maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle, by SK
This article is written for yooou! by 17-year-old, SK.
Hello, my name is Sydney Knodel and I am a high school athlete and student!
Throughout my high school experience, I have always tried to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle because I feel it contributes to my overall happiness.
In order to do so, I have joined many of my school sports teams including Track, Cross Country, and Basketball. School sports are a great way to stay in shape and they provide a social and welcoming environment for all ability levels.
They also provide goals to work to and incentivize progress through games or meets in a way that individual activity does not.
When I am not in school, you can find me one of the many yoga studios in Dallas. I use yoga as a break from the distractions of high school and allow yoga practice to reconnect with me to myself. Yoga, unlike what many people think, is also a great workout.
Maybe yoga or school sports isn’t for everyone, though. In order to stay active, it is important to find things you enjoy otherwise you likely won’t keep up with them.
Luckily, there are plenty of ways to get a workout in, from workout classes, to swimming or biking, to even just going on a walk.
In order to lead a healthy lifestyle, one must maintain a diet that matches. Everyone has heard the cliche about eating your fruits and vegetables, but you also have to make sure you are eating enough protein and healthy fats especially if you are participating in increased physical activity.
Eating healthy is something I struggle with myself, but in order to encourage myself to eat a more diverse, balanced diet, I find new recipes to make on Instagram or Google.
Beyond diet and exercise, my final tip for leading a healthy lifestyle is to make sure you are getting enough sleep. Scrolling through Tik Tok until 2am may seem fun in the moment, but it is a form of instant gratification that does not pay off in the long run. Not getting a full eight hours of sleep is extremely ageing and can leave you feeling off for the entirety of the next day or even week!
With a busy high school life, being healthy and active may not be everyone’s top priority, but there are fun ways to accomplish it and the payoffs are monumental.
Click here for some amazing workouts that you can do anywhere; click here to read more about the benefits of yoga. Also, click here to read more about getting some sleep. And click here to get some delicious healthy-eating inspiration from the Kitchen Twins.
