What people need to realize is that staying active and eating right are critical for long-term health and wellness -- and that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You hear a lot about living a healthy lifestyle, but what does that mean? In general, a healthy person doesn't smoke, is at a healthy weight, eats healthy and exercises. Sounds simple, doesn't it? The trick to healthy living is making small changes...taking more steps, adding fruit to your cereal, having an extra glass of water...these are just a few ways you can start living healthy without drastic changes. Just adding a little movement to your life can reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes, improve joint stability, increase and improve range of movement, help maintain flexibility as you age, maintain bone mass, prevent osteoporosis and fractures, improve mood and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, enhance self esteem, improve memory in elderly people & reduce stress.

Here’s a sample exercise program that may work for you:

Warm Up -- seven to eight minutes of light aerobic activity intended to increase blood flow and lubricate and warm-up your tendons and joints. Resistance Training -- Train all major muscle groups. One to two sets of each exercise. Rest 45 seconds between sets. Aerobic Exercise -- Pick two favorite activities, they could be jogging, rowing, biking or cross-country skiing, whatever fits your lifestyle. Perform 12 to 15 minutes of the first activity and continue with 10 minutes of the second activity. Cool down during the last five minutes. Stretching -- Wrap up your exercise session by stretching, breathing deeply, relaxing and meditating.

When starting an exercise program, it is important to have realistic expectations. Depending on your initial fitness level, you should expect the following changes early on. From one to eight weeks -- Feel better and have more energy. From two to six months -- Lose size and inches while becoming leaner. Clothes begin to fit more loosely. You are gaining muscle and losing fat. After six months -- Start losing weight quite rapidly. Counting calories or calculating grams and percentages for certain nutrients is impractical. Instead, here are some easy-to-follow guidelines:

Eat several small meals (optimally four) and a couple of small snacks throughout the day Make sure every meal is balanced -- incorporate palm-sized proteins like lean meats, fish, egg whites and dairy products, fist-sized portions of complex carbohydrates like whole-wheat bread and pasta, wild rice, multigrain cereal and potatoes, and fist-sized portions of vegetable and fruits. Limit your fat intake to only what’s necessary for adequate flavor. Drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water throughout the day. Consider a multivitamin supplement too.

Healthy diet & exercise are the best way to have a healthy life.

For more information from online doctor's post your queries after easy registration process.