I always follow the belief that there are three components to a healthy, balanced lifestyle; and those are Diet (or nutrition- what you are eating on the day to day), exercise, and getting adequate sleep. Whenever people make changes to their current lifestyle that effects any one, or all of these major components it is important that they know how each effects the body.
For example, your diet effects your body in a number of ways. There is a reason why you will see all over the place that results are 70% diet and 30% exercise. Altering your eating habits can alter insulin levels throughout the day which can be beneficial or harmful depending on how you plan out your meals. The goal is to balance out your plate with macronutrients (fats, proteins, carbohydrates), and eat frequently to keep blood sugar levels steady and avoid spikes or drops, to prevent your metabolism from slowing down. This can change the way your body utilizes the macronutrients. Frequent drops in insulin levels, can cause your body to store more fat or carbohydrates as a sort of survival or starvation mode. Eating the wrong foods at night can effect the way your body works while you sleep or it can even effect the way you sleep, and how you dream.
Exercise effects the body by imposing stress on the muscles. It is important to understand the significance of breaking down your routine so to avoid overtraining the muscle groups, and balancing out the strength of each muscle group. Circuit training is okay depending on the routine, but being aware of where and how you could be overtraining is important, to ensure maximal results. It is also important to get adequate rest for your muscle groups to allow them time to recover and heal. This is an important part of exercise, because rest prevents injury and can maximize strength and results when the muscle can heal properly.
Sleep is crucial for life. Your body needs rest to recover, and provide you with energy and clear focus everyday for anything you do. It is also when growth hormones are their peak for optimal recovery and muscle growth. So if someone you know thinks they are a badass because they can run a day on 3 hours of sleep… They really aren’t. Remember to allow yourself time to sleep. 🙂
Check out these articles below for more information on this topic:
http://www.newhealthguide.org/Why-Is-It-Important-To-Have-A-Balanced-Diet.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/behar2
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20459221,00.html
