Is Being Healthy Difficult?
Many people fall into the trap of thinking that it takes too much effort, or the steps are too big and different from their ordinary routine to become ‘healthy’ (or healthier).
The reality is, however, that health is a state we are constantly working to maintain. It is not something we sprint towards once and when we get there, we are set for life. A healthy life is composed and created through the small steps and changes that we make in our daily lives, as well as the bigger changes that are needed in specific cases.
Instead of falling for the old excuse of ‘it’s too hard’ or ‘it’ll take too much time’ or ‘I don’t know where to start’, let’s begin with these easy steps that you can start today for better health.
You don’t have to choose all of them at once and then get discouraged if you fail to implement them. Have these as guidelines of what you can do and think about how you can incorporate these changes into your routine.
Preventing Heart and Liver Disease with Proper Health Management
There are several diseases that frequently occur in people (especially those with weight management problems), and one of them is heart disease. Obese people have a better chance of getting this disease. Liver damage can also be developed by eating too much unhealthy food. Thankfully, there’s a lot we can do to prevent heart disease and liver damage if the proper measures are taken early on.
Avoid Saturated Fat
For example, lots of fast foods can make you feel full after eating. But, the truth is, when you are digesting it, it collects in certain places of your body, such as your liver. A lot of the fat from the food is distributed through the body unevenly. Eating too much of this can cause permanent liver damage and/or inflammation. Also, when a person is obese, they have a higher chance of the blockage of arteries which could ultimately cut off blood flow to the brain and cause the person to have a stroke.
Don’t Fall for the Convenience Trap
In 2014, there were over 78 million obese adults in the United States. Many restaurants serving unhealthy food are located within cities and towns. For example, if there is a fast food restaurant close to a school. That increases the chance of more of those students eating it on a regular basis. They do this unconsciously in a lot of cases, not thinking how much damage they’re doing to their health. There’s a lot you can do to prevent heart disease by curbing hasty eating decisions.
Look for Alternatives
People who work a lot of hours a day could easily develop the same habits when it comes to eating frequently at unhealthy fast food restaurants. However, stopping at a grocery store instead could be a lot healthier for them, even if they are trying to grab a quick meal. For example, many supermarkets have healthier baked rotisserie chicken that’s already cooked. Or try going low-carb to further prevent heart disease. Working adults should also think beforehand and make healthier meals to take with them every day. If they do, not only will they be saving their health and saving their heart, but also a lot of money.
Walking for Exercise Replaces Daily Driving
Consider Walking for Exercise
There are lots of people who realize that walking is an exercise that can burn a lot of calories. It’s a healthy physical activity that you don’t actually have to put on your workout clothes to do, at least not all the time. The truth is, every day we have opportunities to walk more, but many of us just decide to get in the car when we really don’t need to use a vehicle to get where we’re going.
Turn Errands into Opportunities
For example, I go to the grocery store a few times a week. The nearest one to me is about a mile and a half away, and all I have to do is jump on the bus at a specific time to get there in about 10 minutes. But, instead of doing that, what I’ll do is take a chance to breathe, walk to the store on a nice day while talking on the phone or listening to music.
It actually only takes about 30 to 45 minutes depending on how fast I’m walking. I really just take my time, and it’s more like a nice stroll. I get what I’m going to get from the store, put it in my backpack, and walk back with that little extra weight on my back.
Calculating Calorie Burn
I wanted to see about how many calories I was burning by doing this. According to experts, it depends on how much I weigh, how fast I walk, and the distance that I’m walking. Journalist Ashley Marcin, added a useful graph regarding this to her recent article for Healthline.
I weigh about 180 pounds. And, all together, that walk, being a mile and a half there and back, is 3 miles. So, according to their graph, I was burning around 204 calories every hour that I was walking, meaning that I burned somewhere between 300 to 400 calories, being that it took about an hour to an hour and a half there and back.
Remember, diet plays a part too; but exercise must complement any diet in order to get the most out of it.
Some Remarks about Making Better Choices
Making better choices can range from difficult to very easy. Some will require you to drastically cut out something. Some will require just a small decision a day to be different from what you ordinarily do.
But no matter how big or small the change, know that what matters is that you DO make changes in your life that are geared towards a healthier and happier you.
If you decide to take the stairs more often or walk rather than drive, don’t become discouraged if you don’t do this every day. Reward yourself for the days that you do, and move on from the days that you don’t. Keep a track of which days you successfully completed it vs. when you did not as a clear visual of your progress.
Do you have any suggestions or stories to share about the small changes you made that significantly made you the healthier individual that you are today? Share in the comments below!
