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Obi, how important is it to have fat in your diet?

Dietary fat is very important and critical to your overall health. Your fat intake provides two essential fat acids your body can’t make. These are linoleic acid, an unsaturated Omega 6 fatty acid, and linolenic acid, an unsaturated Omega-3 fatty acid. Omega-6 fats are critical for liberating eicosanoids. These promote blood vessel constriction, inflammation, blood clotting, pain and airway constriction, among other functions. Each of these mechanisms is critical to overall health.

Always try to balance the Omega-6 fats and Omega-3 fats in your diet. The most important Omega-3 fats are alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), docsahexaneoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentanenoic acid (EPA). The most beneficial Omega-3 fats are Flax oil, walnuts, fish oil and algae. Omega 3 fats are integral for cardiovascular and nervous system function as well as overall immune health. Make them a key part of your daily diet regimen. In the long run, dietary fats will increase your overall health.

Obi, I don’t have time to go to the gym. How can I stay in shape at home and what exercises can I do?

There are many exercises you can do in your house to stay in shape. Push-ups work your chest, triceps and shoulders. To work your abdominal muscles, sit-ups can be done anywhere. Perform triceps chair dips by taking a chair and doing dips with your own body weight. You can also do walking lunges in your place, or outside on your driveway if you wish. These work your quads, glutes and hamstrings. Body-weight squats also work these muscle groups. For an aerobic exercise, jump rope for about 30 minutes. This will literally burn about 350 calories. Standing calf raises work your calves using your own bodyweight. Tone and firm your body without ever stepping into a gym.

Obi, what is the daily-recommended intake for carbohydrates?

Well, the daily-recommended carbohydrate intake depends on your activity levels, body size and particular fitness goals. But the minimal recommended carbohydrate intake is about 130 grams per day. If you are aggressively trying to lose body fat and you are carbohydrate-sensitive, then you would probably consume 50 grams or less per day.