National Fitness Day takes on Wednesday 20th September 2023, and it is a great opportunity to highlight the importance and role physical activity plays in bettering our mental and physical health. It aims to bring people together though physical activity and is a day to celebrate what our own health and fitness means to us.
The theme for this year’s National Fitness Day is ‘Your Health is for Life‘, which aims to encourage people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds to recognise the benefits of being active.
Tips on Ways to Stay Fit & Healthy
National Fitness Day can also encourage those who don’t have a fitness routine or maybe are struggling to maintain good mental and physical health to take those steps forward to change this and improve their lifestyles.
Here are a few tips to help you get started:
Eating a balanced diet
One of the most important factors in staying fit and healthy is by eating a diet that is balanced and contains food from multiple food groups.
Your diet should consist of the following:
- 5 portions of fruit and vegetables daily
- Starchy carbohydrates like bread, rice and potatoes
- Dairy products or dairy alternatives
- Proteins like beans, meat and fish
- Unsaturated fats, e.g. vegetable and olive oil
You should try and limit the amount of food that contains high amounts of fat, sugar and salt. If your diet is balanced, it supplies your body with the nutrients it needs in order to function properly. Without food from all of these groups, you are prone to become more fatigued, to infections and disease too.
Hydration
It’s vital to the performance of your body, particularly during physical activities, that you replace any fluid lost whilst you sweat during exercising. If you become dehydrated you may feel fatigued, not be able to think clearly and your body’s functions may slow down. Drink plenty of fluids not only during physical activities but before and after too for optimal hydration.
Avoid smoking & alcohol
When you drink alcohol, you add unnecessary calories to your body, and drinking too much can you leave you in an uncomfortable and bad mood the next day. Alcohol is also a diuretic, which means it makes your body produce more urine than usual, leaving your body dehydrated. It is vital that during any physical activity or exercise that you are hydrated enough, so our bodies can retain the normal flow of blood which is essential for oxygen and nutrients to reach the muscles and organs.
Exercise is known to reduce the withdrawal effects that some people may feel when they quit smoking. It decreases stress, irritability and a lack of concentration. Your lung function will also immediately begin to improve when you quit smoking, making physical activity that much easier, as well as reducing symptoms such as wheezing and coughing that could also interfere with any form of exercise.
Sleep
A lack of sleep can impact both your mental health and physical health massively if it is occurring over a prolonged period of time. It can cause weight gain, acne, mood changes and actually make you at risk of developing heart diseases and diabetes. Your body needs at least 7 hours of sleep in order to repair, heal and function properly. It can also become incredibly difficult to maintain a physical fitness routine without enough sleep due to issues such as tiredness, reduced muscle strength and also weight gain that occur with sleep deprivation.
You can improve your sleep by:
- Reducing alcohol and caffeine intakes
- Avoid heavy meals before bedtime
- Exercising regularly but not before you go to bed
- Limit electronic devices before bedtime
- Spend an hour or so before bedtime doing relaxing, calming activities such as reading, knitting or meditating
Regular exercise
It can be tricky and intimidating to know where to start when exercising, especially if you are new to adding it into your daily routines. Your objective when exercising is to get some movement going in your body at least 4–5 times a week, or even every day if possible. The exercise should be spread evenly throughout the days and can range from the following:
- A short walk
- Running
- Playing a sport e.g. tennis, football or basketball
- Yoga
- Dancing
Exercising regularly improves more than your physical fitness but also increase your mood, make you feel more energised and even improve your sleep. It prevents you from developing long term conditions like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
