Whats the relationship between nutrition, Healthy Food and fitness? Some people would say that healthy food equals good nutrition but is this really the case. i won't pretend to have all the answers but instead share a little of my experience delving into this no mans land of what you should and shouldn't do. The simple thing is that many of us want to eat healthy food but this doesn't always give us the right nutrition that our bodies need to be healthy. Like any good thing we can also overdo it, loading our bodies with something it has to digest and which takes its toll too. i think more and more people are understanding the idea of fitness, but even within this word there are different sorts of exercise and ways to be fit. So what is the one answer to being healthy, eating the right food for good nutrition and exercising in a way that hits all the fitness targets?

In my experience there isn't one, our bodies are as individual as our personalities. While we may look similar there are so many variations in our makeup that make it impossible for a one size fits all policy and quite frankly i wouldn't believe anyone selling you this concept. But below are some tips i found useful, quite often falling into them but nearly always by trying out possibilities.


Tip 1 - find out if you have any allergies, strong or weaker intolerances.

i found that only through testing could i really get to know the nutritional needs of my body. When i talk about this with friends who have also gone through similar processes the way of finding out has been so similar but the results are often completely different. Seeming random if you didn't know any better. i realised when i was 14 that i had a strong lactose and milk intolerance. This was after having extremely milky tea and coffee for years. When i got rid of the diary products out of my diet the changes were incredible. I got slimmer, healthier and felt more free in my body. My skin improved which had always been a problem in my teenage years.


Tip 2 - find the combination of carbohydrates, proteins and fats that work for your body and lifestyle

At 14 i realised that if this one thing could make such a difference, what else was i doing that would make me feel either good or less good in my body. So i started to experiment with healthier eating. After four or 4 days of having vegetables, fruit and a high level of protein coupled with all the sports i was doing, i felt amazing. To this day if i cut out coffee and sugar for this combination i feel really good. Experiment with finding which food groups do you good and the amounts. Often men need more carbohydrates than women, my boyfriend almost dies without bread in his diet. i can do without bread for days but need high levels of protein instead. Protein is very good for building up metabolism and lean muscles that aid this process so i would suggest not cutting protein out entirely. Fats are funny in the sense that not all fat is bad and actually there are good and bad fats.


Tip 3 - its often said that the right amount is great but too much can be lethal

i will never forget when i was 18 and a doctor friend of mine told me about the actual plate size we should eat compared the the amount we actually eat. And how tv dinners and such like where our brain is distracted from our food is a big cause of over eating because our satisfied mechanism doesn't kick in in the same way. For clarity its not about starving yourself but overloading the body with food takes a lot of its energy. Eating smaller meals and more often if this suits you is a great way to feel more energy.

Tip  4 - exercises and stretchs for the body that get the metabolism going and shift tension in the body.

The body loves exercise, even sometimes we don't like it. My personal journey lead me to pilates. It worked well for my body and i added other exercises a a good pilates routine that covered all bases. Working on only a few of the bodies muscle groups is less effective than finding exercises that get the whole body moving in one go. Exercise should be fun so why not search for something you like. Team sports could be a great option for those who like to socialise while you exercise. Solitary person then a nice stretch routine or jogging in the countryside or closest park could be your thing. Be creative, it doesn't have to be your worth nightmare and if you find something that gives you energy and fun you just might not be able to put it down again. Exercise is addictive once you get the right bug.


When i applied all four tips together i got closer to a fitter healthier feeling me, but was i nutrionally healthy even though i was eating healthy food? This is a good check point once you  have established what works for you. I find that while normally i have a good basic intake of food that works for me, every now and again i need or crave something else. This can be something sweet, or red meat, or a particular food i see when i am in the supermarket i don't eat very often.  i found giving into these cravings for food was a good way to bring in variation and give myself something my body wanted in moderation if less healthy. This was far more sustainable than sticking to the same eating routine day in and day out making higher hte risk of missing certain nutrients one needs in your diet.

So tune in, find yourself, get creative with exercise ideas. Just because one thing doesn't work for you it doesn't mean you failed. Sometimes it take years to really find what works for us. So believe in yourself, healthy living is for life not a fad.



Other articles that may be of interest in the fitness genre are:
Womens health and body building
http://www.chicloca.com/2015/12/womens-health-and-body-building.html