Creating A Healthy Lifestyle

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The way we love our life can have an impact on how we feel about ourselves.  When we neglect our physical and emotional well being many problems may occur, and you can experience difficulties with sleep, changes in eating patterns (increase or decrease), lack of energy, trouble concentrating or staying focused and increase in feelings of agitation, tension and stress. These problems can leave us vulnerable to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, so having a healthy lifestyle can help you feel better and have a sense of overall happiness.  A healthy lifestyle can put you in a better position to manage day to day stress, small and large life issues and even mental health issues.  Here are some ideas for building a healthy lifestyle:

Make a Routine.

Part of having a healthy lifestyle begins by establishing a daily routine.  Having a schedule can create a manageable routine, where knowing specific times for work, exercise, kids activities, even housework can create a sense of control and predictability.  Routine gives you a sense of how you can manage your day to day responsibilities reliably and predictably.  Remember to set aside structured time for taking care of yourself.  This can be a small amount of time to relax or exercise or read a book, and setting aside time for yourself can help to give your body and brain a break from every day responsibilities and prepare you to better manage life stressors.

Become Active.

Regular exercise can improve your emotional and physical health - To achieve benefits from exercise, it is recommended to exercise at least 20 minutes of physical activity three to four times a week, and it is important to choose something you enjoy.  If you do not like running, but you like dancing, a zumba class might be a better choice than a jog, but they both provide you with good cardiovascular exercise.  In fact, you will be more likely to continue your exercise routine if you enjoy what you are doing.  You can also include small exercise moments by taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and you can park your car further away from the door to the store or mall in order to make yourself walk more.  It has been proven that regular exercise can do the following:

• Help with weight control.
• Reduce risk of heart disease.
• Reduce your risk of diabetes.
• Help control diabetes.
• Improve metabolism.
• Reduce risk of some cancers.
• Improve strength in bones and muscles.
• Improve self esteem.
• Improve mood.
• Improve ability to manage physical and mental stress.

Eat Healthy.

Eating healthy gives you a positive sense of internal balance through improving both your physical well-being as well as your emotional well-being.  When you feel physically healthy, you also will feel emotionally balanced, because eating right keeps your physical system strong and balanced.  When you do not feel pysically well, you may also feel emotionally ill.  To begin a healthy eating lifestyle, look at your schedule, and identify how many times are you able to cook at home.  Define your schedule and research healthy meals that you can make quickly or prepare ahead of time.  For example:  If you work 9 hours a day, it may not be feasible that you will cook a full meal every day.  In fact, it may be more realistic for you to plan to cook 1 meal that provides enough for 2 days of meals.  


It's also important to identify healthy foods that you actually like.  You can buy cauliflower, but if you really don’t like it you won’t eat it, so be certain to buy healthy foods that you can enjoy, and strive to focus upon recipes that include low or reduced sugar.  Another other important aspect of eating well is to drink water rather than soft-drinks.  In fact, you should drink 8 glasses a day.

Get enough rest.

When you do not get enough sleep, you may experience fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and even the onset of mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.  Therefore, you should get about seven to eight hours of sleep a night.  Getting enough sleep will help keep balance in your body, your brain and your emotions.

Have a support system.

Having balance also means you have support.  Successful people understand that they need other people in order to help them achieve success.  Most successful people have relied on others to get to where there are in life, so remember to reach-out to others.  Having close people in your life that you can trust and count on is vital, and being able to depend on others is a key to a sense of balance and overall well being.

Learn to Relax.

Knowing when to take a break is important, but more important is knowing how to relax when you have decided to take that break.  While it may sound funny, many people do not know how to relax or have difficulty relaxing.  Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, visualization and meditation can help provide mental and physical decompression.  Taking time to do things that you enjoy also provides a sense of balance between responsibility and pleasure.  

Time Management.

Managing your time helps to give a sense of control.  When you don’t have a sense of control in your life, it can lead to feeling overwhelmed, depression or anxiety.  Knowing what you can manage in a day is important.  For some, scheduling small activities helps to keep them on track.  For others, they tend to overbook.  Having a healthy lifestyle means knowing how to have a balance in your day to day life. 

Tips for Success:

Start Small.   Success starts with small steps, and change takes time. 

Set Goals. Create realistic goals with specific plans to achieve a balance and happiness in life.  If your goal is to lose 20 pounds, a realistic goal and plan would be to lose 1 pound a week by exercising 3 times a week.  You cannot expect to lose 20 pounds in a week. 

Have patience.  Know that change is not going to occur over night.  Be patient with yourself and reward yourself for small successes. 

Take Action.  Setting goals is the first step, but you must also take positive action if you want to see a result.

- Kim B.