The 5 Pillars of a Healthy Lifestyle

We all want to live a Happy, Healthy Life. So How Do We Do That?

It All Starts with the Five Pillars.

So What Are They, and How Are They Going To Help You? Well, I'll keep this article pretty simple.

The Five Pillars are as follows: Fitness Nutrition Sleep Perspective Environment Here is a brief explanation of each of them, and how they will help. Fitness - Your Brain Needs Air. So Does Your Body.

Getting Active Gets Your Blood Flowing, circulating oxygen throughout your system. A little known fact is that the brain uses 12x the oxygen of any other organ. Your Muscles Also Use A Lot Of Oxygen. This means that When You Train Your Body, you Build Up the Energy Your Brain Needs. Working Out and Getting Active also Burns Fat and Cleanses your Body, Ridding it Gradually of Toxins. When You Work Your Body, You Need More Energy. Energy Already Inside Of You. Your Fat Is Burned, Your Muscles Grow, and you are Able To Eat More Food Without Gaining Weight. 1 Pound of Muscle eats up to 50 calories per day, even while resting. Another thing to consider is that, when you start getting Fit, you may actually GAIN some weight, as you Lose Fat and Build Muscle. This is Ok. Your Body Wants It.

Nutrition - Your Body Needs Nutrients. Enough (not too much) of the Right Ones, and Little of the Wrong ones. Humans are made up of many things. Our body uses Nutrients in the Foods we Eat to Synthesize Helpful Chemicals that can do anything from Make Us More Alert, to Less Depressed... and More. Naturally, we evolved to gravitate towards a variety of foods. Back before the dawn of worldwide shipping and growing procedures, we had an even more limited availability of foods, which helps account for why our lifespan has gone up as the world has progressed. Our Body Hates Toxins, and That's What We Feed It. What the Toxins are should be Fairly Easy to Understand, with a bit of knowledge. Sugars, Fats, Salts... We all need a little bit of these, however, they are Already In Whole Foods... Eating a Healthy and Diverse Selection of Vegetables, Fruits, Grains, Proteins and a bit of Dairy, will set us on the right track. However, Things Aren't Divided Into Quarters, and the Focus Isn't On What We Think.

Most Of Us Over-Consume Bread, Meat, Dairy and Potatoes, to name a few things. The Foods That Are Easy To Produce Are Catered To Us. The Foods That Sell Easily Are Catered To Us. The Foods That Leave Us Needing Help. Do Your Own Research and Create a Diet that Works! Sleep - Most Of Us Do Not Get Enough Sleep. We Survive. Whether it is Work, Family or Lifestyle that gets in the way, Most People Just Aren't Getting Enough Sleep. The Body Needs At Least 8 Hours Sleep To Function Properly. Many of us Lie Awake for a while, Sleep Restlessly or Stimulate Our Brains, Right Up Until We Hit The Sheets... and Afterwards. Forming Better Sleeping Habits Will Give Us Results. The Body Regenerates While Sleeping, and the More Damaged It Is, (ie: Toxins, Stress) the More Of It We Need. In a 24 Hour day, Someone Could Sleep for 6 Hours, and Be Awake for 18 Hours. In Fact, Many Of Us Do. Another Person Could Sleep for 10 Hours, and Be Awake for 14 Hours. It May Seem Like Person "A" Would Be Getting More Done... However, Person "B" Will Be Thinking Faster, Feeling Better and Generally More On-the-Ball. Just As 30 Minutes of Exercise (Fitness) a day (1:30/Week) Can Make Us 20% More Efficient, (ie: 33 Hours Faster) A Good Night's Sleep, Especially At Consistent Times, can Help Sync Our Circadian Rhythm, and Make Us More Functional While We Are Awake.

This Means The Person Getting 4 More Hours of Sleep and 4 Less Hours Awake, May Accomplish Significantly More During Their Daylight Hours.

Perspective - One May Look Upon A Rain Cloud And See A Ruined Day, Another May See Healthy Growing Weather. A Lot Of Life Is In Our Perspective. We Are All Coming From A Place Of Lesser Things. Comparing Ourselves To Others May Be A Dangerous Habit. There are a Number of Ways to Look at Ourselves, at the World and at Other People.

Make Sure How You Are Looking Is Helping You Out. We may not be Arnold Schwarzenegger in Our Fitness Goals... We Just Don't Have To Be. Instead of Comparing Ourselves to Masters in their Own Element, We Should Compare Ourselves to... Ourselves. Think About Where You Were When You Were A Kid. You Were A Lot Less Skilled, Accomplished and Intelligent. If That Doesn't Fit, Look Further Back. We All Started As A Fetus, an Embryo... We Had Nothing. We came into this world, not even considered a 'Person' by Law.

Look How Far You Have Come.

You Should See You Are Much Further Along In Life. You may even see that, as a child, you were More Creative, Less Cynical and More Energetic, More Social Even. Not All Self Comparisons Are Bad. Sometimes We Get Weathered As We Age. Use These Comparisons as well. You Are Further Along Than You Used To Be. You May Have Forgotten What Made You, You. So Get Back To Your Roots, Your Passions, Your Energy and Your Positivity, Your Open Mind... and Move Forward To Your Future You. Environment - It's Hard To Stay Sober In A Crack House. Our Environment Can Make Or Break Our Lifestyle. They Say The Five People You Spend The Most Time With Are A Reflection Of Who You Will Become, or rather, You Will Become A Reflection Of Them and Their Habits. Our City, Our Neighborhood, Our School, Our Friends, Our Frequent Hangouts, The Food In Our House, Our Resources, Our Commitments and More... These Are Our Environment. Many People Have A Hard Time Moving On From Their Old Life. Addictions, Loyalties to Old Friends, Attachments to Old Places or the Security of Anything From Our Old Lives Can Keep Us Away From The Changes We Desire. Once You Change Your Environment, Your External Cues Will Lead You In The Right Direction. Just Make Sure You Move In To The Right Environment For You.

This may mean Going To School, Getting A Gym Membership, Surrounding Yourself With Friends On The Right Path, Shopping At A Whole Food Grocery Store, or even Moving To Another City or Neighborhood. Once You Change Your Environment, Everything Else You're Doing Will Make Sense and Fit Right In. The Five Pillars,

1 - Fitness 2 - Nutrition 3 - Sleep 4 - Perspective 5 - Environment

Treat Them As A Step-by-Step Guide To Change.

Use Them In Any Order. Repeat Them Forever.

Live the Lifestyle of Your Dreams.

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