How to lead a healthy lifestyle with beer, lard and without two liters of water a day

In fact, modern life is not very compatible with a healthy lifestyle: if you live in a metropolis and drive a car or taxi, you have already lost. But you can still try to become healthier. We’ll tell you why you don’t have to turn into a sectarian, give up everything and force yourself to do unusual things.

Let’s not lie and say that you can maintain a healthy lifestyle by eating only fast food. But scientist Alan Aragon recommends making 10% of the diet from unhealthy but favorite foods (with 80% of the diet coming from minimally processed foods, and 10% from very healthy foods). It will support you mentally, help you stay on track, and won't affect you negatively as long as you stick to your calorie count and macronutrient balance.

You cannot eat only cereals, fruits and boiled chicken and think that this is very healthy. If you give up fat, the body will stop absorbing vitamins A and E, as well as producing sex hormones. Only excessive consumption of fat is harmful. Everyone has heard about olive oil, nuts and fatty fish - but you probably didn’t know that even lard is not such a bad food. It contains vitamins A and E, as well as arachidonic acid, an unsaturated fat that the body needs for normal functioning of the heart, liver and brain.

We won’t even talk about the juice in the boxes: it’s hardly healthier than sweet sodas. But freshly squeezed homemade juice will not make you healthier. Nutritionists unanimously advise eating whole fruits rather than squeezing juice out of them. This way you will be able to eat better, and there is no need to perform unnecessary manipulations.

Coffee can be a problem if you have nervous or cardiovascular diseases - or if you drink a lot of it. And there are very few calories in black coffee - another thing is that we often drink coffee drinks with sugar and cream, and also snack on them with baked goods and sweets.

If fruits and vegetables have been subjected to shock freezing, then they retain up to 90% of all nutrients. And raw fruits lose their beneficial properties during storage. It’s better to defrost a pack of berries than to eat raw ones that have been sitting in a warehouse for a couple of weeks.

Alcohol really doesn’t go well with a diet, but you don’t have to give it up completely. Nutrition experts recommend dining with wine instead of beer or hard liquor, and avoiding sweet liqueurs and cocktails, especially creamy ones, those containing soda and energy drinks. It’s better not to drink beer at the same time as eating - only as a stand-alone drink. It's great if you drink it with water and keep some healthy food nearby so you don't end up overeating on burgers, pizza, fried wings and fries.

Someone once said that you should definitely drink two liters of water a day, and juices, coffee and tea, soup, vegetables and fruits do not count. And so people add the item “Drink eight glasses of water” to their calendars and force themselves through it. Actually this is not necessary.