Your eating habits set the tone for good or poor health. While exercise is a necessary component to a healthy lifestyle, you can't be active without support from complete nutrition. To this end, the USDA recommends getting the vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients you need from whole foods, rather than supplement pills. Supplements won't provide the broad range of nutrition to fuel your cardiovascular, digestive and other systemic functions. Build body strength and longevity by following a sensible eating plan.
Food for Fitness
The nutrients in food provide energy for cellular growth, metabolic functions and daily activity. Replenishing your stores of nutrients every day allows you to call on your body for more when your activity level rises. To do so, eat a varied diet of vegetables, grains, fruits, nuts and low-fat protein foods and dairy products. This eating plan is rich in fiber to aid in digestion and to fuel for your fitness routine without dragging you down with hard-to-process fats and proteins.
Less Fat for Better Health
Limiting dietary fats, especially cholesterol, trans and saturated fats, preserves your cardiovascular health and controls calorie intake. The American Heart Association notes that consuming 1-percent of non-fat milk, yogurt and cheese, and eating less meat will reduce your saturated fat and cholesterol levels. Avoid foods such as stick margarine or commercial crackers and pastries that include partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, a source of trans fat. Choose to bake, broil or poach without added fat or to cook with small amounts of oils such as canola and olive, which contain mostly unsaturated fat.
Calorie Control Equals Weight Control
The biggest boon to a healthy lifestyle is reaching an appropriate weight. The Office of the Surgeon General reports that illnesses related to overweight conditions include heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer, all of which can severely curtail your mobility and quality of life. Sticking to an average 2,000-calorie diet or adjusting it for your activity level will balance the calories you get from food with those that you expend. Start counting calories in your food servings via the nutrition facts on package labels.
Remain Flexible With Your Diet
Guilt won't keep you fit, and a rigid diet may be impossible to follow. Allow yourself to enjoy limited quantities of treats by cutting back on high-calorie ingredients in other meals. For instance, if you eat dinner that includes fatty meat, fix a lower-fat fish or vegetarian dish the next day. If you drink a couple of regular colas or alcoholic beverages, stick to water, diet soda or fat-free milk until you regain your calorie and nutritional balance. Preserve your healthy lifestyle by making sensible dietary trade-offs.
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