When you think about getting fit, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Is it maybe losing fat? Is it gaining muscle? Or, is it something completely third? We have to be honest with you – your ultimate fitness goal doesn’t matter, what matters is that it can’t be achieved just by exercising or just by dieting. You need to find a perfect combination. That is, you need to balance exercise and nutrition in order to achieve your fitness goals. 

Both exercising and dieting are important. You will just eat and train differently depending on your fitness goal. You can learn about the ways for achieving it alone (through books and the Internet, of course), or you can seek a professional’s help. The first option is cheaper but it will require a lot of learning on your part. The second option will cost something, but you will get your meals and your exercise planned by the professional. All in all, if you want to balance exercise and nutrition, there is a way. We will also give you some tips on that topic, so keep on reading. 

Having a Balanced Diet 

Most people, when thinking about a balanced diet, envision a combination of lean protein, carbohydrate sources, and good fats. In simple terms, they envision a plate filled with meats, vegetables, nuts, and some health supplements you can buy in a nutrition store. 

But, having a balanced diet is so much more than eating correctly. To achieve your fitness goals, you have to think about your calorie balance as well. To achieve this type of balance, the calories you gain (from eating) must be proportionate to the calories you lose (when exercising, for example). That is the only way to keep your weight stable at all times. 

Of course, different people have different fitness goals. Some of them want to lose weight and some want to gain it. The former group will have to lose more calories than they gain, that is, they have to be in a calorie deficit. The latter group should do the opposite, that is, to be in a calorie surplus. 

Foods for a Good Workout 

To balance exercise and nutrition to achieve your fitness goals, as previously said, you must eat the right food. You should carefully plan and prepare all your meals of the day – breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. But, don’t make the beginner’s mistake and forget about foods for a good workout. Those are foods that you should eat before your workout in order to achieve peak performance during your daily exercise. 

The best foods for a good workout usually include bananas, fruit and vegetable smoothies, wholegrain foods (oats, rice, whole grain bread, corn, beans, etc.), lean protein (turkey, chicken, fish), and hummus. 

If you don’t know what meals to prepare in order to achieve your fitness goal, or if you are not sure what are the right ingredients for your dream body, it would be best to talk to a nutritionist. When it comes to meal plans, a nutritionist will help you have everything prepared! Of course, you can also make your own meal plan – but, be sure to do that only after a long research. 

Having a Balanced Exercise 

When trying to balance exercise and nutrition to achieve your fitness goals, don’t balance your diet only. Even though it sounds strange, exercising is what needs to be balanced as well. You can’t just run, just cycle, or just heavy-lift. You need a combination of them all (and many more) to achieve that ultimate fitness goal. 

A balanced fitness is important not only for losing or gaining weight but also for improving muscle tone and cardiovascular health. Thus, if you want to be fit, healthy, and happy, be sure to include all the most important parts of exercising when you train. This may sound confusing, so let us give you a hint. All exercises should include: 

  • Warm-up 
  • Cardio 
  • Strenght 
  • Endurance 
  • Stretching 

It is also important to mention that you don’t need a gym or a training center to work out. You can work out at home and achieve the same fitness results! You just need to be persistent and a little bit creative. Moreover, there are many fitness props that you can replace with some common household items. For example, you can replace weights with bottles of water, you can replace a jump rope with any old rope you have, you can replace a bench with chairs, etc. 

Seeking Professional’s Help 

Without a doubt, the best way to balance exercise and nutrition to balance your fitness goals is to seek professional’s help. As previously mentioned, you can seek a nutritionist’s help if you don’t know how to start feeding yourself properly. Trust us, doing that is harder than it seems. Each body will have a different goal, and thus, each body will require a different meal plan to achieve that goal. A nutritionist is the only one who can help you with that – so, don’t be shy. 

Moreover, you should not be shy when seeking professional fitness trainers either! They are the people who will show you the best exercises for your body type, who will advise you when and where to train, and if necessary, who will help you feel more comfortable at the gym and more motivated to keep going. 

To be healthy and fit, you must achieve balance! Thus, don’t neglect nutrition and don’t neglect exercise. It might be difficult to do both, but, over time, you will learn that one won’t function without the other. And, let us not forget, to be healthy and fit, and to balance exercise and nutrition to achieve your fitness goals, you must also hydrate yourself a lot, sleep well, and try to manage your stress levels.