When you were growing up, I bet you didn’t even think of the word ‘diet’.  In fact, most young people can get away with a less than perfect diet.  As a youth or a teen your probably didn’t see the effects of unhealthy eating or lack of physical activity. As you grow older, your body will change and soon enough you will see the effects of being a couch potato. Most people blame this on metabolism slowing down.

If you decide to neglect your body, then prepare for it to have a rapidly devastating visual and physical affect on your overall heath.  An unhealthy lifestyle ages a person in both looks and vitality, while those who take care of themselves can enjoy the benefits of a more youthful energetic body and usually they appear years younger as well.

“You are what you eat” – sound familiar?  There are piles of research papers validating how the vitamins and minerals in food are necessary for the body to replenish, heal and fuel itself.  There is also just as much data proving what the lack of these nutrients cause: a multitude of deficiencies that render the body helpless in fighting infections, fatigue, and physiological problems.

However, society is flooded with contradicting messages.  Fighting for consumer’s attention with the myriad of information on organic products, vegetarianism, juicing and designer water is the media’s pressure to save time and energy by purchasing pre-made, pre-packaged foods.  Little consideration is given to the fact that there could be just as many, if not more, chemicals and preservatives in those alternative selections.

Most of those full colored, hot bodied ads in the magazines are for packaged and processed items.  Why?  Manufacturers pull out all stops in getting the public to notice their products, and they usually succeed!  The public is so inundated with advertising that eating fake food isn’t given a moment’s thought.  Unfortunately, because the majority of people are used to eating this way, they don’t realize that it is keeping them from their highest potential of feeling great.

Once someone decides to improve their health and lifestyle, a diet change is usually paired with a new exercise regime.  And, for most adults, it becomes very apparent that an implementation of any physical workout can either be supported or hampered by their choice of diet.  If one listens to their body, it’s obvious that physical stamina varies from person to person.  This may be due to amount of sleep, time of day, or type of exercise being one is trying to attempt.  But there are many other factors as well, it could be due to a blood sugar drop, lack of stored carbohydrates, not enough protein, or other diet-related scenarios.  The older a person gets, the more obvious it becomes that eating a rounded diet of fresh foods, in as natural a state as possible, is necessary for maximum physical efficiency.

So why even bother with exercise if you improve your diet?  Well, why is it that so many athletes and celebrities who work out daily appear to be younger than their years?  Believe me, it’s not just from plastic surgery. Ok well, for some of those people it is, but the truth is, the body’s structure has intended it to do more than just sit. Until a person experiences the joys of a physical fitness outlet on a regular basis, they won’t understand the emotional and physical benefits that exercise brings.  The sense of achievement that accompanies every improvement in strength or endurance has no comparison.  Furthermore, the body is recapturing vitality-the essence of health, youth, and life itself.

When good nutrition and physical fitness work together, the body performs at its optimum.  A better diet results in more energy to exercise; more exercise means losing pounds and developing muscle.  More muscle means a stronger, leaner body.  A new body may motivate one to continue the positive cycle.  Finally, this healthier lifestyle will bring a wealth of emotional benefits, all of which may very well turn back the clock.