Improve Nutrition and Activity for Healthy Living

---

Despite the many diet plans out there, ultimately it boils down to the calories you consume versus the calories you burn through activity. However, small changes like replacing empty calories can make a big impact when it comes to losing weight. Only focusing on calories overlooks a key aspect of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and calorie counting may lead you to avoid nutritious foods simply because they are higher in calories. By managing quality of calorie, you can lose weight without feeling hungry.

Nutritious whole food choices contribute to satiety and weight loss by adequately fueling your body and satisfying your hunger. By consuming the right foods, you can meet your body's nutritional needs while reducing your risk of obesity. Adopting healthy eating patterns not only leads to a longer lifespan but also reduces the risk of obesity and other serious health complications. Increasing your intake of whole grains, whole fruits, and vegetables can help you reach your goals.

Benefits of Tracking Diet and Exercise

Keeping track of your daily exercise and dietary intake can help you plan ahead by making smarter food choices and adjustments to your routine. Benefits of tracking food and exercise habits include:

1) Increased self-awareness – Possibly the single most important behavioral interventional strategy for weight management and healthy lifestyle changes is by increasing self-awareness through self-monitoring.

2) Monitor your habits – Adopting new, healthier food and exercise habits help protect you from serious health problems. So, learn how to monitor your habits to manage your health and wellness.

3) Improve accountability – Keeping accountable is an important part of meeting your long-term weight loss and health goals. Taking ownership of your actions means you are responsible for the consequences.

4) Reflect on changes needed – Whether your overall goal is to increase your fitness, lose weight, or be more physical activity, being able to reflect on changes needed can be key to your long-term success.

Importance of Having Holistic Routines

Being active not only helps with weight loss but also with maintaining a healthy weight. It increases your metabolism and helps you burn more calories, even at rest. It also helps you maintain and build lean muscle mass, which leads to more calories burned. The recommendation for all adults is to be active every day and aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week. Alternatively, you should opt for 75 minutes of intense aerobic exercise, strength training, or sports exercise.

Exercise allows you to maintain and increase lean body mass, which boosts your daily calorie burn. The more muscle you have, the better your metabolism. To keep weight off, it's important to have a routine rather than going all out. Get a more complete picture of your weight loss journey by looking beyond calorie counting. We now know that taking a holistic approach to diet and exercise is more effective. That’s because you need to burn more calories than you consume.