Wednesday, January 28, 2004

Healthy living

By MIKE CALDARELLO
Special to the Citizen

What does healthy living mean to you? Does healthy living require a change in your lifestyle? If so, is change major or minor?

A healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean we have to live in a bubble. It doesn’t mean we must sanitize everything we touch. Healthy living doesn’t require us to eat twigs and leaves, or ride a bicycle everywhere we go. We need not endure nutritional denial or torturous exercise. We simply must make good decisions and choices.

We wouldn’t knowingly step in front of a moving bus; why, then, do we smoke? We wouldn’t face down a rabid animal; why, then do we consume excessive amounts of alcohol or do drugs? We wouldn’t put our hands into a running garbage disposal; why, then, do we eat so much sugar and fat? I make these comparisons to point out the dangers many folks expose themselves to on a daily basis.

Exercise can, likewise, be done without radical behavior. Taking the stairs increases the heart rate more than riding the elevator. Parking further away burns more calories than otherwise. In today’s society, there is no excuse for not knowing the pitfalls of smoking, excessive drinking and dumb nutritional choices; yet, look at the epidemic of obesity of our citizens, young and old. Look at the deaths caused by smoking and drunk driving.

Building a healthy lifestyle is not an option. It’s a must. Sound nutritional advice is available from your doctor or through any number of resources. The internet comes to mind. Wholesome and tasty foods are abundant. As I have written many times in previous articles, exercise can be many different things to different people. Some may take to walking; others may take to running marathons. Choose something you like, and do it.

A healthy lifestyle isn’t static. It is exciting and dynamic. As your body changes, so, too, will the variety of foods you can eat. As your fitness level changes, so, too, will the variety of activities you can perform. 

Parents, teach your children the value and importance of sound nutrition and exercise. These lessons learned will become a key part of their entire healthy, productive, and happy lives. Perhaps we can turn around the growing plague of obesity.

During the course of my personal training sessions, I often hear folks say that they don’t have time to exercise and are not inclined to change their eating patterns. Don’t look at the concepts of sound nutrition and exercise as gimmicks, but rather tools with which to build and maintain a genuinely rich life.

I am sure that many of the current requirements in your lives were not always the case. You made the changes necessary to facilitate ongoing responsibilities. Seems like many of us have had to learn to schedule time to shuttle our kids to a myriad of activities. Some of us have had to adjust to changes in our work schedules. All of us are constantly making adjustments in our lives. Can we afford not taking care of ourselves? If we look back, I think all of us have made adjustments that at the time seemed impossible; yet, today, are just routine.

Lifestyle changes need not result in denial and torture. Agree to make small changes at first, and then build on them. Enlist the help of family, friends and respected professionals. Make specific goals, not vague or general ones.

If you had the choice for you and your family to have more energy than less, feel better than worse, look better, and be overall healthier and happier, what would you do?

Let’s focus on making on 2004 the best year yet.

(If you have any questions or comments, ask Mike at gitfit@bellsouth.net.)