TODAY HEALTH AND FITNESS

We'd all like a perfect body and getting that body can be near impossible without the right advice. A perfect body not only improves self confidence but can really change your life. Many of my personal training clients come to me with an idea of how they would like their body to look-and I've never failed to help anybody who really wants to change. If you are prepared to make lifestyle and dietary changes- you can get a perfect body too.

How to get a good body with lifestyle, mind and dietary changes-

First of all you have to have a clear image in your mind of what you'd like your body to look like. Whether this is super skinny, lean and muscular, muscular or even just a smaller belly. A clear picture in your mind enables you to set some goals to strive towards and keep you focused when times get hard- and they will don't think it will be an easy ride!

I often have my personal training clients visualise their perfect body each day and imagine stepping into that body and in their mind visualising how it would feel, be and how people would react to them. Unless it is real in your mind- your body will not follow. I am a strong believer in visualisation and know from experience it works. You have to practise every day though- just set aside five minutes and experience what it will be like when you achieve that perfect body.

Then you have to set about making some lifestyle changes. How to get a perfect body with exercise depends entirely on your goals. If you are after a more muscular look then you'll have to be in the gym (or at home if you have decent enough facilities) lifting 3-4 times per week. If you're after a leaner fitter look then I'd advise cardio style circuits, incorporating kettlebells, bodyweight drills, plyometrics (if you're up to a decent level) and light jogging. Good instruction is essential and well worth the money. Don't just start with the first trainer you find- make sure the personal trainer has at least 5 years experience and ask to see some of their previous client history or they really won't know how to get you a perfect body and may hinder your progress and waste time and money.

Lastly how to get a perfect body is with nutrition. Good nutrition is key with achieving a good body. Even if you're training everyday you won't notice good results unless your nutrition is in top condition. Of course depending on your goals your nutrition will vary drastically. If you're looking to lean up the primal way of dieting is very successful- this follows the way our ancestors dating back to pre farming used to eat. It is low in carbohydrates such as pasta, bread, grains and high in fibrous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and meat. If you're looking to gain size then a high carbohydrate diet is recommended with high protein consumption. The body will now grow if carbohydrates are too low- period!

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Just to set the record straight. Er' indoors asked me to publish this article as I have no idea about diets and weight loss. 'She who should be obeyed' and her friends have spent years on different diets trying to lose weight, and feels it would be a good idea to give her views and opinions on the subject. And seeing as she does not know one end of the computer from the other, she has asked me to do it for her.

So here goes. Over the years my' better half' has tried many different diet plans, the names of which I can't recall. This is not to say that they did not work just that some of them worked better than others. She feels that this was not down to the diet plans themselves but down to her determination and willpower. She says that she 'couldn't live on rabbit food and yoghurt and go around starving all day'.

With this in mind about 7-8 months ago she got me to start surfing the Internet to research weight-loss products (believe me, that was a lot of research). After reading through 100's of sites she decided no more diets and definitely no exercise regimes (too time-consuming and too tiring she said). She decided she was going to give weight loss pills try. Great I thought this is going to cost me a fortune (it did but not how I expected, more about that later)

After even more research, and a lot of deliberation and humming and arghing she decided on which weight-loss pills she wanted to try, and guess what, it was about the most expensive one on the market, but in saying that in all the research that we had carried out it constantly ranked as the number one product. The one she decided to go with was Proactol which is a fat binder and appetite suppressant, and what really made up my wife's mind was the fact that it is made completely from natural ingredients, and has no side effects. I won't bore you with all the details. If you would like to find out more go to.

She ordered 6 months supply and off she went. She found that she was only losing a couple of lbs per week. At first she was not happy with this as she is the type of person that likes everything to happen yesterday, I convinced her that losing a few lbs per week was better than losing it all in one go, eventually she agreed with me for once and persevered with the pills. What I did find though, was that it was working at quite expensive, not through the price of the pills but the cost of the Vet bill, let me explain. 'Er' indoors' loved the fact that taking these pills meant that she could eat normally and not have to live on rabbit food, but the thing that she forgot at the beginning was the appetite suppressant, and when she was making meals she was given herself normal portions and consequently she was leaving a lot of food. This is normally not a problem because we always give the leftovers to the dogs, but the amount of leftovers that they got meant that they got fat and a visit to the vet was required to put them on a diet (and diet dog food is bloody expensive)

Anyway, to cut a long story short it's been 6 months now. The dogs are on diets, the wife's dropped 2 dress sizes (and is as happy as a pig in s**t) and I'm skint (but at least I can surf the net about something interesting now). The wife is happy with her size and weight and has just ordered another 6 month supply of Proactol so that she can maintain the weight she is at.

I will let my wife have the final say on the subject (as I always do). She says 'diets are good but the biggest weapon you have got when you are on a diet is your own willpower. If you haven't got the willpower your diet will never work. When you are on weightloss pills willpower isn't as much of an important issue providing you remember to take your pills when you are supposed to, you can eat all the things you normally eat and you will lose weight. I am very happy with the results I have achieved and I would recommend Proactol to anybody that asked my opinion, and now I would not use anything else. I know that they are not magic pills and you still have to eat the right normal foods, but compared to the work required for a normal diet or exercise regime the work required for weight loss pills is minimal So to sum it up Diet Plans will work with willpower and determination but my winner is definitely weight loss pills.

Nowadays with busy work schedules, overtime work, deadlines, further/extra studies, kids, rising petrol prices, inflation, social obligations, house chores, mortgage repayments, etc, it is getting harder and harder for many people to stay healthy, stress-free and happy. Many of us end up disregarding our physical, mental and emotional well being just to ensure we stay on top of things (or so we think) and that the bills are paid for, our project deadlines are met, our kids go to private schools, etc.

What many people fail to consider is: What is the point of doing all of this if you're not going to enjoy and live a happy life?

Living a balanced lifestyle is the key to ensuring that you can have time for yourself, your work, your friends, your family and time to enjoy life and the people and things around you. Admittedly, achieving one is easier said than to be done. But if you are discipline and really try to challenge yourself, you will get there and you would never want to look back.

To help you along your journey, I have listed out some simple tips and ways to go about balancing your life, work and commitments.

By indulging and taking care of yourself, this can significantly reduce your stress levels and clear your mind so that you're in a better frame of mind to tackle any issues, problems and unexpected challenges that pop up along the way. Reduction of stress is important as high levels of stress have been shown to significantly impact negatively on one's mental and emotional health. Hence, as part of a balanced lifestyle, activities that are stress-reducing are important and I have listed out a few ideas to get you started.

Since we take time to indulge in ourselves, as part of a balanced lifestyle, we must also take time to care for ourselves. Caring for ourselves and our body involves eating a balanced diet and being active (ie. exercise). Approaching this with a positive can-do attitude will also make things a lot easier, and in combination with these ideas, you will be on your way to achieving a balanced lifestyle in no time.

Remember this phase: "Those who think they have no time for healthy eating will sooner or later have to find time for illness" (Edward Stanley). The reason why eating well is so essential for a balanced lifestyle is because having a balanced diet will ensure that your body is functioning well, you have more energy for your day and you will have a lower chance of falling sick or developing any illnesses/diseases. There are a million and one things that could go wrong if you continuously indulge in an unhealthy diet but it is outside the scope of this article. If you're interested and would like to read up more on it, I would recommend you to read up on how to achieve a balanced diet

Exercise is not only a fantastic way to reduce stress, it is great for the waist line, your skin, mental health and ensuring that your bodily functions are at their optimum. If you're "too busy" for exercise, schedule it like how you will schedule your other work appointments and social events. By committing it down on your calendar, you are more likely to stick with it and be motivated to do it. Make sure that the exercise is something you love to do. So for example, if you don't like running or hitting the gym, go for a bike ride instead. Or try something new like dancing, zumba, rock climbing, etc. Be creative! There are so many other options out there besides hitting the gym.

To enjoy a balanced lifestyle, you need to manage all aspects of your life: Work, health, fitness, relationships, family and mental well-being. However, realistically, it can get unbelievably hard to manage all aspects of this and become bogged down with one aspect (ie. work) and ignore the rest (ie. your diet or time spent with your loved ones). Therefore, it is vital that you take some steps and tips to ensure you maintain on top of things so that you can enjoy all areas of your life.

When you're contented, you can actually properly enjoy every moment of your life and savor the things that are important to you. Many people get caught up in the whole materialistic world which can drive them to work more and more hours which consequently impacts negatively on their health, emotional wellbeing, and relationships with their love ones. It is important to distinguish between a want and a need because lets face it, most of the time, we do not really NEED that new BMW car, we just want it for superficial reasons. Again prioritising what is important to you (because everyone is different) is important as you will be able to have a holistic view on what is important and what you need to work and aim for.

As with everything (especially at the start), living a balanced lifestyle can be challenging to achieve as it requires you to change your current lifestyle. Being disciplined and committed is so important in ensuring that you permanently and sustainably having a healthy diet, an exercise routine and enough time for your work, your love ones and yourself. Start off with planning your calendar and diary and make sure you look at it everyday and stick with it. Doing it with a friend that is equally or more motivated is also a great idea as you can both motivate each other and start doing things together (ie. healthy cooking or exercise activities).

Happiness comes from achieving a positive sense of well being and achievement, and this can occur from developing relationships with people. When we believe that we have helped another person in a certain way, chemicals in our brain actually react and make us feel good about ourselves in a selfless kind of way. Meaningful ways to spend your time include volunteering at the local dogs shelter or elderly homes, or visiting a friend in hospital, or going to see your grandparents/parents that you haven't seen for a while, or catching up with a friend that you know is going through a hard time, or assisting the new colleague of yours in finishing up his project. There are countless of meaningful activities that you could be doing and enjoying in your spare time. Remember, the meaning of life is to live a life of purpose and you can only get the most out of your life if you can manage all aspects of your life that are important to you.

I hope this article has been useful to you and all the best!

~Regina Cheah

As you begin to get older there are several things that you are more prone to, and unfortunately falls are one of them. The leading cause of death and injury in over 65 year olds is from falls, and this alarming rate is on the increase. The seniors that experience these falls can suffer from a huge number of different injuries. They may experience everything from mild sprains to severe broken bones, and head injuries. Although some falls are unavoidable, others can be evaded if you are physically fit and active.

Some older people feel there is no point in exercising, and that it is too late in their life to begin. However, this is untrue and any senior person can begin an exercise routine to suit their fitness level. No matter what exercise is carried out it will be beneficial to you, and hopefully, you can avoid a fall in the future. Even seniors that are disabled will be able to carry out some form of exercise routine. There are many different exercise programmed designed to suit everyone no matter what your disability is.

As well as a good exercise program, a balanced diet will also help you to remain healthy. Taking vitamin D has also been proved to help with falling over in senior people, and for some people this is easy to achieve. Your body will produce vitamin D by itself when you are outside in the sunshine, so if you are lucky to live in sunny climates you will benefit from going outside. Whilst you are outside you can begin to complete some of the basic balance training exercises designed to reduce the risk of falling over. Tai Chi, dancing and balancing on one foot will also help you to train your balance.

Strengthening your legs is also very important as many seniors spend longer sitting down their legs will become weaker. Basic exercises can be done three times a week for as little as 20 minutes a session. If you are fortunate enough to be a member of a gym, there are many pieces of different equipment that you can use. Asking the staff to show you the correct method of training will enable you to be taught the correct way to strengthen your legs.

If you are not keen on joining the gym or an exercise class something as simple as walking can help to strengthen your legs. Walking to the shops daily will stretch your legs, and help you to remain active. Even if you need to use a stick or frame the simple motion of walking can really help you in so many different ways. No matter how old you are, there is still a great deal of life left in you, and by keeping mobile and active, you can ensure that you remain healthy.

The basic exercise routine that you participate in with helps you to avoid disease, ill health and falls. As well as exercise and balance training you should ensure that you get a good night sleep, and have regular checkups. Both your ears and eyes will need testing regularly to ensure that they are not causing your unbalance. Once you are cleared to exercise you will love the freedom of movement it allows you, and you will feel so much younger.

As you may have noticed, there are lots of things that you need to consider when trying to stay fit and healthy. More often than not this mass of information becomes overwhelming and most people start off with good intentions but give up in the long run, slipping back to old ways and habits. To help you maintain that healthy lifestyle, below are the top ten things you should be doing to keep yourself healthy and happy. 

1) When trying to keep to a healthy lifestyle, the first thing you need to consider is your diet. A good balanced diet is essential in maintaining a healthy body. Remember, 'rubbish in = rubbish out'. Eating junk food, fatty food and other convenience foods will result in a feeling of lethargy, tiredness, depression and bad complexion just to name a few. Simple changes to make would be avoiding too much red meat, high fat foods and high calorie foods instead substituting this with high fibre low fat food, mixed with a regular intake of fruit and vegetables. Fibre is great for digestion whilst fruit and vegetables will help keep vitamin and mineral levels up. 

2) Make sure you drink plenty of water throughout the day. One of the risks of not drinking enough water is the onset of kidney stones. If you know anybody who has had kidney stones, you'll know this is to be avoided! Drinking plenty of water will keep you hydrated which in the long run will help you cleanse your body of impurities. You will start to feel more alert and less tired, you may notice your skin improves with a new radiance. If you are lactating, it is vital that you keep well hydrated to ensure your milk is at its best. Most research suggests that eight glasses of water per day is a minimum. 

3) Consider taking vitamin and mineral supplements, especially at the beginning of your new healthy schedule. Some of the more important ones specific to women are Calcium and Iron. Calcium is essential for women of all ages but especially menopausal women to ensure good bone strength and minimise problems from onset of Osteoporosis. Iron supplements are especially important for menstruating women and women who suffer heavier blood loss during that time of the month. Vitamin E400 is worth taking as this has been shown to reduce flushes and sweating at night. For the skin, consider Vitamin E as as a dietary supplement.

4) If you smoke, GIVE UP!! Yes, I know that is much easier said than done but any reduction in the amount that you smoke will be beneficial. If you find the idea of giving up a step too far why not try cutting down? A great way to cut down is to try and extend the time between your cigarettes. If you can maintain this, you will gradually start to smoke less without feeling the withdrawals as much. If you are pregnant, then smoking is a big 'NO-No'. The toxins in a cigarette can cross from the mothers bloodstream and into the baby. Also your chance of breast cancer is much higher if you are a smoker. Overall reducing alcohol and smoking less are great ways to a healthier happier life.

5) Try and introduce a regular exercise into your daily routine. There are simple ways to get exercise without really trying. You could try walking home from work if it's not too far, don't take the elevator all the time - try using the stairs. When your kids are outside playing, take a few minutes to go and play with them. Not only will you be getting fit but you'll be spending more time with your children. Everyone wins! Yoga is also a great way to stay toned and supple. This can be done in the home with a minimal investment in equipment. There is lots of free info. on the internet related to yoga. A simple cheap way to stay healthy.

6) Try and avoid sources of stress. Stressful situations whether at home or at work can leave you with excess amounts of adrenaline and other 'fight or flight' by-products. These can affect heart muscle, upset sleep patterns causing insomnia and much more. Exercise can help to burn off some of these stress by-products but any high stress situations should be avoided.

7) A lot of women are a sucker for a good suntan but there are hidden dangers. Recent research has indicated that over exposure to sunlight and sun tanning beds could increase your chances of skin cancer by up to 30%. A lot of the damage is done in younger life and may not show for years. Simple ways to avoid danger would be to use high factor sun creams, don't lie out in direct sunlight, consider using a tanning cream and avoid those nasty UV rays altogether.

8) Make sure you attend regular smear tests and ensure you visit your Gynaecologist on a regular basis. A lot of 'womens' problems' can be detected in the early stages and treated accordingly. Cervical cancer, chlamydia and Warts are just a few of them. Avoiding your Gynaecologist is akin to playing Russian roulette!!

9) Make sure you practice safe sex. STD's can be easily transmitted and even a long term partner could be harbouring some unknown stowaways. Sexually transmitted diseases can lie dormant for years. Until you are 100% sure you and you're partner are free from STD's practicing safe sex is the best way to stay healthy.

10) An often overlooked area of personal health is dental hygiene. Not looking after your oral hygiene may result in gum disease, tooth loss, halitosis to name but a few. Keep regular appointments with your dental hygienist and make sure you floss regularly to keep a beautiful bright smile.

To get anywhere, you need to know where you're starting from and when it comes to weight loss that means giving yourself a basic fitness assessment.

This can be depressing for most people because the results confirm what they have been avoiding: They're overweight, unfit, and at high risk of heart disease!

But these people a looking at it all wrong. Don't get depressed, get focused!

This could be one of the biggest turning points in your life. You can get fitter, you can rid yourself of fat, and you can reduce your risk of heart disease. And it doesn't take much work.

Just commitment!

Ok. Let's get into the Fitness Assessment. You will need a pen and some paper to write down your measurements, and a cloth measuring tape (like the ones used for sewing).Remember, you should use these results to measure yourself against every 6-8 weeks.

This is the one everyone hates. Too much emphasis is placed on weight and it isn't an accurate measure of how much excess fat you carry. You can burn 10kg of fat but the scales only show you as 5kg lighter. It happens all the time. When you haven't exercised much and you start a regular program, it can be quite easy to put on a bit of muscle. So remember, your weight is only a measure of gravity (and gravity sucks!).

You should only weigh yourself every couple of weeks. You can measure your progress more accurately with the measuring tape.

This is the number of times that your heart beats, per minute, when totally rested. It's best to measure this when you first wake up.

Process:

If your heart is healthy, it will be below 80 beats per minute. As you get fitter, your resting heart rate drops, which means that your heart doesn't have to work as hard. Your goal should be to reach 50-60 beats.

Measure your waist, stomach, and hips. Keep the tape measure firm. This is what you will measure your improvements against.

The measuring points can be found at these locations: 

Body Mass Index basically measures your level of fatness (I know, I just made that word up!).

It's calculated using the formula: BMI = ( Weight in Kilograms / ( Height in Meters ) x ( Height in Meters ) ).

So if your height is 1.73 meters (173cm) and your weight is 90 kilograms, you would start by multiplying 1.73 * 1.73. This equals 2.99. Next you would divide that number into your weight (90).

Therefore, the formula would look like: 90 divided by 2.99 = 30.1!

If you don't use the metric system, use this formula: BMI = ( Weight in Pounds / ( Height in inches ) x ( Height in inches ) ) x 703

Although a small amount of excess body fat (26-27) is not likely to be very harmful to the health of most people, having a BMI above 30 (obese) significantly increases the risks of a wide range of diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, stroke, osteoarthritis, and gall bladder disease. This is especially true for people who have excess fat in the abdominal area.

This measures your risk of heart attack. It does this by assessing body fat distribution. The closer the score is to 1.00, the higher the risk of heart disease. 

When an artery becomes blocked or broken you will find that you are at risk for nerve damage and a stroke. It is a very common condition that will leave a person extremely disabled. This can cause your brain cells to die and it is not something that can be fixed or repaired. One of the most common types of strokes is known as the Ischemic stroke and it is caused by an artery. Depending on the individual, you may have different side effects from the stroke. It may not be too disabling, but it could also leave you completely crippled. It is important that you do everything that you can, to not end up having a stroke and that you will not have to deal with these types of disadvantages in life.

Did you know that the right and left side of the brain will control different sides of your body? The two sides control the opposite side of the body so if paralysis occurs it will likely only be to one half of your body. If you happen to have a stroke and it affects the right part of your brain you will lose your vision. One the other hand, strokes affecting the left side may cause speech problems as a result. Any brain cells that die will cause memory loss and paralysis that may affect parts of or the entire side of your body.

High cholesterol is the leading cause of having clogged arteries and that will cause you to have a stroke or a heart attack. It is also related directly to developing heart disease, which makes you susceptible to heart related problems, which include stroke and heart attack. The doctor that you go to will be able to test your cholesterol levels at any time in your life, but you should get it checked frequently once you become eighteen and older. Do not wait to get checked out. There is therefore need to maintain a proper balance in the ratio levels of L D L- Low Density Lipoprotein to H D L- High Density Lipoprotein, as will be discussed later.

Being overweight, smoking, poor diet, lack of physical activity, and genetics can all be causes of elevated levels that may cause you harm. Also, to fight your chances of a stroke, you will want to use exercise and a diet to help you battle your high cholesterol. It may also be necessary to restrict your diet to get rid of sugars and saturated fats because they can cause elevated levels of bad cholesterol. You may also want to ask your doctor about certain medications that you can take to control your cholesterol.

Heart disease, unfortunately does not give advance warning signs, so one can prevent it. It only becomes apparent when it is too late or almost too late to do something about it. We, however, need to be especially careful if there is a past family history of heart disease and be wary of the risk factors. The major risk factors as stated above are divided into two categories: Primary and Secondary.

Primary risk factors include;

• Being overweight or obese.
• Cigarette smoking.
• High Blood Pressure condition or Hypertension.
• High Blood Cholesterol Levels.

Secondary risk factors include;

• Lack of exercise and an inactive lifestyle.
• Excessive intake of alcoholic drinks.
• Sugar Disease or Diabetes.
• H D L - density lipoprotein-Cholesterol Low Levels.
• In females, use of contraceptives with oestrogen content.
• A Stressful Lifestyle.

Finally friends and family should encourage that you go see a doctor periodically so that you can avoid the horrors of a stroke. You will want to get annual and regular checkups to see if you are at risk of a stroke or heart disease. With the high cholesterol, you will be at risk of a stroke and you will need to be kept under strict observation and control to help prevent this disease from afflicting you.