Today’s lifestyle choices have a profound impact on the quality of life that individuals live. Sadly, a lot of the lifestyle choices that black people make are driven by years of cultural influences. For instance, dietary preferences such as the consumption of soul food are ingrained in most people’s ways of life, making it harder for change to occur. Furthermore, a lot of social interactions are centered on unhealthy food and beverages, which only worsens the case for black health.
In order to live longer, it is clear that there is a need for African Americans to change their lifestyle choices. The benefits of healthy lifestyles include:
Improved well being and health
Healthy habits such as exercising, eating healthy foods and avoiding harmful substances benefit your physical, emotional and mental health. Not only do these habits help to improve your general wellbeing, but they also make you feel good.
Manage your weight
Eating well and exercising on a regular basis helps you to avoid excess weight gain and it enables you to maintain a healthy weight. Physical activity is essential for reaching any weight loss objectives that you may have and it is also critical for boosting your immune system and concentration levels.
Enhances moods
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle has a positive impact on both your body and mind. Exercise stimulates the production of the endorphins, which are the chemicals responsible for making your feel happy and relaxed. Eating healthy meals, as well as working out can lead to a better physique, which can then translate to improved confidence and self esteem.
Fight diseases
Healthy lifestyle habits definitely go a long way in preventing serious health conditions such as diabetes, stroke and high blood pressure. Working out also helps you to manage your cholesterol levels easily, which in turn considerably reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Prevents injury
Physical activity strengthens your muscles and reduces the risk of injury. Exercise also does a remarkable job of improving your levels of flexibility and your range of movement. If you do get injured for one reason to another, a healthy lifestyle allows you to heal much faster.
]]>Sadly, in an effort to meet the demand, a lot of restaurants and manufacturers of processed foods are supplying ‘healthier versions’ of their meals and like most of these meals, the salads available are completely missing the mark.
Healthy and unhealthy salads
People think of salads as being the best choice simply because they contain a lot of veggies that are low calorie and high in nutrients, minerals and needed fiber. However, when you order a salad at a salad bar, restaurant or fast food joint, it more than likely contains a lot more than just veggies. At the very least, in order for their salads to be tasty and enticing, a lot of restaurants include dried fruit, bacon, cheese, and dressing, all of which can add unnecessary fat and calories to healthy salads.
What makes a salad unhealthy?
Portions
A lot of restaurants have a delectable selection of mouth-watering salads that are meal or jumbo sized so that you can eat them without ordering sides and still feel full. There is a wide array to pick from BBQ Chicken Taco salads to Moroccan Spiced Chicken that weighs in at an alarming 1300 plus calories. Meal-sized salads are intended to make you fuller but they only lead to weight gain instead because of the ridiculous portion sizes.
The salad dressing
Healthy sounding salad dressings are found all over but they are some of the unhealthiest things that you can include in your salads if you are trying to live healthily. Anything that claims to be low fat or creamy should be scrutinized closely because they contain piles of oils and sugar that would rival even the most processed foods. Any dressing that exceeds 100 calories per serving should be avoided. It is very easy to make your own salad dressing at home using flavorful vinegar like balsamic and a range of herbs.
Toppings
Although adding toppings to your salad every now and then is not a crime, some salad toppers such as toasted bread, croutons, and bacon bits are full of calories that can make your salad unhealthy. If you want to change the flavor of your salad, you should go for healthy toppings such as nuts, seeds,and olives.
]]>Additionally, in general, black people are more likely to know someone that has suffered from stroke, diabetes or hypertension than any other ethnicity. So if black lives matter why we do we still live unhealthy lifestyles? Fatty foods, an obvious lack of exercise and smoking are some of the hugest contributors to unhealthy lifestyles. Yet, a lot of individuals seldom take messages cautioning and encouraging them to change their lifestyles seriously.
While other contributing factors such as genetics definitely play a role to the increasing occurrence of unhealthy lifestyles among the black population, a lot of unhealthy cases can be prevented if people started making small changes towards living a healthier lifestyle.
Tips on how more people can take charge of their physical health
Every individual has a routine and preference that suits them best, however, the key to success is balancing everything out. This means knowing when to work out (not abusing your body with brutal workouts) and eating properly. More things that one can do include:
When picking your workout buddy, it is essential that you weight your options and choices very carefully because a workout buddy can be the difference between your failure and success. Even if you thrive better on your own, the right buddy can help you tap into those reserves of energy that you did not even know that you had. The benefits of a good workout companion include:
They help you reach your fitness objectives
Social support is a powerful tool when you are trying to achieve anything, not just fitness goals. When you have face to face support from a loved one, it can allow you to be more consistent with your workout, enabling you to achieve your goals a lot faster.
They make workouts fun
When workouts become too serious, it can be difficult to look forward to them every day. It is a lot more fun working out with someone that you can explore challenges with, as well as discover new classes and routines.
They help to maintain form
When you do not have a personal trainer to do it, a workout buddy ensures that you are maintaining the correct form throughout. Not only does this help to avoid injury but also ensures that you lose weight or tone up faster.
HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD WORKOUT COMPANION?
Ask your trainer
Talk to a professional at your gym to find out if anyone in your vicinity is looking for a workout partner. The trainer is likely to know your skill level and will hook you up with someone that can challenge you.
Try apps
There are plenty of apps out there such as Zogsports.com and Meetup.com that allow people to network and meet up. You can find anything on these apps from local hiking and biking groups to exercise meetups that involve children.
Reach out to your friends and family
This may seem obvious, but the easiest way to choose a workout companion is to ask your family and friends. You need a buddy that:
Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop many of us from feeling there isn’t any value in healthy food and proper fitness.
Today we are looking at a few facts that disprove the myth that living a healthy lifestyle is too expensive.
The cost of eating healthy vs unhealthily is typically regarded as too expensive for low-income families to afford. However, research published in the journal BMJ Open tells a different story.
A meta-analysis of data from 2000 to 2011 that tracked dietary patterns and food prices, revealed that on a 2,000-calorie diet, it costs about $1.50 more a day to eat healthy food options in comparison to unhealthy options.
However, that’s only a part of the story. There are multiple ways to reduce food costs if you know which foods to buy.
For example, to get your protein intake, you can swap chicken and beef for beans and save significantly more. Also, soy-based foods can provide the protein needed without the cost hike. Dry beans are incredibly affordable and give you as much protein as the other two types of meat.
Yet, an area where unhealthy foods are more expensive is in the snack and sweet department. Unhealthy snacks are more expensive than healthy snacks, particularly items like ice creams, cookies etc. Frozen-fruit bars, sugar-free applesauce etc., are less expensive and keep you on track with a healthy lifestyle.
Going to the gym is about more than getting a six pack, and sedentary lifestyles are not without risks. In fact, it costs the economy some $67.5 billion.
That cost is defined by lack of workplace productivity and medical costs.
Sedentary lifestyles are linked to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. All of which is a burden on the medical community.
And on an individual level, the cost of an unhealthy lifestyle can tally up to $8,000 a year per person! That cost is based on medical costs and extra expenditures like purchasing double the tickets on airplanes and other transportation vehicles.
For example, people living with diabetes pay some $13,700 per year on medical costs and roughly $7,000 of that is directly related to diabetes itself.
So before you write off the gym, think about the long-term consequences that can eat up your income.
As it turns out, you not only save money on food and medical bills when you eat healthy food and focus on fitness, but you also earn more money in the long run.
A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that people who have unhealthy lifestyles earn less than healthy people.
The accumulate more wealth and are paid about 28% more than unhealthy people. Unhealthy people also tend to work less by about 10%.
Factors such as productivity increased medical costs, and lower survival rates make unhealthy people less attractive to employers thus resulting in lower salaries overall.
And when it’s time for retirement, your savings take a huge hit because of medical costs as a result of an unhealthy lifestyle.
Of course, healthy people tend to live longer as well. Fitness is a critical component of life expectancy, even if you walk briskly for an hour a day.
The question is, are you ready to make changes to improve your health? With financial and physical benefits on the table, the ball is in your court to start making health, fitness, and nutrition-related changes. If you do, you’ll save money and possibly your life.
]]>Sometimes you have to say no
In the process of taking care of the family, most mothers forget how to say no. It can be hard; particularly where the kids and the spouse are concerned, but adding on to your plate will only leave you burned out. Additionally, it takes away any little chance that you might have had to take care of yourself. When you learn how to put yourself on your to-do list, you can start to focus on your health and fitness.
Make time for it
The simple and honest truth is that human beings make time for things that matter. As such, if your physical fitness is important to you, you will do everything in your power to find time for it. Daily obstacles are inevitable, but being flexible and open-minded will help to ensure that you are successful.
Be realistic and honest with yourself
Be honest with yourself about how much you can truly handle as well as your expectations for the process. For instance, if you have never worked out or have not done so in a while, you will not succeed by jumping straight into a brutal five day HIIT schedule. If you do, you will most likely exhaust yourself and cause a burnout.
Instead, start small with changes that work for your family and schedule. The road to change can start with something as simple as a 30-minute walk two to three days a week. You can then work on increasing your frequency and intensity as you move along and before you know it; your body will start to ask for more.
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