The benefits of eating healthy!

Carrying on with the healthy eating regime, there are of course a number of key factors in your life as to why you should eat healthily - weight control is the obvious one, but what about for combating illness, infection and disease, and then what about the benefits on your physical well being - skin, hair, eyes condition, and finally to give you the fuel to do all the things that make up your day . . . including keeping up with your exercise regime. In the below read, sourced through 'ezinearticles' (http://EzineArticles.com/8860883) and written by Josef Bichler (http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Josef_Bichler) there is some further advice on the reasons why.


Giving your body the right type of food is paramount to your overall health. Healthy eating is not about sticking to strict nutrition facts or depriving yourself totally from the food you love. Rather, it is about feeling mentally and physically great and having good energy levels, all of which be achieved by learning nutrition basics and making better food choices. The benefits of eating healthy by making some changes are exceptional. Apart from maintaining health and functioning organs in your body, healthy eating provides a wide array of benefits.

Less Illness and More Health!
As the saying goes: You are what you eat, and you become what you eat, whatever we eat reflects on our body. Unhealthy processed and fast foods affect the normal functioning of our body systems and can lead to obesity and illness. Eating healthy provides all the required nutrients for the body which help in proper functioning of our body organs. By improving body functions you are enhancing your immune system, which further helps in protecting against many chronic illnesses. Staying active and energetic is part of a good diet which is the key to a healthy body. Eating a well balanced diet provides good nutrition and energy to continue a healthy function of the body, and for supporting healthy growth and development. When the energy requirements of the body are right, you stay active and energetic throughout the day.

Weight Control Is Best Through Your Diet
It is no secret that exercise and a healthy diet are the keys to losing weight and maintaining it. Exercise and continuing with the wrong food will not bring your weight down, although exercise has many other health benefits and is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Recent study has shown that half an hour of exercise will improve the brains "Plasticity". Plasticity in the brain is important for learning, memory, and motor skill conditions. This also strengthens connections between other cells and as well different brain cells. Weight loss is all about making the right food choices which will help you in losing weight and calories. Optimal body weight keeps you fit and healthy, and prevents you from many obesity related diseases. Some exercise with the right diet, less carbohydrates, processed food, and smaller portions on your plate will immediately bring your weight down.

Look Good and Feel Good
In today's lifestyle, where people are overtly conscious of the appearance, excessive weight will affect the good looks. Hence, weight control is one of the most important benefits of eating a healthy diet. Overeating and eating junk food can not only pack on kilos, it also disturbs your sleeping patterns. On the other hand just the opposite will happen; healthy food reduces stress and helps getting a good night's sleep. A restful sleep keeps your mind as well as body active ti face the next day with a better attitude. The first and most important step to make smarter food choices is to educate yourself about what your body needs. Reading the food nutritional labels and ingredients of all the food you eat, knowing about the nutritional content of the food product can help you decide whether a food or beverage fits in your eating plan. You can compare different food products and get to understand and knowing which one is good for your health and which is not!

All about this is knowing what to do. Education has become an arguable effective way to gain knowledge and being able to take control of your health. Your chances of success in your health will increase dramatically by following a lesson plan and getting the right information.

WhyWeight - don't hesitate, participate, before it's too late!

-Steve, at WhyWeight-

Valuable tips for training with your PT!

With your PT now on your payroll, keep in mind these valuable tips for moving forward with your fitness instructor to ensure that you get the most out of your investment, you start to see the rewards and feel as though you are getting real value for money - this makes your relationship a win/win. The better you do on your journey with your PT the greater the likelihood that you will refer him/her to your family, friends and colleagues which will create demand and make him/her more busy and cement their reputation. Everyone's a winner, but also, don't ever be afraid to speak up if you feel this is not the case! Sierra Dunaway (http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sierra_Dunaway) has written this article on ezinearticles (Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4328946) which is good advice once again and worth you reading to ensure that win/win is created and sustained for you and your PT.


Having a personal trainer is a great way to learn about fitness and to be held accountable to a personal goal that you have made. I believe more people should utilize the expertise of personal trainers, regardless of fitness level or knowledge. I can't tell you how many times I walk into a gym and see exercisers with bad form. This is an extremely dangerous way to keep your ego intact. Trainers are certified for a reason. Use their knowledge to build your own so that you can go into the gym with confidence of knowing how to properly perform a plethora of exercises (even without those little pictures on the machines!)

Those that are able to afford a life-long trainer-and, I realize that doesn't come cheap over the years-mostly keep their trainer as a motivator to keep their progress up. Often, the client has found the perfect trainer for them and doesn't want to lose that. It is crucial for your success with a PT program to find the right trainer for you to truly see the return on your investment. Not only should the trainer be certified AND knowledgeable, but he/she should be someone you look forward to seeing. It is crucial to find someone that matches your personality and honestly cares about your goals as a client.

A more wallet-friendly alternative is to join a group training or boot camp program. While you won't receive as much personal attention, you can feel confident that your trainer will ensure your proper execution of exercises. It has also been proven that having a support system is just as good if not better at holding you accountable to your common goal. Most exercisers simply want to lose weight. Boot camps are great for this majority, as the higher intensity callisthenic exercises are among the best for fat loss.

However, showing up for your personal training session and/or boot camp is not all that you should do to maximize results. Therefore, I have compiled this list of tips for working with a trainer. You would be surprised at the number of exercisers that neglect these essential ingredients to creating a healthier, more energized, and slimmer you!

• Communication is key. In order to prevent injury, you should communicate with your trainer about any pain you may be feeling. Sometimes you can have perfect form, but you still are straining a muscle somewhere. Every body is unique in its imbalances, and your trainer does not know what your body feels like. Now, there IS a difference between injury and pain. If it's burning, that's the goal! If you aren't feeling anything, the weight may be too light. Don't hesitate to tell your trainer you need more or less weight if you aren't feeling anything by the 8th or 9th rep, or if you can't continue with proper form at this point. While your trainer should be paying attention to these things, sometimes it helps not to waste time (and time is money!).

• Eat right for energy and replenishment. Most folks know what they should be eating and what they shouldn't. Following the 40/30/30 principle is ideal-40 percent of calories should be carbohydrates, 30 percent should be protein, and no more than 30 percent should be fats. If you don't want to get that complicated, just lay off the junk food and soda (or sweet tea!) and you should be good. More importantly, you should make sure that you eat a meal two hours and/or a light snack (protein bar is ideal) at least thirty minutes prior. If you are working out in the morning, make sure you eat well the night before, because it is not a good idea to work out on a full stomach. The main point is, don't show up to a workout having eaten like a bird all day and expect to have enough energy to burn during the workout.

• Listen to your trainer. Usually your trainer knows best (that's why you hired them, right?). You absolutely should listen to your trainer when they're explaining how to properly perform an exercise or set weights down. A lot of exercisers feel skeptical of things their trainer says (and often you should!), because someone told them something about a fad diet or certain exercise being bad for them. Give your trainer the opportunity to explain his or her opinion before you shoot them down. If you don't feel comfortable with their answer, you may need to find another trainer. Often times, you will learn something new when soliciting the opinion of your trainer. Just know that the industry has rather divided sources of information and often fitness and nutrition can be overanalyzed.

In the end, weight loss is simple: burn calories or diet in order to create a caloric deficit. Think of a 3-legged stool, with each leg representing diet, exercise, and rest and recovery. If you don't have all three elements, the stool will fall down every time.

WhyWeight - don't hesitate, participate, before it's too late!

-Steve, at WhyWeight-