A fit body translates to not only looking good but also being healthy. Combining proper diet and exercise is an excellent way to achieve that. It would take some hard work and dedication, but it certainly is achievable.
Here are some exercise and diet tips that can help you stay fit.
Diet Tips
Do not take post-exercise nutrition for granted.
Breakfast is known to be the most important meal of the day. But, when you are making efforts to stay fit, which includes exercise, the recovery meal after your workout is essential. However, many people skip that meal with the belief that having the meal is like undoing the calories they have burned off. That is not necessarily the case. After workout, have a combination of 10 to 15 grams of protein and 20 to 30 grams of carbohydrates within the 30 minutes of your workout. This helps refuel your body, encourage muscle recovery, build a leaner physique, and increase your energy.
Fat is not necessarily a bad thing.
Fat is getting some bad press in terms of diet. Many people are drawn to buying foods that are labelled non-fat, fat-free, or low-fat. However, these foods may cause you to consume up to 50 percent more calories. What you should know is that fat is actually not the issue in regards to your weight because most of these foods contain only about 15 percent less calories than their regular counterparts. As such, consider going for the full-fat version and eat less instead.
Choose protein.
When you eat out or are at a party, more often than not, your food choices are not ideal. If your choices include chips, bruschetta and chicken wings, then go for the chicken wings. Protein gives you a feeling fullness quicker than carbohydrates do; consequently, you avoid overeating.
Be patient.
This is in regards to losing weight by drastically limiting your caloric intake. One example is going on a juice cleanse diet. However, a study found that women who had a 1,200-calorie diet for three weeks had increased cortisol levels; cortisol is also known as the stress hormone. Chronic stress may lead to weight gain and various health problems, including hypertension, coronary heart disease, and diabetes.
Pay attention to your hunger.
Listen to your body; it gives you signals when you are hungry. There may be instances when you consume food not because you are hungry but because the situation makes you do so, such as not wanting to leave the last piece of pie or being in a social situation and you have to share food with others. In this case, get yourself a small plate and have some coffee or tea while the others dig in.
Exercise Tips
Switch up your exercise routine every two weeks.
One of the challenges of exercising is staying motivated. And, if you stick to your exercise routine for far too long, chances are you will lose interest and stop sticking to your plans. It is not necessarily about boredom, but you will tend to enjoy variety more.
Here are a few more tips to consider:
Feel your muscles.
One of the joys that comes with working out is the feeling that your hard work has paid off. And, mindless exercise makes you forget about that hard work, consequently making you forget about seeing the results as well. You will be more conscious of the results if you truly feel the key muscles working. Feel your muscles contracting and enjoy the feeling of become stronger with every rep you make. This will motivate you to do more.
Add on more weight.
When you wish to trim down and tone up, strength training is the way to go. However, settling for the 10-pound dumbbells is not very helpful. Adding two or three compound barbell lifts to your weekly training schedule and gradually increasing the weight used on every lift by two to five pounds a week can help make the training more effective. When you carry out three to five sets of three to five reps, your strength, not your bulk, will be enhanced.
Perform an exercise using the correct form and technique.
The number of push-ups you perform in a minute does not really matter if you are not doing a single one properly. When you perform any exercise, make sure that you stick to its correct form; otherwise, it will just be useless. Learn the proper form and technique, perfect it, and only then can you add weight and speed. The cliché, quality over quantity, applies here. Moreover, this helps prevent injury.
And when you venture into the gym, use gym wrist straps.