Aging – getting older is one aspect of life we know will take place. Perhaps the mere thought of the word applied to you will cause you to shudder, and say never not me. Well “you” can deny it, have surgery to correct sagging skin and spend a fortune on drugs, but the most effective action you can take is good diet and exercise. Both of these will reduce the aging process.
The vast majority of people understand the correlation between a poor diet and poor health. The media announces every day the epidemic levels of diabetes type 2, increased hypertension (high blood pressure) and of course heart disease. Yet fully understanding the relationships between diet and good health we choose diets that are unhealthy for our long term well being and increased weight gain.
To reduce the diet concept to the simplest understandable terms, multiple your weight by 10 to give you your required caloric input per day. My weight is 170 lbs, 170 x 10 = 1700 calories per day for a base number.
The 1700 calories is 50% carbohydrates, 40 % protein and 10% fat. And yes, 1 gram of protein is 4 calories, I gram of carbs is 4 calories and I gram of fat is 9 calories. If I were watching my diet I would stay within these limits. If I did 1 hour on the tread mill and used 350, I would add the 350 calories to the 1700 calories for the day’s calorie requirements.
When you first start to count calories in this manner, keep track of the food you are eating daily, any exercise programs you are using, and your weight once a week. Within a few weeks you will have the numbers and amounts down in your mind. You will know the caloric value of the food you are eating.
Managing my calorie intake in this fashion will keep my weight at approximately 170 pounds without the gain of excessive weight or fat.
