Now, more than ever, we understand how important our health is.
Staying healthy is easy to do when we know what food to avoid and what food to eat every day in order to balance our immune system, get rid of unwanted fat, and boost our vitality.
On the webinar “I am what I eat. Healthy Nutrition & Mindful Eating”, hosted by VIRTUAL by Mindspace, we explored the benefits of a healthy diet and relaxed with a mindful eating meditation with Elena Cosbuc, Certified Nutritionist, Corporate Wellness Coach, Functional Training Specialist, and founder of Happy Monday Project.
Here are some key takeaways from the webinar:
- For a happy, healthy life, we need to do more than fuel our bodies with food. In fact, the pillars of longevity and healthy life are, in this particular order: proper breathing, hydration, sleep and sun exposure, healthy food, good posture, exercise, positive thinking, and good relationships. When we manage to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, we can relax and enjoy our beautiful lives.
- When thinking about adopting a healthy lifestyle, we should start by identifying and shifting the bad habits in our lives into positive ones. It is scientifically proven that junk food can lead to an increased risk of chronic conditions, such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and more. That’s because your body needs nutrients, not just empty calories like those found in junk food, excessive sugar, soft drinks, or excessive alcohol. And when you only eat unhealthy food, your body will struggle to maintain a balance, but in the long term it could fail. It’s like having a racing car but instead of putting high-quality gasoline inside, you put mud. What would you expect the car to do?
- The lack of movement, or sedentarism, is another habit that has a negative impact on your health. If you don’t exercise, your body will become rigid and aching. When inactive, your body stops burning fat and the blood runs slowly, thus clogging the flow to your heart, brain, and limbs, leading to brain fog, tiredness, depression, obesity, diabetes, back pain, various veins, and so on.
- When talking about the food that is good for your health, you should probably need to know that you need macronutrients — that you eat in large amounts and include the key building blocks of your diet — protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Once you eat them, your body will transform them into energy. You can find them in meat, dairy products, cereals, legumes, vegetables, and fruits — practically in all the food. Other nutrients are micronutrients — vitamins and minerals, usually found in small doses in food, but essential for your body to function properly.
- Although not a food, we need to drink at least eight cups of water every day to function properly. Nutritionists suggest drinking a glass of water 15 minutes before each meal, to prevent any possible interference with the digestion process. Some recent studies claim that we shouldn’t worry about drinking water after a meal or during a meal, but it’s not quite clear yet if that’s true. One small glass of water before bedtime may prevent heart attacks, but too much water before sleep may interrupt your sleep cycle and negatively impact your health. So, drink water throughout the day to stay hydrated.
- The ideal plate and the ideal day are terms used by nutritionists to help anyone understand portion sizes and the right proportion of each food group in every meal. You can use the examples provided in the webinar as guides for creating your healthy, balanced meals. They can also help you avoid falling into traps and ending up with meals that lack vegetables, which can affect your health in the long run.
- Mindful eating is not a diet, but a technique that allows you to be present when you are eating, so you can control your cravings, sensations, and emotions. You can use the meditation taught in the webinar to learn how to listen to your body, how to relax, improve your relationship with food, and, why not, lose some extra kilos by eating less food.
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About Happy Monday
Our mission is to help people live healthier, happier, more fulfilling lives through healthy nutrition, fitness, and mindfulness. We design and deliver onsite corporate wellness programs that are proven to enhance employees’ productivity, efficiency, and increase job satisfaction.
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