Healthy life style tips

Guide to healthy diet.

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Active life

Why should we exercise?

Evidence shows that regular exercise can:

• boost the immune system
• increase levels of HDL or so called "good" cholesterol-reducing the risk of developing heart disease
• lower high blood pressure-reducing the risk of developing heart problems
• promote bone density to protect against osteoporosis
• boost self-confidence and help prevent depression
• in combination with a balanced diet, help to maintain a healthy weight

What's the right activity for me?

Whoever you are, there's an activity for you. And just as getting fitter doesn't have to mean pushing yourself to the limits of your endurance, you don't have to be technically brilliant at a particular sport to derive pleasure and health benefits from it.

What usually stops us from being more active?

Not taking up exercise can be caused by:

• lack of time due to work or family commitments
• cost of equipment or gym membership
• lack of facilities nearby
• personal safety when exercising outdoors alone
• poor weather or night-time lighting

However there are ways to overcome all of these potential barriers and work exercise into your daily life. This could for instance include such a simple measure as getting off the bus to work one or two stops before the usual one.

What counts as exercise?

Many people believe that only vigorous exercise or playing sport counts as healthy activity. Yet substantial health benefits can be achieved from regular activity without the need for special equipment, sporting ability or getting very hot and sweaty.
When you do moderate intensity activity, your breathing and heart rate will increase and you will feel warm. You should still be able to talk without panting in between your words.

Moderate intensity physical activity, such as brisk walking, gardening, hovering and washing a car, all count and are enough to benefit health.
Walking is the simplest and cheapest way to exercise. By making it a regular activity and focusing on the intensity or distance covered can greatly increase your fitness.
Walking improves the condition of your heart and lungs (cardiovascular fitness) and increases the strength of the muscles of the lower body. It's a weight-bearing activity, so it may improve bone density, yet it's also low impact, putting less stress on the joints than some other forms of exercise such as jogging.
It's possible to achieve your 30 minutes at least five times a week target by making fairly simple changes to your everyday routine - without joining the gym or running a marathon.

Examples of everyday activities that count include:

• washing a car
• walking instead of driving for short journeys
• doing the housework at double-time
• DIY and gardening

How much physical activity should we do?

For an adult weighing 60kg (132lbs), regular, moderate intensity physical activity means using up about an extra 100 calories (kcal) per day, most days of the week. This is about 30 minutes of activity, such as a 1.5 mile (2km) brisk walk.
If you have previously been inactive, separate sessions of 10 or 15 minutes also count and can help you reach the 30 minute amount.

Getting motivated

Keeping fit

Your ability to keep up a physical activity, such as jogging, racket sports, cycling or swimming, is related to your aerobic fitness or stamina.
Generally speaking, the greater your stamina, the greater are the health benefits. If you want to improve your stamina, it's important to start gently, increasing the frequency of your activity before increasing how hard you exercise.

Enjoying it

There are many activities you could take part in to increase your stamina. Not everyone perceives exercising as fun, and doing something you find boring, just because it's good for you is very difficult to sustain. But you can take steps to make it more enjoyable.

• Try out different sports or activities until you find something you like, such as cycling, or aerobics classes.
• Activities that you can do as a family or with friends may help with motivation. When you find an activity you like, exercise at a pace that still allows you to talk.
• Try to go somewhere different and exercise outside such as a forest, a beach or a park.
• Make sure you vary your activity a little so you don't get bored.

Setting and achieving your goals

Even when you used to enjoy exercise, there will be days when you just can't find the motivation to do it. You need to set yourself some short and long-term goals. Success will provide you with a sense of satisfaction and further motivation to keep up the new lifestyle. Keep your goals: specific; measurable; achievable; realistic; time-based (SMART). For example, rather than saying you'll get fit by summer, start by setting the more specific goal such as ‘I will wash my car once a week’ or I will walk for 1 ½ hours once a week or something similar.

How to remain motivated?

When it comes to staying motivated it's just as important to train your brain as it is to train your body. Here are just a few ideas to help you.

• A great way to stay focused is to keep reminding yourself of the reasons you started exercising in the first place. This may include increasing your stamina, helping to boost your self-confidence or preventing depression
• Picture yourself achieving your goal, and imagine what it will feel like. Through visualisation these images and feelings will motivate you and will help you achieve them for real.
• Exercising releases chemicals in the brain, like serotonin, that have a strong affect on your mood, helping reduce anxiety, stress and depression. So whenever you don't feel like exercising, try to remind yourself how good you'll feel afterwards.

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