You want to be healthy and you want to enjoy life. Right? I get it. Me, too. That’s what I’m all about. There are so many ways to approach health in ways that bring more joy to your life, not less.

Here are some top ways:

Move

Because you’ll always, always feel better after you get your body moving. Just choose what you enjoy or find ways to make what you do more enjoyable such as listening to music or some other interesting audio or watching a favorite show. Exercising with others, too, can be a lot more fun.

Eat simply

Take time to find some simple, healthy recipes you really do like. They won’t take up a lot of time to fix, and you’ll be proud of yourself for eating better. Plus you’ll find things you actually enjoy that you can easily repeat later. That’s eating well.

Drink up

Figure out what will help you enjoy water more. There’s no mistaking that many of us need a lot more water than we’re getting. So how can you do so but love it? Find something to add that will help, like fresh fruit slices with stevia. Or buy a water bottle you adore. Or make it a challenge — if you drink x ounces of water each day for a week, you get a reward of your choice.

Act like a child again

Get out and play! Yes, play. Fun, full out, child-like play. Swing in the park, play with your pet, play games with someone, just lay on the grass and figure out what shapes the clouds make. You know all that time you spent as a kid doing this sort of stuff? Do it now. You need it. Everything will come easier once you allow yourself to play.

Cave in

Cave to cravings on occasion. This isn’t an all-rules, all-the-time life. It shouldn’t be. Because that’s where you can begin to dread leading a healthy life for your whole life. So, go ahead . . . cave. You seriously want/need that decadent brownie? Have one. Make it the best quality, most satisfying brownie you can get. That cave, then, will satisfy you, and you’ll happily move on with your healthy life. If you eat one of those low-fat, sugar-free concoctions, will you be satisfied? Nah, not so much. Actually, not at all. Plus those items import much more junk into your system than a delicious item made out of real food.