3 Simple Healthy Living Tips to Live by (a Review)

Let's jump right into it and review a few wellness tips to live by for optimum health.

1. Eat High Quality-Lean Protein and High Fiber Foods at Every Meal

I hate giving one-size-fits-all tips, especially with nutrition, with everybody having a unique biochemistry and therefore different nutritional requirements, however, every single person I've helped get healthier over the years has done so by eating a high-quality (lean) protein and high fiber diet. 

Extensive research shows that in this country, approximately two-thirds of the population are protein-dominant, meaning this population thrives on a high-protein/higher-fat diet. 

That means the other one-third fares well on a diet higher in carbohydrates. 

But even the higher carbo population who can handle more rice and grains in their diet and not bloat like a beached whale will thrive eating high-quality protein and foods rich in fiber. 

Some people need to eat pancakes, french toast, bagels and other typical breakfast foods for the first meal of the day. If you absolutely must have these types of breakfast grains in the morning, try to add some sautéed greens. Adding spinach to an omelet is an easy way to make sure you're getting enough fiber to keep the (digestive) action flowing. If you don't add vegetables and other high-fiber foods to every meal, especially those breakfasts when you gorge at the all-you-can-eat pancake buffets, you'll  be bloated and constipated...not a great start to your day!

2. Go for a Walk After Every Meal

Extensive research has shown that taking just a 10-minute walk after every meal can reduce blood sugar levels significantly. Know someone who has diabetes? Share this info with them. And even if you don't typically have serious blood sugar problems, going for a walk after every meal will prevent energy crashes. 

Personally, I've been doing a good job as of late eating at least three meals a day, all of which contain high quality protein, high-fiber vegetables and some natural fat and never any refined carbohydrates. But the other night, I feasted on my favorite burrito, one containing carne asada, shrimp, avocado and the best chipotle sauce this side of the border. 

I scarfed it down in about two minutes. Rather than get right back in my car and drive the 20 minutes till I got back home, I walked for 15 minutes around the block, including a couple hills. The blood that was coursing through my veins prevented me from feeling sluggish. True, sometimes it's good to chill after a meal to aid digestion, but I'd rather suffer a minor bit of burpitis than feel like a useless lug. 

It wasn't the food in the burrito that caused me to energetically hit a brick wall, it was the tortilla. Mixing a starch with a rich protein like red meat can be tough for your system to digest. But food combining is another topic.

For sustained energy, take a walk after every meal. If you don't already take post-meal walks, try it and see if you notice a difference in how you feel. 

3. Cook Foods with Coconut Oil and Avoid Cooking with Canola Oil (to lightly sauté is OK)

When cooking foods at a low-medium, medium, or high temperature, use saturated fats like extra virgin coconut oil. Contrary to mainstream belief, consuming saturated fat is vital for optimal health. The reason why can be found here. 

Light vegetable oils like canola turn rancid when exposed to high heat. Saturated fats are stable and don't alter molecularly. But be careful when cooking with coconut oil as it does have a tendency to smoke when exposed to high heat. Enjoy the process of cooking and cook foods at a lower temperature. Got screaming kids and need to feed them fast? Prepare some cheese, tomato paste and rice crackers for a healthy quick appetizer. Take your time with the main entrée. 

Don't worry if you use canola oil every now and then to cook at low temperatures, but pass on the message to friends that commonly cook their food by frying with Wesson. Wesson oil has virtually no saturated fat (again, this does not mean a healthier product), but if you cook it at high enough temperatures, it'll get rancid.

(Interestingly enough, ConAgra, the gigantic Franken-food science agri-business, claims that their product, Wesson, is healthier than olive oil. Can you believe the chutzpah? Hope I don't get slapped with an injunction for writing this!)

Adopt these three principles daily if you're not already and you'll feel better in a very short amount of time. 

Occasional Unplugging is Crucial for your Sanity

It's been a few weeks since I've posted and man, do I feel awesome.

I've just returned from a nearly-month long sabbatical to Southwest Colorado, where I camped, often for free in National Forest land with raging whitewater rapids roaring right by my tent.

I took a horseback ride up harrowing switchbacks past 10,000 feet in Ouray (the "Switzerland of America"), where I also hiked the Horsethief Trail up to the "Bridge to Heaven", where the summit was over 12,300--by far the highest I've ever been. (The last 45 minutes were exhausting! Lesson learned: eat more when hiking; you burn so many calories at high altitude and steep terrain, you have to frequently refuel.)

I whitewater rafted (with an outfitter) down some fun class III rapids. I was in wide open green spaces surrounded by 13 and 14,000-foot peaks with no houses and hardly anyone in sight. I connected with nature in a way that I haven't in quite some time.

Totally cleansed of any stress I was holding on to, my challenge now, will be to hold on to that spiritually-renewed feeling. Not that my life is too stressful; I've chosen to lead a stress-free life and have created just that, but any stress I was having completely melted away. Even if I had lots of stress in my life, this trip to Colorado would have profoundly changed me.

I'd be lying if I said I never checked my email while I was away for a few weeks. I did in fact check occasionally, but I unplugged from my complete dependency on electronics. The cell phone was switched off most of the time, and I barely used my laptop. Emails were checked in funky Internet cafes.

Connecting with nature, disconnecting from the grid, camping....I recommend this for everybody to do at least once a year for two weeks.

Easier said than done if you have young kids, but I saw plenty of nouveau-hippies (new agers who don't indulge in drugs or smoke cigarettes like the old-school hippies) with toddlers camped out.

Wellness newsletters have become too saturated with marketing, scaring us much of the time with the new health scourge of the week. Some people may be accustomed to getting in the inbox a health email with a subject line such as: "Why Taking This Supplement Will Kill You".

Maybe some readers of this post couldn't care less about my camping trip to Colorado; maybe they'd rather read about eating organic and if it's really better for you.

But taking a break from your normal day to day routine like I did can profoundly change your state of wellness for the better--mentally, spiritually and even physically.

I was so relaxed throughout the trip that even though I always emphasize yoga and stretching in my wellness routine, I didn't even stretch once or do a lick of yoga. I didn't need to; my muscles weren't holding on to any stress.

Besides hiking, I gave my muscles a rest. I thought I'd lose muscle tone and gain fat if I didn't do any upper-body strengthening exercises, but I discovered that if I stick with my metabolic type nutrition lifeplan, then I don't have a thing to worry about.

If I fell off the wagon and had hot dogs (with bun) cooked over the campfire and roasted marshmallows for dessert, I didn't worry that I wasn't "eating healthy". I just made sure that the rest of the time I was eating high protein and high fiber foods and drinking lots of water.

I had a realization that if you invest some time (everybody is different, but I'd say at least two years) into strength training and eat properly for your metabolic type, you can go for extended periods of time without exercising and not put on any weight. In fact, you will preserve your muscle tone and may even get leaner.

I'm already looking forward to my next trip in the woods. If it's been a while for you, make a plan to get there soon.