The Value of Keeping Health Simple

When navigating the health world, there are all sorts of suggestions, plans, programs and pitfalls. A simple journey to living a healthier lifestyle can become a mind-numbing mess of gadgets, apps, calorie counting, restrictions, 5AM trips to the gym and endless label-scrutinizing that would send any person back to bed to avoid all the work. It's no fun being healthy when you're constantly monitoring every thing you do! Here are a few absolutes that every expert can agree on to help you simplify things.

Enjoy life and the body you were given to live it in.
It's fine to set goals for yourself and have things to aspire to, but focusing too much on the end product will often result in endlessly beating yourself up if you don't get there and frustration. One Ayurvedic lesson is to treat your body like your friend. If your friend was sick or struggling, or if something was clearly wrong, you wouldn't belittle her or get angry at her for not being perfect. Listen to your body and identify what you struggle with and try to work with that. And celebrate and work on improving your inherent strengths.

There isn't one single life plan for everyone.
There are certainly things that will universally help your health and make you look better in the process, but remember too that each body is a unique biological organism. Real lasting change takes a lot of time. Depending on your habits, medical history, genetics and what you've been eating all your life, your metabolism could function completely differently from the next person. What works for one person may not necessarily work for you. What one person enjoys eating or doing may not be what makes you passionate about being healthy. You may look great at 140 pounds while someone else does better carrying 110. That is completely normal and okay.

Eat your vegetables.
Even if you eat vegetables at every meal, you could probably still eat more of them. Everyone agrees and the science overwhelmingly backs it: there is nothing more super and more nutritious for your health than veggies! Eating fruit or a multivitamin or a "superfood" is NOT a substitute! Avoid peas, corn and potatoes and go for nutritional powerhouses, especially leafy greens like spinach and collards, and cruciferous vegetables like kale, broccoli and cauliflower. Eat huge salads for lunch, wilt spinach in your breakfast scramble, throw a few handfuls of raw spinach into your smoothie. They will make you feel full, boost your energy and keep you young. No pill, powder or any amount of exercise can replace that.

Don't go crazy with supplements.
There isn't any herb or pill that you can take that will alter your health more than being active and eating well. Some things certainly help. If you're a vegetarian, it's probably a good idea to take a B-complex. To boost your metabolism, you may want to consider drinking more green and herbal teas. Coconut and flax oil is certainly good for you, but there's no reason to go out of your way to eat a tablespoon of it every day if you're already preparing your meals with it. Anything a superfood or supplement has can probably already be found in the foods you're eating daily. What you should do is probably what you already know: Avoid packaged and sugary foods and eat a natural diet of vegetables, lean protein, fruit, nuts and seeds to get your nutrition. Focus on the food and staying active and save your money for better things.

Strength is not complicated.
There's no such thing as "muscle confusion" or shrinking your muscle mass to look long and lean. Your muscle size is determined mostly by genetics and how much weight you lift. That's pretty much it. Doing 100 crunches a day or complex reverse interval training will not give you abs. Do exercises you like to stay active, like yoga, swimming, riding your bike, playing with your kids, taking walks with your significant other, or playing sports. Make sure you  move around regularly instead of sitting at your desk or on your couch all day. If you really want to build muscle, look into doing deep muscle training twice a week (slow, heavy reverse weight lifting until your body can't lift anymore). But beyond that, you don't have to do anything weird to stay fit. Your body doesn't know the difference, and your brain will appreciate the break.

Keeping things simple gives you more time to focus on what matters to you. Instead of making your health the center of your life when life is already short, use that time to enjoy who you are, build your relationships and your talents, and have fun! Until next time, keep it clean!