What is a Healthy Lifestyle?

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What is a Healthy Lifestyle?

A healthy lifestyle isn’t just diet and exercise. So what is a healthy lifestyle? Today we go over the components of leading a healthy lifestyle and how it’s important to lead a balanced life.

I and many others are promoting the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle, but what does that actually mean?

In general, most would agree that a healthy person doesn’t smoke, is at a healthy weight, eats a balanced healthy diet, thinks positively, feels relaxed, exercises regularly, has good relationships, and benefits from a good life balance.

Maybe I should start by trying to look at a few definitions for the word – lifestyle.

A definition in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language says: “A way of life or style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group”.

A final definition of lifestyle is: “The aggregation of decisions by individuals which affect their health, and over which they more or less have control”.

Definition Of A Healthy Lifestyle

The World Health Organisation in 1946 defined health as ‘A complete state of mental, physical and social well-being not merely the absence of disease’.

Wikipedia defines a lifestyle as the way a person lives. This includes patterns of social relations, consumption, entertainment, and dress. A lifestyle typically also reflects an individual’s attitudes, values or worldview. A healthy lifestyle is generally characterized as a “balanced life” in which one makes “wise choices”.

What is the definition of Healthy Living?

The actual definition of Healthy Living is the steps, actions and strategies one puts in place to achieve optimum health.

Healthy Living is about taking responsibility for your decisions and making smart health choices for today and for the future. So healthy living would consist of:

Physical (For The Body)

  • Good Nutrition, Eating Right
  • Getting Physically Fit, Beneficial Exercise
  • Adequate Rest
  • Proper Stress Management

You Also Need to Give and Receive

  • Forgiveness
  • Love and Compassion
  • You Need to Laugh and Experience Happiness
  • You Need Joyful Relationships With Yourself and Others

Emotional Wellness (For The Mind)

  • Self-Supportive Attitudes
  • Positive Thoughts and Viewpoints
  • Positive Self-Image

Spiritual Wellness

  • Inner Calmness
  • Openness to Your Creativity
  • Trust in Your Inner Knowing

And all aspects of one’s self, must work in harmony to achieve wellness, so you need to create a balanced life.

Why is it Important?

A healthy lifestyle is a valuable resource for reducing the incidence and impact of health problems, for recovery, for coping with life stressors, and for improving quality of life. There is a growing body of scientific evidence that shows our lifestyles play a huge part in how healthy we are. From what we eat and drink, to how much exercise we take, and whether we smoke or take drugs, all will affect our health, not only in terms of life expectancy, but how long we can expect to live without experiencing chronic disease.

Conditions such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, joint disease, and mental illness are responsible for a vast number of deaths and disabilities. Currently, we rely almost exclusively on the provision of clinical care by highly trained health professionals as our major strategy to deal with these conditions. Many health problems can be prevented or at least their occurrence postponed by having a healthy lifestyle.

Why don’t you have a healthy lifestyle?

It’s a busy life for most of us. And keeping ourselves healthy is all too rarely near the top of our list of ‘things to do’. Convenience often wins – we are all so busy that convenience is at a premium.

Good Health Is “Simple – But It’s Not Easy”

It is so important to make ‘keeping healthy’ a part of our day-to-day living habits. Your health depends on what you do throughout the day, everyday. A healthy lifestyle is absolutely vital. Here is a real simple solution – slowly improve your lifestyle in a step-by-step way. If you take one new health step every two months, for example, in two to three years you will be among the healthiest ten percent of people in the Western world. And boy will you see and feel the benefits.

Improvements do not have to be large steps; take one small step for your health today, keep that one going, and add another one every two months. Have a plan – maybe introduce 6 improvements over the course of a year.

Can You Adopt A Healthy Lifestyle?

Whatever your age, fitness level or body shape, its never too soon or too late to start thinking about living healthily. You can take a step towards healthy living by making one change now to your daily life. That won’t be so hard will it?

Are You Living A Healthy Lifestyle?

Do you wake up with enthusiasm for the day ahead? Do you have the high energy you need to do what you want? Do you laugh easily and often, especially at yourself? Do you confidently find solutions for the challenges in your life? Do you feel valued and appreciated? Do you appreciate others and let them know it? Do you have a circle of warm, caring friends? Do the choices you make every day get you what you want?

The Components Of A Healthy Lifestyle

Eating Healthily

The right nutrition is necessary to live a healthy lifestyle. Your body requires a well balanced diet every day in order to maintain the adequate amounts of vitamins, nutrients and minerals needed to maintain a healthy body.

To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art – La Rochefoucauld (French Writer)

An Active Lifestyle

You will need to include fitness as part of your life. Physical fitness keeps your weight in check, helps you sleep better at night, prevents heart attacks and strokes and other health problems, and generally prolongs your life. Basically there are so many benefits of exercising that you really can’t live a full life without it.

Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness – Edward Stanley (Earl of Derby)

Stress Management

Emotional stress plays an important role in many illnesses, both directly and indirectly. People are also more likely to smoke, overeat, drink too much, work too hard, argue with others and so on, when they are feeling stressed. Thus, stress management is an important part of your new lifestyle, and meditation and relaxation techniques are truly a key part of living a healthy lifestyle.

Diseases of the soul are more dangerous and more numerous than those of the body – Marcus Tullius Cicero (Roman Philosopher)

Make Friends With Yourself

Loving yourself is a key to a healthy, happy lifestyle. Self-esteem is all about how much people value themselves; the pride they feel in themselves, and how worthwhile they feel. Self-esteem is important because feeling good about yourself can affect how you act.

The power of love to change bodies is legendary, built into folklore, common sense, and everyday experience. Love moves the flesh, it pushes matter around… Throughout history, “tender loving care” has uniformly been recognized as a valuable element in healing – Larry Dossey (Physician)

Powering Up Your Mind And Body

Programme your mind for total success. Develop a vision, a compelling future that excites and inspires you, and focus on it daily. Don’t let anything knock you of course, or make you question its possibility. I promise you, by taking control of your thoughts, you will improve your life in a big way.

In minds crammed with thoughts, organs clogged with toxins, and bodies stiffened with neglect, there is just no space for anything else – Alison Rose Levy (Journalist)

Life Balance

If you want to achieve a healthy lifestyle you must take steps to ensure you maintain a certain level of balance… spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially, mentally and financially. You need to balance work and family, and all the other areas of your life without spreading yourself too thin and having a guilt trip when you do one thing, but think you should be doing another. All of the key areas of our lives overlap and interlink, effecting each other. Unless we create for ourselves satisfaction in each and every part of our life, we can never truly be fulfilled, or live a contented, happy and healthy life.

No success in public life can compensate for failure in the home – Benjamin Disraeli (British Prime Minister)

Being Healthy is so important. Just change one thing in your life today. Have a healthy life beginning now. Living a healthy lifestyle will bring you happiness, health and the life of your dreams. You can fit into your favourite pair of jeans again. You can enjoy all the benefits that perfect health offers you. You can feel your best at all times of the day.

I have spent over ten years working in the area of personal development and in helping others to achieve their potential. It is the belief that everyone should be helped and encouraged to reach their full potential that motivates me in my work as a coach and blogger. I’m passionate about this because I have seen its effects in my own life and the lives of others. I am 100% committed to making the difference, and I pray this is obvious to you through my blog.

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About the author: Larry Lewis
My name is Larry Lewis, Health & Wellness Life Coach, Founder of Healthy Lifestyles Living, contributor to the Huffington Post, recently featured in the Sunday Mail Newspaper and somebody who went from being an owner of a chain of gyms and fitness fanatic, to a visually impaired overweight and incredibly sick person. Read about my illness to wellness story.
21 Comments
  1. I think, for the most part, my life-style is pretty healthy, but you brought up here some areas I could work on a bit more. The information is so useful and it reminded me of how many components are truly involved if we are to live full and healthy lives. It’s so much more than just diet and exercise!
    Thanks for another great post, Larry. As always, your passion shines through!
    Blessings!

    • LarryLewis says:

      Thank you Martha. It is so normal for people to associate eating right and exercising to be the two elements of healthy lifestyles, but yes it is so much more than that. But i do enjoy making sure that i bring to your attention everything you need to be thinking about and doing. I’m sure you are creating a truly healthy lifestyle.

  2. sulekha says:

    Balance is important in life and we need to keep a positive attitude at all times. It’s never too late to adopt healthy habits, but grounding the mind takes a lot of practice and hard work. Enjoyed reading your post.

    • LarryLewis says:

      Sulekha, yes a healthy balanced life is really important, and you are right, whenever we make a firm decision we have the capability to establish new habits. Yes grounding are mind, taking control of it, stopping it thinking a thousand thoughts a minute, slowing it down is so , so hard, but worth the effort and the challenge it brings.

  3. Grady Pruitt says:

    I could definitely be living a healthier lifestyle myself. I am trying to get into the habit of exercising more regularly, eating healthier foods and getting plenty of rest at night. Though I still have a long way to go on all of these.

    Thanks for sharing!

    • LarryLewis says:

      Grady, i know there are so many things pulling for our attention and time, that sometimes its difficult to make the time for these things we know are important for our health, but i’m going to hound you until you do.

  4. Pancake says:

    I enjoy reading your posts, Now I know that having a healthy lifestyle is the most important in this World! Keep it up..

    Living a healthy lifestyle is not as hard as people think…get the knowledge…

  5. Judy A Murphy says:

    Your dead on Larry, understanding all components helps. Energy, exercise, healthy eating, desire, heart, need and love can move a lot of things in life, but I have a feeling your mind has a big influence. When people tend to be chasing their tail in all directions, trying as hard as they know how, and still finding life, one step ahead and two back, guess what, they are missing something, it is not a fault of their own, it is a lack of finding the answers to, WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME? What your past, present, and future depends on when you are in this situation, is SOMEONE WHO CARES, someone that has been there, done that, and someone that understands where you’ve been and where you’re wanting to be in life.The right person to confide in is someone, that is not just book educated, not someone interested in making big bucks, it is definitely someone who cares. Someone with a passion, someone with a past record of helping ability, I can sing your praises Larry because I know what your abilities are, and how you have a special gift to care enough, to genuinely help others.Your calling and passions are proving this as we speak. For the answers of life issues that may help, people can always take a look at Healthy Lifestyles Living a wealth of FREE information, that just may offer the Missing Pieces in THEIR LIVES! THANK YOU LARRY!

  6. tori says:

    this article is pretty amazing. It has helped with all the info on a poster im doing for my CALM class. Glad i read this

  7. Steve carve says:

    A healthy lifestyle needs some hard work to do. It may also require us to leave some bad habits that we have accrued for some period. There are some basic things that we can try to achieve this goal like early bed time, physical workout, quit alcohol and cigarettes, drink sufficient amount of water.

  8. Ganesh Sen says:

    HI Lary,
    Great Article. I would like to connect with you, as I am developing a program for children in schools (elementary level) on healthy life style. I am working on a program diabetes prevention for Kids in the Pacific Islands, where NCDs like diabetes has become a chronic illness.
    Regards,
    Ganesh

  9. Virgie Ortega says:

    Its an old article but nevertheless the recommendations of and on living a healthy lifestyle still fits this thought process so do agree with you thankyou. Now were looking on kindness also as a key to feeling better by helping others as part of our lives. Going different ways other then the normal routine that fix our eyes on by doing something out of the normal day to day activities. I am still reading on this 2019.

  10. Eduard says:

    Thanks, Bro!
    Really Great Article!
    It should inspire all people
    to do a revision of their life and move forward to the perfect future!
    Regards,
    Eduard

  11. Kyle says:

    this article helped me trough a very hard journey in a project

  12. Vineet says:

    A very well put-through article, very informative, and to the point. really nice elaboration on points that makes it clear what mistakes people do and how they are deprived of a healthy lifestyle. keep up the good work sir. really enjoyed reading your article.

  13. Tesfaye Temesgen says:

    My Name Tesfaye Temesgen i am a Sociology student in Hawassa University, Ethiopia.
    then the concept health life style by far important in our life time. however it is not just a simple word as we explain it. we have so many hindrances in our daily life process as it whether happiness or sadness which we face. those variables whether it may be economic, social, political and cultural factors affect our life balance. life is full of choice we have responsibility to make our life way to continue as sad or happy.

    THANK YOU!

  14. Tevita R says:

    Very resourceful and practical

  15. Although it’s an old article, the recommendations on living a healthy lifestyle are still relevant. I agree with your viewpoint. Now, we are also exploring kindness as a way to improve our well-being by helping others. By breaking away from our regular routine and doing something out of the ordinary, we can broaden our perspective and enhance our overall sense of happiness.

  16. Talkmint says:

    Indeed, Staying healthy is one big challenge in the modern times. One can achieve the same by changing some minor lifestyle habits.

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