Can Diet Affect Behaviour?
People diet year round for various reasons and it does affect mood health and fitness outcomes, habits and behaviour. As health & fitness professionals we know that following a few basic principles given to us by dietary experts goes a long way to helping us support our day to day well-being. These are simply the unsexy basics we can discipline within ourselves as we choose to in our daily routines. Apologies for the lack of quick-fix miracle diets- as yet we have not seen any evidence long term that this approach is safe or viable outside the scope of professional medical support. Here are a few basic tips to help you help yourself day to day or week to week.
1) Eat a varied diet- enjoy your food but keep in balanced in favour of the health, well-being, fitness outcomes you desire for yourself- You can achieve this learning the fundamentals of nutrition and experimenting for yourself. this will allow you to self-coach, to support that we have dedicated Pinterest board with the fundamentals covered it’s free and updated every Monday. We also have a download; Food-Made Easy which will help you with self-coaching.
2) Make sure you get movement into your week- there is plenty of research to back us walking as a valuable way to get in exercise and support mental health. If walking is not for you jogging could be a great alternative. You don’t need to be a fitness professional to be healthy or to train like one. Bodyweight exercises, exercise classes, lifting weight are all highly recommended options with a plethora of benefits including social, mental health, physical health and over all well-being.
3) Stay hydrated- The brain and digestive system work well when hydrated, lacking water can lead to mental and physical fatigue. Don’t overdo it a couple of litres per day on average is recommended- juice and flavoured vitamin tablets are fine, avoid having too many stimulant drinks as they can be dehydrating.
4) Eat regularly, consistently, plan meal times so your body can get into a routine. There is no trick to metabolism, dieting will slow it down where-as consistency will help keep it balanced.
5) Rest and recover- Don’t overdo it, busyness is not necessarily productive or helpful. If you need to rest then rest, everything else will feel so much easier as a result.
Your food and nutrition habits will affect your mood and behaviour- in fact understanding this can help you regulate habits to help with mood, stress, and other areas of your life.
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