How to Maintain a Healthy Weight

by Toby Maguire

A Taoist Master

"Health is Wealth"

Our health is the most precious gift that we can have in our lives, but most of us ignore this fact or completely take it for granted UNTIL we become ill. Managing our health should be our number one priority in life, but most of us put work at the forefront and our health somewhere near the bottom. Without your health, you have absolutely nothing and it is only when you lose it that you will realise that everything else in your life is of secondary importance. Maintaining your ideal weight is the key to living a healthy lifestyle and this can only be achieved with a positive mental attitude, regular exercise programme and a balanced diet.

Well, we all know that diet and exercise are key to maintaining our ideal weight, so where does the positive mental attitude fit in and how can we attain it?

"Do what you love, love what you do"

When it comes to exercise, make it enjoyable! If you love to exercise, maintaining your ideal weight then becomes a pleasure rather than a chore. Exercise doesn't have to mean slaving away in a sweaty gym or running aimlessly on a treadmill for hours on end. Find a sport that you enjoy doing! There are hundreds of different sports to choose from, so find something that suits you. It doesn't even have to be a sport; learning to dance for example can be your exercise, anything that gets you up and moving. In this way, you will look forward to exercising rather than dreading it.

Even better is to find a friend or friends to join you. When you have friends to exercise with, you will feel more motivated and push yourself harder. It can also open up a whole new social scene to you if you join a running club or take up a martial art. Also, set yourself some long term achievable goals when exercising and make it a priority. Long term goals such as competing in local running competitions, triathlons or attaining your black belt in karate will also help with your motivation. Short term goals such as losing 10lbs in the next month are often ineffective, because as soon as you attain your ideal weight, your goal will have been achieved and you are likely to then sit back and put the weight straight back on again.

  

When it comes to your diet, make sure that you enjoy your food. Healthy food doesn't have to be boring food, so learn some healthy recipes that you can not only knock up quickly and easily, but are also agreeable to the taste buds. Educate yourself about nutrition so that you know which foods will make you pile on the pounds and which ones will help you to keep your waistline in check. Often we don't have to consume less food, just healthier food to keep the love handles at bay. Also, you may wish to introduce a juice cleanse or raw food diet into your lifestyle on occasions. Not only will they help you maintain your ideal weight but will also strengthen the immune system and cleanse the digestive track which will help to increase your metabolism.

The key to happiness is to enjoy the simple pleasures in life, so seek out pleasure in everything that you do.

 

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