Going through the infinite scroll on social media feeds or visiting the best online grocery store in Pakistan has its own set of challenges, like looking at all those chiseled bodies in advert images and then looking at yourself in the mirror. If the difference between the two is uncanny and you have such a draining routine that the only thing you are left with at the end of each day is a month’s supply of stress, things can seem bleak. The general value associated with fitness, CrossFit programs and healthy eating has also been on the rise. We are often reminded of that item on our New Year resolution checklist, one that mostly remains unchecked throughout the year and has to do with our fitness goals. Don’t worry if you are also one of the people who struggle to accomplish their body composition goals because we have brought you a comprehensive guide.

A vast majority of people are aiming to either gain some muscle or lose their body fat in order to achieve a healthy body weight. The best way to accomplish that is through understanding your specific needs and finding that sweet spot for your body. Your genetic makeup, natural propensity and even socio -cultural factors have a huge role to play in defining the balance. On top of everything else there are also idiosyncratic preferences that heavily influence behavior, so establishing a sense of equilibrium is absolutely necessary. It is also critical that this equilibrium is understood to be a dynamic one rather than something static over time because you need to keep finding it as your bodily requirements evolve over time.

The right diet and a healthy workout routine – the perfect duo

Any discussion about reaching your fitness goals is incomplete without the right diet and maintaining equipoise in your nutritional plan is pivotal for a healthy lifestyle. This should also be complemented with a good workout routine in the longer term to be able to maintain the body composition you have developed so painstakingly. Getting there is one thing but staying there is a different ordeal altogether which is why you need to bear that in mind whenever you buy groceries online in Karachi and also when you are starting to become a couch potato. You must always watch out your calorie consumption along with the food groups that you are eating from, in order to balance nutrition properly.

A lot of people think exercise is their get out of jail free card, they could not be more wrong. Working out on a regular basis is a necessary step towards getting a healthy body composition but it is not an exhaustive one. By no means does it allow one to start eating anything and everything they want. For an example just consider one glass of a carbonated drink, the amount of calories found in it are so hard to burn that it would take an estimate of about 50 minutes of running for an average adult. There is no doubt in the fact that working out burns calories but that won’t be enough if you keep eating excessively and unhealthily. The idea is similar to a person who gets a pay raise, yes a raise will improve their financial standing but not nearly enough to go on shopping sprees daily. Consequently, if you have a bad diet don’t think everything is just hunky-dory after exercising a little, know that you need to keep a balance in both.

Mix and match for well-rounded exercise and diet

The idea that working out burns calories is quite straightforward, calories are like the energy source of your body and when you move around you will need this firewood to perform the action. If you move around more and do some exercise you will naturally burn more calories, therefore the amount of fuel you burn will depend on the intensity of the workout. However, it is not strictly a calculus of calorie input vs output because the quality and source of those calories will also have a role to play in defining your body composition. Some foods give you a number of different nutrients along with the calorie count while others like sugary foods are pretty much devoid of any such constituents.

The rule of thumb with exercise is that it should be balanced, consistent and should be challenging enough that you get to exert but not so much as to wear you out or cause injuries. It should also be well rounded so that you don’t end up overexerting a few areas while ignoring the others. Your ideal workout should definitely have some stretching, cardio and endurance training. Another general rule is to start by exercising at least half an hour daily.