Everyone wants to be fit and healthy. Being as fit and healthy as possible can help you to maximise your wellbeing, leading a lifestyle where you are free and able to do what you want to do without getting out of breath, struggling or experiencing unnecessary health problems. Two areas to focus on to achieve this? Diet and exercise.
Diet
We all know that we need to eat a healthy and balanced diet to maintain a healthy lifestyle. A healthy and balanced diet can help us to maintain a healthy weight, stay in shape and avoid issues such as being underweight, overweight or obese. This can also help to prevent health conditions that are linked to weight problems. But all too many of us fail to eat a healthy diet. We turn to fast food, ready meals, unhealthy snacks and other junk foods out of convenience and for the taste. The good news is that there are steps you can take to implement a healthier way of eating.
Calories
First, try to stay within your recommended calories. Calories are units of energy that can be found in food and different foods contain different amounts. The guide below should help you to determine roughly how many calories you should be consuming in a day. Check with your doctor for recommendations specific to you as an individual.
- Children aged 2 to 8 – 1000 to 1400 calories
- Girls aged 9 to 13 – 1400 to 1600 calories
- Boys aged 9 to 13 – 1600 to 2000 calories
- Active women aged 14 to 30 – 2400 calories
- Sedentary women aged 14 to 30 – 1800 to 2000 calories
- Active men aged 14 to 30 – 2800 to 3200 calories
- Sedentary men aged 14 to 30 – 2000 to 2600 calories
- Active adults over 30 – 2000 to 3000 calories
- Sedentary adults over 30 – 1600 to 2400 calories
Balanced Plates
So many people try to cut out entire food groups that they deem “bad” when trying to create a healthier diet or alter their weight. But this isn’t ideal. Instead, you should eat everything in moderation. Make sure that you always get your five a day, that you eat enough carbohydrates, get enough protein, consume healthy, unsaturated fats and monitor your salt consumption to eat just enough but not too much.
If you find that you’re still not reaching your desired BMI, you should consult your doctor. They may be able to identify underlying conditions impacting your weight, or recommend procedures that can help you achieve your ideal look, as well as other advice, such as what size faja to wear following procedures.
Exercise
It’s recommended that the average adult gets one hundred and fifty minutes of moderate aerobic exercise a week, or seventy five minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise a week. Find a form of exercise you like. This will improve your chances of sticking to your fitness routine. Some ideas include:
- The gym
- Swimming
- Weights
- Dance
- Yoga
- Cycling
As you can see, you only need to make small steps to significantly improve your lifestyle and overall health. Hopefully, some of the above ideas will serve as a good springboard for you!
