In this country, many people age far worse than they should. They become feeble, with brittle bodies, wrinkles and poor muscle tone. They can barely get out of bed or their cars and walk around. They don’t feel well, so their quality of life is destroyed. How can this be reversed? In other countries, we hear about people living even to and above 100 years with health and vitality of body, mind and spirit.
In order to find out how people can achieve a healthy lifestyle and longevity, we spoke with Dr. Thomas Taylor, a retired bariatric surgeon. Dr. Taylor has written several books, including “Overcoming Obesity.” He is highly experienced in both gastric bypass and gastric sleeve procedures to help his patients lose weight. He also serves on the board of the American Diabetic Association.
Exercise –
According to MedicalNewsToday, exercise is not just for radiant physical health, it is also for our mental health. We are not utilizing our bodies to our natural capabilities when we fail to exercise most every day. Exercise helps us mentally by providing time for release and for time out and introspection. The simple act of taking a walk for 30 to 60 minutes each day helps and heals our bodies and minds.
According to Harvard Medical School, the four most important types of exercise to engage in every day include:
Aerobic exercise: This is the type of exercise that gets our blood pumping and puts a glow on our faces. Simple means of participating in aerobic exercise each day include brisk walking for 30 to 60 minutes, swimming, indoor aerobic exercises, water aerobics or cycling.
Benefits of aerobic exercise include lowered blood pressure, less body fat, lower blood sugar, lower bad cholesterol levels and healthier heart and lung function. Aerobic exercise improves our mood as well.
Strength training: Weight training does not have to be done with massively heavy weights, but it does need to be performed with weights such that one set has around 8 to 10 repetitions with strict form. If you can easily do more than 12 repetitions, increase the weight a tiny bit. Other strength training routines include calisthenics such as squats, lunges and push-ups.
Benefits of strength training include stronger muscles, good bone density, lower blood sugar, better posture and balance and stronger joints.
Stretching: Stretching should begin and end each exercise session. Stretching makes our muscles flexible, decreasing pain and the possibility of injury. Stretching is also a wonderful physical release when done carefully and properly.
Balance exercises: Balance exercises, such as tai chi and yoga, help our bodies support our weight more safely. They often help improve our core body strength.
Eat Well –
The U.K.’s National Health Service advises eight steps for more healthy eating:
Don’t overdo the calories: They advise around 2,500 calories of food for men each day and 2,000 for women.
Eat starchy carbohydrates: About a third of our food each day should be starchy carbohydrates, like bread, rice and potatoes.
Eat fruits and vegetables: We need about five portions of fruits and vegetables each day.
Eat more fish
Avoid saturated fats, sugar and too much salt
Stay hydrated: Drink six to eight glasses of safe water each day
Eat breakfast: You cannot lose weight by skipping breakfast. Try for more carbohydrates and a bit of skim milk or skim yogurt to accompany your carbohydrate.
Avoid Alcohol –
Alcohol is a poison to our bodies. It makes it harder to keep off excess fat, making it store in our mid-sections. It blinds us to our emotions. Also, according to LiveStrong.com, it can permanently damage our brains, heart, nervous system, liver and emotional stability. It can lead us into accidents, injury, dependence and even death.
Avoid Drugs –
The government of Canada encourages people to avoid drug use altogether. They cite the risk of addiction, the potential changes to how our brain works and the physical risk of going about life impaired. They suggest that people who have begun taking drugs to dull their emotions need to confront their feelings and even seek psychological help or the help of a family member if you are having deep feelings.
Our feelings are there to provide us warnings. We must not dull them but listen to their wise counsel.
Avoid Caffeine –
According to HealthLine, caffeine wrinkles our skin, alters our brain chemistry, causes anxiety and panic attacks, spikes our blood pressure, limits absorption of some nutrients and impairs our sleep. If we can’t get up each day without having artificial stimulus that is so dangerous, what about our lives do we need to change to make our lives happy, so we want to get out of bed each day? Tip: Answers are below.
Avoid Tobacco –
According to Smokefree.gov, immediate benefits that occur within 20 minutes of your last cigarette are that your body begins to clear out the toxins you just inhaled. In three days, the nicotine has left your body. As the toxins are leaving our bodies, we feel temporarily worse, rather than better.
Long-term help from quitting smoking includes reducing the risk of heart disease, 13 different types of cancer, stroke, bronchitis and emphysema. Also, your skin may return to normal health and not be prematurely wrinkled.
The Mayo Clinic urges smokers who wish to kick the habit to realize that the first five to 10 minutes of craving cigarettes are key because people who get past those few minutes are closer to the time when they don’t have those cravings any longer.
The Mayo Clinic also advises examining what types of situations cause the cravings and find better strategies to cope. For example, smoking to end anxiety is one trigger for cravings. Why not sit in your anxiety and find other means of working out your personal situation to not have such stress on a daily basis? Our emotions were given us for self- and planetary preservation. Try honoring those feelings instead, sitting in the feelings and seeing where the feelings lead us to in terms of healthy action.
Spend Time Outdoors Every Day –
Medical Daily cites a study that shows daily walks outdoors in nature reduce stress, improve mental health and improve sleep at night.
Share Love –
Passing it forward and random acts of kindness are not just pithy mantras. When one lives this as a part and parcel of one’s life, there is this power that we partake in that somehow makes us stronger than we would otherwise be. It also empowers others to do the same.
Find Something Outside of Yourself to Support and Sustain –
When you help others, you feel warm, loving and empowered inside. It gives you strength emotionally.
People who are outside every day enjoying nature, caring for others with their emotions and hearts, caring for their own bodies with healthy food and exercise are so full of nurturance that they sustain themselves in a healthy and happy manner, and they radiate this out to others. Dr. Thomas Taylor hopes for this lifestyle for all of his patients for the success and survival of our planet.