Proper nutrition is important if you want to be able to see the benefits of exercising, and should be considered a partner to exercise.  Your heart rate and metabloism are both elevated during exercise which helps your body to elevate the amount of calories being burned. Exercise also depletes our energy levels, so we must refuel them by eating healty foods that replace the energy stores that have been burned during exercise.

There is an increase in the breakdown of carbohydrates and fats during exercise, so these nutrients need to be replaced.   Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the body, and if you are working to try and build muscle, you will also need to consume an adequate amount of protein.  Consuming protein within an hour of a workout will help your body to use them most efficiently to work at building muscle.

Water is also important since you lose more fluid than normal during exercise from sweating.  If it is not replaced, it may leave the body dehydrated which could result in elevated body temperatures and heat stroke to mention a few health risks.  Since the body is made up mostly of water, it plays an important role in proper nutrition and in helping your body to recover from exercise demands. 

During exercise there is an increase in chemical reactions and the demands being put on the body.  Everything is working harder including the heart muscles, so you must replace what is being burned by supplying the body with adequate vitamins and other nutrients to ensure that the electrical activities in the heart continue to meet the demands that are being placed on it. 

Exercising regularly is very good for the body, unfortunately without good nutrition and a low fat, healthy diet, the visible results will not be as good.  It is great to watch the body change and the muscle tone develop as you work hard towards your goals and look and feel healthy.

The last important part of the whole proper fitness and nutrition lifestyle is recovery.  You need to make sure that your body gets the proper rest to recover from the demands put on it not only during exercise, but the day to day stresses as well.  During rest, the body heals and repairs itself so rest also plays and important role in staying healthy.

Here is the link again to the food pyramid and government recommendations for proper nutrition.  You will also find some other good information and suggestions on how to get the proper amount of exercise as well as tools to track your diet and exercise.

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