The Importance of Sleep and How to Do It Correctly

Posted in Health, Diet & Fitness | 0 comments

Getting a good night’s sleep is far more vital than most of us believe. Despite the fact that scientists have proven it to be of the utmost importance, both to our mental and physical health, few of us get the right amount of sleep, or the best quality. For many of us, sleep is broken, nights are too late and mornings are too early. The truth is that we could all feel a lot better and get a lot more done if we did just a few things to improve the way that we sleep.

Whilst it seems obvious, the most important step is something few of us get right – timing. It’s too easy to stay up late – no matter how early we know we are getting up the following morning. This subsequently results in too little sleep, as we deny our bodies the rest they need to recuperate fully for the next day. Whilst for most of us there is little we can do about the time we have to get up, we all have full control over when we go to sleep. Try getting to bed a little earlier and see how you feel.

The amount of sleep needed varies from person to person, and is more precise than you might expect. Speak to a doctor about how much sleep you should be getting. Whilst we often don’t get enough sleep during the working week, most of us make up for it at the weekend. And the truth is that this is not healthy. Instead, we should do more to give ourselves a consistent amount of sleep, spread out over the week.

Many people struggle to sleep – perhaps because of stress or other related health problems. While there are a number of sleep remedies available, this is not always the best option. Updating your bed or mattress to something like a Sealy divan can do wonders for your sleeping habits, and will hopefully rid you of the need to medicate.

Whatever the reason you are not getting enough sleep, addressing this can do wonders for your mental and physical wellbeing. Those with healthy sleeping habits are likely to be happier generally, and perform more effectively at work. So make it a priority to resolve the problem.

I’m Talking Weights Huh?

Posted in Health, Diet & Fitness | 0 comments

Those who know me could attest to my aversion to strength training and weights. I used to view dumbells and weights the same way I view pay per download services. With utter disregard. Lol. But for some reason, the past few months I’ve taken upon myself to do a bit of daily light dumbell exercises.

Nothing spectacular, just simple lateral raises, curls and right now I’m really partial to core presses with weights and I am thoroughly addicted to doing tricep exercises. I was simply horrified at how my arms looked. It was so flabby, I felt like I had wings already hahaha, so I decided to do something about it. And I’m happy to report that there is a teeny weeny bit of improvement in terms of muscle toning.

My aim is to have a really nice and toned arms, no flabs. Right now, I’m using 2lbs weights and we’ve been looking for 1 lbs small dumbells and perhaps some ankle or wrist weights because I have also taken up walking/jogging. I visited a couple of exercise equipment stores here but I could only find a nice set of dumbells and the stocks for ankle weights weren’t really good.

I checked Amazon and almost regretted it. Now I am salivating after this:

5 lbs Thera-Band Comfort Fit Ankle/Wrist Cuff Weight Sets

Valeo Adjustable Ankle or Wrist Weights

Cap Barbell 40-Pound Dumbbell Set – I seriously want something like this. And can’t find this here. Top rated and best selling.

Bowflex SelectTech 552 Adjustable Dumbbells – this one’s also a best seller and I reckon of better quality. I love how compact it looks but packs a lot of weight. Ingenious design.

Healthy Yums: Kiwi and Brocolli

Posted in Health, Diet & Fitness | 0 comments

Something that I had been recently munching on. Kiwi fruit and Brocolli! I know these two doesn’t necessarily figure high up in the list for favorite or tastiest veggies and fruits, but I personally find both of them real tasty. And besides both of them are choke-ful of health benefits that I wonder why everyone’s not adding them to their daily meals?

Both of them are like super foods and one gets a variety of nutrients and health benefits from eating them. Let’s start off with Kiwi. I love munching on this, chilled. Makes a really good breakfast combined with other fruits. And while there are times that kiwi fruit is not available where I am, I just make do with kiwi concentrates, which usually comes combined with grape juice.

Kiwi comes with high Vitamin C content and is particularly good for those like me who frequently suffers from chronic cough, wheezing and colds. It’s also very good for eye health because of the high Vitamin A and E content. It’s anti-oxidant and contains high fiber. So this is also good for diabetics, colon cancer and it also helps lower cholesterol levels. I find this particularly good when I’m on diet as it tends to be very filling so it helps with the hunger pangs.

Brocolli. Some people don’t like its taste but I love it! I cook this almost on a daily basis. And I prefer it steamed. I also stock up on brocolli concentrates (usually mixed with carrot/pineapple juice) and its also very very filling. High in Vitamin C and A, potassium and helps reduce cholesterol levels. Also, health benefits of broccoli have been linked to preventing and controlling the following medical concerns: Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, calcium deficiencies, stomach and colon cancer, malignant tumors, lung cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and even the aging process.

Those health benefits are sure enough to convince you to give these two a try. They taste good (maybe takes some getting used to..) and they are really really good for you. I’ll be blabbing here more later but I’m taking off now to do a bit of surf shopping for basement carpet tiles. We’re in need of some right now.

Goal: Well-Toned Arms

Posted in Health, Diet & Fitness | 0 comments

Yes, I’m obsessing. This time, its all about my arms. Its flabby and not so nice. So I have started a quest – to tone my arms! And I’ve been making a mad dash for how to’s and tips. I’ve also started jogging since last week. I dunno I read somewhere that upping your cardio helps so in any case, I feel good when I jog so I keep up with it. I wish I had those parallel bars or playground equipment to use, but since I don’t, well I’ll settle for doing these moves for a well-toned arms.

I found this on Yahoo Health and I think its very ‘doable’. Lol! All I would need is a pair of dumbbells and several reps of the following..Check out the article link for detailed instructions.

The Curtsy Curl-Up

Super Girl Soar

Balance Buffer

Redefine Reach

Bow and Arrow

Core Press

Looks easy? Let’s hope I could do this )

Eight Superfoods for Dieting Women

Posted in Beauty, Health, Diet & Fitness | 0 comments

I was browsing one of my favorite health and beauty sites – TotalBeauty.com and I came across an article listing 8 Must-Eat Superfoods and of course I got interested. Dr. Steven Pratt describes these superfoods, “These nutritional powerhouse foods are loaded with nutrients crucial to a healthy, long life.” I was thinking that these foods might be hard to get hold of, but surprisingly, these are easily available in supermarkets!

The article also stresses that its still better to pick out natural food over food supplements. I’m in total agreement with that. The same way why should we need weightloss pills when we could go and lose weight the healthy way?

Here’s the list:

1. Kiwi – the antioxidant rockstar! Now this isn’t a hard thing coz I’m sure a lot would agree with me that kiwi is yummy! It packs a full day requirement of vitamin C and also has Vitamin A and E and lots of fiber.

2. Sweet Potato – lots of Vitamin A, C and potassium!

3. Salmon – packed with protein, low in calories and has lots of iron.

4. Dark Chocolate – Yay! Something that I would cheer on. Dr. Pratt says, “dark chocolate seems to contribute to lowering blood pressure, increasing blood flow, and ultimately contributing to a healthy heart.”

5. Garlic – rich amino acid called allicin as well as better-known compounds like selenium, zinc, potassium and phosphorous. Garlic is a known anti-cancer and also anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties.

6. Quinoa – okay, I never heard of this till now, so what is Quinoa {pronounced ‘keen-wa’}. The article says, “It’s a grain that’s been a staple in South American cooking for 4,000 years. Quinoa is high in protein and fiber and is a good source of zinc, vitamin E and selenium, which have been linked to lowered risks for diabetes and heart disease.”

7. Beans – high in fiber and helps lower bad cholesterol.

8. Broccoli – some might not like the taste of broccoli, but I adore it! Rich in vitamin A, vitamin C and bone-building vitamin K and a whole lot of nutrients to fight cancer.

See, the list has some pretty easy things to buy and incorporate on our daily diet. I sure would be adding more of these in our menu..

Having Fun with Zumba!

Posted in Health, Diet & Fitness | 0 comments

You know, after trying to lose weight for eons already, I have already realized that the best fat burners is simply good old healthy diet and exercise. Life could really hold one back though. Sometimes things get too busy and I always find the excuse I am too busy to exercise. Which led me to a solution that I should make exercise fun and something to look forward to.

And so I bought a Nintendo Wii which had been great and enjoyable but now I’m looking for something more intensive. I tried out Hip Hop Abs and its wonderful. I guess I found dancing to be a really good workout. Now I’m trying out Zumba for a little bit more flavor. And I’m absolutely crazy about it. Not only do I get a good body workout, I’m also learning how to dance, which means I won’t be bumbling like a baboon the next time I attend a dance party.

I love the energetic, sexy beat of Latin music and this is the core of Zumba.  Right now I’m doing the basics and the 20 minute workout on DVD and I think I’m moving on to something more intensive in a month. Also, I’m really tempted to order the Wii game version of this. Lol!

Here’s a video of the basic steps. It’s so upbeat and broken down into easy steps to follow so even if you have two left feet, I’m sure you’d be grooving in no time..