By Dietitian Sheela Seharawat,
Diet Clinic Health Care
Given the hectic life schedule that women’s of today live, from getting up early, getting the kids ready for school, preparing breakfast for them and the family, going to office and adhering to their commitments and much more. It has become all the more important for them to stay healthy and active.
Given to the conditions that today’s women live their life and their lifestyle becoming the main culprit, how can they expect to maintain their shape and stay healthy? Well, in this article an effort has been made for the wellbeing of today’s women, so that they can lead a life full of vigor and vitality by staying in shape and living a healthy life. Keeping in mind their busy routines a few very simple steps have been worked out, which are as follows:
Step #1
Don’t forget to eat in the morning: the body needs more nutrition in the morning after a long night of fasting. Have some fruits, a glass of milk or some fresh fruit juice and some cereals or porridge and eggs to eat. This helps in boosting the metabolism to provide with all the energy required to keep going throughout the day. Keep your food handy to eat regularly throughout the day at regular intervals of two to three hours. Having the first meal of the day also ensures that you lose weight. Ensure that your dinner is the lightest meal of the day and should be eaten atleast two to three hours prior going to bed.
Step #2
Balance your diet: ensure that your meals should have balanced proportions of all the essential food groups – proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and fats too. Do not compromise on any of these groups. Carbohydrates are necessary to provide you with the energy to keep going and have good metabolism. Do not binge on foods, balance is must as it is the key to healthy eating and nourish the body at regular intervals.
Step #3
Fitness is a lifestyle: keep the body accustomed to simple and easy exercises on daily basis which are easy to sustain and keep you in shape. Staying fit is an important aspect of good health and once you start to understand and experience it you will find its many benefits and get disciplined towards it. Our human body is just like any machine that works well and stays in shape when we exercise it regularly. Even going out for a brisk walk every day can be as handy as any other physical exercise. Trust, the quantum of energy boost that you will get out of it, you are sure to enjoy it.
Step #4
Respect your body: understand your body type, if you belong to a family of heavy weights, you are likely to be the same. Set realistic goals and take uniform decisions to achieve the goals. Do some yoga and meditations to get relieved from stress and tensions.
All these looks very simple, but adhering to these will certainly get you to shape and make you healthy. Just keep in mind that transitions does not happens overnight, just as you take time to put on weight, you will need time to shed it. Have patience and believe, you would achieve it.
A good and balanced diet is a one that consists of:–
- Whole Grains
- Fibrous Foods like fruits and vegetables
- Healthy Carbohydrates
- Lean sources of proteins
It is always recommended to eat a lot of fruits, green vegetables (e.g. spinach and broccoli), beans and legumes as these are rich in protein and calcium and should be at the top of the priority list. Women needs a lot of calcium as they age, as their bones become brittle with growing times. Dairy, plant based foods like brussel sprouts, broccoli and beans are good sources. Iron is another mineral that is much required by women as they lose a lot during their menstruation cycles. Lean red meat, spinach, almonds and dark poultry are good sources of iron.
