Healthy Weight Loss
I am Mr. Weightless, and though I may be a superhero, and I may
be immune to heart disease and cancer, still Mr. Weightless can
catch a cold. Being fit means that it is very rare that I get
sick, but a virus is a virus, and I caught a cold. Although I
felt miserable, there came some good of it, because I came to a
realization that will simplify how you can think about good
health and weight loss: Take the advice for the sick, even while
you're well.
Why Is This Advice for the Ill?
All of the things we tell sick people so that they recover more
quickly are exactly the things that we should be doing every
day. Following that advice will not only ward off disease, but
also lead to greater energy and vitality, and best of all,
weight loss. How we came to ignore these positive factors in our
daily lives, I don't know.
In our society, we have a tendency to put off what is most
healthy because we think it is inconvenient. When we get sick
and can't perform our "more important" jobs, then we make the
decision to do what is best for the body. If we took these
simple pieces of advice in our regular routines, we would be
sick fewer days. So for those who think their work is more
important than their health... if you take care of your health
first, you'll be able to work longer and take fewer sick days,
so you'll accomplish more work!
Prevent Disease and Lose Weight with the Best Diet for Men
Fluid Intake
"Drink plenty of fluids" is the thing everybody says whenever
someone says they have a cold. Drinking water and natural fruit
juices is so easy, yet most people don't do it. There are a
myriad of benefits to drinking water all day, which you can find
in my article on Water. Drink a lot of water all day. The
improvements to your digestion, energy balance, joint health,
skin health and the function of virtually every organ will
astonish you. You will start losing weight right away when you
drink at least your quota of 8 glasses of water per day. And
there is no danger of drinking too much water, so you don't need
to keep track or count glasses, just keep drinking it.
Natural fruit juices are also great for you. They contain sugars
to give you energy, but won't dehydrate you like caffeine will.
They also contain all of the other vitamins and nutrients from
the fruits themselves. In the case of citrus fruits, like
oranges, vitamin C comes in high concentrations. We'll get to
the vitamins in the next section. Other juices are good for
different reasons, but remember that there is no such thing as a
"bad" natural fruit juice. Many natural juices are also
fortified with calcium, which is another excellent nutrient that
will not only strengthen your bones and prevent osteoporosis
when you grow older, but it is also related to fat loss.
No matter how good the label looks, do not drink artificial
fruit-flavoured juice, because those only contain sugar, water
and flavouring.
Vitamins and Herbs
Many people suggest high doses of vitamin C to cure the common
cold. It is such a good nutrient, it should be taken daily,
whether you're sick or not. Vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is known
to boost the immune system, which is why it is recommended for
treatment of the common cold. But a good immune system is always
beneficial; it is better to prevent getting a cold by having a
strong immune system than to treat it once you're sick. Vitamin
C is also a most powerful antioxident, which means that it
prevents all sorts of cellular decay and counteracts
cancer-causing carcinogens. Finally, vitamin C boosts the
production of adrenaline, which will boost your feeling of
wakefulness, energy and speed your metabolism, supporting weight
loss.
Vitamin C is not the only supplement that sick people are told
to take. My mother is particularly fond of echinacea. This is an
herb that also boosts the immune system. It has proven effective
in treating the common cold, but unlike vitamin C, it does not
show a significant effect on healthy people.
Taking a multivitamin everyday that contains high doses of
vitamin C, as well as a full complement of other vitamins,
minerals and essential nutrients is a positive step for anyone.
It is virtually impossible to get every nutrient that you should
every day unless you take a multivitamin. For those attempting
to lose body fat by reducing their food intake, it becomes
essential. Not only will you replace the nutrients you're not
getting from your restricted diet, you're also packing in those
nutrients that can speed up your weight loss.
The best multivitamins and nutritional supplements can be found
on the Diet
Products page.
Chicken Noodle Soup and Other Good Food
When you're sick, you may have a friend who offers to take care
of you and make you some chicken noodle soup. There are a lot of
theories about why chicken soup may be good for you when you
have a cold. Some say that it's just the steam and hot liquid
that opens up the airways; others claim that it inhibits
neutrophils, white blood cells responsible for inflammation. My
theory is simpler: chicken noodle and chicken vegetable soups
are just good food, and should be consumed regularly. In a tasty
meal, you've got protein from the chicken, carbs from the
noodles and/or vegetables, spices and seasoning that have herbal
benefits, and the chicken fat as well. A good rule of thumb is
to eat simple, good food that has these properties.
An easier, faster way to get such a balanced meal (more complete
than even chicken soup) is to have a meal replacement for two
meals a day. These can be found on the Products page, click here.
Sleep
The final and most important ingredient to beating a cold is
rest. Of everything discussed in this article, it is also the
element that most modern men disregard. Even when sick, we tend
to get up and do some work, rather than concentrating on getting
well. Sleep is the time your body and mind recuperate from the
day's activities. Without sufficient sleep, your body cannot
heal properly, and your mind cannot function properly. There
have been some studies that show that sleep deprivation can lead
to overeating and obesity, due to the elevation of certain
hormones.
Sleep recommendations have varied tremendously in all the
studies done. Most people today believe that 8 hours is the
optimum duration of sleep. However, some adults can't bring
themselves to sleep longer than 6 hours, and many will sleep for
10 if not awoken by an alarm. The need for sleep steadily
declines throughout your life. A baby can sleep as much as 18
hours a day, but it will come at odd times until their rhythms
match their parents. So, it seems like they never sleep because
they're always crying in the middle of the night, but they're
sleeping a lot of the rest of the time. In contrast, the elderly
awake early and frequently cannot fall asleep until very late.
Some may nap frequently, but in all, they are awake far longer
than most adults.
The amount of sleep any person needs seems to be quite
individualistic. To find your perfect sleep duration, try waking
up at the same time every day for work, but go to bed one
half-hour earlier each night. You may not feel comfortable right
away, but you'll probably fall asleep within 10 minutes.
Eventually, you will find a time that is ideal in that you will
fall asleep easily and wake up feeling really energetic. On a
weekend, you can test your theory by going to bed when you feel
tired, and not set an alarm to wake you. When you wake up, write
a note of the time you first woke up (in case you want to sleep
in further). Then it is a simple matter to figure out how long
your body wants to sleep.
Sleep is not the only component of rest. People will actually
tell you to "take it easy" to help you recover. This is also a
good idea for everyday life, not only when you're ill. Learn to
take time every day to relax. There have been many books and
studies on the benefits of meditation. None that I know of
relate meditation to weight loss, but it is related to a
reduction of stress. Lower stress levels will reduce your risk
of heart disease, and if you're an "emotional eater", then
reducing your stress through meditation can be a big step
towards weight loss.
Feeling Under the Weather?
Until you become weightless, like me, you'll be "under the
weather" because the clouds are above you. So, every day behave
as if you're under the weather: drink plenty of fluids,
especially water and natural fruit juices; take a multivitamin
and the proven herbal health boosters; eat natural food in good
proportions; and get adequate sleep, including meditation or
some form of relaxation.
Article Originally Posted: Healthy Weight Loss