Why Maintain a Healthy Weight? 

Maintaining a healthy weight is important and correct diet and exercise can help to protect against multiple health conditions such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and the development of some cancers. One way in which we can make sure we keep at a healthy weight is to make sure we are eating the right amount for our body. Men on average need 2,500 calories and women need 2,000 calories to maintain a healthy weight. If you are putting on weight you will be eating in excess of what your body needs (positive energy balance) and if we are losing weight, we will be consuming less than our body is using (negative energy balance), obviously exercise can help make this deficit greater as we will be expending more calories when exercising which is why a combination of regular exercise and correct diet is essential to maintain a healthy weight.

How much should we eat? 

The amounts of what we eat and when we eat them are also important for controlling our weight. It’s widely accepted that we should be eating a wide range of food groups including 5 portions of fruit and veg per day, at least 2 portions of protein, Wholegrain or fibre rich carbohydrates with less fat, added salt and sugar, some dairy and small amounts of fat in our diets. We also should ensure we are properly hydrated drinking 6-8 glasses of water per day.

Eat Regularly 

Eating regular meals can help to reduce temptation to snack on unhealthy foods and can help to keep energy levels up. It is also important that we eat before we do some exercise. The body’s primary fuel source is carbohydrates so if we don’t eat before exercise, we are essentially starting on half a tank of fuel! It doesn’t have to be a big meal it can often just be a snack such as a banana or if exercising in the morning just some cereal or toast. This will make sure we have some fuel for our bodies to use when we exercise.

As part of our Keep It Healthy program we can offer dietary and exercise advice, so the program is entirely tailored to your needs. If you need any more information on the keep it healthy program, please speak to one of the exercise physiologists.

Jacky Raby, Exercise Physiologist 

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