Because of laziness, how many opportunities have you missed to “become healthy”?
In terms of healthy living, many people are giants in thought and short in action. And our body, it seems that this game is always repeated → Brain: “This is good for you” vs. Body: “But I don’t want to do it.”
Recently, the American Cancer Institute launched the “Health 10-week Challenge Program” to help the public gradually overcome “difficulties in action.”
Participants only need to start a healthy habit every week and stick to it. After 10 weeks, they can get a new healthy life, which can not only reduce the prevalence of cancer, but also effectively improve the quality of life, improve cognitive function, and reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome, etc.
Increase the proportion of plant-based foods
The first week
Adhere to the principle of 2/3~1/3 of the dinner plate, and ensure that more than 2/3 of each meal is plant food, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, etc., and 1/3 is animal food, such as poultry, seafood , Lean meat, eggs and dairy products.
Long-term consumption of animal food (red meat) will affect the intestinal flora and increase the risk of intestinal cancer and other gastrointestinal cancers.
Adjust the diet properly , reduce the intake of high-oil and high-fat foods, and enrich the types of foods, which will help maintain a balanced and comprehensive nutrition, control weight, and prevent the occurrence of many diseases.
Take 100 more steps every day
The second week
Develop exercise habits should start with low-intensity exercise. Starting from the second week, exercise one or two more minutes a day.
For example, if I only walked for 20 minutes a day before, then I walked 1 minute more every day and exercised 5 days a week. After a week, I exercised 25 minutes. After 10 weeks, I can exercise for more than 1 hour a day.
It can also be calculated by the number of steps. Take 100 to 200 more steps a day, exercise 5 days a week, and after 10 weeks, you can take 5,000 to 10,000 more steps a day.
The most direct effect of exercise is to improve the immune status, control weight, and then improve the body’s function, which is helpful for controlling blood sugar, blood lipids and preventing diseases.
In addition, exercise can also relieve depression and anxiety. Many diseases are related to psychological problems. If you feel better, you will be healthy.
Eat more colorful fruits and vegetables
The third week
The goal this week is to strengthen good eating habits. When eating plant-based foods, try to choose brightly colored fruits and vegetables, such as carrots, purple cabbage, broccoli, spinach, oranges, etc. It is recommended to eat a portion (about 100 grams) of dark vegetables for each meal.
Adults should eat 200-350 grams of fruits and 300-500 grams of vegetables every day, of which dark vegetables should account for half. Dark vegetables refer to dark green, red, orange, and purple vegetables.
A study by the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in the United States pointed out that eating more dark green and dark yellow vegetables will help reduce body fat and increase bone density.
Dark vegetables usually contain carotene, chlorophyll, lutein, lycopene, anthocyanins and aromatic substances. Not only are they rich in nutrients and have some physiological activities, their special colors and flavors also promote appetite.
Change from walking to brisk walking
The fourth week
In the past two weeks, if your exercise only stayed at the level of walking, then from this week onwards, you can increase the exercise intensity appropriately, adding 5 to 10 minutes of medium-to-high intensity exercise every day, such as changing walking to brisk walking or jogging.
A study by Seoul National University in South Korea pointed out that active participation in high-intensity exercise can effectively prevent cardiovascular disease, especially for the elderly over 60, and the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke is significantly reduced.
A certain intensity of exercise can indeed improve physical fitness and help prevent diseases, but higher-intensity exercise can easily lead to injuries. Therefore, those who are just starting to try mid-to-high-intensity exercise should learn about exercise knowledge in advance and make preparations such as warming up, or Under the guidance of professionals.
Reduce refined grain intake
The fifth week
May wish to use whole grain foods instead of some refined grain foods to ensure that you eat one portion (about 100 grams) of whole grain foods per meal.
Compared with refined grains, the bran, germ and endosperm of whole grains are more complete and contain more vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber.
“There are many studies confirming that eating more foods containing dietary fiber can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.” The rich fiber of whole grains also helps to prolong the time of fullness, reduce the intake of excess calories, and maintain a healthy weight.
Standing instead of sitting
The sixth week
From this week, try to replace sedentary sitting with light activity.
For example, stand up as much as possible when working in front of a computer; try to go face-to-face when communicating information to a work partner, instead of sending e-mails, messages, or phone calls; you can walk around while waiting for someone or watching TV.
Sitting for a long time is a risk factor for many health problems. It not only leads to overweight or obesity, which increases the burden of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, but also easily causes lumbar and cervical spine problems. Nowadays, many people have problems such as lumbar disc herniation at a young age. It has a lot to do with sitting for a long time.
No eat processed meat
The seventh week
In the diet, increase the intake of white meat such as fish and poultry, and reduce red meat and processed meat such as pork and beef.
Processed meat refers to meat that has been smoked, cured, or treated to increase flavor and prolong storage time, including ham, bacon, bacon, sausage, etc., which usually contain carcinogens.
If it is difficult to quit processed meat for a while, eat it at most once a week. In addition, red meat intake should not exceed 18 ounces (about 1 catty) per week.
In the past, the level of industrialization was low, and food in many hot and humid areas was not easy to preserve. Methods such as pickling, smoking, and roasting can prolong the shelf life, but this type of food contains carcinogens such as nitrite.
Now that our living standards have improved, we can get fresh food at any time. It is better to eat less processed meat.
Try a new sport
The eighth week
The exercises in the first few weeks were mainly walking or jogging, and the form was relatively simple. At this time, you may start to feel boring. It is recommended to start new sports, such as dancing, aerobics and other fun or team sports.
Regarding exercise as a hobby, rather than mechanically repeating it, will benefit not only the body, but also the spiritual pleasure.
Once you feel that exercise is boring, it is difficult to stick to it. Partner exercises can not only supervise each other, but also increase social interaction and delight the body and mind.
A study published in The Lancet Psychiatry showed that people who do not exercise at all will experience stress, depression, or other emotional problems for an average of 3.5 days a month, while those who exercise regularly only have an average of 2 days; Exercise 3 to 5 times a week for 45 minutes or more each time is the best way to reduce stress or depression.
Use plain water and tea instead of alcoholic beverages
The ninth week
Starting this week, we will quit alcoholic beverages and replace them with water, tea, coffee or milk. Some alcoholic beverages are high in calories, and alcohol itself increases the risk of cancer.
There is a 16-character policy to prevent cancer, that is, “a reasonable diet, moderate exercise, quit smoking, limit alcohol, and psychological balance”, which shows the importance of limiting alcohol.
Using healthy drinks instead of alcohol addiction can effectively reduce alcohol intake. It should be noted that when drinking coffee and tea beverages, you should try to choose sugar-free black coffee or pure tea.
Drive people around you to change together
The tenth week
Entering the last week, you will find that your living habits have changed unconsciously, but you should not stop there. You should try to change your home and work environment, because people around you will affect your diet or exercise decisions. Optimizing your surrounding environment will help you keep healthy life.
“Health refers to the complete state of physical, psychological, and social adaptation, and lifestyle is precisely the most common health shortcoming and the most controllable part of many health risk factors.”
The “Healthy 10-week Challenge Plan” starts from this aspect and helps people make changes bit by bit. This approach is easier for people to accept, but the key lies in long-term persistence.
In addition to perseverance, we must also pay attention to differences between individuals. The “10-week health challenge plan” is indeed scientific, but everyone has to adjust it according to their own situation and does not have to copy it completely.
For example, some people usually have exercise or good eating habits, which may not take 10 weeks to implement them. For those with more “stubborn” bad habits, it is more challenging and may take a little longer. In general, it is necessary to gradually improve according to the degree that the body can accept.
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