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Tag Archives: Health
It’s How Much You Are Eating That Counts
We all know that to live a healthy lifestyle we need to eat healthy food and exercise. So you may be asking yourself, why do you still hold on to unwanted weight when you are doing all the right things?
The answer lies in HOW MUCH you are eating.
The Weight Equation Goes Like This…
- energy in – energy out = the amount of energy your body has to store.
Your body needs energy just to get through the day which is known as your basal metabolic rate. Exercise adds to the amount of energy your body utilises and the food you eat acts as this energy source.
Even though eating a healthy diet is important, it is really the overall calories you consume every day that count. So yes if you eat more energy from a healthy diet of fruit, vegetables, yogurt, lean meat and whole grains than you expend, you will gain weight. It is that simple.
Move It or Lose It
Gentle Movement
Part of the DietDitch lifestyle is to add gentle movement into your day and we like to do this with walking. Having said this there are walks and there are walks. It is lovely to go on a stroll on a sunny afternoon, maybe along the beach or at your local park. All that fresh air can only be good for you.
To increase your cardiovascular fitness however, there has to be a bit of huff and puff and some effort. We do not want you to overdo it so make sure your ‘puff’ is a light one. If you feel you want to step it up a bit maybe you could try the walk, jog, walk sequence – walk for a minute or two, jog for a minute or two. Carry this sequence on for 20 to 30 minutes and you will soon find your fitness increasing. When your fitness level improves you may want to add a minute sprint into the equation as well.
Let’s Have a Little Snack
We all like to snack, right. You know the feeling when you just feel like something but are not sure what.
At DietDitch we understand about the ‘4 o’clock flag’, that time in the afternoon when you are thinking about dinner but know that waiting until then just will not do – you need something and you need it now. So it is important to eat when you are hungry and to have something that is instantly satisfying.
The Long List
On the DietDitch program we encourage you to avoid the long list. Why is this so? Well because we have a sneaky suspicion that this list can actually be detrimental to your weight.
Recently I was looking in mom’s pantry to see what sort of lists I could find. This wasn’t so easy because eating the DietDitch way, she really doesn’t have much of anything with long list. I was impressed. Anyway I did find a couple of things, the first being a packet of crackers. These are labelled on the packet as a ‘wholesome, country style, wheat cracker that the whole family will love’.
Doing the Right Thing
Lack of education is a major problem with our food choices on a day to day basis. There is so much misinformation and advertising on undesirable food, how do we know really what is healthy? Sometimes we think we are eating a healthy diet when the truth is, we may not be. Just what is a salad? Is the fat free option the best? What about oil free salad dressing?
