Choosing the Right Model: Reaching Fitness Goals

Healthy Eating Habits

Metabolism is the process by which a cell converts nutrients into energy or materials for growth, repair, reproduction, and maintenance. Metabolism changes the food you eat into energy that your body can use. The food you eat determines how well your body handles metabolic processes. By eating wholesome foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins, you can help your body grow, develop, and function more efficiently. Take a moment to view this interactivity on healthy eating habits. Click the player button to begin.

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After you are finished eating, your digestive system takes over to break down food. Enzymes are responsible for breaking down proteins, fats, and carbohydrates into compounds that your body can use. Proteins are broken down into amino acids. Fats are broken down into fatty acids. Carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars. The body uses these sugars, amino acids, and fatty acids as energy sources.

You can also think of metabolism as something that influences how easily your body gains or loses weight. Calories are units that measure how much energy is in a food item. Your body converts all foods into glucose, and if glucose needs to be stored for later use, it will be turned into glycogen. If you do not use these stores of energy, they will be turned into fat. If you eat more calories than your body needs, you will gain weight from storing these fats.

It is recommended that you pay attention to your body mass index to make sure you are at healthy weight in relation to your height. A person with a BMI score of under 18.5 is considered underweight. A normal-weight BMI score is between 18.5 and 24.9. A person with a BMI score of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, while a BMI score of 30 or more indicates that the person may be obese.

It is important to take your body's energy needs into account to know how to avoid improperly fueling your machine. Keep in mind, however, that your energy needs, and more specifically, your caloric expenditure versus your caloric intake, change between adolescence and adulthood. For example, if you currently live an active lifestyle, you need more nutrients than you would if you lived a sedentary lifestyle. Fruits and vegetables are good sources of nutrients that will enable adolescents to increase caloric intake while simultaneously maintaining a healthy weight. You should also incorporate a lot of calcium into your diet by eating foods like milk, cheese, and beans. At times when you experience a growth spurt, you likely will require more energy and nutrients as you build muscles and bones.

As you grow into adulthood, your energy needs change; although if you remain active, they do not change significantly. For instance, you will continue to require grains, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and dairy. Gender also plays a role in the amount of nutrition adults require. Particularly if a woman is pregnant, she requires about three hundred additional calories than otherwise. Regardless of age, the best way to remain healthy is to balance and vary your diet.

Preference also factors into a person's diet, whereby food is chosen based on tastes. Conversely, however, some people adhere to a special diet because of health conditions or beliefs. For instance, a person with diabetes or high cholesterol may need to subscribe to a diet restrictive of certain types of foods that could exacerbate the condition. Similarly, vegetarians eat primarily plant-based diets.

People on restrictive diets may need to take nutrient supplements to receive all of the essential vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Iron, calcium, and vitamins D and C are popular supplements. Recently, research has shown that the essential fats in fish oil have many health advantages, including cardiovascular benefits, weight management, and brain health. Many people take a daily multivitamin to ensure they obtain all essential nutrients. As with any nutritional supplement, consult with your doctor to receive professional advice about dosage, and to verify that the supplement does not react with any other medications you take.

 

Dancing

Social dance is dance that occurs within a group of people where socializing is the primary focus of the dance. The majority of dances include partner dancing. This category also includes a wide variety of group or line dancing:

Unlike social dance, concert dance, more often called theatre dance, is performed in front of an audience. It is an artistic expression that tells a story. The following is a collection of concert dance styles:

Ceremonial dance is a form of dance to pray in thanksgiving or to ask for success in various life events. There are dances of war, romance, cosmic processes, and many more. Ceremonial dances showcase the culture of a people. Most Native American dances are performed on the feet, while many Asian and Islander dances are performed seated using only the upper body to convey meaning.

Competitive dance is a popular category that includes any of the other categories particular to the competition. It has become more popular with the broadcasting of competitions on television and YouTube™. Dance competition has even entered the home with Dance-Dance Revolution™, Wii™, Xbox®, and Play Station®.

Fitness dance, founded in the late 1960s, is a category used specifically for raising the heart rate and maintaining it for the sole purpose of fitness and wellness. Aerobic dance, the more popular name, incorporates traditional exercise moves to the beat of music. Fitness dance has recently taken dance moves from other categories to create new fun and exciting exercise routines:

You might already be an avid dancer. If not, do not worry. Just as with sports, games, and recreational activities, the people who participate have a variety of skill levels. Focus on feeling the music, feeling your body move, and receiving health benefits from dancing.

 

Reaching Fitness Goals Review

Now that you have learned about healthy eating habits and dance, review your knowledge in this non-graded activity. Click the player button to get started.