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Advice on living well

I've decided to live my life with my health and well being as my top priority. Everything else will fall below that, unless of course I need to sacrifice myself for friends / family.

What do you think contributes to good health? Eating well, not stressing out, not worrying, not hating, and basically accepting yourself are good ideas.

Do you have any advice for someone at my age - I'm only 22.

don't forget exercising! that's an important part to living well.

Lots of sex, my friend. I'm under the impression thats the only thing keeping me from turning into an unfit, lazy slob.

EDIT: I forgot to mention rubbers. Use them, or you may end up very unhealthy.

dalnet22, I'm in your shoes bro. 22 and I'm trying to make myself healthier this summer. I gained some weight last semester, which is very uncommon for me (haven't gained a pound all of college until last semester).

I started by doing daily exercise. I think the trick is to commit long term (easier said than done). Good luck

At twenty-two, do what you can to condition your muscles and heart. By thirtysomething, it gets harder to train and maintain as you age. You must literally "use it or lose it." Build good habits now.

With food, if you don't know how to cook...learn, and then follow a healthy food guide.

This is wide open, so I'm sure you'll get more specifics as the thread progresses. :)

Don't forget about your emotional and mental health as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KellyC

Don't forget about your emotional and mental health as well.

Exactly. Don't sweat the small stuff.

Exercise or just get more active somehow.

Watch what you eat -- you don't need to necessarily ban yourself from indulging yourself in some not-so-healthy food at your age, but I think portion control and moderation are key.

Start saving for retirement, and otherwise spend less than what you make. (Hey, you gotta be financially healthy, right?)

Just use common sense.

Oh, and sleep! Sleep! (I break this rule the most....)

Sleep at least 7 hours a night. Aim for 8, maybe. Everyone is different, but you should be able to tell if you're sleep deprived. Some need as little as 6, others need as much as 10. Find out your amount and stick with it.

I'm still working on other aspects of living well myself, but one thing that I've had success with in terms of mental health:

Karma. Yep. No matter what belief system or lack thereof you have, you can't argue with karma. Put good things out into the world, and good things come back. This is particularly true when commuting in NYC... let me explain: When I travel in the city, I walk a few minutes to a train, walk up two flights of stairs, have to get thru a turnstile, usually get a seat, end up much closer to other people than is strictly comfortable, transfer trains (requiring stairs), the other train is MUCH more crowded, then up two more flights of stairs to the street and crossing, and finally my building.

What I do: try to allow it to be as it will. I can't control the trains etc, I can only control myself. So I just go about my business, thanking the bus driver, letting others go ahead of me, helping the moms with the giant strollers up and down the stairs... and magically, the bus is there even when I don't need it. The train leaves on time, right after I get on it. My commute goes smoothly and calmly, and I'm not a big sweaty irritated mess when I get there. Mind you, things are not always smooth, but at least with this attitude I am able to handle it with far more aplomb than otherwise.

Now if I could just apply this attitude to school... since it's so friggin' frustrating!! But hey, what can I tell ya... I ain't perfect. :)

- excercise; work the heart and muscles
- eat organic
- never, ever eat anything with hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup
- never smoke anything
- meditate in some form; prayer, regular yoga-style meditation, even working out with music
- identify other ways to manage stress
- learn new things
- find work you are paid for that energizes you, that doesn't drain you
- go with the flow
- be aware of this moment
- always take some time for yourself
- love someone
- have a pet you love

The way I do it: (which mind you I've been having trouble with and has turned into a vicious cycle lately but that's not the point)
-Eat healthy
-Exercise
-Sleep
-Learn what not to stress over
-Put money into savings (a great way to reduce stress)
-Surround yourself with fun people whom you care about
-Learn how to make the most of your job
-Make goals and reward yourself when you achieve them

If you exercise and you eat healthy the mental part will tend to just fall into place, as will the sleeping part.

Everything in moderation.

My advice:

1) Take up riding a bicycle.

2) Learn yoga. Practice it daily.

3) Read, read, read--and read a variety of things. Become a voracious reader, if you aren't already. Read books about food and nutrition, read philosophy, read the newspaper, read for pleasure.

4) Take a multivitamin. Yes, you can get most of the vitamins in a multivitamin from your diet, and you probably should, but it's always a good safety net for those days when you eat worse than you normally would.

5) Really, wear sunscreen.

6) Walk more, or use the bike mentioned in no. 1 to get around. Try not to drive, unless you absolutely have to. It's much more enjoyable to walk--it's more of a human experience, and puts you into more contact with your actual environment and the people/community around you.

7) Volunteer/get involved in your community. Give back what you've been given.

8) If you don't know how to cook, or are uncomfortable doing so, learn, so that you may eat well. If you don't have these two cookbooks, you should: The Joy of Cooking and The Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. The former is lacking pictures and decent illustrations, but will tell you everything you need to know about food and how to prepare it. The latter has pictures and better descriptions of method. For the more advanced cook with a better understanding of method, I recommend Mark Bittman's cookbooks and his column in the NYTimes.

9) Greet life with an open heart and an open mind. Be willing to be flexible. Roll with the punches.

10) Work to live, don't live to work.

11) Get plenty of sleep.

12) Eat more fiber!

Oh, yeah - I forgot the fiber thing!!

finding how I fit in the world and making it work for me.

kind of like how this guy did...

Quote:

View: Casting off life's cares
Source: LATimes
posted with the TFP thread generator

Casting off life's cares
Dave Dixon made a radical lifestyle change after realizing that 'time, not money, is the real commodity in life.' Audio Slideshow
By William Lobdell
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

June 18, 2008

Eight years ago, Dave Dixon set himself some lofty goals, especially for an unemployed, twice-divorced middle-aged man with no savings. He wanted to live on the water in Newport Beach. He didn't care to work too much. And he aspired to play golf and tennis several times a week.

Today, Dixon, 60, is living his dream, albeit with some compromises. He lives aboard a weathered, beat-up 37-foot mahogany boat he bought on a credit card for $10,000. Lacking a permanent mooring, he often is forced to anchor in the open sea off Corona del Mar, and for hot showers he uses the Orange County Harbor Patrol's guest facilities.

To get around on land, he owns a battered car with more than 300,000 miles on it.

Yet he works only about 15 hours a week, singing at private parties and two Orange County restaurants to cover his lean $565 in monthly expenses (not including food). He gets out on the tennis court or links almost every day, enough to whittle down his golf handicap to seven and his weight by 40 pounds. And he is rocked to sleep each night by the rhythm of the water, surrounded by multimillion-dollar views of the bay.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR THE RECORD:
The photo caption accompanying an earlier version of this article said Dave Dixon supported his lifestyle on $535 a month. As the article says, he has monthly expenses of $565.

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All in all, he considers himself one of the richest residents of this pricey beach town.

"Time, not money, is the real commodity in life," said Dixon, relaxing in the salon of his boat as a sea lion barked nearby. "And I've got more time on my hands than anyone I know."

It took several careers, two divorces and plenty of prayer and reflection before Dixon settled on this lifestyle, one that he says is divinely inspired. The ordained pastor sees himself living out God's message that faith and people, not possessions, are what is of true value.

"My spirituality has set me free and turned me on to the bondages that the world places on us," said Dixon, a tall man of ample girth with a closely cropped silver beard and swept-back gray hair. "I'm having a ball."

Newport Beach being the heart of Orange County consumerism, Dixon has picked a tough mission field to spread the message that "whatever we own actually owns us."

Raised in Corona, Dixon earned a music degree with a minor in theology from Azuza Pacific University in 1971 and tried to make a career in gospel music. But with a wife and two young boys, he had to find a steady paycheck and started working for Earl Scheib Paint & Body. He eventually started his own auto body and paint shop, which he operated for more than 20 years.

In his off-hours, he kept working on his music, performing as a country and western artist during amateur nights in Hollywood and volunteering his talents to churches.

In 1995, Dixon said, he took a leap of faith, embarking on a quixotic quest to help developing countries prosper that involved an Indonesian princess and millions of dollars in promised funding that never materialized. Dixon said he spent five years fighting government red tape and greedy politicians before calling it quits.

"I was relieved of the burden of trying to save the world single-handedly," he said.

At 52, Dixon returned to Southern California virtually penniless, having spent $400,000 of his family's money on his ill-fated venture. He decided God wanted him to learn firsthand about servitude, so he took a waiter's job at Regatta Cafe in Newport Beach. The restaurateur let him sing between courses, and his rich baritone voice, eclectic repertoire (including opera and pop) and affable personality brought in a new stream of tips.

Dixon said he came across two statistics that changed his life. First, he read that 21-year-olds have an easier time coming up with $1,000 cash than 65-year-olds. And second, he learned -- erroneously, it turned out -- that the average American receives just 15 monthly Social Security retirement checks before death (actually, with retirement at 66, the average is about 18 years of checks).

Whether or not they were true, the statistics motivated Dixon to forget waiting until retirement to enjoy his life. He gave away most of his property until his worldly goods fit into his Volvo station wagon.

"My possessions made me work harder and stole my time," Dixon said.

In 2002, he discovered that he could combine his love for the water with his need for cheap housing by buying an unnamed, rundown 1963 wooden boat and living on it.

Dixon rented dock space for several years, but when the rent doubled, he cast off and became a guest boater in Newport Harbor where he could stay 15 days at a mooring and another five days at anchor. For the remaining 10 days, he anchors in the ocean off Corona del Mar -- unprotected from inclement weather. During one strong winter storm, his anchor dragged along the ocean floor until his boat crashed into another yacht.

There are other hardships to Dixon's minimalist life.

Having no permanent mooring means he needs to move three times a month. Recently, Harbor Patrol deputies padlocked his boat because he didn't pay his rent on time. The problem has been cleared up.

Onboard, he's got a limited amount of water, electricity and waste storage. The salt water ensures that the boat's hardware and wood need constant repair. And every trip off his yacht requires a short voyage in a rubber dingy.

Dixon said he can't afford health insurance, instead relying on God's healing powers, a physician friend and, once, government help for the indigent when kidney stones put him in the hospital.

But life on the water can be magical, with its views, fresh sea air and brown pelicans gliding by. A natural host, Dixon often invites friends and strangers aboard his yacht, serving meals, entertaining with music and occasionally converting someone to Christianity.

A fellow boater, Mike "Pegleg" Juneau, 51, said that one morning Dixon asked if he wanted breakfast: scrambled eggs and crab. A friendship was struck, and Juneau, who says he lost a leg in a motorcycle accident, soon converted to Christianity.

"His heart is so big," Juneau said. "A boat life is kind of a hard life, and Dave gives me spiritual relief and peace of mind."

Dixon also has fans at the Regatta Cafe, where he and the wait staff sing for a few hours on Friday and Saturday nights. Vicky and Ed Berg are among the regulars who come to hear Dixon sing -- and join in on some songs.

Vicky Berg, 54, of Irvine has hired Dixon for private parties and, like other customers, has been invited on the singer's boat.

"Everybody loves him, and he's doing what he loves," Berg said. "He's living the dream."

Dixon's next major project is restoring the exterior of his yacht, which has fallen into disrepair after six years on the water.

When finished, he plans to christen the boat Ambassador.

On the stern, underneath the name, where the yacht's home port usually is listed, Dixon says he'll write "Kingdom of Heaven" to reflect another quixotic dream: that heaven can be experienced on Earth if everyone learns to share.

"We will have access to all the toys," Dixon said, "if we don't need to own them all."

I think there are some great suggestions so far. I will only only add four:

1. Wear hearing protection
2. Wear safety glasses
3. Wear a back brace
4. Stretch often

It just takes one time for you to do something that causes permanent and unrepairable damage. Know and use your safety gear and be careful!!!!

-bear

Literally stop to smell the flowers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru

Literally stop to smell the flowers.

Be careful with this if you are allergic to pollen, though.

My life is made better by living with and caring for animals. Cuddling with my cat or riding one of my horses after a hard day helps immensely with mood adjustments, and I believe I will live longer just because my animals depend on me. If you don't have something to live for near the end of your life, it may be a lot harder to pull yourself out of bed every morning.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru

Literally stop to smell the flowers.

I do this all the time. There is a park not far from my house where the fences are lined with climbing roses at this time of year. It's not uncommon for me to hop off my bike when I'm riding by, just to get a sniff of those roses. One activity I had my kids do this last year on our walk home from school was to spot what was blooming and identify it for me. It forced them to slow down and pay attention to the world around them, and they learned a lot about various plants. One of my kids learned she really loves the smell of peonies.

I'd say an easy way to start eating healthy is Green Smoothies!

I'd recommend this book

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Life-Victoria-Boutenko/dp/0970481969

This summer I have been having two everyday!!

I have easily been consuming 10+ fruits and veggies everyday!

Be Open to new things!
My advice to living well!
Take a trip!