Health_and_Fitness

Nutrition and Fitness Nutrition and Fitness My current fitness habits are not very good. On occasion I will work out and walk my dog. I am considered to be obese and I am working toward changing these poor health habits. I have set myself some goals in which I will walk my dog every day or every other day. I have high blood pressure that I know is affected by my weight along with my poor fitness and my poor nutritional habits. I feel a change coming that will turn my life around for the good of my health. My current nutritional habits have recently changed for the better. In the past four weeks I have adopted a vegetarian lifestyle. Past diet habits included an assortment of meat and fried foods. I have given up meat entirely and I feel better. I chose to become vegetarian not only to help myself but also the environment and to aid in the stopping of animal cruelty. Health risks associated with obesity are premature death, cardiovascular disease, which includes high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. Gaining 11-20 pounds increases these risks significantly when you are obese. Other health risks include; sleep apnea, asthma, the risk of developing arthritis, complications during pregnancy, and increased risks of osteoarthritis. Three new fitness habits that I can incorporate into my lifestyle are walking more, I walk everyday but sometimes at work or even at home I grow lazy. To incorporate more walking I can park further away from doors, use stairs and do more waling of the sales floor instead of sitting in the back office all day. Walking more will keep my blood flowing and help keep the pounds down, this will also increase my energy levels. Bicycling to and from work would be easily incorporated into my fitness habits. I live six miles away from work. Biking to and from work will assist with my cardiovascular health. Getting a 30-45 minute cardio work out per day will help with lung and heart function. This will help bring down my blood pressure in the future. The third thing that I can do is stretch every day. Stretching will improve flexibility. With improved flexibility everything comes more easily. "Daily activities as simple as bending down to pick up a newspaper will be easier, so you will feel better" (Havard Men's Health Watch, 2003). Balance will improve reducing the risks of falls. Stretching before and after any exercise will help with less injuries that may happen there will also be less stress on joints while doing everyday tasks. Three nutritional habits I can incorporate into my lifestyle are make sure I get all the nutrition I need for my body by eating the right foods instead of junk food. Cut out the bad fats and bring in good vitamins and sources of good energy. Eliminate sugars in my diet will help eliminate false cravings. Therefore, eliminating unwanted fat storage in my body. I have already started on my vegetarian way of life by knocking out meat and eliminating the toxins and hormones that have riddled by body for nearly my entire life. Doing so I believe I have more energy and a better sense of well being. Vegetarian lifestyle will help promote healthy eating and improve my immune system to ward off illness. Portion control is the key nutritional habit I can change. This will also be the hardest one to overcome. Cutting down the amount of food I ear will greatly change how much food and caloric intake I give my body. This will help to promote weight loss and make my nutritional goal obtainable. I have asked my family to help me with this process by not letting me overeat. In conclusion I have learned that incorporating healthy nutrition and good fitness habits will promote good healthy living. I have vowed to incorporate some or all of these healthy habits into my life on a daily. I think that in a couple of months my health and fitness goals will be on track for the rest of my life. I know that the journey to better health will not be an easy one, but I think that if I have a strong support group I can achieve all of my life-changing goals. This may also inspire the rest of my family to get on track to healthy living habits. I look forward to the new me and it is about time I take care of my life and live for myself. References Gordon, A., & Mandell, P. L. (2005, Aug). Portion Control. Seeing the Healthy way to eat, 51(8), p58,1/6p. Stretching for health. (Aug,2003). Harvard Men's Health Watch, 8(1), p5,4p.