Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle (Read 5 People’s Stories)

Vegan

9 years

I want to live a long life as healthy as possible and avoid any preventable illnesses.

I don’t think anything is more important than my health so I always make it a priority. I exercise every weekday after work and every weekend in the morning. Working out is part of my schedule regardless of any other plans I might have. Meal planning has made a huge difference in saving me time in my daily life as well. It’s less work to plan out what I’m going to eat then everyday having to figure it out.

I did research. I still do even after being vegan for 9 years. I like to get new meal ideas and see if there’s anything in my diet I can improve on or add that will benefit my health.

That what you eat is even more important than how much you exercise. You can exercise every single day but you still might not see the results you want if you’re not eating the right foods or if you’re taking in too many calories.

Meal planning saved me a lot of aggravation and hours of time cooking. I really recommend that. And also eating healthy is not expensive if you don’t want it to be. Pre-made and processed foods are expensive but vegetables, grains, and protein don’t have to be. Making all your meals at home and not eating out saves a lot of money.

No fried foods; mostly fish, chicken and turkey; water mostly for meals, etc.

Basically, my whole life. I have been on a athletic meal plan since I was in 5th grade. It started with me running track and then transitioning to basketball.

I didn’t really have a choice because as a athlete you had to workout and eat healthy or you couldn’t perform at your best! I would say what motivated me was just the mental and physical desire to stay fit.

I have a daughter but I also have a great support system which allows me to invest more time to healthy eating and exercising. I tend to prep my meals on Sundays which helps me take my lunch to work and not have to stress to cook when I get home from work! No one is perfect so it takes trial and error but I plan my week, that helps me stay consistent and focused on my goals.

In the beginning I did a lot of research, which was overwhelming because everyone had their opinions or remedies to eating healthier. I found things that worked best for me but still Continued to have a open mind to new tips on eating healthier.

Take my time and make sure I do what best for me; don’t compare my journey to others; and be patient with the process towards achieving my goals.

Take your time and make sure you do what’s best for you when creating the nutritional plan. Try not to compare your journey to others because everyone is different, what works for them May not work for you. Lastly, Do your research to make sure what your eating aligns with your body type.

Currently I follow healthy eating, organic, no GMO’s, no processed foods, no soda or anything bottled that contains high amounts of sugar or unpronounceable words. I utilize recipes from the DASH diet, the Mediterranean Diet, and eating a variety of the colors of plants based, fruits, etc. Drinking 60 oz of water per day.

I have lived this most of my life, for the last 15 years I have been much more conscious of it and have stuck to it in order to keep the inflammation in my body away, as well as keep my microbiome balanced.

My health

This is a tough one for me. I tend to become busy and forget at times. Prior to Covid 19 I worked in Center City Philadelphia, PA. Working in the city was nice I could walk to the Reading Terminal to pick up fresh vegetables and fruits, purchase fresh meats, and on the other side of the coin there were many temptations such as restaurants, donut shops, ice cream shops, candy shops, so being very conscious of heading down that road was always in the forefront of my mind. On nice days I could take a walk down to the Delaware River, and there was a gym for the offices I was employed by, I worked out in the gym with the gym manager daily Monday through Thursday for at least an hour every day. When Covid 19 hit I had to figure out how to adjust my life to do most of the same but from home which became quite a challenge. I found it was doable, I walk at least 3 miles every morning and exercise regularly.

Most of it was winging it at the beginning. I knew from my mother teaching me how to cook and bake healthy ways. Then I began to research, through that learned many ways to take many of my favorite dishes and make them healthier, adding more vegetables & fruits, changing oils to healthy oils, and learning which foods caused inflammation in order to avoid.

I would have gone back to school sooner.

Do NOT look at fad diets, do not look at diets that promise you will lose 50 pounds in 4 weeks, these eating plans are extremely unhealthy. Learning how to eat properly, removing processed foods from your life, removing sugary drinks. Learn to eat balanced meals, drink water, cook as much at home as you possibly can. If you cannot purchase strictly organic, remember the rules of the “dirty dozen” those foods that you can skip organic as long as they are washed, manage carbohydrates, work with your health professionals. Work with someone that does nutritional counseling and at times be open to working with a behavioral health professional.

I follow the vegan lifestyle, more specifically I try to eat as alkaline as possible. Even more recently I have switched to intermittent fasting.

I have been health conscious for about 10 years, since my mid 20’s. But I switched to vegan about 2 and a half years ago. I have always been an active person and played all sports, but started working out when I was late teens. I would say within the last 10 years I went to a more regimented and scheduled workouts.

As I mentioned I have always been extremely active. Once I hit my 30’s however I started to feel lazy and worn down. That’s around the time I started researching the effects of food and made the switch to plant based.

It’s hard to prepare different meals and exercise while balancing work, now home school, after school sports and family time. I find it’s best to plan your meals out. I have also recently tried some circuit training (more famously, center 6 workout) to cut down the time on my workouts.

I did a lot of research. I mentioned I was feeling worn down, but I was also getting sick fairly often. Since switching , I have infinite more energy and have not been sick since.

I think early on I wish I would have valued nutrition more. So often when we think of fitness we think of the macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats). Where I was lacking was the micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). The macros are essential, but the micros are what makes our bodies function properly.

What ever nutrition and exercise plan you choose, make sure you enjoy it. That will help you to stick with it and be consistent. Consistency is key! With everything in life, have fun and enjoy yourself!