Quick healthy weight loss is much
easier when you combine a healthy diet and plenty of exercise. Eating
healthy has a big impact on your overall health. Healthy eating
will also improve your exercise performance. Some tips for losing
weight fast:
Water, Water
Everywhere
You can survive for a month without food, but only a few days without
water.
- Water
is the most important nutrient for active people.
- When
you sweat, you lose water, which must be replaced. Drink
fluids before, during, and after workouts.
- Water
is a fine choice for most workouts. However; during
continuous workouts of greater than 90 minutes, your body may benefit
from a sports drink.
- Sports
drinks have two very important ingredients - electrolytes
and carbohydrates
- Sports
drinks replace electrolytes lost through sweat during
workouts lasting several hours.
- Carbohydrates in sports drinks provide extra energy. The most effective sports drinks contain 15 to 18 grams of carbohydrate in every 8 ounces of fluid.
Most activities use a combination of fat and carbohydrate as energy sources. How hard and how long you work out, your level of fitness and your diet will affect the type of fuel your body uses. For short-term, high-intensity activities like sprinting, athletes rely mostly on carbohydrate for energy. During low-intensity exercises like walking, the body uses more fat for energy.
Rev up Your Engine
with Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are your body's main source of energy.
- Carbohydrates
are sugars and starches, and they are found in
foods such as breads, cereals, fruits, vegetables, pasta, milk, honey,
syrups and table sugar.
- Sugars
and starches are broken down by your body into glucose,
which is used by your muscles for energy.
- For
health and peak performance, more than half your daily
calories should come from carbohydrates.
- Sugars
and starches have 4 calories per gram, while fat has 9
calories per gram. In other words, carbohydrates have less than half
the calories of fat.
- If you regularly eat a carbohydrate-rich diet you probably have enough carbohydrate stored to fuel activity. Even so, be sure to eat a precompetition meal for fluid and additional energy. What you eat as well as when you eat your precompetition meal will be entirely individual.
Flexing Your
Options to Build Bigger Muscles
It is a myth that eating lots of protein and/or taking protein
supplements and exercising vigorously will definitely turn you into a
big, muscular person.
- Building
muscle depends on your genes, how hard you train, and
whether you get enough calories.
- The average American diet has more than enough protein for muscle building. Extra protein is eliminated from the body or stored as fat.
Score with
Vitamins and Minerals
Eating a varied diet will give you all the vitamins and minerals you
need for health and peak performance.
- Exceptions
include active people who follow strict vegetarian
diets, avoid an entire group of foods, or eat less than 1800 calories a
day. If you fall into any of these categories, a multivitamin and
mineral pill may provide the vitamins and minerals missing in your diet.
- Taking large doses of vitamins and minerals will not help your performance and may be bad for your health. Vitamins and minerals do not supply the body with energy and, therefore are not a substitute for carbohydrates.
Popeye and All
That Spinach
Iron supplies working muscles with oxygen.
- If
your iron level is low, you may tire easily and not have
enough stamina for activity.
- The
best sources of iron are animal products, but plant foods
such as fortified breads, cereals, beans and green leafy vegetables
also contain iron.
- Iron supplements may have side effects, so take them only if your doctor tells you to.
No Bones About It,
You Need Calcium Everyday
Many people do not get enough of the calcium needed for strong bones
and proper muscle function.
- Lack
of calcium can contribute to stress fractures and the bone
disease, osteoporosis.
- The best sources of calcium are dairy products, but many other foods such as salmon with bones, sardines, collard greens, and okra also contain calcium. Additionally, some brands of bread, tofu, and orange juice are fortified with calcium.
Athletes need to consume about 1,800 calories a day to get the vitamins
and minerals they need for good health and optimal performance. Since
most
athletes eat more than this amount, vitamin and mineral supplements are
needed only in special situations.
Depending
on
the sport, eating or using a sport drink
during exercise can also improve performance and delay time
to fatigue. Active individuals, who exercise more than once per day,
may need to time their snacks and meals around exercise. Keep plenty of
water or gatorade handy during exercise, and make
sure you don't skip too many meals. Eating
healthy foods is crucial to
fueling your body for exercise.
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If you are on your way to getting rid of fat and getting in shape fast - make sure you give your body enough of the proper nutrients. Eating healthy means making some simple choices. Skip the fast food and make your own healthy snacks. Try five or six nutritious smaller meals instead of the usual three big meals.