1) Pick a protein morning, noon, and night. Be sure to eat breakfast every morning.
2) Pick at least two colors (vegetables and fruits) morning, noon, and night.
3) Drink water, six to eight glasses daily (48 to 64 ounces). Other healthy beverages include: sparkling water, low-sodium V8 juice, skim milk, coconut milk, coffee, and tea. NO sweet beverages (no sweeteners, either natural or artificial).
4) Do not eat or drink anything with added sugar. Also avoid grains; especially shun anything made with wheat, even whole wheat. If you are near your ideal weight, one daily serving of whole grain wild rice, quinoa, steel-cut oats, or pearled barley is acceptable.
5) Adopt a pet; a dog that needs daily walking is perfect.
6) If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation. Not more than one or two drinks daily.
7) Exercise 30 to 50 minutes most days. Shoot for not less than 150 minutes of at least moderate exercise per week. Include weight lifting at least 20 to 30 minutes, two or three times weekly.
8) Sleep seven and one-half to nine hours nightly.
9) Take supplements of omega-3 (1,000 to 1,500 mg of EPA + DHA daily), and vitamin D3 (2,000 IU daily).
10) Tap into the Power of Love. Put your family first. Commit long-term to your partner/ significant other. Try to stay close, emotionally and physically, to your parents, children, grandparents, and siblings. Build and maintain a social network that supports healthy behaviors such as exercise. Cultivate your spirituality and attend a faith-based service about once per week; denomination does not matter, whatever resonates best with your soul. Even a yoga class can count as spirituality time.
James H. O’Keefe, M.D., with Joan O’Keefe, R.D.
Photo Credit: Pixabay Creative Commons