Start A Healthy Diet With Exercise
A lot of people spend time thinking about how it is possible to stay at a healthy weight and doing it without starving
themselves. The key here is that it is essential for every would-be dieter to understand
a healthy diet actually starts with exercise. It is darn near impossible to keep your proper weight or lose weight Without a well-grounded, consistent, and reliable exercise plan, especially
over the long haul. To maintain weight loss over the long term, exercise is not just an option.
That is because virtually any diet can help you lose weight over the short
term. Simply cutting back on calories while maintaining your normal schedule
will certainly allow you to lose weight, at least in the short term.
The Problem With Dieting Alone
The problem with this approach, of course, is that it is difficult to
maintain. Eventually you will grow tired of the same old restricted calorie
diet, and when you stop eating that diet, the weight will quickly return.
Worse yet, many yoyo dieters end up gaining more weight than they lost,
making it than much more difficult to lose weight the next time. In addition,
this type of up and down weight gain and loss has been found to be even
more dangerous than being overweight.
The key thing to remember therefore is that a healthy diet starts with
exercise. Exercise should be the cornerstone of any diet program, and
without a solid exercise plan in place it will be virtually impossible
to maintain any weight loss you do achieve through diet alone.
Fortunately, it is not necessary to exercise like a fiend to achieve a
healthy weight loss. Studies have shown that you can gain significant
health benefits simply by exercising a few times a week, for as little
as 20 minutes each day. That means that simply taking a walk around your
neighborhood three or four times a year can be remarkably effective.
Take It Easy
Of course more strenuous exercise is always an option, but it is important
not to push yourself too soon. If you introduce strenuous exercise into
your exercise plan too quickly you could risk an injury, and that could
set your diet and exercise plan back further.
For those times when it is too hot, too cold or too rainy to enjoy a walk
or a run in the great outdoors, there are a number of excellent pieces
of exercise equipment on the market. There are a number of excellent pieces,
including the good old exercise bike and treadmill to the newest elliptical
trainers and similar equipment.
The most important thing to look for when purchasing exercise equipment
is a piece of equipment that you will use. When shopping for such equipment,
be sure to remember that a healthy diet starts with exercise, and buy
your equipment accordingly. A piece of exercise equipment that is too
difficult or too cumbersome to use will quickly become a clothes hanger,
and you will not gain the benefits of regular exercise.
Whether you get your exercise through your exercise equipment, the old
fashioned way of taking a walk or going for a run, or a combination of
both approaches, the most important thing is that you get started and
get started as soon as possible. The sooner you start your exercise program
the sooner you will be able to reap the many rewards of such a program.
About Nutrition
| Drinking Water |
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Good nutrition isn't just about the foods you eat, it also includes the beverages you drink. Water is a good beverage. It doesn't have any calories or artificial colorings or flavorings and your body needs it. It's also cheap when you get it from the tap. Maybe you prefer bottled water or you use a filtered pitcher to avoid impurities or you prefer the flavor.
I don't like to drink water. I don't like the way it tastes. A lot of people think that's weird because water doesn't really have any flavor. I was a picky eater as a kid so maybe that's related, I don't know. Anyway, if you're like me you can still get enough water by choosing other beverages or flavoring your water with a slice of lemon or lime. I also like sparkling water. You can choose flavored waters too. Just because they're flavored doesn't change the fact that they're almost completely water. Common Questions About Water
Drinking Water originally appeared on About.com Nutrition on Friday, February 3rd, 2012 at 10:45:21. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| Sweet Potatoes |
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Did you know that yams and sweet potatoes are a great source of vitamin A and beta carotene? Sweet potatoes are also a good source of fiber. They have a naturally sweet flavor that doesn't need much extra seasoning, although they're often glazed or served in sweet potato pie. Today I wrote an article about sweet potatoes, how to choose them, how to cook them and I included some links to healthy and delicious recipes that feature sweet potatoes: What's your favorite way to serve sweet potatoes? I like mine baked and then served with a little bit of real maple syrup with a few pecans sprinkled on top. Sweet Potatoes originally appeared on About.com Nutrition on Monday, January 30th, 2012 at 11:07:54. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| Vitamin D In the Winter |
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Vitamin D is a popular vitamin in the world of nutrition right now - it seems there's news about vitamin D research every week. Your body needs vitamin D in order to absorb calcium and various research studies have linked deficiencies with several health conditions, including high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Today I read a study published in the American Journal of Cardiology in which the authors looked at vitamin D deficiency, supplementation and cardiovascular disease risk factors like high blood pressure and diabetes. The researchers (not surprisingly) found an association of vitamin D deficiency with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and also with decreased survival time. So they looked a little closer at the patients who were deficient in vitamin D levels to see if taking vitamin D supplements had any impact on survival times. Turns out the vitamin D deficient-subjects who were taking vitamin D supplements tended to have increased survival times. This was an observational study and not a randomized control trial (which provides the highest form of evidence), so there was no specific dosage used and the subjects weren't required to take any vitamin D. So there was a wide range of dosages reported, from 1,000 International Units per day up to prescription forms of vitamin D taken at 50,000 International Units bi-weekly. Interestingly, subjects who had cardiovascular disease but were not deficient in vitamin D according to blood tests, but took vitamin D supplements anyway didn't have the same increased survival times. We still have a lot to learn about any therapeutic benefits of vitamin D. You don't usually get much vitamin D from the foods you eat, although milk is usually fortified with it, you're body makes vitamin D after your skin is exposed to sunlight. Those of us who live north of a line drawn on a map from the northern border of California in the west to Boston in the east can't even get vitamin D from the sun during the colder months because the sun's rays just aren't strong enough to give us the UV exposure we need. So it's a good idea to take vitamin D supplements during the winter (or any time of the year if you avoid sun exposure). Vitamin D In the Winter originally appeared on About.com Nutrition on Friday, January 27th, 2012 at 14:40:43. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| Dietary Magnesium and Stroke Risk |
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A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition came to the conclusion that dietary magnesium intake is inversely associated with the risk of ischemic stroke (these are the strokes caused by blood clots in the brain). The authors performed a meta-analysis, which is a type of study that involves taking the data from previous similar studies and combining them. The authors of the study used the data from seven previous studies and determined that an increased intake of 100 milligrams magnesium per day was associated with an 8 - 9% decreased risk of ischemic stroke. Eight or nine percent may not sound like much, but according to the Internet Stroke Center, stroke is the third highest cause of death in the United States and of those strokes, 88% are ischemic strokes, so something as simple as increasing a dietary mineral could be quite significant.
So this could be a good thing, but, it's important to keep a couple of things in mind with this study. The authors of this study looked at dietary intake of magnesium so it doesn't indicate that taking magnesium supplements will have the same decrease in risk, and it's important (I think) to understand that magnesium deficiency symptoms are uncommon. Also, it's possible that the reduction of stroke risk is caused by other factors besides the actual magnesium since foods that contain magnesium are generally healthy fiber-rich foods - things like whole grains, nuts, seeds and green leafy vegetables. Still, I believe it adds some evidence to the idea that eating magnesium-rich plant-based foods is important for good health. Dietary Magnesium and Stroke Risk originally appeared on About.com Nutrition on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at 15:36:54. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| Nutritionist or Dietitian? |
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A reader wants to know if there's a difference between nutritionists and dietitians? Here's my answer: Nutritionist or Dietitian Have you been to a dietitian or a nutritionist? Or both? Share your experiences and opinions of the two by leaving a comment. Nutritionist or Dietitian? originally appeared on About.com Nutrition on Monday, January 23rd, 2012 at 15:32:29. Permalink | Comment | Email this |