Welcome (finally!) to Step 10 of How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps:
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10) Indulge a Little.
This final rule is really about experiencing some joy and some guilty pleasures every so often.
Go ahead and overeat every once in a while. Heck, overdrink every once in a while too. Sometimes you have to let your hair down and misbehave. It’s part of being human, and sometimes a little gluttony is what makes life worth living. There are diets, for example, that allow for “cheat days.” That idea really resonates with me. It seems to me that healthy eating habits can be more effectively built if you can break them once in a while without having to feel like a quitter or a total loser. It reminds me of the classic quote from Saint Augustine: “God, grant me chastity, but not now.”
So break the rules once in a while. But then return to your normal, healthful habits and have those habits drive the preponderance of your behavior. Don’t make overindulgence be your standard practice, lest it kill you before your time.
Readers, what additional steps you would add to this list?
Showing posts with label how to live forever. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how to live forever. Show all posts
How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps: Step 9
Welcome to Step 9 of How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps:
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9) Cut Back on Your Alcohol Intake.
Note that I didn't say cut your alcohol intake down to zero. Life just wouldn't be worth living under those terms.
We stick to drinking alcohol about three times a week, usually in the form of red wine, but also in the form of various mixed drinks. A little drinking is a healthy thing, especially when it involves red wine and all of its cardiovascular benefits. In fact my brother in law conducted his own highly successful personal experiment with the so-called French Paradox, and after more than a year of nearly constant cheese eating balanced out with not-quite-constant red wine drinking, he came back across the Atlantic with dramatically lower cholesterol numbers.
But while alcohol, in any of its forms, is one of the great analgesics in life, it is also one of the worst sources of empty and fattening calories. And certainly any consistent and heavy alcohol overindulgence carries even more serious long term risks.
Finally: Step 10: Indulge a Little
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9) Cut Back on Your Alcohol Intake.
Note that I didn't say cut your alcohol intake down to zero. Life just wouldn't be worth living under those terms.
We stick to drinking alcohol about three times a week, usually in the form of red wine, but also in the form of various mixed drinks. A little drinking is a healthy thing, especially when it involves red wine and all of its cardiovascular benefits. In fact my brother in law conducted his own highly successful personal experiment with the so-called French Paradox, and after more than a year of nearly constant cheese eating balanced out with not-quite-constant red wine drinking, he came back across the Atlantic with dramatically lower cholesterol numbers.
But while alcohol, in any of its forms, is one of the great analgesics in life, it is also one of the worst sources of empty and fattening calories. And certainly any consistent and heavy alcohol overindulgence carries even more serious long term risks.
Finally: Step 10: Indulge a Little
How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps: Step 8
Welcome to Step 8 of How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps:
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8) Get More Sleep
The reason I want to raise this issue here is that your sleep patterns will dictate so many things in the rest of your life.
Your sleep patterns drive:
a) Your ability and desire to exercise,
b) How well, or how poorly, you metabolize your food,
c) The performance of your immune system and how your body can fight off disease, and
d) How you feel overall.
I’ll share with you one technique that has worked wonders for me over the past several years: I made myself into a consistent early riser. Although I go to bed at varying times, I get up at roughly the same time every morning. It doesn’t matter whether it’s during the week and I’m rushing off to catch an insufficiently air-conditioned bus into New York City, or whether it’s the weekend and I’m stumbling over to our French press to make some early morning coffee. Either way, I’ll be getting out of bed within an hour, give or take, of my normal 5:30AM wakeup time.
The effect for me is at the end of the day, no matter what day it is, I am usually sleepy and ready for bed at about 10:00-10:30PM. On any given day I can push this bedtime back a few hours if there’s something fun to do late at night, but I still force myself to get up at the same early time the next day. This has effectively grooved my sleep patterns into an easy, consistent habit and it has helped me get the 7 to 7 ½ hours of high quality sleep my body needs each night.
There are plenty of sources out there that address sleep issues with more depth and competence than I’ll be able to, since sleep issues are beyond the scope of this blog. But I’ll recommend one high quality post on how to become an early riser to get you started if you want to pursue the subject further.
Next: Step 9: Cut Back on Your Alcohol Intake
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8) Get More Sleep
The reason I want to raise this issue here is that your sleep patterns will dictate so many things in the rest of your life.
Your sleep patterns drive:
a) Your ability and desire to exercise,
b) How well, or how poorly, you metabolize your food,
c) The performance of your immune system and how your body can fight off disease, and
d) How you feel overall.
I’ll share with you one technique that has worked wonders for me over the past several years: I made myself into a consistent early riser. Although I go to bed at varying times, I get up at roughly the same time every morning. It doesn’t matter whether it’s during the week and I’m rushing off to catch an insufficiently air-conditioned bus into New York City, or whether it’s the weekend and I’m stumbling over to our French press to make some early morning coffee. Either way, I’ll be getting out of bed within an hour, give or take, of my normal 5:30AM wakeup time.
The effect for me is at the end of the day, no matter what day it is, I am usually sleepy and ready for bed at about 10:00-10:30PM. On any given day I can push this bedtime back a few hours if there’s something fun to do late at night, but I still force myself to get up at the same early time the next day. This has effectively grooved my sleep patterns into an easy, consistent habit and it has helped me get the 7 to 7 ½ hours of high quality sleep my body needs each night.
There are plenty of sources out there that address sleep issues with more depth and competence than I’ll be able to, since sleep issues are beyond the scope of this blog. But I’ll recommend one high quality post on how to become an early riser to get you started if you want to pursue the subject further.
Next: Step 9: Cut Back on Your Alcohol Intake
How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps: Step 7
Welcome to Step 7 of How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps:
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7) Exercise. Break a Sweat Three Times a Week.
This rule has multiple benefits. First, the more exercise you do, the more you can occasionally bend or break the rest of these rules. Exercise is like penance. It cancels out your eating and drinking sins by burning them off.
But the second benefit of exercise is this: the more you exercise and the fitter you get, the less you want to bend or break these other rules.
A fit body simply does not crave high fat foods. The fitter you get, the more your appetite will tilt towards antioxidant- and fiber-rich foods. This further magnifies the already positive effects of fitness.
Forgive the ironic expression, but this like a free lunch: if you exercise and get more fit, it will make you want to eat less unhealthy food, which makes you even fitter, which makes you even more successful at exercise, which makes you fitter still!
Note, at least for me, this strategy fails with regard to chocolate. But I digress…
Next: Step 8: Get More Sleep
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7) Exercise. Break a Sweat Three Times a Week.
This rule has multiple benefits. First, the more exercise you do, the more you can occasionally bend or break the rest of these rules. Exercise is like penance. It cancels out your eating and drinking sins by burning them off.
But the second benefit of exercise is this: the more you exercise and the fitter you get, the less you want to bend or break these other rules.
A fit body simply does not crave high fat foods. The fitter you get, the more your appetite will tilt towards antioxidant- and fiber-rich foods. This further magnifies the already positive effects of fitness.
Forgive the ironic expression, but this like a free lunch: if you exercise and get more fit, it will make you want to eat less unhealthy food, which makes you even fitter, which makes you even more successful at exercise, which makes you fitter still!
Note, at least for me, this strategy fails with regard to chocolate. But I digress…
Next: Step 8: Get More Sleep
How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps: Step 6
Welcome to Step 6 of How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps:
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6) Don’t smoke.
So obvious that it hardly needs to be said. I’m not talking about the occasional cigar—that borders on the acceptable (see rule #10 below). What will kill you, of course, is making a regular habit of smoking.
If you do smoke regularly, quit. You’ll smell better, live longer and you’ll get rid of that nagging tubercular cough. Plus, you’ll stop killing those around you who might inhale your second-hand smoke.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for an individual’s right to choose to smoke. Just don't exhale near me.
Next: Step 7: Break a Sweat Three Times a Week
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6) Don’t smoke.
So obvious that it hardly needs to be said. I’m not talking about the occasional cigar—that borders on the acceptable (see rule #10 below). What will kill you, of course, is making a regular habit of smoking.
If you do smoke regularly, quit. You’ll smell better, live longer and you’ll get rid of that nagging tubercular cough. Plus, you’ll stop killing those around you who might inhale your second-hand smoke.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for an individual’s right to choose to smoke. Just don't exhale near me.
Next: Step 7: Break a Sweat Three Times a Week
How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps: Step 5
Welcome to Step 5 of How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps:
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5) Eat less than you want.
There has been a series of articles in the Wall Street Journal over the past few years about studies on “calorie restriction” diets where people would subsist (I can’t think of a better word for it than that) on a diet of some 1200 calories or so a day:
“The link between calorie restriction and increased longevity has intrigued scientists for decades. In the 1930s, animal tests showed that cutting normal calorie intake by about a third boosted life spans by 30% to 40%. Lately, there's been evidence to suggest that calorie restriction might slow human aging, too."
Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting you go down this particular road. But what I am suggesting is that you keep a modified version of this concept front and center in your mind. Most of the time, you should simply eat less food than you want.
I’ve covered this concept to some extent in my mindless eating post (see strategy #8). In the modern world, highly-refined and energy-dense food is practically everywhere around us. Yet our paleolithic bodies are still in the mode of wolvishly satisfying our hunger pangs at all costs because back in the caveman days, there was no telling how long it might be until our next meal.
So in the modern world, we need to learn to NOT listen to our bodies in this one respect. Recognize that hunger (or better said, "fullness") is a misleading sensation. Satisfying it fully will cause you to consume more food than your body needs.
Next: Step 6: Don't Smoke
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5) Eat less than you want.
There has been a series of articles in the Wall Street Journal over the past few years about studies on “calorie restriction” diets where people would subsist (I can’t think of a better word for it than that) on a diet of some 1200 calories or so a day:
“The link between calorie restriction and increased longevity has intrigued scientists for decades. In the 1930s, animal tests showed that cutting normal calorie intake by about a third boosted life spans by 30% to 40%. Lately, there's been evidence to suggest that calorie restriction might slow human aging, too."
Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting you go down this particular road. But what I am suggesting is that you keep a modified version of this concept front and center in your mind. Most of the time, you should simply eat less food than you want.
I’ve covered this concept to some extent in my mindless eating post (see strategy #8). In the modern world, highly-refined and energy-dense food is practically everywhere around us. Yet our paleolithic bodies are still in the mode of wolvishly satisfying our hunger pangs at all costs because back in the caveman days, there was no telling how long it might be until our next meal.
So in the modern world, we need to learn to NOT listen to our bodies in this one respect. Recognize that hunger (or better said, "fullness") is a misleading sensation. Satisfying it fully will cause you to consume more food than your body needs.
Next: Step 6: Don't Smoke
How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps: Step 4
Welcome to Step 4 of How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps:
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4) Learn to Cook Your Own Food.
Nothing will teach you appreciation for a healthy diet like learning how to cook. You’ll start to pay closer attention to the ingredients you’re using because they are right there in front of you. It will teach you to appreciate foods that don’t require additives, preservatives, excess salt or high fat content to make them taste good.
Sure, cooking your own food involves some basic skills and some modest setup costs, but nobody’s forcing you to create a culinary masterpiece seven nights a week. You don’t have to invest a lot of time or money. That’s a big part of what this blog is all about—to teach and share with others the fundamental enjoyment of preparing simple and casual food.
Next: Step 5: Eat Less Than You Want
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4) Learn to Cook Your Own Food.
Nothing will teach you appreciation for a healthy diet like learning how to cook. You’ll start to pay closer attention to the ingredients you’re using because they are right there in front of you. It will teach you to appreciate foods that don’t require additives, preservatives, excess salt or high fat content to make them taste good.
Sure, cooking your own food involves some basic skills and some modest setup costs, but nobody’s forcing you to create a culinary masterpiece seven nights a week. You don’t have to invest a lot of time or money. That’s a big part of what this blog is all about—to teach and share with others the fundamental enjoyment of preparing simple and casual food.
Next: Step 5: Eat Less Than You Want
How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps: Step 3
Welcome to Step 3 of How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps:
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3) Avoid Processed Foods.
The worst kinds of foods out there for your health are highly refined and energy-dense foods. I’m talking about candy bars, Twinkies, Doritos, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Oreos, most kid’s breakfast cereals, corn syrup-laden sodas, etc. Most of these foods contain both sugar AND salt in frightening amounts.
I’ll depress you even further. Your body can transmute these processed "foods" into body fat unbelievably efficiently. This is especially true if you are sedentary. And even if you are a regular exerciser, you can actually feel these foods literally clogging up your bloodstream and slowing you down during workouts.
The richest irony here is these kinds of foods are often the most expensive foods in the grocery store! Collard greens are only 99c a pound, but Doritos are $4 for a one-pound bag. Which of the two will leave globby residue on the inside of your arteries? Try to focus your diet away from these kinds of foods and instead focus on the types of foods in rule #1.
Next: Step 4: Learn to Cook Your Own Food
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3) Avoid Processed Foods.
The worst kinds of foods out there for your health are highly refined and energy-dense foods. I’m talking about candy bars, Twinkies, Doritos, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Oreos, most kid’s breakfast cereals, corn syrup-laden sodas, etc. Most of these foods contain both sugar AND salt in frightening amounts.
I’ll depress you even further. Your body can transmute these processed "foods" into body fat unbelievably efficiently. This is especially true if you are sedentary. And even if you are a regular exerciser, you can actually feel these foods literally clogging up your bloodstream and slowing you down during workouts.
The richest irony here is these kinds of foods are often the most expensive foods in the grocery store! Collard greens are only 99c a pound, but Doritos are $4 for a one-pound bag. Which of the two will leave globby residue on the inside of your arteries? Try to focus your diet away from these kinds of foods and instead focus on the types of foods in rule #1.
Next: Step 4: Learn to Cook Your Own Food
How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps: Step 2
Welcome to Step 2 of How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps:
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2) Go Only Partially Vegetarian:
If you’re a close reader of my blog, you’ll be familiar with my philosophy on vegetarianism: I embrace the cuisine from a style and health standpoint, but my wife and I only masquerade as vegetarians. We are both fundamentally omnivores and not apologetic about it.
It's a simple fact that vegetarian cuisine is typically higher in fiber, lower in fat and sodium, and all around healthier than a typical meat-centered cuisine. The added advantage of vegetarian food is its diversity and originality. You’ll be surprised, even after just a cursory look, at the ethnic diversity and wide variety of ingredients in most vegetarian cookbooks. I think it’s because vegetarians tend to be more cuisine-curious than the average omnivore (this is an unscientific opinion based on my completely anecdotal experience with lots of vegetarian friends).
But at the risk of annoying both vegetarians and meat-eaters, I strongly urge you to eat some meat (or dairy) on occasion too, just not every day.
Why? Mainly, I just think it’s best to be absolutely sure you get the full complement of amino acids, fats and other nutrients that can be pretty hard to replicate on a strict vegetarian diet.
Please keep in mind--I’m not trying to make any argument for or against vegetarianism, as I’m obviously a fan of it as a cuisine. For our part, we eat meat usually two to three times a week at most, although we tend to stick to leaner meats like chicken (although we’ll indulge in a burger or even some extraordinarily high-fat corned beef and cabbage on occasion too).
And if you are stepping up your exercise meaningfully (see #7 below), it will be even more important to follow the “eat meat every few days” maxim. I have personal experience trying to run a marathon in my mid-20’s on a very low-protein diet, where I was unable to maintain muscle mass during my peak training months. I suffered many more training injuries as well as compromises to my immune system back then compared to marathons I ran later in life when I was on a more balanced diet. I’ll cover this subject in more depth in a future post about how to think about issues regarding diet and food energy density during athletic training.
For the normal people out there not running marathons, just keep in mind that most meats are highly energy-dense. Therefore, for most people, reducing your meat intake and replacing it with antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables will give you a really easy way to keep your weight down and improve your overall health.
For a list of recommendations of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks, take a look at the bottom of my Try Veggie post.
Next: Step 3: Avoid Processed Foods
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2) Go Only Partially Vegetarian:
If you’re a close reader of my blog, you’ll be familiar with my philosophy on vegetarianism: I embrace the cuisine from a style and health standpoint, but my wife and I only masquerade as vegetarians. We are both fundamentally omnivores and not apologetic about it.
It's a simple fact that vegetarian cuisine is typically higher in fiber, lower in fat and sodium, and all around healthier than a typical meat-centered cuisine. The added advantage of vegetarian food is its diversity and originality. You’ll be surprised, even after just a cursory look, at the ethnic diversity and wide variety of ingredients in most vegetarian cookbooks. I think it’s because vegetarians tend to be more cuisine-curious than the average omnivore (this is an unscientific opinion based on my completely anecdotal experience with lots of vegetarian friends).
But at the risk of annoying both vegetarians and meat-eaters, I strongly urge you to eat some meat (or dairy) on occasion too, just not every day.
Why? Mainly, I just think it’s best to be absolutely sure you get the full complement of amino acids, fats and other nutrients that can be pretty hard to replicate on a strict vegetarian diet.
Please keep in mind--I’m not trying to make any argument for or against vegetarianism, as I’m obviously a fan of it as a cuisine. For our part, we eat meat usually two to three times a week at most, although we tend to stick to leaner meats like chicken (although we’ll indulge in a burger or even some extraordinarily high-fat corned beef and cabbage on occasion too).
And if you are stepping up your exercise meaningfully (see #7 below), it will be even more important to follow the “eat meat every few days” maxim. I have personal experience trying to run a marathon in my mid-20’s on a very low-protein diet, where I was unable to maintain muscle mass during my peak training months. I suffered many more training injuries as well as compromises to my immune system back then compared to marathons I ran later in life when I was on a more balanced diet. I’ll cover this subject in more depth in a future post about how to think about issues regarding diet and food energy density during athletic training.
For the normal people out there not running marathons, just keep in mind that most meats are highly energy-dense. Therefore, for most people, reducing your meat intake and replacing it with antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables will give you a really easy way to keep your weight down and improve your overall health.
For a list of recommendations of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks, take a look at the bottom of my Try Veggie post.
Next: Step 3: Avoid Processed Foods
How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps: Step 1
Welcome to Step 1 of How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps:
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1) Eat More Antioxidant-Rich Foods
Most fruits and vegetables contain healthy concentrations of antioxidants, but of course leafy green vegetables like spinach, kale, collards and swiss chard are the best examples.
I’ll even go a step further and suggest that you should consider eating more fruits and vegetables than meat in most of your meals. Let these antioxidant-rich foods be the foundation of your diet.
After you spend a few weeks, or even a few days, with foods like this being the bulk (no pun intended) of what you eat, you will find some profound changes occur in your body. You'll feel better, you'll have more energy and you’ll be lighter on your feet.
Better still, in the long run you’ll dramatically reduce your risk of colon cancer (and other cancers as well), and you’ll lower your cholesterol, blood pressure and overall risk of cardiovascular ailments. You'll even see better, as diets rich in antioxidants reduce the risk and severity of age-related vision problems like macular degeneration and cataracts.
Moreover, the beauty of foods like fruits and vegetables is that it takes almost as much energy to eat and digest them as you actually get by eating them. Result: very few net ingested calories. You can basically eat lettuce or green beans until you’re green in the face and you'll never gain weight.
Next: Step 2: Go Only Partially Vegetarian
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1) Eat More Antioxidant-Rich Foods
Most fruits and vegetables contain healthy concentrations of antioxidants, but of course leafy green vegetables like spinach, kale, collards and swiss chard are the best examples.
I’ll even go a step further and suggest that you should consider eating more fruits and vegetables than meat in most of your meals. Let these antioxidant-rich foods be the foundation of your diet.
After you spend a few weeks, or even a few days, with foods like this being the bulk (no pun intended) of what you eat, you will find some profound changes occur in your body. You'll feel better, you'll have more energy and you’ll be lighter on your feet.
Better still, in the long run you’ll dramatically reduce your risk of colon cancer (and other cancers as well), and you’ll lower your cholesterol, blood pressure and overall risk of cardiovascular ailments. You'll even see better, as diets rich in antioxidants reduce the risk and severity of age-related vision problems like macular degeneration and cataracts.
Moreover, the beauty of foods like fruits and vegetables is that it takes almost as much energy to eat and digest them as you actually get by eating them. Result: very few net ingested calories. You can basically eat lettuce or green beans until you’re green in the face and you'll never gain weight.
Next: Step 2: Go Only Partially Vegetarian
How to Live Forever in Ten Easy Steps
Admittedly, immortality is a pretty broad and far-reaching subject for a mere cooking blog. But I think it can be safely said that one of the biggest determinants to your life expectancy is how you eat, what you eat, and how much you eat.
Today's post contains ten suggestions for how to dramatically increase your lifespan, mainly by focusing on food. Click on each link for an expanded discussion.
Here goes:
1) Eat More Antioxidant-Rich Foods:
In the long run you’ll dramatically reduce your risk of colon cancer (and other cancers as well), and you’ll lower your cholesterol, blood pressure and overall risk of cardiovascular ailments.
2) Go Only Partially Vegetarian:
Vegetarian cuisine is typically higher in fiber, lower in fat and sodium, and all around healthier than a typical meat-centered cuisine. But at the risk of annoying both vegetarians and meat-eaters, I strongly urge you to eat some meat (or dairy) on occasion too. Just not every day.
3) Avoid Processed Foods:
The worst kinds of foods for your health are highly refined and energy-dense foods like candy bars, Doritos, Oreos, and most breakfast cereals. Your body can transmute these refined foods into body fat unbelievably efficiently.
4) Learn to Cook Your Own Food:
Nothing will teach you appreciation for a healthy diet like learning how to cook.
5) Eat Less Than You Want:
Recognize that hunger (or better said, "fullness") is a misleading sensation. Satisfying it fully will cause you to consume more food than your body needs.
6) Don’t Smoke:
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for an individual’s right to choose to smoke. Just don't exhale near me.
7) Exercise. Break a Sweat Three Times a Week:
Exercise is like penance. It cancels out your eating and drinking sins by burning them off. Moreover, the more you exercise and the fitter you get, the less you want to bend or break these other rules.
8) Get More Sleep:
Your sleep patterns will drive
a) Your ability and desire to exercise,
b) How well, or how poorly, you metabolize your food,
c) The performance of your immune system and how your body can fight off disease, and
d) How you feel overall.
9) Cut Back on Your Alcohol Intake:
Alcohol may be one of the great analgesics in life, but it is also one of the worst sources of empty and fattening calories.
10) Indulge a Little:
Experience some guilty pleasures every so often. It’s part of being human, and sometimes a little gluttony is what makes life worth living.
Related Posts:
Why I'm a Part-Time Vegetarian
Using Salt = Cheating
Seven Ways to Get Faster at Cooking
Eight Tips to Make Cooking at Home Laughably Cheap
Ten Rules for the Modern Restaurant-Goer
Ten Strategies to Stop Mindless Eating
Today's post contains ten suggestions for how to dramatically increase your lifespan, mainly by focusing on food. Click on each link for an expanded discussion.
Here goes:
1) Eat More Antioxidant-Rich Foods:
In the long run you’ll dramatically reduce your risk of colon cancer (and other cancers as well), and you’ll lower your cholesterol, blood pressure and overall risk of cardiovascular ailments.
2) Go Only Partially Vegetarian:
Vegetarian cuisine is typically higher in fiber, lower in fat and sodium, and all around healthier than a typical meat-centered cuisine. But at the risk of annoying both vegetarians and meat-eaters, I strongly urge you to eat some meat (or dairy) on occasion too. Just not every day.
3) Avoid Processed Foods:
The worst kinds of foods for your health are highly refined and energy-dense foods like candy bars, Doritos, Oreos, and most breakfast cereals. Your body can transmute these refined foods into body fat unbelievably efficiently.
4) Learn to Cook Your Own Food:
Nothing will teach you appreciation for a healthy diet like learning how to cook.
5) Eat Less Than You Want:
Recognize that hunger (or better said, "fullness") is a misleading sensation. Satisfying it fully will cause you to consume more food than your body needs.
6) Don’t Smoke:
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for an individual’s right to choose to smoke. Just don't exhale near me.
7) Exercise. Break a Sweat Three Times a Week:
Exercise is like penance. It cancels out your eating and drinking sins by burning them off. Moreover, the more you exercise and the fitter you get, the less you want to bend or break these other rules.
8) Get More Sleep:
Your sleep patterns will drive
a) Your ability and desire to exercise,
b) How well, or how poorly, you metabolize your food,
c) The performance of your immune system and how your body can fight off disease, and
d) How you feel overall.
9) Cut Back on Your Alcohol Intake:
Alcohol may be one of the great analgesics in life, but it is also one of the worst sources of empty and fattening calories.
10) Indulge a Little:
Experience some guilty pleasures every so often. It’s part of being human, and sometimes a little gluttony is what makes life worth living.
Related Posts:
Why I'm a Part-Time Vegetarian
Using Salt = Cheating
Seven Ways to Get Faster at Cooking
Eight Tips to Make Cooking at Home Laughably Cheap
Ten Rules for the Modern Restaurant-Goer
Ten Strategies to Stop Mindless Eating
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