Nutrition for a Healthy Lifestyle

 

 Me and my sister, Lauren!

 Being that it has been awhile since I have had the opportunity to update my blog, I wanted to make a brief entry about the importance of nutrition in a healthy lifestyle.  We all know that the foods with the most sugars, carbs, fat, etc., are the most satisfying for our taste buds, but what are they doing to our bodies? Well, here is a small insight into the effects of poor eating on our bodies:

• weight gain
• clotting
• pressure on the heart
• high blood pressure
• poor circulation
• decrease life expectancy

Sounds pretty daunting, huh?!  It is obvious that without food, our bodies cannot function.  This being said, food is what makes our bodies run.  So, how would you like it if you had to run on a bunch of a fatty foods?  That certainly does not sound very appealing to me.  Providing your body with the proper nutrients it needs to function fully on a daily basis is absolutely imperative for your overall health.

I hate hearing about people who think they can eat whatever they want simply because they exercise enough to burn off the calories, and thus they are not affected appearance wise but what they eat.  For some reason, this makes it seem okay.  The truth is that even though you may not be gaining weight as a result of your poor eating habits, your body does not appreciate it nonetheless.   Fueling your body with the proper amount of proper nutrients is extremely important.  Now that we know a few results of poor eating habits, let's take a look at what healthy eating habits can do for us:

• Smaller Waist Line
• Reduce the Chance of Disease
• More Active
• Clear Skin
• Clear Colon

I want to go more in-depth on a few of these aspects of healthy eating.  Having a smaller waist line isn't the most important reason that a person should improve their eating habits.  Being healthy as a person and living a fuller, longer life should be the ultimate goal of healthy eating; however, having a smaller waist line is generally a result of healthy eating mixed with exercise.  Poor eating habits often leads to health problems down the road.  Bad foods can lead to complications such as diabetes (high-sugar foods), high blood pressure (high sodium foods), and heart disease (fatty foods).  Many of us genetically end up with health issues such as these, so why would we bring it upon ourselves when we have the option to eat better foods?  Eating healthier often brings more energy, which means that you will have the energy to be more active.  People may not often associate skin issues with eating habits, but processed and fatty foods clog up skin pores.  Eating more green vegetables and fruits and drinking plenty of water will help clear up oily skin and blemishes. Finally, eating healthier foods means a clear colon (gross, I know!), but when your colon is clear, you will feel more fit, light and strong.

I hope that by now it is clear the eating healthy is imperative for your body to function.  What you feed it is essentially what you are.  If you are constantly eating bad foods, you will probably feel more sluggish.  However, you might not realize this until you eat healthy foods for a few weeks and realize the dramatic impact that it has on you.  I promise that if you just try it for a few weeks, you will not regret it, because the changes you feel are truly life-changing.  You will never want to go back to your poor eating habits again.

The most difficult aspect of eating healthy for most people is this: What am I supposed to eat?! Trust me, it's often difficult to know exactly what we should be eating because we often discover that foods we thought were good are not.  Because of this, I have found a few resources that will be beneficial to you if you want to begin a healthier lifestyle.  Or, if you just want to discover some new healthy foods, these websites will give you some solid information.

http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php
http://www.dwlz.com/HealthyLife/healthy50.html
(This website also tells you the Fat/Calorie Breakdown and the benefits for your body!)
http://www.cspinet.org/nah/10foods_bad.html
(This website gives you a lot of the 10 Best and 10 Worst foods..some may be surprising!)
http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/07/healthiest-foods-nutrition-lifestyle-health-healthiest-foods.html
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/the-11-best-foods-you-arent-eating/

This is just a small list of websites that will help you begin to discover the many great-tasting healthy foods out there.  Of course, I also recommend meeting with a dietitian because they will help you come up with a meal plan to fit your individual lifestyle and while it is important to not overindulge in calories, it is also equally important to maintain the proper calorie count for your body to function properly.  Not eating enough will not be beneficial!

Whether you have had, past or present, an issue with weight, I recommend watching The Biggest Loser.  If you want to get started with a healthy lifestyle, it will propel you in the right direction.  If you already maintain a healthy lifestyle, it can give you that extra boost you need in your workout (If they can do it I can, too!).  The episodes are truly inspiring, and I think that everybody can benefit from watching it.  Recently, Jillian took time out to give the viewers a healthy tip, and I loved it!  I am a big breakfast person (and I also love cereal!), so I particularly enjoyed this healthy tip.  But, I think it can be useful to anybody who wants a quick and healthy breakfast.  Jillian said: Managing your weight isn't about just cutting calories.  It's about getting more of the god stuff you need like whole grain.  Here's a tip: Add Multi-Grain Cheerios to your morning routine.  Studies show that people who eat more whole grain tend to have healthier body weights.  Multi-Grain Cheerios has 5 whole grains and 110 lightly sweetened calories per serving. 

For the record, I speak from personal experience on most of the above.  I used to be the person who did not necessarily choose the best foods for a person living an active and demanding lifestyle like me, but I did not know what I would feel like once I started eating healthy foods.  WOW!  I feel like an entirely different person.  I have more energy and my skin has cleared up.  It has done wonders for me so now, what could it do for you?

Get started on your healthy lifestyle TODAY! What are you waiting for?

Also, check out previous posts because you will be able to find more quality information on a healthy lifestyle.  Thanks for reading!

"There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other."
-Douglas H. Everett