My healthy food attitude here at Dynamic Nutrition involves eating unprocessed foods, as close to natural state as possible. Fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables, wholegrains, nuts and lean proteins. These are every day foods! Not sometimes foods. So it doesn't surprise me research is showing that diets high in processed, poor quality carbohydrates can lead to lifestyle diseases.
Have a read of the below link:
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/high-carbohydrate-diet-tied-to-cancer-20110616-1g4o9.html
Good fats and protein are crucial for a healthy, balanced diet!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
My Bikram Experience...
For a while now, a friend and I had discussed going to Bikram "Hot" Yoga. For those who have never heard of this, basically you spend 90 minutes in a room heated at about 40 degrees,and practice yoga. Why would a sane person do such a thing?
In a bid to tick off weekly challenges from my 'things to do before I hit 25' list, I plucked up the courage to go along to a class. Nervous and excited, I felt more than prepared. I had about 4 litres of water throughout the day, and a light meal a couple of hours before the class commenced. Physically - I was set! My mind, however, told me to get the hell out when I walked into the studio from a chilly 8 degrees outside. No point backing out now. I registered and got changed and entered the sauna that was the yoga room. Not as smelly as I thought! But very, very warm.
I have never done yoga before. I have a fairly short attention span, so the idea of doing nothing for an extended period of time freaks me out. But instantly my focus shifted to how hot it was, and on how I was to survive 90 minutes of yoga in a sauna. The instructor entered the room and we did some breathing exercises. As strange as it sounds, it is actually quite refreshing to take in a huge breath of hot air, and then expelling it. We got into the poses and pleasingly, I am not as uncoordinated as I imagined, and I have some core strength. Great! So I didn't struggle as much as I thought I would. The heat was intense, and you sweat from everywhere. There were sweat beads dripping down my legs at one stage! I wouldn't say it was easy, probably one of the most mentally challenging things I have done. But I was able to focus on myself, my mind and body, and nothing else. That was incredible. As was the feeling driving home - like I had had a whole body massage!
A few people I know asbsolutely hated their Bikram experiences, so I guess it is up to the individual and what that wish to gain from it. For me, I was able to turn off from the outside world for 90 minutes, focus on myself and have no sense of stress or worry. Give it a go. Physically, anyone can take part, the challenge will be telling yourself mentally that you can survive the class.
Let me know if you give it a try!
In a bid to tick off weekly challenges from my 'things to do before I hit 25' list, I plucked up the courage to go along to a class. Nervous and excited, I felt more than prepared. I had about 4 litres of water throughout the day, and a light meal a couple of hours before the class commenced. Physically - I was set! My mind, however, told me to get the hell out when I walked into the studio from a chilly 8 degrees outside. No point backing out now. I registered and got changed and entered the sauna that was the yoga room. Not as smelly as I thought! But very, very warm.
I have never done yoga before. I have a fairly short attention span, so the idea of doing nothing for an extended period of time freaks me out. But instantly my focus shifted to how hot it was, and on how I was to survive 90 minutes of yoga in a sauna. The instructor entered the room and we did some breathing exercises. As strange as it sounds, it is actually quite refreshing to take in a huge breath of hot air, and then expelling it. We got into the poses and pleasingly, I am not as uncoordinated as I imagined, and I have some core strength. Great! So I didn't struggle as much as I thought I would. The heat was intense, and you sweat from everywhere. There were sweat beads dripping down my legs at one stage! I wouldn't say it was easy, probably one of the most mentally challenging things I have done. But I was able to focus on myself, my mind and body, and nothing else. That was incredible. As was the feeling driving home - like I had had a whole body massage!
A few people I know asbsolutely hated their Bikram experiences, so I guess it is up to the individual and what that wish to gain from it. For me, I was able to turn off from the outside world for 90 minutes, focus on myself and have no sense of stress or worry. Give it a go. Physically, anyone can take part, the challenge will be telling yourself mentally that you can survive the class.
Let me know if you give it a try!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Skinny Fat - Myth Busting
I'm not overweight, so why should I watch what I eat?
Do you often choose the deep fried, high energy or high sugar foods because your weight has never been an issue? If so, it might be surprising to learn that body weight is not always a distinguishing factor between being healthy or unhealthy. What you see on the outside is not always a reflection of what is going on inside your body. Can someone appear to be overweight, but still be healthy?
Your body composition - what your body is made up of – is one of the best measures of health. BMI and scale weight can have their limitations. A skinny individual can have a higher fat percentage than someone who looks overweight. The biggest problem with this is the lack of lean muscle mass. Muscle is metabolically active, it burns lots of kilojoules. Fat mass unfortunately does not. Muscle tissue also improves insulin resistance – decreasing your chance of getting diabetes! This condition is no longer limited to the overweight and obese. Children are now getting diabetes because of their lifestyles, as are skinny adults.
So what does this mean?
We know through years of research that where an individual carries their fat can influence their health and predispose them to various lifestyle diseases, like cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. We also know that skinny people aren’t always healthy. The attitude of those that don’t put on weight eating unhealthy foods needs to change. An unhealthy diet full of sugar, saturated fats and processed food leads to a very unhealthy body – and plenty of negative health effects too! Parents with the attitude that their kids can eat whatever they want because they are skinny or will burn it off also need to change their ways. The eating habits your children have will last a lifetime. Focus on healthy, nutritious foods, and as soon as children can chew/swallow solids, everyone should be eating the same meals!
Take care of your body, feed yourself nutritious foods, and best of all, reduce your risk of chronic diseases – no matter what you weigh. Being healthy on the inside is more important than what is on the outside.
Do you often choose the deep fried, high energy or high sugar foods because your weight has never been an issue? If so, it might be surprising to learn that body weight is not always a distinguishing factor between being healthy or unhealthy. What you see on the outside is not always a reflection of what is going on inside your body. Can someone appear to be overweight, but still be healthy?
Your body composition - what your body is made up of – is one of the best measures of health. BMI and scale weight can have their limitations. A skinny individual can have a higher fat percentage than someone who looks overweight. The biggest problem with this is the lack of lean muscle mass. Muscle is metabolically active, it burns lots of kilojoules. Fat mass unfortunately does not. Muscle tissue also improves insulin resistance – decreasing your chance of getting diabetes! This condition is no longer limited to the overweight and obese. Children are now getting diabetes because of their lifestyles, as are skinny adults.
So what does this mean?
We know through years of research that where an individual carries their fat can influence their health and predispose them to various lifestyle diseases, like cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. We also know that skinny people aren’t always healthy. The attitude of those that don’t put on weight eating unhealthy foods needs to change. An unhealthy diet full of sugar, saturated fats and processed food leads to a very unhealthy body – and plenty of negative health effects too! Parents with the attitude that their kids can eat whatever they want because they are skinny or will burn it off also need to change their ways. The eating habits your children have will last a lifetime. Focus on healthy, nutritious foods, and as soon as children can chew/swallow solids, everyone should be eating the same meals!
Take care of your body, feed yourself nutritious foods, and best of all, reduce your risk of chronic diseases – no matter what you weigh. Being healthy on the inside is more important than what is on the outside.
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