Even if you believe that you are working hard to live a healthy lifestyle, you may be undermining your efforts. Whether you are attempting to avoid excess calories, fat, sugar or stress, you should avoid these common ways that people negatively impact their health.
Your Daily Commute
One of the biggest factors that can negatively influence your health is the amount of stress that you have, and other drivers can increase your stress levels dramatically. Carpooling may reduce your stress by allowing you to share the driving responsibilities and unwind with your fellow passengers. Additionally, try to working four ten-hour shifts instead of five eight-hour shifts in order to cut down on the amount of days that you will need to drive to work.
Sitting at Work
If you have a job that encourages you to sit down for most of your day, you are more likely to suffer from heart disease. To combat this potential negative impact on your health, perform as much of your job as you can standing at your desk instead of sitting. Incorporate brisk walks into your lunch and breaks.
Sweet Beverages
You might be thinking that you are getting a healthy drink from your smoothie, but many commercially made smoothies are full of sugar and added fat. Likewise, many flavored coffees are full of extra sugar and some creamers can even contain hydrogenated oils which contain the trans fats that have been proven to lead to heart disease. To curb that sweet tooth, try homemade smoothies that only feature fresh fruits and vegetables. If you have to have your flavored commercial coffee outside of the home, skip the whipped cream and opt for low fat milk.
Flavored Crackers
You might think that you are choosing a healthier option than potato chips by purchasing the crackers for lunch. But flavored crackers are often high in fat and calories. This can have a devastating effect on your health if you are trying to lose weight. Opt for saltines and flavor them with fresh vegetables, low fat cheese dip, or hummus.
Yogurt with Fruit on the Bottom
Yogurt is often touted as one of the ways to avoid the medical complications that will lead you to being a patient at Mercer Bucks. But if you’re choosing your yogurt packs with the fruit on the bottom, you’re undoing any type of potential health benefits because they are loaded with sugar. Skip all of that added sugar, and instead choose plain yogurt.