The 4 Main Benefits of Eating Healthy

I honestly cannot extol the benefits of eating healthy enough. Many people feel depressed and lethargic due to their diet, and yet have no idea that it is their diet that makes them feel this way!
Just in case you didn’t know, here are the four main benefits of eating a healthy diet.

1. Energy!

Most of my friends who have struggled with their weight have had the mistaken idea that eating a healthy diet will leave you feeling hungry and unsatisfied, when the exact opposite is the case! While a tiny McDonald’s meal, which is absolutely packed with calories, can leave you wanting more, a healthy meal should make you feel absolutely full with minimal calorie intake.
But the best thing about eating healthy is that it isn’t all about ‘feeling’ full, it’s about the actual value of the food that you eat. When every single thing you eat is packed with nutrients, you genuinely do feel more alive than when the food you eat is calorie-dense yet bereft of nutrients. When you eat healthy, even though you haven’t eaten a huge amount of calories, you should still feel invigorated and full of energy. This makes you ready to face your day and, best of all, ready to get some exercise too.

2. Feel happier

It’s really not an illusion that you’ll feel better when eating a healthy diet, it’s scientifically proven. Healthy foods such as cheese, chocolate and lean turkey all contain an amino acid known as tryptophan, which is converted to serotonin in the body. Serotonin, you may know, is the  neurotransmitter responsible for the feeling of happiness and relaxation. Indulging in vices such as alcohol and nicotine, meanwhile, can reduce the amount of serotonin that reaches your brain.
If you feel happier, you are more likely to want to go out and get more exercise. This will produce endorphins (another neurotransmitter, this time responsible for that feeling of joyful reward that you get when winning a prize, for example), which in turn make you feel happier and more likely to want to be even more active, which then produces more endorphins. Generally, the more active you are, the more able you are to deal with stress and the happier you are. The happier and less stressed you are, the more likely you are to live an active lifestyle. And so it goes on.

3. Lose weight painlessly

Simply by eating healthy, you should soon find that you begin to lose weight. This is due to the natural result of your increased energy resulting in increased energy-expenditure and a faster metabolism. This is the best way to lose weight, as it involves a permanent change in diet and lifestyle.
However, in order to maximize the benefits of your healthy diet, you’ll need to exercise too. An easy way to get your daily exercise is by getting a piece of home-gym equipment such as an elliptical machine. This will allow you to fit your exercise around muscle groups and aren’t as  monotonous as exercise bikes or treadmills. I can vouch for Schwinn elliptical machines and Horizon elliptical trainers, but of course it’s always a good idea to compare different types of machine online before deciding which one to buy.

4. Be healthier

Many people seem to forget the original point of a healthy diet, which wasn’t just to be slim and attractive, but to minimize the incidence of disease and promote longevity. It just so happens that being slim and attractive are side-effects of living a healthy lifestyle. Following a healthy diet will mean that your likelihood of diseases such as heart disease and diabetes is vastly reduced. Consuming the higher level of antioxidants that are found in fruit and vegetables also means that your incidence of cancer and the speed at which your cells age will be reduced.
There is absolutely no doubt that following a healthy diet has innumerable benefits for both body and mind. The question is; can you resist fat, sugar and salt? It may be far easier than you think.

About the Author:

Ever since Melissa Cameron became a freelance writer, she’s become fanatical about fitness. It’s easy to start putting on weight and getting out of shape when you lead a sedentary lifestyle, but Melissa’s here to tell you why you shouldn’t let that stop you. She loves hiking and camping, and is a big fan of yoga too. She works out on her elliptical trainer at home most days of the week and blogs about rear drive elliptical reviews and elliptical trainers that are the best on the market.

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