Health Support Ministry: A ministry area that provides services, education and support to those experiencing issues around health and wellness and those caring for others with chronic health care needs.
KEYS TO FEELING HEALTHY AND FIT
Eat less, drink lots of water, and get plenty of sleep
Avoid dairy products while trying to lose fat
Eat complex carbohydrates – avoid breads and pasta as much as possible. If you must indulge, stick to gluten free or whole wheat pasta. Whole grains such as quinoa, brown rice or oats are recommended. Avoid sugar, alcohol, and white flour. Whenever you eat carbs make sure you have protein with them: Place natural peanut butter in oatmeal or eat a smidgeon of eggs or salmon with it. Other acceptable carbs are yams, sweet potatoes, beans, and chick peas.
Eat plenty of vegetables without sauces (fresh or steamed). Vegetables fill you up with few calories. One good idea is to stir fry them in coconut oil (a healthy omega 3 fat oil).
Eat foods rich in protein – salmon, chicken, eggs, and egg whites, spinach, beef, and tuna.
Drink a gallon of water a day. Avoid soda and other drinks filled with calories. Unsweetened coffee and tea is fine.
Eat healthy fats (less than 25% of calories per meal) from foods like flax, avocadoes, olives, nuts, etc. Minimize bad fats.
Eat your fruits early in the day (and the majority of your carbs). The best fruits are those lower in sugar such as berries.
Avoid foods that contain the words “hydrogenated” and “high fructose corn syrup”. If you can’t pronounce the ingredients you probably don’t want to eat it.
Exercise often. Make sure you are not only doing cardio (at least 20 minutes with an elevated hear rate) but also weight training. It’s important to mix up your exercise routines. Try different activities that you enjoy but that push you and motivate you. If you are losing fat you will want to do strength training so that you can tone and sculpt the body. Building muscle helps increase metabolism and burn calories.
Strength training is important for women as it strengthens bones and aids in the prevention of osteoporosis.
Think of each day as an opportunity to make good decisions about diet and health. You will feel better, look better, and be more productive don’t be discouraged if you don’t see results immediately, it takes 6 to 8 week for your metabolism and body to start responding to a different way of eating and exercising.
