Never start a diet that you cannot follow for a lifetime. If Americans would follow this one simple rule, they would eliminate many of the pills, lotions and exercise contraptions that are touted as being the next magic bullet to instant good health and longevity. People can only achieve good physical fitness through a combination of healthy eating habits and regular exercise. Both are equally important.
Restrictive Eating
Let's look at the relationship of diet and exercise more closely. If an individual restricts her calories over an extended period of time she reaps certain benefits like weight loss, improved blood pressure and lower triglycerides and low density lipid proteins, which clog arteries in the blood. However, she is also inclined to lose muscle tissue, become less in tune with her body's hunger signals and raise her risk for infection, stress, fatigue and in some instances osteoporosis. After restricting her calories for even a short period, her metabolism slows down and weight loss begins to slow or stop altogether, leaving her feeling frustrated,deprived and unsuccessful.
Benefits of Combining Exercise with Healthy Eating
By adding exercise to the equation, this same individual revs up her metabolism and is able to eat more reasonable quantities of food while still losing weight. Her body dimensions become more attractive and she grows stronger and more agile. Exercise complements the diet by lowering blood pressure and triglycerides, but takes it two steps further by raising high density lipid proteins, which help to remove cholesterol from the blood, and by improving glucose sensitivity in people who are type 2 diabetics. Exercise allows people to listen and respond to their body's hunger cues, reduces the risk of infection and tension, improves mental alertness and creativity and strengthens bones.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans
The United States Department of Agriculture and Department of Health and Human Services developed the "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" based on the importance of combining healthy eating habits and exercise. These recommendations aim to promote wellness and prevent chronic disease and are based on three key messages: aim for fitness, build a healthy base and choose sensibly.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans
• Aim for Fitness
1. Aim for a healthy weight
2. Be physically active every day
• Build a Healthy Base
3. Follow the food guide pyramid
4. Choose a variety of grains
5. Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables
6. Keep foods safe
• Choose Sensibly
7. Low saturated fat, low cholesterol, moderate in total fat
8. Choose beverages and foods to moderate sugar intake
9. Choose foods with less salt
10. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation
These guidlines apply to anyone over two years of age.
Conclusion
Diets are short-term. To "go on a diet" implies that you intend to "go off the diet" at a later point in time. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are habits, not diets. They include both healthy eating and regular exercise and all 10 are habits that you can and should follow for a lifetime.
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