Being healthy without eating healthy food is not impossible. Individuals with fast metabolism, for example, can eat anything they want without gaining much or any weight. You have probably seen these people who never exercise or eat healthy, yet they somehow maintain their desired body weight. You may not be able to change your genetics to be exactly like these lucky individuals. However, by making a few simple lifestyle changes, you can continue to eat what you want without gaining weight or suffering from the low energy and vitamin deficiencies that come from poor nutrition.
Step 1
Take a multivitamin and mineral supplement every day. These widely available products are not a replacement for good nutrition. However, they can help you get a foundation for proper nutrition by providing the optimal amounts of your daily vitamins and minerals. They range in dosage from one to three or even six capsules or tablets per day. Choose one that you will take at least five out of seven days a week. Some contain vegetable and fruit extracts for those who never eat these healthy foods.
Step 2
Increase your water intake. Because water is essential to nearly every process in your body, increasing your intake of it improves the way your body functions. Eliminating toxins, repairing tissues, producing energy and even fat burning all require water. Drink a total of eight 12- to 16-oz. glasses every day. Have a glass upon waking, one or two with each meal and sip from a water bottle throughout the day.
Step 3
Perform resistance-training workouts at least three days per week for 30 to 60 minutes. Examples include weight-lifting, body-weight training and weight machine workouts that exercise each of the major muscle groups. This form of exercise has been shown to improve insulin resistance, according to "The Abs Diet." This means that you will be able to eat more food without storing fat or worrying about developing type 2 diabetes. You may also find that once you develop a workout regimen for yourself, you no longer crave junk foods as often.
Step 4
Execute cardiovascular exercise. Recreational sports, jogging, swimming, biking or using cardio machines at the gym will help you maintain a healthy body weight, despite an imperfect diet. Most people can get by with only 30 minutes of cardio three days per week. If you have a slower metabolism, try four or five days. Being healthy and fit is worth half an hour of exercise here and there.
Step 5
Time your nutrients to get the most out of your nutrition without changing the foods you eat. For example, at certain times during the day eating sugars and junk foods are not as bad for you. After you have just done a hard workout, for example, high-glycemic sugars and refined carbohydrates are not as likely to be stored as body fat. Also, morning meals are a good time to take in more carbohydrates, which will be burned as energy during the day.
References
- "Combat the Fat"; Jeff Anderson; 2008
- "The Abs Diet"; David Zinczenko; 2004
- "The Fat-Burning Bible"; Mackie Shilstone; 2005
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