Dr de Soto’s Top 10 Healthy Habits:
Life is hectic. Sometimes it’s hard to remember to make time to be healthy. We often see the results of this crazy lifestyle at Imagen, where people come looking for help with their problem areas. Having a body sculpting procedure can be a life changing experience, but if you don’t make some life changes as well you can easily end up back where you started. Some changes are hard to carry through, some are easy. Some take a lot of time (like sleep and exercise), some take no time at all! It’s not easy to change your life all at once, so we generally recommend making small manageable changes. These are some of my favorite ways to change your lifestyle for the better:
- Hydration. Hydration is an important part of your health. It keeps your body working at top form, keeps your skin and body looking great and helps to prevent numerous health problems. See our Personal Trainer Andrea’s Blog for tips on staying hydrated.
- Exercise. Staying active keeps your body and mind healthy. It helps to prevent depression and improves your self-esteem.
- Sleep. Everyone has different sleep needs, but most people need 7-8 hours per night; few of us actually get that much. Sleep is your body’s time to recover from the day and it keeps your mind healthy as well. Lack of sleep leads to higher stress levels, which increases cortisol and abdominal weight gain.
- Read. Self-improvement is a never-ending process. Just because you have graduated from high school, college or graduate school, that doesn’t mean that the learning in your life is complete. Continued reading and education stimulates your mind and helps to keep our minds sharp as we get older.
- Wine. A glass of red wine a day helps to keep your heart healthy. Too much can cause obvious problems, but in moderation the resveratrol in red wine (along with other healthy lifestyle choices) can help prevent heart disease.
- Avoiding Certain Foods. High fat foods or those that are very processed can be very unhealthy. They can lead to excessive increases in body fat content and cholesterol levels.
- Eating Certain Foods. Foods that are high in protein and contain fresh fruits and vegetables help to keep your body in top form. They contain the nutrients needed to build muscle and the vitamins and minerals that your body needs to stave off disease.
- Avoid High Stress. High levels of stress can interfere with your sleep and can lead to stress eating. But stress can also weaken your immune system, making you more susceptible to illness.
- Sing, Dance or Listen to music. Music improves your mood and stimulates areas of your brain involved in emotion (stimulates positive emotions and inhibits negative ones), balance & coordination and memory. Dancing is great exercise and singing helps to improve your cardiovascular health through deep breathing and sustained breaths.
- Love. Loving someone or something gives you hope and improves your mood. It also lowers your stress and your blood pressure, improves your immunity and actually increases your expected lifespan by decreasing your risk of serious diseases like diabetes and heart disease!
Even if you can’t do them all, starting with one or two and adding another every month or so can help to make significant positive changes in your physical and mental health.
References:
Johnson NJ, Backlund E, Sorlie PD, Loveless CA: Marital status and mortality: the national longitudinal mortality study. Demographic Statistical Methods Division, U.S. Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC 20233, USA. Annals of Epidemiology [2000, 10(4):224-238]
Jennifer Tighe de Soto, MD is a cosmetic surgeon who is board certified through the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine. For more advice from Dr. de Soto on body sculpting and other aesthetic treatments please visit www.omahaliposuction.com where you can read her blog and see before and after photos of actual patients.