Exercising and eating healthy are the two main things that anyone will tell you to do if you’re looking to lose weight and/or live a healthier life. A healthy lifestyle refers to the way you live your life, and a healthy lifestyle is important for all of us— especially as we get older. Old age is generally associated with declining health, and declining health leads to a poorer quality of life.
Tip #1: Start Early
There are many things we can do that will benefit us when we’re older, and one of those things is to live a healthy lifestyle. The key thing is to start early, as we are typically healthier while we are younger.
Unfortunately, as we age, we are more susceptible to certain illnesses such as heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, and osteoporosis. The good news is that all of these can be prevented if we start taking care of ourselves right now! If you are under the age of 65, then you are not considered a senior citizen and you still have time to achieve a healthy lifestyle. If you are 65 or older, you too, still have time to start working towards a healthier life.
Importance of Exercise
As we age, our body loses, and may even have trouble, absorbing essential nutrients. This can lead to limited mobility, and limited mobility poses all kinds of threats to senior citizens. One of these is the likelihood of a fall. Whether the injury occurs in a nursing home or one’s own home, regular exercise is a good way to retain and increase mobility.
Importance of Eating Healthy
The healthiest foods (e.g., fruits, vegetables, and other wholesome foods) contain the most nutrients that our bodies need. Throughout our lifespan, we require all vitamins and minerals, but at certain points in our lives, we may need more of a certain nutrient to help combat age-related illnesses. The earlier we start eating nutritiously, the better our health will be as we age.
Tip #2: Stay Consistent
It’s one thing to start eating healthy and exercising, but it does you no good if you don’t stick with it. The whole point of a healthy lifestyle is to modify your life. It can be hard, and a few bad meals and missed days of exercise throughout your lifetime won’t destroy your healthy lifestyle. What’s important to remember is to keep trying, and this applies to everyone in any age group.
Consistency in Physical Activity
Consistency comes with practice, so don’t expect perfection. An easy way to incorporate exercise into your life is to make it a part of your schedule. You can choose to work out in the mornings before work, or in the afternoons/evenings after work. You can also make small changes by walking when driving isn’t necessary and by taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
Consistency in Healthy Eating
The easiest way to stay consistent with healthy eating is to buy healthier foods and to prepare meals ahead of time (meal prep). When food is readily available to you (like fast food), you are more likely to eat it. Meal prepping cuts down the urge to grab something quick and easy, which is usually something non-nutritious.
Tip #3: Make It Fun
If working out and eating healthy seem more like a chore and not at all enjoyable, then it can be really hard to stay consistent— and it can even be a reason why you never started before. Maybe the way physical activity and healthy foods were presented to you were not presented in a desirable way. Physical activity and a balanced diet don’t have to be viewed as a burden if you can find what works best for you.
Making Exercise Fun
Just about anything can be considered exercise, as long as your body is moving. You don’t have to run a mile at the crack of dawn every morning; you can simply walk around your home or neighborhood instead. You also don’t have to be a bodybuilder to gain muscle; yoga and pilates are a great way to build muscle strength. Dancing, biking, swimming, and playing sports are also forms of exercise.
Making Eating Healthy Fun
Eating healthy doesn’t necessarily mean that you should follow a vegan diet, and you can enjoy some plant-based foods and not ever have to go fully plant-based. What is important is that you limit the bad (processed, high (bad) fat, high sugar, high sodium) foods and add in more of the good (vegetables, fruits, whole grains, seafood, poultry). It’s all about balance.
Remember that as long as you’re alive, it’s never too late to start working towards a healthy lifestyle. Aim for a healthy lifestyle that is most achievable for you, keeping these three tips in mind.
