Inproving your health and fitness begins and ends with a consistent and persistent exercise plan. I believe a person who is dedicated to moving their body supports a healthy heart, a powerful mind, and a strong healthy body. Some exercise plans will keep your fat cells at bay. Starting a exercise plan can be a taunting task but you should always remember you’re making a great decison that will improve every aspect of your life. There are many different types of exercises. A comprehensive physical activity should include aerobic exercise, strength training, and flexibility exercise. Aerobic exercise is what I started doing, which is also known as cardio. It increases your heart rate, works on muscles, and raises your breathing rate. Some aerobic exercise may include taking a brisk walk outside, going dancing, swimming or water aerobics, skating, playing tennis, and even stationary bicycle indoors. I haven’t started with strength training just yet, but if done several times a week it will help build strong bones and make everyday chores like carrying groceries more easier for you. For example, lifting light weights at home or even joining a strength training class. Flexibility exercise is known as strectching, it helps your joints be more flexible and reduces chances of injury during other activities. As you can see strectching plays a very important role in exercising. I make sure I stretch before each workout for about 5 to 10 minutes to get body warmed up. Being active helps burn calories, the more you move around the more energy you’ll have.
My journey to eating more healthier and being more active has been, well , sort of successful. I tell you it takes alot of will power and hard work. I’ve tried several times and this time I made it my priority, especially coming from like me who loves to eat but hates working out. Now days I really dont mind working out and sweating. I guess I can say its not so bad. I’m happy! The eating healthy part, Im getting there. I eat alot of vegetables, like salads now, but I still crave for a piece of that chocolate cake every now and then. I try to work out atleast three to four times out of the week for about 30-45 minutes, normally doing cardio. They say cardio helps burn alot calories and fat.
You just have to be motivated, especially if you tried in the past to lose weight and struggled or regained the weight back. I know it definitely starts with changing your eating habits and increasing your levels of physical activities. Rewarding yourself for sticking to your weight loss program is an effective way to keep yourself motivated, but they should be realistic and meaningful. For example after sticking to the first week of your diet treat your self to a new CD or a pair of shoes, then bigger rewards like a ticket to a concert to see your favorite band or even a weekend trip or vacation with family or friends.
Pre- diabetes is a serious medical condition but it can be treated and can also prevent the development of type 2 diabetes. When you have diabtes, this means the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other foods into energy needed for daily life. Although the cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery but genetics and things like obesity and lace of exercise seems to play a major role. Studies show that there are 23.6 million children and adults in the United States with diabetes, 17.9 million have been diagnosed, unfortunately 5.7 million of them are unaware they have the disease. Most of the time diabetes is undiagnosed is because the symptoms seem so harmless. The American Diabetes Association is developing materials that will help people understand there risks for pre-diabetes and what they can do to halt the progression to diabetes. There is no doubt that carbohydrates get all the attention in diabetes management. How much total fat you eat depends on many factors. There are some healthy fats and some unhealthy fasts. It is true that fat is high in calries so it is alway impotant yo watch portion size. Remember as you are cutting back on the sources os saturated and transfat it is still important to substitute with healthy fats. One example is instead of one cheese stick for an afternoon snack, have twelve almonds. The calories are about the same but you will improve your health.
The American Diabetes Association www.diabetes.org
Having Diabetes doesnt mean you will never have birthday cake or pumpkin pie. If you plan it right you can have small servings of any of your favorite desserts. It is always best to save them for special occasions so you wont miss out on more nutritious foods yor body needs. Most people think sugar causes type 1 diabetes, but that is a myth. Really sugar doesnt have anything to do it at all. The biggest risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes is sinply eating too much and being overweight. Most sweets carry a large amount of in very small servings, so its good to make sure your serving is small, even though it can be hard. If you tend to over eat sweets then its best not to buy them. Instead enjoy desserts when you are away from home and even then split it with a friend. Carb containing foods includes bread, tortillas, rice, crackers, fruit, juice , milk , yogurt , potatoes, corn, and peas. For many people having about 40-60 grams at a meal is about right. So the best thing to do if you want some sweets is to cut back on the other carb containing foods in your meal. Foods you should focus on in your meal are vegetables, beans, whole grains, fruit, non-fat dairy, fish and lean meats.
Women have special dietary needs during each stage of our lives, which includes adolesence, pregnancy, breast feeding, and menopause. Eating healthy increases your energy level which makes it easier to juggle the variety of commitments you deal with every day. Good nutrition starts with the basics, such as a well rounded diet consisting of proteins, carbs from whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
Calcium is a very important part of a womans diet at every age. It alleviates PMS symptoms, supports a healthy pregnancy, prevents osteoporosis and boneloss after menopause. Women under the age of 40 need 1000 mg of calcium daily. After age 40, you need 1200-1500 mg a day.
To boost your calcium intake:
- Start your day with a calciun fortified whole grain cereal and low fat milk.
- Choose high calcium snacks, such as yogurt, calcium fortified orange juice, canned sardine with bones, and almonds.
- Pick hard cheese over soft cheese. (an ounce of cheddar pack 200 mg versus a meager 60 mg in a half cup of cottage cheese)
- understand food labels
1. Be Sensible: Watch Your Sizes
Eating is meant to be pleasureable so just be mindful. Enjoy that peice of cake but be sensible about how big your piece is.
2. Actively Take Part: Exercise
Being physically active is a great way to burn off those high calorie treats. Just take a few moments out of each day and move around a little bit. This can be as simple as cleaning the kitchen or taken a 20 minute walk after a meal.
3. Watch What You Drink: Drinking Calories Can Go Unnoticed
Calories from drinks are the most unnoticed and at the same time can be the reason that you feel like you are not eating but still gain weight.
4. Size Versus Calories: Smaller in Size Doesn’t Mean Less Calories:
Remember the ingredients in the foods you eat are very important. Some foods may seem healthy when really they are not.
5. Make Small Changes: Small Steps Now Make Big Changes:
Gradually get into your diet making small changes into your lifestyle. Usually small changes are the ones that will end up sticking with you the longest. Changing your behaviors about eating will in the long run make your diet successful. Be Smart…Eat Smart!
I know everyone loves junk food; the cookies, potatoe chips, cakes, donuts, I can go on and on. They can be very tempting but they are bad for our bodies. These foods are high in fats and salts and are very low in nutrients. These foods can contribute to high blood pressure and cholesterol. Other foods we like to eat like fast foods or fried foods are high in saturated fats, which can increase the risk of certain cancers and heart disease. Fast foods, I hate to say, are very bad for you and are very high in calories, but are oh so delicious. Although fast foods are very convient when you have busy schedules or always on the go, like myself, but they just no good for our bodies. Most fast foods places such as McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, Bojangles, have very reasonable prices that can fit just about any budget. They also spend huge amount of dollars for advertising different items on their menu. Especially with todays economic status, anyone can be tempted. To be honest I almost got addicted to McDonalds angus burger (the deluxe is my favorite) it is soo delicious. As hard as it is, I had to realize that eating healthy was something I really wanted to do. Will Power!…Be Strong!…Live Long!
It can be hard to develop healthy eating habits with busy lifestyles. Sometimes we tend to forget how important it is and how it can affect our health in the long run. Some people may ask what foods are good for you. The food pyramid is a very helpful tool to use when trying to eat healthier. Healthy food supply the nutrients that our body needs and gives us energy so you don’t have that sluggish feeling. I know everyone knows what that can feel like. Healthy foods keeps the heart healthy, brain active and the muscles working. They have fewer calories so not only will you feel better but look better as well. Eating healthy can also help fight diseases. Healthy foods assists in managing diseases like diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Fruits and vegetables can help lower your blood pressure and may also lower the risk of certain cancers. Not only that, but these foods can also help create a healthy well functioning body that is able to fight off exposure to different viruses. Be You… Be Happy… Be Healthy!
