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Healthy Lifestyles and Longevity
Foresight is something generally lacking in most people’s lives. We live in a society predicated on instant gratification. Fast food restaurants are a good example. When hungry, just go to the drive-thru and eat to your heart’s content. Two weeks later, you are left to wonder how the weighing scale can possibly register an increase of 5 pounds.
The opposite of this is deferred gratification. Where instant gratification is geared towards getting something as soon as possible, deferred gratification is the ability to wait patiently in order to get a greater reward. This is also known by more common terms such as will power and self control.
The Marshmallow Experiment is a good example of instant vs. deferred gratification. In this test (conducted during the 1960s), subjects composed of four-year olds were given a marshmallow. They were told that they could eat the marshmallow now, but if they waited for an unspecified amount of time, they would receive another marshmallow. Researchers later followed the progress of these children and discovered that, on average, those who waited to get another marshmallow had higher SAT scores.
Tags: advances in medical technology, average life expectancy, balanced diet, Exercise, fast food restaurants, Health, Healthy, healthy life, healthy lifestyle, healthy lifestyles, instant gratification, long and happy lifeRelated posts
Living a Healthy Lifestyle in College
College is the best years of one’s life. It is a time to find your career path and meet some of your best friends for life. Living the college life at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I have a first hand experience of this good life. Nevertheless, I want to use my experience and knowledge to educate those on the proper way to live a healthy college experience.
The following information will guide you to a better college exercise and eating routine that will require minimal time to your already busy day
How you should workout Try to include a 15-20 minute run after you weight train. Nevertheless, a more fun alternative would be to play basketball or racquetball if your school gym provides them. The average college student can burn approximately 500 calories during a vigorous basketball game. That is better than a 15-minute run on a treadmill or elliptical for some people. (Note It depends on your level of training when playing basketball versus running on a treadmill to make a more accurate comparison in terms of calorie burning). Remember, if you like to do cardio after you workout with the weights then that is fine also. Nevertheless, doing cardio before you lift weights will warm you up more properly and give you a nice sweat before lifting. Regardless, any time you do cardio, you want to go hard enough to trim the fat and get into better shape, but never overtrain to the point where you can’t work with the weights and visa versa. Weight training is just as important as cardio so never sacrifice one for the other. When you do weight train, try to go at a high intensity pace, where you keep your heart rate going. Anytime you workout in college, you really want to burn off all the unnecessary garbage that you consume in college. Even if you choose to train at a moderate or even light intensity, it is certainly 100x better than not training at all. Try to weight train for no longer than an hour so that you don’t become over-trained, which can dramatically hinder muscle growth and recovery time. Moreover, students endure constant stress in college. When you workout, your endorphins will increase, which can lead to a runner’s high, thus increasing the happiness and pleasure you will experience throughout the day. In addition, exercising may help to improve your mood by increasing self-confidence and help to lower the symptoms associated with mild depression and anxiety.
Tags: a healthy diet, basketball game, Exercise, Health, Healthy, healthy diet, healthy life, healthy lifestyle, light intensity, living a healthy life, living a healthy lifestyle, running on a treadmill, School, Stress, university of wisconsin madison, Weight