Calories-Shmalories

Research coming out of the United Kingdom provides unequivocal information about a good diet and
exercise plan: To improve your health and live a long, healthy life you need both. Those with good
exercise habits who neglect a healthy diet run into cardiovascular problems down the road. Those who
eat a great diet filled with fruits and vegetables, nuts and grains, who avoid exercise face health
problems as they age. For real wellness, having both an exercise regimen and a good diet are key.
We have been amazed when people tell us that they use exercise to “burn off” a rich dessert or buttery
pasta dish. All of us have been conditioned to think about food and exercise in terms of calories, not the
multitude of other benefits they bring us. For example, a healthy diet is literally brimming with
thousands of phytonutrients, nutritional gifts we get directly from the plants we eat. Exercise does much
more than burn excess energy, it builds our muscles, strengthens our core, improves our cardiovascular
fitness, and brightens our mood.
Exercise and diet are two sides of a coin. Although calories are involved, by no means is consuming and
burning energy the main event in terms of your health. Instead, a good diet and plenty of exercise is
your insurance policy for a long and healthy life. Calories-shmalories: What we need is enough self-love
and respect for our bodies that we naturally want to take care of them.