May 8, 2009

Are you ready to live a healthy lifestyle?

Most people who begin a fitness program start off with enough enthusiasm to move an army through mud. They have the motivation, the desire, and the tools to push through the hardest workout routine because they have a goal in mind and maybe even on paper.  However, it is not all that uncommon to find all the enthusiasm and motivation becoming less pronounced.  It happens and it is the cause for many yo-yo dieters.  You start a new diet, you go full speed ahead and give it your all.  Eventually you get tired of the same old thing, you give in to temptations and it’s all over, you’re back to the same old bad habits.The problem, for the most part, is the goal we set for ourselves.  Sometimes they are so unrealistic and unattainable that we feel like we’re on a road with no end in sight.  There IS a true science to strengthening your muscles and losing body fat and it does not, it cannot happen overnight, I don’t care how many promises you get from the weight-loss marketing gurus around the globe.To avoid the ups and downs and have a better chance at sticking with the program you have to think realistically, write down smaller, short-term goals, and give yourself a little dose of knowledge –know how to reach those goals.Weight-loss, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, and flexibility all require commitment, hard work, and motivation.  So first ask yourself:

1. What is my motivation to lose weight, get in shape, get strong, run faster and further?

2. What is my short term goal?  What is my long term goal?

3. Do I have what it takes to commit to a lifestyle change? 

4. Am I willing to “fit” physical activity into my busy schedule?

5. Am I willing to spend a little more time preparing healthy meals and reading food labels?

 

Find out for yourself what you are willing to do and come up with a fool-proof plan you can stick with long term, write it down where you can see it, keep track of your progress and soon you will realize that living a healthier lifestyle is not rocket science and that you too can succeed.

Never say never!

The words “I Can’t” should not be in your vocabulary.

Don’t try, just do!

Plan to succeed and you will!

Stay Well,

Popularity: 18% [?]

May 5, 2009

You Need Goals & Powerful Reasons To Make Major Changes Happen

As a Chartered Psychologist, it’s become very apparent to me that when someone is serious about making a major change in their life, it tends to happen.  But what differentiates someone who is serious and likely to succeed from someone who isn’t?  It’s all about goals and powerful reasons for wanting to make the change(s) in the first place.

If you’re serious about making a major change for the better, be it health or wealth related, this article contains some simple how-to tips, which if you use them will dramatically increase your chances of success.

I’m going to focus on health and weightloss, but the tips I’m sharing can be equally applied to wealth creation too.

Step 1  Make a committed decision to make the change – this means cutting yourself off from any other possibility.  Saying “I’d like to lose some weight” doesn’t programme your brain for success.  Saying, ”I commit to losing 50 this year” sends a very different message to your nervous system.  Make your commitment openly to people who can and will hold you accountable for achieving it.

Step 2  Set yourself SMART goals and break these down into manageable steps as follows:-

S =  Specific.  Making your goal specific helps you to visualise the goal and motivates the mind towards its achievement.  “Losing 50lbs by my 40^th birthday” is a specific goal whereas “Losing some weight for the summer” isn’t.

M = Measurable.  Put a value and a timescale on your goal, as in the example above

A = Achievable.  Make sure that your goal is stretching but achievable.  Losing 50lbs in 6 months is an achievable goal (if I did it, anyone can), whereas losing 50 lbs in 8 weeks is not an achievable goal

R = Realistic.  Losing 50lbs in 6 months is highly realistic if you have powerful reasons (see below)

T = Time-Bound.  Putting a sensible timescale on the achievement of your goal makes the need seem more compelling and motivates you to take action

Once you have the overall goal, break it down into a set of achievable steps and monitor your progress weekly. (I don’t recommend weighing yourself every day – just the same time each week) and in the meantime, pay attention to how your clothes fit and the energy in your body.

Step 3  Identify at least 10 personally powerful reasons for making the change. Again, you need to be highly specific here.  Losing 50lbs to avoid possible future health challenges was not a powerful enough reason for me.  However, losing 50lbs to significantly reduce the risk of contracting bowel cancer (my loving Grandfather died early from this illness and there’s evidence it’s genetic) was a much more powerful reason for me.

Make your reasons a mixture of “towards” and “away from” motivated.  “Away from” often gets people started (as in my example above which was moving me away from something) but you need powerful and positive “towards” motivators to keep going.  One of my favourite was to hang my favourite pair of jeans that I could no longer wear on the outside of the wardrobe, so that I saw them every day.

Print off your goals and powerful reasons and post a copy on the door of the refrigerator and in other prominent places where extra motivation may be needed!

To summarise my weight loss example, make a committed decision to lose a specific amount of weight within a particular period of time, for your own set of powerful reasons.

 

Do this and I promise, you’re well on the way to a new you – permanently!

A short video summary of this approach is available by clicking here

Popularity: 18% [?]

April 19, 2008

Is your workout not working out for you?

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from SpinDiva of the Family In Shape blog.

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Photo by ginamig276

You started a fitness program which includes cardio and weight training exercises.  Your goal is to lose weight and tone your body, the problem is that after several weeks of tireless exercise you feel stronger but still weigh the same or maybe even a little more.  Looking at the scale at this point can be depressing and send you into a feeding frenzy.  There are a couple of reasons this could be happening such as the fact that muscle weighs more than fat and you may be building muscle faster than you are burning fat.  

I am going to focus on something a little different, nutrition.   You cannot do a 60 minute Spin class, burn 600 calories and then run to the nearest fast food restaurant for a 600 calorie lunch - it just doesn’t work that way.  Keep in mind that it takes 3500 calories to lose one pound of fat—yes, one pound, which means that you need a deficit of 500 calories per day for seven days to lose one pound per week.  That sounds like a lot and it is but it’s not difficult to do.

Here are few key points to consider:

Your meals are not errands or chores - sit, eat and enjoy what you eat.

Balance your meals throughout the day: Eat a light, balanced breakfast (1% or fat free milk with whole grain cereal; yogurt with granola or fruit; cottage cheese with fruit; egg whites with piece of toast, tea or coffee), followed by a lunch filled with raw foods, lean protein, and healthy carbs, and an equally healthy, balanced dinner.

Fuel your body with healthy carbs and protein before and after exercise: Healthy carbs such as fruits, whole grain foods, legumes; protein from lean meat, fish, poultry, and eggs; for the vegetarian this means protein from soy, legumes, nuts and dairy.

Stay away from fast food and specialty coffee shops — at least for a while: A frozen coffee can has as many as 350 calories, a burger with fries=over 1000 calories easy

Include lots of raw foods and whole grain in your diet: if you need a snack between meals or need that 3:00 pm lift you want to look at all fruits and vegetables (except potato) but including sweet potato; whole grain breads, brown rice, whole grain cereals, and low fat dairy products.

Log what you eat each day: Helps you stay on top of your nutrition goals.  Log every bite, every candy, every potato chip and every drink.  Do this for a couple of days just to see where your calories are going.

Read the food labels: Very important that you become familiar with food labels—how else will you avoid eating something you shouldn’t.

Avoid foods high in sugar and sodium:  Aim for balance.  Some foods are low fat but have a huge amount of sugar and sodium to make up for the lack of taste and nutrition.  These foods will not fill you up for long. 

Drink plenty of clear water before during and after exercise:  Sip it throughout the day, sometimes you’re just thirsty, not hungry.

Keep healthy snacks handy at all times for days when you have to eat on the go:  Granola bars that are high in protein and fiber; home-made trail mix (granola, dried fruit, nuts, whole grain cereal in zip lock bags or plastic containers); portable fruits such as apples, pears, bananas, oranges.

Your body will react based on what you put in it, regardless of how hard you exercise; losing weight requires that you provide your body with well balanced nutrition and exercise.  It doesn’t have to be a chore and it doesn’t have to be difficult for you or your family.  Change the way you eat and your family will follow.  When you eat healthy together you are more likely to make this a part of your family’s healthy living style and everyone will benefit in the long run. 

Eat Well, Stay Well - Spin Diva!

For more articles from SpinDiva, visit her Family In Shape blog. 

Popularity: 34% [?]

April 13, 2008

ReMotivation: when the first time went wrong

Photo from lalla-ali

Exercise is something we all need to do. But it may not go correctly all the time. We might start - feel we’re getting nowhere and then just give up. When that happens, what we need is a bit of remotivation.

We need to do something that’ll make us get up and get back on the exercise path. Sometimes remotivation happens spontaneously when we just have the urge to exercise. Sometimes the worst needs to happen to us - we put on weight and no longer look like our ideal weight. Sometimes we just have to have some near-death experience to start rebuilding our ideal life. Sometimes a simple stock take on our life and ideal look is all it takes.

Here are three steps:-

1. Take stock of where you are. Answer questions such as how do you look now and is it how you wish to look? Where do you want to lose weight? Where do you want to gain weight? Where do you want to build muscles? What have you done so far and how do you look?

2. Devise some realistic goals. Within 4-6 months, where do you want to see yourself? Where do you see the muscles and what do you look like? How healthy are you and what does it feel like?

3. Come up with creative ways to achieve those goals. Make a list of things you could do, have or be in order to get remotivated with your health and fitness goals. 

Here are three ideas to pick yourself up again:

• Set up a reward system. Come up with BIG rewards - rewards that will literally blow you away like a big vacation, a shopping spree, a weekend away, a spa retreat, whatever it is that takes your fancy. Give yourself these rewards once you reach a particular milestone that you set.

• WHY. Answer the why for your goals and you’ll have bigger emotional wants to get up and take action. That’s what Tony Robbins says: come up with as many reasons as you can for wanting to achieve your goals.

• Create your fitness playlist. I like how iTunes have created fitness playlists so you could download them and listen through them when you’re exercising.

Popularity: 33% [?]

March 23, 2008

So you want to lose your beer belly?

Photo from CommandZed

The problem with good beer isn’t just the occasional hangover, it’s something your partner (or mother) would have warned you about - more calories. It’s been revealed by studies that those who binge drink are more likely to get overweight and form a “beer belly” than those who may drink the same thing but spread it over long periods of time.

In any case, these extra calories are unwanted no matter why and for what reason you drink beer.

Also, if you didn’t know, belly fat is more dangerous than ordinary fat and so along with that comes with a number of serious risks including heart disease, forms of cancer and high blood pressure. For better productivity, and for better life, here are some steps to follow if you want to begin to lose your beer belly.

Cut down (completely if possible) your alcohol intake.

The most important, and more obvious first step. To get a flatter stomach and get rid of some of that belly fat, cut down or completely stop taking in alcohol. If this is really important to you, you’ll get onto a strict regime and avoid certain things.

Work on full body workouts.

Most people who do exercise to lose their beer belly usually only work on belly exercises. The fact is, those kind of exercises are wrong. If you want to lose your beer belly, then you’ll need to work on full body workouts. Cut down on overall body fat. If you just work the abs, you’ll soon reach a plateau and won’t be able to make any more fat loss. If you invest in your entire body, your stomach will naturally take course, and much easily.

If you’re working on just your stomach, you miss out your core muscles such as abs, lower back and midsection and they lose their strength. Work on your core muscles and body workout, and your stomach will even itself out.

The best exercises to focus on are those which will help you burn overall body fat. Focus on cardiovascular exercises such as biking, brisk walking, jogging, etc and weight training sessions such as those in the gym. If you haven’t got lots of time to work at the gym, you don’t have to worry. Even just 3 sessions of intense 45 minutes each is enough a week.

Get a buddy.

Most people do better when they’ve got someone to work with or to be accountable to rather than working on your own. Ask a friend or family member to invest some time in working with you. In return, offer them something. That could even be working with another beer belly friend to both get rid of your beer bellies!

Consistency is key.

This article can’t go without saying that consistency is key. You probably won’t see results immediately. Stick it out for a few months and you’ll see transformations. That’s near enough guaranteed. Remain consistent and you will see results.

Are you on the path to losing your beer belly? What have you done so far? Please share…

Popularity: 11% [?]

January 25, 2008

Five awesome ways to improve breakfast

 

Photo from ginamig

Mum always said breakfast is the most important meal of the day and a healthy breakfast would make me a healthy young man. She was right and I should have listened more than I did. 

I’d like to think that my breakfast is the exciting meal of my day, mixed with so many juices and fruits that it’s electrifying and energizing like something out of this world. But I know that for most people, it’s not like this so here I’m offering five awesome ways to improve your breakfast daily and listen to what mum said.

Some people have time but just aren’t bothered about having a decent meal when they get up. To try and cater and offer some alternatives, I’ve come up with five things that aren’t the norm for breakfast and I hope it’ll inspire you to get up and try something different. 

1. Frozen fruit. Get up and have a bowl of your favorite frozen berries. My favorites are raspberries but you could mix them with blueberries and/or blackberries. Frozen mango is also a favorite of mine aside from berries. Why frozen? I have no idea - it’s just something different.

2. Porridge or oatmeal. Have a bowl of oatmeal. You could even add your frozen fruits to it to sweeten the oatmeal and make it more tasty.

3. Go all nutty. Eat a selection of your favorite nuts (pecans, walnuts, cashews, almonds, etc) whilst you sip your hot green tea. The nuts are rich in nutrition when taken in small amounts and can be washed down easily with your drink.

4. Make yourself a protein shake. I remember when I used to go to the gym actively about a year ago to work on my upper body muscle. After a heavy workout routine, I’d spend a £2 on a small bottle of strawberry flavored protein shake. It was the tastiest and most filling drink I’ve ever had and was it not for it’s expensive tag (I was already buying 4 a week at that time) I would have bought more than one every day. Now I’ve learnt to make my own. Simple: get a teaspoon of protein powder and add it to milk or water and have yourself an nutritious protein shake!

5. Water. I can’t forget water of a list. My regular readers know I’m a big water drinker. Drink a big glass of water first thing in the morning. If you don’t like water, squeeze some fresh lime into it to give taste and drink it. You’ll be grateful.

There are five ways you can improve your breakfast. Add some more by leaving a comment… 

Popularity: 12% [?]

January 23, 2008

How to make your smile more attractive

Photo from yoshimov

Ever look at the opposite (or even the same) sex, they give you a really warm and nice-looking smile and you get a really good feeling about that person - whether it’s that you’re on the same wavelength, you’re attracted to them or you just want to go over and make conversation?

A nice looking smile is an important aspect of non-verbal communication. A smile is the center of giving thanks, showing appreciation, accepting a deal, falling in love, making small talk and exhibiting inner happiness. I find that when I am naturally happy, grateful for all that I am and have, I smile more realistically than when I just smile for the sake of it.

As science has revealed, there are natural ways to increase the quality of your smile. Here are five ways you can have a warm, nicer looking and much more attractive smile:

1. Brush your teeth properly. Many people restrict their smile because they’re ashamed at the quality of their teeth. Make sure you give your teeth the time necessary to keep bacteria and plaque away. One lady I recently made gave me one of the most amazing smiles I’ve ever seen. I asked her how she smiled so nicely. She told me that as she takes care and time in brushing her teeth, she has nothing to worry about how she looks. (By the way, asking how a lady smiles so well - good or bad pickup line?)  

2. Avoid snacking. Snacks that are high in sugar and carbs are worse as they can attack your teeth using the acid for as long as 20 minuts. Bacteria feed on the sugar and may start to grow on your teeth and gums. These include simple sugars in fruits, breads and vegetables. So ensure you time your eating with cleaning your teeth. 

3. Drink plenty water. The most prominent feature when it comes to your overall health is always about water. Water will ensure your body has plenty fluid and doesn’t suffer from internal dehydration allowing your skin and lips to look smooth and sensational. Also, by drinking lots of water, you’ll prevent getting bad breath.

4.  Straight teeth. We’re talking about a good smile here so I’ve got to write about teeth. Having straight teeth is an important facet of beautiful smiling. If you haven’t got straight teeth, do your best to get some by seeing a dentist/orthodontist and the effort you put in now will be great for future years. A more faster approach but more costly is cosmetic dentistry.

5.  Live a healthy lifestyle. The most beautiful smile shines from within. Working out, eating right and practicing good overall hygiene will not only promote healthy teeth and gums, it will make you feel good about yourself. Your self-confidence and positive energy will radiate out of your expression’s most important asset - your beautiful smile.

Popularity: 16% [?]

January 21, 2008

Facial Yoga - Get rid of your wrinkles faster

A couple of weeks back, I read an article in TIME magazine that discussed a new form of yoga for reducing aging. So much emphasis has been put on anti-aging and the market is huge for providers and practitioners because of today’s boomers.

I wondered if there really was anything new to this kind of yoga or if it really just meant for people to get back to their younger ages and make silly faces and movements with the cheek and face bones so that they are being exercised.

The focus of facial yoga from a marketing perspective is to help boomers reduce their wrinkles so they can look and feel more younger. And as it’s less painful than surgery and cheaper than Botox, it becomes an attractive thing. Also, there’s the huge social element of going to a facial yoga class once or twice a week, making silly faces and movements and then heading back home to daily life - call it a time to get away from the hustle and bustle of life that causes the wrinkles anyway.

Check out some of the facial expressions yourself and try them (it could even be a party game!). New York instructor Annelise Hagen demonstrates them in this UK Daily Mail article. If you can learn this off a book, you could do it anywhere. But do you really need to learn how to make faces from a book? Aren’t these silly faces things you did as you grew up and now you’ve just got to do it again for a health and wellness benefit?

Make of it what you think for yourself. For me, it’s yet another simple service that boomers can buy into for the social aspect of working with others. Aside from that, you could even just practice facial yoga walking down the street.

Watch this video for a quick tip or two:

 

 

 

Popularity: 10% [?]

January 14, 2008

Easy weight loss by counting your calories

 

Photo from Sauri 

I believe weight loss is about calorie balancing. In order to get serious about your weight, you’ve got to take note of the calories of everything you with commitment. You can lose weight without counting calories but the speed at which you lose weight is nothing compared to you putting in the effort to monitoring your calories.

The idea is simple: consume less calories than you’re working to lose through exercise. Do that consistently for a set period of time and you will see considerable changes in your weight.

Some schools of thought set diets to restrict you from eating certain foods. For example, one magazine I read recently told you to eat a simple banana and milk diet for 2 weeks and was nicknamed “The Skinny Black Dress Diet.” I believe that weight loss should be fun and although you must be committed in counting your calories and making sure you take in less calories than you give off during the day, you won’t need to restrict your eating.

Calorie Counting

I recommend creating a week’s meal plan in advance for as much as possible so that you can balance out your eating and measure your calories to approximation. This will also allow you to use a calorie counter tool to fit up to 2000 calories in your body each day and also working out how many calories you burn every day.

For example, if my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR, or how many calories I burn daily) is about 1900, I should aim to consume about 500 calories less than that so that I give off 500 calories and work on my weight loss. Then with the calorie counter tool I can plan a weeks eating and add up the calories. Using this example above, losing 500 calories a day should get you to lose 1 pound weight a week!

Choosing Your Foods 

Now knowing that you’re going to restrict the amount you eat but not restrict to the type of food, common sense should prevail and guide you to first selecting whole foods, proteins, carbohydrates and lots of water-rich fruits and vegetables. The biggest killer in people focused on weight loss is binging, however you can prevent this by strict motivation to stop eating when you shouldn’t or just eat small amounts in more intervals throughout the day so taking the example above, you would spread about 1500 calories into about 5 times a day for 5 small meals of 300 calories each.

Also, during weeks focused on weight loss, set up some rules.

• No snacking between breakfast and lunch.
• No snacking between lunch and dinner.
• No snacking after dinner.

Snacking (or nibbling) usually starts small but ends up large. Avoid it as much as possible. When you feel hungry, drink a glass of water and as well as getting your energy up, it will help making you feel fuller.

The idea of not restricting some foods I have proposed here is not supported by everyone. But for those on a weight loss plan I think it’s a bit harsh to close out some foods you may like from your life. For that I suggest you take up a 2-bite rule. Any desert you like, any food you like, at only one time in the week, you’re allowed a maximum of two yummy bites. That’s fair, isn’t it?

Exercise

Some say exercise isn’t necessary because your BMR is already going to aid you in giving off calories, however sometimes it’s not the calories you want to give off and ones you should be working to get rid of get stuck in your body. Exercise is extremely important and for at least 30 minutes a day. If you can’t exercise for 30 minutes a day in one go, don’t worry, as Elisa Zied says in her book Feed Your Family Right, you can break it up in 5-10 minute intervals and do it throughout the day at home, at work or during travel. But make sure you do it.

Exercise will help you increase calorie output and thus you may be able to lose weight faster or increase your food consumption a bit more. It’s all about doing your maths right.

Other bits

1. Keep a log. Every day, log down the amount of calories you eat and what you eat. Also log down when you exercise, what exercise you did and for how long for. This will provide useful feedback when you look back on and celebrate your results.

2. Forgive yourself. I don’t think you’ll get it correct right away, so forgive yourself if you do something wrong. Go back, rectify what you’ve done, change course if required and try again. Never say never. 

If you’ve done something like this, let me know how it’s working for you. 

 

Popularity: 19% [?]

January 13, 2008

How diabetes affects your feet - and what you can do about it!

By Afni Shah, the footcare expert.

A common question asked by my patients is how diabetes mellitus affects the feet. This article will explain why and how Type I and II diabetes mellitus affects the feet.Diabetes may not affect your feet initially but there are three mains way in which it could. These ways can exist together or separately.

Reduced circulation can occur. This is called ischaemia.

This occurs when large blood vessels or arteries have their inner walls covered by a fatty substance called an artheroma. This means that there is less room for the blood to flow down to the foot. There also may be changes to smaller blood vessels such as the ones in the foot. In severe cases a blockage can occur in the vessel. Diabetes can also cause hardening of the arteries as calcium becomes deposited in the vessel wall, thus causing the blood not to be pumped efficiently around the body.

Smoking can make the problem much worse. It is important to maintain a good supply as it is essential in helping to maintain healthy skin and tissues and heal any open wounds. Regular blood supply checks can be carried out easily by feeling for pulses in the foot and performing blood pressure checks on the foot. This should be carried out routinely by a Podiatrist or other Health care professional. It is recommended that diabetic patients have a foot health check at least once a year.

Impaired sensation known as neuropathy.

This is where the nerves in the foot and sometimes the lower leg have been damaged by diabetes. You may be unable to distinguish the difference between hot and cold, or feel sharp objects. Sensory loss can occur at any time. The skin can often appear dry due the loss of nerves stimulating sweating which help keep the foot hydrated. A podiatrist can routinely perform a simple test that will identify any problems. They will test your protective senses through using a 10mg monofilament test and using a tuning fork.

Changes in foot shape

This is likely to occur in association with reduced sensation. The nerves controlling the muscles do not work properly and this can cause clawing of the toes. The balls of the feet can become more prominent. This can cause a change in way you walk or stand which can cause abnormal pressure areas and calluses.

How to prevent foot problems - General measures

Ensure that you do everything you can to maintain good control of your blood sugar level and it is very important not to smoke as it increases the chances of problems occurring. Also performing gentle exercise regularly will help improve the blood flow.

Daily foot checks

You may not be aware of injury to your feet, therefore it is important to incorporate checking your feet as part of your daily routine. If you have poor eyesight please ask a friend or relative to help you. If you can not reach your feet use a well-positioned mirror to see parts of the foot that can not normally be seen. It is also important to check in between the toes.

General nail cutting

It is advised that diabetics should not cut their nails because if you cut the nails yourself you could be at a higher risk of developing an infection. It is advised to file your nail using an emery board every few days. If your nails are thickened, a podiatrist can use a nail drill to reduce the thickness of the nail and cut them too.

Treating hard skin

A foot file can be used for light hard skin and then gently rub cream over the thickened skin. This will help maintain the elasticity of the skin. For corns and very hard skin, it is best to see a podiatrist to treat the areas. Corns may feel like you are constantly walking on a pebble. Do not use a blade, razor or scalpel yourself as you cannot see how much skin you are taking off and this may cause an open wound and scarring. Also if a cut is created, it could lead to severe infection. For corns do not use corn plasters as the ointment in the plaster is too potent on the skin and can cause an infection.

Bathing

Wash your feet with warm water and soap. Make sure you dry your feet carefully especially in between your toes, this will prevent the skin cracking. Also it is important to check the temperature of the bath water before you put your foot in, as you may lose temperature sensation in your feet and not realise it. This could result in you scalding your feet.

Socks and hosiery

Natural fibres such as cotton or wool are preferable. Change socks every day.

Footwear

Always ensure that your shoes have a round, wide, deep toe box and compare the shape of your toes with that of the shoe. Laces are best for fastening shoes, but buckles or Velcro straps are just as effective if you have difficulty with laces. A ¼ inch of space between the end of your longest toe and the end of the shoe is ideal. If your feet swell, take care not to lace, buckle or fasten too tightly. The height of the heel should not be more than one inch and leather uppers are preferred. If possible have your feet measured before buying shoes. The best time to have your feet measured is at the end of the day as feet generally swell slight throughout the day.

Heat

Your feet may not be able to distinguish between hot and cold. Don’t use hot water bottles or sit in front of a fire to warm up your feet. Burns can occur which may not heal easily.

Do not do the following things:

Ignore any problems with feet that you are unsure about. If there is a distinct colour change, any swelling, pain, heat or other abnormalities, please seek professional help immediately. Do not use razor blades or sharp implements to remove hard skin as this could lead to an infection. Do not use corn plasters as these may contain acid which is harmful to your skin. Do not wear badly fitting shoes or walk barefoot. Do not wash your feet in strong disinfectants.

In the event of an emergency

First aid: If a minor injury occurs on your foot, cleanse with warm salt water, dry the foot carefully with a soft clean towel without touching the actual wound. Cover with a dry dressing.If for any reason, there are problems in contacting your podiatrist, please telephone your GP immediately.Most importantly make sure that your Podiatrist is registered with the Health Professions Council (HPC).

This article was written by Afni Shah, B.S.c (Hons), M.S.c, M.Ch. S, S.R.Ch, our footcare expert. Afni runs Tip Toe Footcare, a podiatry/chiropractic clinic in London.

 

Popularity: 9% [?]