Healthy Balanced Living

By the time most of us get around to starting a new diet and exercise program our bodies are far from ready for peak performance.  We are often suffering from a near state of exhaustion from a pattern of bad dietary choices, stress, and a lack of exercise.  By supporting our bodies nutritionally, we’re able to heal, energize, revive and rejuvenate; creating a platform for good metabolic function, weight management and physical fitness.  Reconstructing our diet begins with rebalancing our plates.  A diet centered on fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats can significantly reduce our risk of developing illness and possibly increase longevity.  The quality of the food we eat can directly affect our health as well as provide fuel to meet our fitness goals.

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Eating a variety of nutrient packed foods is a basic a source of vitamins, minerals, fiber and phtyonutrients.  A good way to maximize the benefits from the fruits and vegetables you choose is to incorporate a variety of colors in your produce selections.  The different colored fruits and vegetables provide phytochemicals that contain compounds that have specific beneficial health related functions. Dividing your plate into ¼ protein, ¼ whole grain and half vegetables provides a good guideline for creating a balanced plate.  By avoiding processed foods, sugar and  excess saturated fat, you can greatly diminish your need to count calories as long as you exercise variety, moderation and balance between energy input and energy output.  With a sensible approach to eating and a productive and consistent exercise program achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is an attainable goal.

 Being overweight can be viewed as an energy imbalance. While genetics, diet and lifestyle choices are contributing factors to weight gain, it is mostly a measurement of more calories consumed and not enough calories being used.  Reversing that trend and winning the battle of the bulge is not an easy undertaking but the right motivation and mindset can work wonders in helping you to achieve your goals.  Set realistic and attainable goals and create strategies that will foster permanent change.  With approximately 30 minutes of moderate physical activity daily and wise food choices you can expect to achieve slow and steady weight loss and be well on your way to healthy balanced living.