Keys to Life: Key #6 - Take Care of Yourself

A little over two years ago I penned an article called Keys to Life. The piece was an adaptation of an essay by author Michael Thomas Ford from his book of collected essays called "My Big Fat Queer Life." In the essay, "Ten Keys to Being Happy Though Gay", he spells out ten tidbits of advice on things gay people should do in order to be happy. I felt strongly enough about his list that I adapted it so that we all could gain some insight into that ever-present pursuit of happiness.

The ideas set forth in his essay inspired me to create my own list of ideals to strive for in pursuit of a happier life. Some of Ford's keys made a lot of sense to me, but not all of them. I kept some of them the same and changed others to fit life as I see it. Remember that these are ideals. They're not easy to achieve, but they're all worthy of aspiring to.

I've long since wanted to revisit these "keys to life" in the hopes of keeping them at the forefront of my own mind and to share them as valuable information for anyone to have. For the next several weeks I'll be doing just that, only this time I'm going to be taking a look each of the ten keys individually. In this piece, we'll take a look at the 6^th key to life: take care of yourself. Here's what I wrote on this back in November of 2008:

Key to Life #6 - Take Care of Yourself

None of these ideals are easy to realize, but if we don't take care of this one, the chances of tackling all of the others goes away. Keeping fit and healthy is good for your body and your mind. Here are some suggestions:

Eat Right:

- Eat some fruits and veggies
- Minimize on junk and fast food
- Wait five minutes after eating a first portion, then see what happens

Exercise

- Park in a far away parking spot when you go to the mall
- Ride a bike
- Shut off the computer or the television and do something!

Take Care of Your Health

- Don't smoke
- Go to the doctor when you need to
- Go to the dentist once in awhile

Taking care of oneself is a key to life that's covers a lot of aspects of daily life. It's true that without taking care of yourself, striving to achieve the other keys of life becomes a dead issue. While all of the other keys involve the conscious mind (with the exception perhaps of key#2 - aging gracefully), this is the only one that focuses primarily on the body. A healthy and fit body is something that everyone would like to have and it's not an easy thing to achieve. Making a commitment to follow these tips is essential to achieving this worthy goal.

Eating right

Food is something that we all need to survive, and sometimes it's tough to make good choices in what we eat. Far too many of us overindulge on our favorites and that's not a good thing. Keeping fit doesn't necessarily mean that you have to abstain from the things you like to eat. On the contrary, if you eat healthy most of the time and get regular exercise, indulging every once in awhile is okay.

Choosing what to eat

Eating healthy requires a commitment to making smart choices when it comes to diet. The choices you make in the foods you eat can make a huge difference in your overall health:

- Fruits and vegetables are always good, as they are necessary sources of essential vitamins.

- Drinking lots of water has huge benefits to your body and is vital to keeping yourself healthy (check out a great article on the benefits of water to your body here.). Drinking water also helps to control your appetite.

- Eating grilled or baked foods as opposed to fried ones is always preferred.

- Minimize the intake of the bad stuff, like sweets, salty snacks, soda, and the most devilish of food cravings: starchy carbs. All of these foods have an addictive quality and consuming too many of them, too often is not a good thing. The good news, though, is that as long as you eat healthy most of the time, these are okay to indulge in once in awhile. In fact they can be used as an incentive in keeping to your commitment to eating healthier.

- Many diets claim that snacking four or five times a day is good for you. Snacking helps you to control your appetite, thereby preventing tendencies for unhealthy and unnecessary binge eating. The snacks you eat in between meals should be small and nutritious. Yogurt, granola, and of course an apple or a banana are all great choices.

- Another way of eating healthy is to prepare the foods you eat yourself. All of those powdered, canned and frozen foodstuffs that you find in the supermarket contain chemicals and other ingredients that are simply not good for you. Learn how to prepare meals and you control the ingredients that go into your body.

For previous pieces on the subject of diet and nutrition, check out some of these titles:

Tips for Shopping Healthy

Want to Lose Weight? Forget the Word "Diet"

Losing Weight in 2010: What Worked?

A Banana a Day

Exercise

No matter what your goals are in losing weight and maintaining a healthy body, none of it will work in the long-term without regular exercise. Exercise is essential to taking care of oneself and it can take many forms. From walking or running to full out gym workouts, twenty minutes a day, four to five times a week will make you look and feel healthy!

For previous pieces on getting good exercise workouts, check these out:

Gilad's "Bodies in Motion"

Basic Abdominal Exercises for a Flat Stomach

Overall Health

Keeping healthy is a tricky thing. Unfortunately, some people are just unlucky enough to be cursed with poor health, whether it's because they've contracted a sickness somehow or simply through bad genetics. Regardless of these circumstances, there are things we could all do to maintain a healthier lifestyle, like not smoking or drinking, not taking drugs and taking daily vitamin supplements. These are the simplest and most straightforward ways to give oneself a good healthy base from which to work upon.

The other side of the equation involves a little more proactivity and for some reason men tend to neglect doing so more often than women; I'm talking about making regular visits to the doctor. It is well known that in many cases, early detection of disease is essential to fighting such sickness. It gives sufferers a better chance at fighting whatever it is they may have. Getting regularly scheduled physicals is another essential ingredient in preventing disease and keeping healthy, as is getting to the doctor pronto when something's not feeling right.

Oral health is another important aspect of having an overall healthy body. People in general can become the biggest procrastinators when it comes to seeing the dentist. Proper care and maintenance of your teeth helps to prevent major problems down the road, so make sure you see your dentist at least twice a year.

Clearly, taking care of yourself is no easy task. It's something that involves commitment in many facets of your life. Eating healthy, getting exercise and taking steps to keep yourself healthy are all things you can do to ensure longevity and an overall positive healthy state. Being healthy and fit also works wonders for the mind, so you can set off on your quest to attain the other keys to life.

For more in this series please see:

Keys to Life

Keys to Life: Key #1 - Live in the Present

Keys to Life: Key #2 - Age Gracefully

Keys to Life#3 - Cultivate Friendships

Keys to Life#4 - Make a Difference

Keys to Life#5 - Take Chances

Sources:

http://www.mangosteen-natural-remedies.com/benefits-of-drinking-water.html