Staying healthy throughout your life allows you to enjoy amazing activities, including hiking a local national park, to watching your children grow and mature into adults. You want to make your golden years a part of midlife, giving you 30 to 40 years of comfortable retirement. Health and wellness needs to be a core part of your daily routine, from getting outside to eating right. Make your days memorable with these keys to healthy living.

Get Outside

Although you’re not looking to get a tan, you still need some sunlight in your life. As you walk or sit in the sun for just 10 minutes, the sunshine helps you produce vitamin D. This vitamin is not typically found in foods, unless it is fortified, such as vitamin D milk. Vitamin D allows your body to absorb calcium efficiently, effectively avoiding bone-thinning diseases, including osteoporosis. Avoid burning your skin by wearing sunscreen, if you are staying outdoors for longer than 10 minutes.

Exercising Boosts Morale

Exercising helps you maintain a healthy weight throughout your life, but it also boosts your morale, improving mood and outlook on life. Join an exercise group at the local swimming pool, for example. Using the water as resistance, your body takes on healthy exercise as you carry on a conversation with your neighbor.

Group exercising is a great way to meet new people as well – and as we all know – staying social boosts your overall mood and happiness.

Eating For Health

You may pride yourself on sauteing your vegetables each night, but try to eat more of them in their raw form. Depending on the food, certain cooking strategies actually damage the nutrients hidden in the food. When you eat raw carrots, for instance, you receive more vitamins compared to cooked carrots. Steaming, however, doesn’t affect most vegetables’ nutrient content, making this cooking strategy one of the better selections.

Portioning Is Crucial

With restaurants offering overflowing plates, it’s hard to visualize a normal portion meal. When you portion each meal correctly, you get a well-balanced amount of nutrients to make you feel fuller for longer. A quarter of your dinner plate should have lean meat, including white meat chicken or fish. Another quarter consists of a carbohydrate, or grain, such as potatoes or rice. The remaining half plate should have an equal amount of fruits and vegetables. By looking at your plate in this manner, you can understand what your body truly needs from a nutrition standpoint.

Listen To Your Body

You know your body better than anyone. If you notice a new pain that doesn’t go away, contact your doctor. Each day, you have certain aches and pains that may be chronic, but normal, such as an old knee injury from sports.

Keep a regular appointment schedule with your doctor to stay on top of any monitored, chronic conditions. From diabetes to recovering cancer patients, consistent care breeds good health.

There’s a lot to understand and absorb when it comes to health and wellness in your golden years. Attention to diet, exercising and socializing are key for a long and happy life. Keep up with a healthy lifestyle to enjoy every day as you desire.