Achieving a healthy weight and energy level may be as simple as getting enough of what your body needs and avoiding what it can't use. This creates balance, a state that encourages mental and physical health. By eating and exercising with a weight-management goal in mind, you'll improve or safeguard your cardiovascular, pulmonary, digestive, reproductive, musculoskeletal and nervous system functions at the same time. A healthy lifestyle nurtures itself and allows you to do more, longer in life.
Detrimental Nutrients
Taking away dietary elements that your body doesn't need or your metabolism can't burn makes more room for healthy vitamins and minerals and controls your weight. The USDA suggests limiting your intake of solid fats, cholesterol, sodium and sugar. To do so, use cooking or spreading foods with less butter or margarine and choose fish or beans in place of fatty meats. Eat eggs and shrimp less often to avoid dietary cholesterol. Limit salty snacks or regular-sodium canned and frozen foods. Drink water or diet sodas in place of sugary fruit or carbonated drinks. Shy away from products like white bread that are made from refined grains to avoid metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Say no to doughnuts and and French fries to cut down on trans fats.
Beneficial Nutrients
As you place less emphasis on high-calorie meats and prepared foods, lean proteins and low-calorie, fiber-rich fruits, vegetables and whole grains will form the bulk of your diet. These provide vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K, and iron, potassium, magnesium and other minerals. The American Heart Association recommends 1 percent or non-fat milk and yogurt as healthy sources for the calcium that your body needs every day.
Exercising for Fitness
You must still work off excess calories and challenge your body in order to create healthy strength and endurance levels. To regulate your calorie intake and expenditure, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends 30 minutes of daily aerobic exercise, such as walking or cycling. This will improve heart and lung efficiency and help to prevent heart disease. Periodic training with resistance bands or weights will place good stress on your muscles and bones to reduce your risk for strains, sprains and fractures.
Exercising for Relaxation
Make a favorite activity part of your regular commitment to healthy stress relief. If you reach for the junk food, cigarettes or alcoholic beverages when tension rises, break this reactive cycle by adding stress-relieving activities to your schedule. Engaging our bodies dispels stress hormones and keeps them from building up, according to the HHS. Chronic stress can cause headaches, back pain and high blood pressure. Try stretching, yoga or pilates, or walk with a friend or a pet.
References
- USDA: Dietary Guidelines for Americans; December 2010
- American Heart Association: Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations; May 2010
- HHS: Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans; 2008
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Benefits of Physical Activity; February 2011
- HHS: Managing Stress with Exercise; Federal Occupational Health; Summer 2004
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