On monday i unfortunately broke my arm playing football so it has restricted me to what i can do (this is also the reason for my late post). So i was thinking, how do injured or disabled people stay fit? I mean i can't play football for at least 6 weeks and that is the main sport i do, so how?
Well i came up with many things and thought i should tell you to the best of my ability using one hand :).
So sports, what sports can you do if disabled or injured. Well walking is good. Or anything that involves moving your uninjured limbs. This can be the best way to keep used to exercise because when you are injured you tend not to exercise and therefore you aren't used to exercise.
Also the right foods are needed, when inured more calories should be consumed or if broken bones calcium and vitamin c will help alot. And for some reason.....lots of carrots help!
Moving joints everyday should help to rreduce stifness so it is could for when you return to full fitness, obviously you should not try to move your injured part.
I try to do alot of walking to just keep the strength in my legs and so i can run around after i have healed. Some of you may not have space to walk but if you go to the gym you can keep the running machine on a low setting so youy can walk slowly. Flexing the back muscles is very good and can keep you flexible.
If you are paralised, get some ideas from the paralympics, they work hard and manage to keep a good posture. They tone their muscles well and use special machines to keep fit.
Eating the right foods is vital because your body needs to heal but you must make sure you eat enough calories to balance how much you eat with how much you do. The right amount of nutrients and minerals is vital for how quickly you heal and hhow you keep a good physical body. Lots of fruit and veg is good and can help stop hunger.
Also remember when you feel hungry most of the time it is actually being thirsty, so drink plenty of water and liquids!
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
Sunday, 18 May 2008
Exercise
Yes a subject i have spoken of before. But how do you maximise the potential of exercising? How do you keep on plugging away? There are several answers for these questions and everyone will tell you differently.
The most simple answer is water. If you can stay well hydrated while doing exercises you should be able to exercise for that little bit longer. Water is extremely important for not only heath but many other things.
So when should we drink water? Well we should usually drink water inbetween meals so we do not over-dilute our food. It is important to drink fresh, pure water. If we can have a lot of water in our system, then this is better for our muscles as they get more hydration and therefore they work better.
Doctors tell us that we should drink 8 glasses of water a day. This can be hard and i know that i don't! But i do drink a sufficient amount so that i keep hydrated while exercising. Exercising is all about burning off fat that is not needed or wanted, which is why we want to exercise for longer.
Exercising can be tough at times, you may have an injury or maybe you find it hard to sustain a consistent daily exercise. But to be healthy you don't have to be one of these people who go to the gym everyday! You can start slow, joining a gym can be good and i advise it because everyone who is in there is in for more or less the same reason. So there is more social activity and you can have fun while you exercise.
But start slow and you should be fine, perhaps start to walk to work? Or walk up to the shop to get your shopping, perhaps even start cycling. Those are only a few ideas of what you could do, if you start slow you minimise the risk of pulling a muscle or straining yourself.
Exercising doesn't have to be done on your own, go for a walk with family or friends. It can be fun and rewarding at the same time. Noone likes the idea of having to exercise but if it is necessary you might aswell have fun at the same time!
The most simple answer is water. If you can stay well hydrated while doing exercises you should be able to exercise for that little bit longer. Water is extremely important for not only heath but many other things.
So when should we drink water? Well we should usually drink water inbetween meals so we do not over-dilute our food. It is important to drink fresh, pure water. If we can have a lot of water in our system, then this is better for our muscles as they get more hydration and therefore they work better.
Doctors tell us that we should drink 8 glasses of water a day. This can be hard and i know that i don't! But i do drink a sufficient amount so that i keep hydrated while exercising. Exercising is all about burning off fat that is not needed or wanted, which is why we want to exercise for longer.
Exercising can be tough at times, you may have an injury or maybe you find it hard to sustain a consistent daily exercise. But to be healthy you don't have to be one of these people who go to the gym everyday! You can start slow, joining a gym can be good and i advise it because everyone who is in there is in for more or less the same reason. So there is more social activity and you can have fun while you exercise.
But start slow and you should be fine, perhaps start to walk to work? Or walk up to the shop to get your shopping, perhaps even start cycling. Those are only a few ideas of what you could do, if you start slow you minimise the risk of pulling a muscle or straining yourself.
Exercising doesn't have to be done on your own, go for a walk with family or friends. It can be fun and rewarding at the same time. Noone likes the idea of having to exercise but if it is necessary you might aswell have fun at the same time!
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Food for life....
So food....
So why do we need food? It may seem obvious to live, but it's alot deeper than that and i think it is important to know if you are trying to keep fit. After reading this post you will be able to look in your cupboards and say "right i need that", you'd be surprised if you went through your cupboards and picked out the foods that you actually need, and how much would be left that isn't needed, we call these 'snacks' nothing wrong with them but too many can lead to obesity and then from that to life threatening diseases. (and when i say snacks i think you know what i mean :))
Believe it or not some fats are good for us! When we hear the term fat we usually assosiate it with obesity, weight, we never assosiate it with healthy terms. Some fats are vital for healthy bodily functions, but why? Well fats are mainly found in things like meat, fish, and plants and we need fats because they play an important part of making all cell membranes and play a vital role in absorbing fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E, and K). Fat gives us body insulation and also acts as a source of energy.
That is only one of the reasons we need food, but other reasons involve minerals, vitamins, salts, sugars, these all come from foods.
So a topic that i think i need to go into with depth is energy! I've spoken alot about energy in the past posts but that is because it is so important to balance energy with the amount of exercise you do! Anyway we can calculate our energy requirements! Yes we can, this is an essential tool in my opinion. Our requirements depend on alot of factors such as age, gender, whether we are still growing, pregnancy, menstruation and much more. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is a measure of how much energy you need for essential functions like breathing and heart rate. BMR is highest in younger people and starts to decrease after the age of 10. Because of greater muscle mass, men generally have a higher BMR, therefore men must intake a higher amount of calories than woman. Following so far? Elderly people have a decline in muscle mass so they tend to need less calories than the younger generation.
A few examples of maintenance calorie requirements for different activities for adults are listed below:
So why do we need food? It may seem obvious to live, but it's alot deeper than that and i think it is important to know if you are trying to keep fit. After reading this post you will be able to look in your cupboards and say "right i need that", you'd be surprised if you went through your cupboards and picked out the foods that you actually need, and how much would be left that isn't needed, we call these 'snacks' nothing wrong with them but too many can lead to obesity and then from that to life threatening diseases. (and when i say snacks i think you know what i mean :))
Believe it or not some fats are good for us! When we hear the term fat we usually assosiate it with obesity, weight, we never assosiate it with healthy terms. Some fats are vital for healthy bodily functions, but why? Well fats are mainly found in things like meat, fish, and plants and we need fats because they play an important part of making all cell membranes and play a vital role in absorbing fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E, and K). Fat gives us body insulation and also acts as a source of energy.
That is only one of the reasons we need food, but other reasons involve minerals, vitamins, salts, sugars, these all come from foods.
So a topic that i think i need to go into with depth is energy! I've spoken alot about energy in the past posts but that is because it is so important to balance energy with the amount of exercise you do! Anyway we can calculate our energy requirements! Yes we can, this is an essential tool in my opinion. Our requirements depend on alot of factors such as age, gender, whether we are still growing, pregnancy, menstruation and much more. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is a measure of how much energy you need for essential functions like breathing and heart rate. BMR is highest in younger people and starts to decrease after the age of 10. Because of greater muscle mass, men generally have a higher BMR, therefore men must intake a higher amount of calories than woman. Following so far? Elderly people have a decline in muscle mass so they tend to need less calories than the younger generation.
A few examples of maintenance calorie requirements for different activities for adults are listed below:
- Sedentary or bedbound people:11.5cal per 450g (1lb) of body weight per day.
- People who only do light activities:13.5cal per 450g (1lb) of body weight per day.
- People doing moderate activities:16cal per 450g (1lb) of body weight per day.
- People doing vigorous exercise such as athletes or manual laborers or patients recovering from injury:18cal per 450g (1lb) of body weight per day.
How we get nutriets....
Take a look at what you eat on an average day and you will probably see a variety of foods from all food groups. You probably get a wide range of nutrients from the five different food groups. This is what your nutrient intake is all about.
The energy you obtain from food is measured in calories. However since one calorie is almost nothing we tend to speak in kilocalorie (kcal). 1 kcal = 1000 cal. Also you may see the term kilojoules (kj) this is another way of measuring energy and can be sometimes seen on the food label next to the caloric value. 1kcal = 4.184kj. So you can see energy can be quite complicated at times and sometimes annoying to understand i wouldn't blame you if you read over this paragraph once or twince to understand.
Each type of nutrient produces a certain amount of energy:
- 100g protein:400cal
- 100g carbohydrates:400cal
- 100g fat:900cal
Please feel free to ask any questions on this topic by leaving a comment after this post!
Thank you!
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
Assessing your health and lifestyle...
First of all i would like to say sorry for my absense in posting, i have ill recently but am now making a recovery :)
So back on topic....
If you are new to the whole 'lose some weight' or 'keep healthy' process then you need to assess yourself. There are lots of elements that come into this for instance, the nutrition and energy balance, snaking, and the optinum number of meals a day are just some of what comes into this.
So this nutrition-energy balance, what is it all about? 'you are what you eat' is a great phrase that people use but perhaps don't realise how important this phrase is. Everything you eat affects your body's performance and your bodily functions. Ofcourse you nutritional needs vary, but this only affects how you live your life. You need to know your body's needs, this may seem obvious but is oh so important...the connection between diet and health is to grow properly and function normally you need a complete range of nutrients. Including carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fibre, and water, as well as a variety of vitamins and minerals. All of these are not only essential but can improve your state of health!
Ok so you now know all this stuff about nutrients and balancing nutrition and energy. Now is your diet healthy? You have to be honest and sometimes harsh with yourself here. Well if you are....you must assess whether or not you consume enough nutrients. Or even if you consume too much of one nutrient. If so then your body is not functioning at an optimum level!
The food-energy balance is like the nutrition-energy balance, well this is more a sub-category of it but to maintain a healthy weight you must eat well but at the same time you must be using the energy your diet gives you. Let me explain how this works, energy comes from fat, now our body burns fat to give us energy and to make our body burn fat off we exercise. If we don't exercise then that fat that should be burned off is still in our body and will take physical action e.g. bigger belly, tiring easily, breathlessness, high blood pressure. I take it you don't want this or you may even have this now...so what will it be vibrant good health or all of the above?
So we once again come back to exercise, this is one of my favourite topics (health and lifestyle) because it gives you a real inside look into whether or not your healthy, yes i speak alot about exercise :) but i'm giving you the reasons why you need it, exercise and food are strongly linked and it basically works like this....the more food you eat-the more exercise you do!
Keep fit everyone!
So back on topic....
If you are new to the whole 'lose some weight' or 'keep healthy' process then you need to assess yourself. There are lots of elements that come into this for instance, the nutrition and energy balance, snaking, and the optinum number of meals a day are just some of what comes into this.
So this nutrition-energy balance, what is it all about? 'you are what you eat' is a great phrase that people use but perhaps don't realise how important this phrase is. Everything you eat affects your body's performance and your bodily functions. Ofcourse you nutritional needs vary, but this only affects how you live your life. You need to know your body's needs, this may seem obvious but is oh so important...the connection between diet and health is to grow properly and function normally you need a complete range of nutrients. Including carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fibre, and water, as well as a variety of vitamins and minerals. All of these are not only essential but can improve your state of health!
Ok so you now know all this stuff about nutrients and balancing nutrition and energy. Now is your diet healthy? You have to be honest and sometimes harsh with yourself here. Well if you are....you must assess whether or not you consume enough nutrients. Or even if you consume too much of one nutrient. If so then your body is not functioning at an optimum level!
The food-energy balance is like the nutrition-energy balance, well this is more a sub-category of it but to maintain a healthy weight you must eat well but at the same time you must be using the energy your diet gives you. Let me explain how this works, energy comes from fat, now our body burns fat to give us energy and to make our body burn fat off we exercise. If we don't exercise then that fat that should be burned off is still in our body and will take physical action e.g. bigger belly, tiring easily, breathlessness, high blood pressure. I take it you don't want this or you may even have this now...so what will it be vibrant good health or all of the above?
So we once again come back to exercise, this is one of my favourite topics (health and lifestyle) because it gives you a real inside look into whether or not your healthy, yes i speak alot about exercise :) but i'm giving you the reasons why you need it, exercise and food are strongly linked and it basically works like this....the more food you eat-the more exercise you do!
Keep fit everyone!
Friday, 9 May 2008
Tasty food options...
Yes i know i said no diets but this is no diet before you think it is! Diets are rules you have to follow, i'm just giving you food which might help you to maximise your exercise and help you to have a balanced diet and maybe even a better outlook on life!
Right, first thing you probably say to this post is, but all tasty food is bad for you like chocolate! I'm not saying don't eat chocolate, believe me i love chocolate and i eat lots of it but lets get back on track...
So what foods are tasty, yet good for you....well there are lots you just have to be able to try new things, plus psychologically you might see good food as horrible tasting e.g. we were all made to eat vegetables when we were younger, brusselsprouts and all that stuff.....ugh.... but let me give you some things you can try just to get started up:
Chicken salads-they are easy to prepare, you are getting a healthy peice of food with a high protein food (chicken).
Fruits- yes there are plenty try eating an apple or orange or any fruit before you exercise because they are full of slow releasing energy.
Vegetables-yes they might taste bad but even out what you have on your plate with some good ol' greens!
These are just some of what you can try, ofcourse i am not mentioning meats, but they are also needed in the diet so when i say these foods, they are not to replace all food groups! These are just what you can have with dinner or just before you exercise.
When you next wake up make something for breakfast, yeah i know some of you may not have time but something simple like cereal or a smoothie is good! Yes this is great if you want to exercise later in the day, you will feel more up with go and you will notice a difference, just try it :)
Anythign is good to eat though, mushrooms, meat, fish (great for the brain), fruit, veg. Just add these to your normal meals and you will be on the way to controlling your weight and becoming healthier.
Right, first thing you probably say to this post is, but all tasty food is bad for you like chocolate! I'm not saying don't eat chocolate, believe me i love chocolate and i eat lots of it but lets get back on track...
So what foods are tasty, yet good for you....well there are lots you just have to be able to try new things, plus psychologically you might see good food as horrible tasting e.g. we were all made to eat vegetables when we were younger, brusselsprouts and all that stuff.....ugh.... but let me give you some things you can try just to get started up:
Chicken salads-they are easy to prepare, you are getting a healthy peice of food with a high protein food (chicken).
Fruits- yes there are plenty try eating an apple or orange or any fruit before you exercise because they are full of slow releasing energy.
Vegetables-yes they might taste bad but even out what you have on your plate with some good ol' greens!
These are just some of what you can try, ofcourse i am not mentioning meats, but they are also needed in the diet so when i say these foods, they are not to replace all food groups! These are just what you can have with dinner or just before you exercise.
When you next wake up make something for breakfast, yeah i know some of you may not have time but something simple like cereal or a smoothie is good! Yes this is great if you want to exercise later in the day, you will feel more up with go and you will notice a difference, just try it :)
Anythign is good to eat though, mushrooms, meat, fish (great for the brain), fruit, veg. Just add these to your normal meals and you will be on the way to controlling your weight and becoming healthier.
Thursday, 8 May 2008
Why is weight control important?
(by the way i forgot to add to my last post....if you have any heart conditions ask your doctor for advice and if you do not exercise much, please start slow and slowly build to more exercise or you could pull a muscle and get more cramps!)
Anyway back to todays post......
Weight control, so why is it important? Well weight control is basically maintaining a healthy weight that is right and ideal for your body. It's all very well being thin but there is such a thing as being too thin so you must balance your weight evenly with your build and height.
So where do you start? Hmmm it can be tricky to keep a healthy weight but it is very important for your health, for example, if you are overweight you are more likely to have health conditions like high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease (these two are closely linked). In turn this will shorten your life. I know it is a bit hard to take if you are overweight but there is no need to go over the top and become a extreme healthy person! Start slow and even if you only lose a bit of weight you reduce your blood pressure, so never give up!
Right controlling your weight can be tricky and you need to find a strategy which will work in the long run, yes diets give quick results but it is not suitable for long term weight control for various reasons. Strategies aren't hard to find, this can be anything from exercise to eating certain foods which can help with calories, and can help your body use more of the calories you take in.
If you consume extra calories for a short period of time, your body will use these by generating more heat. On the other hand, if you use more calories than you consume, your body will become more efficient at turning those calories into energy, thus preventing short term weight loss. It takes a huge amount of commitment over a long period of time in order to retrain your body to do this.
If you want to try and get a good weight control then exercise is the key, yes it can be tiring and if you are where i am at the moment it is extremely hot, so adults and children can both try to control their weight. You can do this by walking, which is a great way to bring the family closer together, and also you are gaining that extra little something by controlling your weight!
We have a test you can take which is to the right of this post near the top! Please note: you may need to register at some site but no worries they only ask for your e-mail and name you hear from them nomore afterwards!
Anyway back to todays post......
Weight control, so why is it important? Well weight control is basically maintaining a healthy weight that is right and ideal for your body. It's all very well being thin but there is such a thing as being too thin so you must balance your weight evenly with your build and height.
So where do you start? Hmmm it can be tricky to keep a healthy weight but it is very important for your health, for example, if you are overweight you are more likely to have health conditions like high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease (these two are closely linked). In turn this will shorten your life. I know it is a bit hard to take if you are overweight but there is no need to go over the top and become a extreme healthy person! Start slow and even if you only lose a bit of weight you reduce your blood pressure, so never give up!
Right controlling your weight can be tricky and you need to find a strategy which will work in the long run, yes diets give quick results but it is not suitable for long term weight control for various reasons. Strategies aren't hard to find, this can be anything from exercise to eating certain foods which can help with calories, and can help your body use more of the calories you take in.
If you consume extra calories for a short period of time, your body will use these by generating more heat. On the other hand, if you use more calories than you consume, your body will become more efficient at turning those calories into energy, thus preventing short term weight loss. It takes a huge amount of commitment over a long period of time in order to retrain your body to do this.
If you want to try and get a good weight control then exercise is the key, yes it can be tiring and if you are where i am at the moment it is extremely hot, so adults and children can both try to control their weight. You can do this by walking, which is a great way to bring the family closer together, and also you are gaining that extra little something by controlling your weight!
We have a test you can take which is to the right of this post near the top! Please note: you may need to register at some site but no worries they only ask for your e-mail and name you hear from them nomore afterwards!
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
So you want to be fit...
Hello all of my viewers!
Right i provide easy ways to keep fit and easy ways to lose weight and they don't involve diets!
Damn i hate diets and i'm sure you do to! All that food you just don't want to eat, like grapefruits?!? they have high acid levels to help you burn off fat or whatever but have you ever tasted one? ugh! Well you'll be happy to know....no grapefruits :D
Anyway i sometimes tend to rant on but please read on i'm not just a raging lunatic who hates grapefruits! Ok first thing is first, dicipline! If you can't discipline yourself(with any diet or fitness regime) then you will never succeed, yes i know self discipline can be hard when you see that chocolate bar or biscuit, but i'm not saying you can't eat chocolate! All you have to do is be able to work it off!
Once you get round the discipline it's easy! You just need to commit yourself to losing weight or just keeping fit! So you are a disciplined person who wants to lose a few pounds, right this is what you do....
You have to think now, what is your favourite sport or hobby that involves running or some kind of movement? If there is none think to your childhood... What did you particularly enjoy? Football, Rugby, cricket, Jogging? Start doing that again whether it be in your backgarden or for a team. If none of the above i strongly recommend jogging because you get a good overall workout! You move your arms, hips and legs! If you are embarassed about running, no need to worry you can take up night running or maybe even running around your garden depending how big it is.
It is important to know some facts! The metabolic rate. This is the rate your body burns off calories, some will be naturally better than others. A balanced diet is key(i know i said no diets but listen)i'm not suggesting any foods you can eat what you want including chips but you must balance it out! Eat fruit, veg, wholegrains and all that stuff! And also if you want to eat chips or whatever you must be prepared to run it off! Even if you have a balanced diet exercise is neccessary.
Exercise is the best way to keep fit and i don't mean just exercise once and your problems will be over, i mean exercise everyday whether it be walking to work, or go cycling maybe even jog! Whatever you decide to do, do it as often as you can! This is the key thing most people fail on, not doing it regularly or not commiting theirselves now no offence but if you are one of those people....i mean com'on you need to persevere your goal!
If you eat well and exercise you should be fine, your life will improve, you will feel more confident and you would have acheived something!
And one more thing, if you buy products like the walking machines you see on t.v, remember the people you see on the ad are like that before they use the product so don't spend money on something you can do yourself, machines are the artificial way of doing something(a waste of time) if you allready have these machines....use them, they maybe a waste of money but why waste the money use what you have wisely! If you got it to exercise, exercise!
Good luck to everyone who found this helpfull i will be posting more stuff to help so keep coming back! But honestly this is all it takes to keep fit! Nothing high tech just good old fashion elbow grease!
Right i provide easy ways to keep fit and easy ways to lose weight and they don't involve diets!
Damn i hate diets and i'm sure you do to! All that food you just don't want to eat, like grapefruits?!? they have high acid levels to help you burn off fat or whatever but have you ever tasted one? ugh! Well you'll be happy to know....no grapefruits :D
Anyway i sometimes tend to rant on but please read on i'm not just a raging lunatic who hates grapefruits! Ok first thing is first, dicipline! If you can't discipline yourself(with any diet or fitness regime) then you will never succeed, yes i know self discipline can be hard when you see that chocolate bar or biscuit, but i'm not saying you can't eat chocolate! All you have to do is be able to work it off!
Once you get round the discipline it's easy! You just need to commit yourself to losing weight or just keeping fit! So you are a disciplined person who wants to lose a few pounds, right this is what you do....
You have to think now, what is your favourite sport or hobby that involves running or some kind of movement? If there is none think to your childhood... What did you particularly enjoy? Football, Rugby, cricket, Jogging? Start doing that again whether it be in your backgarden or for a team. If none of the above i strongly recommend jogging because you get a good overall workout! You move your arms, hips and legs! If you are embarassed about running, no need to worry you can take up night running or maybe even running around your garden depending how big it is.
It is important to know some facts! The metabolic rate. This is the rate your body burns off calories, some will be naturally better than others. A balanced diet is key(i know i said no diets but listen)i'm not suggesting any foods you can eat what you want including chips but you must balance it out! Eat fruit, veg, wholegrains and all that stuff! And also if you want to eat chips or whatever you must be prepared to run it off! Even if you have a balanced diet exercise is neccessary.
Exercise is the best way to keep fit and i don't mean just exercise once and your problems will be over, i mean exercise everyday whether it be walking to work, or go cycling maybe even jog! Whatever you decide to do, do it as often as you can! This is the key thing most people fail on, not doing it regularly or not commiting theirselves now no offence but if you are one of those people....i mean com'on you need to persevere your goal!
If you eat well and exercise you should be fine, your life will improve, you will feel more confident and you would have acheived something!
And one more thing, if you buy products like the walking machines you see on t.v, remember the people you see on the ad are like that before they use the product so don't spend money on something you can do yourself, machines are the artificial way of doing something(a waste of time) if you allready have these machines....use them, they maybe a waste of money but why waste the money use what you have wisely! If you got it to exercise, exercise!
Good luck to everyone who found this helpfull i will be posting more stuff to help so keep coming back! But honestly this is all it takes to keep fit! Nothing high tech just good old fashion elbow grease!
An Introduction
Hi and welcome!
I made this blog so i could help people who may want to lose weight or even just want to be more healthy!
Me and my friends have had great success with my advice just because it is so simple, no diets, not even a huge amount of hard work, you just have to be commited and be able to keep going and just not stop!
I made this blog so i could help people who may want to lose weight or even just want to be more healthy!
Me and my friends have had great success with my advice just because it is so simple, no diets, not even a huge amount of hard work, you just have to be commited and be able to keep going and just not stop!
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