How many times have you told yourself that you’ll go to the gym first thing in the morning or immediately after work, only to postpone? Or maybe you decide to prepare a week’s worth of healthy lunches and dinners but you find yourself too exhausted to even think about it? With a hectic work schedule which can sometimes be a little too demanding, how do you manage and still find time to lead a healthy lifestyle?
“The short and simplest answer is a work-life balance,” says Max Fardan, a Dubai-based fitness enthusiast and breast cancer survivor. “After I survived my breast cancer diagnosis, I’ve learned to value and take my health seriously. That’s when I knew I had to be physically active and live a consistently healthy lifestyle,” he adds.
Max was diagnosed with breast cancer, an illness more common in women when he was 24. According to the World Health Organization, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide, claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of women each year and affecting countries at all levels of modernization. And although breast cancer in men is rare, an estimated 2,470 men are diagnosed with breast cancer with approximately 460 succumbing from the disease each year, according to nationalbreastcancer.org.
Healthy Lifestyle Tips According to Max
After surviving breast cancer, Max now advocates that we, regardless of gender, start living and maintaining a balanced and healthy lifestyle. We have listed his top 10 tips on how you can get started.
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Destress
Living a healthy lifestyle is not limited to just being physically fit and active, it also means having a stress-free life as much as you can. Because when stress becomes too much for you to handle, it wears you down both physically and mentally. Try to de-stress and do something that relaxes your body and mind at least once a week—a soothing spa maybe?
SEE ALSO: Fast and Effective At-Home Workouts
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Eat Healthier
Fruits and vegetables are not just for kids. In fact, the World Health Organization recommends eating fruits and veggies as a regular part of your diet to help fight illnesses. A little trick: try drinking a mixed fruit & veggie smoothie to make it a little more interesting.
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Move It
Exercising is equally just as important as eating healthy when it comes to a healthy lifestyle. If treadmills and dumbbells don’t excite you, try an alternative—it can be dancing, yoga, hiking or even karate.
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Drink Up
By drinking the recommended 64 ounces of water a day, you’re not just flushing out toxins from your body, you’re actually saving a lot of money too as water helps improve your overall health.
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Mental Health
Being in tip-top condition means being healthy in mind and body. You should always consider your thinking, mood, behavior, and feelings. If something keeps on bothering you, take immediate action. The easiest way is to let go of things that trouble and burden you. Think positive, learn to say no and take a break.
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6. Maintain Healthy Relationships
As what most people say – you don’t need hundreds of friends, you just need a few who you can really count on. Try to keep your circle small. If the relationship becomes too toxic, let go without second thoughts. This will help you maintain a healthy lifestyle by focusing your energy on the people who really care about you.
7. Get Regular Check-ups
No matter how consistent you are with your healthy lifestyle journey, you still need professional advice. Make it a habit to have yourself checked by a professional doctor at least once a year.
8. Quit Now
If drinking and smoking is your thing, then I have bad news for you: quit now, while you still can. These vices are known to be addictive, so before you actually reach that stage, help yourself and stay away.
9. Sleep
Sometimes we tend to forget the importance of getting enough rest and try to over-work and exhaust our bodies. Like computers, we need to reboot to refresh our systems too.
10. Start Now
Probably the most important tip I can give you is to start your healthy lifestyle today. Because no matter how many tips I give or how good my advice is, if you don’t actually start doing and putting it to heart, it will just be a waste. As Maxwell Maltz said, “It takes 21 days to form a new habit.” One down today, 20 more to go.
About the Author
4 Comments
These advices are really great. It takes time and effort to do something for a healthier life, but it’s definitively worth it.
Great tips . It’s hard to follow them all but I do the best that I can.
Thanks… one step at a time is more than none. Thanks for stopping by 😉
Totally agree. Thanks for stopping by 😉