How healthy are you? Part 3

How do you typically spend your free time?

This question helps us determine if you have an active lifestyle or not. If you find you use your free time to do things like, go for a walk, work in the garden, play a sport or go play outside with your kids/grandkids, then you probably live a pretty active life. If you answered this questions with things like, watch TV, go to the movies, have a snack or go out to eat, or read a book, then you might not be living a very active life. I don’t want to lecture you on how you spend your free time, I simply want to make you aware of the impact your usage of your free time has on your overall health. People who are living an active lifestyle have much less difficulty incorporating a regular exercise routine into their life. This is because they are use to being up and about doing things so some specific exercise can fit right into what they are already doing. If much of your free time is spent sitting you will probably find it much more difficult to take time regularly to exercise. My suggestion is to make a list of your usual free time activities, and then try to find a way to mix in something a little more active. You get to pick but here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing: play catch with a Frisbee or some sort of ball, go for a walk, hike or bike ride, go window shop around the mall, start a project in your backyard like a new garden or repairing a fence. These are all things that will get you up and moving and I believe you will find that you have some fun.

How much fruit do you eat each day? And
How much vegetables do you eat each day?

Hopefully I don’t sound too much like your mother with this one, but you really do need to be eating fruits and vegetables. The general recommendation for fruits and vegetables is around 7 to 9 servings per day (3-4 fruits, 4-5 vegetables). How much is a serving varies depending on the fruit or vegetable so for simplicity’s sake you may want to estimate a little bit. Figure a medium sized piece of fruit like an apple or orange is one serving, and ½ a cup of most vegetables is one serving. The tricky part is making sure these are a part of your diet. I have a couple of tips that may help you. Chances are there are some vegetables you just don’t like the taste of, they are either bland or have weird texture. I would encourage you to check around for ones you do like; there are a lot of vegetables and some tasty ways to season them so that you will enjoy them. Vegetables often come into play at dinnertime, which is great, but it would be good if you could work them into your lunch as well. Try a side salad or some cauliflower with your lunch, and maybe push yourself to snack on some carrots if you need something to much on in between meals. Fruits are a little bit different of a situation. Most people like fruit because it is sweet the problem is fitting it in regularly with meals. Vegetables seem to go nicely with most dinner entrées, but with fruit its not so easy. Here are a couple suggestions. Always include a piece of fruit in your lunch whether it is a traditional apple or orange, or maybe try things like slicing up melon or something interesting like passion fruit. Fruits also work great as a snack, there are some that take very little preparation and you will likely find that you can stock up on fruit for much cheaper than some of the snacks you currently have in the cabinet. Lastly, fruit can cleverly be incorporated into your deserts. My wife likes to make a little concoction of strawberries, blueberries and a little bit of whipping cream. Be creative and I know you can find ways to make sure you are getting those fruits and vegetables into your diet. The added benefit is you will satisfy your hunger and you won’t have to resort to less nutrient rich options.