It’s a no-brainer that exercise and diet are both vital to your well-being and your waistline. It is recommended that you follow guidelines–getting consistent doses of aerobic activity and resistance training, filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables and consuming lean protein–in order to optimize your health. But, what if you want to achieve something in particular: drop a few dress sizes or prevent of heart disease? Research indicates that, in particular cases, focusing on a goal will deliver improved and faster results.
Reducing Your Waistline
Focusing on Your diet:
It’s clear that you need to reduce your calorie intake to drop that weight. Plus, you need exercise to maintain it! Generally, people who exercise to lose weight and do not restrict calories shed a tiny percentage compared to those w who do both. Why? It may be easier to cut 500 calories a day—the amount you would normally need to lose two pounds a week—than to burn that amount through regular exercise. At Nutrients Direct we have a range of clean green powders to assist you with your dietary intake.
To Achieve this:
Consuming fewer calories is pretty standard when you are following these two principles. Firstly, eat a primarily plant-based diet (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and heart-healthy fats, like olive oil). Secondly, cut down processed foods (like frozen meals, deli meats, and refined carbohydrates, including white bread and pastries), which are comprised of empty calories like sugar and salt.
Increasing Your Energy
Clean Eating is the key:
It’s true that exercise will give you an instant burst of energy, but smart eating throughout the day will give you fuel. With appropriate nutrition and timely meals, you’ll keep your blood sugar well-adjusted. This is significant, as blood sugar goes through highs and lows that effect your energy levels. Exercise also supports your brain’s neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine and this will keep your mood balanced and your energy from plunging.
Maintaining a heathy diet:
To maintain an even blood-sugar level, eat five to six times a day, alternatively about once every three hours. In addition to your main meals, eat two to three 200-calorie snacks. Ensure you eat lean protein, healthy fats, and carbohydrates—for example, yogurt with granola, an apple, organic cheese, or peanut butter smeared on a banana. Another way to decrease fatigue is to add foods rich in flavonoids, for instance blueberries, acai juice and blackberries to your diet. Drink lots of water throughout the day to prevent that sluggish feeling that you get late in the afternoon.
Are you concerned with Heart Disease?
Motivate yourself with exercise:
Being fit is the key for heart health. In addition to helping you stay lean, exercise eases stress, lowers cholesterol, and gets your blood pumping. Diet and exercise together improves a healthy heart more than diet alone.
To Achieve this:
Try to do cardio exercise, such as aerobics, running or biking, for a minimum of 150 minutes per week. The intensity should transition from moderate to vigorous so that you escalate your cardiac capability without straining your body. In addition to this, do a 20-minute session of resistance training twice a week, like weight lifting. Both types of exercise will get your heart pumping and increase blood circulation.
Brain Function
Increasing Your Energy Levels
Physical activity and mental activity is connected with brain function. Ensure you are eating lots of energy-promoting foods and get moving. The brain areas that regulate memory, thinking, and attention all are important and are linked to the food you eat. Consistent exercisers also have less of the irregular protein deposits in the brain that have been connected to Alzheimer’s.
Improving Brain Health
Improving brain health is a big factor for the healthy body function. Exercise will benefit the brain and eating clean will give your your body a boost of energy to get into action, which is why it is best to do both.