subject: Healthy Living Requires Dedication [print this page] Being healthy is required to live a long and potentially more fruitful life. But from personal experience it is not easy. Sometimes I wish it were easier so that everyone can feel the same way I do every morning when I wake up. Even though I might feel groggy from time to time, I get over it real quickly and just live. But I was not born this way; it took a lot of years and a lot of hard work during those years to get where I am today. Despite that, I feel that I can always improve myself further and you know what, I am very much fine with that.
Healthy living requires the presence of mind to look at yourself, see what is wrong, find ways to improve yourself, and then work to achieve positive change. You need to start off by thinking positively because regardless of outside forces - e.g. friends, family, significant others - you need to know you can do it and you have to believe it without a single doubt. Thinking it is "too hard" or "too much work" will only slow down progress and may eventually stop you from being better than your old self. Also, you have to do this because you want it for yourself. You will be the one living with the results so it is ultimately your goals that matter most, not anyone else's.
Once you have the mind to go out and be healthy it is now time to talk about your diet. Eating better is what you need to do in order to slim down and have a better physique. This, and a strict workout regimen, will do the trick. And you have to remember, it takes time for you to see results so you are going to have to work at it on a regular basis. When you are starting out, do your best not to take any breaks from your regimen until you are sure you are seeing positive results. Once you have achieved this, then you can take a break but make sure it is not for long. As far as the diet is concerned, a small balanced meal every 2-3 hours will help satiate your appetite as well as ramp up your metabolism to burn fat. This also helps stave off snacking at odd hours of the night.
Dedication is the most important requirement if you want to be healthy from this point forward. Once you have cemented that as part of your life, the only direction you are going is up.
