Healthy B.P.M.

As a child I was over-protected and that’s the case with most children today. But that wasn’t the case with my parents or grandparents. They could walk endlessly without being in perpetual fear of potential rapists and cannibals.They didn’t have to worry about their friends and it was okay if they went out for a swim in the nearby pool or just hung out with acquaintances.

Parents would chuck their kids out of home.”Don’t sit around me all day!”they would say.Today there is a lot of parental surveillance that is inevitable considering all the news reports we read every day, but which could border on paranoia. Parents constantly check on their kids and their activities. Who knows they could be into drugs, in bad company, kidnapped, murdered…

A lot of this fear could result in kids resorting to more indoor sorts of recreation-T.V,video games,etc(good to a point but like all things in excess these activities can become undesirable). And that could trigger off more and more home-grown obesity.

Would kids be more content with a 1970s childhood? I think so.

Check out Michael Moore’s movie Sicko. In this movie he analyzes the problems associated with America’s health care system. There is a case of patient dumping;a disoriented homeless woman is left to the streets.

Homelessness and healthcare don’t seem to have a common ground. If you’re homeless and sick, you might as well disappear on to the streets as noone can take care of you and cover your expenses.

The film, which opened Friday, suggests the need for a tax-funded, universal plan(sans private insurance) used in Europe and Canada.

“Sicko” wants to change the fact that in America patients with insurance are denied coverage because of fine print policies that there are no getting around by.

Sicko, documentary, Michael Moore

Obesity is becoming such a heavy problem that even the President of the United States is making statements about the problem with American diet and how to solve it.

Picture courtesy: Betty Bowers

Say Bush “I also think that since we spend a lot of money on food in the education system, then we should insist upon better food,” he said. “A lot of the dietary problems are just obviously what people eat. And so it’s not just a lack of exercise…but a bad diet.” He is a rigorous mountain biker and feels younger than most Americans. He even encourages people to exercise more.

You must read Jimmy Moore’s post for more.

George Bush, Diet, Exercise, Healthy lifestyle

Have you heard about Harley Pasternak’s latest book? The 5 Factor Diet Plan is all about how to lose weight using five ingredients comprising mostly foods high in protein and low in fat, in five minutes, and with five meals a day.

Since Harley Pasternak is a fitness trainer for the Hollywood clan, his advice will have to be reliable. You’ll get over a 100 recipes that will help you eat right.Plus a five-week diet program and a success log for you to follow.

You get a take on five-minute workouts too. Now that I really want to know.

More here.

Harley Pasternak, 5 Factor Diet Plan

Portion control requires so much will power. Well not if you have a diet plate:)

The British Diet Plate is an interesting take on portion-control. You have calibrated dinner plates that are gender specific and you even have a magic plate for kids.

Canadian researchers have found that portion control crockery helps obese diabetes patients lose weight and they thus need less medication. So move away diet pills and enter diet plate.

diet, diet plate, portion control

I’ve been looking for 10’s of things and found them:

10 Health Reasons why you should drink water

10 fun ways to burn fat

10 ways to reduce stress.

10 ways to tell if someone is lying to you

10 ways to become a better blogger

10 ways to marry the wrong person

10 ways to have a better love life

Loved the last one the most!:)

10 ways

Check out Pepin-Donat’s new book The Big Fat Health and Fitness Lie. He seems to be anti-diet industry and he deconstructs a lot of weight loss myths out there.

He believes that while weight programs flush out water weight, they don’t really provide long-term results.

Plus when you use gadgets that help lose weight, you could be on the wrong track. You “don’t want to be the proud owner of a piece of junk”, do you?

More on the truth about the fitness industry here.

You will love the Hiltron blog.…believe me!

This is a picture I couldn’t resist putting up.(courtesy Dees Blog)

paris hilton

We all know that eating processed foods is harmful. Problem food elements like trans fats are products of a process called hydrogenation, used by food manufacturers to extend the shelf life of their products.

Some reasons to avoid processed foods include:

1.As processed foods have more refined sugar, salt and other flavors, you never seem to get enough of it. Your taste buds are never satisfied.

2.Dangerous foods are hidden. You never get to know how much of salt and sugar ae hiding in your packet of crispies.

3. I read that some strange additions to processed foods include animal skin, snouts, ears, etc.:(

4. Plus the food really loses its nutritive value when its processed.

More on the harmful effects of processed food here.

Like Holly says in The Skinny on Fats:

“Refined” people eat “refined” food, right? It looks like peasant food has always been healthier. Apparently in old Europe, each town had an oil press and vendors would go door to door delivering flax oil, much like milk. And like milk, it had to be used right away before it went rancid in the days before refrigeration. Well no wonder there was a market for more “stable” oils. Oils that don’t seem to EVER go rancid because because all their vitamins, minerals, lecithin and phytosterols have been removed and and the oil has been “deoderized” to conceal any rancid smell that might occur. As you can imagine, these oils seem to have been better for business than for our bodies.

So think twice before you feed your kids junk food in your effort to pacify them!

junk food, processed food, unhealthy foods, lifestyle, diet

One of my articles called The yoga way to fitness has been published in the Erickson Tribune.

Krishna Raman, a doctor of internal medicine, therapeutic yoga specialist, and author of the book A Matter of Health says, “Any kind of physical activity benefits people of all age groups. Older people who go to a fitness center or at least walk every day have better lean muscle-to-fat ratios and are more agile.” The physical activity of yoga is no different.

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“By doing the yoga poses (asanas) you improve your flexibility and circulation, which leads to healthier aging. A type of yoga called Iyengar yoga offers the use of props or assistive equipment, thereby helping older people do poses correctly,” says Raman. Props or assistive equipment provide support for certain areas of your body, and can help you balance.”

Click this link for more.

yoga

“Someone saying to me that I’m thin is not a compliment.” says Angelina Jolie as she attracts attention because of her being a bit too thin.

This picture is proof of it.

What does the media want, she must be wondering? First Jordin Sparks is too fat. And now I’m too thin. Well if you think about Jolie’s life, you’ll be surprised if she keeps the calories. Can a celebrity with so many responsibilities become a role model for body image as well?

Yes she may have collapsed and she may have reasons for eating less but should teenage girls focus on what she looks like more than on what she’s trying to do?

Read this interesting post.

Angelina Jolie, anorexia, skinny

I’ve been tagged by FicScribe and JM has explained what this means:

-Pass your friends a note by leaving a comment.
-Visit them by hitting their site.
-Show them love with a link to their entry.

I’m new to tagging and memes but the idea behind this is to write seven things about myself and tag my fellow reader friends who will do the same. So here goes:

1. Am a very private person so writing about myself is very difficult:)

2. Love Walt Whitman…his poetry has taught me a lot.

3. Have had an arranged marriage.

4. Love my blog experience and believe that health blogging has changed my life and the way I look at health and fitness.

5. My babies inspire me.

6. Love to write, write, write!

7. Dream of seeing the Northern lights.

I tag:

Margie of BattleStar Galactica

Brick of Encouraging Health

Jummy of Encouraging Health

Allison of Reality on Bravo

Sarah of Mental and Emotional Health

Summer of Mom is Teaching

Kelly of tiny Treasury

Who is your sexiest vegetarian in Hollywood? Contenders for PETA’s Sexiest Vegetarian title include:

Pamela Anderson, Tobey Maguire, Forest Whitaker, Carrie Underwood, PETA

This ad for Brazilian yogurt goes:

“Forget about it. Men’s preference will never change. Fit light yogurt”

It’s kind of interesting how this ad targets obese women who already feel bad about themselves and affirms men’s taste for thinner women.

What do you think about ads like these?

Read this post.

Sharon Stone, obesity, marketing, ads

The diet managers are saying avoid restaurant foods. But if you eat smart even restaurant eating can be food for fun.

1.Drink a glass of water before the meal.

2.Order for sauces on the side; so you are in control of however much you take.

3.Opt for mustard sauce instead of mayonnaise, tomato sauce instead of cream-based sauces, brown bread as opposed to white.

4. For dessert have fruit.

5.Order before your friends do.

More interesting tips here.