Saturday, July 03, 2021

How much you should eat in a day, as per Nutritionist

The 3 rules you must follow

The first rule of losing weight or coming into shape is to be mindful about what you eat and how much you eat in a day. The food that you put on your plate should be nutritious and in the right proportion to support your fitness plan. But most people with a motive to lose weight quickly and attain their fitness objective fast fall for fad diet trends like cutting down too many calories, increasing intake of protein or fat or following intermittent fasting. According to Celebrity Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar, these fancy trends help to achieve your objective for a short time. Soon you gain the lost weight and start feeling weak and tired. The experts suggest that the key to healthy living is eating right and in the right quantity.

How much should you eat?

Rujuta in her video explained that one should not go behind cutting calories or skipping meals. Rather eat enough to fill your stomach. On days it can be 1 chapati while someday it can be 3. It does not matter as long as you are eating healthy and on time. She shared 3 points that need to be kept in mind while having a meal. Following these tips help to keep your internal system healthy and fit.

Sit crossed legs

People who are often in a hurry tend to finish their meal while arranging their files or getting ready for their work. This is the first thing that you need to let go of for the sake of your good health. Rujuta suggests having a sit-down meal. She said that even if all the members are not having their meal at the same time, you must have your meal at the dining table or common area. Avoid having your food in your room or while roaming around the house. In fact, try to sit down with your legs crossed on the ground while having your meal.

​Slow down

Another common issue that is widely witnessed is gulping down food without chewing it. This habit also makes you overeat which isn't a good practice. Try to slow down and chew your food before swallowing it. Take your time to finish your meal and put another bite in your mouth only when you finish the first one.

Use all your senses

Most people have a habit of multitasking during mealtime. You would often find them scrolling the social media page or binge-watching their favourite show on television. This distraction leads to overeating. When you are eating, do only one task at a time. Be mindful and eat in silence. This will help you understand when you are full.

 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
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Sunday, February 28, 2021

Understanding Mindful Walking Practice & Its Many Benefits

With stress, fear, and anxiety reaching an all-time high because of the ongoing pandemic situation, various mental health professionals have suggested practicing mediation as one of the ways to cope with your emotions. However, seated meditation isn’t convenient for everyone; especially those who are constantly on the move. For such people, the process of mindful walking would be more useful.

Mindful walking, also known as walking meditation, provides you with the physical benefits of walking (such as a healthier heart and calorie burning), along with active meditation, and mindfulness.
 
 What is mindful walking?  
Walking meditation originates from Buddhist teachings and it has been used as a technique for mindful meditation for years.

Mindful walking is a simple and comfortable form of meditation that can be particularly useful for those who struggle to perform general meditation and for those who don’t like sitting in one place quietly. Walking meditation basically means walking while being mindful of each of your steps and breath. For many people, this works better rather than practicing meditation while sitting with their eyes closed. 
 
The best thing about walking meditation is that it can be done indoors or outside in nature – in your garden, hallway, terrace, your balcony, a large room, the nearby park, or even the beach. The lane you choose to walk on doesn’t need to be too long as you are not focused on reaching a specific destination through this approach.


To practice mindful walking, first, take slow 10-15 steps along the lane you’ve chosen. Then, pause and breathe for as long as you feel comfortable. Once you feel ready, you have to turn and walk back in the opposite direction – the other end of the lane. When you reach the other end, pause and breathe again. Keep repeating this method for at least 15 minutes. Remember, when you are walking you must focus your attention on one or more sensations that you would generally ignore, like the movement of your hands and legs and the breath coming in and out of your body. Then, you can divert your attention away from your body to what is around you. It may be the simplest thing like the temperature of the wind, the smell of the air, or the feeling of the ground under your feet. Acknowledge each experience and savor it without engaging with it too much. Take in everything in front of you with your eyes and your mind until you start feeling relaxed. 
 
Walking meditation is a slow process and involves taking small steps. Thus, you shouldn’t walk too briskly. The most essential part here is to feel natural with your walking and not to make it exaggerated or stylized. 
 
By integrating walking meditation into your daily life, you can turn an everyday action into a tool for mindfulness and stress reduction. It is an acquired taste that requires plenty of patience and won’t come easily. But if you keep practicing it, even for short intervals in a day, you will slowly get used to it. Furthermore, mindful breathing or walking meditation can lead to various benefits. Here is a look at a few of them.
 
Benefits of mindful walking 
1. It helps you connect more profoundly with the environment
Mindful walking meditation allows you to be completely involved in the experience of walking. Through this approach, you will be able to connect with the earth beneath your feet, the air you are breathing in and out and the myriad sights and sounds around you at a deeper level. You will also feel more connected with the environment and sense you are an integral part of it. As you continue making walking meditation a part of your daily life, you will gradually realize that you are nurturing situational awareness from within. Rather than simply walking aimlessly, you will be able to develop your focus to be on your surroundings and on the experience of walking. 
 
2. It enables you to reach a sense of calm and being relaxed 
While walking is obviously helpful some can get bored with it after a while. Mindful walking, however, allows you to enjoy the pleasure of walking. If done properly, you can increase your oxygen intake by walking meditation while also reinvigorating yourself when you are down. 
 
While walking, you can chant “OM” or use some other positive phrases like "I am happy" or "I'm healthy" in short intervals. This may feel awkward initially for those who are doing it for the first time. But once you begin walking meditation every day, and follow the above-mentioned steps, you feel a sense of relaxation and calm from within. Once you are done with the exercise, you will realize you are fresh and more upbeat. 
 
3. You will understand your body better
A lot of us today are so involved with our day-to-day affairs that we have become alienated from our own bodies. Walking mindfully helps us stay connected with our physical selves and allows us to nurture a deeper connection between our mind and body. You will have a greater awareness and understanding of how you carry yourself as you walk. Furthermore, you will realize that your balance, stride, and posture express their own unique stories in the manner you walk. With this information, you will understand your body better and appreciate it more.

4. It bolsters concentration
One of the toughest things to achieve through meditation is to get rid of all distractions. With seated meditation, distractions are lesser as it is generally practiced in a quiet surrounding. However, mindful walking doesn’t have that luxury as you are likely to be in an environment filled with constant distractions. The sounds of traffic, people walking close by, the weather, birds, insects, and animals will all be posing a challenge to your mindful walking. Focusing on your regular thoughts and avoiding all the external distractions won’t be easy. However, once you get the hang of it, you will have greater control over your concentration. 
 
As you are hit with each distraction, you will force them away, bring yourself to the present moment, and shift your focus to your walking. Once this process is repeated several times, over and over, your mind’s ability to stay focused will be bolstered. The more you incorporate this approach into your regular routine, the more you will end up building your mental muscles. Gradually, over time, you will realize that your attention is better and you can be in the present moment much quicker despite the distractions. 
 
5. It widens everyday mindfulness 
While walking meditation may sound easy on paper, it is a tough skill to acquire. With continual practice, it will soon become a part of your being. Once that happens, you will find that mindfulness becomes integrated into other areas of your life as well and will permeate them with greater awareness. Remember that meditation walk can be performed anywhere and at any time of the day. Practicing it routinely will make it easier for mindfulness to become a part of everything you do. 
 
6. It helps you to slow down
One of the biggest benefits of mindful walking is that it enables you to pause and slow down. With this technique, you will be moving mindfully and with purpose. To achieve meditation walking, you will have to focus on your movements and each step must be taken with great awareness. In time, your movements will become more measured and graceful. You will soon realize that not everything is a race and you shouldn’t be in this constant hurry to reach your destination. Mindful walking is about being in the present moment; your breath, the environment, and each step you take are what require the most attention. Take your time and relish the prospect of not having the goal to reach any destination. You don’t need to move fast. All you need is to feel deeply about your present. 
 
7. It allows you to achieve the purpose of meditation
As mentioned earlier, mindful walking works perfectly for those who aren’t comfortable with seated meditation. This technique helps you to achieve the purpose of meditation while walking in a park, a beach, or even on the street. When you start this process, your goal must be walking for the sole purpose of meditation. Initially, your mind will inevitably wander. And that is perfectly okay. You cannot be frustrated as mindful walking requires dedication. Be aware of all the physical sensations or feelings and focus on them. Your understanding of your intentions will increase eventually as each walk will begin with a focused intention. Also, your ability to stay connected with the present moment will become better when you practice walking with clarity. Through conscious movement, one step at a time, you can slowly achieve the true benefits of meditation and make it a conscious part of your life.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement


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Saturday, April 18, 2020

Will Warm Weather Slow Down the Coronavirus? Here's What Experts Think

It's April, and you know what that means: Spring is here, the weather will start warming up, and that nasty seasonal flu virus will start fading away a bit. All good news—but what about that other virus we've been dealing with? As springtime approaches and the temperature begins to rise, will SARS-CoV-2—the virus at the root of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19)—also be affected?

Unfortunately, no one knows for sure—and even experts can't seem to agree on whether or not warmer weather will slow down the coronavirus.

According to a new article in National Geographic, viruses that cause influenza or milder coronaviruses (yes, there are seven in total that affect humans, some much less concerning than others) often subside in warmer months due to a concept called "seasonality," or a predictable rise and fall depending on the time of year. That seasonality also has to do with how certain viruses respond to heat and humidity, along with the fact that when the temperature rises, people spend less time inside where viruses can more easily spread.

However, because SARS-CoV-2 is so new, there's no way to say for sure whether the virus will experience the same seasonality as other viruses. "I hope it will show seasonality, but it’s hard to know," Stuart Weston, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where the virus is being actively studied, explained to the magazine.

Maciej F. Boni, an associate professor of biology at Penn State University, also pointed out to the Philadelphia Inquirer that there is one major difference between the novel coronavirus and the flu: immunity. While many of us have built up an immunity to the flu, this isn’t the case with the new illness. Basically, SARS-CoV-2 is encountering a "completely susceptible" US population. "We’re not off the hook just because we’re getting to springtime and the warmer weather," he explained.

Still, some experts are decidedly more optimistic. According to Jeremy Brown, MD, director of the Office of Emergency Care Research at the National Institutes of Health and author of Influenza: The Hundred-Year Hunt to Cure the Deadliest Disease in History, similar to the flu, COVID-19 will not survive as readily in warmer temperatures. “COVID-19 will slowly recede as the warmer spring climate provides conditions that the virus cannot tolerate,” he tells Health. "Spring will be very welcome this year."

Some new research—specifically an early analysis by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—echoes this idea, reporting that most coronavirus cases had spread in areas with lower temperatures (between 37.4 and 62.6 degrees Fahrenheit). Conversely, while there have been reported coronavirus cases in countries with in the Southern Hemisphere (and in the middle of summer), cases in regions with temperatures over 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit account for less than 6% of cases globally so far.

A review published April 7 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) fails to provide clarity one way or another. According to NAS, there's some data to support waning cases of viral illness in warmer and more humid climates, but none of the studies are without limitations. "Given that countries currently in 'summer' climates, such as Australia and Iran, are experiencing rapid virus spread, a decrease in cases with increases in humidity and temperature elsewhere should not be assumed," according to the report.

NAS concluded that many factors other than weather and humidity may play a role in human-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and it noted that additional studies on the current pandemic may shed light on the effects of climate.

Bottom line: no one knows exactly how COVID-19 will react to warmer temperatures in the US —which means that you definitely shouldn't begin letting your guard down just because it's warming up outside.

Instead, experts agree that everyone should continue to follow the preventive measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which include: avoiding close contact with people who are sick; cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces; and washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom and before eating.

The information in this story is accurate as of press time. However, as the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to evolve, it's possible that some data have changed since publication. While Health is trying to keep our stories as up-to-date as possible, we also encourage readers to stay informed on news and recommendations for their own communities by using the CDC, WHO, and their local public health department as resources.


This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement

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