A Word on Exercise

A Word on Exercise

Although Nic's Nutrition is mainly about healthy eating and nutrition, I wanted to say a few things about something else that is amazing for not only your body, but your mind too.. exercise!

Exercise (moving around more) is great for the following reasons:

1. It helps to boost metabolic rate and burn calories
2. It contributes to weight loss and more importantly, keeping weight off
3. It can increase self-esteem (confidence levels) as well as mood
4. It improves muscle tone which means leaner and great looking bodies
5. It increases the level of good cholesterol in the body
6. It decreases risk of diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer and osteo-arthritis

It is recommended that adults perform 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic-exercise a week (i.e. 30 minutes x 5 a week). This could be fast walking, jogging, aerobics (in the studio or in water), lane swimming, tennis, netball or football etc. If you live in the East Midlands (England) check out this great link for how to get started in the sport of tennis. [click here]

The most important thing when it comes to exercise however, is to do something that you enjoy. Why not see if a friend wants to take up a new hobby or sport with you? If you have somebody else to go with then you may be more likely to keep it up (and not let the other person down!).

If you struggle to fit in exercise into your daily routine every day, then why not make the following simple swaps (every day) to help increase your physical activity levels:

• Always take the stairs and not the lift/elevator/escalator
• Make a rule that if a car journey is going to be 5 minutes or less, to walk it
• Park your car further away at work or at the shops or get off 1 or 2 bus stops early (NB this is done much easier in the Summer months!)
• Instead of just sitting during the adverts get up and do some crunches / knee lifts / tricep presses (discrete exercises that don't take up much room!)

I hope you've enjoyed reading this 'non-nutrition' blog - I felt I had to write it as a healthy lifestyle really must involve both eating well and exercising (the best paired couple ever for amazing results!).

Have a great week.

Nichola x