Fasting your Way To A Healthy Life

It’s a familiar image we might attribute to stereotype: a sluggish, maybe portly individual lying prostrate on the couch, his/her front littered with Dorito crumbs. Could there, however, be truth behind the picture? Is there indeed a connection between incessant snacking and chronic slothdom? Or considered another way, is there a connection between fasting and being active? 

For decades now, conventional wisdom has told us that we should eat regularly throughout the day to keep our blood sugar steady. With three regular meals and at least two snacks, we’re counselled to keep our bodies in a perpetual full tummy state. However, newer research, including this month’s study from ETH Zurich(Swiss Federal Institute of technology, from The Journal of Biological Chemistry), questions this assumption. Below is a part of the study(http://www.jbc.org/content/283/24/16940.full):

Scientists focused on the opposing relationship between a transcription factor, Foxa2, and insulin. Foxa2 is found in both the liver and the hypothalamus, the central command for hunger regulation. It has a hand in the expression of two eating and physical activity related hormones (based on the journal: neuropeptides, melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) and orexin). When insulin (a hormone that help stores glucose (or simply sugar) in your liver) is present, as it is during and after eating, Foxa2 and the related MCH and orexin are reduced. However, fasting showed consistently high levels of Foxa2, MCH and orexin. The researchers then found that the obese showed reduced Foxa2, MCH, and orexin, regardless of whether they had eaten or not. When the scientists bred mice with continually active Foxa2 (immune to the counter effect of insulin), these mice showed high levels of MCH and orexin – and a correspondingly high level of physical activity whether they had eaten or not. The specially bred mice had low body fat as well as higher muscle mass.

Consider this study a nail in the coffin for saying fasting makes you tired. Fasting, even short, between-meal breaks, promotes activity-inducing effects. A simple survival principle explains this: a hungry animal needs to get up and move to find food. On the other hand, if we are constantly swimming in the insulin of eating and post-eating states, we’re undermining our own motivation (and biochemical stimulus) to get up and burn off what we just ate.

Many of those who preaches good health encourages us to never skip breakfast, bring along a mid-morning snack, make time for a good lunch, grab a mid-afternoon nibble and then have a good dinner. Oh, and if you can’t sleep, you’re supposed to have warm milk and a banana before bed. Our bodies are either eating or processing what we ate. There’s never a recovery period. We’re so focused on the stable” blood sugar that we’ve forgotten that there’s more to the biochemical story of balanced energy. We make ourselves feel perpetually full to the exclusion of feeling anything else.

We continually raise our blood sugar and insulin levels and, in doing so, turn off the body’s chance to activate or up regulate other key substances that promote energy balance – and as this study shows, the physiological motivation to be active. So guys, simple advice: skip the snack. & try develop a habit of fasting every week eg. Monday & Thursday ;)


AWESOME!!!

“The best of all medicines is resting and fasting” -Benjamin Franklin

Why Do I Feel Hungry?

Hunger is what makes us eat. The question "why do we feel hungry?" seems to be very obvious to answer. It is because we need to get nutrients to survive. Hunger is the motivation for us to be able to know that we need to get the nutrients in our body. But how does all this happen?

Consumption of energy in the routine work leads to depletion of nutritive materials in the blood. When the blood is depleted of nutritive materials, a message is sent to our ‘hunger centre' of the brain by our body through nerves and we feel hungry. Hunger comes in many forms, actually. It can be caused by a variety of things. Some type of hunger feels stronger, worse, than others. And, we find different ways to satisfy our hunger, depending on what we hunger for, what type of hunger it is, what kind of people we are, what food we have available. I will go through a number of various types of hunger, or reasons for eating:

Mind Hunger

When one has been without food for a long time, then even if one is not hungry, one feels one ought to be hungry. For instance if one has missed a meal or is on a fast, one feels one ought to be hungry. This type of hunger disappears after some time and is not real hunger.   

Cognitive Hunger

This type is very simple to understand. The human species is different because it can get hunger signals by sensory inputs like smelling or seeing good food. The interesting part of this signal is that it can override physiological hunger. Simply stated, we can eat more food by smelling our favorite foods despite the fact that we may have eaten a complete meal. This hunger is not a real one and is the main cause of obesity.

Learned Hunger

This hunger is a result of our accustomed eating schedules. So if we are accustomed to eating breakfast at 7 A.M., lunch at 1 P.M. and dinner at 7 P.M., then even when we are not hungry at those times, we will think of eating because our mind is attuned to eating at those times. This is not real hunger. If for some reason, we get busy and the appointed time of eating passes, then if we were really not hungry, the hunger too passes.

Biological hunger

This is real hunger. This type of hunger is experienced when the stomach becomes empty. There were many experiments that tested this type of hunger. Some of these experiments linked satiety of this hunger with feeling full or stretching the stomach receptors which gave birth to the logic of high fibre diets. Others linked it with the blood glucose levels (eating when we feel low) or a high insulin level (typically associated with stress eating) or increase in fatty acids release. When one is faced with this hunger, one can eat. But if one wants to remain healthy, one should never overeat.

Body Hunger

This type of hunger can be dangerous and occurs when the whole body needs food because of famine or fasting. Body hunger will not dissipate with the passage of time. It persists because the body is deprived of nutrition. At such a time, if no other right food is available, one should eat glucose or honey. If no food is provided to the body, the body will draw food from within itself resulting in muscle loss.

Hunger is a primary motivation. Despite strong beliefs that hunger is caused biologically, this motivation is controlled not just by physiology, but also psychology as well. Problems like eating disorders and obesity could occur because we mistakenly keep tying to satiate our psychological hunger by eating food. Until we realize that we need to feed our mind with something, rather than eating, we can not feel satiated. Until we recognize it is our mind, not our body which needs food, we cannot be satisfied with what we put in our mouth. Thus, hunger is not only about how the body changes physiologically, it is about how our body and mind together are well fed.


AWESOME!

Wake up early. Have Your breakfast!

HI AWESOMES!

Why people nowadays rarely have their breakfast? Some say their busy. Some say they don't like breakfast. Some are just plain lazy. But did you guys now, having your breakfast is essential to weight loss? Maybe you do, but you now why? 

By waking up early, you give your body an early fresh start, and it feels good too:) After refreshing yourself, eating a good breakfast sets the tone for the rest of the day. But when you skip breakfast, you are likely to become tired when your brain and body run low on fuel. By mid-morning, you might grab a cup of coffee or wolf down a sugary candy bar to wake up again. This might work for a few minutes, but by lunch time you are hungry, crabby, and perhaps your mood might make you a little more prone to make unhealthy choices at lunch.Try noting the difference between the day you had breakfast and the day you didn't.

But what you have for breakfast is another important thing. you can't just have breakfast and eat anything you want. A healthy breakfast should consist of a variety of foods. It should contain complex carbohydrates, protein and fiber. Protein can come from eggs, beans, or soy. Fiber and carbohydrates can be found in whole cereals, grains or in fruits.

Unfortunately, more and more people are skipping breakfast. If you're one of them — whether you're trying to save time or cut calories — you may want to reconsider, especially if you're trying to control your weight.

Good day guys!

AWESOME!

Live Healthy!

I know you hear a lot about living a healthy lifestyle, but what does that mean? In general, a healthy person doesn't smoke, is at a healthy weight, eats healthy and exercises. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

The trick to healthy living is making small changes...taking more steps, adding fruit to your cereal, having an extra glass of water...these are just a few ways you can start living healthy without drastic changes.

1.Exercise, exercise, exercise

We know it's good for us but avoid it like the plague either because we're used to being sedentary or afraid that exercise has to be vigorous to be worth our time. The truth is, movement is movement and the more you do, the healthier you'll be. Even moderate activities like chores, gardening and walking can make a difference.

Just adding a little movement to your life can:

·         Reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes

·         Improve joint stability

·         Increase and improve range of movement

·         Help maintain flexibility as you age

·         Maintain bone mass

·         Prevent osteoporosis and fractures

·         Improve mood and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression

·         Enhance self esteem

·         Improve memory in elderly people

·         Reduce stress

The key is consistency! So, even if you opt for small changes and a more modest weight loss, you can see the benefits are still pretty good. One study has found that just a 10% weight reduction helped obese patients reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and increase longevity.

2.Simple Ways to Move Your Body

You can start the process of weight loss now by adding a little more activity to your life. If you're not ready for a structured program, start small. Every little bit counts and it all adds up to burning more calories.

·         Turn off the TV. For those guys at home, once a week, turn off the TV and do something a little more physical with your family. Play sports, take a walk...almost anything will be more active than sitting on the couch.

·         Walk more. Look for small ways to walk more. Take a walk around the block, take yourself or some friends for an extra outing each day or walk on your treadmill for 5 minutes before getting ready for work.

·         Do some chores. Working in the garden, clean up your room, sweeping the floor...these kinds of activities may not be 'vigorous' exercise, but they can keep you moving while getting your house in order.

·         Pace while you talk. When you're on the phone, pace around or even do some cleaning while gabbing. This is a great way to stay moving while doing something you enjoy.

·         Be aware. Make a list of all the physical activities you do on a typical day. If you find that the bulk of your time is spent sitting, make another list of all the ways you could move more--getting up each hour to stretch or walk, walk the stairs at work, etc.

3.Eating Well

Like I said before in my last post, eating a healthy diet is another part of the healthy lifestyle. Not only can a clean diet help with weight management, it can also improve your health and quality of life as you get older, so people say, but I think it has its merits.

·         Eat more fruit. Add it to your cereal, your salads or even your dinners.

·         Sneak in more veggies. Add them wherever you can--a tomato on your sandwich or extra veggies in your curry rice. Keep pre-cut or canned/frozen veggies ready for quick snacks if you have time.

For those who eat salad, switch your salad dressing. If you eat full-fat dressing, switch to something lighter and you'll automatically eat less calories.

·         Eat low-fat or fat-free dairy. Switching to skim milk or fat free yogurt is another simple way to eat fewer calories without having to change too much in your diet.

Changes almost always lead to failure. Making small changes in how you live each day can lead to big rewards, so figure out what you can to be healthy today. I know we can!!!

AWESOME:)

“He who has health, has hope. And he who has hope, has everything.” - Thomas Carlyle (A Scottish Writer)