Being active and eating healthy is vital to improving your well-being. These two aspects will help you maintain a healthy weight. In return, this boosts your self-confidence. Enhancing your well-being isn’t just good for you. It also helps how you relate with others, boosting your social life.
Why Is Eating Healthy and Exercising Good for You?
Regular exercise and healthy eating promote a productive and happy life. Practicing both will boost your immune system. A stronger immune system means the chances of falling sick are lower, thus increasing your quality of life. You can talk to a nutritionist to come up with a meal plan for healthy eating. In terms of managing weight, you can speak to a trainer or undergo weight-loss surgery. Take that step by scheduling your appointment at Khalili Center and learn how to manage your weight to live a healthy life.
Eating healthily and exercising reduce your chances of developing the following conditions:
- High blood pressure
- Type 2 diabetes
- Heart disease
- Kidney disease
- Certain types of cancer
- Stroke
Aside from improving your health, moving more and eating better allows you to:
- Manage stress effectively
- Feel good about your body
- Be a good example to your family members and friend
- Have more energy for hobbies, work, and family
- Tone your body
What Consists of a Healthy Diet?
A healthy diet consists of protein foods such as lean meats, seafood, poultry, legumes, eggs, nuts, seeds, and soy products. It should also have vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and low-fat or fat-free milk products. Try and minimize your intake of added sugars, saturated fats, and sodium and watch your daily calorie intake.
Oftentimes, people assume that eating a healthy diet means foregoing your comfort foods. This idea can discourage people from coming up with healthy eating plans. Most people don’t know that you can still enjoy your comfort food even if it’s high in calories, added sugars, and fat. The key is eating it in moderation. You can make your comfort food healthier or eat it with other healthy foods. To enjoy your comfort food, here are some tips to follow:
- Reduce your intake: Instead of eating daily, eat them once a week or twice a month.
- Eat smaller amounts: If you love something like chocolate, eat only half a bar instead of eating a whole bar.
- Check if there’s a lower-calorie version: For instance, if a recipe calls for full-fat cheese or whole milk, use low-fat cheese or non-fat milk instead.
How Much Physical Activity Do You Need?
Aim for at least 150 minutes of weekly physical activity to improve and maintain your health. You can distribute those minutes throughout your week and exercise for thirty minutes daily. Even moderate exercises such as dancing or brisk walking will help.
If you haven’t been active for a while, achieving 150 minutes of exercise can be hard. In such an instance, start by incorporating short and moderate exercise into your routine. Do 60 minutes of moderate exercise weekly as you work towards hitting 150 minutes. Even 15 minutes of activity is better than not doing anything at all.
If your goal is to lose weight, you’ll need to do more activity. Aim for about 300 minutes every week. That means an hour of exercise five days a week. Twice a week, do muscle-strengthening exercises such as lunges, squats, and abdominal crunches.
Talking to a Health Care Provider Before Starting Exercises
Most people don’t need to consult a healthcare provider before starting moderate exercises such as walking. However, before you start an exercise program, talk to a health expert if you have the following conditions:
- Arthritis
- Kidney disease
- Heart disease
- Undergoing cancer treatment, or you have just finished
- High blood pressure
- Type 1 or 2 diabetes
Handling Roadblocks to Exercising
Being active isn’t easy. People will find all sorts of reasons to avoid it. If you keep finding excuses, you’ll never do it. Instead, try to overcome those challenges. For instance, if your excuse is that you don’t have time, try to exercise for a few minutes. Instead of doing a 30-minute walk, break it into 10-minute walks.
On the other hand, your excuse could be the lack of money for exercise equipment. Why not try exercises that require no equipment? Overcoming these hurdles is key to healthy well-being.
Handling Roadblocks to Eating Healthily
Just like exercising, eating healthy may seem challenging, especially when you’re on a tight budget or don’t have the time to cook. Is your issue time? Prepping healthy meals doesn’t need to take a lot of time. Buy precut or frozen veggies and add them to your veggie wrap or salad. You can also prepare large quantities of food at once and eat them for two or three days.
If your excuse is the cost, try buying the food in bulk instead of in smaller sizes, as that is often cheaper. Also, store brands are also likely to be cheaper than popular brands. Look for them on the upper or lower part of the shelf.
Healthy eating and regular exercise are very beneficial. These two go hand in hand to keep you in better shape both mentally and physically. Incorporating both of them is likely to lead to a more productive life. This dentist who does the best dental implants in Little Falls also recommends complementing these two with regular health checkups to make sure that you’re always on top of your health