Exercise & Diet

*Exercise & Diet*

Good morning family!

Another beautiful Saturday morning is here. Welcome to today’s episode of Food, Nutrients and Health. I’m here with another enlightening topic.

Exercise can be defined as a series of physical activities that helps us to burn calories. And that includes activities like swimming, running, jogging, walking and dancing to name a few. Exercise has been proved beneficial in many reports and instances. It is as vital and as important as having a good diet plan.

The foods we consume add calories to our body, and to avoid complications such as obesity, we must be able to design a system that helps us burn calories as much as we consume them. Exercise has been proven to increase mood and decrease feelings of depression, anxiety and stress. It helps with weight loss and is good for strengthening our bones and building muscles. All of these among others are the benefit that we derive from engaging exercises.

However, as much as we know that exercise is beneficial to the body, we should also understand the kind of relationship that exists between exercise and diet. How the two can be employed and engaged for optimum health results. Let me liken my explanation to a personal saving account, when you try to withdraw cash at the ATM using your debit card beyond what you have in your account balance, you’ll surely have difficulty withdrawing. Our body system is like a bank; the only difference is that it stores energy and not currencies. Engaging exercise is like trying to withdraw from the bank account. Quite funny, but true … Smiles. There have been cases of people who slumped and died after rigorous exercise or even after playing street football. I’ve personally witnessed two of such cases related to a street football match, and both are really unpleasant cases.

Balancing exercise with diet, the first thing to pay attention to is your regular diet. Ensure your diet contains sufficient amount of macronutrients carbohydrates, protein and fat as these majorly helps to supply your body with sufficient calories. A professional sports man or woman need to pay close attention to his breakfasts and dinners. They should be filled with rich foods and not just junks. Whole grain cereals are a very good option.

Depending on the amount of exercise engaged, there might also be need to snack right before or during exercise. But ensure not to overeat during this period, as doing so might eventually disrupt or interfere the exercise itself. What is important is your feeling per time, do what works best for you. Fruits, yoghurt, juices or energy drink can be good options for this.

Another thing is to do well to refuel your energy after exercise. This is mainly to re-energize your body. You just have to take something like to do this. It can be fruits, glucose or energy drinks. Just depositing something back into your bank before it enters a zero account, sure you understand? Because when you keep it under zero account for a very long time, it goes dormant.

Also do well to consume a lot of fluids before, during and after exercise. Just water alone is a very good option for doing this. You really need fluids so well, to prevent dehydration. Water is generally the best way to replace lost fluids. But if you're exercising for more than 60 minutes, use a sports drink. Sports drinks can help maintain your body's electrolyte balance and give you a bit more energy because they contain carbohydrates.

In conclusion, always remember that balance is the key when it comes to exercise and diet. Learn to pay close attention to your body feeling per time, and you can also count on your experiences. But in all balance the calories going in versus calories going out.

Thanks for reading my article today. You can visit the below references for more information if you’ll like to.

References:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20045506

https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise-eating-healthy#takeaway

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-benefits-of-exercise#section8

Article By:

Okediji Oluwadurotimi (Immanuel Rottex)

Food, Nutrients and Health.