OMG Magazine | Thursday 26th September, 2013 • PAGE 33
How to live a healthier life These days we are bombarded with unrealistic images of models, actors/actresses and professional sports players. It has become increasingly hard to fit healthy meals and adequate workouts into our busy schedule. With these tips and words of advice, hopefully you will find insight on how to manage your diet and exercise regimens. Step 1
Set a flexible goal & stick to it.
Step 2
Track your progress with a fitness and/or diet journal. Use it to note what you eat and when, how you’re feeling and if you felt guilty or good about what you ate. This will help keep track of your habits so you can see why you eat the things you do and when.
Step 3
No more late night eating. Gone are the times of late night snacks or dessert. Set a time limit, no later than 6:30 p.m. and make sure to not eat anything later than that. If you really need something make sure it is a snack that is healthy. Low in sugar and low in fat.
Step 4
Begin eating breakfast, even if it is something small. This will prevent you from binging later when you become over-hungry. A good breakfast to stave off eating more later on has a protein source and a grain source, and maybe fruit.
Step 5
Know when you need a snack and what kind. You can have snacks, or small meals in between your meals, but be sure it is healthy: nuts, low-fat yogurt, protein rich peanut butter, raw vegetables, whole grains and fresh fruit instead of dried fruit.
Step 6
Things to cut out completely: processed food (frozen dinners), soda: even diet, dried fruits - they’re sugary and have nowhere near the nutritional value of fresh fruit, bleached grains: replace with wheat bread, wheat flour and
wheat pasta, dried up herbs that have been sitting on your shelf for years - fresh herbs have vitamin/nutritional value to them and are more flavorful! It’s okay if you have one of these about one a week, but try to cut them out.
Step 7
A salad is a dieters best friend - but make sure your salad is the main focus. Using 1 teaspoon of dressing is enough when you toss well. Croutons are tempting, but they could be really loaded with fat. Read the label.
Step 8
Pull that bicycle out of the dust. Exercise is a part of a healthy life. No, you don’t have to run on the tread mill for 2 hours or lift 50 lb. weights. Exercise can be very easy and fun. Take the dog for a walk, or take the kids to a trail, go to the pool. If summer, go to the beach and walk around collecting seashells. It really doesn’t matter as long as your getting your blood flowing! Maybe plant a garden? Even sweeping a room could work!
Step 9
Get a buddy. If you have a friend (which I’m hoping we all do), ask them to join in with you or motivate you. He/she can be your jogging buddy, gym buddy, or cooking friend. If you happen to have no friends that are interested, try making a club. A lot of people want to get healthy/fit but are just too scared to do it themselves. With this club you can discuss exercises for each other and new recipes. You can even have a day when you all make a recipe and eat! (Just make sure you control your portion).
Honey
The many health benefits 1. Prevent cancer and heart disease: Honey contains flavonoids, antioxidants which help reduce the risk of some cancers and heart disease. 2. Reduce ulcers and other gastrointestinal disorders. Recent research shows that honey treatment may help disorders such as ulcers and bacterial gastroenteritis. This may be related to the 3rd benefit… 3. Anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, antifungal: “All honey is antibacterial, because the bees add an enzyme that makes hydrogen peroxide,” said Peter Molan, director of the Honey Research Unit at the University of Waikato in New Zealand. 4. Increase athletic performance. Ancient Olympic athletes would eat honey and dried figs to enhance their performance. This has now been verified with modern studies, showing that it is superior in maintaining glycogen levels and improving recovery time than other sweeteners. 5. Reduce cough and throat irritation: Honey helps with coughs, particularly buckwheat honey. In a study of 110 children, a single dose of buckwheat honey was just as effective as a single dose of dextromethorphan in relieving nocturnal cough and allowing proper sleep. 6. Balance the 5 elements: Honey has been used in ayurvedic medicine in India for at least 4000 years and is considered to affect all three of the body’s primitive material imbalances positively. It is also said to be useful useful in improving eyesight, weight loss, curing impotence and premature ejaculation, urinary tract disorders, bronchial asthma, diarrhea, and nausea. 7. Blood sugar regulation: Even though honey contains simple
sugars, it is NOT the same as white sugar or artificial sweeteners. Its exact combination of fructose and glucose actually helps the body regulate blood sugar levels. Some honeys have a low hypoglycemic index, so they don’t jolt your blood sugar. 8. Heal wounds and burns: External application of honey has been shown to be as effective as conventional treatment with silver sulfadiazene. It is speculated that the drying effect of the simple sugars and honey’s anti-bacterial nature combine to create this effect. 9. Probiotic: Some varieties of honey possess large amounts of friendly bacteria. This includes up to 6 species of lactobacilli and 4 species of bifidobacteria. This may explain many of the “mysterious therapeutic properties of honey.” 10. Beautiful skin: Its anti-bacterial qualities are particularly useful for the skin, and, when used with the other ingredients, can also be moisturizing and nourishing! For a powerful home beauty treatment for which you probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen already, read Carrot Face Mask.