Healthy Plan for Better Health

Posted in April 21, 2011

Overview

Healthy Plan for Better HealthWhether you want to maintain or lose weight, you need to track calorie intake, set up doable exercise and take in whole, fresh foods for full nutrition. You may realize a healthy plan for better health involves diet and exercise, but you need to get down to specifics to plan and carry out how to eat better and have a reasonable exercise plan that fits into your lifestyle.

Down for the Calorie Count

No matter what diet plan you consider, if you take in more calories than you burn daily, the excess will gather in unhealthy fat that could lead to obesity-related diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease. You can keep track of how many calories will keep your weight the same, without relying on an exercise regimen or other factors. If you are a woman, you can take in 10 calories for each pound of body weight. Men get a little break with an increase to 13 calories for each pound of weight. Keep an eye on food labels, and you can track your calorie intake to maintain or lose weight.

Physical Benefits

Start a reasonable exercise plan that fits into your lifestyle and you can start to lose weight or maintain your weight with the benefit of being able to consume more calories. If you exercise at least a half hour daily with brisk walking, swimming or cycling, you can increase your calorie intake by 2 calories per pound of your body weight without gaining any weight, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Try to work that exercise into your daily routine by incorporating walks or cycling on errands such as daily trips to the post office so that the exercise doesn't become a burden that you quit.

Make Your Menu Whole and Fresh

Pick the most nutritious foods by choosing whole grains and fresh produce instead of processed foods. Whole-grain breads, pastas and cereals don't contain the preservatives and added sugars and sodium of their processed counterparts but are full of nutrition and dietary fiber. White breads and pastas have the iron, B-complex vitamins and fiber milled out during the refining process. Fresh produce will contain a better mix of vitamins and minerals if you pick as many different colors of veggies and fruit as possible. Try to eat about 3 cups of veggies and 2 cups of fruit each day.

Keep Fat Low

Make your dairy and meat choices as low fat as possible to avoid clogging your arteries with cholesterol-building fat. Fish is a better choice than beef for high-protein food to build muscles because it has a quarter of the fat found in beef. Poultry and legumes are also good protein foods with lower fat. And fish, such as trout and herring, have extra heart-healthy benefits with omega-3 fatty acids. Dairy products can be purchased in low-fat or even nonfat varieties to keep your total fat intake low while still getting the calcium you need for strong bones.