Your exercise tip – I have ensured I have done all that is recommended for two weeks and nothing has changed!
Most of our daily needs these days, are met almost instantaneously. So much so, we now expect everything to happen that fast, so when things don’t happen at this speed, we can become impatient or disheartened.
Realistically, two weeks is not a great amount of time to turn around any harm or issues related to excess weight, particularly after an extended period of neglecting your health. Experience has shown us that if you make the necessary changes and persist, changes start to become obvious around week five or six. This will also depend on how long you have neglected your health for.
Be patient, take things slowly and don’t become despondent when it does not always fall in your favour.
Your health tip – Isolated supplements don’t always work as they claim.
Every now and then while watching the television or when we read the paper, there is a magic formulae or potion made from a secret only just discovered ingredient that can melt your fat away and make you an absolute Adonis or Supermodel. When a nutrient is found to have a benefit to our health, it is often isolated and marketed as a ‘super food’. As an element (the superfood), more often than not, will not have the benefit it would, had it been in its original form.
Think of it like this. I have 10 people with me and I ask them, as a group to lift up a car. They all do this together well, but I see one person who seems to be lifting more than their share. I keep that person aside and let all the others go. I then have that person lift the car by themselves and they cannot. What it comes down to is the synergy of the group has the desired effect, not an element on its own. That is why we should be choosing whole foods for our health benefit.
Lastly, there is not a lot of scientific evidence to verify the claims made by some of the companies selling the product. Even though there are exceptions, the research results of proven or dis-proven is a more qualified place to start looking, if you go down the supplement path.
Exercise of the week – Side plank or modified side plank
This week we are looking at the side plank, an exercise for most of the abdominal structure, particularly the oblique (side) abdominal muscles. There are multiple variations, but keep it simple in the beginning. Tips for the side plank are:
- Start with the modified version, which has your knees on the ground. After you are comfortable with this version, try the full side plank.
- Breathe normally throughout. Start by holding for 20 seconds and see if you can build up to 60 seconds on each side.
- Keep the elbow underneath the body, not out in an uncomfortable position. Keep the body as straight as possible the whole time.
- If it hurts stop.
Your life tip
Sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t. try not to take it too hard when they don’t and don’t celebrate too long. Change can come quickly.
This week’s wise words
“Don’t find a fault, find the solution.”
Henry Ford
Have a great week and keep healthy in 2017. David.