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Walk Your Way to Better Health

In fact, research shows that the list of health benefits you reap by simply putting one foot in front of the other is constantly growing. Here are just a few of the standout benefits your body enjoys by walking:

  • Reduces your risk of many cancers, including breast, colon, and prostate.

  • Reduces your risk of coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States
  • Improves your blood pressure and cholesterol
  • Raises your metabolism so that you burn calories at a faster rate
  • Promotes more restful sleep
  • Helps prevent the onset of non-insulin dependent (Type 2) diabetes.
  • Reduces your risk for osteoporosis.
  • Helps increase your energy levels, flexibility, and posture.
  • Slows aging by improving your brain function – one of the best benefits of walking!
  • Elevates your mood to prevent or reduce depression.

Advice for a Walking Workout

Grab your shoes, dog leash, buddy and family and hit the pavement. But first, here are some helpful tips to help you maintain proper form, prevent injury and maximize your workout:

  1. Don’t skip the warm up. Walking may not seem rigorous on your body, but even a moderate pace requires some easing into. Make sure to include at least five minutes of warm up, be it a slower walk or other movements, before you begin.
  2. Training is key. Because you often don’t break a sweat while walking, people tend to think, “It’s only a few miles. I don’t need to train first!” But you need to help your body build up to any activity, walking included. That’s especially true with long walks, multi-day events or when the terrain involves an incline.
  3. It’s all in the arms. get and keep those arms swinging, but make sure you’re pumping forward and back, not side-to-side. Cross-body or lateral arm swings don’t provide as much momentum, so keep those elbows in!
  4. Wear the right shoes. Just like runners often have their gait diagnosed by specialty athletic shoe stores to determine what type of shoe is best for them, walkers can benefit from that same precision. Getting properly fitted for your footwear can help with ankle support and balance.
  5. Let your toes in on the fun. Walking uses the intrinsic muscles in your feet and strengthening them can also improve balance and ankle support.
  6. Bring some weights along. Adding a few additional pounds to your ankles and/or wrists or just holding small dumbbells while you pump your arms helps improve the strength training aspect of walking. But always balance the weight out on both sides but don’t overdoing it.
  7. Change it up. The initial effectiveness you experience from your daily workout diminishes over time, causing people to plateau in their fitness goals. Avoid too much repetition by varying either your speed or your distance every few weeks. A 10 percent increase in either should do the trick.
  8. Don’t slouch those shoulders. Keeping your shoulders back and your head up helps stave off bad posture while walking, which can cause sciatic nerve pain. It also helps maintain a strong core.
  9. Beware 

    of over-striding. It’s possible to reach too far with your legs while walking, which causes undo strain on your joints and can lead to pulled muscles. Try to find your sweet spot.

Keep in mind that the most important thing about walking, exercise and eating healthier is to just start. Before you know it, you’ll be walki

ng your way to a more fit, healthier you.

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Healthy Eating

Healthy Foods Help to Kill Cravings

Cravings are definitely not fun! However, choosing the right healthy foods will actually help eliminate cravings over time.

Fewer cravings will allow you to focus more on the things throughout the day that bring you joy, so look for foods that are rich in fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. These foods will give you that “full” sensation and remove the desire to snack in between meals.

Healthy Food Is Actually Cheaper

 

Poor nutrition from a diet that mostly consists of processed, salty, sugary, and fried unhealthy foods contribute greatly to tooth decay, and diseases such as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and even cancer!

Purchase in season fruits and vegetables. Also, don’t forget frozen fruits and vegetables are just as good and provide nutrients. Eating healthy isn’t out of the question if you take the time to plan your meals. You’ll see that it can actually save you money in the long run. It saves you unwanted medical bills, medication and the extra pounds.

A healthy and active body is worth is, right?

Healthy Foods Can Make You Happier

Many studies support the truth that an unhealthy diet is constantly linked with mental health issues, depression and anxiety.

Choosing foods like

bananas, fish, oats, nuts, and seeds will help to boost your mood and assist you in gaining mental clarity. A happy body means a happy mind and more happy times!

Most Junk Foods Have Healthy Alternatives

Here’s a really fun fact: Most of your favorite unhealthy foods have healthier substitutes.

Social media has allowed many of the culinary world’s most renowned chefs to share healthy alternatives to some of the world’s most popular junk food dishes. Next time you’re browsing the web, choose to subscribe and follow a few pages that share recipes that are not only good to your tummy but also good to your entire body!

Once you find a recipe that works for you, whip up a few batches and freeze them for future indulgences.

Eating Healthy Can Reverse Illnesses

Just like unhealthy eating can cause serious health issues for your body, eating healthy can aid in reversing the effects of a diet disaster.

For example, type 2 diabetes patients who’ve committed to a low carb, high protein diet, have been able to reverse their type 2 diabetes diagnosis and stop the requirement for insulin pills and shots.

Think about all of the ways leafy greens, healthy fats, and organic fruits impact your body in a positive way!

A Healthy Diet Is More Effective Than Exercise

Although exercise is essential to keep your body running smoothly, it’s fair to recognize that everyone isn’t a “gym rat”. In fact, many people get zero enjoyment from the gym.

Losing weight or maintaining your current healthy weight will almost always come down to your diet. The 80/20 rule states, that 80% of weight loss comes from your diet, and only 20% of weight loss comes from exercise.

Exercise your fork and choose healthy foods that fuel your body. But as always we will encourage you to exercise and walk because those benefits are very important to our overall health.

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