As we head towards the summer break, most people will be trying to get themselves into good physical shape. One of the main ways to achieve this is by maintaining a healthy weight and by improving your diet. Some people find eating a healthy and balanced diet challenging, so it is important to set yourself realistic diet plans to ensure that they are achievable. If you make it too complex or extreme, you are likely to lose your motivation quickly. Also, diets that are complicated are often going to be high cost, so plan to eat healthily but look at ways to do so cost effectively. The terms processed and ultra processed food are likely to be something that you have heard frequently in the media recently.
Eating foods that have added oil, sugar and fat are to be reduced, where possible, from your diet. Examples of these include sausages, ham, crisps, biscuits, cereals, fizzy drinks, instant soups and some fruit flavoured yoghurts. Try to look at ways to use fresh ingredients instead, creating batched vegetable dishes, eating fruit and a reasonable amount of protein and healthy carbohydrates. Even though the easiest option would be to put a ready meal in the microwave or to get a takeaway, in terms of nutritional value these options should be avoided as much as possible.
Once you have your diet sorted, the next focus may be on your exercise plan. After long periods of inactivity, getting your body into the habit of exercising again is key. The government guidance recommends a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise per day. This doesn’t mean you have to attend a gym or take up running, there are lots of ways you can exercise at home- you need to ensure these goals are realistic and achievable for you and your lifestyle! Research shows that keeping yourself active is the key to a long and happy life, it is important to set time aside to do this.
