Your diet and exercise plans should not only complement one another, but they must be specific to your individual needs and goals. Your program needs to address diet and exercise in a multitude of short-term goals that are formulated toward reaching a long-term big picture goal. The two principles, specificity and progression, should be kept in mind so that--once on your program--you can keep seeing results with minimal plateaus. Furthermore, plan on designing an effective program that is maintainable. Make it one that you can see yourself on for an extended period of time. This will set you up for the best chances for success.
Specificity
Specificity with regard to diet and exercise means your target goals should be centered around your individual needs. The diet and exercise that you choose should be selected in that manner as well. For example, if your end goal is to lose weight that can be kept off, a healthy method of doing this is to aim to lose 1 to 2 lbs. per week until you reach your goal. Don't aim to lose all your goal weight loss in two or three days, because this will be temporary and not sustained.
Progression
A healthy exercise and diet routine should always be progressive. You cannot always perform the same exercises, eat the same foods, and continue to stimulate changes within your body. Your body's natural tendency is to adapt to any repetitive stimuli over time. To prevent this, you should implement cycles of change every two to four weeks. Continuing to use this method will provide your system with a consistent amount of overload that is needed to stress your body in a healthy way to stimulate adaptation.
Exercise Component
Despite the fact that your exercise program needs to be created with your specific goals in mind, there are valid recommended minimal guidelines you should use to help get you started. The American College of Sports Medicine is a good resource to follow with regard to its exercise recommendations. The ACSM recommends a program of three to five days per week of 30- to 40-minutes per session of cardiovascular exercise, in combination with two days per week of entire body weight training, as the minimum activity you should be committed to on a weekly basis.
Diet Component
The energy you consume in the form of food needs to be balanced to provide your body with proper nourishment. The substrates that can provide you with this are proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. These food types are equally important, but they should not be consumed in equal quantities. MayoClinic.com recommends that carbohydrates be 45 to 65 percent of your diet; protein, 10 to 35 percent; and fat, 20 to 35 percent. Following this general proportion scale is a good starting point, but it should be tailored further, depending on your current health status.
Your Results
The effects of your individualized exercise and diet plan can put you in the best position to reap the benefits associated with proper nutrition and exercise. You may be able to see a decreased risk for heart attack, ischemic heart disease, stroke, hypertension, and diabetes as reported by both the May 29, 2007, issue of "Circulation" and a December 2009 issue of "Obesity." You may also gain fat-free mass, lose weight, improve muscle strength/endurance, and improve your cardiovascular functioning, as reported by the 2008 edition of the journal, "Kinesiology."
References
- "Obesity"; Exercise, Abdominal Obesity, Skeletal Muscle, and Metabolic Risk: Evidence for a Dose Response; C.A. Slentz et al; 2009
- "Circulation"; Treatment of Hypertension in the Prevention and Management of Ischemic Heart Disease; C. Rosendorff, et al; May 2007
- "Kinesiology"; How Effective is Exercise in Producing Fat Loss?; K.T. Borer; 2008
- American College of Sports Medicine: Physical Activity Guidelines
- MayoClinic.com: Healthy Diet
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