Achieving a Healthier Body: Tips for a Better Diet

If you want to achieve a healthy body, one of the first things that you should do is to modify your diet. However, developing a healthy diet plan doesn’t have to be too restrictive. In this article, we will discuss some of the most basic tips:

  • Reduce your intake of liquid sugars.

Liquid sugars can be found in softdrinks, iced tea, sports drinks, and the likes. This kind of beverages do not provide significant health benefits, and can in fact increase your risk of obesity, diabetes, and other kinds of diseases. With this, there is no reason for you to take them.

healthy body

Instead of sugary drinks, you may have sparkling water or low-sodium vegetable juice instead. You can always make your own vegetable juice with a juicer or blender.

  • Lower your intake of refined carbohydrates.

Rice, wheat, and other grains that are highly processed have similar effects in your body as table sugar. With this, it is highly recommended to replace these with whole grain, high-fiber cereals, steel-cut oats, and brown rice.

  • Increase your fiber intake.

Fiber is good for your digestion and can lower your risk of heart diseases. With this, it is essential to consume foods that are rich in dietary fiber such as nuts, whole grains, fruits (e.g., bananas and apples), vegetables (e.g., potatoes and broccoli), and seeds.

  • Consume healthy fats.

Healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can be found in fish, nuts, and vegetable oils. The reason you should consume healthy fats is that this can reduce your risk for cardiovascular diseases. Reduce your intake of foods that have high cholesterol, saturated fat, and trans fat, which can be found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Developing healthy eating habits may be challenging at first, but by keeping your mind focused on the benefits and your goal of a healthier and more fit body, this should be easy. Aside from the tips mentioned above, you should always remember that it is important to maintain a balanced diet and limit your intake of processed foods. By doing this, you will surely be able to achieve the healthy body you’ve always wanted to have.

The 4 Benefits of Cardio Exercise

Cardio or cardiovascular exercise is necessary to keep your heart health, burn calories, and lose weight, if that is your goal. Cardio helps to improve your body’s health and fitness by keeping the heart and lungs healthy and improving blood circulation. There are many great benefits of doing these types of exercises. Combined with a healthy eating plan, you are on the right track to getting healthy and fit.

 

The benefits include:

 

Cardio increases the metabolism. Your metabolism has to do with the rate at which your body performs certain functions like using up energy or digesting food. A higher metabolic rate means that your body will perform these things faster. A slow metabolism is often one of the reasons why people gain weight. Cardio is great to increase the metabolism and lose or maintain weight.

 

 

 

 

 

Cardio improves your heart health. Your heart is a muscle and requires exercise just like any other muscle in your body. Doing cardio exercise increases the heart rate and gives the heart its much-needed workout. If you are out of breath just by walking up the stairs, your heart is in urgent need of some exercise.

 

 

Cardio improves your recovery ability. Doing exercise obviously takes a toll on your muscles and they get tired. When you exercise, certain by-products are released into your body. These by-products are the reason why your body gets stiff and sore after a good workout. Doing a few minutes of cardio after a strenuous lifting session can help bring more oxygen into the blood and reduce the stiffness. This means that you can get back into the gym faster.

 

 

 

 

Cardio helps with being happy. When you exercise, your body releases different hormones which include ‘feel-good’ hormones. This means that you are fighting depression, anxiety, and negativity while you exercise. People who regularly do cardio exercises have been proven to be happier and more positive than those who don’t.

Cardio exercise is very good for you. Whether you are strength training or want to lose weight, cardio should be part of your exercise routine.