Eating Healthy, Eating Right, and Exercising

Hi everyone, and welcome again to my little section on health and exercise.  Exercise and healthy eating are emphasized so much in the media and by your doctor not only because of how beneficial they can be, but because they're one of the things many of us have control over.

I personally don't buy into weight loss supplements or hunger-suppressing supplements.  The furthest I go is multivitamins, and from my diet I feel like I get enough fibre, carbohydrates, protein and fat to keep me healthy.  As in my last two entries, this is just non-professional advice and not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease.

I have to admit that college was most likely the point in my life where I was not as healthy as I could've been.  I had fried food way too much along with stuff like pizza and Italian sandwiches too often.  Since last year I've come a long way in improving my health via exercise and eating right, and I lost 20 pounds and lowered my systolic blood pressure (top/first number) by 23 (millimetres of mercury), and my diastolic (lower/second number) by 2 (millimetres of mercury).  It feels like a big accomplishment and I'm really happy about it.  It's also more inspiration to continue working out and improving my health.

I heard somewhere that you should limit your fat intake to 20 grams of fat per day (I can't remember where I heard/read this, sorry) and I can see how that's helpful.  What I ended up doing was just making easy choices, though.

I cut out hamburgers from my diet and red meat to a great extent.  I only eat red meat about twice a week, and I've replaced servings of red meat with chicken and fish.  I used to hate fish, and you might hate it too, but find a delicious, healthy way to prepare it, and you'll benefit.  I reduced the extent that I eat cheese, cut down on pizza to once a month, changed my cooking style to be low-sodium as well as avoiding high-sodium/high-fat foods, and I drink skim milk, as well as eat oatmeal and healthy cereals that provide enough fibre.  I also cut out crawfish, lobster, shrimp, eggs, and I rarely have dessert (probably 1-2 times a month).  That's just my personal "plan," it varies with everyone else, so just go with what your doctor recommends.

Part of my health philosophy is this: You can eat what you want for fuel, but be smart.  Would you eat 900 calories in a meal that contains 7 grams of fat, or would you eat a meal of 900 calories, that, by proportion, contains a lot more fat and cholesterol and is less nutritious?

It's all about the "bang per calorie," I guess.  Skim milk is a great example: it's fat-free, AND has protein in it.  That's practically cheating, haha. 

Anyway, (again, non-professional advice, and I'm not responsible for your health), I find that eating healthy and exercise is a great way to get in shape.  You can eat super healthy all the time, but is your heart and circulation as healthy as they could be?  You can also exercise all the time, but how does that help if you're eating foods rich in fat and saturated fats with minimal vegetables and fibre?  It's all a balance.  And don't feel bad about the occasional dessert or snack if you consistently work out and are in great shape, it makes for a nice reward/treat.

Here's a brief summary of my last two entries:

-Circuit training can be a great way to add variety and excitement to workouts
-Set a time to beat (ex: 2 miles in 20 minutes) and keep trying to beat your time.  It makes work outs fun and challenging.
-Don't neglect your eating habits, the healthier, the better, and you should see results in less time.

Don't harm yourself by not eating, and don't over-work your body to the point of damage, you'll get to where you want to be with healthy eating and responsible work outs, and the journey will be really fun for you.  You don't need expensive untested (and potentially harmful) supplements to get into shape, all you need are some running shoes, a stopwatch, and you're good to go!

Also, if you have children and are very busy with work and raising your family, why not combine quality time with exercise and run around in the park or play soccer/baseball/basketball with your kids?

I hope some of these entries have helped.  And if I've been able to get ONE person to stand up and exercise, I'll feel really accomplished and happy about it.

We can do so much to improve and maintain good health, and in turn, prevent a lot of diseases that become resistant to treatment and then progress.  It's all in your hands, so get out there and have some fun!

Circuit Training - Variety and Enjoying Your Workout

I don't know how many of you readers exercise regularly or do circuit training, but I thought I'd write a little about it.

Everyone knows about the benefits of exercise, such as better heart health, losing fat, reducing your risk of diabetes, boosting your metabolism, and cutting your risk of stroke because of better vascular health and lower blood pressure.  Plus it's pretty cool seeing your body change form and become leaner, more muscular, more whatever-you're-going-for.

I lost 20 pounds last year by eating right and working out, but before that, my work outs were spaced out inconsistently and it took me a while to figure out a pretty good way to get back into working out regularly.

It all started when I became really bored with running and decided to experiment with the cross-country setting on a treadmill, along with taking a break from running to lift weights.

As I started getting more  into circuit training, I noticed I actually enjoyed working out, haha. In my variation though, I'll run 2 miles or cycle 7-10 miles and lift weights until I fatigue.  When I lift weights I typically focus on biceps and triceps (using dumbbells), and will do barbell reps standing up if I have some energy left over.

I don't think it'd be wrong to say that human being are variety junkies, especially in this modern age of multi-tasking.  Circuit training lets you do a little bit of everything while working towards one goal: becoming healthier.  It definitely engages you more, and while you're on one activity, you don't really get bored if you think about what you'll be doing for the next activity.

If you don't circuit train or it's not accessible to you and you just jog or cycle, I have some great advice: the time trial.  Time trials can make any distance-oriented workout such as running, swimming, or cycling more exciting and more engaging.


If you've been cleared by your doctor or you're a healthy person looking to work out or try something new, run/cycle/swim at a comfortable pace.  That's the easy part.  Next time, try to beat that time and try to run that time consistently, but without putting too much strain on your heart.  This way, you can see actual progress being made during the time it takes for your body to lose weight and for your blood pressure to lower.  It's a great feeling beating your old time by a minute, or even five minutes.

Running 2 miles was a big effort for me last year when I was 20 pounds heavier, but now I can run 1.75 miles easily with a sore leg and complaining back, haha. 

My next entry'll be on heart health and endurance.  Thanks for reading.