Getting in shape and living healthy

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a matter of breaking bad habits and replacing them with good ones. A healthy lifestyle may not only lead to a prolonged life, it can also drastically improve the quality of your life.

The good news is that, with a healthy diet, enough sleep and a simple exercise regime, healthy living is just a few steps away.

“Our philosophy on maintaining a healthy lifestyle is simple: Exercise regularly and productively according to scientific guidelines, eat healthily and avoid fad diets – preferably a low GI regime according to accepted international norms – avoid smoking and other harmful substances, consume alcohol in moderation, sleep eight hours a day and drink plenty of water,” says Ray Bienedell, Group Director of Operations at Run/Walk for Life.

An unhealthy lifestyle leads to more illnesses and increased medical expenses, placing a bigger burden on an already challenged health care system. Less productive working hours, poor quality recreational time and a shorter life expectancy are additional downsides to an unhealthy lifestyle. According to Bienedell, many people today take good health for granted. “A person can suffer from aches and pains for years, and yet feel very surprised when they are eventually diagnosed with a serious chronic illness.”

Apart from living an inactive lifestyle with lots of stress, there are many other factors in today’s world that contribute to a degeneration of health among the majority of our population. We are all exposed to a myriad toxins and chemicals every day in the air we breathe, the food we eat and the drinks we consume, and we are eating more processed foods than ever before in human history. Electronic entertainment devices have led to a young generation that is inactive, unfit, unhealthy and overweight. “Children are being introduced to fast food outlets at a very young age, and do not understand that these nutritionally deficient foods contain, among other things, saturated fats that increase blood cholesterol levels and therefore increase the risk of developing heart disease and cancer,” says Bienedell.

The good news is that, by changing your habits and being more conscious of how the daily lifestyle choices you make affect your overall well-being, you can break the cycle for yourself and your family. Running or walking is an exercise that most of us can do, and it has a host of health benefits: because running and walking are aerobic (oxygen–dependent) activities, they reduce the risk of heart disease and some forms of cancer. Aerobic exercise also reduces elevated blood pressure, cholesterol and stress levels and helps to control osteoporosis and diabetes. Running or walking is a safe way to control your weight, reduce body fat and help build lean muscle mass.

Before embarking on any exercise routine, including running or walking, Bienedell advises that you seek advice from a medical practitioner if you:

have a history of coronary problems, such as a heart attack or a bypass, angina, heart murmur, stroke or have a pacemaker;
experience pain or pressure in your chest or left arm;
are excessively out of breath or feel faint or dizzy while doing moderate exercise;
have high blood pressure, cholesterol or blood sugar counts, are a diabetic, if you smoke or have a family history of heart problems; or
are over the age of 50 and have been inactive for five or more years.

If your goal is to maintain or improve your health, any cardiovascular exercise like running, walking, cycling, or swimming, where you elevate your pulse rate to within the acceptable limit for your age, will be beneficial in the long run. Bienedell advises that you be realistic in your expectations in terms of your time frame for achieving results. “It probably took you years to pile on the extra kilos and lose your fitness, so don’t expect to regain all that you have set your mind to in a matter of days. Be prepared to struggle a little in the beginning, but rest assured that the more you do it the easier it will become,” he says.

The commitment to making the necessary lifestyle changes to ensure that you will lead a longer, healthier life is much easier to maintain if you surround yourself with people who have the same goals as you, and who can join you in your road to success. “Don’t rush headlong into a poorly devised exercise regime; rather join a fitness programme where the average jog can be turned into an excellent workout, while you receive great advice and motivation, in safety. All you need is an hour a day, three times a week,” Bienedell concludes.

The information and other content provided in this article are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is the information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment. If you or any other person has a medical concern, you should consult with your health care provider or seek other professional medical treatment. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or emergency services immediately.