The Importance of a Healthy & Active Lifestyle

Most of us don’t even realize just how important it is to live healthy and active lives. While we may “know” this fact, on most of the occasions we don’t pay much attention to it. We live sedentary lives, a large part of us are overweight and we suffer from a wide variety of lifestyle-related diseases.

Why is it so important to actually practice what you already know about a healthy and active lifestyle? Here are some of the reasons that may help you change the way you live – so that you are healthier and happier.

Your Body

You may have heard this a million times before, but living a balanced life and being active are the keys to maintaining your body healthy and fit. And this is not just about being “fit” in the sense of “looking good”, but also in the sense of “feeling good”. It’s not so much about appearance as it is about actual health.

Jogging (Creative Commons)

Being active will benefit your entire body, from the top of your head to the tip of your toes. Everything will “function” better: your blood circulation, your digestive system, your muscular system, and so on. Your skin will be detoxified, your breathing will be smoother, your sleep will be tighter.

Bottom line is that working out can change every single part of your body. And it doesn’t necessarily have to mean “going to the gym”. Anything that makes you sweat and work those muscles will bring enormous benefits to you. Dancing, running, walking, biking, martial arts, football, swimming – you name it and it will definitely work wonders for your body.

Your Mind

Many times people live with the preconceived notion that “sports” has nothing to do with “intellect”. This is an idea that should be completely erased from our society. In fact, studies show that people who are more active and people who live a balanced life – both from the point of view of what they eat and from the point of view of their daily habits – are genuinely more “efficient” when it comes to their brains too. This makes complete sense, in the end: when the brain is properly oxygenated and when blood circulates at a normal rate, it becomes more active – and thus pushes people to think faster and memorize more as well.

Aside from that though, there is a psychological dimension to the benefits living a healthy life can bring you too. People who are active feel better about themselves, they have better self-esteem, they cope better with stress

Weight Loss (Creative Commons)

and anxiety and they are rarely depressed. Working out and being active also releases endorphins in one’s body – and that makes people happier as well.

Will Being Active and Healthy Help You Lose Weight?

YES! As a matter of fact this is the way to lose weight and keep it off. It will not be easy and most likely it will not be fast, but the main idea to keep in mind is that it will not only get you good looking, but also healthy. If you want to make the process a bit easier, you should try to lose weight with Optifast. This is a series of products meant to help those people who need to lose weight and it includes low-calorie soups, shakes and even desserts. These products will help you boost your metabolism and keep cravings under control – the two worst enemies of any weight loss program.