Nutritional health
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Your health & wellbeing journey is not about reaching the so-called ‘healthy weight’ of a BMI below 25. A slim person who has a terrible diet, downs loads of sugar-loaded drinks, sleeps too little and has other harmful habits is likely to have poor nutritional health - and may have poor mental health too ...
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Healthcare professionals usually say we should acheive a BMI that is lower than 25. This is just so not going to happen for most people ... but, what can happen is that you can definitely achieve a weight that is 5% lower than what it is right now! |
"So what does 5% lower mean in pounds actually lost?"
... Okay, let's take a person who weighs 100kg (15st 10lb) ...
If they lose 5kg (11lbs) of that 100kg they will have achieved a weight (95kg or 15st 1lb) that is 5% lower than what it was at the start of their journey ...
"So what does 5% lower mean in pounds actually lost?"
... Okay, let's take a person who weighs 100kg (15st 10lb) ...
If they lose 5kg (11lbs) of that 100kg they will have achieved a weight (95kg or 15st 1lb) that is 5% lower than what it was at the start of their journey ...
This may not seem very much to some people ... and 95kg will still be above a BMI of 25 ... but studies show that a person losing as little as 5% of excess body fat may see their blood pressure go down ... and have lower blood cholesterol ... and have healthier blood sugar levels.
And ,,, if that person also gets more active and switches from a diet that has a lot of highly-processed foods to one that includes more plant foods (think fruit, veg, pulses, nuts and seeds), then they will have taken a massive step towards reducing their risk of getting heart disease ,,, and type 2 diabetes - and quite possibly improving their mood at the same time.
A 'small' weight loss ... but big health and wellbeing benefits. How cool is that?
Eating well helps us to be physically and mentally well and most people can get all the nutrients needed by eating a mix of the healthier choices illustrated by the Eatwell Guide ...
Eating well helps us to be physically and mentally well and most people can get all the nutrients needed by eating a mix of the healthier choices illustrated by the Eatwell Guide ...
Click here to see a larger image
Click here to see a larger image
Some of us, however, might not be getting enough of what our body needs, because of the choices we make. It's okay to eat 'junk' food occasionally (it does taste rather good after all!), but it's not going to do much for looking after your health or wellbeing if you eat it most of the time!
Click on the tiles below to read about some of the nutrients that are commonly in short supply in people's diets, particularly if they are eating sugary or fatty food a lot of the time, and learn about what these nutrients do and know which foods contain them.
