We were joined by Kim Farmer from Mile High Fitness to talk all exercise and nutrition. Read some highlights below from some our conversation, and be sure to check out the whole video to learn more!
1. Why is diet and exercise important to being healthy?
Years of research shows that people with chronic diseases have better health outcomes if they get a certain amount of exercise a day, and if they eat a good diet of fruits and vegetables per day, that they are healthier.
Proper amounts of physical activity and a healthy diet are important to reducing risk factors for chronic illnesses, thereby helping people feel better, look better, and live a better quality of life
It has been shown that physical activity helps reduce stress as well
Kim equates physical activity to being like free medicine. We should just all use it every day, and pay nothing for it!
2. In Florida, we have one of the highest rate of chronic diseases. How can diet & exercise alleviate this problem?
Physical activity and proper nutrition have been proven to improve problems like high blood pressure, lower LDL cholesterol, & lower glucose & triglyceride levels. All of those risk factors are what drive chronic illnesses like Type 2 diabetes.
If you are beginner to exercise something as simple as 10 minutes of walking (even if just around your house) helps! Anything is better than nothing.
Try to have a fresh fruit and/or vegetable on your pate at every meal. You can sneak these things in too! (example: Chili, or spinach in your scrambled eggs).
3. What advice do you have for beginners to exercise?
If you are not relatively healthy, make sure you get your doctors approval first
A lot of people get intimidated to even start an exercise program
Start off by making small goals for yourself and slowly changing habits
For example, if you aren’t comfortable with a gym membership, start with home videos! You can use your stairs, a couch, a door, etc in any exercise routine.
4. How much exercise do we actually need?
Recommended about is 150 minutes a week
If you break that down, that’s at least 30 minutes 5 times a week
However, in life, that can be hard to find that time!
Even if you can fit 15 minutes into your day at home that works. You can do two 15 minute sessions in a day too if you do not have 30 minutes in one block.
At the end of the day, it matters on what your mindset is if you are going to make these changes and find this time in the day to meet these guidelines.
5. What are some tips & tricks to incorporating more exercise into your routine?
Parking far away from the store or office doors
Taking stairs rather than the elevator
Instead of emailing someone at work, go to their desk!
Walk the outside of your office building
It’s really about what is going to fit in your lifestyle. Every little bit helps.
Switch smoking or alcohol as a stress reliever to taking a walk
6. Can you pitch us on fruits and vegetables?
They are the only foods that contain phytotochemicals (which can only be found in natural living substances).
Those fight off the free radicals that we take in from the bad foods we do it, or when we don’t get enough exercise.
Free radicals create bad cells in our DNA structure, which can produce some common diseases.
To fight this off, eat your fruits and veggies!
7. What are some healthier snacks we can eat?
You can still eat chips and cookies, but just do it in moderation.
Greek yogurt is a great snack because it has less sugar than regular yogurt.
Look for low sugar, and high protein snacks to keep you full longer. For example, granola or granola bars (not full of sugar so check those labels!). Celery sticks with peanut butter & cheese sticks are also great, and easy, options.
8. What are some tools people can use to track their health?
There are so many apps like My Fitness Pal (which uses peer support to keep you on track and keep you motivated).
Most smartphones also have internal apps for health tracking (Samsung and iPhones for example).
At the very least they are great for tracking nutrition if it’s not as easy for you to track your steps with a mobile device.
If you don’t have a smartphone – rely on a buddy to workout with you!