by There are no guarantees in life but making healthy choices can reduce the likelihood that you will develop a disease and increase the likelihood that you will live longer. No matter what lifestyle choices you have made in the past, you can start tomorrow, today or in this very moment to live more healthily and enjoy some of the benefits of taking better care of yourself. Here’s how to plan for a lifetime of healthy living.
Healthy Living Categories
This lifestyle is not just about physical exercise or what you eat. Think about it as having several different components that encompass your physical, emotional and mental health. Finding activities that feel good to you and that you enjoy doing is one component. Another is finding food that you love that is good for you and fuels your body, while another is getting sufficient sleep. Beyond this, you should think about who and what you want in your life. These people and things should be supportive and make you feel positive. Spend some time thinking about all of these categories and how you could fulfill them. Remember that healthy living is about adding to your life, not depriving yourself.
Long-Term Planning
An appointment with a doctor now can give you a baseline for health and an idea of what you need to work on over the longer term. One of the great benefits of this lifestyle change is that you may be able to look forward to a more active, rewarding and fulfilling life even as you get older. You should think about what structures you need to have in place now and later so that you feel confident of getting any treatment you need. For example, what if you do need longer-term care when you get older? How would you cover long-term care costs? You can review a guide about the pros and cons of long-term care insurance to help you decide what is right for you.
Tips For Young People
If you are in your 20s now, you probably feel like you can be somewhat slack about your health choices. During this decade, your body can usually take a fair amount of abuse and neglect, but that’s all the more reason to try to get good habits in place sooner rather than later. Otherwise, those bad habits will catch up to you as you head into your 30s, 40s and beyond.
Tips For Middle Aged People
If you never heeded the above advice in your youth, it’s definitely not too late. Plenty of people make big changes at this stage, becoming active when they never were before, leaving a toxic workplace and taking stock of what matters in life. This is a great time to put health first if you never have before.
Tips For Older People
If you are in your 60s or older, you probably have a good regimen down if you’ve been healthy for years, but if you haven’t, it still isn’t too late. Your medical provider can help you decide what is appropriate, but there are fitness classes aimed at older adults in most towns and cities. In addition, if you are retired, you should make sure to get some social interaction, whether that is through volunteering, a hobby, your local senior center or your faith group.
*collaborative post
