink enough
- Mind your body weight
- Walk -start 30 minutes a day
- Get started today
Food varieties
Healthy living requires a great number of nutrients, about 40. So a variety of food over time during the day, week and months will ensure you get into your body the required nutrients. Give your body what it needs and your body will fight off every disease.
- A high-fat lunch could be followed by a low-fat dinner.
- After a large meat portion at dinner, perhaps fish should be the next day’s choice?
Rich carbohydrate foods
Contrary to popular belief, try to include food rich in carbohydrates in your meal. It helps with the intake of good fibre for your body.
Stick to unsaturated fat
Unsaturated fats are important for good health and proper functioning of the body. Keep it balanced. . Different kinds of fats have different health effects, and some of these tips could help us keep the balance right:
- We should limit the consumption of total and saturated fats (often coming from foods of animal origin), and completely avoid trans fats; reading the labels helps to identify the sources.
- Eating fish 2-3 times a week, with at least one serving of oily fish, will contribute to our right intake of unsaturated fats.
- Boil, team or bake your food. Limit frying.
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Eat plenty of vegetables & fruits
Vegetables and fruits are whole foods supplying the body with enough vitamins, fibre, and minerals. For example, a glass of fresh vegetable juice or smoothie at breakfast, perhaps an apple and a piece of watermelon as snacks, and a good portion of different steamed vegetables or salad will do wonders to your body
Low salt and sugar intake
High blood pressure is a result of high salt intake. Avoid it. Sugar is like poison in my mouth. Avoid it.
- When shopping, read the labels for low sodium content.
- When cooking, a pinch of salt is enough, add healthy spices instead.
- When eating, make it a habit to remove any salt on the table. I just eat whole food.
Replace sugar with natural sweeteners like fruits. Well, an occasional treat like birthdays, is fine. It won’t kill you.
Eat when hungry, mind the portion size
Eating a variety of foods, regularly, and in the right amounts is the best formula for a healthy diet.
Skipping meals, especially breakfast, can lead to out-of-control hunger, often resulting in helpless overeating. Snacking between meals can help control hunger, but snacking should not replace proper meals. For snacks, we could choose yoghurt, a handful of fresh or dried fruits or vegetables (like carrot sticks), unsalted nuts, or perhaps some bread with cheese.
Paying attention to portion size will help us not to consume too much calories, and will allow us to eat all the foods we enjoy, without having to eliminate any.
- Cooking the right amount makes it easier to not overeat.
- Some reasonable serving sizes are: 100 g of meat; one medium piece of fruit; half a cup of raw pasta.
- Using smaller plates helps with smaller servings.
- Packaged foods, with calorie values on the pack, could aid portion control.
- If eating out, we could share a portion with a friend.
Liquid, water, drink enough
Water is at the top of the list. Very healthy. Adults need to drink at least 2litres of liquid a day! Tap or mineral water, sparkling or non-sparkling, plain or flavored. Fruit juices, tea, soft drinks, milk and other drinks, can all be okay. Be sure you get in 2litres.
Mind your body weight
Everyone is different, the right weight for each us depends on factors like our gender, height, age, and genes. Focus on knowing your body and do what is right for you to maintain the right body weight for your
Excess body fat comes from eating more than we need. The extra calories can come from any caloric nutrient – protein, fat, carbohydrate, or alcohol, but fat is the most concentrated source of energy. Physical activity helps us spend the energy, and makes us feel good. The message is reasonably simple: if we are gaining weight, we need to eat less and be more active!
Walk – 30 minutes a day!
Physical activity is important for people of all weight ranges and health conditions. It helps us burn off the extra calories, it is good for the heart and circulatory system, it maintains or increases our muscle mass, it helps us focus, and improves overall health well-being. We don’t have to be top athletes to get on the move! 150 minutes per week of moderate physical activity is advised, and it can easily become part of our daily routine. We all could:
- use the stairs instead of the elevator,
- go for a walk during lunch breaks (and stretch in our offices in between)
- make time for a family weekend activity
Get Started Today.
Gradual changes in our lifestyle are easier to maintain than major changes introduced all at once. For three days, we could write down the foods and drinks we consume throughout the day, and make a note of the amount of movement we made. It won’t be difficult to spot where we could improve:
- Skipping breakfast? A small bowl of muesli, a piece of bread or fruit, could help slowly introduce it into our routine
- Too few fruits and vegetables? To start with, we can introduce one extra piece a day.
- Favourite foods high in fat? Eliminating them abruptly could fire back, and make us return to the old habits. We can choose low fat options instead, eat them less frequently, and in smaller portions.
- Too little activity? Using the stairs daily could be a great first move.