Tag: Lifestyle

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12 Ways To Bring Movement In Your Daily Routine

Today I was a guest on Ridge-Radio Tandridge (once the recording is up I will post it around for you to listen). Among the many topics we talked about was how to bring movement, exercise in your lifestyle.

This is especially effective for busy mums who wear multiple hats: mother, spouse, entrepreneur or busy corporate and many other roles. But no only, it’s for busy fathers as well.

We are meant to move and when we don’t use our muscles they de-condition. At the beginning it’s not visible, everything happens “under the hood”, but de-conditioning happens very fast.

We have evolved to use our bodies, like all other creatures on earth, and when we don’t use it enough it hurts, it’s stiff and weak.

Thus without further ado, here are some ideas:

 

1. Brushing your teeth

Small squats, small lunges or standing on one leg to work those stability muscles (make sure if you lose your balance you don’t fall on something and injure yourself.

 

2. Are you in a hurry?

Don’t take the car, walk faster, speed walk.

 

3. Cooking

Stretch out, squats, lunges or, why not, a few crunches.

 

4. Kids

Play with your kids, even if you feel tired. You will feel better after you move around a little, even if only for 5 minutes.

 

5. Your drink

Don’t ask your kids to bring you a glass of water or your spouse to make you a coffee. Get up and prepare it yourself.

 

6. Lifting

You don’t have you lift heavy stuff, but even light ones pick them up yourself. If you have any injuries make sure this will not make it worse.

Also, every time you need to pick up something do so by squatting, split squatting or lunging.

 

7. Ironing

Now this is a tricky one. Squatting, high to begin with, while ironing.

 

8. Bus or train stop

You can walk from one side of the platform to the other, you can stand up and sit on the bench (it will look weird but that’s ok), balance exercises, stretching, lunges. (I do all these!)

 

9. Groceries

Besides walking to and from the grocery shop, use the bags with groceries as weights. Like this:

  • use your core muscles to keep your body balance, not leaning one side or the other, forwards or backwards
  • lateral lifts, with straight arms (if you can’t you don’t need to lift all the way up in line with the shoulder)
  • bicep curls
  • forward lifts
  • torso twists (arms alongside the body and twist from the waist)
  • shoulder shrugs
  • you can also walk in small lunges if you are brave

 

10. Sitting

Do 5 squats before you sit or lie down, every time.

 

11. Chair

You can sometimes stand at your desk, or use a stability ball which will activate some of the core muscles.

 

12. Uphill

Choose the more difficult path. When you walk uphill keep your body straight and aligned, don’t lean or bent forwards.

 

See what you can do from these suggestions.

Come up with some ideas and leave a comment and I will write a part 2 to this article quoting your idea. If I haven’t replied within a couple of days I might not have seen it, so contact me to let me know please (through social media or message me on the website).

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How Your Environment Influences Your Habits

The environment we live in determines whether our habits are healthy or not. It also influences your day to day choices and ultimately your lifestyle and your health.

 

Past environment

Millions of years ago the environment looked like this: open land, wild animals, forests, savannas, in terms of food berries, fruit, potatoes at some point and game, we had to hunt and walk for km to find food and then bring it back and cook it.

So the only options were walking a lot, sleeping, eating what there was to eat and reproducing. That was pretty much it, besides kids playing outside.

 

Present environment

Today’s environment look like this: buildings, cars, hardly any open space, store at the corner of the street, food in abundance, already cooked sometimes and online deliveries, TV, laptop, phones and tablets.

In the past we had to walk, run, squat, crawl, lift and carry. Now we can avoid most physical effort.

We have also evolved to crave sugars, fats and salt. We need them. While in the past the only options were fruit, nuts, game and water, now we have an abundance of uncecessary amount of calories from some of the worst sources. But while in the past we would use these calories and more, now we mainly receive them and keep them.

So the environment “encourages” us to consume these foods and drinks, it allows us. On the other hand we have created a very sedentary environment. We don’t use the calories we consume.

 

Cluttered desk

That kind environment at some point makes you tired, and stressed. When you are tired you tend to crave high energy foods, carbohydrates, which as we have designed the environment, are in abundance and from many wrong sources.

This is a simple example but it applies to all kinds of environments: your house, your fridge, office, tube stations, recreational parks, touristic places, streets and more.So we talked about food mainly because this is something we all struggle with these days. And the environment we live in has a massive impact on your eating habits.

 

What to do

There are things you cannot control (such a pollution on the street) and things you can control (such as your home). Let’s focus on what we can control and do, that will make a big difference in several other environments in your life.

 

Home environment

Probably the number one place to begin is your house. Here are a few examples of how to think about your environment and your habits

 

Having a TV: you will watch movies but also news and advertisments – news are filled with all the bad that’s going on in the world, very seldom the beautiful and happy, ads of any kind flood your mind which influence the way you think about the world, certain products and everything really, at a subconscious level. Your thoughts and habits are controlled by your subconscious. Solution: get netflix or just don’t have a TV, many people don’t have TVs, and I am one of them. I like to be in control of what I feed my mind with, as much as I can.

Storing certain types of foods: I don’t have cakes , ice cream and chocolate in the house, if I want I have to go buy, eat and that’s it. Same for sodas although I have’t had a soda in years, and same with breakfast cereal.

Nature: I am moving in an apartment now and that means I can have plants, so i will have a jungle corner because that makes me feel good and calm. What do you have in your house that makes you feel good?

I have my Karate medals and trophies, and race numbers where I can see them, so are my most powerful quotes.

 

Just these few elements have the power to keep me consistent and influence my habits the way I want them to be.

Home is important and it will expand to the office and all other areas. But not in a few months, let nature takes it course, your mind and body with adapt gradually in their own time. Using force to change something is not always the answer.

 

There are many examples and ways to make things come by themselves by simply designing the environment the right way. It’s very personalized, so if you’d like some guidance and ideas do contact me here.

 

People with kids

People with kids who say they need sweets for kids. A healthy environment is particularly important for kids. Habits are developed from an early age, after teenage it’s very difficult to change them. And why should we expect kids to change their habits later when we can set correct habits from the beginning.

I don’t have kids but my parents raised me and my cousin and I talk about these things with my mother very often to better understand and be able to advise my clients.

 

The environemnt and physical pain

Not all, but many of the aches and pain (acute or chronic) – lower back pain for example – come from weak muscles.

Comfy chairs, soft beds, supported muscles grow weaker. As the muscles grow weaker they need support. Getting more support will not help strengthen the muscles.

Don’t get me wrong, I like comfort myself, but sometimes a comfy chair can be replaced with one we need to use our core muscles to keep upright.

Maybe we should design buildings with stairs only for the first 2-3 floors. That is a way to design an environment and encourage people to take the stairs more often. Of course for the disabled the building will be adapted.

As long as we have the lift next to us, we are seldom going to take the stairs, and I am not talking about you and me but about everyone else.

 

Gradual changes

It is important to understand that no matter how much we try to change in a short period of time. Nature needs time to adapt. Your muscles, skeletal system even your digestive system, and your mind have to take their time.

Gradual changes are the answer to any changes you want to make, as well as patience and consistency.

Remember to contact me if you want guidance.

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The Common Cold, The Garlic Test And Placebo Effect

Just because someone says so doesn’t make it true. I would like to share a story with you.

For the second half of 2015 every time I’d feel my immunity drop a little I would take garlic. Small pieces of garlic, swallowed, so it doesn’t smell. And this seemed to help.

But I was no convinced. I needed to catch a real cold, not just signs of it. When I went to my parents’ to visit for New Year I stopped drinking my lemon with water, having garlic and, because I injured my food I didn’t go running either.

Luckily my immunity dropped and I caught a cold. That was my chance to see if the garlic actually worked.

In the past colds used to last for 2 weeks, 12-15 days. I used to take paracetamol and other stuff, pills for throat and everything else we usually take. Pills taken 2-3 times a day.

I decided to take small pieces garlic 3 times a day, morning, afternoon and evening. Have it with food as well. Since it’s garlic, and it was also from the countryside, it was good for me.

 

“Garlic improves blood circulation, healthier cholesterol levels and lowers blood pressure, all of which reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, current evidence does not support the use of garlic supplements to improve health.” – NHS

We’re not talking about garlic supplements. Why would you do that? Seriously. Have the real thing if you have it. Going through research papers, from what I have seen the research regarding garlic is unclear.

Anyway back to our story. The actual cold lasted 2-3 days, as opposed to 2 weeks. That was it. This proved to myself that my body can heal itself with a little outside help, which I am glad was something natural, even organic.

 

Placebo?

Maybe. But why is that wrong? Is is bad that the body can heal itself? I’d “take” placebo effect anytime instead of all the chemicals and other ways of curing. Wouldn’t you?

Doctors did fake knee meniscus surgery and both the patients who had the real surgery and those who had face surgery healed from meniscus damage.

There are many stories about doctors giving water pills to patients, and patients recovering from serious illnesses.

Are paracetamol, ibuprofen and other pills placebo? I believe they are. The body is capable of more than we believe. But this is only my opinion.

Bottom line, I’d rather recover from colds through placebo by taking garlic, lemon with water and water than by taking chemically manufactured pills. What do you prefer to believe in is your decision.

In fact why do we even need pills, garlic or anything else?

 

“Is there scientific proof we can heal ourselves?”

Over 3500 cases of patients who have gotten better from seemingly incurable illnesses. All compiled in the Spontaneous Remission Project.

Spontaneous remission – the disappearance, complete or incomplete, of a disease or cancer without medical treatment or treatment that is considered inadequate to produce the resulting disappearance of disease symptoms or tumor. – Caryle Hirshberg and the late Brendan O’Regan

I will leave you with the awesome Lissa Rankin, MD who talks about scientific proof that we can heal ourselves.

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How To Lose Weight Part Five

Let’s wrap this up. There are 3 reactions that take place in the body at any given time: Physical, Mental and Chemical. We talked about them in the first 4 parts of How to lose weight series.

Every body has an ideal weight. To reach that weight and keep it all the 3 systems must be in balance.

Your style of life is the way you live you life day by day. It can come in many shapes and colours, but it is your style of life. And it’s shaped by the choices you make every day. That’s not meant to scare you, but rather make you understand that you are in control.

Whether you struggle with weight to put it on or off it’s all about the lifestyle. But not your lifestyle today, or last year. No, it’s about your lifestyle in time, over the last 5, 6, 7 or more years. Your lifestyle today will impact your lifestyle years from now.

Weight gain starts inside our bodies, they are like injuries we cannot see, and they manifest at the surface a few years down the road. It is long terms habits that lead to weight gain, thus it is long term habits, of another kind, that will bring you back to your balanced weight.

 

Changing your lifestyle

A style of life is made up of many small elements, we call those habits. These habits are being built and they change change over the years. That’s good, every year we are different, we want and need different things so our choices and habits change. So does our style of life.

Because you have created this style of life over many years, you cannot expect now to make sustainable changes in a few weeks or even months. It may not take the same number of years it took you to put on the weight, but it won’t happen in a few months either, if you want it to be sustainable.

 

Don’t lose weight to be healthy, be healthy to lose weight

One of the biggest mistake I believe people make when they try to lose weight is to focus only on that: I HAVE TO LOSE WEIGHT.

The thing is weight will always go up and down. It’s a roller coaster. That is why many people give up after a few months. What’s the point, right? Over 2 months one may lose 3 kg and put on 4kg. Then lose 2kg and put on 1kg. But in there there’s 1kg less than when you started.

However, it is not fast enough for the fast paced world we live in. And so we get disappointed and frustrated, which doesn’t help with weight loss either. Focusing on health and giving the body the best fuel to work with will also lead to the weight loss you desire. And you can keep this over prolonged periods of time without feeling under pressure or a burden.

 

There is more to health than weight loss

If one’s focus is on health and being fit and strong physically and mentally, and less on weight loss (numbers on the scale are there as a guide and one should not put too much feelings into them) that’s when we create sustainable changes.

Counting calories, kilograms and days, waiting to see a notable change from one day to another, is not lasting change. Lansting change it taking each day at a time.

At the end of the day you go to bed with a smile on your face thinking “I gave my body the best fuel to work with. I am stronger and I feel excellent”. Rather than “The scale today showed 1 kg more than yesterday. Tomorrow. I have to eat less and run 1h to burn those calories”.

Which attitude do you think will make you stick to your new habits for years to come?

 

There is no perfect way

We are physically, psychologically and chemically different, and not everything will work for everyone. If you struggle to lose weight, you must patiently search until you find the way that works best for you.

The lifestyle, sustainable diet for you, the type of exercise or sport you love and gives you the results you seek, and the other activities that make you live with a positive attitude.

I wrote a lot about nutritional guidelines. If you want to read those articles give a shout and I will send you the links. Contact me.

Also read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 of How to lose weight.

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Confusing Comfort For Well-being

Daniel Lieberman (The Story Of The Human Body) gave me the idea for this topic, which I am very passionate about.

There is no doubt that what we have created today enables us to live longer, healthier and we have cured many diseases. And comfort is sometimes good and healthy. Tight shoes aren’t good in any way, tight clothing either, and there are many other examples.

 

However, we have taken comfort to extreme. 

Our bodies, the stone-age bodies, are not adapted to the lifestyle, the modern world we have created. Our bodies are designed to move, walk, carry, bend, they need to eat fresh food, chew food to develop strong jaws and drink water.

Today we use the elevator instead of stairs, sit for hours to work, eat and socialize. Although we know soft mattresses are not good, the desire for comfort and short-term satisfaction takes over.

Same with cars. We know walking is better, yet we look at how fast and comfortable we travel now rather than how strong or weak our bodies will be 10 years from now. Chairs are no different. Yet I am writing this sitting on a very comfortable chair. And you are probably reading it sitting as well.

 

Technology is also weakening our jaw muscles and bones and changes how we look. To develop strong jaws, we need to stress the bone. Stress by chewing harder food. Not cracking walnut shells, but chewing carrots, celery, nuts, seeds, fruit etc when the skeleton develops (throughout childhood). Drinking the carrots instead of chewing them will, eventually lead to weak jaws.

Chew carrots for 5 min and you will see how your jaw muscles will start aching. They are not strong enough anymore.

Some would argue that the nutrients are best absorbed through drinking. I cannot deny that, as I haven’t done any research myself. By research I don’t mean reading what others write in research papers, but actually be in a lab and see for myself. They may be right.

 

However, I believe the body is capable of absorbing nutrients just fine. It’s been doing it for millions of years before modern technology. Our bodies are powerful machines, they are not as weak as we may think.

 

Finally, the development of strong, fit and powerful bodies doesn’t stop after you leave the gym. Everything you do throughout your life, how you use your body daily, determines how strong your body will be. Do stuff, don’t just go for comfort, walk, jump, run and do whatever kids do, they instinctively know.

 

Elevator vs stairs

Drinking vs chewing

Soft vs tough mattresses

Cars vs walking

Sitting vs standing

…where do you stand? Which is well-being and which is comfort? Give it a thought and look at your habits. I know I look at mine very often.

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How To Lose Weight Part Three

After we talked about the 3 reaction that take place in our bodies at any given time: physical, psychological and chemical, in Part I, and about how to keep the physical side in balance, or strive to keep it in balance, in Part II, we will now talk about psychological aspects of weight gain and weight loss.

Read Part I and Part II before continuing.
Psychological reactions means stress, depression, frustration, worry, anxiety and so on. We already know that stress causes imbalance at a hormonal level. we talked a bit about cortisol hormone in Part II.

A bit of stress is alright, but excessive stress can also affect thyroid function. And when hormones are out of balance we may experience excessive weight gain, even if we exercise and eat healthy. You can’t have 2 and not the 3rd, all three reactions have to be in balance, or as close to it at possible.

No need to explain more about the negative impact of stress on your health. I’d rather give you a list of bullet point ideas of how to actually reduce stress. You may have already done some and didn’t work, try others.
For example meditation doesn’t always work with me, sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. That’s why I have many other ways to relax. And here are some of them for you to try as well:

 

  • Breathing – stress and anxiety? Do some breathing exercises and you will be like new. To download a FREE ebook I wrote on breathing exercises click here.
  • Meditate – just close your eyes and focus on your breath, the sounds around you or parts of your body you want to relax, no need for fancy stuff, just do nothing for a while
  • Run – go for a run if you are a runner, and go for a run even if you are not a runner, put some gym shoes on and run…outdoors where you have space and room to breathe
  • Martial Arts – chose a martial art and be consistent with your training, it’s great stress releaver even if you don’t punch pads (Martial Arts are not always about punching bag and pads, not until you actually learn how to punch)
  • Sleep – take a power nap; when I am stressed I also feel tired, sometimes a nap is all I need so I can get back to work and be very productive
  • Eat – have a nice, healthy and satisfying meal, not comfort food, rather food with healthy fats, unprocessed carbs and protein, all you need and crave from comfort food but healthier and in another form
  • Walk – go for a walk, sometimes this is all we need to clear our mind
  • Social media and email? – no, no, this is not what you need, this will stress you even more, disconnect, you are not addicted to it. If you believe you are turn off internet on your phone when you are out for that walk, turn off the phone even

 

So here they are, a few suggestions to keep the mental part calm and happy.

Remember exercising and eating healthy are just part of your weight loss journey. If you want to do this, do it right, quick fixes will get you short lasting results.
Look at your style of life, make the necessary changes and you will see how, little by little, your whole life will change.

 

Read Part I and Part II of How to lose weight

 

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How To Lose Weight Part Two

In Part 1 of how to lose weight we talked about the three reactions that take place in the body at any given time: physical, psychological and chemical. If you haven’t read part 1 read that first, click here.

The 3 reactions influence each other. And when one is out of balance the other 2 will be as well. If you are very stressed out (psychological), the brain will send resources to deal with the problem. However it will take resources from the other 2 system and so hormones are affected. With hormones out of balance, because we know too much stress affects hormones, many people easily gain weight.

Stress can be psychological and physical as well. For example, too much exercise, I mean really too much, causes the body to release more of the cortisol hormone, and so does mental stress. Cortisol is a double edge sword, it’s always there and we need it, but too much of it can cause weight gain and other problems.

Today I only want to talk about how you can keep the physical reactions in balance.

Your style of life

Whether skinny or not, healthy or not, fit or not, you have a style of life. A way you live your life day by day.

We are all a bundle of habits. This is not a bad thing, if we didn’t have habits there will be no consistency and no progress. On the other hand if the habits are not the best ones, being consistent with them is not what we want.

Now it is time to look at your style of life. So here are a few questions for you to ask yourself and answer honestly:

Do I walk at least 30 min every day?
Do I exercise and move in proportion to what I eat?
Am I using the energy (calories) I ingest throughout the day?
Am I training and conditioning my body to develop muscles which keep my metabolism up and running? (walking and running alone are not enough)
Within the week, do I walk, run and move in proportion to the amount of time I sit?
Do I always keep a good posture, even when no one is looking?
Do I stretch enough so I never feel my body stiff or muscles tight?

The list can go on. These are questions you can answer yourself and you can start changing them one by one.

To summarize here are ways you can ensure your body is fit and strong:

  • within the week move more than you sit, or at least the same amount of time – your body was no designed to sit for hours
  • train your whole body, not just upper and lower body, full body training is essential for a full system development
  • train your heart (cardiovascular) but also your muscles (strength)
  • walk, run, lift, carry, throw, catch etc move in as many ways as possible
  • balance exercises – don’t underestimate the power of balance for strong foot muscles, ankles, knees and core
  • have a strong core as that is where every movement starts from
  • develop your core through a many different exercises – never limit yourself to just a few you like
  • stretch your body daily or whenever you have time – here is a full body stretch for you
 

See what changes you can make. You don’t need to change everything. Identify the most important areas and start working on them.

Remember that progress is made through small changes and not the most complicated processes.

And always bear in my that no matter what you strive for, if you are not out of your comfort zone you are not making much progress.

Need advice? I can schedule you for a FREE coaching call. To book straight into my calendar click here, , alternatively contact me.

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How To Lose Weight Part One

I would first like to look at how we gain weight. What are some of the most common factors of weight gain. Once we understand how we gain weight, we can then tackle the root cause I go the other way, losing weight.

No one gains weight over night, it doesn’t just happen all of a sudden. And there is always more than one cause. In fact everything we do, the way we live our lives, or the way we were taught we should live it impacts the chemical, physical and psychological reactions taking place in the body at any given time.

Weight gain is not your fault. It is the environment around you. The environment affects you at all levels, and often leads to imbalances in the system. Within the environment surrounding us there are things we cannot directly and personally control, but then there are the things we can.

 

The 3 reactions

Let’s clarify the 3 reactions  I will write a separate article as well, in more detail. But for now remember there are 3 reactions present in your body at all times: physical, psychological and chemical.

1. Physical – everything that has to do with mechanics, any injuries, strains, pulled muscles, any kind of tension in the body or relaxation.

2. Psychological – the mental activity, such as happiness, calmness, or stress, anxiety, depression etc

3. Chemical – all the chemical processes taking place in your body, digestion for example

 

When there is an imbalance in any of the 3 sections, such as too much stress or a fracture, the body sends more resources there to fix the problem. It does this at the expense of the other 2 systems, as it takes some of the resources from there, for example it might take from digestion.

Swimming. If you have a large meal more blood is sent to the digestive system to break down the food. If you go for a swim straight away, some of the blood busy with digestion is quickly directed to the muscles needed for swimming, and so some people experience cramps.

Thus, an imbalance in one of the 3 systems causes imbalances in the remaining 2. If this happens on a regular basis then digestion and metabolism is affected and the body slowly begins to put on weight.

Let’s not forget that hormones are affected as well. And hormones regulate everything in the body. A hormonal imbalance can lead to a lot of weight gain

 

And so, to tackle weight gain we must strive for balance within all 3 systems. We must also focus more on the aspects of our life and environment that we can personally control rather then the ones we don’t have much control over.

Finally, all 3 reactions and our environment are influenced by our lifestyle and the choices we make. The 3 reactions are the root, the causes are in there. In the following articles of How To Lose Weight we will be talking about each reaction, some of the imbalances and ways to bring them back to balance.

 

As I said before it is not your fault, even if your choices are not the ones you believe to be the best for you. However, it doesn’t matter who’s fault is it, what matters is to tackle the general style of life, change the environment and restore balance between the physical, psychological and chemical reactions.

This is a very difficult thing to do. It is always easier to take a pill, go on a diet and get it over with. Then what? What did you learn? If learning is not something you want then my method is no the one for you.

If instead you want to learn about how the body and mind function, what and how to what to eat to feel satisfied for longer and maintain your energy levels, how to reduce the risks of injuries, aches and pain and much more then make sure you come back to read Part 2 of How To Lose Weight.

In Part 2 of this I will list a few ways to re balance the 3 reactions taking place in the body, starting with the Physical reactions.