For every person that has decided to start a healthier lifestyle by exercising and eat a proper and nutritious diet, there is always the question on how to start these two disciplines. While it is easy to search for a diet on the Internet (or even exercise advice), there is enough information available to confuse.
Sometimes, that information is even conflicting and the amount of diets available is staggering. In the past ten years, it seems like individuals are more interested in “fad” diets than an actual diet to get healthy and stay health. Fad diets include the “Atkins” diet, the “Juice Cleansing Diet,” the “Max” diet, and more.
With exercise, it’s often possible to get good and correct information that is told in a helpful manner. However, the intricacies of the human body make it difficult in both cases to tell what works. The questions abound that are presented in each researching case are many and varied and they include:
- How should I start my diet?
- What do you mean by processed, organic, or non-GMO foods?
- How do I manage my health predictors, such as high cholesterol and hypertension?
- How do I stick with a program once I’ve started?
These are all valid questions for the individual who is ready to start a healthier lifestyle but is uncertain about the different options that are in front of him or her. It is possible to look at diet and exercise separately before the task of starting a healthier lifestyle is begun.
Often, exercise is divided into two types: cardiovascular and weight lifting.
Cardiovascular exercise is the type of exercise that gets your heart rate elevated and keeps it elevated for a period of time. Types of cardiovascular exercise includes biking, running, jogging, swimming, hitting machines like the elliptical or the stairmaster, boxing, and many other activities.
Cardiovascular exercise works at causing your lungs to increase capacity and gain stronger by requiring them to work harder. It works harder consistently during the workout. Cardiovascular exercise works at raising your heart rate and keeping it elevated. This increases circulation in your body and reduces blood pressure.
Weight lifting is the type of exercise that requires your muscle to exert force to lift objects. Types of weight lifting exercises include the bench press, the squat, the dead lift, the row, the shoulder press, the triceps dip, the bicep curl, and more. There are variations on each activity, such as the bench press and the chest press.
Weight lifting works at adding enough force to your muscles that they “tear” and “break down.” This is done when the weight lifted forces the muscles to work to “exhaustion” or “close to exhaustion.” Because your muscles tear down, they build back up over the next couple days, becoming bigger than before. But this requires a proper diet.
Your diet is equally important compared to exercise in that it fuels your body for exercise the next day. The right diet combines a certain amount of carbohydrates, protein, and fat to give your body energy, help it repair itself and allow it to grow stronger.
One of the most talked about “macros” is protein. Protein is especially important when you life weights, as protein is needed to build your muscles back up after they tear. There are many protein sources. The key is that you get .68/kg of your body weight in protein. This is the USDA’s recommended guideline.
One of the ways to get protein is through nuts. There are many different types of nuts, including the macadamia nut, the cashew seed, the white chia seeds, the black walnut, and more. Nuts are a great source of protein. They have the following characteristics:
- A one-ounce serving of peanuts contains 7.3 grams of protein and 2.4 grams of fiber.
- One ounce of chia seeds contains 11 grams of fiber, a significant portion of daily intake.
- Two servings of nuts per day is helpful in fighting cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.
There are many types of nuts. As an example, there are two types of walnuts: the English walnut and the black walnut. Of the two types of walnuts, the English walnut originated in Persia, while of the two types of walnuts, the black walnut is native to eastern North America. Types of walnuts is a good starting point.
