How to Live a Healthy Lifestyle

Want to live a healthy lifestyle and leave your couch potato days behind? All you have to do is follow a few simple steps that will significantly improve your health.

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Choose food that contains minimal amounts of unhealthy fats. Unhealthy fats include both trans fats and saturated fats. These fats will raise your LDL cholesterol, and elevated LDL cholesterol often correlates with an increased risk for heart disease.

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   Eat healthy fats in moderation. Poly-unsaturated, mono-unsaturated and omega-3 fats are all good lifestyle choices.These good fats lower your LDL cholesterol and raise your HDL cholesterol, which correlates with decreased risk for heart disease. 

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   Select foods that are low in both sugar and highly refined carbohydrates. Minimize your consumption of sweets, soft drinks, sugary fruit juices and white bread. Choose whole fruits, freshly-squeezed juices and whole grain bread instead. 
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   Eat a variety of different whole foods instead of eating processed foods.
   • Eat fruits and vegetables for their high vitamin and mineral content.
   • Choose lean meat, beans and tofu for their protein content.
   • Enjoy whole grains such as whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, brown rice and quinoa.
   • Eat low-fat dairy products. Skim milk and reduced fat cheeses will reduce your fat intake while ensuring that you receive enough calcium.
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   Incorporate organic foods. Shop at a natural food store or buy food from your local farmer's market. 

Part 2 of 4: Get Some Exercise

 Start and finish your workout with stretcing. Gentle stretching will warm up your muscles before you work out and will relax your muscles after you work out.

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Go to the gym 3 to 5 times per week. Work out for half an hour to an hour, combining both cardio and strength training programs.

3

Exercise in your neighborhood. Go for a jog or take your dog for a walk. Make sure that you move at a moderate pace for at least 30 minutes.

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Enjoy rigorous daily activities. Both high-intensity gardening and housekeeping can exercise your body.

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Ditch your car. Walk or bike to your destination instead.

Part 3 of 4: Avoid Unhealthy Habits

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Avoid yo-yo dieting. Once you've lost weight thanks to your improved lifestyle, then work hard to maintain your weight instead of cycling up and down the scale.

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Stay away from fad diets. Avoid liquid diets, diet pills and other diet supplements unless you are under the supervision of a physician.

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Exercise in moderation. Working out too long, too often or with too much intensity can increase your risk for injury. Make sure to build in some rest periods between your workouts.

 Know what you weigh. Being overweight and being underweight are not healthy states of being. Consult your doctor or a reputable weight chart that shows ideal weights for your age and body type.

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Avoid excessive smoking and alcohol intake
 Get plenty of sleep. Studies have shows that those who sleep less tend to weigh more.