No, “eat, hydrate, sleep, repeat” isn’t another movie to rival “Eat Pray Love” that starred Julia Roberts. It should be a mantra for everyone that wants to be healthier. Fitness is more than just going through the motions of exercise. It means you live healthier. Living a healthier lifestyle includes getting adequate sleep, eating a healthier choice of food and hydrating frequently. While most people realize good nutrition is important, adequate sleep and hydration is often an afterthought.
Yes, a healthy diet is where every fitness regimen should start.
You can’t out-exercise a bad diet. When you consider that it would take hours to exercise away the extra calories in a Big Mac Supersized meal, you start to realize that maintaining weight control starts with what you eat. A healthy diet isn’t just about carbs and calories. It’s about good nutrition. Your body needs nutrients to function properly and many of the foods people eat are devoid of that nutrition, just delivering calories. That not only affects your weight, but your hormonal balances, how healthy you are and how well you function.
You might think it’s a badge of honor to burn the candle at both ends, but it’s not.
Your body heals when you sleep, which is important for building muscles. When you workout, it creates microtears in the muscle, which is replaced with stronger tissue, making it bigger and stronger. Another thing occurs when you sleep. It’s the regulation of hormones. If you get too little sleep, it can cause an imbalance. Two hormones that are especially affected are ghrelin—the hunger hormone—and leptin—the hormone that makes you feel full. Lack of sleep causes an increase in ghrelin and a decrease in leptin, so you’ll feel hungrier.
Hydration is key to weight loss and good health.
If you aren’t adequately hydrated, you’ll feel sleepy, have achy joints, poor digestion and even difficulty functioning mentally. Instead of grabbing a cup of coffee to wake you up, try a bottle or glass of water. It can work extremely well. Water not only improves blood volume and circulation, but it can also improve oral hygiene and make you feel fuller if consumed before a meal. Since the body is between 50 to 75% water, it’s easy to understand how important it is.
- If you don’t like water, try making infused water. Simply add pieces of fruit, herbs or vegetables to water and let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours. Then remove the fruit, herb or vegetable, leaving just the flavor.
- Older people are often misdiagnosed with dementia, when in reality, they simply are dehydrated. Headaches and muscle pains are also a sign of mild dehydration. Try drinking a glass of water to see if it helps.
- Keeping your bedroom cooler, around 60 to 68 degrees, and completely dark, is important for a good night’s sleep. If it’s too warm, it can disturb the REM sleep, which is the first of the various stages of sleep.
- Eating healthy should be a top priority. In fact, it also helps with getting adequately hydrated, since you get approximately 20% of the fluid you need from the food you eat. If you’re eating fresh fruits and vegetables, it helps hydration.
For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness