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Aren't you concerned with your health?

Aren't you concerned with your health?

If you are concerned about your weight and/or health as I do, then see below. I am sharing my experience here.


Before your age turns 30 [at least by 40] consider the below:
1. What is the criteria of being healthy?
2. Should I need to 'only' care about calories, weight, BMI? Are there any other factors to consider?
3. How active I am?
4. How I want to be in my 40s and over 50s?


In recent past years, I was concerned about my health for 3months just before my annual Medical Checkup[MC], and will be very strict on my diet, will start walking, running etc. Once MC is done then back to normal life style. I wan't a couch potato, but equally not much concerned about health.


Let me re-wind my life to about 15years back...


I was 86kg in weight and 168cm in height. That was the only data I had about me in this context. Absolutely no idea what was my Blood Pressure[BP], Cholesterol, Body Mass Index[BMI] etc. etc. Who cares? I was active, was able to run, walk, climb stairs as normal as possible. Eat as shameless as possible, eat whenever and whatever I wanted.


1999: This year was my very first medical checkup. Everything except by weight, BMI, rest everything was as normal as possible. Its obvious that my weight = over weight hence BMI was so high. BP? it was 87/54 [low BP]. The physician was stunned at me and asked whether I was ok, as I had to climb 4floors to get into the clinic where the MC was done [it was a 4F bldg and no lift was there]. He was checking with me whether I felt dizzy or anything strange. As I was perfectly fine I said so too. Now my Total Cholesterol [T-Cho] = 180mg/dl, HDL = 53mg/dl TG = 90mg/dl. Calculated LDL = 109mg/dl [normal]


Years passed gradually the physical activity increased day by day such as walking to/from train station from/to home/office. Walking during sight seeing, climbing stairs several times at office to switch between two floors etc. The weight gradually reduced to 78kg.
Note: I have not done any exercise specifically to reduce weight, the normal day to day activity helped me to reduce 8Kg.


2002: MC my Total Cholesterol and LDL cholesterol were high. T-Cho = 260mg/dl, HDL = 51mg/dl, TG = 90mg/dl, Calculated LDL = 191mg/dl. Wait a min in 3years why this sudden change? After very long investigation found that the consumption of below were increased in recent years.
A. Potato fries from McDonald
B. Pizzas with double cheese topping


Now its time to keep fit as I am going to have my MC soon. What did I do? Walked as much as possible, reduced oil consumption, totally cut consumption of potato fries from McDonald and pizzas. Go to office in cycle [One way: 10Km]. Result: in 5months reduced 9kg and I was 68kg. Wow this was lower than my university days.


2004: Not much in my Cholesterol levels but my weight, waist size, BMI had improved levels. Still I was put in danger level on the Cholesterol.


2005: Now the life style little changed [bit eased] weight increased to 72kg. Other stats were more or less same as previous year. T-Cho = 225mg/dl, HDL = 53mg/dl, TG = 90mg/dl, Calculated LDL = 154mg/dl. Wow better than 2002. Perhaps cut on those high fat items helped?


2006: Except weight, BMI nothing else changed much, although there was slight change in cholesterol measures. Weight was about 76kg. T-Cho = 221mg/dl, HDL = 57mg/dl, TG = 93mg/dl, Calculated LDL = 146mg/dl.


2007: Weight = 77.7kg, T-Cho = 242mg/dl, HDL = 53mg/dl, TG = 192mg/dl, Calculated LDL = 150mg/dl. Increase in weight and T-Cho. Reason: Started drinking alcohol [a social drinker, but when drink will really get drunk as though I have to crawl back home]


2008: Awareness increased did few physical activities that helped in reducing weight to 72kg, but not much difference in Cholesterol levels.


2009: Again weight gained now to 77kg. Cholesterols increased as well. T-Cho = 251mg/dl, HDL = 60mg/dl, TG = 179mg/dl, LDL = 172mg/dl.


2010[3/2011]: Not much change in weight. Observed reduction in Cholesterol. T-Cho = 231mg/dl, HDL = 60mg/dl, TG = 142mg/dl, LDL = 156mg/dl. Reason: you can see in the summary.


2011[1/2012]: Weight reduced 75kg [was 79.8Kg on 29-Sep-2011. Observed increase in Cholesterol. T-Cho = 261mg/dl, HDL = 50mg/dl, TG = 96mg/dl, LDL = 190mg/dl.


Summary of Observations
* When I was over weight my cholesterol was as normal as it has to be [1999]
* Even after my weight reduced, the cholesterol level has increased [2002]
* Even after few adjustments in the diet and activity there has not been much improvement in the cholesterol level


Factors to be considered to stay fit
Activities
* Keep yourselves as active as possible.
* Schedule your activities and keep it as regular as possible. Be it walking, jogging, running or any aerobic exercise try to do it for at least 30 min a day. Key point is to keep it as regular as possible and have to sustain i.e. continue it for ever. Do not count the time you walk to Bus stop/Train station, Office or a Shop etc. unless you walk for 30min (continuously) and cover 3~3.5km at least. Note: This will differ according to age and capacity.
* Try to use stairs instead of lift/escalator if you want to go up/down by 2~3floors.


Food
* Never say 'No' to food, but limit intake quantity. It is generally observed that in a day we eat at least 2.5 to 3 times than what we actually need.
* (Over) stuffing yourselves shall be allowed just once in a week, but be careful, if you don't follow other points then better not.
* Although you are free to eat what ever you want [but limit the quantity].
* Balance your diet as much as possible. Its difficult to get everything in one meal, so plan your meal so that you get almost all nutrients that you need to intake in a week.
* Drink 'Oolong cha' [aka chinese tea], preferably warm, immediately after your meal. This helps in digestion of the food that you had and dissolve the fat you just consumed.
* Do consider to use oils that have Mono Un-Saturated Fat [MUFA] or oils that have Poly Un-Saturated Fat [PUFA] and avoid Saturated Fat.
* Do not miss to add foods with high dietary fibre content.
* Avoid 'FAST FOODS' as much as possible. Note: You may have in limited amounts for once in one or two months.


Others
* Make a note of your measurements (those that you can measure by yourselves such as weight, waist size, BMI) in regular intervals [Suggested interval: monthly~bi-monthly]
* Make a note of your measurements i.e. do a MC (those that you cannot measure by yourselves such as BP, Cholesterol, Body fat, etc. [Suggested interval: semi-annually(if you have abnormalities)~ annually].
Note: this is absolutely a must to stay fit so that you can find that you are deviating from normal and take corrective actions sooner than later.
* Join a gym. I had misconceptions of going to a gym until last year. But, after me joining this year felt that I should have done this several years ahead. Lots of advantages in going to a gym. Of course it depends on the facilities and type of equipments the gym can provide.


Advantages of a gym: You have an instructor/trainer to monitor/train you. You have equipments that can assist you to know your limits. There are lots of difference in running/walking in a gym and on road. On road you will have several hinderances [such as cycles, signals, dogs, others] so you cannot keep your pace. More importantly there is a minimum level and maximum level of your heart beat when you walk/run. If you don't reach minimum level there is no point in exercising, and if you exceed your maximum you are risking your life. Note: this is for those who are planning to run/walk for fitness purpose not planning to run a marathon etc.


Conclusion
Above are very very easy to follow. These are practiced and proven methods by me, but I failed to sustain. Now I've decided to sustain going forward.
Justification? Usually I stop the fitness activities after my MC, but this time still continuing...


My target for this year [2012] is to:
* reduce my weight to 68kg [was 79.8kg on 29-Sep-2011 and now 73.8kg on 28-Jan-2012].
* reduce my total cholesterol level below 220mg/dl [260mg/di on 5-Jan-2012 next measure due by Apr-2012]


Eat Healthy, Be Active and Stay Fit


Disclaimer: There may be several references made in internet some are copy/paste, some are re-written. Please do not try highlight those, but pay attention to the content and try to follow or suggest (me) improvements. This is purely my view in my experience (and references) that may or may not suit you or you may have totally different view, so please do not to take these as things written in stone and startup a fight with me. Any repercussions that you face is totally your responsibility.

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[PARAMASHIVAN]

http://the-healthy-insider.com/uk/?t...w=taeroni-ukd&

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Honey & Cinnamon Cold Remedy

Kids & Adults love this! Both honey & cinnamon have antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-fungal properties.


1 teaspoon honey (organic raw honey)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix. Take this amount every few hours as soon as you feel a cold or other illness coming on. After initially trying it with only one ‘dose’ and seeing the immediate effects, I now mix up a small bowl full of honey and cinnamon and spoon it into hot drinks or dip fruit into it all day long. I find that with young children it’s easy to just treat the whole family with this simple yummy remedy upon the first sign of a sniffle from anyone.

As with all home remedies, your mileage may vary and please do not substitute this for proper medical advice! Do not give to children 12 months or younger.

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[iqojoxifidoc]

While you may be making the utmost effort to eat healthy for the majority of your day, it is possible that there are the small daily mistakes you maybe making in your diet, which make weight loss, or weight management more difficult and a slower process than it should be.

Sometimes it is these innocuous morsels of food that make a big difference when it comes to proper weight management. So what are these foods in your daily diet that you should avoid?

1. Glass of milk - While milk is a healthy addition to your meals, it could possibly be the one food that is hindering your progress. If you are used to having a glass of milk before you sleep, at breakfast, or even for a snack in the evening, take a break from drinking milk for a month. If you feel that its making a difference - making you less sluggish, helping you lose weight, clearing up your skin etc - this maybe the solution to your problems. Give it a go.

2. Something sweet after meals - Many people have this habit of wanting just a little something sweet after every meal. This is absolutely unnecessary and you probably know it. Just that addition of sugar after your meals is worth cutting down on if you have it on a daily basis. Let dessert be a treat you save for the weekends and you will probably savour it more.

3. Heavy carbs for your evening snack - How often have you felt so hungry in the time between your lunch and dinner, that you can eat anything without giving a thought as to whether it is right for you or not? You may land up knocking off a sandwich or a samosa. This may be the only unhealthy addition to your diet in the entire day, but consumed daily, this evening snack could be hindering your efforts. Therefore, carry something that has healthy proteins and fats like nuts, with you so that you don't succumb to hunger.

4. Potatoes - Recently dubbed by a study conducted by Harvard, as one of the foods that definitely makes you gain weight over time, potatoes have a way of turning up in our daily food unannounced. You maybe eating a healthy sabzi but a whole potato may have been added in there to improve the flavour. Fresh veggies taste good on their own if you try, so give it a shot.

5. So called 'healthy snacks' - Baked chakris and chips, all of these so called healthy snacks, should be substituted with real nutritious food. Many people eat these unaccounted, thinking they are healthy and will not make a big difference to their health and weight. This is a misconception and you are better off without these highly processed snacks.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/l...ow/9232964.cms

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