Healthy Living

Task 1. Read the text to review the vocabulary.

How to Stay Healthy

You hear a lot about living a healthy lifestyle, but what does that mean? In general, a healthy person doesn’t smoke, is at a healthy weight, eats healthy and exercises. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

The trick to healthy living is making small changes…taking more steps, adding fruit to your cereal, having an extra glass of water…these are just a few ways you can start living healthy without drastic changes.

One of the biggest problems in today’s world is lack of activity. We know it’s good for us but avoid it like the plague. The truth is, movement is movement and the more you do, the healthier you’ll be. Even moderate activities like chores, gardening and walking can make a difference.

Just adding a little movement to your life can:

· reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes;

· improve joint stability;

· help maintain flexibility as you age;

· maintain bone mass;

· prevent osteoporosis and fractures;

· improve mood and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression;

· reduce stress.

So, even if you opt for small changes and a more modest weight loss, you can see the benefits are still pretty good. One study has found that just a 10% weight reduction helped obese patients reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and increase longevity.

Simple Ways to Move Your Body

You can start the process of weight loss now by adding a little more activity to your life. If you’re not ready for a structured programme, start small.

· Turn off the TV. Once a week, turn off the TV and do something a little more physical with your family. Play games, take a walk…almost anything will be more active than sitting on the couch.

· Walk more. Look for small ways to walk more. Take the dog for an extra outing each day or walk to the place you used to take a bus to.

· Do some chores. Shovelling snow, working in the garden, raking leaves, sweeping the floor…these kinds of activities may not be ‘vigorous’ exercise, but they can keep you moving while getting your house in order.

· Pace while you talk. When you’re on the phone, pace around or even do some cleaning. This is a great way to stay moving while doing something you enjoy.

· Be aware. Make a list of all the physical activities you do on a typical day. If you find that the bulk of your time is spent sitting, make another list of all the ways you could move more — getting up each hour to stretch or walk, walk the stairs at work, etc.

Eating Well

‘You are what you eat!’ is a common expression meaning that your body shape is directly related to what or how much you eat. We can also add: ‘You are how you exercise or work out!’ because good health is impossible without regular exercise.

So if you have a sweet tooth, and like eating cakes, sweets or chocolate, it’s likely that you will eventually put on weight. As you get older, it becomes more difficult to lose/shed weight. In fact, you might see some middle-age spread, where people put on weight especially around their waist and hips.

What’s the best way to lose weight? Do you want to start healthy living or go on a crash diet? The wisest way is to watch what you eat all the time. Some people always count the calories, and avoid snacking between meals. Others cut out certain foods to avoid going up a size.

Eating sensibly all the time is a good way to watch your figure. You can use these tips for simple ways to change how you eat:

· Eat more fruit. Add it to your cereal, your salads or even your dinners.

· Sneak in more veggies. Add them wherever you can — a tomato on your sandwich, peppers on your pizza, or extra veggies in your pasta sauce. Keep pre-cut or canned/frozen veggies ready for quick snacks.

· Eat low-fat or fat-free dairy. Switching to skim milk or fat free yogurt is another simple way to eat fewer calories without having to change too much in your diet.

· Make some substitutes. Look through your cabinets or fridge and pick 3 foods you eat every day. Write down the nutritional content and, the next time you’re at the store, find lower-calorie substitutes for just those 3 items.

In conclusion, for the healthy living you may cut down on (reduce the amount of) fatty or sugary foods, take plenty of exercise, and make sure you’re getting your five a day (five portions of fruit or vegetables every day).

Task 2. Examine the Healthy Living Pyramid and draw the pyramid that describes your own exercise and working out.

Task 3. Your Key to Healthy Living. Fill in the table with the italicized words.

Exercise regularly/keep fit, spend a lot of time in front of the television, go to bed and get up late, maintain a healthy weight, snack something sweet when you are hungry, have a well-balanced diet, cut down on (sugar, fats, etc.), play computer games as much as you want, have regular check-ups, lower your intake of (salt), avoid physical activity, avoid fruits and vegetables, limit the consumption of fatty foods, consume calories that are necessary for staying in a good shape.

Task 4.Compare two most popular styles of spending free time using the table and the ‘Key Language’. Write your story.

Key Language

Most people in my country prefer … to…

It’s not difficult to compare them because…

Unlike … (watching TV) … helps to…

Working out became popular because…

Contrary to watching TV working out…

The positive side of … while…

Task 5. Read the text. For questions (1–12) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

World Vegetarian Day is (1) _________ every year on October the 1st. It was started in the USA by the North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS). Many countries have (2) _________ celebrations held on different days. They all celebrate the benefits of eating a plant-(3) _________ diet. In 1977, the NAVS said it wanted to ‘promote the joy, compassion and life-enhancing possibilities of vegetarianism.’ It hoped to (4) _________ awareness of the ethical, environmental, health and humanitarian benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle. The number of people (5) _________ to vegetarianism is increasing every year. There are about one million new vegetarians in the United States every year. October 1st (6) _________ many of them celebrate their food and eat lots of it.

Vegetarianism is when you (7) _________ a diet that excludes meat, fish, shellfish, and other animal products. There are several different (8) _________ of vegetarian. A vegan will not eat meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, eggs, honey or (9) _________ else from or made by animals. Most vegetarians eat and drink dairy products and eat eggs. These are called lacto-ovo vegetarians. ‘Lacto’ is the Latin word (10) _________ milk and ‘ovo’ means egg. Other people say they are vegetarian but they eat fish. Many people are vegetarian for ethical, health, and/or religious (11) _________. Scientists say we must all be vegetarian to help save the Earth. There is not enough (12) _________ for us all to be carnivores, or meat-eaters.

1 A hold B holding C held D holds

2 A similar B similarity C difference D differed

3 A bases B base C basic D based

4 A rise B up C raise D high

5 A turning B spinning C twisting D dizzying

6 A looks B sees C views D gazes

7 A following B followed C follower D follow

8 A typical B typed C types D typist

9 A thing B anything C nothing D anyhow

10 A for B of C from D by

11 A reasoned B reasons C reason D raisins

12 A lands B landed C landing D land