Exercise and Diet Work Together and Not in Silos!

Exercise and Diet Work Together and Not in Silos! : People have become more aware of the importance of fitness. But that awareness is still at its nascent stage. Falling for fads, chasing extreme health goals, and having a distorted approach to diet have become a trend. You run 20 or 30 miles every morning and call it a night with fast food for dinner.

Or, you are strict about your dietary choices from Monday through Friday and announce weekends as cheat days. Some stock up on soda, cookies, and chips because they work out hard. All these are troubling food and exercise habits. Please don’t pile on extra calories because you can burn them in the next day’s cardio session. One must understand that the side effects of a bad diet may not be completely reversed. So, make mindful choices. Here are some insights to help you make your fitness and diet choices realistic.

What’s unhealthy and why?

Social media has led to the popularity of the term “skinny fat,” which applies to slim-looking people with high body fat amounts. Any regular gym-goer can have less fat under the skin but more fat around their internal organs, called visceral fat. This dangerous outer fatty layer occurs due to eating high-carb, salty, and sugary processed fat and has the same health risks as anyone with obesity. It can lead to atherosclerosis caused by hardened and narrow arteries. Ailments like atherosclerosis affect blood circulation and make people vulnerable to strokes and heart attacks. Exercising but not consuming the right food can even cause death.

Any weight loss goals require burning more calories than what has been consumed. One can only meet such purposes by frequently refraining from indulging in fatty foods. You can plan to eliminate excess fat through rigorous exercises, but empty calories from sodas and processed food will prevent or interrupt your workout sessions, making you tired soon. Consequently, the whole-body training effort will go to waste. That means eating right throughout the day is vital for everyone. Do you need help with finding healthy recipes? Visit the Organically Blissful. Also, there is no need to relinquish your favorite food entirely. Just moderate it a little. And if you work out, pay attention to what you eat before, during, and after sessions.

Before workout diet

Nutritionists recommend having carbohydrates and protein to maintain energy and build muscle before exercising. Avoid ingesting too much fiber or fat, such as grilled cheese sandwiches, broccoli, etc. If the exercise lasts under one hour in the morning, you can skip eating. For light and easy workouts, one glass of water can be enough. It will allow for burning more fat. However, you can prepare for moderately intense workout sessions by adding snacks to your diet. Sometimes, a person can feel gluttonous when they wake up. Signs can be hunger pains, dizziness, lack of focus, etc. Take some digestible carbohydrates if you begin your workout session in the next 10 or 15 minutes.

During workout diet

Unlike popular belief, you don’t need anything between your workout, such as gummies, gels, or sports drinks. Eating something before and after the sessions can be sufficient if you do yoga, circuit training, or light jogging for one hour. However, endurance exercises, including cycling and running for one hour or half an hour extra, need fueling your mid-workout to postpone fatigue and enhance performance. In the beginning 60 minutes, you can consume 30-60 gms of carbs.

Post workout diet

After a moderate exercise session of one hour or under, one can do without a specific recovery food, especially if they have a snack or meal containing protein and carbs within the initial hours of the workout. Still, some people should be more careful about their strength training or intense endurance choices. It can be a weight lifting or bike ride session lasting more than one hour. Or, you are an athlete working out at different hours of the day. If you belong to this category, ensure ingesting carbs and protein within one-hour post-exercise. It allows your body to use protein better and build muscle. Your existing muscles can also stay safe due to synthesizing muscle protein. Carbohydrates help retain glycogen levels in the muscles, making future workout sessions easier.

What should you eat post-workout? Recovery snacks contain 100-300 calories. But you can increase this range if you eat early that day or lower calories. Those aiming for weight loss and are not athletes need small snacks. Anything with a protein profile of 10g and carbs two or three times higher will be better. Think of a chocolate milkshake with a protein content of 8 gm and carbohydrate of 24 gm. After rugged endurance or cardio exercises, add more protein to your meal. Options can be wheat tortillas & humus, raisin bread with banana and cottage cheese fillings, Greek yogurt mixed with honey and walnuts, wheat crackers with dried figs and cheese, etc. Honey comes in 300 or more varieties. In healthy options, Manuka is the best. Beyond snacks, one must also fill themselves with a balanced meal within 2 hours after exercising.

An insight into balanced meals

A well-nourished body and mind need sufficient essential nutrients for smooth functioning. Eating different foods in the right quantities is necessary to avoid deficiency risks. A well-balanced diet contains proteins (12-20%), fats (30%), and carbs (50-60%). It’s essential for healthy body weight maintenance. Consider a daily intake of 130 gm of whole grains, legumes, and vegetables for carbs, 0.8 gm (based on per kg body weight) of chickpeas, dairy products, and lean meats for fats, and 30% of fatty fish, seeds, and nuts for proteins. Varying your diet is essential to keep the risk of chronic diseases at bay, bolster digestion, maintain a healthy weight, and gain vitality.

Some self-care blogs offer nourishing recipes and guides. You can check those platforms to make your preparations interesting, tasty, and wholesome. A healthy diet will support your system even if you are not into specific fitness regimes or exercises. Hence, it’s worth adopting good lifestyle practices.