Health and fitness is extremely important. There are a number of benefits provided by leading a healthy lifestyle and staying fit. In addition to helping you avoid potential diseases and medical disorders. Being fit can dramatically improve your appearance, confidence and enable you to remain active. Although more people than ever before struggle with weight problems and obesity, getting fit and healthy is not necessarily as difficult as you may believe. Although it takes a little more than taking a five minute walk or eating a salad once a week, getting and maintaining a good level of fitness does not take superhuman effort. With a bit of work and determination, you can do it! Following the tips and advice contained in the following paragraphs of this article will dramatically improve your health and start you off on the path to total health.
Diet is paramount to health. You cannot be fit if you are eating high-calorie junk foods for every meal of the day. Avoid fast food hamburgers and french fries and instead focus on eating nutritious, well-balanced meals that contain healthy representatives from all the food groups. Eat slow digesting compound carbohydrates, found in foods like oatmeal and whole grains, and avoid foods that contain simple carbs, like sugar and white bread. Eat protein from lean sources such as chicken breast, turkey breast, tuna, skim milk and egg whites. Try to avoid eating lots of unsaturated fats and instead eat foods that contain healthy unsaturated fat and omega 3 fatty acids, such as salmon, natural peanut butter and nuts. Eat as many vegetables as you can; they are low in calories and loaded with vitamins and nutrients. Eat healthy on most days, but if you feel a craving it is okay to treat yourself and indulge in a cheat meal every so often. Just don’t go overboard with it.
Along with eating a balanced diet, it is important that you keep your body properly hydrated by drinking lots of pure water. Water, in addition to being great for your body, is also calorie free. As a result of this, drinking water in place of sugary sodas and fruit juices will help you maintain a healthy weight.
Although diet is absolutely crucial to your health, exercise is just as important. At the bare minimum, you want to engage in some form of exercise three times per week. You don’t have to run a marathon or do anything crazy, simply taking a leisurely 45 minute walk, going for a bike ride or taking a half hour aerobics class will do wonders for your health and improve your fitness.
Aerobic exercise is extremely important for improving and maintaining a healthy heart, don’t forget about strength training. Building muscle will help to improve your metabolism and keep you looking great. As you get older, proper strength training will help you to better control your body and allow you to maintain functionality and independence.
As was discussed earlier, although achieving good health and fitness is not easy, it is also not as difficult as you may think. Follow the general tips and guidelines laid out in this article to improve your fitness level and feel great.