April 9, 2008 by Kavit Haria

Five ways to eat healthier at work

Photo from kecko

The workplace and busy lifestyle of employees isn’t the easiest way to live if you want to eat healthy… but it has to be done if you want to earn a decent living, right? 

So what can you do at work to eat more healthier? Grab a sheet of paper and jot down some things you could do during the day to improve your work. Here are five ways to get you started:

• Keep a bowl of nuts on your table. Eat a handful of nuts daily around 3-4 pm to boost afternoon productivity.

• A bowl of fruit. Keep a bowl of fruit on or near your desk and reach out to have one every few hours. Try to get through at least 3-4 fruits a day. Have your favorite ones and put them on your shopping list for each week.

• Keep a water bottle or filter system near your desk. Reach over to your bottle very often, at least every half hour to have a big sip. Keep hydrated and your cells will flourish.

• Take a walk during lunch. Don’t drive to the shop - walk. Do the same if you’re going to the post office or bank if it’s local. Keep your blood pumping.

• Cut down on caffeine. You can actually ban the coffee from your cubicle. Get rid of the bottle. Settle for juices or water instead.

Share your ideas too…

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April 7, 2008 by Kavit Haria

Is a healthy return on investment possible?

In investing, or business in general, there’s a term known as Return On Investment (ROI) that is a calculation of the return you will get on anything you have invested in.

For example, if I get an investment of one million pounds for my business having showed a successful investor my business plan, the return on investment for a particular product line could be 5 times that, making five million pounds in two years. That would be my ROI.

When it comes to health, is it possible to have an ROI that pays dividends for whatever you put into your body and how much time you dedicate to it.

I like to think so.

Take, for example, the benefits of a fruit and vegetable diet. If you consume healthy amounts of fruit and vegetable on a daily basis, providing your body with the vitamins, minerals and nourishment that it requires, do you think you will have a ROI that will pay you back with greater health for long periods of your life?

You bet.

If you follow the “rules” in business, a proven path to success, will you reach your goal? I’d bet that you’d be very likely to do so. If you didn’t follow a proven path and didn’t stick to many of the foundational business rules, you’d not succeed very easily and will have to overcome more challenges along the path.

It’s the same for your health and wellness. If you follow the “rules” of greater health, you will be far more likely to reach a stage of greater health than if you didn’t follow them.

So what are the “rules” of health to follow?

By all means, the list of rules is not going to be definitive. No-one is going to sit down and tell you that there are a set rules to follow for outstanding health. But there are a few that if followed will put you in great standing.

Drink lots of water. Hydrate yourself and never let yourself get to a point of dehydration.

Eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetable daily.

Exercise daily. Get your blood pumping. Increase the circulation.

Smile. Positive energy is contagious. Read about psychoneuroimmunology for more information. 

Keep an eye daily on a blog like 

zenhabits.net

Create your set of rules to follow. Make sure you stick to them daily. And ultimately, you will see a return on your investment. In a matter of just days.

Create your set of rules to follow. Make sure you stick to them daily. And ultimately, you will see a return on your investment. In a matter of just days.

I must say this… in business, if you make one big bad mistake, go off path, don’t follow the rules you’ve set and mislead your team, you may not make a return on your investment.

It’s the same with your body. If you put in time and energy to eat well, sleep well and exercise well, and then one day decide to “have a day off” and go beyond acceptable - drink alcohol, eat junk, consume drugs, etc - then you may not see a return on investment for all your previous hard work.

Your body can change in a matter of hours. Forget days.

So as always, the ball is in your court.

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April 5, 2008 by Kavit Haria

Create your own nutrition bars

Nutrition bars are great to have during meal times and on busy days, however most of the nutrition bars on the market are full of hype and contain lots of sugar, and even low-quality sugar mixed up together with a small amount of protein.

Now you can get them ready made to your requirements thanks to mother and son, Ava Bise and Anthony Flynn. They both started an internet-based order system called YouBars.com at www.youbars.com and you can make your own bar. You can even name your bar whatever you like.

The beauty is that you can experiment until you create the perfect bar. You can try as long as you like and the prices are really reliable. You can get a box of 12 bars for around $30. And they offer you a risk-free experience. So if you don’t like the bars, let them know and they’ll ship you another box for free. That’s a great guarantee.

Go check it out and order yourself a bunch of bars… YouBars.com. And let me know what you think of this.

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April 3, 2008 by Kavit Haria

15 Ways To Curb Out Your Food Cravings

Following on from part one: What do food cravings mean and why do I get them?, this article gives you 15 ways you can curb your food cravings next time you feel them cropping up.

Photo from papalars

One of the biggest challenges to stop smoking, quit alcohol, while you’re on a diet or are pregnant is to curb your cravings. Some people manage to sail through the cravings not having a problem, but there are many who succumb to the pressure and satisfy their needs whilst also then having to deal with the side effects.

Willpower alone is not enough. Smokers who have quit only to go back and restart within a few days are examples of willpower not being enough. However, whatever cravings you have, there are ways to curb it and that’s what we’re going to explore here.

Here are 15 ways to curb your food cravings:

1. Recognize the feelings. The first step is always to be aware and know when your food cravings are coming up. Identify what causes the craving - does it happen just after you get bored, have nothing to do or when you’re working? Once you identify it, you can immediately work on creating another trigger when it happens.

2. Get a glass of water. When you have a craving, drink a glass of water. It’s usually good to have a bottle of water with you as the feeling of laziness can easily creep in.

3. Eat some fruits. When you get a craving that wants something sweet, have a juicy apple, orange of fruit of your choice. Bite away, take your mind of the craving and indulge in the fruits knowing they’re giving you natural sugars, vitamins and nutrients.

4. Get enough sleep. When you’re hungry, get some rest.

5. Adopt a never give up approach. In the big scale, cravings only last for a very short period of time. Adopt a can-do approach that will keep you going when you get a craving.

6. Exercise. When you feel a craving crop up, get up, stretch, do some exercise, occupy yourself, get your blood flowing and increases feel-good endorphins that cut down on cravings.

7. Eat in small amounts throughout the day. Spread your meals out throughout the day in 5 to 6 sessions but also decrease the amount you eat each time. This keeps your appetite spread in the day and also allows you to have shorter time periods in which you’re not eating.

8. Beware of medications. Certain medication can stimulate appetite so if you’re on medication, then ask your doctor how to decrease the cravings its giving you.

9. Get rid of all the junk in your house. Clear out all the things you have and would junk on from the store, the cupboard, cabinets and fridge. When not in the house, you can’t have it, so help yourself and make it easy for you to beat cravings.

10. Put healthy foods in the fridge. Opposing the last point, when you get rid of the unhealthy stuff and make space in your fridge, get some healthy foods you like and put them in your fridge for when you get hungry.

11. Eat breakfast. Don’t skip breakfast. Having a healthy breakfast will set you up for a better day, less cravings and more fuller and healthy body.

12. Natural appetite suppressant. Some people opt to suppress their appetite taking something like Hoodia Balance to overcome cravings and sleep well.

13. Chew gum. Keep something in your mouth and exercise by chewing gum. Sugar free is best and gives you something to chew on.

14.  herbal tea. Different teas have different health benefits. I like herbal teas at night and have them with just hot water, no sugar. It’s a great way to fill your tummy with something warm without sabotaging your weight loss.

15. Take up a hobby. You usually get cravings when you’re couching in front of the TV or doing nothing. Take up a hobby whether it’s playing a particular game, arts and craft, music or whatever. Do something you enjoy. Boredom is one of the biggest reasons why people raid their fridges late at night.

How have you reduced your food cravings, if ever? Do tell…

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April 1, 2008 by Kavit Haria

What are food cravings and why do I get them?

This is a part one in a two-part article on food cravings and ways to curb your craving.

Photo from aprilandrandy

Food cravings aren’t just for women, it’s totally natural for men to get them as well. Cravings could be for sweet things, savory foods, carbohydrates, smoking and alcohol amongst other things. Food cravings means that the body has its signals mixed up. In other words, when our body is depleted in resources such as sugar levels, serotonin levels, etc the brain needs a quick pick-me-up and so turns to satisfy itself with cravings.

If you eat a diet that is biased and unbalanced, you will likely suffer from cravings until you learn to deal with them. For example, if you eat a low-fat diet in the hope of losing weight, you will make the problem worse as you may have become insulin resistant and when your cells don’t get the insulin they need and so turn to satisfying their cravings in order to get the quick and unhealthy sugars from junk food.

And if you think that’s bad, read this: insulin resistance and then a whole surge can lead to obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Most people diet incorrectly and in the process become the opposite of what they are aiming for and that’s why it’s important to understand nutrition before you diet or detox.

Put simply, a food craving is an intense desire for a particular food and they are commonly found in people with a diet that is one-sided as well as in pregnant women. If you ever thought, “I really want chocolate cake, triple-decker and with cream in the middle” and its a feeling not going away and you really want to have it, that’s a craving. Smokers have the same thing when they try to quit smoking without replacing it with something and within a few days find they go back to have a cigarette.

Let’s look at two main types of cravings individually:

Sugar Cravings

We usually have sugar cravings when we try to get off sugar and haven’t had it in a while. The fact is, we’re only trying to stop processed sugars and not natural sugars. So when we decide to stop having sugars, we should instead turn to having lots of fruit to try and replace the sugars our body requires.

One of the reasons we have sugar cravings is because we have low adrenal functions. The adrenal glands sit about our kidneys and they secrete adrenaline which provides us with energy. If we don’t have enough sugar in our body to secrete this, it becomes depleted and can lead to stress which then leads to cravings as a quick pick-me-up to satisfy our body.

Carbohydrate Cravings

These cravings can simply result from hunger if your blood sugar levels are low. Most people don’t really crave only carbohydrates - you don’t find people craving bread, pasta and wheat often, it’s usually accompanied by sugar cravings.

Look out for part two of this article which shares 15 ways to curb your food cravings in a few days time. 

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March 23, 2008 by Kavit Haria

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…

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March 20, 2008 by Kavit Haria

Why bother with the Master Cleanse?

There’s a lot of buzz surrounding the Master Cleanse. Lately it seems like every Hollywood actress or actor who needs to get in shape is turning to this decades old health system that involves drinking a mixture of lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper.

With all the diets out there to choose from why would anyone bother with the Master Cleanse?

There’s two main reasons people like the Master Cleanse. The first (and most obvious) is that it works. The results people are getting with the Master Cleanse border on miraculous, and they are backed by thousands of devoted users who are living testimonials to the effectiveness of the Master Cleanse.

The second reason people choose the Master Cleanse over other diets and wellness programs is that it’s fast. The typical person only spends 10 days on the Master Cleanse, compared to other diets that can last months or even years you can see why they choose the Master Cleanse.

Another interesting thing about the Master Cleanse lasting just 10 days is that you only need a short term burst of will power to get through it. Having to sacrifice for months is what makes other diets so hard to stay on, but most people can will their way through 10 days.

What can you expect from 10 days on the Master Cleanse?

Even though most people are going on the Master Cleanse to lose weight quickly, there’s many other health benefits to be gained by doing the Master Cleanse. Flushing out your system is what the Master Cleanse is really designed to do. Even back 60 years ago when the Master Cleanse was first invented people had health problems as a result of waste building up inside of them. Today with processed foods, pollution, and all around poor diets our bodies desperately need to be flushed out every once in a while.

When you flush out your body with the Master Cleanse the waste you eliminate will be abnormal. The smell, color, and texture of the waste that comes out of your body shocks some people, so you should be prepared.

If you want to try the Master Cleanse there’s more you need to know then just drinking the lemonade mixture for 10 days. In fact most people who try the Master Cleanse without knowing all the steps fail. If you think the Master Cleanse is something you would like to try there’s a good book at the Master Cleanse website that you should read before starting the Master Cleanse because it covers the common problems people face, and how to avoid them.

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March 18, 2008 by Kavit Haria

How to break a fast and what to do after a detox

This is part eight of the detox series.

Photo from digiyesica   

Breaking a long fast is an important and extremely rewarding process. The process can be likened to a small child beginning to learn how to eat solid foods. You would be best starting off with simple-to-eat foods such as soups, porridge and fresh fruits and vegetables in small portions.

It is not surprising to find that your stomach has shrunk and so you will need to start small and slowly and increase your intake and size slowly over the coming days and weeks. You may not get back to your ways of extensive eating and for some that is a good thing. You are now rebuilding better health once you’ve completed a detox program so take things slowly.

In simple, here are three tips for post-detox individuals.

• Set a plan. Divide your foods over two weeks. Start off a few days with soup. You may not even be able to drink a bowl of soup so eat slowly and don’t force yourself. Eat only as much as you content as you begin to open and grow your stomach again.

• Eat water-rich foods. If there’s anything you should eat, water-rich content from fruits and vegetables that will give you the nutrients and protein to grow.

• Build slowly. As you continue each day, try to eat a small portion more than you did the previous meal time so you build your stomach and appetite and eating habits.

It is an exciting time to re-build your health in the shape you want it to take. For many, they will go on a healthy part that will allow them to treat themselves to junk food that they used to like prior to the detox.

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March 16, 2008 by Kavit Haria

My experiences with a three day juice fast

This is part seven of the detox series.

Photo from leslieduss

I did my latest 3-day juice fast at the beginning of this year from January 1st to January 3rd. I opted to do a 3-day fast that only comprised of apple juice and apples for the first day and then a bowl of fresh salad made to my desire in the evening of the 2nd and 3rd days. As always, I kept my notes in a journal and here is how the days went:

On January 1st, I had about 7-8 glasses of apple juice throughout the day. Each time I had two glasses and about four times during the day, each a few hours apart. I spent the day resting and doing some writing but nothing to stressful or strenuous. Towards the evening, I began to feel hungry but avoided eating. I found it difficult to sleep as I was having cravings for food that I wanted to eat but eventually got a good night’s sleep.

On January 2nd, I woke up not feeling hungry or full of cravings like I felt the night before. I also enjoyed a good day’s work writing and spent some time reading. I drank about four glasses of apple juice before 5pm before preparing a green salad with lettuce, cucumber, baby spinach and grapes. I ate an apple for desert and enjoyed a better night sleep. In terms of how my body was feeling I felt more tired on the first night than I did on the second night and I definitely feel lighter in my body than before.

On the third day of the year and my fast, I continued as I did on the second day and enjoyed a more healthier day in terms of how I felt. I had pains in the morning and I put that down to just the toxins being excreted in whatever way they needed to.

I could have continued this detox for a few more days but decided not to do so. I resumed healthy eating on the fourth day.

More than anything, my digestive system has had a chance to rest apart from the water-rich salad which doesn’t require too hard digestion and so has also had a chance to “clean up” itself by removing toxins and taking in the nutrients from apple juices.

It has also been an incredible way to plan out meals for the coming week in a way that will allow me to choose the right foods and also save money when shopping. Although I have a meal plan in advance, I also allow for spontaneity if any that may pop up in the week. What it also does is save time thinking and pondering about what to make before becoming lazy and settling for second best. Instead, I can then spend a good amount of time enjoying preparation and consumption of the healthy meal.

The final part of the detox series on how to break fast and what to do after a detox is coming up next.

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March 14, 2008 by Kavit Haria

How to do a three day juice fast

This is part six of the detox series.

Photo from bluhousworker  

A juice fast is a great way to detoxify your body. The juice of fruits and vegetables is filled with healing, cleansing properties that allow the body to gently and safely detoxify. Juice fasting has become an effective steppingstone to water fasting which is more difficult and only for very healthy people. Juice fasting has a greater ability to encourage healing compared to fasting on water. Juice fasting cleanses the body while supplying a dramatic increase in vitamins, minerals and enzymes.

There is a two-fold benefit to juice fasting: increased nutrients from the fruits and removal of toxins by providing live enzymes to clean up the body.

A popular juice fast usually last three days, although you can choose to fast from one day to seven days. Anything more than that, it is advisable to contact your doctor as every body’s health is different.

Another important factor is how much juice you should drink each day. In simple, the amount you drink should be based on how intense your cleansing is. Drinking small amounts supplies small calories and drinking a large amount supplies much more calories. The more intense the detoxification, the greater the discomfort.

Juices should be fresh and can include apples, carrots, barley grass, wheat grass and other such items. Also, one can complement with herbal tea and lemon and honey drinks.

A 3-day fast specifically could include an apple juice based diet on one day and a carrot and ginger juice on the second or third day. Another option could be one type of juice throughout the three days with a big bowl of salad at 6pm daily.

The beauty of juice fasting and detoxification is that you can make it how you want so long as you follow the basic foundations of a detox. You can choose the juice and the frequency at which you take it as well as whether you complement it with something else or not.

It is important to note that diabetics are usually told to avoid juice fasting because of blood sugar problems. Severely underweight individuals should also avoid such juice detoxes. All people with health challenges should check with their physician before detoxing.

In the next part, I’ll detail one of my experiences with a three day juice fast.

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