Are you leading a healthy lifestyle for your heart? A survey carried out by the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation in 2011 revealed that most Canadians know that healthy life choices can prevent heart disease and strokes. However, almost half of the respondents said they didn’t have enough time to exercise or eat healthier meals. That attitude need to change, as every 7 minutes in Canada, someone dies from heart disease or stroke.
6 top tips towards a healthy lifestyle
Leading a healthy lifestyle needn’t be hard work or take up hours of extra time! We’ve come up with seven healthy living suggestions to guide even the busiest of us towards a healthier lifestyle:
1. Find time for fitness
Make a date with the gym! Mark it on your calendar, and don’t cancel it! On weekends, get up one hour early and use the extra time to exercise.
2. Exercise with the family
Exercise can be fun for all the family. Why not take advantage of one of Ontario’s amazing national parks and go cycling, kayaking or climbing? If your children are still in strollers, just strap them in, and take a walk!
3. Find your incentive
Going out for dinner? Give yourself that extra incentive by choosing a healthy restaurant near to your gym, and meet your dinner date after your workout.
4. All in the planning
Make a shopping list in advance, then visit the grocery store and purchase everything you need for a week. Shopping lists save time and money. They also prevent unhealthy food from magically ‘appearing’ in your shopping cart.
5. Commit to 3 meals a day
Make time for breakfast – a healthy breakfast need take no more time to prepare than an unhealthy one! If you’re too busy to go out and buy lunch at work, prepare a healthy sandwich the night before. If you’ve been ordering in at night, at least make a start by placing a healthier order. Remember, many grocery stores have hot bars with healthy selections. Why not pick up a rotisserie chicken and some sautéed vegetables on your way home? It’s a much healthier choice than the drive-thru.
6. Easy does it
Frozen fruit and vegetables are a real timesaver and avoid the need for last-minute grocery shopping. Pre-cut produce is also available at many stores and reduces food preparation time. Carefully chosen canned and jarred foods also make it easy to throw together last-minute meals, but watch the sugar and salt content.
7. Preparation first
Once your kitchen is well-stocked, it’s time to prepare for the days ahead. Reserve some time at the weekend or maybe an evening to spend a few extra hours in the kitchen, cooking and preparing as much as you can. This might mean prepping vegetables in advance, making and freezing a few sauces, or mixing some marinades for the fridge.
AMG’s makes healthy living easy!
AMG believes that coaching healthy-lifestyles is just as important to wellness as traditional medicine.
- All under one roof: Many of the diverse services we offer are not seen in typical healthcare facilities, let alone all under one roof! Where else can you attend an appointment with your family doctor before crossing the hall to work out at the gym? Or perhaps you’d like to pay a visit to one of our registered dieticians at NutriProCan? Or attend to your foot care needs at Foot Dynamics? And if you’re hungry you can even grab a healthy snack in the Apple-a-day bistro.
- Rejuv Cardio Health: For further help with your cardio health and overall wellness don’t forget to ask your AMG doctor about the Rejuv Cardio Health program . It uses the Four Pillars of Prevention – daily exercise, nutrition, stress management and communication – to help reduce your risk of cardio-respiratory diseases.
To experience our revolutionary concept in healthcare, just drop by our state-of-the-art facility at 230 Victoria Street or call us at 519 873 1700 to make an appointment.
