Habits That Are Healthy In Moderation
As you explore positive lifestyle changes, you must not lose sight of balance. Some “healthy” habits are only healthy in moderation, but they backfire when you overdo it. Below are some of the top health and wellness changes you should implement mindfully.
1. Juicing
Juicing is a fast and easy way to obtain your daily servings of fruits and vegetables, but freshly squeezed juice recipes must be strategic, and fruit juice must be enjoyed in moderation.
Juice recipes with more than 20% fruit contain about a full day’s worth of sugar, or more than a day’s worth of sugar. So, aim for at least 80% vegetables.
Even with 80% or more vegetables, juicing eliminates most of the fiber content, so you aren’t obtaining all the nutrients of fruit and veggies.
Juice cleanses are antioxidant-rich, but they lack balanced nutrition. Blending whole fruits and vegetables with protein isolate powder retains fiber and is more filling and nutritious.
2. Taking Too Many Dietary Supplements
You don’t need to take every trending supplement. With tailored nutritional choices, you may not need all the supplements you’re currently taking. To determine what vitamins and minerals you’re short on, ask your physician for a vitamin deficiency test or take an at-home vitamin deficiency test.
You may be consuming more vitamins and minerals than your body can absorb at once.
Your gummy supplements may contain more than a day’s worth of sugar.
The quality of your supplements may be low and include fillers, dyes, and artificial flavoring.
3. Extreme Fasting and Caloric Reduction
Reducing calories is healthy in moderation, but you still need enough food to fuel and nourish your body. Deprivation diets are centered around calories and portion size, not nutrition. Even if the scale is moving, your results aren’t sustainable. Not to mention, extreme fasting and caloric reduction leave you tired, irritable, and with brain fog.
Deprivation diet meal plans are monotonous and lack nutrient diversity.
When you’re consistently short on nutrients, your body’s immune response declines.
Long-term low immune response contributes to a range of whole-body health concerns.
4. Working Out Too Much
Working out releases physical tension and emotional stress, increases energy, improves sleep, and supports heart health, digestive health, and immunity. As amazing as workouts make you feel, you must provide your body time to rest and repair.
Take at least 1 day off from high-intensity workouts per week to give your muscles time to repair.
When weight or resistance training, alternate muscle groups, and don’t forget small muscle groups.
Work with a dietitian to tailor your protein intake to speed recovery and build muscle tone and muscle mass.
5. Sleeping Too Much is Healthy in Moderation
The average adult requires 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. Sleeping more on vacation, when you have a cold or flu, to catch up when jet-lagged, or after a hectic week fall into the “healthy” in moderation category. Regularly sleeping 9 or more hours of sleep per night could be problematic.
Insomnia, night sweats, and other sleep disturbances may be a sign of a health condition, including perimenopause.
Sleeping too much decreases daily physical movement, which increases your risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and physical pain, including headaches.
Sleeping too much may be a sign of sleep apnea, depression, or clenching your jaw or grinding your teeth while sleeping.
Let’s Discuss Healthy and Balanced Meals That Support Your Lifestyle
Instead of eating in moderation, eat healthful and filling foods that energize and nourish your body while supporting your weight loss and wellness objectives. What your body needs varies in each season of life. I’ll work with you to tailor meal plans centered around flavorful foods you love.