Changing Your Bad Habits

To determine how healthy people actually are, we need to consider their diet, their everyday lifestyle and their exercise regiment. To start a healthy lifestyle certain habits need to be changed. The speed of the results will depend on how much effort and change one is willing to make. You can take baby steps or take-off on an airline.

In the food department the biggest change is in the meat department. Eliminate processed red meat such as bacon and deli meats and replace it with fish and poultry. If you must have red meat try bison or organic 95% fat-free ground beef. Beef should be limited to maybe a couple of servings a month.

You should eliminate refined foods and replace them with whole grain foods. A whole grain bread, for example, the first word in the ingredients is WHOLE. If, for example, the first ingredient is whole wheat, or whole grain, the nutrients are naturally in the product. Otherwise it's enriched or refined. Switch breads, pastas and cereals to the whole grains. They are more filling and contain bran and germ which are beneficial. Beware of 7 grain or twelve grain breads because they are just enriched with grains and aren't as beneficial as Whole!

Eat AT LEAST 5 or MORE servings of fruits and vegetables. Variety is what brings the true benefits of fruits and vegetables, and a variety of colors is a cornucopia of health. Vegetables should be not only a staple food but a main food. I consume more vegetables than any other food. They are what naturally builds your immunity against a variety of ailments and disease.

Eliminate soda and other sugary drinks. Come back to regular water or switch to seltzer or club soda. Eliminate or cut your alcohol intake. Regardless of the health benefits you focus on, more than 1 serving for women and 2 servings for men A DAY, is more harmful than beneficial. Also, alcohol is sugar and can literally add pounds over night!

Women with a waist over 35 inches, and Men over 40 inches, need to lose weight. Waist size tends to be a good predictor of ones health, because belly fat is closely tied to disease risk.

A healthy lifestyle involves the social aspects of life to give one a healthy mind and mood. The more friends you have, the more fun you have, the way you deal with stress, how controlling you are of your emotions, are a determination of your social health.

It goes without saying that if you smoke, your health is going to suffer either now or in the future. This deadly habit is tough to quit, but it can be done. The secret to quitting is that one has to want to quit, otherwise it is impossible. This is the reason many fail no matter what they do, because they aren't really ready to quit.

Sleeping less than 7 hours a night can lead to problems from obesity to diabetes to cardiovascular disease, just to name a few. Sleep is essential for the body to rest and recharge itself. We live in a hectic society where the stress sometimes makes it impossible to get any sleep as insomnia is on the rise.

You need to exercise on a regular basis getting at least 3 hours a week. Weights should be part of ones regiment. Movement is encouraged, but some type of exercise is a must. The benefits of exercise don't only keep our outsides and insides fit, they also help fight obesity, diseases, and can even reverse many ailments.

I would urge you all to take Dr. Oz's Health Test.

Welcome to the start of the journey.