Have you asked yourself recently: “how healthy is my lifestyle?”, “how nutritious are the foods I eat?”, “do I really do enough exercise?”

These are the questions we’ve been asking ourselves (and OinQ!) this month because March is National Nutrition Month – an annual campaign designed by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. This year, we’re being encouraged to “bite in to a healthy lifestyle” which is something the Qmee team is working hard to achieve!

Being healthy consists of two main things; eating the right foods and exercising. Doing both of these together helps to maintain a healthy body weight, reduce the risk of diseases such as heart disease and also to make you feel healthier and happier overall.

So to start with, what are some of the foods we should be eating as part of our daily diet?

• Vegetables – if we half fill our dinner plate with vegetables every evening and that’s half of our dinner providing the nutrients we need
• Fruit – all types of fruit offer health benefits by providing minerals, nutrients and antioxidants; getting berries in to your every-day diet is great because they are a known “superfood”
• Whole grains and whole wheat – swapping white bread and white rice to brown is an easy way to lower what is known as a “bad” carbohydrate; it’s a simple way to increase your intake of whole grains and whole wheat
• Protein – poultry, lean meats and seafood are all healthy sources of protein and can easily be made in to fantastic meals

When it comes to food, it’s all about balance. If you eat fruit every day with your breakfast, low fat food for lunch, and dinners that are high in nutrients, it’s ok to have a bit of chocolate or a dessert every now and again!

There won’t ever be a diet out there that suits everyone, so it’s important to follow an eating plan that’s packed with foods that you like and that fits with your lifestyle. It’s also important to balance your lifestyle and eating habits with exercise.

Keeping fit is just as important as eating the right type of foods. When it comes to exercise, we should be doing at least 30 minutes a day; this could be anything from a full body workout at the gym or playing a sport you love, to going for a power walk with a friend or going for a swim in the evening.

Why not use some of your Qmee rewards to treat yourself to some new fitness clothes or some exercise equipment for your home?

Exercise doesn’t have to be a burden. Finding something you like doing is important; that way you’re exercising because you want to, not just because you have to. If you don’t like exercise at all, finding someone to exercise with can help; gym classes are great for this because people are often motivated by everyone else in the class.

There are lots of ideas online on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle with smart eating habits and physical activity.

What are your tips and ideas on staying healthy?

In the spirit of National Nutrition Month, get 7% off Simply Supplements (www.simplysupplements.net)​ until 31st March by going through your Qmee link! Search for “simply supplements” in Google and you’ll see the link pop up in your left-hand sidebar.