How do you define healthy eating?

Healthy eating includes fresh, seasonal, unprocessed foods such as vegetables, fruit (preferably not fruit juices which often have added sugars), lean proteins such as chicken, turkey, pork and fish as well as eggs.  It also includes complex carbs such as whole grain breads (low salt and sugar free), quinoa, ancient grains and brown rice.  Dairy can be a part of your diet if you are not intolerant to it. 

Healthy eating also encompasses what you drink.  Ditch any soda, and choose water or chilled tea. Coffee in moderation can be healthy depending on what you add to it.  If water seems boring add citrus, fresh herbs or fruit such as watermelon or orange slices.

What are some of the long-term benefits of eating a healthy diet?

The long term benefits of enjoying the foods mentioned above is reducing risk of diseases and aging with more mobility and less pain.  There have been multiple studies that show eating processed foods and deli meats with nitrates can encourage cancer causing risks. We all know type 2 Diabetes is linked to obesity as is a host of other issues such as heart disease, cancers and pain in joints.

If people were to make one change a day to their diet, what should it be?

People need to make the mental connection to changing their ‘lifestyle’, not just one thing to improve their health!  Individual changes add up to a healthier life for you and your family, but it has to include regular exercise as well as healthier food.  It also needs to include adequate sleep and emotional connections to others.  It’s a total package-picture, not just a ‘resolution’ that’s dropped or a weight loss for an event.

Aside from healthy eating, how do you stay in shape? What are the benefits of regular exercise?

Regular exercise not only improves muscle tone, but it improves bone density, boosts metabolism (especially weight training), helps fight off disease such as many types of cancer and improves mood.

What is the best type of exercise? 

What exercise is best depends on a lot of variables:  age, doctor’s approval, what’s available, what you can afford, what interests you and what you can stick with.  Any exercise is better than none, but recognizing the impact that it makes on your house is critical to picking something that you enjoy and can include in your schedule and lifestyle.

What are your top tips for a healthy living?

My top tips for success and healthy eating at home is to get things out of your house that are temptation and are unhealthy such as candy, chips, processed foods that are fatty. Replace them with items that add flavor such as spices, flavored vinegars, flavored oils, coconut milk, canned beans, brown rice, whole wheat or wheat blend pastas, quinoa and natural nut butters.  Experiment with new flavors and cooking methods such as roasting vegetables, crock pots or the newer Instant pot cooking ideas.  Go to Pinterest, or cooking shows for ideas.

Enjoy your food and don’t eat in front of the TV or computer. Be mindful to enjoy your food. Your health depends upon it!

Paula is truly a talented fitness & nutrition expert who lives and practices her message. Paula Maier is a writer for http://Paulashealthyliving.com. Healthy, Passionate, workout enthusiast, lover of cooking & dedicated to my desire to learn! After requesting her several times, to have an interview, finally she answered us and accepted it. We asked, her as an expert of food and diet, many questions about which foods are healthy? How to change our diet? What is the role of exercise for being healthy and so on. Our honor if you follow this interview.