As a fitness trainer, I've kept my ears open and listened to people talk about and discuss their life. You can learn a few things when you listen.
I've learned the average person is going to eat what tastes good and they're going to overeat at times (usually more times than not). The food is just too good.
I've learned the average person is not going to do daily exercise unless the doctor tells them to and even then they won't consistently do it. I've learned that a lot of people have trouble sleeping for various reasons.
I've learned that there's no magic pill or surgery to put your health back together again without requiring the work of physical activity and exercise. And I've learned that if you really want to be well, it takes discipline and renewing your mind daily to commit to good health.
I have a slogan on our refrigerator at our house that I made up when our kids started kindergarten. It's been on the fridge for five years now. It says, "I will look for the good in life and live healthy." We have to choose health and living well.
How we choose to live our life right now will positively or negatively affect us 10 or 20 years from now. For example, according to a study in the journal Diabetes Care, if we choose to get up and take a moderate pace walk for 15 or 20 minutes after eating meals, it can positively affect our blood sugar levels.
Also, if we choose to perform muscle strengthening exercises two to three times a week for every major muscle group, then we can slow down the muscle loss associated with aging. If we choose regular exercise, we reduce our chances of becoming disabled from chronic diseases like heart disease, osteoporosis, pulmonary disease, arthritis and diabetes.
It's time for us to choose to look for the good in life and live healthy. Some people have told me that my writing tends to have a common theme every time. Yes, it does. Eat well, sleep well and exercise.
Saying this over and over will hopefully make it stick in our minds and then we can star applying it. I want you to feel good. Living healthy feels good and it makes your life less complicated. Think about it. Here's to your good health.
About the author: Jonathan Souder is the fitness director at Manor House, an ACTS Retirement-Life Community in Seaford. Email your thoughts to jsouder@actslife.org.
