Category Archives: Health + Lifestyle
What’s the best time to exercise?
We all know that regular exercise is a good thing to do for your health. Finding the time can be a real problem and for most of us, slotting exercise into our busy schedule becomes more of a ‘whenever I can fit it in’ scenario.
So does it matter what time of day we exercise?
Morning: Current thinking is that if you fast in the morning, your body burns up fat voraciously so if you exercise first thing your body continues the process. Exercise in the morning is an optimal time to shed weight.
Lunch Time: One of the great things about exercising at lunchtime is it heightens your reflexes, increases blood flow to your brain and is a great stress release.
Evening: Weightlifters often prefer to work out in the evenings and there is a very good reason for it. Our muscles are warmer and there are certain hormones that are necessary for muscle resistance work, lifting weights increases your overall strength. So if you are looking to build strength then consider an evening workout.
Avoid exercising right before you go to bed because your core body temperature increases which in turn raises hormone activity making our bodies hot and restless.
Choosing the best time to exercise is really up to you and is probably going to be based more on what suits your lifestyle. That is perfectly fine, the important thing is you are exercising!
Time Flies……
The weather is turning in Australia and we are finally getting all that comes with it including colds and flu.
It was a bit of a surprise logging in today and realizing it has been quite some time since I last posted. The reason? I have been sick with a rather nasty cold. I am putting my cold down to lack of sleep which is known to affect your immune system.
I won’t bore you with the details but it has certainly kept me away from my online duties so I do apologize.
Many people who blog about health and fitness are loathe to admit when they are sick and I can understand why. Everyday we tell you how great you will feel when exercise and diet becomes a regular part of daily life. Healthy is our main selling point so sharing with our readers that we get sick from time to time isn’t exactly the greatest selling point.
But hey, we are all human and occasionally even the fit ones get sick ;)
Some of our friends are heading into Summer so cold and flu symptoms are not a big issue but for those in Winter right now, here are a few tips to keep you well:
1. Sleep, sleep, sleep
2. Eat lots of local and in season produce – dark green veggies are the best and are packed with sick fighting nutrients.
3. Exercise – a healthy body is going to be able to work harder to fight off those bugs.
4. Drink water throughout your day
5. Hand hygiene – keep your hands clean. Hand hygiene is important to reducing transmission of germs. Wash your hands with soap and water and make sure to dry your hands properly.
Keep It Simple
We have decided to write a series of small posts designed to clearly outline the steps you can take to lead a healthy and happy life.
The first post of the series is titled “Keep It Simple” – here goes.
Forget about facts and figures, calories, BMI, statistics and science. Yes, they are all important elements in your health and fitness journey but you know what? They just confuse the issue!
In a nutshell….
- Cut down the amount of junk food you are eating.
- Buy fresh fruit and vegetables.
- Throw out processed, packaged foods.
- Include fish, chicken and small quantities of red meat.
- Practice portion control. Don’t go eating half a cow for dinner. Don’t even eat a quarter of a cow. It should roughly be the size of your palm.
- Drink water every day.
- Take every opportunity to be active. If going to the store, park as far away as you can and walk. If you have a few groceries and not a basket load, carry them back to your car in bags and ditch the trolley.
- Go out every day and get some fresh air.
- Drag the kids out to the park.
- Walk.
- Jog.
- Swim.
- Do whatever you can to get some regular exercise in to your day.
It shouldn’t be complicated. Complicated is difficult.
Being healthy and fit should be fun. Fun is simple.
Practice simple and the rest will follow.
Eating Seasonal Foods
I am a big believer in eating seasonal foods for a variety of reasons.
Freshness, taste, nutritional value, cost and transport all play a factor.
I was fortunate enough to grow up in the country and to this day I maintain that the food we ate back then was much tastier than anything I get today at the local supermarket.
Large food chains are all about volume and cost. They will source suppliers thousands of miles away if they can get their produce at a cheaper rate. This means that harvested food can be on the road for days or weeks before it finally arrives at the store. All the while your food is losing it’s nutritional value.
A few years back I had a conversation with a large vegetable supplier who sold potatoes and a variety of other produce to a big supermarket chain. He took me around the back of his house and showed me his personal vegetable patch. It was organic and everything looked absolutely gorgeous. I asked why he didn’t just use the vegetables he grew for the supermarkets and he replied, I wouldn’t eat that stuff if you paid me! The amount of chemicals he had to use to keep the volume up and unblemished appearance made him wary of eating the food he was growing.
Out of season food can be shipped from anywhere in the world or kept in storage to maintain outer appearance and taste. The problem is the nutritional value and taste just aren’t as good as when they were first harvested.
A recent article found that some varieties of apples sold in a fairly well known Australian supermarket chain were up to 10 months old. You really do have to wonder what is being done to keep it for so long!
As demand has risen for fresh produce, farmers markets and local fares have started to pop up everywhere.
Produce is sourced from local growers and is usually harvested closer to selling as they do not have the means to keep in storage for long periods of time.
Seasonal fruit and vegetables taste amazing. Their nutritional value is high and costs are low.
When we go shopping I always buy in season and will use this to form my menu for the week ahead.
In Australia winter greens are in season so the majority of foods I cook will contain these nutrient rich vegetables.
I would highly recommend making yourself aware of what is in season at the moment and cooking some lovely fresh meals!
Better still, if you have the room and a bit of time why not consider growing your own vegetables and fruit? There really is nothing quite like it!
Articles of interest
Are You Stuck In a Rut?
I am and it’s starting to drive me a little nuts!
I have talked for so long on this blog about the great benefits of incidental exercise, where you find ways to include a workout during your normal day activities.
It’s a really great way of keeping in shape and more importantly to keep things fun and interesting.
But what happens when your day routine changes to such a degree that you aren’t visiting parks or the beach or whatever you do on a regular basis?
Hence the reason for this post. Our situation has changed. Both my partner and I are on an extended break right now, in-fact it’s been almost 2 months of no work and plenty of rest time. The problem is, the rest time has not included incidental exercise. So to make up for this we have been doing our workouts at home and I have to say, I’ve had enough!
I know it shows a lack of will power or motivation in so much as I can’t do a workout routine day in and day out but the thought of waking up tomorrow and riding my exercise bike for an hour is filling me with dread.
Today we got so fed up with the whole thing that we gave our workout a miss and went for a nice long walk. It was fantastic! We walked for over an hour up and down hills, across sand at the beach and then a power walk back home.
We loved it so much that we plan on doing it tomorrow. I am so glad we got ourselves out of the rut and am kicking myself for ever getting into one in the first place.
So to answer my own question, just stop doing whatever is making you feel like you’re in a rut and look for alternatives. Don’t give up, don’t get fed up, just do something different. You will be amazed at how quickly your negative thinking will change to a more positive attitude.
10 Healthy Foods in Your Fridge Challenge
Last weekend we visited with some good friends and when I went inside to get some water from their fridge, I was struck by the lack of any healthy food.
Foods included cheeses, pate, creamy pasta sauces, salad dressings, garlic bread, packaged foods and a few other items. There appeared to be a couple of vegetables in the crisper but that was pretty much all I could see.
For the record, I am not someone who goes around peering into peoples fridges but it got me to thinking about what you might have in your fridge and whether healthy foods are common or rare.
My fridge has a pretty good mix I think. Plenty of fresh vegetables, low-fat milk, chickpeas (always in supply because I love them), kidney beans, fruit, yoghurt, cheese, eggs.
My freezer has a little red meat, chicken and pork steaks – fat trimmed.
So here is my challenge to you, go to your fridge/freezer and try and find 10 healthy food items.
Do you have any fresh vegetables in your fridge? How about meat? Just how much processed, packaged food is in there?
Don’t just take the label as good enough evidence either, read the nutritional information and make sure it is what the manufacturer claims it to be.
I got caught out not that long ago with some low fat yoghurt. After a few days I read the label and was quite shocked at the sugar levels.
Your fridge can tell quite a bit about you and where exactly you are in terms of health and fitness.
If you struggle to find 10 healthy food items then perhaps this is a good time to head down to your local store and pick up some fresh produce.
Roller Derby Your Way To Fitness
I love finding different ways to keep fit and healthy.
It is no secret that gym’s, for me at least just don’t inspire me to go back regularly.
I saw this video earlier today and loved it so thought I’d share.
I had no idea there were such things as roller derby’s but it looks like a lot of fun.
The girls in this video don’t hold back either and I love that.
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