According to Kathy Kaehler exercise and healthy eating are only the first steps to a healthy lifestyle. If you want to experience total fitness she also recommends that you follow her recipe for a healthy lifestlye.

Get Enough Sleep
According to Kathy lack of sleep leaves you tired, lethargic, and cranky. Not the best conditions for exercise. In addition it may cause you to seek out caffeine and sugar for a boost and it contributes to a dull complexion. Recent research studies show that getting less than 8 hours of sleep a night impairs your ability to process glucose and could make you insulin resistant; a condition that is closely tied to obesity. Not getting your sleep also decreases your levels of leptin, the satiety hormone, and increases your level or cortisol, the fat storage hormone. This leads to intense cravings for starchy carbs and sweets that end up getting stored as fat. To make matters worst sleep deprivation also affects growth hormone levels, which regulates your body’s muscle to fat ratio. Get your zzz's and start losing.

Limit Alcohol
According to Jay Williams, author of The 24 Hour Turnaround, drinking alcohol compromises your fat burning system for 48 hours. This is the amount of time it takes for your body to fully process and detox from the alcohol. If you're one of the many who enjoy a drink with dinner nightly, and you're having trouble losing those last few pounds, cutting back a few times a week could make the difference. Alcohol is also a problem because it's loaded with empty calories and because drinking tends to make you less disciplined and more likely to say yes to all those foods that you should avoid. If you're going to drink then do so in moderation and try doing it only a couple of times a week.

Minimize Stress
Research findings suggest that women under high levels of stress were more likely to have extra fat around their midsections, which has been linked to heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and certain types of cancer. This is because stress triggers the flight or fight response that increases levels of cortisol, which stimulates deep abdominal fat cells to accept and store fat. Cortisol also increases appetite especially for sweets and carbs. So not only does stress make you eat more but what you do eat gets stored as fat deep in the belly. Experts say that good ways to control stress include exercising on a regular basis, getting enough sleep, getting a massage, yoga, having fun with your family, and laughing often.

Don't Smoke
Wrinkles, yellow teeth, bad breath, and little to no cardiovascular endurance. Not exactly the picture of a fit healthy person. Some people argue it helps curb appetite and relieve stress. The truth is nothing controls appetite and beats stress more than a good workout. Smoking increases your chances of everything from emphysema, osteoporosis, lung cancer, and heart disease. If you're serious about being fit and healthy seek the help of a smoking cessation professional, a trainer, or a doctor.

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