Once you understand what it means to be healthy, you can change your lifestyle accordingly. But how do you maintain it?
One of the sad facts about aging is that it gets more difficult to recover from setbacks. Losing weight is harder. Recuperation from injury takes longer. Muscle mass is slower to build, and faster to be lost. It is more difficult to perform at a high level if you don’t eat or drink properly.
But even beyond aging, maintaining a certain level of health or fitness is a different skill set than achieving it in the first place.
Can you share the things you do to stay healthy?
How do you stick to a healthy diet, when there are so many unhealthy options all around us?
What exercises do you find best for maintenance? And how do you continue an exercise plan, when it is all too easy to take a day off, sleep in, or skip the gym?
Perhaps the most challenging of all, how do you stay mentally fit? What do you do to stay motivated, hopeful, and curious, rather than lethargic, distraught, and rigid-minded? You might be able to lift weights or do reps to keep your body in shape, but there is no equivalent way to keep your mind sharp. So what do you do?
In short, how do you stay healthy?
Related questions: What does it mean to be healthy? Are you aging well? How are your body and mind intertwined? How do you exercise?
The key to maintaining nearly anything is creating a good habit that accomplishes just that. Take decision-making out of the situation; just do it.
And so, almost every morning, without exception, I get up with my workout clothes already set out for me; then, it’s down to the basement to work out. As for nutrition, repetition also serves me well. I eat the same nutritious breakfast and lunch each day. I use my dinner to cycle through the different veggie colors, ensuring I get the proper nutrients. I eat a bowl of steamed veggies topped with a sauce or soup Rebecca has made the weekend before. It takes no thought. I just do it.
For intellectual health, I am intellectually curious and crave solutions. I love discussing big concepts as well as nuances, so I engage friends and colleagues with questions that address things from both angles. I foster my intellectual passions and prevent deteriorating mental capacity through exploring, cataloging, solving, and journaling. As with physical fitness, this last point happens because I set aside time each day–about an hour and a half before going to bed. I allow for few exceptions.