Staying Motivated to Live Healthy

We all know that living healthy is what we should do, but, for most of us, it is just so hard to make it a long-term, lifestyle. So how do we do it? Why does it seem so easy for some people, while the great majority of Americans, just can’t seem to either get on-board or stay on-board with a way of living that benefits everyone?
First we need to look at what it means to be ‘healthy.’ It doesn’t mean being skinny. It doesn’t mean participating in the endless food fads, popular diets, newest workouts, or any other fleeting thing. It does mean making good decisions when it comes to eating, physical activity, and even things like going to the doctor or dentist. Being healthy can mean feeling good. Having energy. Not being sick! It is also a matter of caring for yourself, and your family, in a way that allows you to participate in life without suffering the ramifications of ‘bad’ health decisions that you make or made. Being healthy is both long term and short-term actions. Being healthy benefits the individual and the whole community.
People who are healthy are, in general, happier. It is a great burden to deal with the effects of things like illness, obesity, even being tired all the time. Community groups that consist of mostly healthy individuals are happier and able to focus their resources (time, money, problem solving, creativity) on things other than trying to care for the members of the group who are unhealthy. According to healthycommunitieshealthyfuture.org, a function of the National League of Cities, which exists to help build healthier communities in the United States, “The estimated annual health care costs of obesity-related illness are a staggering $190.2 billion or nearly 21% of annual medical spending in the United States. Childhood obesity alone is responsible for $14 billion in direct medical costs.” Just think what we as a country could do with all that money!!