Pillars of a Healthy Lifestyle

The four main pillars of a healthy lifestyle are nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and recreation. By actively incorporating each of these pillars into your daily routine, you will have a solid foundation for being healthy and fit for life. When all four pillars come together, you will see great results for body and mind.

Nutrition
Eating healthy is something often discussed, but do you know what it really means for you? How does it really help you? Without proper healthy fuel from food, your body will age quicker and wear down much faster than normal.

Learning healthy eating skills and making better food choices takes practice. You probably know that you should eat a balanced diet with lean protein and the proper assortment of fruits and vegetables. Yet, many people find themselves eating conveniently and poorly. Fast foods high in empty carbohydrates and bad fats will cause your body and mind to slow down, leaving you tired and depressed. Do not let bad foods add to your stress and make you feel worse. Keep your body and mind in peak performance by making informed and healthy nutritional decisions.

Think about what you eat and when you eat. Eat more vegetables and low sugar fruits – vegetables fill you up with fewer calories and have many health benefits – and consume smaller meals more often to keep your blood sugar stable and prevent your body from storing fat.

Physical Activity
With properly informed nutritional practices in place, you will experience increased energy levels. When you feed your body and muscles well, you must also make sure you are keeping them in top shape. Structuring proper physical activity into your life provides many health benefits. Aside from looking better and feeling sexier, muscular strength and tone help many important body systems as well.

The five major killers in the USA are due to lifestyle problems, mostly a lack of activity and the wrong diet. Aging is mostly due to inactivity: as muscles shrink, body fat increases. By making your muscles stronger, you can prevent many diseases and slow the aging process.

An important aspect of life is your ability to move. Getting out of bed, going about your daily routine, working, and playing are all examples of activities that most people take for granted. In the fitness industry, these activities are called Functional Ability. In order to improve your Functional Ability, you need to focus on improving your muscular strength. Believe it or not, it is by far the most important thing you can do for your health.

The number of calories you burn everyday is directly related to how much muscle you have. This is otherwise known as your metabolism, which you can think of as the speed in which your body burns calories. As your muscles get stronger and larger, they will need more calories. A pound of muscle at rest will burn about 25 calories per day. A pound of fat only requires about 2 calories. If fat loss is your goal, making your muscles stronger will cause your body to burn more calories, even when you are asleep!

With proper nutrition and exercise you will have more energy, a stronger healtiher heart, lower blood pressre and stronger bones, with the added benefits of reduced tension, anxiety, stress and depression, and a better sex life.

Sleep
After taking time to have a great workout and an even better meal, make time for a good night’s sleep. Getting the necessary 7-8 hours a night is not a myth as sleep has benefits that many people do not realize. At night your body rebuilds the wear and tear it took on any cells during the day. It heals itself of diseases and boosts your immune system and both your body and brain undergo growth and repair processes. Sleep is vital for you to completely restore and rejuvenate.

Recreation
In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, it is important to remember to stop and take some time to relax by finding a recreation activity that you enjoy. Make sure to take some time out of every day, whatever you can, whether it is 10 minute or an hour, to do an activity that puts you at ease, something that allows you to clear your head of some of your stress and worry. Find activities you enjoy and want to do.

You do not need a trainer to stand and watch you walk, bike, run, jog, skate, or play with your kids. If you like the activity, you will be more inclined to continue it, and it will become part of your lifestyle. An overall active and healthy lifestyle is important in keeping fit, and it makes life more enjoyable.