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BODY & SLIMMING

Sunday, 24 February 2013 | 0 comments

Towards A Slimmer You

Body image can often influence your overall confidence, so it's important to set realistic expectations and keep an optimistic attitude about the ways you can gradually improve it. Your physical self is what makes you unique, so work on keeping a fit, healthy body and celebrate the best points about you !

'Body Happy' Tricks :

You can look forward to a better body for 2013 by following these tips :

Food Factors

Cut down on alcohol - It might seem like a harmless odd drink or two, but calories have a way of creeping up, a Pina Colada contains more calories than a Big Mac. Because alcohol lowers your inhibitions, you're also more likely to pig out than restrain yourself during an inebriated state. If you must drink, pace yourself and alternate with sparkling water or juice.
Late night suppers - Contrary to popular belief, the time you eat does not influence calorie burning or affect metabolism, although it can encourage you to continue snacking beyond what your body needs. Remember that what matters is the total amount of food you end up having over the course of the day, not what time you have them.
Eating out every day - Besides a dearth in nutrition, the portions are larger and the possibilities of 'adjourning to desserts' are higher. Try having a light entree and splitting the main course, especially for high cholesterol foods and always try to fill up with salad or vegetables instead.
Regulate your meals - As much as possible, and have proper sit-down dinners instead of eating on the fly. This will help standardise your blood sugar levels and control your body's cravings.
Bring your own snacks - A good way to reduce the urge to snack on unhealthy foods is to BYO : fruits, nuts, yogurt, cereal bars, sachets of wholegrain drinks, pita bread and crackers are great examples of filling up on good calories while maintaining a sense of non-deprivation.
Reduce sugar and oil - Make a habit of asking for less oil and fat in your cooking and less sugar in your drinks, even when eating outside.
Encourage others - The people we take our meals with, like our colleaques or family, will often influence how or what we eat. Encourage them to be healthy with their food choices or get them to help monitor your unhealthy eating habits !
Analyse your motives - Cultivate a habit of asking yourself why you want to eat something : boredom ? stress ? anxiety ? Most often food is used as a temporary relief rather than due to hunger. Find alternate ways of dealing with these issues.
Incorporate a super food - A tablespoon of vinegar mixed with warm water in the morning before breakfast will help you detox, stimulate weight loss and boost energy, while white kidney beans help prevent the digestion of complex carbohydrates, thereby decreasing their absorption rate.

Body Beautiful :

Use body wraps and foundationgarments - Besides giving you a firmer, smoother contour and more confidence, they also act as excellent long-term support.
Improve your posture - Something as simple as drawing your shoulders back and straightening your spine will make you appear slimmer and more confident.
Dress like a pro - Use dark, monochromatic colours, avoid big, fussy prints and opt for structured, well-tailored pieces. By giving yourself the impression of slimness in front of the mirror, you'll feel better.
Get a tan - Having a tan will help you feel sportier and slimmer, but do not obtain your tan by staking out in the sun, slather on a fake tan instead.
Use a slimming cream - Pick one with an anti-cellulite treatment and apply diligently to flabby areas for a smoother, more toned appearance. The caveat is that they only work when used daily.
Invest in a vibration machine - Used on target areas, it optimises blood circulation, which boosts waste elimination, reduces cellulite and increases flexibility, making the body look and feel suppler.
Get enough ZZZ's - Sleep debt contributes to weight gain as the body tries to put more glucose in the body to compensate for over-tiredness.
Learn your body shape - The way it responds, and how it ages. Being informed about the nature of your body type can help you plan a more efficient slimming regimen.
Pamper yourself ! - Give yourself a beauty treat every fortnight, it could be a DIY massage, going for a spa, hair wash or just switching off that handphone and relaxing in a tub of bath salts. Block time off to pamper your body !

Art of Massage :

It may seem like a frivolous hobby to some, but massage is actually a scientific process. The reason you feel different after a massage is because of the increases in blood and lymph circulation. Lymph is a fluid that rids body tissues of waste, which is dependent on the squeezing effect of muscles. An active person with more muscles has better lymph flow than an inactive person. However, stimulation from vigorous activities such as exercise can lead to increased waste being produced within the body. This is where massage has a huge advantage. Massage can dramatically aid lymph movement, which together with blood, supplies nutrients and oxygen while getting rid of wastes and toxins.

By affecting your muscles-building capabilities and fitness levels, which in turn increases your capacity to control or lose weight.
By helping to loosen contracted, shortened muscles and stimulate weakened, flaccid muscles. Long term, this results in a more compact and efficient musculature and the muscle 'balancing' can even help posture and promote more proficient movement.
By increasing the excreation of nitrogen, inorganic phosphorus and sodium chloride (salt) which encourages metabolic increases.
By improving the function of the oil and sweat glands that lubricate, clean and cool the skin, making skin softer and more supple.
By bursting fat capsules within the subcutaneous tissues.

For those who like a little help, incorporating a slimming cream into the finishing touches of your massage ritual will make your efforts more efficient. Keep in mind that anti-cellulite, firming, slimming and lifting creams don't always do the same thing, and some products firm or smoothen the skin but don't penetrate the epidermis, while others act on fat mass, so choose a product according to your needs.

Regular massage is just as important a component as regular workouts and correct nutrition in any comprehensive fitness and weight loss program, which is great news for those of us who thought that exercising and losing weight was all hard work !

Did you know...

Women often experience changes in their body as they get older. That is because from the age of 25 onwards, cells start losing their ability to completely renew themselves. Collagen fibres that are so important to a shapely body also start reproducing at a slower rate. As a result, the figure starts to lose its firmness and shape.

The human body consists of bones, lean tissue (organs and muscles), fat and water. As the body ages, so does the distribution and amount as well as the amount of these components change.
As human age, the female body especially undergoes a natural decrease in hormonal production, a slowing down of metabolism rates, the effects of pregnancy or simply, a busy lifestyle. When these happen, many women will begin to experience noticeable changes in their body shapes.
As hormonal changes result in a change in metabolism, fatty tissue faces a higher probability of being increasingly deposited towards the centre of the body. This includes the stomach, hips and thighs.
The fat cells in the subcutaneous tissue multiply and get bigger with age, hence it is harder to get rid of fat in these problem areas.

Quick Facts

The metabolism rate in a female body begins to decline at an age as early as 20 years !
As the metabolism rate decreases, the proportion of body fat may increase by as much as 30%.

BODY & SLIMMING

Sunday, 24 February 2013 | 0 comments

Cut down on alcohol - It might seem like a harmless odd drink or two, but calories have a way of creeping up, a Pina Colada contains more calories than a Big Mac. Because alcohol lowers your inhibitions, you're also more likely to pig out than restrain yourself during an inebriated state. If you must drink, pace yourself and alternate with sparkling water or juice.
Late night suppers - Contrary to popular belief, the time you eat does not influence calorie burning or affect metabolism, although it can encourage you to continue snacking beyond what your body needs. Remember that what matters is the total amount of food you end up having over the course of the day, not what time you have them.
Eating out every day - Besides a dearth in nutrition, the portions are larger and the possibilities of 'adjourning to desserts' are higher. Try having a light entree and splitting the main course, especially for high cholesterol foods and always try to fill up with salad or vegetables instead.
Regulate your meals - As much as possible, and have proper sit-down dinners instead of eating on the fly. This will help standardise your blood sugar levels and control your body's cravings.
Bring your own snacks - A good way to reduce the urge to snack on unhealthy foods is to BYO : fruits, nuts, yogurt, cereal bars, sachets of wholegrain drinks, pita bread and crackers are great examples of filling up on good calories while maintaining a sense of non-deprivation.
Reduce sugar and oil - Make a habit of asking for less oil and fat in your cooking and less sugar in your drinks, even when eating outside.
Encourage others - The people we take our meals with, like our colleaques or family, will often influence how or what we eat. Encourage them to be healthy with their food choices or get them to help monitor your unhealthy eating habits !
Analyse your motives - Cultivate a habit of asking yourself why you want to eat something : boredom ? stress ? anxiety ? Most often food is used as a temporary relief rather than due to hunger. Find alternate ways of dealing with these issues.
Incorporate a super food - A tablespoon of vinegar mixed with warm water in the morning before breakfast will help you detox, stimulate weight loss and boost energy, while white kidney beans help prevent the digestion of complex carbohydrates, thereby decreasing their absorption rate.

Body Beautiful :

Use body wraps and foundationgarments - Besides giving you a firmer, smoother contour and more confidence, they also act as excellent long-term support.
Improve your posture - Something as simple as drawing your shoulders back and straightening your spine will make you appear slimmer and more confident.
Dress like a pro - Use dark, monochromatic colours, avoid big, fussy prints and opt for structured, well-tailored pieces. By giving yourself the impression of slimness in front of the mirror, you'll feel better.
Get a tan - Having a tan will help you feel sportier and slimmer, but do not obtain your tan by staking out in the sun, slather on a fake tan instead.
Use a slimming cream - Pick one with an anti-cellulite treatment and apply diligently to flabby areas for a smoother, more toned appearance. The caveat is that they only work when used daily.
Invest in a vibration machine - Used on target areas, it optimises blood circulation, which boosts waste elimination, reduces cellulite and increases flexibility, making the body look and feel suppler.
Get enough ZZZ's - Sleep debt contributes to weight gain as the body tries to put more glucose in the body to compensate for over-tiredness.
Learn your body shape - The way it responds, and how it ages. Being informed about the nature of your body type can help you plan a more efficient slimming regimen.
Pamper yourself ! - Give yourself a beauty treat every fortnight, it could be a DIY massage, going for a spa, hair wash or just switching off that handphone and relaxing in a tub of bath salts. Block time off to pamper your body !

Art of Massage :

By affecting your muscles-building capabilities and fitness levels, which in turn increases your capacity to control or lose weight.
By helping to loosen contracted, shortened muscles and stimulate weakened, flaccid muscles. Long term, this results in a more compact and efficient musculature and the muscle 'balancing' can even help posture and promote more proficient movement.
By increasing the excreation of nitrogen, inorganic phosphorus and sodium chloride (salt) which encourages metabolic increases.
By improving the function of the oil and sweat glands that lubricate, clean and cool the skin, making skin softer and more supple.
By bursting fat capsules within the subcutaneous tissues.

The human body consists of bones, lean tissue (organs and muscles), fat and water. As the body ages, so does the distribution and amount as well as the amount of these components change.
As human age, the female body especially undergoes a natural decrease in hormonal production, a slowing down of metabolism rates, the effects of pregnancy or simply, a busy lifestyle. When these happen, many women will begin to experience noticeable changes in their body shapes.
As hormonal changes result in a change in metabolism, fatty tissue faces a higher probability of being increasingly deposited towards the centre of the body. This includes the stomach, hips and thighs.
The fat cells in the subcutaneous tissue multiply and get bigger with age, hence it is harder to get rid of fat in these problem areas.

Quick Facts

The metabolism rate in a female body begins to decline at an age as early as 20 years !
As the metabolism rate decreases, the proportion of body fat may increase by as much as 30%.