A Basic Guide to Exercise, Nutrition and a Healthy Lifestyle
"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."- WHO
"A healthy lifestyle is a way of living that lowers the risk of being seriously ill or dying early. Not all diseases are preventable, but a large proportion of deaths, particularly those from coronary heart disease and lung cancer can be avoided."
What constitutes as a healthy lifestyle may differ from person to person based on their own opinions, and making healthy choices isn't always easy however there are steps we should all take to help ourselves make better choices for our health and our futures. These steps can be as big as quitting smoking, or as simple as getting out for a walk each day.
There are however, definite risks associated with unhealthy lifestyles, according to the CDC smoking increases your risk of some cancer, and hypertension, long term alcohol use can cause stroke, liver disease and digestive issues. Like smoking, obesity also increases your risks of high blood pressure, and some forms of cancer, being overweight can also cause diabetes, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, and other breathing Issues (gov.uk).
So what can we do to make these changes for the better?
According to the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine), all healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 65 should take part in a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise per week, which equates to 30 minutes 5 days a week of moderate intensity aerobic physical activity, however, if the exercise is of vigorous intensity aerobic activity for that minimum is brought down to 20 minutes 3 days a week.
With this is mind they also suggest that every adult take part in exercises for a minimum of twice a week that maintains or increase muscular strength and endurance.
In 2019, two in three adults were overweight including obesity, the highest prevalence since 2003. Obesity prevalence has remained relatively stable since 2008.
Around 1 in 3 (34%) of men and 1 in 2 (42%) of women are not active enough for good health.
So, how do we get started, what is out there to help us become more active? There are several resources available to you depending on your goals, from the NHS Couch to 5K to hiring your own PT. What I'm going to talk about in here however is the FITT Principle from The ACSM.
The FITT Principle (or formula) is a great way of monitoring your exercise program. The acronym FITT outlines the key components, or training guidelines, for an effective exercise program.
The FITT Principle is an acronym for Frequency Intensity Time Type and is a framework for your exercise program.
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Frequency: refers to the frequency of exercise undertaken or how often you exercise.
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Intensity: refers to the intensity of exercise undertaken or how hard you exercise.
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Time: refers to the time you spend exercising or how long you exercise for.
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Type: refers to the type of exercise undertaken or what kind of exercise you do.
Having a healthy lifestyle however is more than just working out, and being active, nutrition plays a major part in our overall health even with those who may appear healthy, and very active from the outside. Like with the exercise plans above there are guides out there to help us get started on our healthy nutritious journey.
The NHS Eatwell Guide is there to help us with how to have a balanced diet, and how much we eat overall that should come from each food group. However, this is based off of what we eat throughout a day and not necessarily from each meal.
The Eatwell Guide is split into 5 sections, Fruit and Veg, Carbohydrates, Protein, Dairy and Alternates, and Oil and Spreads. As you can see on the guide both fruit and veg, and Carbohydrates, should make up about just over a third of what we eat in a day.
The aim is to eat at least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day. We should base our meals of starchy carbohydrates and should choose the higher fibre options such as wholegrain breads, wholewheat pasta, brown rice, or even just leaving the skin on.
The latest information suggests that a mere 8% of children (11 to 18 years), 27% of adults (19 to 64 years) and 35% of those aged 65 years and over actually achieve the 5-A-Day recommendation. Those from deprived areas are less likely to achieve the recommendation, and females are often better than males when it comes to portions of fruit and vegetables.
So where do we go from here? A great way to get started is to write down all the foods you consume in a 7 day period the CDC and the NHS both have diary options for you to choose from. Another great way is to plan your meals out for the week before you head to the shops. Get a list and go from there. Nutrition.org has some great resources on their 'putting it into practice' page (see link).
As a Personal Trainers I an other PT's are available to give nutrition guidance as part of your programs, but remember, only a Registered Dietician is qualified to help you with 'prescription' meals please use bda.uk.com/find-a-dietitian.html if you are in need of more in depth help.