Good health is more than a number on the scales or the absence of disease. It is mental and emotional wellbeing and meaningful relationships. It is all the things that make for quality of life, not just a quantity of days. It is a fine line of contentment that doesn’t lead to mediocrity. It is the spirit that can battle through tough times and accept inevitable changes. In an earlier blog I began a list of 100 Tips for a Healthy Life. As promised, here are the remaining 50.
- Get periodic check-ups.
- Keep routine screening appointments like mammograms and PSA tests.
- Know your critical health numbers such as blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose.
- Adopt lifestyle habits that help them stay in normal ranges.
- When needed, take medications as prescribed.
- Get plenty of sleep.
- Learn healthy strategies for relieving stress.
- Laugh often and at yourself.
- Believe in a higher power.
- Pray.
- Stay informed about updates in healthy behaviors.
- If you are a woman, take care of your heart.
- If you are a man, take care of your heart.
- Eat mindfully, not mindlessly.
- Trade some television and computer time for helping others.
- Reward yourself with something other than food.
- Eat five to six smaller meals each day.
- Learn the Healthy Plate Model: ½ low-carb fruits/ veggies, ¼ meat and ¼ starches/whole grains.
- Take your lunch.
- Calories work like money. Exceeding your budget gets you in trouble.
- Mind your waist size. Belly fat is serious fat.
- Maintain muscle. It increases your metabolism, burns more calories and prevents falls.
- Be a healthy role model for the kids in your life.
- Teach them to love fruits and vegetables.
- It’s not a diet. It’s a lifestyle.
- Don’t believe the lie that eating healthy is more expensive. Heart attacks and strokes don’t come cheap. Neither do chips and sodas.
- Physical activity is the fountain of youth. Keep moving.
- Find a “golden nugget” motivation to exercise.
- Your weight matters. Just ask your knee and hip joints.
- Learn how to season with less salt.
- Artificial sweeteners keep sweet tooth cravings alive.
- Savor time with family and friends—good relationships are vital to good health.
- Avoid the nutrient-poor 100-calorie packs.
- The best antioxidants are in food.
- A healthy diet needs few supplements.
- Eating out just 25 percent of weekly meals will devour 45 percent of your food budget.
- Sidestep “drinking” too many calories.
- Food has an impact on mood. Avoid the junk stuff.
- Gum is a great trick to stop mindless nibbling.
- There will always be good reasons not to do it, but good reasons do not produce good results.
- Figure out your personal reasons “why” for being healthy.
- Post them, memorize them, preach them to yourself.
- Focus on what TO do. Positive always wins over negative.
- Work on your attitude. Behaviors go where thoughts leads them.
- Protect your skin from the sun.
- Grill safely. Blackened charring is a known carcinogen.
- Support the efforts of others who are trying to get healthier. Nothing is harder than a friend or family member telling you, “This one time won’t hurt.”
- Genetics load a health gun, but it’s our behaviors that pull the trigger.
- Stop blaming the culture, your family, friends or time. Make it work.
And last, but most importantly, live thankful. Your health is a gift. Being grateful may be the most powerful disease antidote available and the greatest way to strengthen willpower. After all, we take care of the things that matter the most, and our health matters. Just ask someone who’s lost theirs.