Nutrition

Where Do You Stand On Nutrition?

Activity & Eating: Working Together For Optimal Health And Fitness!

There is a powerful link between your activity level and eating habits. By making healthy food choices and becoming more physically active, you can feel better, improve your health, and achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Think about your life style choices by answering the following questions:

Think about your life style choices by answering the following questions:

• At any given time, about 25% of men and 40% of women will tell you they are trying to lose weight.
• Only 22% of U.S. adults participate in recommended physical activity.
• The average American spends 23 hours a week watching television. (that is almost ten years over the average lifespan!)

The struggle to lose weight and eat better is very common. Yet, it can be easier then you think to overcome obstacles to good nutrition and physical fitness. Small changes in your activity level and food choices can yield big results over time.

The information and goal-setting strategies in this website will get you started. It will help you understand:

• The value of healthy food choices.
• The importance of daily physical activity for optimal health.

Remember be realistic, small steps work best.

Be active - get moving!

Do you know what physical activity can do for you? It can:

• Give you more stamina and energy
• Reduce stress and improve sleep
• Help you lose body fat and keep it off
• Increase strength by building muscle
• Reduce your risk of chronic disease such as heart disease and diabetes
• Lower higher blood pressure
• Keep bones healthy at all ages

If you are already physically active, keep up the good work!

Start with 30 minutes a day.
Starting with 30 minutes a day and working your way up to 60 minutes will help you enjoy the full benefits of an active lifestyle.

Can't fit a 30-minute chunk of time into your day?
That's okay. Aim for a total of at least thirty minutes, accumulated in three 10-minute sessions. Low Intensity activities, such as climbing stairs and house cleaning, count too!

What kinds of activities are beneficial?
Identify which activities work best for you, they will all count toward your goals.

Building muscle!
If you are trying to lose weight resistance in your routine to help you meet your goals more quickly. Act-
activities like weights, push-ups, or yoga build more muscle mass. Which burn more calories--even while you are Resting.

What about food choices? Be sensible - many foods fit!

Start your day with breakfast!
Breakfast gives you the energy to get you going after a long night without food. In addition, people who skip breakfast tend to weigh more then people who eat breakfast.

Choose foods from all food groups!
Use the food guide pyramid as a tool to help you get all the essential nutrients needed to promote optimal health and well being. Each food group make a unique contribution to a healthy diet so try to include choices each day from all of the groups.

Healthy Eating Tips:

• Limit highly processed foods (cake, cookies, crackers).
• Choose whole grains (oatmeal, whole Breads & cereals, bulgar, brown rice, cornmeal).
• You do not have to completely give up your favorite foods to eat healthy. You just have to pay attention to how much of them you eat.
• Make your plate colorful by eating a variety of fruits and vegetables every day.

Are you getting enough physical activity?

Step 1: complete the chart below by writing down the physical activities you usually do during the week and weekends. These might range from walking, biking and gardening to swimming or aerobics class.

Think about three aspects of activity:

• How long? (time spent)
• How often? (how many days each week)
• How hard? (easy, moderate, difficult)