[metaslider id=660]BY JOHN LOCK YEAR
Consistently we are being bombarded with messages in the media, advertising companies, and so on about how important it is to eat theright food and exercise. However, the burning question is; who is really benefiting from these messages? And are they genuinely there for your benefit or for the multi million dollar corporations such as Coca-cola, Birdseye, Walkers crisps, and so on? You can see it when you’re walking around your local super market from low fat yogurts to diet Coke bottle, all advertised in lovely colourful packaging; desperately trying to grab your attention and fighting for the money that is sitting in your pocket. How attractive do these products look compared to the lump of Broccoli sat there with the rest of the veg? They probably look more attractive, yet they are evidently no way as good as a good bit of healthy veg alongside a lump of Brocoli.
Yet, we often seem inclined to buy all the rubbish that is packed full of salt, fat, and excessive amounts of sugar, despite knowing that these things are no good for us. How convenient it is after a night out, to go for the available chicken and chips soaked in oil, only because we have had a few drinks too many and our body is now begging for some food. Reality is that the things that taste nice are often the worse things for our body. There are far too many reasons to explain here, but basically all the best advertising for bad food only benefits large corporations and share holders on the stock exchange. You see, the market economy for any product operates on demand and supply, not what is actually good for us. Corporations will supply you anything you want, even if it is snakes poo that may be bad for your intestine. The bad news for us is that we pay for bad food and contribute to the huge financial revenues of these companies to our detriment . Below are a few tips to help you feel good on a day to day basis and also keep that waistline in check:
Drink plenty of water
Drinking plenty of water has too many benefits too mention right here right now, but lets look at the important ones to help you on a day-to-day basis:
1. Stay hydrated:
Not being hydrated properly can affect your productivity and concentration levels. Try to avoid drinking excessive amounts of coffee and tea during the day as this will contribute to de-hydration, thus, affecting your productivities levels.
2. Losing weight:
Great news for anyone trying to lose a few pounds – water naturally reduces your appetite.
A lot of people confuse feeling thirsty with feeling hungry so they eat when their body wants them to drink something. When you’re dehydrated, fat cells become harder to break down and so anyone actually trying to diet will find it a lot harder if they don’t drink very much.
3. It helps you exercise better:
It’s common sense to replace the fluids you lose when you sweat with water, but what might not be obvious is that your body works better and harder during your workout if you drink water.
Get plenty of exercise
One pertinent question a lot of people need to ask themselves is whether they exercise enough every week. Having regular exercise for your body is absolutely essential because you need to be sending a consistent message to your body saying: we haven’t given up. Now, I can hear you saying; John, I know I need to exercise blah blah blah. Although I can’t see you and I don’t know if you exercise or not! If you do, great… but if you don’t I hope this article will help you. Why do some of us not exercise, because it’s easy to do, right? I believe it’s because the things that are easy to do, are also easy not to do. Eat that apple, go for that run around the block, get in the gym, and so on. Even by doing a small amount of exercise per week will increase your well-being and make you feel great. To start, just try running for 15 minutes and gradually build it up week on week for 6 weeks. On the 7th week have a rest completely and don’t do anything. On the 8th week, continue the cycle again and try for another 6 weeks.
Eat every three hours
By eating every three hours you’re telling your body that there is loads a food around, and therefore your metabolic rate will be at it’s highest point. Going back hundreds of years ago there wasn’t a Tesco’s on every corner and we couldn’t just pick up the phone and order a takeaway. There was a lot of famine around and your body needed a survival mechanism in place to product itself when food became scarce. This mechanism is called the starvation response and when this is triggered your body’s metabolic rate will slow down and hold onto food (or fat). A tip here for is to divide your calories into 5 to 6 meals of over the course of the day. When have heard this before; eat little and often. Try this for a month and measure your results.
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