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February 9, 2015 By Parwage Alam Leave a Comment

Exercising Too Much – Think Twice

Is too much exercise bad for you?

Many once have got on to the fitness path think that if they do too much of exercise they will achieve their goals faster. Is this true let’s find out?

It is always said that too much of good is also not very nice, including exercise. Too much of exercising is actually damaging.

Everyone believes that “Exercising is good for him/her, and that more exercising is considered better…”, this is a myth. The fact is that too much exercise could actually harm you rather than benefit you. In the excitement of doing too much exercise one does not realize they can harm themselves. You will end up facing problems related to physical and emotional conditions such as injuries, bone loss, muscle loss and sometimes even heart failure.

Adequate amount of exercise helps you to build good muscles. Then you become an “exercise freak”, same like the eating disorder. And, eventually you get devastating results.

You lose weight, yes, but not the way you should– your body goes into starvation mode and releases cortisol (Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands in your body when you are under stress. Cortisol will increase production of a neurotransmitter called neuropeptide Y, which can increase cravings for sweet or starchy foods – bad for health and fitness).

Increased cortisol inhibits any fat metabolism and breaks your muscle mass — your body basically starts eating itself. So instead of becoming a lean, mean fitness machine, you find you’ve less strength and also a weakened immune system.

Make no mistake about it, regular exercise is probably is the biggest factor in living a long and healthy life (not discounting healthy eating).

Here are several ways to tell that you’re working out too hard or Effect of too much Exercise can lead to:

Dizziness
Trouble breathing or maintaining a conversation
Disorientation, foggy mental processing
Rapid heart beat
Dehydration
Injuries
Loss of lean muscle mass
Heart failure in the absence of proper nutrition. Your heart is a muscle and over exercising could weaken it, leading to potential failure
Weakened immune system
Cessation of menstrual cycles, a condition known as amenorrhea
Research shows that many female athletes who over train begin to experience bone loss that apparently can’t be reversed if the amenorrhea persists long enough.
Sleep disorder
Eating disorder such as anorexia
Irritability, depression and low self esteem

Here is a checklist which will help you judge on your own if you are doing too much exercise:

Make up for one missed workout by doubling it the next session
You will force yourself even when you don’t want to
When you over eat, you prefer to exercise to burn all extra calories
You set the intensity of your exercise based on your food intake
You might feel guilty when you miss your exercise session
You become very upset if you miss a workout
You always have a fear that you’ll gain weight if you miss the exercise session for a day
You will miss the pleasure during exercise
You can’t bring yourself to take a day off from exercise

So the next time you go to exercise stop worrying. Just have fun and enjoy your workout.

February 3, 2015 By MANISHA GURAM Leave a Comment

Indulge: Eat Without Feeling Guilty!

food

Ever since I have started health counselling, I have met at least 8 out of 10 people who go through a guilt factor after having eaten foods that they love the most.. Some of these people literally hate themselves for having done that. For most of these individuals an outing/ family occasion/weekend/holiday means more worry about weight and less enjoyment.

Some of them miss meeting their friends and have stopped living their life because they don’t want to indulge while they are out.

Are you one of them?

If you are then, you must know that worry puts you and your body through stress and stress releases a hormone called cortisol which in turn promotes fat storage in our body. It increases the heart rate and breathing too. All of this can make one sick.

Cortisol makes you depressed and creates an imbalance in the biochemical reactions of the body. If you are worried about your health and weight, you must also be aware of the connection between the body and your mind. Our emotions share biochemical links with our digestive, nervous, endocrine and the immune system.

You must keep your negative thoughts and guilt away, else it will add up to stress. Your body will not be able to digest the food when you are very stressed! It’s like trying to stop a bull when he gets out of control. It’s just a’int going to happen. Everyone has one weakness in food it could be a brownie, an ice cream cake, cheese cake, Pizzas, burgers and the likes that can make you go off track. For me it’s the brownie cake and oh yes how can I forget Pizzas! If one keeps feeling guilty about these foods one in a way then guilt is going to take the pleasure out of eating.

I would say eating without guilt is the key to keeping yourself healthy. It’s about enjoyment, spending time with family and at the same time having a balance in everything you do. One should not worry unless you know you are eating extra everyday.

You must remember that there are no bad foods, there are just poor habits.

If you can form good habits over a period of time, eventually you will build a healthier you and start eating in moderation without guilt.

Here are some tips to eat guilt free and keep yourself in shape:

* Eat a bowl of salad before heading for a dine out as it will add on to the fiber in take, so while you enjoy family favorite, fiber will help you keep full for longer time.

*Enjoy your favorite food, savor it, eat mindfully, slow eating will automatically lead to portion control.

*Hydrate your body cells well, the craving for junk might be just that your body is thirsty.

*Moderation is the key.

*Don’t forget to add greens along with your favorite food.

*One meal or one food doesn’t make you healthy or unhealthy, worry is less healthier.

* Emotions are important, try to build good connect with people around you and contribute to the society, that will help you keep yourself positive and increase your serotonin levels. (The feel good hormone), in a way you are doing good to yourself while doing good to others.

*Remember a workout is not about just going to gym, it’s about doing what you love, it can be dancing, chasing dog,washing car,gardening, cycling, have a life out of weight loss.

*Sleep well it will help restoring mind and body.

* Emotional eating due to stress is a part of life, try to reduce it by getting into hobbies, if you are finding it difficult to manage, relaxation techniques like breathing,meditation and yoga will help,feel good about yourself,live this moment, try to focus on present.

*Try adding food instead of subtracting and starving yourself, eating at regular interval helps your body boost metabolism.

*Slurp your juicy favorite fruits in the first half of the day when you are going to party out.

*Try switching from beer/diet sodas to wine.

*Go walking when the weather’s nice and you are looking pretty, enjoy the wind that shall make you move.

*Share your meals with your partner/friend so that you don’t stuff yourself.

*Don’t worry if you overeat a little, make sure of regular exercise and balancing out meals.

I would say shed off the guilt and move on!

January 27, 2015 By SANA SHAIKH 5 Comments

Camomile Tea and its Benefits

Although tea drinking has been associated with health benefits for centuries, only in recent years have its medicinal properties been investigated scientifically. One must recognizes the healthy power of tea while getting the most out of their cups.

Tea’s health benefits are largely due to its high content of flavonoids — plant-derived compounds that are antioxidants.

Green tea benefits are known to many, but Camomile is yet to receive those kudos for its varied benefits that just a cup of it’s brew or the herb provides. Camomile is an ancient herb and has been in use since ages for its healing and soothing properties to fight problems ranging from alleviating stress to relieving an upset stomach.

Camomile, is a herb alike daisy. This flower is used in different forms to avail its benefits, ranging from a powdered preparation to brewing a cup of tea to using the used tea bags or tea leaves!

Let us see what are the multiple benefits of this little herb, that’s making it’s sipping a popular trend all over the world??

1.Sleep tea:

Camoile tea, off late has become extremely popular among the new generation, as they lead a fast paced and stressed life due to work pressures with increasing sleep deprivation.This tea is a good solution for all those insomniac’s or sleep deprived people!

Stress = Sleep disorders. Camomile = soothing, relaxing, sleep inducing effect!

A cup of steaming camomile tea is all you need 30 minutes prior to hitting the bed!

(Those who like cold tea, brew it hot and then cool it down. Savour and relax!)

2.Cold fighter :

I know it sounds strange but studies have shown that camomile has immune boosting elements, that boost up the immunity and help in keeping infections like common cold at BAY!

3.Upset Stomach:

Camomile tea can be used to relive the same. Brew yourself a steaming cup to get rid of that nauseous feeling, gassiness or to speed of your digestive track! It helps to relieve the discomfort, diarrhoea and is also a known remedy to cure colic in infants.

4.How about a pill free relief from those dreaded Menstrual cramps?

Yes, regular intake of camomile raises your amino acid glycine or ( IS IT GLYCOGEN) levels within the body and higher levels of glycine reduces muscle spasms and helps the uterus relax, thus relieving the cramps.

The tea is also considered to be an emmenagogue, and increases the flow of blood to the uterus and the pelvic region, thus helpful in cases of irregular menstrual cycle.

**HOWEVER, Pregnant women should those who are aiming to get pregnant should not have this tea as it can increase uterine contraction and lead to abortion.

5.Skin soother!

Apart from various health benefits, Camomile tea certain other benefits such as soothing an insect bite to a diaper rash or even sunburn.

It’s a well known remedy to soothe eczema and other skin infections.

6. That’s not all. It can effectively be used to give a lighten look to the brown hair by using it as a hair wash. Add it to your bath and unleash the spa experience.

It’s antioxidant rich. Not only these antioxidants boost the immune system but, also keep the body away from chronic diseases. It also exhibits anti-ageing properties.

It’s has anti inflammatory elements too.

Cold Camomile tea can be used as a gargle or mouth wash to relieve tooth ache, painful gums etc.

** Person can be allergic to it, so be cautious about its intake.

**It contains coumarine, so those on blood thinners or bleeding disorders, avoid taking it as it may increase the bleeding.

So still thinking?

Grab a cup ad brew yourself the hot steaming benefits of the Camomile!!

January 21, 2015 By Vrushali Athavle 1 Comment

What time is the best time to exercise?

Today, everybody is well aware of the importance of exercising. People want to come out of their sedentary and a very uncertain lifestyle routine due to constant travelling but, how and when to invest this 30 to 40 minute for exercise regime in such hectic schedules is a BIG QUESTION??

If you ask me, when is the best time to exercise, my answer would be in the MORNING, for several reasons such as

It boost’s your metabolism and keeps it elevated for several hours; meaning you are burning more calories all the day long
You psychologically feel healthy because you started your day in a healthy way which motivates you to make the remaining day healthy as well.
If you have a fixed exercise time in the morning, you are eventually motivated to develop the habit of sleeping on time to wake up on time.
Many a times it happens that people don’t find time to exercise. In such cases best thing to do is to sleep half an hour earlier at night then you usually sleep and wake up half an hour earlier in the morning and utilize that time to exercise. Research shows that people who exercise regularly have a higher quality of sleep and hence require less sleep.

But, friends this is not the end. If at all you miss exercising in the morning or many are not morning people and do not prefer to exercise in the morning, for them the next good time is in the evenings after office. Exercising in the evening can act as a stress reliever after a hectic day.

Due to erratic work schedules, keeping a fixed time for evening workouts can be difficult for some people and hence they end up missing the evening workout too. People end up saying Ohho, yet another day is over and I missed my workout once again. Can I go for a walk after my dinner? The answer is definitely YES but you have to take care that you keep a gap of 2 hours between your dinner and walk. The reason behind this is that, when you go for a walk immediately after your dinner, the blood flow is diverted towards your legs instead of stomach and then digestion is hampered which is not what we aim for.

A new interesting and fun part of exercise comes in when you have a large group working out with you. Start a healthy trend in your office. For some people, lunch time is the best time to exercise, especially in the office along with their colleagues. We do this at our workplace at GOQii . On the days, I am not able to exercise in the morning, I am not much worried as in the office we have developed this habit of working out together just before our lunch.

People who are still confused which time can be best, try to exercise in the morning for a few weeks, then try at noon and then evening. Find out for yourself which is the time you enjoyed the most and which time made you feel the best. Also consider the type of exercise and other daily commitments.

One day, you’ll reach a point where daily exercise comes as naturally as breathing. At that point, you may want variety. But, if you’re still at the point where exercise is hit or miss, scheduling it for the same time each day will help you make it a habit. Whether you choose morning, lunch time, or after work to exercise, make it part of your routine.

To conclude, any time is good time to be active , its just that you need to find out for yourself and be consistent till it becomes a habit for you.