Basic Thoughts On Health• Somepeopledon’tdowellsimplybecausetheydon’t

feelwell.Somepeopletakebettercareoftheirpetsthantheydothemselves.Theiranimalscanrunlikethewindandtheycanbarelymakeitupaflightofstairs.

• Makesuretheoutsideofyouisagoodreflectionoftheinsideofyou.

• Treatyourbodylikeatemple,notawoodshed.Themindandbodyworktogether.Yourbodyneedstobeagoodsupportsystemforthemindandspirit.Ifyoutakegoodcareofit,yourbodycantakeyouwhereveryouwanttogo,withthepower,strength,energyandvitalityyouwillneedtogetthere.

• Takegoodcareofyourbody.It’stheonlyplaceyouhavetolive.

Weight Loss Tip 1: Avoid Junk Foods At NightEatingjunkfoodsintheeveningsgivesusnoopportunitytoburnthoseunwantedcalories.» GKRstudent,GrahamWakefieldrefusedtogiveuphisice-creamcravingsbysimplyswitchingtogethisice-creamfix after lunch instead of after dinner. Having ice-creamafterlunchmeanthestillhadtheafternoonandeveningtoburnoffallthosecalories.Theresult?Helost3kgintwoweeks.

Weight Loss Tip 2: Give Up Just Some Of Your Bad HabitsGoing cold turkey on all your junk food and sugarycravingsmaybetoomuchtoosoon.Sostartoneatatime.GKRstudent,PaulBakerchosetogiveupjustoneofhisvices,Coca-Cola.Hiswaistdroppedthreebeltnotchesinthefirstmonth.

Weight Loss Tip 3: Every Calorie CountsWeight loss can be simply summed up by the followingequation:ifweburnmorecaloriesthanweconsumewewillloseweight.Ifhoweverweeatmorecaloriesthanweburn,wewillputonweight.Understandingthisprinciple,youdon’thavetobecomeafitness fanatic,butyoucantakeadvantageofthosesmallopportunitiestoburnafewextracalories.Someexamplesare:

• Alwaysstandwhenyouareonthephone.Standing,

evenpacingaroundburnscalorieswheresittingdoesnot.

• Alwaysavoidescalatorsandchoosetotakethestairs.Takeonthementalitythatescalatorsareforinjuredorlazypeople.Youwerebornwithlegs,sousethem.

• Getoffbusortrainonestopearly.Theextra5minuteswalktoworkwilldoyousomegood.

Increase Your Strength Tip 1: Feed And Rest Your MusclesMusclesdon’tbecomestrongerbyworkingout.Workingout actually breaks our muscles down (making themweaker). It’swhatcomesnext thatcounts.Resting themand feeding them, allows them to rebuild themselvesstrongerthanbefore.» Ifyouwishtoincreasestrength,avoidfattyandprocessedfoodsastheyofferyourmuscleszeronutrition.Insteadeatquality foods such as vegetables, rolled oats (instead ofcereals)andgetplentyofproteinfromfish,eggsandleanmeats.Tinned tuna is rich inprotein, cheapandeasy tocarryaround.

HEALTH ANd NUTRITION HINTS

Increase Your Strength Tip 2: Once Per Week Won’t Cut ItIf you wish to increase muscular speed, strength orendurance,workingyourmusclesonceperweekwon’tbeenough.Youwillneedtoexerciseyourmusclesgroupsatleast2-3timesperweek.Ifyoufindthatyoucan’tgettoaclassmorethanonceperweek,youcanalwayspractiseyourkarateathome.Beyondthis,pushups(alsoknownaspressups),situps,squatsetc,areallexercisesyoucandoathomewithouttheuseofequipment.AsimpleapproachistodotheminthecommercialswhilewatchingTV.

Body Toning Tip: Practise Your Kicks At HomeNothingshapesandtonesyourbodylikeperformingkicks.Thisisduetoanumberofreasons:

• Kickingfullyengagesthelargestmusclesinourbody(ourlegsandbuttocks)

• Kickingfullyengagesourcoremuscles-ourabdominals,ourlowerbackandobliques(lovehandles).Exercisesthatengageourcoremusclesareknowntospeedupleanmuscledevelopmentandourmetabolism.

• Theareasmostpeoplewishtotoneuparetheirlegs,hipsandlowertorso(ourcore).

When practising your kicks at home, go through thesameroutineyouwouldfollowatyourkarateclass.Thisinvolvesfirstgoingthrougheachkickinfourstages,andthenthreestages.Goingthroughthestagesisexcellentfordevelopinglegstrengthasyouareholdingyourpositions.Thengothrougheachofthekicksataslowthenmediumpace.Finally,gothrougheachkickfast.

Nutrition Tip 1: Cell MalnutritionDid you know that most overweight people are actuallydying of malnutrition? The first thing a doctor may asksomeoneis;“Howhaveyoubeeneating?”Thisisbecauseeating affects the health of our body’s cells. When wefocustoomuchonfeedingourcravingsandourstomach,andtoolittlefocusonfeedingourbody’scells,thebodyresponds by becoming lethargic, unable to focus, losingenthusiasm,andbeingmoresusceptibletoillness.» Ourbodiesaremadeofmolecularchainsofcells thatmakeupourDNA.Thesecellsneednutrient-richfoodstofunctioneffectively.Whilewemayfill our stomachsandquenchourhungereveryday,mostpeopledonotsatisfytheneedsoftheirbody’scells.Sohowdowesatisfyourcells?Thesimplestanswerisbyeatingenoughvegetables.Vegetablesreducetheriskofstroke,heartdisease,Type2diabetes,andcancer.Let’snotignoretheobesityepidemicwearefacing.Vegetablesarelowincaloriesandarefilling.Theyareabundant infibre(keepingourdigestivesystemhealthy),richinvitaminsandmineralsandphytonutrients.Theyarealsoexcellentforkeepingusawake,alert,focusedandenergised.» Whileeatingavarietyofvegetablescoversprettymuchthemajorityofcellneeds,studiesshowthatlessthanone

third of all westerners eat the recommended dosage ofvegetables.Thismeans thatwhile theirbodiesoftenputonweight,atacellularleveltheyareliterallydecayingofmalnutrition. For adults, the recommended servings ofvegetablesareabout2.5cupsperday.Vegetablesshouldbeatthetopofourgrocerylist.

Nutrition Tip 2: Getting The Most Out Of Your VeggiesPreparationisimportantifyouwanttogetthemaximumnutrients fromyour vegies.Donotexpose them to lightasthiscanbreakdownthenutrients.Delaywashingthemuntilyouareabouttoeatthem(aswaterabsorbsmanyoftheirnutrients),anddelaychoppingyourveggiesaslongasyoucan(anddon’tsliceanddicetoofinely)asairalsodestroysmanyof theirnutrients.Youmightbe thinking,“butwhentheyaregrowing,aretheynotexposedtoair,waterandlight?”Yestheyare,butonceavegetablehasbeen picked form the vine, it immediately begins to rot(because ithas lost itssourceofnourishment).Afterthistime, they need to be kept well, prepared properly andeatenassoonaspossible.

Mental Health Tip 1: Overcoming Boredom Doesboredomfeaturealittletoohighlyinyourlife?Areyouboredwithyourjob?Yourrelationship?Yourhobbies?Your friends?Areyouboredwithyour life ingeneral? Ifyou answered yes to any of the questions above, thendon’tworrybecauseyou’renotalone.Studiesrevealthatthemajorconcernamongstadults(outsideserioushealthissues) isboredomora feelingof ‘staleness’ in their life.Whenweareyoungwehaveexcitingideasforhowwearegoingtoliveourlife.Thenatsomepointwelookatourpresentsituationanditallfeelstoomonotonous.

“Boredom is a self-made prison.”

Somepeoplefeeltrappedbytheirsituationinlife.Theyseetheircommitmentstotheirkids,theirwork,theirmarriageetc,assomethingthatpreventsthemfromlivingamoreexciting life. Nothing could be further from the truth.Sure,ourcommitmentsmightpreventusfromrunningoffand,forexample,joiningatravellingcircus,butyoudon’thave to go to the extremes to rid yourself of boredom.Boredomdoesnotcomefromourcommitments,itcomesfromtwothings:firstly,monotony.Everythingover time,irrespective of how exciting it sounds, will eventuallybecomemonotonous–evenatravellingcircus.Secondly,boredomistheresultofourowninability.Ourinabilitytoenjoywhatisinfrontofus.

“Boredom is the result of our own inability to enjoy what is in front of us.”

For the person who feels boredom plays a large part intheirlife,themostimportantrealisationtheycancometois this: Boredom is not an emotional prison imposed onusbyourcommitments,butratheraself-inducedprisonarisen through their own inabilities. It’s never easy toacceptthatwearethemainprobleminourproblems,butbyacceptingthisfactwealsofindsolaceinknowingthatbecausewehavecontroloverourselves,wealsohavethepowertochangeoursituation.Humanbeingsoftenforgetthattheyhavethemostamazingofallabilities–theabilityto change. If theydon’t like their address,unlikea tree,theycanchangeit.Throughthepowerofasingledecision,apersoncandramaticallychangetheirhair, theirbeliefs,theirexerciseregime,theirbody,theirjobs,thequalityoftheirrelationship,theirresults,theirattitude,theirhabits,anything!

“Its not the years in your life, but the life in your years that counts.”

Alackofvarietyonlycoincideswithalackofimagination.As previously stated, you don’t need to go to extremesto break monotony as even small changes can providenewfoundenthusiasm.Sotakeamomenttothinkofhowyoucanmakesomesmallchangestorevitaliseyourlife.

Mental Health Tip 2: How To Conquer StressForevery1hourofwork,takea5minutebreak.Stretch,exerciseormeditate.These5smallminuteswillallowyouto refreshyourbrain,de-stressandmovearound (whichincreasesfeelgoodhormones).

• Ifyouareexperiencingmilddepressionoranxiety,aerobicworkoutssuchaswalkingorkaratecansignificantlyimproveyourmood.Resistancetrainingcanalsoboostyourspirits,improvesleepandappetite,reduceirritabilityandangerandproducefeelingsofmasteryandaccomplishment.

• Plansomethingrewardingfortheendofyourhecticday.Itcanbesomethingverysimplesuchastakingalongshower,readingabook,gettingtoaclass.Havingsomethingtolookforwardtokeepsstresslevelsdown.

• Pickonethingyouhavebeenputtingoffandtackleit.Takingcareofonenaggingresponsibilitycanberevitalizingandcanimproveyouroverallattitude.

• Giveyourselfplentyoftimetogettowhereyouaregoing.Trybringingabookormagazinewithyouwhenyoumayhavetopasstimewhilewaitingforanappointmentormeeting.

• Shareyourfeelingswithafriend,familymemberorworkcolleagueyoutrust.Asthesayinggoes,“Ajoysharedisdoubled,andasorrowsharedishalved.”

• Don’tconcernyourselfwithtomorrow’schallenges.Bringyourfocustotoday.Don’tbeconcernedaboutthingsyoucannotchangeorthanmightneveroccuragain.

• Manageyourtime.Makeanachievable‘todo’listwithclearpriorities.Breaktasksintosmaller-sizedchunks.Delegateasmuchasyoupossiblycan.Rememberyoucannotgeteverythingdonein1day,andthat’sok.