Any Ideas On How To Become Healthier?

[the_rev]

Well, I recently attended a funeral for a teenager that died of a heart attack. That made me think, I want to become healthier so I can live until long age. I was wondering if you have any good tips on how to incorporate healthier foods into diet and get rid of chips, and salty and buttery popcorn. And how to exercise more, I realize that I'm getting a pot belly (man I"m starting to look like father dave!), and I don't like it!!!!!!


This is what I have on my list so far to become healthier,

1. Take my dog rollerblading morning and night
2. Eat a fruit and vegteble each day
3. Do sit ups each day
4. Your help!!!!

[rachael]

drink lots of water- at least the recommened daily amount

[the_rev]

Ok! Thanks rachel! I'm reallythirst now actually!

Any other ideas?

[Theoketos]

Go to Church more and work really hard.

To Work is to Pray as St. Benedict said.

[Theoketos]

oh and all the Oldest Monk in the Abbey where I live are the Hardest Workers.
At one time they were Farmers and Priests. Monks are so cool.

[rachael]

try not to stress out too much - it can make you really sick. after all, i should know. i am the queen of stressing out.

[the_rev]

what do u mean by stressing out?

[benedict_x]

Meditate.

Sleep for at least 7-8 hours.

[Margarite]

For lent I gave up a few things I liked to eat as a sacrifice. By good fortune, it turned out that I lost about ten pounds. The difference between dieting and doing this was that everytime I wanted to eat those things I gave up, I picture Jesus during the passion and it gave me strenght to continue my small sacrifice. It actually made me feel bad that I'd only gave up so little.

So, if you are ready for some small mortifications It would probably bennefit you a lot more both spiritually and physically.

The trick is to build better eating habbits rarther that quitting cold turkey on things you've been doing for long periods of time.

Adding a fruit and vegetable a day sounds right for starters, once you've made that a habit, add another thing like a salad two or three times a week and so on. Eventually all of your bad habits will be replaced by good ones.

The same thing can be done with phisical activity.

[Paladin D]

Rev, I'm glad you're realizing the important effects of eating healthy. I for one, am eating much better now than I used to. Here are some things I do, that I would like to share with you.

- Drink water more often. It's recommended to drink 8 glasses of water a day, but with most people (including I) we get so filled, we can't eat! Just drink nice cold water (or cool, whatever you want) than juices more frequently. But a good ole ice-tea or fruit juice doesn't hurt. Milk is good too, don't forget that.

- Try limiting your soda consumption dramatically. I loved soda... and when my mom forced me to drink less of it, I had a fit, lol. But now, I can care less actually. But since soda is practically a snack in liquid form, treat it as such. I rarely drink soda at all... but I would recommend drinking a serving of soda at least a couple times per week. You'll be suprised how less and less you'll crave soda, once you decrease the intake. It's also (from what Ironmonk said) not good for your muscles.

- Try to limit snacks that are very chewy (like caramel) and snacks that stick to your teeth (like Mike&Ikes, Jelly beans, etc). I would recommend chocolate, even though it's pretty much the same as other candy, it does less harm to your teeth. But, if you want chewy or sticky snacks, try rinsing out your mouth, brush and floss your teeth soon afterwards.

- Cereals. Considering most cereals these days are almost practically breakfast snacks, try and limit the consumption of very sugary cereals to a minimum. Try other cereals, such as Crispex, Cherrios, Corn Flakes, Raisen Bran, Honey Bunches of Oats, or whatever cereal that isn't like Cookie Crisp, Oreos, French Toast, etc. It isn't that hard, just look on the side panel, and look at how many grams of sugar it has. In fact, just looking at the front cover of the box can give you a good estimate whether or not the cereal is pretty good or just carp.

- Use common sense. If you've been eating a lot of good meals that day, get yourself a snack! Or if you've been eating a lot of snacks and junk food, start eating some healthier food. You don't have to be a expert to know what is healthy and what is not (though it does help, but it isn't necessary for the average individual). I'll have to post a short list of the basic substances you'll see listed on the Daily Value chart on food products (Fat, Saturated Fat, Sodium, etc), and explain which each one means (if you don't know).

- You don't have to eat raw frozen veggies or odd-ball fruits to enjoy them. Buy a bag of frozen veggies, or like a can of peas and cook them over the stove. They make a fantastic addition to a meal. I'm not sure what veggies or fruits you like, but here are some of the things I eat...

[b]1.[/b] Non-spicy Green pepper (or red, or yellow) with ranch dressing. I just slice up a nice cold pepper into strips, and dip them into ranch dressing. It's a nice alternative snack, if there is nothing else in the house... or just to delay the need for having a sugary snack.

[b]2.[/b] Baked potatoe. Potatoes themselves are pretty good, and not very bad for your health. They aren't the best (health wise) when they're sliced up and cooked into french fries, or eaten with sour cream and butter. Just get a potatoe (non-pealed, or pealed, it doesn't matter), wrap it up with some paper-towel, put it in the microwave (I'd recommend you cut it in half before doing so), then heat it up! I can't give an exact number on how long to cook it, but I'll tell you one thing... it'll be steaming a lot, don't let that fool you. Once in a while, feel inside and see if it's warm or hot. Usually it'll be steaming, and the potatoe will still be cold inside. After it's done, carefully put it on a plate, add some salt or pepper, and wallah! You [b]can[/b] add butter or sourcream if you want, (I prefer butter), but you won't need [b]that[/b] much to eat a good baked potatoe.

[b]3.[/b] Apple slices with whip cream. Just get any kind of apple (I prefer red), you can peal it if you want but, you don't have to if you don't mind the skin (like me). Then slice the apple up carefully around the center, cut it into like a square sort of. Start on one side, slice, on the other side, slice, on the other side, slice, on the other, slice... then just keep going till you start seeing the seed in the center of the apple, when you do, though the remains away. Then... slice up the larger slices you just cut from the beginning into smaller pieces if you want. After this, get a couple scoops of whip cream and dip your apple slice into the whip cream, and wallah! It's a nice snack in my opinion, hopefully you'll enjoy it too.


...there are some fruits that taste fantastic eating raw, in my opinion, nice cold red apples is great! Bananas are another fruit where practically most people love eating raw, but becareful... there is a substance in bananas when consumed, attracts misquitos. So if you're doing a lot of outdoor activities or work, don't eat a banana that day.

[Paladin D]

[quote name='benedict_x' date='Apr 11 2004, 12:22 PM'] Meditate.

Sleep for at least 7-8 hours. [/quote]
Yes, I can't believe I forgot this! Sleep is a very important factor, when I was younger... I hated sleeping (it was just so boring). But now, I appreciate it more and I love it.

The more you sleep, the more energy you'll have. It also gives your body more time to heal wounds, and other things that I don't know... . When I compare my facial skin and features with most others of my age, my face looks a couple years younger than it actually is. Studies have shown that the more sleep you get, the more it preserves your skin.

So even though many of us guys (and I believe girls?) want to look a few years older when they're younger, I suggest not to get so hyped about it. I used to be, but now I'm enjoying my under-aged looking face, because when I get older my face will be the first to show it. It'll be worth it in the end run.

One more thing, you can never regain sleep. If you were to sleep for 5 hours one day, and sleep 3-4 hours later that day, it won't do that much of any good. To put in example... missing sleep is similar to slamming a baseball bat against a tin can. When you get enough sleep, the baseball bat lightly taps the can... but when you don't get enough sleep, the bat starts slamming real hard against it. When you try and get more sleep again, the damage has already been done. That is why it's vital that you get enough sleep. I (on average) get around 7-9 hours of sleep.

[rachael]

[quote name='the_rev' date='Apr 11 2004, 12:51 PM'] what do u mean by stressing out? [/quote]
dont worry about things too much

[the_rev]

Thanks Pal! Great tips!

[~runnergurl~]

Make smoothies (but not milkshakes) when you need a little somethin, instead of carp drinks (few fruits, ice cubes, fruit juice, peanut butter.) You'll be really good at it in no time flat. Also, quit buying junk. If it's not around, you won't eat it. Don't go out to eat either, if you can help it- you'll be too tempted to get fries to go with your healthy little salad. And drink water, sleep, don't stress, blah blah blah. Good luck!

(Typed while simultaneously devouring an entire Easter basket of candy) :ph34r: heheh

Edited April 11, 2004 by ~runnergurl~

[the_rev]

Smoothies, those can be made in a blender?