To ask: 1. What do you personally consider a healthy lifestyle? 2. How have you improved yourself?

[Youcanstay]

Trying to get healthier and see if/what i could be doing better.
But also i can be too hard on myself, so i don’t know if i’m demanding too much from myself.
So if i could get your views and see where i am.
Thanks!

No alcohol/tobacco/drugs. Plenty of fruit/veg/protein and fewer carbs/ sugar. At least 30 minutes exercise a day.

Balanced healthy diet with appropriate calories

Few hours exercise a week

No drinking smoking drugs

I don't drink alcohol, smoke, no drugs. 1 hour exercise a day.
I'm still fat though, and I used to be an alcoholic junkie, so I'm not sure how much good any of the above does me.

Lots of fruit, vegetables, salad. Meat/fish (if not veggie), beans, pulses. Full fat food, just smaller amounts. A little bit of a 'treat', so small piece of cake or biscuit, just not the entire thing in one sitting. Limited processed stuff.

Being active.

No drinking, drugs, smoking.

Try to get decent sleep.

Find hobbies that you enjoy and relaxing (mine is reading)

No dieting, ever.

Lots of plant based food but no rigid rules or banned foods/food groups.

Little or no alcohol, no smoking.

Regular exercise plus lots of movement in general life.

I know what my personal healthy lifestyle looks like - doesn't mean I always do it!

Eating healthily - for me, that means following Slimming World. I know it's not for everyone but it works for me. It incentivises me pack in more fruit and veg and to limit the crap.

Regular exercise - for me, it's running. It's the only exercise I've ever enjoyed. I aim to go 4 times a week but at the moment I'm going everyday because it keeps me sane as much as anything else. It's my release as well as my fitness. Not silly distances, but enough to get my heart rate up and a good sweat on.

I don't smoke and rarely drink.

I would love to get more sleep, but my children won't let me! I think sleep is so important and I wish I could fix that one.

I think there are fairly stock answers you can give that everyone knows but I think for me, the most important thing is having something that's sustainable and works for you. I imagine by the time I post this, there will be at least one post about cutting our carbs. My life would be miserable without carbs and therefore, to me, that's not a healthy lifestyle.

The things that I've found are most important for me are 1) drinking enough water, 2) attempting to get a decent amount of sleep and 3) doing a broad mix of exercise (yoga/cardio/weights). 2 and 3 are more tricky at the moment due to lockdown and a baby! I know I feel better when I eat less sugar and more veggies but I also had a handful of mini eggs for breakfast today. I would consider it unhealthy to beat myself up about that. Everything in moderation; there's no point being 'healthy' if you're feeling deprived and miserable. Plus restriction often leads to bingeing.

Hey, thank you all.
Is there anything you do on a mental/ emotional etc. side of things.

I also think it's very very very important not to neglect mental health (being kind to yourself, having a glass of wine with a mate, having days where you just sit on the sofa watching Netflix) in the pursuit of some physical health ideal which may or may not have any benefit in the long term.

Ha, cross post! For me, therapy is a very important part of a healthy lifestyle but I appreciate it's not for everyone.

I don't drink, don't smoke I keep my weight down and I do cardio fitness 4 times a week. Hopefully that will keep my body healthy. My mind? Struggling a bit tbh.

To put effort and time into friendships and every few years review friendships and think is this person still someone who adds to my life.
Try and have a few hobbies or interests away from the rest of your family.

I drink - and get pissed - sometimes. I eat junk food and treats but cook fresh meals each day and eat lots of fruit, veg and plant-based protein. I also bust a gut with exercise and do around 2 hours a day, plus 90 minute dog walks daily. So I'm not fat yet, but I can feel that my metabolism has definitely slowed down a great deal over the last 12 months (approaching 40).

I refuse to stop having red wine with dinner some nights, I refuse to stop drinking cocktails on nights out, so exercise is my penance. I probably should drink less in all honesty, but lockdown has done nothing to help that.

I think aspiring to be 'healthy' causes a problem, I dont think you should just aspire to be healthier. If you dont even know what it is you are aspiring to why do you want it?

If something is causing you a problem, and changing it would make you feel better then do it, or something you are doing is causing obvious harm. E.g. if you feel dehydrated you need to drink more water. If you are overweight lose some weight. If you are tired you need to get more sleep etc. Make a change based on the outcone not just being healthier. 'I think i would have more energy if i excercised once a day' not just 'I need to excercise everyday to be healthy'

But i dont think you can aspire to just be 'healthy', because theres no one size fits all. And I think people can become very obsessed with feeling healthy.

Eating a balanced diet consisting of mostly freshly prepared plant-based foods, daily exercise. Alcohol and drugs in moderation.

Healthy lifestyle for me includes at least 2 hrs exercise a day

This can be simple walking the dog, not “gym” or complex exercise (I like swimming too, or tennis or badminton or dance-excercise )

Doing 2 hrs a day:

• keeps me physically in shape

• Means I never have to go “on a diet” or be paranoid about carbs

• Clears my head, blows out the cobwebs, gives me stronger mental health. I have time to think through things on my walks

For me it all starts with exercise, and then the rest falls into place

But often I read exercise is not that important and 30 mins a day is enough.... even my 84yr old mum with a walking frame does more than 30 mins a day though!

An hour walking or 30 minutes running or equivalent intensity exercise most days
7 to 10 fruit and veg a day, full fat dairy, protein, whole grains, the best food you can afford
Not smoking, alcohol consumption at least under the recommended limits
Getting enough good quality sleep
Finding things you enjoy doing and spending time with people who make you feel happy (online or a phone call under lockdown)

I think I have a healthy lifestyle but my weakness is chocolate.

I do 4-5 exercise classes a week, walk my dogs for 2-2.5 hours a day, I don't eat meat, don't drink soft drinks/tea/coffee, I drink 1-2 alcoholic drinks a month, don't smoke, no drugs, sleep 8 hours per night (god I sound fun:)). However, I never go a day without chocolate.

I'm at a health weight and all the exercising keeps my arthritis at bay.

No alcohol, no smoking, no drugs.

Eating a diet of vegetables, salads, protein such as meat, eggs, fish. Very little 'stodgy' carbs such as cakes, pastries, pasta. No takeaway meals and mostly home cooking, not ready-made meals. Plenty of raw salad items.

Giving up coffee.

Walking daily, only use the car where necessary. Exercise, biking. Indoors, doing plenty of 'active' work even though it's only housework. If watching TV, not sitting to watch it but doing something else at the same time, such as standing ironing.

Organisation...I just get stressed if things are a mess. Decluttering, keeping the home tidy, knowing where important papers are...but not being obsessive about it.

Living in the countryside, having a garden, fresh air (no pollution) so not living near to a large town.

Emotional health: plenty of friends, plenty of contact (meet up for coffee, walks, chat) but during lockdown just telephone calls, e-mails and so on.

Intellectual good health: plenty of extra interests, reading, research, evening classes, learning a new language (or whatever floats your boat!)

Creativity: doing plenty of creative things, such as sewing, baking, interior design (redecorating the living room, repainting an old table, stencilling a chest of drawers) and so on.

Plenty of laughter....watching amusing comedy, finding amusement in everyday odd happenings.

Being grateful for what I have, having some sort of faith, feeling 'lucky' in life and having a natural optimism.

A healthy lifestyle to me begins with healthy choices regarding friends and my partner. The activities I do with them and on my own are good for me. I ensure I have plenty of down time, rest, relaxation, time with my own thoughts (an extrovert might balance this another way!). These choices then have a positive impact on what I do with and put in my body. I smile and laugh a lot so I think it's working for me.

For me it means:
No alcohol. No smoking. Plant based diet (no meat, no dairy). No processed food ever. Exercise daily. Plenty of sleep and minimise stress as far as possible.

I appreciate that the above may seem a bit draconian to some but I have to manage my mental health and know what works for me. Food has a huge effect on me.

It depends on the starting point, it’s vastly different for everyone.

A big thing to remember is that it isn’t a race and you can’t always change everything at once and some things are only managable. Any changes need to be maintainable as well.

I’ve improved, but there’s still work to do, but that’s okay.

I finally crashed completely about seven years ago, for me it meant essentially challenging one thing at a time but it took about a year to realise that.

For me it’s
-good diet
-maintain a good daily routine, including good sleep hygiene
-exercise daily
-weekly therapy
-regular medication reviews
-keep a close eye on BDD

Meditation, yoga, running, sleeping, eating and water for me.
Also lots of self care. Could be a face mask, reading a book or a nice herbal tea.