Fit Foodie: A New Type Of Foodie
You must have read or heard the word foodie somewhere. On instagram, in some restaurants name, or your friends calling their self a fervid foodie and telling you all about how much they love to eat. You might ask what’s so special about loving food? Everyone likes to eat. So is everyone a foodie? NO. Speaking in general terms a foodie is a person who has an avid interest in food, who eats food not only out of hunger but due their interest or hobby. You might find these folks drooling over some recipe books in their free time, wondering what they will have for lunch or planning their next restaurant. If you ever get confused while choosing what to eat just ask a foodie for their opinion, they probably have try tried everything on the menu.
Food is an art.
It needs creativity, starting from cutting, cooking, garnishing till serving and foodies are their connoisseur.
Consider food an art. It needs creativity, starting from cutting, cooking, garnishing till serving and foodies are their connoisseur. Like every popular term “foodie” has become a fad; something everyone wants to be. Posting pictures of a Big Mac from 4 different angles and captioning foodie for life doesn’t really make you a foodie. Being a foodie means not only trying but seeking out new food. When it comes to making new recipes or trying something new on the menu, you’re all about that life.
At first glance the two phrases staying fit and being an avid foodie doesn’t seem to belong in the same sentence. How can someone eat all they want and still stay fit? Lets understand how people gain weight. Your weight depends on how many calories you consume, how many you burn and how many are stored. Now some people are genetically lucky as they can eat all they want and still not gain weight because they have a high metabolism, which means their body burns energy from food at a faster rate. But if you’re not one of those people then you’ll have to burn the same amount of calories you consume to maintain your weight.
In today’s hectic lifestyle it is hard to keep a tab on how many calories you consume. Immense work pressure, unbalanced diet, skipping meals, constant consumption of junk food not only leads to weight gain but also causes health problems like cardiovascular or heart diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure and many types of cancer. It also makes you sluggish and unable to focus on your work. So to prevent yourself from these health issues and to avoid a visit to your doctor it is important that you keep a healthy diet plan.
Mayo Clinic recommends that you exercise at least 30 minutes a day. Starting a day with exercising will make you feel energetic, reduce health problems, help you lose excess weight, make you feel happier and can even help with relaxation and sleep quality. Try including aerobic activities and strength training in your workouts. Modern aerobic activities include swimming, running or dancing. Even a walk outside can make you feel fresh. Strength training is the use of resistance to induce muscle contraction to build muscle. It can include the use of weight machines or your own weight.
One of the best things about doing regular exercise is that it allows you to have a cheat day. And there’s nothing wrong with treating yourself once in a while right? One cheat day in a week is accepted. Treat yourself, you earned it. Along with a good workout plan you need to have a better diet plan to make up for the proteins and carbohydrates you need through out the day
Basically, there are 5 major food groups:-
- Vegetables and Fruits
Salads are a great way of including fruits and vegetables in your diet. Not only do their bright colors look aesthetically pleasing but they taste delicious too!
- Meat products
Avoid red meats (beef, pork and lamb) as they have more saturated(bad) fat than chicken and fish. Saturated fat can raise blood cholesterol and make heart diseases worse. The unsaturated fats in fish are considered good for your health.
- Whole-grain foods
Whole-grain foods like oats, wheat, rice, corn are considered healthy for your body. They are packed with nutrients including protein, fiber, B vitamins, antioxidants, and trace minerals (iron, zinc, copper, and magnesium).
- Dairy products
Dairy group includes milk, yoghurt, cheese and fortified soy milk. They provide you with calcium, vitamin D, potassium, protein, and other nutrients needed for good health throughout life. Chose low-fat or fat-free to cut calories and saturated fat.
Eating a variety of healthy foods promotes good health and helps you protect yourself against chronic diseases. Also make your meals interesting, so that you don’t get bored with your diet. Try to include each food group in your daily diet plan.
Also remember that homemade food is the best when it comes to healthy living. Some food stuffs that you might consider healthy might be doing you more harm than good. Processed health bars are not necessarily healthy for you. But they are packed with sugar. Opt for gluten free muesli bars. Granola seems like a healthy breakfast but it’s high in calories and some brands contain a lot of sugar.
Making a fresh fruit smoothie is always better than buying fruit juices from supermarket shelves. Try to avoid processed food and stick with organic. Make a habit of reading the food labels before purchasing so you know what you’re putting inside your body.
Here is how you can make your meals even more interesting. You could add these snacks in your diet plan:-
Apricots, raisins, almonds, cashew nuts are high in natural sugars, rich in minerals, proteins, vitamins and fiber add to that they taste delicious. Choose black raisins over golden as they have fewer calories and sodium.
Both combos taste fantastic. Banana and peanut butter make a good pre-workout meal as bananas are easy to digest. You could even try this Peanut butter banana smoothie.
Rich in magnesium they make a satisfying and portable snack. Choose dark chocolate with more than 70% of Cocoa content.
It’s a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, potassium and vitamin B. They are helpful in weight control.
It’s an excellent snack for kids as it’s a good source of protein and calcium. You can combine it with fresh fruits, dried fruits and nuts.
For those who think eating healthy is costly, try to not eat junk food for a month and see how much money you save. On an average eating healthy will cost you $550 more per year than eating unhealthy. That’s $1.50 per day. Trip to a doctor costs around $150-$200. Choice is yours. You don’t need to be a spendthrift to live a healthy life. You just need to make better life choices
Being a fit foodie is about being a fitness enthusiast and still be able to savour all the delicacies the world has to offer. Don’t be too hard on yourself. You don’t need to prohibit yourself from eating your favorite junk food. You just need to know where to draw the line. A balanced diet is important to live a healthy life. Too much of something is always bad for health. So be the Thanos of your life and perfectly balance your diet plan. Make the healthy choices and take good care of your body.
Why just be a foodie, when you can be a fit foodie?
HK writes 