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By now, we all understand the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In fact, it’s difficult to spend any time online in 2022 without finding yourself with gym routines, diet plans, nutritional advice and even surgical interventions being promoted.
A lot of the advice is useful, however not everything online is accurate. To live a healthy lifestyle we must all find our own balance between sleep, hydration, nutrition, physical activity and, of course, enjoyment. There is no doubt, however, that effective weight management is something we should all consider.
With so much information out there, let us cut through the noise. Here are a few tips you can follow each and every day.
Don’t forget your fruit and veg
It is now recommended that you eat 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day. A portion of fruit or vegetables is typically around 80g. The NHS outlines 5 reasons for eating your 5 a day. These include fruit and vegetables are a good source of vitamins and minerals, they are an excellent source of dietary fibre which helps to maintain a healthy gut and substantially reduce your risk of bowel cancer. Fruit and veg can also help to reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke and a range of other cancers. Fruit and vegetables contribute to a healthy, balanced diet. And they taste delicious, too!
Be Active
Perhaps one of the most vital parts of weight management is always staying as active as possible. As outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Being physically active can improve your brain health, help manage weight, reduce the risk of disease, strengthen bones and muscles, and improve your ability to do everyday activities.” Being active does not have to revolve aroun sports – although they are an excellent way to stay active. Being active can simply mean going for a short run every day, doing physically demanding chores around the house or garden, or even simply taking a long walk.
It is recommended that to maintain your weight you should work your way up to 150 minutes of moderate physical activity every week. Broken down that is equivalent to only 30 minutes, 5 days a week.
Read food labels
Understanding how to properly read food labels can help you choose the healthiest options. Most pre-packed foods have a nutrition information label on the packaging, which must include the amount of energy in kilojoules (kJ) and kilocalories (kcal). Packaging must also include information on fat, saturates, carbohydrates, sugars, protein, and salt.
These details can help you choose products that are low in fat, salt and added sugar. The NHS offer some statistics on understanding if foods is high in fat, saturated fat, sugar, or salt. A high amount of fat is considered to be anything over 17.5g per 100g, while a high amount of saturated fat is deemed to be more than 5g per 100g. On the sugar front, the high dose threshold is more than 22.5g per 100. Finally, consuming over 1.5g per 100g of salt is regarded as being high.
Reduce your alcohol intake
Drinking too much is an easy way to gain weight, as many alcohols can contain just as many calories as high fat foods. On average, a glass of wine is 83 calories, and a pint of lager can be 180 calories, the equivalent to a slice of pizza. The recommended daily calorie intake is 2000 for women and 2,500 for men. Therefore, excessive drinking is an easy way to lose track of your calorie intake and have less effective weight management.
Alcohol also has a role to play on one of the most common sexual health concerns – erectile dysfunction (ED). While it is possible to find safe and effective erectile dysfunction treatment from online pharmacies such as PostMyMeds, maintaining a healthy relationship with alcohol is always preferable.
