Another week of 10,000 steps a day is over and here is my progress report.
The graph is for my second week and I am surprised and happy that I clocked more than 13,339 steps on average.
I did a 7km bay walk twice and I was really so happy when I got over 20,000 on Saturday thanks to the morning walk and walking so much during the Vivid Sydney. Two weeks down and two more to go 🙂
Happy exercising everyone, take care.
M from nepaliaustralian
XOXO
Posted in Health
Tagged 10000 steps, exercise, health, pedometers, physical activity levels, progress report
I feel like I talk about periods all the times, I have talked about it in the post like “There is no such thing as a happy period” and “I hate those cycle.” Today I am coming back to it again and talking about period carving.
In the beginning I didn’t understand my urge for food especially just before the period and during it so I would get stressed as I was eating a lot of junk food at those times but with some research I managed to calm down as I found out that it is normal.
Just like other PMS symptoms, such as cramping, bloating, and moodiness, cravings are caused by fluctuations in the hormones. I believe most women and especially men are completely unaware of this thus my blog about it.
According to experts a woman’s need for magnesium, sugar, carbohydrates, salt and water increases dramatically between ovulation and menstruation. Our caloric needs fluctuates through our cycle. That means we need to eat more on some days than others. Right before we start our period, the levels of the hormones estrogen, serotonin, and cortisol in our body will shift. These hormonal changes result in cravings. The bad thing about these craving is that it leads me to binge excessively on crappy food like chips, fried food and chocolates that leaves me feeling bloated.
One common symptom of PMS is craving particular types of food. No wonder I want chocolate for snacks and samosa for tea. There are even days when I am so hungry that I feel like I can eat a whole elephant. That is the worst part as I feel that I can easily put on weight during those 7 days and I am back to square one in my weight loss plan.
I know the key to managing my cravings during this time of the month is to try to prevent myself from going overboard. So these days instead of denying myself, I indulge a bit. I go for smaller portions like these days I am enjoying Lindt dark chocolates with almond during period but just one small piece a day. I am eating whatever I want, but eat it in a mindful way. I believe that if you are mindful with the food you are craving you will feel satisfied with less, and may even realized that it is not what your body is actually asking for.
The good news is that according to the experts, this kind of moderate “indulgence” is unlikely to have much of an effect on our weight. Scientists have also demonstrated that most girls and women burn extra calories just prior to starting their periods. So, as long as you keep your chocolate “fixes” small, you should find that you can include them as part of a balanced, healthy diet.
For all the men out there, please get her what she wants to eat during this time as it is a part of the body cycle. And please do not lecture on how bad junk for the body is or how we look bloated as that it the last thing we want to hear. It will really help if there are people around who can understand us during this time.
Do you/your partner have period craving? What do you/she crave?
Take care everyone,
M from nepaliaustralian
XOXO
Posted in Health
Tagged bad mood, ed classes, Endometriosis, Endometriosis symptoms, food, frustrations, lower back pains, menstruation, mood swings, period, period craving, period pain, sex ed, sugar fix
Recently we got an email at work – “10,000 steps Staff competition – How far can you go?”.
10,000 Steps is a free health promotion program that encourages the use of step-counting pedometers to monitor your daily physical activity levels. Please click here to read more.
I am so glad that my workplace has taken positive steps towards workplace’s health. As soon as I finished reading, I knew I wanted to do it. Therefore, I sent an email straight away saying I am in.
The four week challenge was open to all staff and involved teams of up to five people with the goal of reaching 10,000 steps per day. The steps were measured using pedometers attached to the waist.
The competition will run from Monday 19 May to Monday 16 June. We will be using the online 10,000 Steps program to log how far teams have walked. At the end of 4 weeks, prizes are given to two teams – the team with the greatest number of steps taken and the team who has used the staff bike fleet the most.
I do really want to win it as it means we are pushing ourselves to achieve more number of steps and at the same time improving our health.
Let the counting begin and wish me luck.
Take care ,
M from nepaliaustralian
XOXO
Posted in Health
Tagged 10000 steps, exercise, health, pedometers, physical activity levels
This post is definitely not for everyone who is enjoying Spring(very jealous as you know I hate winter) in northern hemisphere but to very one who is freezing is autumn/winter cold. I read( Body + Soul) this article and it inspired me to keep exercising through winter and hope it will also motivate to keep exercising.
It’s important to keep moving during winter and we all know that but there are some good reasons to keep in mind.
It might be the time when all you want to do is snuggle up indoors, but it’s actually during winter that getting active is even more important, and not just for your fitness.
Here are 6 reasons you’ll feel better than ever if you keep exercising when the temperature drops.
1. Find the sunshine
There’s a reason it’s called the sunshine vitamin. While there are a limited number of foods that can provide your body with vitamin D, the easiest source is from exposure of bare skin to sunlight.
During summer a short exposure of 10-15 minutes is plenty, but in winter sunshine can be harder to come by, especially when you’re huddled indoors. But that’s why it’s even more important to get outside and get moving.
So why do you need it? For strong bones, to grow, to absorb calcium and to keep your immune system strong. If that’s not enough, research has also found that this handy vitamin can even help prevent high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer.
2. Keep warm
Save electricity and an expanding waistline by heating your body up naturally with a workout. The rise in your body temperature has a soothing, calming effect on your body, not unlike a long soak in a warm bath or lying in front of the heater.
“Bask in the sunny days,” recommends body+soul Psychologist, Toby Green, “Staying warm is easier than warming up.”
3. Stay healthy
It’s not completely clear why, but research has shown time and again that regular exercise strengthens your immune system so it can fight off bacterial and viral infections. This becomes particularly important in winter when colds and flu rear their ugly heads.
When you exercise and get your blood pumping, immune cells circulate through your body more quickly helping them seek and destroy infections. But this boost only lasts for a few hours, so exercise needs to be regular for long-term effects.
4. Beat the winter blues
Whether it’s the usual winter blues or the more serious SAD (seasonal affective disorder) putting a gloom over the colder months. A daily workout releases feel-good, de-stress brain chemicals, gives you a break from the daily grind and helps ease depression.
Plus if you combine exercise with the great outdoors you can cheer yourself up even more!
A study of US prisoners discovered that those with farmland view from their cells had 24% less cases of sickness than those in cells facing the prison yard. While another study found adults who spent more time in parks generally had lower blood pressure and older people living near greenery had greater longevity.
“After at least 10 minutes of exercise, the brain releases “feel-good” chemicals serotonin and dopamine, which can help to reduce anxiety and depression while boosting well being,” explains body+soul Personal Trainer, Kirsty Welsh.
5. Take a deep breath
Being cooped up with nothing but heaters to keep the air moving means fresh air is much harder to come by in winter! Generally, the air outside is healthier then that inside so going for a walk or run outside gives your lungs a chance to detox and breathe deeply without concern for breathing in other people’s bugs.
6. Avoid winter weight gain
Think of winter. Most of us conjured up images of red wine, cheese, hot chocolate, warm soups and a crackling fire. No wonder it’s known as the ‘winter weight gain’. It can be harder to resist unhealthy temptation in the cold and the only way to make up for that is to increase the amount of exercise you’re doing.
That glass of wine will cost you 30-minutes of walking. Just 2 cubes of cheese will be another 30-minutes. And the hot chocolate? A full hour of walking is what you need to work that off.
How is your winter exercising going? Please share how you keep yourself motivated during these cold days?
Happy exercising everyone!
Posted in Health
Tagged australian nepali, exercise, health, Nepal, Nepali, nepali australian, Nepaliaustralian, why exercise, winter exercise
Whenever we have morning tea for any occasion at work, I try to pick only healthy options but some morning teas don’t have healthy options at all. It feels rude not to take anything so on most occasions I just take a piece of cake or some pastry. I normally don’t eat them as it will make me feel guilty for whole day so I take them home instead.
Every time I have something, when AS comes home I tell him that I have a surprise for him. He always gets excited like a little kid :). Most of the time he shares the treat with me and it is always nice to eat it together.
But last time, it was something different. Because we organised the tea and there was heaps of fresh fruits, we had lots of leftovers. We didn’t want to throw them out so we packed them to take it home with us. I ended up taking some watermelons and cherries home.
When AS came home that day, as usual I told him there is something in my lunch box for me.
Expecting something sweet, he opened the lunch box. After a pause he told me, “Please don’t bring me healthy surprises.”
I felt bad that I got his hopes up but we ended up eating the fruits together and all was well.
Take care and have a great weekend,
M from nepaliaustralian
XOXO
P.S: I have updated my blogroll so please go and check out some amazing blogs 🙂
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