Becoming independently healthy through diet and lifestyle involves making informed choices and adopting sustainable habits that promote your well-being. In other words, you need to take an active role in your health care and make smart choices. Here are some steps you can take to achieve this goal:
- Set Clear Goals:
Define your health and wellness goals. Whether it’s weight management, improving energy levels, or managing a specific health condition, having clear objectives will help you stay motivated.
2. Whole Food Diet:
• Eat Whole Foods: Focus on whole, unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, cold water fish and other sources of healthy fats, with limited amounts of animal protein, (chicken, turkey one to two times per week, beef one time per month).
• Portion Control: Be mindful of portion sizes to avoid overeating. Eat to satisfaction not to fullness. The people in the Blue Zones have a saying “Eat until you are 80% full then stop.” Only eat when you are hungry.
• Hydration: Drink plenty of water (reverse osmosis is the best water source) throughout the day to stay properly hydrated.
• Dramatically limit Sugar and Processed Foods: Reduce. your consumption of sugary snacks, processed foods, and sugary beverages.
Ideally, get rid of all refined, processed foods. If I can do it, and thousands of my patients have done it, you can too! You want to be healthy and live a long life, right?
3. Meal Planning:
• Plan Ahead: Prepare a weekly meal plan that includes a variety of nutritious foods. A variety of whole, unprocessed, plant-based foods is essential.• Cook at Home: Cooking your meals at home gives you more control over what you eat. Eat at least 50% of your food uncooked fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds.
4. Regular Exercise:
• Find an activity you enjoy, whether it’s walking, running, swimming, tai chi, other aerobics and weight bearing exercises like weightlifting.• Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise each week, along with strength training exercises.
5. Manage Stress:
• Practice stress management techniques like prayer, meditation, deep breathing, or mindfulness to reduce the negative impact of stress on your health.
6. Adequate Sleep:
• Aim for at least 7 hours of quality sleep per night to allow your body to rest and recover. Your immune system recharges itself during sleep time.
7. Stay Informed:
• Continuously educate yourself about nutrition and health. The more you know, the better choices you can make. Remember, “We are all students, Nature is the Teacher, God is the Provider.
8. Avoid Harmful Habits:
• Avoid smoking and other harmful habits, limit alcohol consumption.
9. Build a Support System:
• Surround yourself with supportive, positive thinking friends and family who encourage your healthy lifestyle. Eliminate or limit your association with people who feed on “Stinking Thinking.”
10. Consistency:
• Remember consistency is key. Healthy habits take time to yield results, so be patient with yourself.
11. Adaptability:
• Be willing to adapt your diet, exercise routine and lifestyle habits accordingly.
12. Track Your Progress:
• Keep a journal or use health apps to track your food intake, exercise, and other health-related data to stay accountable and motivated.
13. Seek Professional Guidance:
• If you have specific health concerns or goals, consider consulting with a functional medicine physician (I would be delighted to serve you), health coach, or other natural health care provider.
14. Enjoy Life!
• Don’t forget to have fun and enjoy life. Maintaining good health doesn’t mean depriving yourself; it means making balanced choices that enhance your overall well-being. Maintaining good health is neither boring nor monotonous. And remember you don’t have to restrict carbs, count calories or fat grams, as long as you eat the right carbs and fats.Remember that independence in health is about taking responsibility for your own well-being and making choices that promote long-term vitality and wellness. It’s a lifelong journey, so focus on sustainable habits that you can maintain over time.
15. Relax, Take a Deep Breath
• Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will good health. Restoring your health if you have lost it will take some time. But, if you follow my recommendations every day, it will happen soon. I tell my patients, give me 3 months of your time and efforts and I will teach you how to reclaim your health. Most of my patients, even the ones who have chronic disease, see dramatic improvements in their health, or complete remission of their illness within the first month.