Healthy Eating and Exercise
Overview
Healthy eating, regular exercise and controlling your weight can increase your quality of life and even help you to live longer. There are certain aspects to eating that a healthy diet requires including emphasizing certain foods and limiting others. Exercise is only useful when done regularly and if done right can increase your well-being and reduce your risk of chronic disease like diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Macronutrient Recommendations
First and foremost, healthy eating means eating only as many calories as your body needs. When you exceed the calories your body uses, you gain weight. Being overweight or obese increases your risk for developing chronic disease. A healthy diet consists of getting 45 to 65 percent of your total calories from carbohydrates. The USDA recommends getting at least half of your carbohydrates from a whole-grain source. An additional 10 to 35 percent of your calories should be from protein. Where you get your protein also matters. Lean sources like fish, poultry, soy and nuts are healthier sources than red meat. Your total fat should not exceed 35 percent of your total calories, you should also limit saturated fat intake to 10 percent or less of your total intake.
Fiber
Fiber is one of the healthier foods you to eat. Dietary sources of fiber include whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes. Fiber may be your secret weapon to healthy eating because it can help control your weight, blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Most high-fiber foods are also low in energy density, meaning there are a small amount of calories for a large portion.
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise is the kind of activity that gets your heart pumping faster and body moving. Aerobic physical activity is usually some kind of dynamic movement that involves moving the large muscle of your body, such as biking, swimming, walking or running. For health-related benefits from exercise, an adult should get 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Resistance Training
Another important part of your exercise program is resistance training. Resistance or weight training helps to increase the strength of your muscles. This is beneficial because it can help increase your metabolic rate, your balance and your overall health. To successfully participate in a resistance-training program pick eight to 10 exercises that work the major muscle groups of your body including your legs, arms, shoulders, chest, abs and back. Start by performing one set of eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise, eventually working up to one to three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions. Try to use a moderate weight. Only perform your resistance-training program two to three days per week on non-consecutive days. Weight training is hard on your muscles, so they need at least one day of rest between sessions.
Related posts:
