Night-time Habits

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There’s a lot of pressure put on getting your morning routine right. The early bird catches the worm after all, right? However, your night-time routine should just as be as important as your morning routine. In fact, having a solid night regimen could just as be as important a predictor for your following day. If you’re truly serious about leading a fit and healthy lifestyle, the start of each day shouldn’t be your only consideration. If you want to know how you can make the most out of your evening and ensure a better morning after, then read on.

Review the day

Planning your day ahead also means looking back at the one that’s just finished. Reflect on what you accomplished and what challenges you faced since you woke up, particularly in relation to your health and fitness goals. Did you drink enough water? Was your lunch lacking protein? Did you take the stairs instead of the lift? Think of this as guilt-free exercise to simply take stock of your day. There’s no need to mentally beat yourself up if you think you made a mistake. Use your positive insights to bolster yourself and the less than positive ones to make a more solid plan for the next day.

Early to bed

How can you tell when’s the perfect time for going to bed? We’re supposed to get eight hours of sleep, so if you need to be up by 6 a.m., then you should be in bed so that you are asleep by 10 p.m. the night before. You could be under the blankets on the dot, but that doesn’t mean you’re completely asleep. In fact, it takes 30 to 60 minutes for our brains to fully relax and allow sleep to set in. This is why some people have difficulty falling asleep. If you’re one of those, try to see exactly how long it takes for you to doze off. It takes the average person 14 minutes to get to sleep once relaxed in bed. You then should be able to figure out your own perfect bedtime.

Mindful eating

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Should you eat after 6 p.m.? Stay off late-night snacking? There’s plenty of debate surrounding eating at night, especially when you’re about to go to sleep. For some people, a light, hot snack can make them feel ready for bed, while others cope with digestive issues. There’s no simple answer to nighttime eating. Follow your body’s signals. This means being mindful of when you’re hungry and when you’re full.

Setting an intention

Once you’ve gone over the day, think about how you want the next day to be. Note what’s the most important thing for you tomorrow. This shouldn’t just be limited to diet and exercise. Maybe you want to catch up with an old friend, finish a report early at work or spend 30 minutes less on your phone.

How to Get Picky Eaters to Eat Healthy

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Are you a parent struggling to get your kid to eat healthy? Picky eaters in any household can be a headache, for both child and adult. Some kids don’t like certain tastes and textures or they simply refuse to try anything new. At dinner time, it can be exhausting to get them to eat their veggies and you probably just want to give in and give them fried chicken. To avoid stress for you and the child and to make meal time fun again, here are some steps you can consider.

Don’t just say, do

Sure, you’re telling your child to finish his veggies but are you doing the same? Children are more observant than adults give them credit. They see and pick up our own habits towards food. Are you eating foods rich in fibre? Hydrating enough? Complaining about weight gain? If you want to fix your kid’s attitude towards healthy eating, make sure you’re doing the same for yourself.

Start small

Get your child acquainted with new, healthy foods at a gradual pace. It’s not like you can serve your kid a bowl of kale salad and fully expect them to give it their stamp of approval. Quite literally, try “Tiny Tastes.” This is a tasting game in which children try small bites of foods they don’t normally like and they receive stickers for it. After a nibble or two, they’ll get used to these foods and soon, even like it. It takes a lot of patience, but you and your kid will get there.

Sweet veggies

Is your child ready to try arugula? Are you? If vegetables are not regular meal components, you can start out with sweeter and starchier vegetables and save the bitter greens for later. Some great examples are potatoes, corn, carrots, peas and sweet potatoes. Offer up a small serving at meals and soon, they’ll be ready to level up to bitter veggies.

Get sneaky

Body Transformation ChallengeThis method is also helpful for adults who are picky eaters. It’s not as helpful or as honest as genuinely getting picky eaters to try out new, healthy foods, but it could be good way to get things started. Sneak vegetables and other healthy foods into favourite dishes, such as making a vegetable puree and adding into other foods.

Dips and sauces

Not a fan of fruits? Maybe some apple slices with nut butter could make snack time easier. Dips, sauces, dressings and toppings can seem to magically turn the most boring of foods into something fun and delicious. Broccoli with melted cheese, green beans with bacon and carrots with hummus are just some simple, but tasty ideas you could try out. Soon after, you’ll be able to get picky eaters to enjoy them without these additions.

Involvement

Get those picky eaters involved in the kitchen. Kids especially get motivation when they feel like they’re involved. It also serves as extra family bonding time. They can do something as simple as stirring, sorting or washing. When they see the healthy meal they’ve helped to prepare, they might just be excited enough to eat it.

Does Your BMI Actually Matter?

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When you’re watching your weight, you’ll probably come across the term “BMI.” But, what does it exactly mean and does it matter when you’re trying to lose weight?

Your Body Mass Index or BMI calculates your height and weight. BMI calculators and charts are available online for you to see whether your BMI is in the healthy, underweight, overweight or obesity range.

A BMI of less than 18.5 is categorised as underweight and can sometimes indicate eating disorders. People in this range will need to adjust their diet to gain more nutrients. The normal range is a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9. The overweight range is a BMI of 25 to 30 with a vulnerability to hypertension, high triglyceride levels, diabetes, stroke and coronary heart disease. The obese range is a BMI of greater than 30, while the morbidly obese range is having a BMI of more than 40.

BMI has been critiqued for its inaccuracy, but it has proven to be useful in some cases, particularly when assessing a person’s risk of developing diabetes, arthritis, liver disease, high blood pressure (hypertension), high cholesterol, sleep apnea and some types of cancer (such as breast, colon and prostate)

BMI is considered by most medical professionals and researchers to be an arbitrary calculation. BMI does not accurately take into account one’s bone, muscle, water and fat mass. It also does not include other factors like one’s age, sex, blood pressure, triglycerides, cholesterol and insulin resistance. Overall health is not just about having weight that is proportionate to one’s height.

weight loss near meSince BMI overlooks bone and muscle mass, athletes will sometimes find themselves to be regarded as overweight. Athletes, who usually have a lot of muscle mass, are also commonly healthy and fit. BMI doesn’t distinguish this, though, and cannot be applied to fit individuals and athletes.

BMI also does not calculate fat percentage. Our body stores two kinds of fat–subcutaneous (under the skin) and visceral (around the organs). It is dangerous to have more visceral fat around the stomach and heart and can lead to heart diseases, stroke and diabetes. However, BMI cannot distinguish this. Even if two persons have the same BMI, their fat percentage will not be alike.

Age and gender as well as ethnicity also get overlooked by BMI. Older people should be wary of BMI, since they naturally lose height and muscle, but gain fat. Even though BMI doesn’t differentiate results for men and women, women tend to have more fat than men. Certain ethnicities also have more body fat, according to some research groups. Asians typically have a higher fat percentage than Caucasians and are more at risk of getting heart diseases and type 2 diabetes.

If you still want to make BMI your standard of choice for measuring a “healthy” weight, it’s important to know these things. Your BMI or weight may not change, but your body composition and physique can. Your BMI may remain the same or may not change much, but your body becomes fitter and healthier. For example, body fat can be displaced with muscles. Weight loss and fitness may not always be visible to the eye or on your scale. A fitter body and overall healthier body image rely on fat loss and muscle gain without necessarily going down the BMI scale.