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Eat well and get active

Eat well

We all know that 'you are what you eat', but in our busy worlds it's easy to eat too much of the wrong foods because they seem the qickest and cheapest option. But a healthy balanced diet can be far more enjoyable and doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. Remember our energy levels, concentration, mood and even our skin colour and hair are effected by what we eat so its worth taking care of yourself and consider the ‘food science stuff’. What we eat provides our body with energy and we measure this energy in calories. Our body either burns these calories through physical activity or stores them up as fat to use later so its good to compare you’re eating habits with the type of lifestyle you lead.

It's never healthy to be overweight or underweight so why not use this link to the body mass calculator to see what what your recommended weight is.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/tools/bmi_calculator/bmi.shtml

But it's not just about eating the right amount of food its also important to get a balanced diet and the right range of nutrients and following these useful tips can help.

• Base your meals on starchy foods such as wholemeal bread and wholegrain cereals.
• Eat lots of fruit and vegetables – your 5 a day.
• Include protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs and lentils.
• Milk and other dairy products are important to keep up calcium levels.
• Cut down on saturated fat and sugar, such as chocolate,sweets,crisps,takaway food and fizzy drinks.
• Try to eat less salt - no more than 6g a day.
• Drink plenty of water - at least 6-8 glasses per day.
• Don't skip breakfast as it’s a great start to the day and can stop those cravings later.

Remember there’s no such thing as good or bad foods and you don’t have to give up all your favourites to be healthy because even a burger and chips is ok occassionaly, but they don’t offer you much in the way of nutrients so make sure the rest of your diet and the amount of exercise your getting makes up for these little treats.

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