6 Ingredients to Health

Happiness: As simple as it seems just being happy on a consistent basis generates a physiological response that brings a balance to our body. Studies indicate that smiling and laughter help reduce side effects of the aging process. From external appearance to internal hormonal balance being happy actually helps the overall health process. When is the last time we actually laughed out loud or even smiled on a daily basis? Being genuinely happy brings a sense of calmness and stress relief that our bodies desperately need. As with many other aspects of health, being happy becomes a choice or maybe better stated a habit. The all work and no play mentality only works for so long before it catches up with us, so allow enough time in each day to find enjoyment and you will be on the right track to improved health.

Excitement: Do we have excitement in our daily life? This may seem like a strange question at first but being motivated may be the most important thing there is when it comes to achieving and maintaining health. It is difficult to maintain motivation if we are not excited about something. We should have clearly defined short-term and long-term health goals that give us an opportunity to experience positive feedback of success along the way. This progress gets us excited and allows us to stay the course and that is why staying plugged into a group dedicated to similar health related goals is so important.

Arithmetic: It is important to understand that achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is for the most part, a simple math equation. While it is true that genetics and other factors certainly can attribute to issues of weight and health challenges, it is the caloric count that for most of us that becomes the main subject. We need calories for fuel or energy for our bodies. If we eat too many calories that we cannot use or burn up by way of our bodies metabolism and slowly we begin to gain weight. Also not all foods are created equal. Ideal foods are those with high water content such as fruits and vegetables. Foods with high fat content tend to stay with us when we eat more calories than we burn off. So really it does become a choice and a math problem, calories in versus calories out. If these are out of balance the choice becomes eat healthier or exercise more frequently, for the best results of course do both. The longer the arithmetic is correct the more results will be seen and the longer lasting the results will become toward improving your overall health.

Love: Initially the incentive to get into shape and improve our health may be somewhat self-serving. After all it is our body and we may want to lose a few pounds to look better in clothes or to just be more active to do the things that we enjoy doing. However, over the long-term our health goals need to be about something more concrete than how we look in clothes. Love is a strong motivator and as such has been included in this section to focus on the fact that achieving and maintaining health is a long and difficult process. Therefore, we need to find a reason beyond today or tomorrow that will make the commitment of healthcare worth it.