Everyone is always telling us how we should take care of ourselves. I remember my mom used to tell me to make sure to get a checkup every year. There are even sayings like, “An apple a day, keeps the doctor away.” even tell us how we should take care of ourselves (meanwhile companies also try to get us to buy their unhealthy products such as fast food). In addition, the human race has studied healing for hundreds of years.
While it may be annoying to hear from so many sources about how we should take care of our health, there is nothing more true and here is why.
You’ll feel like a superhero
Eating better foods and exercising more is important to getting healthy. Exercising is also one way to combat the blues and sadness.
Have you ever gone on an eating binge? Well, Thomas Wood talks about how to fix American obesity. How about those times during the holidays when you say, “It’s ok, it’s the holidays, I can splurge and I’ll just cut back after.” Then after the holiday season you pack on a few pounds and wonder why you’re so tired all the time.
When you switch from foods high in fat content to healthier choices such as fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and the like, you’ll feel much better and more energized. As a kid growing up, my mom used a machine to make juice out of fruits and vegetables. It was the only way I would get enough of each. Sometimes it tasted horrible, so she would add a hint of yogurt or ice cream to ease the bite, but I always felt more energized for sports practices after. Not only do healthy foods prevent you from feeling sluggish like fatty foods do, but they are also good for you in helping to avoid many diseases as I’m sure you are well aware or this fact.
Exercising also pumps you up. That’s why people don’t recommend exercising right before bed. Have you ever heard of a thing called runner’s high? When you exercise really hard you enter this euphoric state. Not to mention, you’re building up your heart muscles so they don’t have to work as hard and you’re making your arteries more elastic, which helps prevent blockages.
Down the road you could have less health problems
Not only will you feel more energized now, but you could also feel more energized in the future. Staying healthy now means that you’ll be healthier later. You’ll be less susceptible to diseases and ailments. Just think about it. Would you rather have a stroke (from all the bad foods you ate and from the lack of exercise) and not be able to walk around? Or would you rather eat healthy and exercise so that you’ll be more likely to be able to run around with your grand children and stay active?
Of course there are all sorts of other factors involved with your health such as family history. This does not mean that we should just throw in the towel though. Why not maximize your chances of enjoy a long and healthy life? I know it’s not as simple as this, believe me, since there are so many temptations out there, but we shouldn’t stop trying. We shouldn’t even stop eating foods that enjoy that may not be the healthiest for us, rather we should try to eat less of them to start. Some enjoyment in life is needed, but if you can eliminate the unhealthy foods completely, then great!
It’s cheaper now and later
It’s much cheaper to buy groceries for a meal than to spend $7 on a fast food meal. If you have a family of 4, that would be nearly $30 for 4 value meals. For $30 you could make a fantastic meal with higher quality ingredients. Even TV dinners cost more than it would take to feed the same number of people. Go check out the prices for yourself at the grocery store if you don’t believe me.
It can certainly be difficult to juggle life’s many tasks and stay motivated. Cooking healthy food and exercising can be a daunting task at times, but you’ll be better off now and in the long run. If you can avoid health problems now, then you save yourself money now. If you can help prevent or less health problems as you age and get older, then you’ll save yourself lots of money in health care costs down the road as well.
More money + more time to live = more fun!
We all want more time and money in our lives. These are the two somewhat scare resources. If you stay on top of things and help yourself to live a healthier lifestyle then you can save yourself more time and money. Then by helping your friends and family to do the same, everyone else can be happier too. Of course there is no magic wand to make this all happen. If there were and if we all were taking care of ourselves then we’d have much less trouble with health issues. Stay strong and stay motivated. I’m confident that you can do it.
As my mother once said, “Never give up on yourself.”
