Be Fit and Fabulous at Any Age!
Staying fit is an important part of maintaining health and youthfulness, and you can’t go wrong with good, old fashioned attention to nutrition and exercise. Here are some tips for creating variety and interest in your wellness plan.
Nutrition basics
Remember these nutrition basics when planning what goes on your plate:
• Choose mostly plant-based foods in order to get the most nutrients, and pick foods with lots of color. Think red peppers, green spinach, yellow squash, and orange carrots. All fruits are good sources of colorful nutrients too!
• Whenever possible, choose ‘whole foods’. Whole foods are those in their most essential, basic, or purest form. Avoid packaged or processed foods – they often have lots of unhealthy ingredients and additives.
• Know how to fill your plate properly. Fill ½ of your plate with veggies, and the other half can be evenly divided between a starch (like rice or potatoes) and a protein.
• Snack smart, and spend your calories wisely. For example, a popular mini-size fast food cinnamon roll has 350 calories and almost no nutrients. For about 400 calories, you can have a ½ cup serving of raw peanuts and get the benefits of protein, calcium, and potassium.
Prioritize exercise and make it fun
To maintain optimum cardiovascular health, the American Heart Association recommends that you do at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity, 5 days per week for a total of 150 minutes of exercise.
As an alternative, you can do 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, 3 days per week and add in 2 days of strength building exercises. This plan will not only help your heart; you’ll also stave away excess weight and improve your overall physical condition.
Exercise needn’t be boring or tedious. Here are a few ideas for spicing it up:
• Walk your dog for 30 minutes, or offer to walk a friend’s dog.
• Incorporate exercise into vacation time with golf, tennis, swimming, hikes, or a walk on the beach.
• Try something new like tai chi or yoga.
• Work out with others – try a new fitness class, join or form a small personal training group, or walk regularly with a friend.
Dress the part
The latest gadgets and gizmos can help make working out and eating healthy a permanent part of your lifestyle:
• Make technology work for you. If you have a smartphone, a variety of diet and fitness trackers are available at your fingertips for convenient accountability. Some even work as a pedometer.
• Choose comfortable clothing. Look for workout clothing or golf shirts with labels like CoolMax, Capilene, Dri-FIT, or Play Dry. These technologically advanced fabrics help hold moisture away from the body and keep you cooler.
• Don’t forget water. Reusable water bottles allow you to refill from your fridge or tap and save the environment from throwaway bottles. There are lots of cool ones on the market – look for those made with BPA-free materials.
Paying attention to nutrition and exercise pays off big when it comes to staying fit and fabulous for life!
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