PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):--- It’s a new year – 2025 - and many set out their goals which also include achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.
In order to achieve this, you have to eat healthy, get a good sleep every night, reduce daily stress, and step up your daily physical activity.
Every year, Collective Prevention Services (CPS), a department within the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (Ministry VSA), as part of its annual calendar of observances, highlights and creates awareness about health matters.
In its annual calendar for the month of January, CPS profiles healthy weight and nutrition.
Healthy eating has to do with eating healthy food such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products.
Physical activity could be a leisure walk for 60-90 minutes daily, but it all depends on your intended goal. Do you want to lose weight or maintain your current weight? You can do brisk walking for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity each week, such as swimming laps.
Make sure to include seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, beans/peas, soy products, nuts, and seeds. Your new way of eating for 2025 should be low in added sugars, salt, saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol.
Eating healthy doesn’t mean that you have to give up those comfort foods; on the contrary. You can still enjoy your favorite foods but eat them less often (once a week); eat smaller amounts; and try a lower-calorie version.
Physical activity is always good for anyone’s lifestyle. A person who suffers from obesity will have serious consequences eventually, where it concerns diseases and other health challenges.
Make sure you have regular physical activity as it will have immediate and long-term health benefits. It improves brain health, reduces the risk of disease, strengthens bones and muscles, and further improves your ability to do everyday activities.
Other examples of physical activity are light yard work, actively playing with children, biking, jogging, running, and most competitive sports.
Contact your family physician or CPS at 914 for more information on maintaining a healthy weight and the nutritional benefits for 2025.
