Body & Soul

While exercising, we burn a lot of fat and the body requires a good source of energy to keep going. Remember to take a proper intake of carbs to replenish your energy stores. All carbs are not good so remember to increase intake in good carbs. Combine carbs and protein that help restore muscles. Whole grain oats are a delicious source to digest before and after a workout. Even though they are sugary flavor they contain a lot of good fiber and iron. These are highly recommended for breakfast before cardio. Don’t like oats? No worries Add yogurt, milk and your favorite fruits to make a winning calcium drink. Drink the shake before or after a cardio session to fuel your workout. The body can repair itself and replenish the energy you’ve spent. Remember to treat yourself with a nutrient-filled sandwich that can replace what is lost in sweat during exercise. Add tomatoes to boost vitamin C. Grill it up in whole wheat bread and enjoy. Sugary good can be your ultimate enemy when y...

Following on from last week’s post about healthy eating, the following is a healthy recipe that is low in saturates but high in protein, and is only 489 calories (24% of your daily intake).  Sesame butterflied chicken Serves 2               Cooks in 18 minutes Ingredients  100g fine rice noodles  2 x 120g skinless free-range chicken breasts groundnut oil  4 spring onions  ½ a Chinese cabbage (150g)  200g sugar snap peas  ½–1 fresh red chilli  2 limes  1 tablespoon low-salt soy sauce  1 tablespoon peanut butter  2 tablespoons natural yoghurt  2cm piece of ginger  2 teaspoons sesame seeds        Method       Put a griddle pan on high heat. In a bowl, cover the noodles with boiling kettle water to rehydrate them. Use a sharp knife to slice into the chicken breasts, then open ...

How great to hear that you don't need to throw in money for the gym? Because you can workout at home! 5 Minutes of an intensive workout every day if good enough to maintain your body. You do need to pay attention to what you eat and try these techniques to burn your fat in just 5 minutes. These workouts will help you to experience fat loss all over your body if practiced every day. All you need for this fat burning workout is:  Towel  Mat  Leg Lifts Exercise: (30 Seconds) This exercise will work your legs and abs. You need to lie down on the mat facing upwards. Place your legs close to each other, now lift them straight up and bring them to your tummy. Put your legs down, while putting them down stretch them out in the opposite directions and bring them up to your tummy. Again as you place them down, close them and pull them up. Continue this same procedure for 30 seconds. You will feel a burn in your tummy and legs as you proceed.  This is un...

Sleep assists with the functioning of the brain. I’m sure we can all relate to that – when we feel as though we haven’t gotten enough sleep, we find it much harder to concentrate. While we are asleep, our brains actively prepare us for the following day by creating new ways to help us learn and remember information. An adequate amount of sleep improves ones learning, studies show. No matter what that might be, whether you’re learning to play the guitar, how to tackle math questions, or how to drive. Sleep helps to enhance your learning and problem-solving skills, to make decisions, be creative, and to pay better attention. In relation to emotional well-being, Sleep deficiency can alter the emotional parts of the brain. For example, if you’re sleep deficient, you may find it difficult to control your emotions and behaviour, and struggle coping with change. Sleep deficiency also shows some links to mental illnesses such as depression, suicide, and risk-taking behaviour. Further...

Mental health is a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being and is heavily liked to illnesses such as eating disorders. A person's ability to cope with normal stresses and to function within society is all associated to their mental health and whether or not it is stable enough to deal with everyday life. Eating disorders are a reaction to a low self-esteem and a negative means of coping with everyday life and stresses, showing its strong link to the stability of one's mental health. These disorders are illnesses such as; anorexia, nervosa, bulimia etc. Lack of self-awareness, knowledge, self-image and mental health and its importance in your health and wellbeing can trigger disorders such as these and can have severe consequences on the patients appearance such as; unhealthy wight loss and behavioural problems. Eating disorders are associated with impairment in emotional and cognitive functioning that limits life activities. These...

If you’re reading this, then you are probably new to weight training and looking for the best workouts and routines for beginners like yourself. I’m going to provide you with a few proven sample beginner workouts at the end of this post. Your exercise options are numerous, including walking, dancing, gardening, biking -- even doing household chores. The important thing is to choose activities you enjoy. That will increase your chances of making it a habit. How much exercise should you do? For heart health, at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, such as walking, on most days of the week. If you're getting less than that, you're still going to see benefits. It's not like if you can't do 30 minutes, you shouldn't do anything, because you're going to see benefits even at 5 or 10 minutes of moving around. A way to measure the intensity of your exercise is to check your heart rate or pulse during physical activity. These should be within a tar...

As we’ve already established, what you put in your body is important. The basics to eating healthy are to eat a variety of foods from the 5 food groups; -           Grain foods (bread, rice, etc.) -           Vegetables and legumes/beans -           Fruit -           Dairy Products (milk, yoghurt, etc.)  -           Proteins (lean meats, fish, etc.) Visit the link for more information:   https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/the_guidelines/n55_agthe_large.pdf Of course, water is also important in healthy living. It is recommended that you drink at least 8x250ml glasses of water a day, which is approx. 2 litres. But of course, the more, the better! So how much do I have to eat a day? Well, the most basic and w...