A 30-minutes-a-day plan: the first steps

You too can have a healthier life — you only need to commit 30-minutes-a-day to changing your habits. But, in order to successfully navigate your 30-minutes-a-day plan, you must acknowledge these four things:

1. Having a healthy heart and circulatory system is vital to your happiness, health and longevity.
2. A diet of processed foods not only provides poor nourishment for your body and soul but also is not healthy for your heart.
3. Sitting too much can be unhealthy, and a sedentary lifestyle diminishes your heart's health and overall well-being.
4. Anger, impatience, and constant stress not only reduce happiness but also cause physical damage to your heart and body.

Therefore, you must vow to yourself that you will invest 30 minutes each and every day to eat better, be more active, and improve your mental state, with the goal of not only improving the health of your heart but also increasing your energy levels, reducing chances of illness, and making a long and happy life far more likely.

• How I will find 30 minutes each day?
• What are the specific changes that I believe I can best succeed at (e.g., eating more fruit, taking lunchtime walks, getting some daily relaxation)?
• How I will monitor my progress?

• You will maintain reasonable expectations and not let small setbacks get in the way of long-term success.
• You will review progress, re-evaluate strategies, and set new short-term goals every two weeks for the next three months and then every month thereafter.
• You enter into this contract seriously and will keep it as a reminder of your commitment to health, happiness, and well-being.

• How much fruit, vegetables, whole grains, calcium-rich foods, beans, fish, lean meat or poultry, and glasses of water do you consume daily?
• Are your meals healthy?
• Are your snacks healthy?
• Are your food portions correct?
• Do you eat enough fibre?
• Do you eat out of habit or compulsion?
• Do you avoid unhealthy drinks?

• How much time do you spend walking?
• Do you limit television time today?
• Do you stretch your body today?
• Do you strengthen muscles today?
• What are your energy levels like? In the morning? Afternoon? Evening?

• Do you allow at least 10 minutes to relax fully?
• Do you share affection with friends and/or family?
• Do you laugh heartily at least four times?
• Are you confident?
• Are you forgiving?
• How is the quality of your sleep?

And lastly, did you have motivation to be healthy? And did you have a positive attitude? These two things are among the most important for the effectiveness of your 30-minutes-a-day plan.

If you decide to start a 30-minutes-a-day plan, and if you're hitting some of your goals (and many of these points), you're on your way to a better life!