Articles on Exercise | Topics: exercise, exercises, exercising
by Nasir Reeves
While a good diet and a strong exercise program are important for all different kinds of people, both are especially important for senior citizens. Studies show that seniors who pay careful attention to the foods they eat and their activity levels not only have the tendency to live longer they also live fuller lives. Instead of being confined to a chair or a sedentary lifestyle, healthy seniors have fewer medical expenses, are able to get out with friends more, and have a better overall quality of life.
One of the first ways to achieve these results that other healthy seniors do is to pay careful attention to your diet. The Federal Food and Drug Administration have recently revised the Food Guide Pyramid to reflect the needs of seniors. In general, a sixty-seven year old has some pretty specific intake needs. The first category you should be aware of is the grains category. If you are a sixty-seven year old individual who gets around thirty minutes of activity each day, you should consume five ounces of grains each day. At least half of your grain consumption should be whole grains. Things like whole-wheat sandwich bread, whole-wheat bagels and cereals at breakfast, and whole-wheat pasta or brown rice with lunch and dinner. The next major category you should focus on is vegetables. At the minimum, you should consume at least two cups of vegetables each day. Dark, leafy green vegetables like spinach should make up more of your diet than any other type of vegetable. Orange vegetables like yams and carrots should also make up a good part of your diet.
Try to vary your vegetables on both a daily and a weekly basis. Fruits should also be a serious part of your daily diet. Try to take in one and one half cups of fruit each day. Whether you decide to use frozen, canned, or fresh fruit, eating a variety of fruits is essential to this part of your diet. Fruit juice should be a very small part of this category as they only give you a small amount of fruit with a large amount of calories. Milk products should be a large part of your daily diet. You should take in at least three cups of milk products each day. Some good choices for your daily intake in this category are low fat cheeses, yogurts, and milk drinks. Milk substitutes are appropriate if you are lactose intolerant. The final category is meats and beans. You should have at least five ounces in this category each day. All of your meat choices should be lean, low fat cuts. Poultry is also appropriate. How you prepare your meat is also essential. Grilling, broiling, or baking the meat of your choice is the best way to get the nutritional content you need. Beans are also an important part of this category. Pinto beans, kidney beans, and lentils are very important to your daily diet. Be sure to vary your protein intake as much as possible.
| Quote of the Day |
In order to cultivate yourself and to drop no lower than the level of the milieu in which you have landed, it is not enough to read Pickwick and memorize a monologue from Faust.... You need to work continually day and night, to read ceaselessly, to study, to exercise your will.... Each hour is precious.
| —Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904) |
|
|
Diet isn't the only part of this equation, though. Staying active is also an essential part of becoming a healthy senior. While you may have never had a strong exercise program before in your entire life, it is never too late to start. If, however, your body is not used to regular exercise, your first step on your way to a good exercise program should be your doctor's office. He or she can best advice you on how to proceed. Once your doctor allows you to begin an exercise program, the best advice is to start slowly. Don't expect to be running marathons in a week's time. Begin your new exercise program with a plan. There are three major exercise groups you should be aware of: aerobic exercise, strength training exercise, and flexibility exercise. Ensuring that your plan includes all three of these areas is an important part of becoming healthy. Choose activities that you like, and spend at least thirty minutes each day engaged in physical activity.
Considering diet and exercise an important part of your life will help you become the active senior you've always wanted to be with benefits like fewer health problems and a longer life span.
|
We strive to provide
only high quality articles on our website. If
there is a specific exercise-related topic that you do not see but would like us to cover, please contact us here.
Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "Senior Savvy – Easy Diet and Exercise Tips For Seniors" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by HealthExerciseSports.com. |
How Cardio Fitness Programs Accelerate Weight Loss
By Fariishta Zimmerman
Cardio fitness programs are aerobic exercises that help you loose weight. The more vigorous the exercise, the more amount of fat and calories you burn....
Food Containers
By Jerome England
One of the biggest problems I have when it comes to keeping my home clean is figuring out what to do with the food containers that seem to pile up. I have a very small place, and even one pizza box can be a problem....
Smoking and Birth Control Pills Don't Mix
By Angelique Vance
Although the risks of smoking and taking birth control pills have been well documented for several years, many women are still unaware of how lethal the combination can really be. Here are eight things you should know about the dangers of smoking while taking birth control pills....
The Art of Brushing – How You Brush Your Teeth Could Be A Factor of Halitosis
By Branden Francis
Most of people can remember a time when they were little, and hearing parents telling them to brush their teeth so they won't fall out. This makes absolutely no sense to most children because their teeth were falling out anyway....
Five Tips to Avoid Weight Gain when calling it quits on Smoking
By Geneva Collier
One concern of many who try to quit smoking is the possibility of weight gain. In truth, it does happen....
Backyard Football
By Leonardo Stone
Every year at Christmas my family would play a game of backyard football if the weather was right. It was often just me and my cousins, but the adults would always end up watching us out the window once we got going....
|
