Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle

Home Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle
by Joshua Rawlings

Is it worth it?

The benefits of healthy living are unquestionable. Proper exercise and nutrition, as well as cutting out those things negatively affecting your health like tobacco or excess alcohol can dramatically reduce the chances of you developing a huge range of health problems, from high blood pressure and heart disease, to premature aging and cancers.

With a healthy lifestyle comes the ability to manage your weight. By watching your intake of food and then getting rid of calories through exercise you can ensure that you keep at a healthy weight, not being too heavy or too light for your size. This is not only of benefit to your health, but can improve your social life, making you more confident and more attractive to others.

Will it affect my mood?

Yes, but not in the way you might suspect. Some people envision healthy living as a chore which becomes tiresome, however the reverse is true. As your body is functioning better and everything works properly, little aches, pains and discomforts which you may have lived with for years will lessen or disappear.

Exercise actually releases serotonin and endorphins into your system, chemicals which make you happier and less stressed, as well as providing natural pain relief. Exercise and proper nutritional intake have been shown to alleviate things such as back pain and menstrual cramps.

What about my sex life?

When your body is working properly it not only looks better, with skin tone, hair, muscle definition and many other things being improved, but the confidence this brings makes you more attractive to other people.

Improved circulation as a result of a healthy lifestyle has also been proven to improve sex for both partners and reduces the chance of erectile dysfunction.

Will I be able to keep it up?

The effects of a healthy lifestyle are dramatic, however some are only gradual whilst others are almost immediate changes. If you can keep a healthy lifestyle going for a period of six months for example, but then were to give it up, you would notice the change straight away. The sudden return of aches long forgotten and inability to do the activities you might want to, which people who let their lifestyle slip report, have a profound effect. The complaints of the body as it no longer has proper nutrition to function properly, isn’t as fit and doesn’t have the helpful, stress relieving chemicals the body has become used to are very noticeable.

If this isn’t enough for you, or you need help to get to this point, there are other things you can try to keep you motivated.

Don’t do it alone. Share your lifestyle changes with your family, make a group decision to live healthier lives and to help each other maintain them. Having people around you doing the same thing can be a great source of support. If you have kids, think of them, do you want them growing up being unhealthy and having parents who are too unfit to do activities with them or even die prematurely? Surely it would be better if you all ate a balanced diet, got plenty of exercise, cut out the bad factors in your lifestyle and enjoyed many happy, healthy years together.

If you don’t have a family around you, find a friend who would like to make a change. Plan your nutrition together, agree to give up smoking or cut down on alcohol, maybe join the gym or take a dance class together, go for walks, whatever it is that you can do together to keep each other motivated in achieving a better, happier life.