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IT'S once again
that time of the year and the chilly northern winds,
coupled with the ushering in of the New Year, is bound
to get you footloose and fancy-free. And if you are not
quite the party-going type, you must be enjoying that
cozy corner in your living room with your near and dear
ones -- unless of course you have already got your
rucksack packed and hit the road.
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However,
holidays can only be made the most of if you stay fit
and so here are some tips that can come in handy in
helping you stay in shape.
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It is important
to have a healthy breakfast each day and a good choice
is hot oatmeal. It not only fills you up, but oat bran
is a fat-absorbing substance that promotes healthy
elimination of fat from your system.
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Plan for
parties by never arriving hungry and focus on the
people, not the food. Avoid standing around the kitchen
or the food tables. Survey the food choices before
trying everything. Skip the appetizers and limit the
amount of alcoholic beverages. Drink water at the party.
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Never allow
yourself to be stuffed' Research tells us that it takes
the brain approximately 20 minutes to realise the
stomach is full. So eat slowly.
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It is actually
hard to gain weight from a holiday food binge if you
exercise briskly every day. Consistent over-eating is
the culprit and consistent daily exercise is the
solution. Thirty minutes or more of ex- ercise raises
your heart rate and gets you sweating, which will keep
the extra pounds away. Engage in a variety of activities
with friends and family like playing badminton, biking
and jogging.
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It’s a proven
fact that exercise improves your mood and increases
optimism. Leave your house or apartment and get some
fresh air. Go for a really long walk and if your fit-
ness level is high run, you'll clear your head ... and
your heart.
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The best
motivation to get moving is knowing that someone is
waiting for you. Make a standing daily date to meet a
friend, colleague or family member for regular exercise.
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The most
important thing is to enjoy the holiday by feeling good
about yourself, not guilty.
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And once you
are through w it's time to hit the tub. But the point
is, should you se a steam, sauna or hot tub right after
a workout? Since the blood tends to pool in your
extremities after a vigorous workout -- and steam,
sauna, hot tubs and even hot showers tend to dilate your
blood vessels — it is really not the best thing to do as
it will be more difficult for the blood to reach the
heart and brain.
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However, if
you've done a thorough aerobic cool-down and you wait a
reasonable amount of time to return to almost normal,
you may go into one of these "fun" things. But if you
feel any sign of weakness or dizziness, get out
immediately What benefits does this have? Is it similar
to 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise after weight
training?
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There is no
true benefit to sitting in a HOT, steam-filled room and
sweating. I believe
there's a school of thought that
claims by sit- ting under conditions like this, the body
will raise its temperature, become more metabolically
active and will also shed toxins and fat. I have yet to
agree with this. In my opinion, what happens is that
anything experienced in this setting, is more imagined
than real. In other words, it's loaded with Placebo
effect.
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If one is to
look at this more closely and LOGICALLY, it seems the
experience is very taxing and stressing to ones
physiology the human body likes to regulate itself at
around 98.6 degrees or so. When one gets fever, it is
the way of the body proper immune response to deal with
invaders. But this is when there REALLY IS some sort of
outside influence or even an endogenous one, causing
problems. When the invaders have been dealt with, it's
back to business as usual. When you put the body through
the rigors of "steaming" like a pan of broccoli, you're
beginning to cook it. Well, not quite, but there IS a
heavy burden on the system which your body tries to
balance out.
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In case you're
still interested in FORCED sweating, keep it to a limit
that really provides benefits such as cardiovascular
work and weight training. If you're interested in
flushing toxins out of your system, try lots of pure
water and going on a medically supervised fast. What
will happen under these conditions is nothing short of a
miracle compared to sitting in a "sweat lodge."
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I hope
this answers your queries.
