How important is sleep?

  For those of you wondering why in the world am I suddenly blogging about sleep...well, the name of my blog says it all..'All about health and nearly everything else. So technically, I can talk about anything :).
  Another reason is that I'n actually sitting in front of my laptop at 7 am, haven't slept since 1 pm Friday, and just finished watching the Brazil vs Colombia match. Man, was that an entertaining match. Go Brasil!! The sun is coming out, and I'm slowly losing my sleepiness. Why is that? That is because, our bodies have a clock, well, not really a clock, but it does time when would we feel sleepy and alert, and I think I've passed my bed time. Some people say we need 6 hours sleep, some people say 7, and others 8. Those that think we need 9 hours, well, not really guys. Try doing this, for those of you who have about 8 hours a sleep every night, try sleeping for 7 hours for a week straight. Your body will get used to it. Then try sleeping for 6 hours for another week. Again, your body will adapt. This is because humans are habitual creatures, and we get used to a habit very quickly. that is why, if you are having a sleeping problem , you'd better get that fixed fast, if not, your body will get used to it, then it's going to be even more difficult.
  If you'd ask me, for those you who are active, try to get about 7 to 8 hours of sleep. trust me, you would need it for your body to recover effectively. For those who are not physically, but mentally active, 6-7 would be just right. Again, I am no doctor, but I do read a lot about this sort of stuff, and I just thought it would be beneficial to share.
  So, what are the effects of not having enough sleep?? Pictures time !!! :p

1. You would start to binge, and overeat.
                                        
2. Your would look haggard and there would be collagen lost, resulting in wrinkled skin and eyebags.

                                 
3. Headaches or migraines due to tired brain.

                                              

4. Low concentration.

                                        

5. Reduced sex drive/hypertension. Yup, believe or not, these both co-relates.

                                       

                                     
6. Short temper.
                                   
                                
7. Heart Complications. (in the long run, due to extra stress)
                           
                                        


   So, do you find the above informative. I hope it was, and also hope directly or indirectly it might change your lifestyle. Now I'd better got to bed and follow my own advise. Good nite!!oops, Good morning! :)

How to stay healthy when your really busy?

       So today I woke up at 1pm. (I start work at 5pm). I couldn't go to the gym as my gym is opening late during this puasa month. I'm thinking, how do I burn some calories, so I said, to heck with it, got dressed in some sports wear, had a glass of water, drove to the playground near my place, put on a tonne of sunscreen, and went for a 30 minutes jog. Luckily, I had some partial shading from the trees around the area. I came home, had 2 slices of wholemeal peanut butter sandwich, did some house chores, then lifted some weights. had my bathe, then had my whey shake and one banana on the way to work.

    Why am I sharing all this? Its because, where there's a will, there's a way.Not everyone has the much needed time to workout whenever they please on a daily basis. Unless your a sponsored athlete of course. So I have gathered some liftestyles changes for those of you busy employees, mothers, or like me, student with a full time job.

1. Surely you've seen this before. You can also burn extra by taking to steps at a time, or running up. You can do this at your office, train stations, your apartment (if you live in one), and shopping malls.

                                                          
2. Cut down on rice.Especially on those weekdays when you are sitting on your butt the whole day, studying or working. Treat your body like a vehicle, meaning, fuel it according to how much is required. The below shows 2 photographs, one with a full plate rice and 1 less.
                
3. Avoid sweetened drinks. Doesn't matter whether it's canned drinks, fruit juices or your normal teh o ice from the mamak. Avoid them all, and have water!
                                   
4. Exercise during your meal breaks. Example : After you've had your lunch, wait for about 10 minutes, then walk around your office building. You can maybe put on your earphones and listen to some music while doing it. Trust me, you'll feel more refreshed later in the office, with extra calories burnt. just remember to keep an eye on the surroundings. the roads can be a dangerous place!

                                        

5. Have a cleansing day: On one particular weekday, or weekend, avoid your normal meals and only have tonnes of vegetables and some fruits. Why not much fruits? Because fruits contain sugar as well, and that needs to be reduced a little. You can have it by blending them, or eating them whole. What it does is it cleanses your body and the results are fresher skin, more vibrant and detoxifying our bodies from foods that have not yet digested.
                                               
             
6. Walk walk walk. Walk everywhere, and try to avoid using your cars. If you need to go to the groceries, walk, you need to pick your kids from the tuition center? Walk. Hey, it's going to give you some time to catch up as well.
                                                
7. Avoid junk food! And yes, this includes fast food, cakes, starchy biscuits, snacks, chocolates,donuts, candy bars and ice creams. These are all empty calories guys, and some with tonnes of fats. Your body doesn't need it. Did you know that 1 Mc' Donalds Value meal has about the same calories in 2 plates of nasi kandar?? Yup..It's true guys. you don't believe me, go read the nutritional facts the next time you go to Mc' Donalds.
                                              



So, what you think? Useful tips? Make sure these are followed guys, and I guarantee you will see changes.! Good luck!
                                       

Eggs - Friend or foe?

      How many eggs do Malaysians consume every day? This is the exact sentence which I googled searched and the result was this link: http://www.thestar.com.my/story.aspx/?file=%2f2011%2f10%2f15%2fnation%2f9700711.

       Based on this report in 2011, Malaysians consume around 20 million eggs perday. With a rough count population of 29 million in 2011, this number is alarming. And besides, how many times have our elders warned you about eating too many eggs. We'll get a heart attack, or our cholesterol might go up. Hmm, in some ways, that is true, in others, still speculative. I'm not here to tell you whether it is good or bad, but I am going to just share some cool things about eggs, then you make your own judgement. Deal? :)

     

     

That picture must have got you a rough answer, I believe? ..Yup, that's true folks. Eggs help us build muscles. Now that does not mean you can be a couch potato and expect your bicep to look like that.! With the right workouts, and including eggs in your meals, it can be a very good source of protein. Do note, one egg has about 6-8 grams of protein.! So for those vegetarians out there, who think eating eggs is alright with you, I would say, indulge. We have seen many bodybuilders and athletes who include eggs into at least one of their meals. Two very good example are: Sylvester Stallone and Kollywood actor Surya Sivakumar. Both these actors have said that they have included a diet high in egg whites to get lean. And had it worked for them? You be the judge.

                           
                                                                          Before
                                                       
                                                                        After

     Are those really before and after photos? Well, not a 100 %. The first photo, of course, Rocky fans would know its from the movie, before he goes out and trains. And the second photo is actually a real photo taken after his hardcore dieting. Part of how he managed to lose so much fat was to replace his normal meals with egg whites. Now, this is not something I would recommend, and even Sly himself mentioned during an interview, that this can be quite dangerous. Not the egg whites of course, but cutting weight to much in very short time.
   Eggs are also so good because eggs are sometimes called Natures Multivitamin. This is because there's so many vitamins and minerals within an egg. For obvious reasons, as that is all there to give life a chick. The below are what I found by a mere google search on vitamins in eggs:

One large egg contains :

• Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin): 9% of the RDA.
• Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): 15% of the RDA.
• Vitamin A: 6% of the RDA.
• Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid): 7% of the RDA.
• Selenium: 22% of the RDA.
• Eggs also contain small amounts of almost every vitamin and mineral required by the human body… including calcium, iron, potassium, zinc, manganese, Vitamin E, Folate and many more.

A large egg contains 77 calories, with 6 grams of quality protein, 5 grams of fat and trace amounts of carbohydrates.

It’s very important to realize that almost all the nutrients are contained in the yolk, the white contains only protein.

Bottom Line: Whole eggs are incredibly nutritious, containing a very large amount of nutrients compared to the calorie load. The nutrients are found in the yolks, while the whites are mostly protein.

** All credit goes to  http://authoritynutrition.com/6-reasons-why-eggs-are-the-healthiest-food-on-the-planet/.

   What I do is, I usually buy a 30 eggs carton from Giant once about 2 to 3 weeks once. Every other day, I'd make scrambled eggs consisting of 1 whole egg and 3 egg whites, and sometimes for supper, If I'm hungry. Its a good way to keep your carbohydrate down when you have eaten too much over the weekend.

   Now, this doesn't really mean that eggs has all positives and no negatives. Eggs, as you know, are renowned for their high cholesterol levels, and this is all in the yolk.
   Based on http://www.mayoclinic.org, a clinical study shows that 1 egg yolk contains about 186 milligrams of cholesterol, and the recommended intake for normal healthy individuals is 300 mg. I would personally advice not to exceed 2 whole eggs a day, and enjoy egg whites, as many as you want.

                 

Dashboard Abs, do you want it?

 Trim mid-section, 6 pack abs, who doesn't love that look? Whether your a woman or a man, young or old, this is something everyone desires. But getting to that is not very simple though. Living in Malaysia where food can be found everywhere, anytime, this can be a very difficult feat. And if you were to notice another thing, nearly all Malaysian food eaten outside is unhealthy. From all the 'goreng-goreng', to high carbs, highly sweetened beverages, it would pile on the pounds in an instant.
                               

                                          An example of Malaysian dishes.. healthy, you think?

    So, for those of you who can really be disciplined, I have taken the liberty of preparing this blog with some workout and diet advice to help you with that 6 pack goal. Firstly, let me make it absolutely clear that there is no such thing as spot reduction. What do I mean by spot reduction? Spot reduction is when you focus only on a certain part of your body exercise wise and expect to see improvements. the answer; Never. Never will there be any improvements by just doing sit-up, for example. There has to be a balance between proper eating, cardio and weight bearing exercises.

   Below are few some of the workout and diet plan that you can follow:

Diet

Breakfast - 3 egg whites(scrambled without oil) with a slice of toast and a slice of fruit.

Mid-morning snack - palm sized almonds/cashew nuts (roasted)

Lunch - 1 capati with dhal, vege and 1-2 pieces chicken (lean, and without gravy, not fried)

Evening snack - 2 boiled egg whites

Dinner - 1 steamed fish and a cup of vegetables

Supper - 1 cup Greek yogurt.

Now, the above is a diet that can be followed by both men and women, and the portion of the foods depends also on your current weight. Also, remember to drink at least 2 litres of water a day, and avoid any sweetened drinks.

Cardio

Jogging 3-4 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Workout 

1.)Lying Leg Raise

Reps - 8-12 (2 sets)

                                                  

2.)Hanging Leg Raise

Reps - 8-12 (2 sets)

                                          

3.)Decline Russian Twist

Reps - 8-12 (2 sets)

                                           

4.)Plank

Hold for 20 seconds (2 sets)

                                         

Jackknife

Reps - 12 each side (2 sets)

                                         

And end the above with a good stretch. You can try the cobra, that really stretches your midsection.

                                        

                                 

                                          The cobra pose - Be sure not to overstretch or go too fast

     This is all you need, believe it or not. Just make sure everything from the above is followed, and you would be seeing gains pretty quick. One surprising factor in the equation to great abs is a good nights rest. Can you believe that? This is because insufficient sleep can lead to high blood pressure and also weight gain, not forgetting heart disease.Also, not sure if you realized this, but getting reduced sleep can make us over-indulge in high-carb foods and post dinner snacks, which inter-relates with weight gain.

     So the key to all this? I have been mentioning it in my previous blogs as well....discipline, discipline, discipline. Our goal has to be to burn those fats. What I do is, when I go do my shopping at Giant, I step on the scale to check my weight, BMI, blood pressure , fat percentage and all. It's only RM1. Quite a cool machine. It might not give you the exact reading, but it is close. And when you see yourself improving, you will get enthusiastic to push further. Trust me on that. To make a six pack appear, you need to at least bring your fat percentage down to 6-9%. That is very low, and very difficult. I know, because I have been trying really hard, and even I have the problem I mentioned earlier. Discipline. I am at 23 % now, still high even though I managed to bring it down from 31%.

  So guys, give it your best, and I'll see what new things I can share with you guys. Adios amigos!

  

Football players leg conditioning

    Anyone watched the world cup match last night between Brazil and Chile. Very 'chilling' game it was, wasn't it. As much as I am a Brazil fan, I have to say, the match yesterday was a bit off the ledge. Very close call it was, and it kept me at the corner of my seat throughout. But, one more thing that always puzzles me, how can these guys be so top notch and running, sprinting, kicking, falling, and still be functioning well. Man, just look at those calf muscles beneath their stockings. Wish I could be half as fit.
 
                                                                                                            
                                                What you think? Awesome right?
These guys are so fit, but, of course we all know, from all that rough playing, these players easily succumb to injuries. this is because all the joints, tendons and muscles of these players are being pushed to their maximum. But at the same time, they are monitored really closely. We can see after their games, some of them who are having cramps are instantly given cold packs or a quick stretch and massage. They also undergo monthly examination and are supplemented with numerous types of supplements. So, all those futsal players out there, do be careful when you over exert yourself. Eat properly and take care of those joints.

  Below are some of the workouts which I think would benefits our love for football and strong legs:

- Squats
- Lunges (Including Side lunge)
- Calf Raises
- Hamstring machine curls
- Leg extension on machine.

                                           
                                                     Hamstring machine curls

                                             
                                                   Leg extension on machine.

Not forgetting the abs as a strong core is very important. You can do these exercises maybe 2-3 times a week, and I bet you'd be able to see some fast improvements during your games. And I always stress how important it is to eat right. Have some fish oil supplements, and if your older, you can try Tri-Flex from GNC. Trust me on that, that thing works. Good whole foods would be, fish, (have plenty of those!), white rice (before your workouts for energy), banana, and heal afterwords with adequate amounts of protein. Good luck!

Crash Diets - Do they really work?

     Most adults must have tried a crash diet at least once in their lives. Maybe its to fit into a wedding dress, or preparing to go for a dinner, or just wanting to lose some weight in very short time. It does seem to be the most easiest way to shed some pounds. Just skip a meal or two here and there, or eat less, it differs based on preferences.
                                
                                                           A tomato for lunch, anyone?

    But, do crash diets actually work? That's a questions that even I myself need to really find the answer to. Truth is, it does work, you do lose some weight. But mostly, that weight comes from muscle loss. See, we all know, that protein feeds our muscle tissues. At every food intake, our bodies can roughly consume about 25-30 grams of protein. So if you're a person with high muscle mass, then this protein will be used. When someone goes on a crash diet, this protein supply is reduced to the tissues, and due to the low caloric intake, then body goes into a protection mode. To protect what? Well, the fats of course! Muscle tissues will be used up first by being converted into energy, and the body reserves the fats. That's the sad truth. And when the percentage of muscle tissue decreases, calories that are being taken in would not be completely burned. This is because more calories are being burnt when you have more muscle mass compared to lower muscle mass. I guess this answers why bodybuilders eat so much, and are still able to maintain their weight class.
                                 
                                       Confused?? Everyone goes through this so don't worry!

    To make some of you who are reading this feel better, I had actually gone on a crash diet, several years back, I think it was 2007, if I remember clearly. I didn't really had a specific diet that I wanted to stick to. But, money was short, you know, when you are a student. So I'd usually just grab whatever I could, whenever there were 'supplies'. Usually it was sausage or bread for breakfast, scrambled eggs for lunch, a plain slice of bread in the evening and maybe maggi for dinner. Most of the time, breakfast would be skipped because I was always rushing to class. in the evenings, because I loved swimming so much, I'd go down to the pool at my apartment and spend about an hour doing some leisure swimming. I reduced my weight from 70 kg's to 63 kg's in about 3 months. The good part, I did look good in my clothes, but beneath, I could not cheat myself as my layers of fats seemed more than before. I eventually ballooned to 78 kg's by next year after starting work though.
       I'm no personal trainer, but my advise, do it only if you really need to. For example, if you need to fit into your wedding dress in 3 days time and obviously, no amount of dieting can bring results that quick.
       However, to put an end to this, we have to forget about crash diets, forget about diets itself. Think healthy eating. Whatever and whenever you put something in your mouth, it has to be for a reason. And avoid junk at all cost. They useless, or also known as, empty calories.Create an eating plan and try to follow it at least 80% of the time.

         
                                     
                                               Now this is what we call eating healthy!
    In my future blogs, I will try to touch more on healthy eating and types of workout that we can do to help us in our weight loss goal. For now, happy reading !
                         














 

Healthy Eating

  So for this week, I'm going to write a bit on about healthy eating a.k.a dieting. But why do I call it healthy eating and not dieting?? Well, this is because, most Malaysians, if they were to hear the word dieting, the first thought that comes to their mind is, fasting..or eating less..this and that. So to make things a bit more clear and to help you guys out just a bit with what has worked for me, I'm going to share my practices and what has helped me in the past, and what I am currently following.
  Ok, so a typical Malaysian would wake up at say..6am, snooze the alarm for 15 minutes, wake up at 6.15am, bathe, get dressed, then rush to work.Then they would go for breakfast at about 8 or 9. A big and tasty plate of nasi lemak,roti canai, mee/mihun goreng or freshly fried currypuff's or pisang goreng. With teh tarik. And we always forget to say 'kurang manis'. Nyam nyam nyam!! Yup! We all love that! I have to agree. It is our Malaysian delicacy after all. But....do you know which just one plate of either of the above, the calorie content can go up to a whopping 500 calories! If that not high enough, look at at the source of that calories. It will have about 10 grams fat, about 50 grams carbohydrate and about 9 grams protein. Having this once a week, is acceptable, but on a daily basis, is just something that needs to be avoided. Add a fried chicken to that, and the total calorie can be about 60% of your daily total caloric contect. And this is only breakfast. What about lunch? We usually have a plate of white rice (which is basically the only type of rice most stalls sell anyways, apart from briyani or chicken rice), added with some vege and chicken/mutton/beef curry, or something along that. Added with a sweet cold drink, that easily about 600-700 calories. Then comes tea time, with another cup of tea and some 'kuih muih', which comes to about 300-400 calories. And dinner, with another 6-700 calories, and there goes your diet.

                                             The awesome but dangerous mee goreng mamak!

     Let  me share what I have researched in the past, what I have followed previously, and what I am at least, trying my best, to follow now.

Like most people, I do not wake up at 6 am, as I only start work at 4pm. So, after I wake up around 12pm, I first go to the kitchen and make some rolled oats. I fill a pot with about 250 ml water, then add 4 table spoons of rolled oats into it, and leave it to cook. While its cooking, I have my bathe, and put on my gym clothes. By then, its done, I add some raisins, some low fat milk and about half a teaspoon of sugar for taste. Waalaa! An awesome and healthy breakfast. Its about 400 calories as well, but most of it is from good carbs, as its not filled with starch, and its going to give you the energy you need while working out. If its my day off, I would typically have 3-4 scrambled egg whites and a slice of wheat bread with peanut butter.

                                              Pristine brand Rolled Oats (as pure as it gets)
     After my work out, I would typically have a protein shake, and then its lunch, around 5.30pm. I try to prepare my food for the whole week by every Sunday, and just dump it in the fridge, and heat it up when its meal time. So lunch, if I'm not trying to loose too much fat, would be a capati, with some home cooked chicken or sardin curry, with lots of vegetable. On other days, I might have a ham sandwich. A nice balance between carbs and protein, with little fats. And zero oil. But on the weeks that I really have the mood for some good and fast improvements, my lunch would typically be a palm sized grilled chicken breast, with some broccoli for fibre. I would try not to take any carbs as the carbs would come from the seasoning that I have used for marinating the chicken. Then its snack time around 8.30pm, in which I'd have some home made roasted cashew nuts with an apple. For dinner, its chicken breast again with some green vegetables. This would be at around 11.30pm. For supper, it's usually some cashew nuts again, or maybe some scrambled egg whites. I have included my healthy eating plan below for easy viewing:

Breakfast - Rolled Oats with half teaspoon sugar and raisins
Post workout - 1 scoop ON Gold Standard Whey
Lunch - Palm sized grilled chicken breast with 1 cup broccoli s
Snack - Palm sized Roasted Cashew Nuts and an apple
Dinner - Palm sized grilled chicken breast with green vege's
Supper - Cashew Nuts or 3 egg whites.

                                      Palm sized grilled chicken breast with steamed brocolli

All the above are consumed 3 hours apart, and man can you see some drastic improvements in very little time. My advise for those who would want to on the above diet, Don't do it too long, as the body does need carbohydrates. 2-3 weeks on this is just nice, and you can vary between chicken/turkey breasts or capati/sandwiches. Try it, and share with us the results! And if you guys have some form of diets that you share, feel free to add it to discussions in the comments. Never forget, discipline is the core to everything!

Health Supplements 101

 So .. Health Supplements..How important is that? Is it absolutely necessary?
A bit about myself as this is my first blog ever..

My name is Pravin and I have a 9 hour job (which gets to 12-13 hours sometimes :( ). I am finishing my degree at the moment, and much frankly, if there was one regret in my life, is that I wished I was a sports person. I try to be active as much as I can, even though its quite difficult when you have a desk job. I try though.. And I have quite an interest on supplements on what are they for and what can they do.
  I am very much interested in sports and two of the most interesting sports (at least to me..:p. are martial arts and bodybuilding)
   Now now...I know both these sports don't really work hand in hand, but take a look at Jean Claude Van Damme for instance. The man is a top notch martial artist, but has been widely involved in bodybuilding during his younger days. Yet, he's still flexible like a cat!

   So coming to my point. What are the supplements that you need, especially for those of you who stay active at the gym at least 3-4 times a week.
   The most important of all, as you might already know, is protein. Now, this is divided into three types: whey concentrate, Isolate, and Hydrolysate. Without getting into too much detail, as long as you are not a hardcore bodybuilder, a.k.a Ronnie Coleman type :p, this wouldn't really matter. Just go out and get a cheap and good tub of it. For me, I use the Gold Standard Chocolate flavor by Optimum Nutrition. Now now, I am not getting paid for promoting this, but have tried at least 6 different brands, and this one by ON, tastes awesome. The strawberry tastes quite good as well. You don't even need to add skim milk, it mixes really well with just plain cold water. I got this for RM184, at GNC IOI Mall. Its 5 LBS and it has been 2 months already, there's still plenty inside.
   My normal daily routine is to have about 1 to 2 glasses of water after waking up (just to wake up the inner organs), then have about 2 slices of peanut butter sandwich. I'll wait for about half an hour after that and then have a pre-workout shake (I'll talk more on that below). I then spend about an hour and a half at a gym near my place. After that, I'll immediately take 1 scoop of Gold Standard with cold water using a shaker. Then, a proper lunch about an hour later.
     

So, the above is the one I use. A very basic whey protein, which does what it's required to. Heal, and build. But, never ever forget that a good diet should follow that. Be safe and follow the 40/40/20 scale. 40% being protein, 40% being carbs and 20% being fats. It's that simple. Whats difficult is the discipline. I think most of you guys might agree with me there. You look at the mirror, you see a flabby belly and man boobs staring back at you. So what do you do? You hit the gym, start running again, and watch your diet like your life depended on it. And after 2 weeks, you get bored. I should stop using the word 'you' here, cos I am the exact copy to that. We just get lazy sometimes! So what I did was, I got myself a pre-workout. That brings me to my next supplement : Muscletech Neurocore. I got it for RM100, from an online seller.

 This product will wake your senses up on those days when you feel just too lazy to go out and push some iron. Even if its plain old running, this would do you much good as one of its main ingredient is caffeine. Do you absolutely need it? Probably no, but it would do some good if you had issues with disciplining yourself, much like me :( .. Once you drink it (which is about 1 to 2 scoops-never exceeding that!), you will feel your body heat up in just about 20-30 minutes. And you would just want to jump out from your couch and go workout. To me, I feel I'm able to get about 3-5 extra reps from each set that I do. Not much, but it does give you a crazy burn!

  A few other supplements that you might need, are (just to name a few): Multivitamin, Fish Oil and some calcium tablets.

Good LUCK!!!! Both to you and me! Lets see hows the response from this and I'll definitely start blogging more on health and some other issues that may interest you people out there :)