Most of us think of self-care as something that’s expensive and takes a lot of time, but it really shouldn’t be that way. Instead of looking at self-care as indulgence, we should think of self-care as meeting our basic needs. When you simplify it this way, it’s easier to create a routine so it becomes part of your daily life, not a deviation from it. Even if you invest a little in comforts and tools for everyday self-care, it’s easy to stay within your budget with cost-conscious shopping.

Put Your Physical Needs First

The reason we have a concept of self-care in the first place is that we’re so accustomed to doing things for others that we often put our own needs last. Psychology Today explains how failing to make our own needs a priority is damaging to ourselves and those around us. At a very basic level, practicing self-care starts with meeting our physical needs, including eating well, drinking plenty of water, and getting enough rest.

If you have a hard time getting quality sleep at night, take a good look at your bedroom and see how you can switch things up to make it a more relaxing space. You can usually find good deals on cozy bedding, comfortable pillows, a supportive mattress, and sleep gadgets at popular stores like Target. Plus, you can save even more money by using Target coupons and promo codes when you shop.

Schedule It

Along with our physical needs, we need self-care in all aspects of our lives, including social, mental, spiritual, and emotional self-care. If this sounds like a lot to make time for, the best strategy is to work self-care activities into your regular schedule. To do this, Life Goal Mag recommends keeping a simple routine and staying flexible.

One example is to keep a flexible schedule for physical activity. Exercise meets your physical needs, but it’s also good for your mental health, and it can even be social. Whatever activity you enjoy, set a regular time for it. At the same time, give yourself tools to adapt when your schedule gets thrown off. So, if you normally go to a certain exercise class but have to miss it on occasion, consider investing in affordable gear like free weights so you can work out at home on those days.

Try a New Hobby

The idea of trying something new may seem like an extra strain on your time (rather than an everyday necessity), but finding a new hobby may just be the self-care strategy you’re missing. This is because many of us get caught up in our everyday habits without even realizing how much time we waste on things that don’t make us happy. One prime example is the amount of time we spend on social media. Thankfully, taking a social media break is absolutely free!

Picking up a hobby is an excellent way to replace those unhealthy habits and meet basic self-care needs. For example, doing something with your hands, like creating art, knitting, or gardening, can be incredibly relaxing. The trick to starting a hobby affordably is to always shop smart for supplies, whether that means going to discount stores or using online coupons.

Another cost-conscious idea is to make a hobby of doing DIY projects, like this DIY herbal eye pillow from Medium. Making something useful is a perfect way to care for your mental health because the end product gives you such a sense of accomplishment. You get even more benefit from making something that aids relaxation, like the eye pillow. Plus, you can usually purchase supplies for less money than buying brand new products.

All of these strategies are geared toward being intentional about how you spend your time. Your time is valuable, and the way you choose to spend it on a regular basis is what self-care is really all about. Making these strategies part of your everyday life is affordable, simple, and essential for your well being.

Image by Jan Vašek from Pixabay

We all know that diet and exercise are the most important factors to be healthy and in good shape.

But if that result is not appealing enough, here is another benefit: eating healthy and exercising are also a form of heart disease prevention.

Diet and exercise are the perfect match for heart disease prevention

I was reading a magazine recently, that stated something like: "To keep the heart in good health we need to focus on increasing the energy consumption by doing healthy physical activity, besides eating the right foods, but there is an idea of physical activity that is similar to that of drug therapy, which is mistakenly considered more documented. Physical activity, however, if conducted on a regular basis, is like a medicine".

The same magazine was saying that with 30 min of physical activity a day we can highly reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Walking, which is the easiest physical activity, provides the following benefits, assuming that you do it for at least 30 to 60 minutes, 3 to 5 times a week:

All this thanks to the ability of heart and lungs to use oxygen to produce energy, and to remove it from the blood by making organs work more and with less effort.

Don't just do-it-yourself though, don't start running/biking/swimming like crazy out of the blue.

It is important to do a medical examination before you start your diet and exercise. Always stop if you experience sharp pain or tightness in the chest, stomach pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, tachycardia, excessive fatigue or severe headache.

These are usually signs that something is not right and you shouldn't push your body that far.

When it comes to heart disease prevention, one of the best things we can do is follow a healthy diet to keep our blood levels, especially cholesterol levels, within the healthy range.

Those who practice sport should follow a balanced diet, but it also needs to be proportionate to the sport they play. It's not healthy to eat too much, but it's also not recommended to run out of energy.

Try to calculate your caloric needs based on gender, age, intensity and duration of physical activity

Remember that you need proteins for the muscles (to develop them and to repair the damaged fibers).

Carbohydrates are the source of energy in the first phase of physical activity, while fat is the reserve of energy used for aerobic activities of long duration.

As diet and exercise have to work together for heart disease prevention, the question comes natural: which foods should I eat when I do sports or physical activity?

If you're training your strenght and you are doing weight lifting to build muscle, then you need a high protein intake to promote muscle growth. This article that I was reading suggested a 55-25-20 diet type (55% carbs, 25% protein, 20% fat).

Honestly, I think a 40-40-20 diet works best, at least for me. If you tend to gain weight easily, definitely go for a 40-40-20.

For other sports that require speed and sprints like athletics, biking, swim race, ski race, long jump etc. it's important to have lots of energy, which translates into higher carbs intake in your diet.

Carbs provide quick and long-lasting energy, therefore the best diet for these kinds of sport is a 60-20-20 balance.

The last type of physical activity is resistance. For sports like long distance running, biking, swimming, cross country ski, you need more carbs and fats to guarantee lots of energy reserve, and low-fat protein foods like milk, yogurt, lean meat, ham, eggs, fish and legumes.

The balance of this type of diet should be 50-15-25

The final step of this diet and exercise guideline is about drinking. What and how much should we drink?

Water is the essential drink for pre and post workout or exercise, but not during exercise.

This may sound shocking to you, but here is the reason: drinking during exercise increases sweating (with possible further loss of minerals) and it may cause cramps, muscle fatigue and lower muscle response.

So what to do when you're at gym sweating like crazy, craving a glass of water?

Well, I don't care if I sweat (you know, showers are fortunately available!). Actually I am lucky, I don't sweat at all, maybe because they keep the temperature quite low at the gym where I go...but anyways...I like to have my bottle when I work out.

I don't drink plane water, I mix it with something called Xtend, which contains minerals and glutamine, very useful to recover fast during exercise.

Another good advice is to drink vitamin C, like orange juices (made from real oranges) to increase immune system, always at risk for who practices sport activity. In fact breathing with your mouth wide open increases the chances to catch viruses and germs.

Return from Diet and Exercise to Diet Types

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Originally posted here:
Diet and Exercise for Heart Disease Prevention

The CRON-diet (Calorie Restriction with Optimal Nutrition)[1] is a nutrient-rich, reduced calorie diet developed by Roy Walford, Lisa Walford, and Brian M. Delaney.[2] The CRON-diet involves calorie restriction in the hope that the practice will improve health and retard aging, while still attempting to provide the recommended daily amounts of various nutrients. Other names include CR-diet, Longevity diet, and Anti-Aging Plan. The Walfords and Delaney, among others, founded the CR Society International to promote the CRON-diet.

The CRON-diet was developed from data Walford compiled during his participation in Biosphere 2.[3]

Proponents of the CRON-diet believe that everyone has what they call a "set-point": a weight, specific to an individual, at which each naturally stays when they eat their usual daily diet. Proponents believe that the set-point is determined through heredity and childhood eating habits. Proponents recommend that adherents remain 1025% under their set-point, suggesting that this is necessary for the diet to be maximally effective.[4]

A guideline that proponents use to determine an individual's set-point is to measure that person's body fat content. Proponents state that this should be 1015% for females and 610% for males.[5] Proponents suggest the use of skinfold test tools (they specifically recommend the "Fat-O-Meter"), certain digital scales, densiometry, and/or bioelectrical impedance analysis to determine the body fat content. Proponents then use the current weight and body fat content to determine the goal weight (below the set point), and plan and follow a preliminary diet until the goal weight is reached.

Next, the proponent determines the level of caloric restriction they wish to implement in their regular eating pattern. Proponents recommend a goal of restricting intake by 20%.[5] The actual daily amount eaten depends on the adherent's basal metabolic rate (BMR). A common daily intake is 1800 calories per day.[6]

The Walfords propose three meals in their book, but variation is possible. Adherents can vary the number of meals they eat per day in order to fit their schedules: typically, this is achieved by combining calorie-dense and calorie-lean foods in different ways.[7] Proponents also use "supplements", which refers to vitamin pills as well as certain high-nutrition foods (which are necessarily calorie-lean).[8] The Walfords describe these foods as "nutrient super-chargers"; examples include kombu, brewers yeast, wheat bran, wheat germ, shiitake mushrooms, non-fat dry milk, soybeans, and tofu. These "nutrient super-chargers" are used frequently to boost meals' nutritional density.[7]

The Walfords propose that adherents eat three meals per day. They suggest that adherents cook eight meals on a specific day of the week, and then freeze these meals to use during the entire week. They refer to this process as the "Quantity-Cook-and Freeze Option", and the meals themselves as "One-a-day MegaMeals". They suggest that adherents use two "Free-Choice Recipes" for the other two courses per day.

Adherents may compose their own meals. The Walfords caution that such meals must be planned exactly and contain all the required RDA nutrients. There are computer tools available to plan meals, including the official Dr. Walfords Interactive Diet Planner and the unofficial CRON-o-Meter.

Link:
CRON-diet - Wikipedia

This is a little lesson explaining the effects that nutrition and exercise have on each other.

I. Diet modulates weight.II. Exercise modulates body composition.

1. Nutrition quality will improve how fast you lose or gain weight.2. Exercise intensity will improve how fast your body composition changes.

Nutrition and exercise also have a big impact on health. Sleep also strongly impacts the results and health very strongly as well so quality of sleep is important.

Everything can be derived from these sets of statements. Lets look at a couple of common examples.

1. You are obese and want to slim down.

Losing weight depends on nutrition. This is also why six packs are said to be made in the kitchen.Simply put: you need to eat less calories to drop weight.

Starvation mode is a misnomer as if you eat extremely few calories your body will naturally drop weight, but the body can decrease metabolic rate by modulating thyroid hormones. This can also have some not-so-great effects on your organs.

Recommendation: It is best to stick with an energy deficit of somewhere between about 300-500 calories less than your TDEE per day, and your body will tend to drop .5-1 lbs per week or so.

Exercise is going to help modulate body composition while the pounds come off. For example, if you end up not exercising while on a caloric deficit, your body will indiscriminately drop muscle mass as well as fat mass.Eating enough protein and training will tend to prevent the loss of muscle mass during weight loss. Aim for 1g of protein per pound and 3x a week strength training while losing weight.

2. You are at a healthy weight for your height, but want to tone up and gain muscle mass while losing fat.

Toning is generally a misnomer built on the use of using light weights to tone. This is false.

Exercise here is the most important for any significant body composition change. Depending on the different types of exercise, your body may see fit to increase muscle mass and/or burn off excess fat mass (in conjunction with proper nutrition). Generally, you can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, but how well you do this is predicated mainly on your percentage of body fat. If you have a higher body fat percentage, the easier it will be to lose weight due to much extra energy being available for the body to use to build muscle.

Diet is still very important because quality foods will produce faster body composition changes. This depends some on genetics (hence why some elite athletes can generally eat crap and get away with it), but even with good body composition changes with junky food may be at the expense of overall long term health.

Recommendation: Aim to get .7-1 g/lbs of protein and aim to only eat your TDEE in calories to maintain weight. Aim for at least 10 sets of exercises per muscle group to-failure or close to failure. Use heavy weights or difficult bodyweight exercises in the 5-15 repetition range.

3. The underweight person looking to bulk up with muscle.

Diet is the most important. This is a weight issue, and the person is looking to gain weight. Thus, they need to eat more.

This time around adding body mass will be variable according to the exercise (or lack thereof) because it affects body composition.

A. Lifting weights with a hypercaloric diet will tend to put on more muscle mass than fat.B. Eating more without exercising tends to put on all fat as seen by the obesity rates in America.

Recommendation: Aim to get .7-1 g/lbs of protein for your targeted weight with an extra 500 calories a day. Aim for at least 10 sets of exercises per muscle group to-failure or close to failure. Use heavy weights or difficult bodyweight exercises in the 5-15 repetition range.

Onto more details..

I. Regarding the quality of diet

Quality of diet is highly dependent on the genetics of the individual. Some people may be allergic to foods such as gluten or dairy, and consuming such food would be detrimental to overall health.

The one thing we can say is that improvements in the quality of diet directly leads to results in weight (maintenance, gain or loss) as well as quality of health. Since we literally are what we eat, if we take in junk food all the time our health is probably going to decline (even if we cant see it on the outside), and the body will probably gain weight as junk food has a high caloric value.

Healthy bodies operate better mentally, physically, and emotionally so it is VERY important to get high quality nutrients.

Recommendations: avoid food allergens. Consume lots of fruits and vegetables. Aim for a moderate about of starchy foods like rice and potatoes. May need more starchy foods if youre training hard. A fist size hunk of protein at most meals and extra if you need more. Supplements are to only supplement a healthy lifestyle. Whey can be useful if you need more protein.

II. Regarding the quality of exercise

High intensity or high power output exercise heavy lifting, intervals, metabolic conditioning, etc. tend to produce the fastest body composition changes. The stronger the stressors,the faster the body adapts. This is the SAID principle specific adaptation to imposed demand. Of course, high intensity exercise can easily lead to overuse injuries, so listen to your body and be careful.

Damage to your muscles and their growth/adaptation require energy to repair which will be provided by through diet. If the energy need exceeds than of which the diet provides (hypocaloric diet for the obese & isocaloric diet for those who want to maintain weight), then the body tends to metabolize adipose tissue to supply the energy. In essence, our bodies adapt to stress. The higher the stress the bigger the adaptation. This is why higher intensity protocols such as weightlifting and HIIT get stronger adaptations to them than lower intensity such as cardio or very light weights.

The regulation of body composition operates according to the law of diminishing returns (aka logarithmic scale). This means that the improvements will be much greater the higher the body fat percentage & with less muscle mass, but much lower as the body fat percentage drops & with more muscle mass.

One fitness myth is that you cannot add muscle and lose fat at the same time; this is wrong and occurs frequently in obese individuals who are losing weight while doing high intensity exercise. However, as the BF% drops into the teens and single digits, itoccurs much less if at all.

III. Regarding the reliance of diet and exercise to each other

In general, we would tend to say that overall improvement of weight and body composition is 80-85% diet and 15-20% exercise. This is because we are eating almost 21 times per week (maybe more) and only working out about 3-5 times a week.

These are the times that you will be affecting your weight and body composition, so they need to be used wisely. We often taking eating and exercising for granted, but if you want to make any significant weight or body composition changes these times must be taken seriously. Both quality and quantity matter.

This article was originally published August 19, 2009 on Eat Move Improve. Updated Dec 2016.

Questions about articles may be addressed to the Overcoming Gravity reddit.

Steven Low, author of Overcoming Gravity: A Systematic Approach to Gymnastics and Bodyweight Strength (Second Edition) and Overcoming Poor Posture, is a former gymnast who has performed with and coached the exhibitional gymnastics troupe, Gymkana. Steven has a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Maryland College Park, and his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Maryland Baltimore. Steven is a Senior trainer for Dragon Doors Progressive Calisthenics Certification (PCC). He has also spent thousands of hours independently researching the scientific foundations of health, fitness and nutrition and is able to provide many insights into practical care for injuries. His training is varied and intense with a focus on gymnastics, parkour, rock climbing, and sprinting.

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The relationship between diet and exercise Steven Low

Diet and exercise is a program for students interested in earning concurrent bachelors and masters degrees focused on diet and exercise. Students are admitted to the university as pre-diet and exercise students and must apply for graduate admission at the beginning of the junior year and be accepted into the program. The program is designed so you can earn both a bachelors and masters degree in five to six years.The program is administered jointly between the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and the Department of Kinesiology.

As public interest in health and disease prevention grows, students in diet and exercise major find themselves with a wide variety of job opportunities in cardiac rehabilitation, school nutrition, corporate health, public health, clinics, preventative medicine, sport enhancement, and sport nutrition. This fast-track program allows students to graduate with both a bachelors and masters degree in just five years:

AccreditationThis accelerated academic program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics, the accrediting agency for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and prepares students for admission to accredited dietetics internships/supervised practice programs. Upon successful completion of the experience program, graduates are eligible to take the national exam to become a registered dietitian (RD)/registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) and work in a wide range of dietitian positions. Additionally, the program meets American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) requirements for students to pursue certification at the level of exercise physiologist. Graduates have expertise in exercise physiology and can apply for wellness positions as nutrition and physical fitness experts.

Scholarships and financial aidFood Science and Human Nutrition and Kinesiology students in the College of Human Sciences need only to complete one onlineapplicationto automatically apply for all department-level and college-level scholarships. Students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (AGLS) can also apply for AGLS scholarships.

Food Science and Human Nutrition scholarship information

Kinesiology scholarships information scholarship information

Learning communitiesMeet students in your program through the FSHN learning communities.

Clubs and organizationsConnect with people who share similar interests in FSHN and across the ISU campus.

Professional associations/organizationsStudents are also encouraged to become student members of professional associations/organizations and network with professionals within the career field.

Possible careers with a degree in diet and exercise include:

Read about additional extensive career opportunities and salary information for Registered Dietitians. Graduates of the program are eligible to apply for admission to accredited dietetics internships/supervised practice programs. Upon successful completion of the experience program, graduates are eligible to take the national examination administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration to become a registered dietitian (RD)/registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) and to practice in the field of dietetics. Read more about becoming a dietitian.

Career ServicesPrepare for your next job with Career Services, where staff and peers help you with job searches, interview preparation, and resume/cover letter editing. As a student in both the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Human Sciences, both career services offices are open to you.

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Diet and exercise | Department of Food Science and Human ...

By Dr. Mercola

Most people want to live a long, healthy life. If that's something you aspire to, you'd be well advised to keep a careful eye on your insulin sensitivity. It is perhaps one of the best markers for limiting your risk for degenerative diseases that will take you out prematurely.

The reason for this is because insulin resistance lays the foundation for virtually all chronic disease, as it promotes chronic inflammation and speeds up your body's aging processes.

A recent study1,2 looking at extreme longevity confirms this view, concluding that having very low levels of inflammation in your body is the most potent predictor for living beyond 100 years of age.

Inflammation levels also corresponded to people's ability to live independently and maintain cognitive function throughout their life.

Chronic inflammation can be the result of a malfunctioning, over-reactive immune system, or it may be due to an underlying problem that your body is attempting to fight off.

But many of these "problems" are actually rooted in an unhealthy (inflammatory) diet and lack of exercise.

In contrast to acute inflammation, chronic inflammation typically will not produce symptoms until actual loss of function occurs somewhere. This is because chronic inflammation is low-grade and systemic, often silently damaging your tissues over an extended period of time.

This process can go on for years without you noticing, until a disease suddenly sets in. Since chronic inflammation tends to be "silent," how can you determine if inflammation is brewing in your body?

Clinical tests used in allopathic medicine include:

But you can also use your fasting blood insulin level to gauge inflammation. Although this test is typically used to screen for diabetes, it's also a marker for inflammation.

Typically the higher your fasting insulin levels are, the higher your levels of inflammation tend to be. Clinically, I have found this test far more useful than the other markers for inflammation.

Avoiding processed foods, which are high in inflammatory ingredients such as refined sugars and processed fats like trans fats and vegetable oils as the video above discusses, and getting regular movement and exercise are two of the most potent ways to help normalize your insulin levels and avoid insulin resistance.

Diet accounts for about 80 percent of the health benefits you reap from a healthy lifestyle, and keeping inflammation in check is a major part of these benefits. It's important to realize that dietary components can either trigger or prevent inflammation from taking root in your body.

If you have not already addressed your diet, this would be the best place to start, regardless of whether you're experiencing symptoms of chronic inflammation or not.

To help you get started, I suggest following my free Optimized Nutrition Plan, which starts at the beginner phase and systematically guides you step-by-step to the advanced level.

But diet is not the only component that will have a profound impact on your health and longevity. It's really about addressing your total lifestyle, and physical activity is a major component of that.

When you think of "physical activity" you may automatically think of a regimented fitness routine going to the gym several times a week, for example. But while that is certainly part of a healthy lifestyle, what you do outside the gym plays an equally important role.

The average American adult spends about 10 hours each day sitting, and research shows that this level of inactivity cannot even be counteracted with a 60-minute workout at the end of each day. My personal experience confirms this. It's really important to realize that you simply cannot offset 10 hours of stillness with one hour of exercise. You need near-continuous movement throughout the day. At the bare minimum, you need to get out of your chair every 50 minutes or so.

While a brief period of sitting here and there is natural, long periods of sitting day-in and day-out can seriously impact your health and shorten your life. For me, sitting and getting up every 10 minutes failed miserably. The only thing that worked was to restrict my sitting to under one hour a day.

In fact, the evidence suggests chronic sitting is an independent risk factor for insulin resistance and an early death even if you eat right, exercise regularly and are very fit; even a professional or Olympic level athlete. For example, research3 has shown that sitting for more than eight hours a day raises your risk for type 2 diabetes by 90 percent!

So, to lay the groundwork for overall health and longevity, I recommend avoiding sitting as much as possible, ideally striving to sit for less than three hours a day. A stand-up desk is a great option if you have an office job.

The second step is to simply walk more. I recommend aiming for 7,000 to10,000 steps a day. Use a fitness tracker to make sure you're meeting your goal. Next, you'll want to incorporate a more regimented fitness routine, and while virtually any exercise is better than none, high intensity exercises are the most potent.

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High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is one of the most effective and efficient ways to capture and maximize the benefits exercise has to offer. It also offers anti-inflammatory benefits that you cannot tap with milder, less strenuous exercise.

Some of the latest research into the benefits of HIIT involves myokines, a class of cell-signaling proteins produced by muscle fibers that offer potent protection against metabolic syndrome a cluster of conditions, including high blood sugar, that raises your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

High intensity training effectively stimulates your muscles to release these anti-inflammatory myokines, which increase your insulin sensitivity and glucose use inside your muscles. They also increase liberation of fat from adipose cells, and the burning of the fat within the skeletal muscle. Acting as chemical messengers, myokines also inhibit the release and the effect of inflammatory cytokines produced by body fat.

Now, it's important to realize that your diet can sabotage these beneficial effects. By eating inflammatory foods, such as sugar/fructose, refined grains, trans fats, and processed foods in general, your body will generate inflammatory cytokines. And, unfortunately, you simply cannot exercise your way out of a bad diet. No amount of exercise will successfully create enough myokines to outcompete the inflammatory cytokines produced by an unhealthy diet...

A frequent question that comes up with regards to high intensity exercise is the differences between the high-intensity cardio that you can do on an exercise bike or elliptical machine, versus high intensity strength training, using weights. Either strategy will give you the general benefits of HIIT, which includes cardiovascular fitness, improved muscle growth and strength, and the generation of "anti-aging" human growth hormone (HGH), also referred to as "the fitness hormone."

However, high intensity strength training has the added benefit of inducing a rapid and deep level of muscle fatigue. This triggers the synthesis of more contractile tissue, and all the metabolic components to support it including more anti-inflammatory myokines. So if you aim to address chronic inflammation in your body, high-intensity weight training may offer additional benefits over other forms of HIIT training.

The fact that exercise can reduce inflammation may be confusing in light of the fact that it also increases inflammation... Mark Sisson addressed this seeming contradiction in a previous blog post,4 noting that "depending on the context, this increased inflammation due to exercise is either a good thing or a bad thing."

The key difference is that while bouts of exercise tend to promote acute inflammation, when done regularly over the long term, it decreases chronic or systemic inflammation. The oxidative stress from the exercise forces your body to build up your antioxidant defenses. This is indicated in studies showing extended exercise programs help reduce inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein.

That said, acute inflammation can become chronic, so part of the equation involves exercising in such a way as to avoid turning those acute bouts of inflammation into a chronic one. I've often stressed the importance of recovery especially when doing HIIT and this is precisely why. If you over-train, you typically wind up end up doing more harm than good, as your body needs to recuperate from the damage (inflammation) incurred during your workout.

As Mark explains in his article:

"An effective training session is basically an acute stressor that initiates a transitory, temporary, but powerful inflammatory response. An effective training regimen is composed, then, of lots of those acutely stressful training sessions interspersed with plenty of recovery time against a backdrop of lots of slow moving and good nutrition.

Avoid inflammatory plateaus. Track your training. Plotted on a graph, the inflammatory responses to your training should resemble a series of peaks, dips, and valleys. If you don't let your last exercise-induced inflammatory spike recede before exercising again, you'll only heap more on the pile.

If you keep stringing together spikes in inflammation without recovering from the previous one, they start to overlap and that starts to look a lot like chronic inflammation. That gives you a plateau, a mesa of inflammation. Avoid the mesa."

Your diet will also wield a significant influence over the level of inflammation in your body, as most food will either promote or deflect it. Recent research5 also shows that both deficiencies and excesses of certain micronutrients (such as folate, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, vitamin E, and zinc) can result in an ineffective or excessive inflammatory response.

As noted by co-author Anne Marie Minihane:6

"Studies have showed that high consumption of fat and glucose may induce post-prandial inflammation (manifesting itself after the consumption of a meal), which may have consequences for the development of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

The Western-style diet, rich in fat and simple sugars but often poor in specific micronutrients, is linked to the increased prevalence of diseases with strong immunological and autoimmune components, including allergies, food allergies, atopic dermatitis, and obesity.

Inflammation acts as both a friend and foe, being essential in metabolic regulation, with unresolved low-grade chronic inflammation being a pathological feature of a wide range of chronic conditions including the metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases."

The easiest way to ensure your diet is as anti-inflammatory as possible is to simply eat REAL FOOD. You really do not need a PhD in nutrition to get it right. To help you get started on a healthier diet, I suggest following my free Optimized Nutrition Plan, which starts at the beginner phase and systematically guides you step-by-step to the advanced level. It is especially important to avoid processed vegetable oils and sugars. Personally I believe the oils are far more toxic than the sugars. You simply must have a regular source of high quality unprocessed fats if you hope to be healthy.

Beyond that, it's simply a matter of learning which foods tend to provide the greatest anti-inflammatory benefits. I've provided a sample list of such foods below. By replacing processed foods with whole, unprocessed, and ideally organic foods, you will automatically eliminate several of the most inflammatory culprits in your diet, including:

A number of foods are well-known for their anti-inflammatory properties, and making sure you're eating a wide variety of them on a regular basis can go a long way toward preventing chronic illness. The following foods and nutrients deserve special mention for their ability to quell inflammatory responses in your body:

Tulsi is another tea loaded with anti-inflammatory antioxidants and other micronutrients that support immune function and heart health.

Fermented foods such as kefir, natto, kimchee, miso, tempeh, pickles, sauerkraut, olives, and other fermented vegetables, will help "reseed" your gut with beneficial bacteria.

Fermented foods can also help your body rid itself of harmful toxins such as heavy metals and pesticides that promote inflammation.

One is copper, which is one of the few metallic elements accompanied by amino and fatty acids that are essential to human health. Since your body can't synthesize copper, your diet must supply it regularly. Copper deficiency can be a factor in the development of coronary heart disease.

It's thought that much of garlic's therapeutic effect comes from its sulfur-containing compounds, such as allicin. Research9 has revealed that as allicin digests in your body it produces sulfenic acid, a compound that reacts faster with dangerous free radicals than any other known compound.

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Exercise and Anti Inflammation Diet to Live Longer

When you decide its time to live a healthier lifestyle, youre likely to get better long-term results if you start improving your diet and increasing physical activity at the same time.

It may seem better to improve just one thing at a time. But while you dont have to make drastic changes overnight, a new study suggests that its best to begin by bettering both your nutrition and your activity level.

This gives me hope that making two changes at the same time can work, says Kathy McManus, director of the nutrition department at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Womens Hospital.

The study, from Stanford University researcher Abby King and colleagues, enrolled 200 people over age 44 whose diets and physical-activity levels were well below healthy standards. They were hoping to improve their lifestyles, but were not specifically trying to lose weight.

Study participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups:

For all groups, the exercise goal was to increase moderate-to-vigorous physical activity to 150 minutes (two and a half hours) each week. The diet goal was to get five to nine daily servings of fruits and vegetables and to reduce saturated fats to 10% of total calories consumed.

What happened? The control group met none of these goals. Those in the diet-first group met their dietary goals. Those in the exercise-first group met their activity goal. But only those in the simultaneous group met both goals.

On the other hand, nobody lost significant weight. Many of us are trying to do that, also, McManus says. We dont know how this would play out if the focus of lifestyle change were on weight loss.

Lifestyle change is very hard to do by oneself. Most people need counseling and encouragement. McManus praises the Stanford study for providing much-needed data on how healthcare providers can help people achieve lifestyle change. However, she notes that every individual has his or her own lifestyle and needs an individualized approach to changing it.

The patient is really the expert in his or her own self-change. We are experts in medicine, but patients are experts on their own behavior, McManus says. We elicit dialog around that, building on any successful changes theyve made in the past. And we develop connections about what matters to them and why it matters, understanding and empathizing with what they will miss if they leave out, say, the high-sodium snacks theyve been eating.

It doesnt work merely to tell people what they must do, what they need to do, or what they should do.

We use phrases such as, Other folks have found, Some have benefitted from, and You might consider, she says. Once patients feel listened to they are more open to what you have to say.

Over time, McManus says, people place more importance on healthy behaviors and become more confident in their ability to make changes.

Without confidence, behavior change chances are slim, she says. We go from that, to where the individual is driving his or her own intervention and behavior change.

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Benefit to improving diet and exercise at the same time ...

Good nutrition is essential for health. Insufficient nutrition can hinder growth and development. Excessive calorie consumption, however, can lead to overweight and obesity, especially when paired with too little physical activity. Inadequate physical activity itself also contributes to increased risk of a number of conditions including coronary heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers [1].

While healthy food and regular exercise are important to health, half of adults and nearly 72% of high school students in the US do not meet the CDCs recommended physical activity levels, and American adults walk less than adults in any other industrialized country. As of 2013, 29 million Americans lived in a food desert, without access to affordable, healthy food. Those with lower education levels, already at-risk for poor health outcomes, frequently live in food deserts [1].

More than two-thirds of all American adults and approximately 32% of children and adolescents are overweight or obese. Obesity is one of the biggest drivers of preventable chronic diseases in the US. Being overweight or obese increases the risk for many health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, cancer, Alzheimers disease, dementia, liver disease, kidney disease, osteoarthritis, and respiratory problems [1].

Unhealthy food intake and insufficient exercise have economic impacts for individuals and communities. Current estimates for obesity-related health care costs in the US range from $147 billion to nearly $210 billion annually, and productivity losses due to obesity-related job absenteeism cost an additional $4 billion each year [1].

Increasing opportunities for exercise and access to healthy foods in neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces can help children and adults eat healthy meals and reach recommended daily physical activity levels.

More:
Diet and Exercise | County Health Rankings & Roadmaps

Are you looking for an effective way to lose weight? Have your diet plans failed? It is time to give exercise a chance.

Celebrity nutritionist and fitness expert Rujuta Diwekar posted an infographic on Twitter, "Before you pop a pill, give exercise a shot." Her tweet also explained that exercise can prevent and treat all lifestyle disorders like diabetes, polycystic ovarian disease and blood pressure.

Benefits of exercise

Brain - It prevents forgetfulness and Alzheimer's disease - It fights depression - It improves neurogenesis in dentate gyrus, the learning centre in the brain

Bones - It helps assimilate calcium - It prevents osteoporosis - It improves bone mineral density

Heart - It strengthens heart - Lower heart rate at rest implies more efficient heart function. Hence, it reduces resting heart rate - It controls blood pressure

Hormones - It improves insulin sensitivity - It helps beat diabetes - It regulates growth hormone (GH) for better skin and hair - It regulates cortisol for better quality sleep at night and alertness in day

(Image: Thinkstock)

Rules for exercise planning

1. Keep at least a two-day gap between two weight training sessions. 2. Schedule cardio a day after weight training 3. Build in recovery days to get the best out of the exercise days 4. Yoga asanas are an excellent form of exercise, recovery and much more. It can be done daily 5. Plan at least 150 minutes of total workout time in a week

See this video to master the ultimate weekly exercise guide

What to eat pre- and post-workout session.

(Image: Thinkstock)

Pre-workout meal plan - Have a fruit 15-20 minutes before a workout OR - Have a full meal 60-90 minutes before

Post-workout meal Rehydrate: Drink enough water to quench your thirst and then have some more Replenish: Replenish the glycogen stores with a fruit like banana Repair: Drink a whey protein shake to help in the repair processes Recover: Have anti-oxidants like Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, Zinc, etc for quick recovery

Foods to improve your exercise performance

(Image: Thinkstock)

Rice - Prefer single polished rice - Avoid brown rice - Rice keeps the guts strong - It is easy to digest - It is easily accessible - It is a good source of branch chain amino acids

(Image: Thinkstock)

Tubers - Sabudana, arbi, sweet potato and suran are some tubers you should consider - They are rich in minerals, fibre and vitamins - They keep hormones balanced and give a glowing skin

(Image: Thinkstock)

Aliv - This Indian superfood is also known as garden cress seeds - It is rich in iron and folic acid

(Image: Thinkstock)

Whey Protein - It speeds up your recovery - It is easy the on stomach - It is useful for older adults who exercise routinely - It has the right ratio of essential to non-essential amino acids

(Image: Thinkstock)

Coconut - Consume coconut tender, ripe, dry and the water - It regulates blood pressure - It is a strong fat burners - It boosts your immunity - It provides a wholesome meal

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When diets fail, Rujuta Diwekar's exercise guide comes to the rescue - Economic Times

Nathalie Emmanuel's diet and exercise regime helps her on-set stamina

BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

Nathalie Emmanuel loves tucking into vegan chocolate when she craves a sweet treat.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/fashion-beauty/nathalie-emmanuels-diet-and-exercise-regime-helps-her-onset-stamina-36080796.html

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/fashion-beauty/article36080795.ece/1159e/AUTOCROP/h342/cover_media_cmg6a57d8f2-a82a-4360-8113-76c826b2eda7_0

Nathalie Emmanuel loves tucking into vegan chocolate when she craves a sweet treat.

Nathalie Emmanuels dedication to health and fitness helps her get through long days on the Game of Thrones set.

English actress Nathalie plays Missandei in HBOs popular show, which had its season seven finale on Sunday (27Aug17), leaving fans with just one final series to go.

Although Nathalie has been known to flash the flesh on the show, the fitness fanatic admits its not just vanity that spurs her on at the gym.

"If you're lethargic and not taking care of yourself, your body has to work 10 times harder on long, busy days, she told Shape magazine. So I decided it was important to maintain a certain level of health and fitness. I became a vegan about four years ago, and I try to stay away from processed foods. I love yoga, boxing, and running.

"(Yoga is) my favourite form of exercise because it isn't just physical. And I consider mental health to be part of my overall health.

Nathalie also shared that her healthy diet includes vegan chocolate, as she doesnt believe in depriving herself of sweet treats.

"Good vegan chocolate has become a thing with me, she smiled. The more you silence your cravings, the bigger they become, so I prefer to have a little bit and get on with my day."

And when asked the advice she'd share with her younger self, the 28-year-old simply said shed tell herself that she was just fine.

"I used to straighten my hair for auditions. But now I want to be remembered for my work, not the way I look, she stated.

Belfast Telegraph Digital

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Nathalie Emmanuel's diet and exercise regime helps her on-set stamina - Belfast Telegraph