We often ignore our health until it’s too late. It shouldn’t be that way. There are simple positive changes that you can make today to improve your overall health, like eating your vitamins. You can enjoy the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle. Here are seven rules to help you live a healthy life:
Rule #1: Know your macros
Foods contain macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Most overweight people eat (and drink) too many carbs or sugars. Also, their typical diet might consist of 45–65% of their daily calories from carbs, 20–35% from fats, and 10–35% from protein; when, in fact, a healthier macro ratio for weight loss and lean muscle would include 10-30% carbs, 40-50% protein, 30-40% healthy Omega-3 fatty acids.
Rule #2: Plan your meals for a healthy lifestyle
Healthy meals include limiting or eliminating calorie-dense junk foods (burgers, fries, and pizzas), which are the underlying cause of many of our diet-related health problems, including obesity. You need to eat less sugar, processed flour, preservatives, and pesticides and, instead, include more nutrient-dense foods: lean proteins, complex carbs (fruits and vegetables), and healthy fats from olive oil and avocados.
Rule #3: Curb your cravings
Are you hungry, or are you just craving sugar or salt? A better lifestyle includes healthy approaches to minimizing cravings and satisfying them if they become overwhelming.
Ask yourself these questions: Is your craving physical or emotional? What are the consequences if you give in to your desires? Will doing so set your diet back days or weeks? You can enjoy the occasional, controlled “cheat meal” and still have plenty of healthy snack alternatives available.
Rule #4: Choose starches wisely for a healthy lifestyle
Starches play an essential role in a healthy diet. Starchy foods (potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, and cereals) provide complex carbohydrates and fiber, and a healthy diet should include sweet potatoes, brown rice, whole wheat, whole-grain bread, pasta, and cereals. These choices are low-glycemic, meaning they are slower to digest and do not cause wild swings in your blood sugar.
Rule #5: Drink more water
Sodas, colas, bottled juices, and coffee contain only empty calories from high fructose corn syrup (liquid sugar), artificial colors, and flavors. An 8-ounce glass of water contains zero calories. Also, it hydrates your body to promote peak efficiency. Drink a glass of water before every meal and with every snack. Water can improve your health by causing you to consume fewer calories.
Rule #6: Eat less red meat
Red meat contains nutrients like protein, vitamin B-12, and iron; however, growing evidence suggests overeating red meat can increase your risk of certain cancers, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Therefore, eat only lean proteins and eliminate processed meats like bacon, ham, salami, sausages, hot dogs, and deli meats.
Rule #7: Eat more plants for
a healthy lifestyle
A plant-based diet can promote a healthy lifestyle while providing most of the micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) you need to stay healthy; therefore, eat more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and healthy oils from olives and avocados.
These positive lifestyle changes will help you look and feel better, increase your energy, delay the effects of aging, and may even reduce your risk of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
