Diet and nutrition tips for working women
We are no more in the times when women were simply home and kitchen bound. More and more women now-a-days are getting education, going out and working to earn their livelihood, become independent and establish themselves in their careers . Women have always been great multitaskers, they not only handle their home and family but also work towards their career and personal growth. Due to too many things being on plate at a time, sometimes women become a victim of poor fitness regime, which leads to chronic issues, disorders and obesity. Maintaining a healthy diet also becomes difficult with busy schedules. As a balanced diet is a cornerstone of health, it becomes very crucial to intake the right amount of nutrition rich foods to your body to help it maintain the energy levels and keep the internal organs.
Misconceptions About Fitness
There are many misconceptions out there that can give people wrong ideas about exercises; like, if working women want to get a tighter and more toned body, in order to do that, one needs to work for hours and hours, lifting weights is one of the best proven ways for getting a toned body. Also, people say that if weight training combined with a definite amount of calorie intake and a strict diet, works wonders on one's body.
But not actually!
Many hyped up diets, exercising tips and training patterns are available on social media. Those approaches are neither sustainable nor healthy for your body. Over doing such exercises without proper guidance can harm your body and set you back a long way. So, it’s always best to plan workouts and fitness regime properly under the guidance of fitness professionals if you want to get the most out of your workout.
A woman's body is very different from a man's body and that's why fitness training should also differ for both. The impact of a particular fitness regime or exercise varies from body to body. So, the training schedule should be made according to the body type and goals that you want to achieve. The concept of buddy training is also not very effective due to the same reasons.
The point is, women don't need to spend hours and hours in the gym or go through the process of crash dieting to achieve their fitness goals. You just need to spend 15-20 minutes on your fitness regime followed by at least one day off in a week. That would be enough to maintain fitness.
To get you started, here is a simple routine put together of just few exercises that you can perform in as little as 15 minutes at your home. You can do these exercises with dumbbells and kettle bells. I recommend performing each exercise everyday for 6 days in a week, and gradually increasing the weight to create a metabolic variation in your body for consistent results.
1. Goblet Squat - 5 sets * 15,12,10,8,6 reps
2. Dumbell Row - 5 sets * 20,17,15,12,10 reps
3. Kneeled Pushups for chest - 5 set*10 reps
4. Kneeled Pushups for arms - 5 set*10 reps
5. Lateral raises for shoulders - 5 sets*10 reps
6. Abs - crunches - 5 sets*10 reps,
7. leg raises - 5 sets*10 rep.
These exercises hardly consume 15 minutes to get done. Along with the above mentioned exercises, 5 to 10 minutes of cardio can be added. The combination works great to achieve the fitness level and toned body you desire.
Nutrition
Though women need fewer calories as compared to men, the requirements for certain vitamins and minerals are much higher than what a man's body would require. Women have higher risk of anemia, osteoporosis and weakened bones due to hormonal changes associated with menstruation, child-bearing, and menopause, requiring higher intake of nutrients and minerals such as magnesium, vitamin B9, calcium, vitamin D and iron.
Below are the vegetables that contain most of the vitamins, minerals and fiber required for a women's body.
Onion, Cauliflower, Spinach, Tomatoes, Kale, Moringa leaves, Cabbage, Lettuce and Cucumber.
Some important foods for good health:
Guava - Guavas are packed with proteins, and good quality fibre. Both protein and fibre help to boost your metabolism. This aids better bowel movement and enhances healthy digestion.
Coconut water - To remove waste products from the body, one needs to consume a lot of electrolytes. Hence it has low acidity, so it should be consumed wisely, preferably after exercise or before exercise as it improves endurance and athletic performances.
It contains carbohydrate in the form of glucose (a simple sugar) and the electrolytes sodium and potassium.
Iron and vitamin C - Iron is one of the keys to good health and energy levels in women prior to menopause. Some iron rich foods are fish, kale, spinach, beans and lentils. Iron is more easily absorbed by your body only when eaten with vitamin C-rich foods. So one can add oranges, lemon juice or add tomatoes to lentil soup for better iron absorption.
