Staying fit while on Holiday

So there you are laying by the beach, margarita in one hand, and sun block in the other taking in the breathless view. You are on your holiday and all the worries of the world are far behind.

Most people workout hard to look their best during the holiday, and once they are at their favourite holiday spot, they let loose. Nothing wrong with that. Holidays are meant to be enjoyed and i am the king of letting loose as well. But if you wondering how you can still stay fit during your holiday without blowing away all your hard work and also to keep looking good throughout your holiday, you have come to the right place. There are actually lots of things you can do during your holiday to stay fit. Especially if you are on a long holiday, you don’t want all your hard work to go to waste and start from scratch once you get back. So here are some tips on how to stay fit during your holiday.

Swimming

Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise cause it gives you a cardio workout and strength training all at once. And which holiday destination does not have a swimming pool? If you can hit the pool for 30 minutes (actual swimming time not just sun bathing and floating around in the water like a buffalo) your good to go. You will be able to chow down almost anything you want, and your body will look fit as if you never left the gym.

Go for a walk or a jog

If you are by the beach, get up a little earlier than everyone else and have a quick jog or walk by the beach. It may not be as much or as effective as your gym work outs, but like I always say… something is better than nothing

Kayaking and other outdoor activities

If you love the outdoors, then you don’t have to worry about staying fit. Whether it is jungle trekking or kayaking, if you are a nature enthusiast, I am pretty sure you will get plenty of exercise during your holiday. Kayaking is great for your shoulder, arms, back and of course it burns a whole lot of fat. So try to get involved in outdoor activities and you will be good.

Push Ups, Sit Ups, crunches

These are exercises you can do just about anywhere, anytime and you don’t need any equipment. I usually like to get a few crunches in before I head out to the beach… gives your abs that little toning that you need to look your best. If you have a series of exercises, do all of them before you head out. It will make you looked a little more pumped and best of all, it is still a work out. Try it out and see.

Using the hotel gym

For those who are more hardcore, you can always depend on the hotel gyms for your workouts. When? You can always get up about 30 minutes earlier and sneak in a quick workout. If you don’t have a gym, you can always resort to doing some of the exercises mentioned above. It won’t be equivalent to your gym workout, but it sure the heck is better than doing nothing.

Now that you get the idea, going on holidays doesn’t have to mean you will come back looking fat. I always hear people say “oh I just got back from a holiday, that’s why I put on some weight” or “I need to work off those extra holiday pounds now that I am back”. It doesn’t have to be that way. You can stay fit while you are on holiday. I look forward to hearing what other great routines you guys have and want to share with others.

Why you need to have good abs

Have you ever wondered why you should bother to work out, watch your food and have a good set of abs? Well I have loads of friends who argue that having a great looking abs is purely to satisfy one’s vanity, but actually, you will be surprised how important it is to keep a trim and flat stomach is, besides just making you look good.

1) The bigger your waist, the shorter your life.
Remember the BMI scale which was based on your body weight and height? The higher your BMI, the higher your risk of heart disease and other obesity related illnesses? Medical researchers have found that the BMI is inaccurate because your body weight can be higher due to a lot of reasons besides just fat. Hence a more accurate technique is measuring your waist hip ratio. It has been proven that people with bigger waists are at higher risk for heart disease and other obesity related illnesses which could lead to an early death. To reduce your risk of these diseases and live a longer life, you need to take action now.

2) The bigger your waist, the shorter your “member” will be.
Some studies suggest, that the bigger your waist becomes, the shorter your penis will be. This is because as you put on weight over your pelvic area, the more fat you have, the less of your penis will be exposed. Hence, you can lose a few inches because it is being swallowed by fat. Also, the fatter you are, the poorer your blood circulation will be due to constricted veins and arteries and as you know, getting an erection depends on blood flow. So having poor blood flow comes down to poor erections.

3) The stronger your abs, the better your game will be
Whatever sport you play, you will need strong abs as the stronger yours abs the better you will be able to play the game. Whether you are playing golf or football or basketball, strong abs help you to have that burst of speed from Point A to Point B which is one of the most important factors in any game. So if you have mastered the skills for the game to your maximum potential and can’t improve, strengthening your abs will give you that additional edge to get you out of that rut.

4) A bigger waist gives rise to many chronic health problems
Having a big waist puts unnecessary strain on your back and legs. As you get older, you are more likely to have chronic aches and pains in these area as it is under stress with additional weight all the time. Why add more unnecessary health problems when you get older? These can be easily avoided. Hence why it is important for you to keep your midsection trim.

So besides just looking good, having a good set of abs is actually important for a lot of other reasons as well. Hopefully this is motivation enough for more people to get fit and stay fit. I look forward to hearing your comments on this.

The 2 + 1 Diet Plan

I have tried out this plan myself and recommended to people and they all say it works wonders. If you want to lose weight without having to starve yourself and become a social outcast, this is the plan for you.

The 2 + 1 Diet plan is very easy and perfect for those who are working and have to eat out all the time. In short, most of us eat 3 meals a day. The idea is to make 2 of those meals are as healthy as possible and then for 1 meal, you are allowed to eat other foods (which deemed to be less healthy) in moderation. For most working adults, you can easily control what you eat for breakfast and dinner and ensure it is very healthy, but when it comes to lunch, you are limited to very few options as you most probably have to eat out. Hence why this plan is perfect, because when it comes to lunch you can eat out as per normal people. By making at least 2 out of 3 of your meals healthy, you will already start to see results.

But there are some rules you must follow in order to really see results

• Eat a healthy breakfast. Nasi Lemak and Roti Canai does not count. You should eat breakfast cereal or sandwiches for breakfast. The tip is to eat something that is low in calories, yet fills you up and keeps you full for long periods. Oats are a great option too
• When it comes to lunch, yes you are allowed to stray a little from healthy food but do it in moderation. Eating a 3 piece KFC meal everyday is not going to help. Try to limit fast food to once a week, and if you must eat unhealthy food, eat less of it. I would recommend eating fruits or other healthy snacks before your lunch, so this way you eat less unhealthy food because you are already half full from your pre-lunch meal.
• Dinner should be light as well. Ideal dinners would include sandwiches, pasta, thosai, chapati or for those who are more disciplined... just fruits.
• Try to eat just 3 meals and nothing else. so no snacking in between, no teh tarik after work etc, no goreng pisang
• You should also try to reduce your sweet drink intake. No point eating healthily if you are going to drink 10 cans of Coke a day. So limit sweet drinks to 2 or 3 a day and no more
• Of course as usual, if you could throw in about 30 minutes of walkking everyday or some form of exercise besides just getting up from your office chair, it will defnitely help you burn more as well.

So there you have it. A simple 2+1 Diet plan which anyone can follow and if done properly, i guarantee you will see results. So eat unhealthy food in moderation, and balance it out with 2 healthy meals every day and you will definitely see results. Look forward to hearing your comments.

Negative Calorie Foods

Is this possible? Can certain foods actually have not only "no calories", but even negative calories? Could you literally eat your way to fat loss...the more you eat the more you lose?

OK, before you all get excited over this concept, there is such a thing as negative calories, but it’s not exactly something that cancels out other foods and fat which have calories. Foods which are considered to have negative calories actually do have calories, but because they are complex foods which are difficult to breakdown, the body uses more energy to break it down (calories used) than what the calories the food itself contains.

So for example, if you ate an apple which has 100 calories, your body may need to use 150 calories of energy to break it down and digest this food. Hence by eating the apple, your body just lost 50 calories. Comparative to eating a slice of cheese cake which has 300 calories and only takes 100 calories to digest, then you have gained 200 calories.

Of course the question now is, how do you incorporate this into your lifestyle / diet to make it work for you? Below is a listing of negative calorie foods which have less calories than it takes for your body to breakdown. Meaning low calorie foods which are complex and difficult for your body to break down hence causing a negative calorie "gain".

Negative Calorie Foods - Vegetables
Asparagus, Beet, Broccoli, cabbage (green), carrots, cauliflower, Celery, Chili peppers, cucumbers, garlic, letuce, onions, Spinach, turnip, zuchini

Negative Calorie Foods - Fruits*

Green apples, cranberries, grapefruit, papaya, lemons, mangos, orange, pineapple, raspberries, strawberries

* juicing these fruits and drinking them don't count. You got to eat these fruits whole.

So the idea here, is of course to try and increase the intake of these foods while reducing those other foods which are high in calorie and bad for our gut. I have read of diets which consist of only these foods, and honestly, I think that is a silly idea for the sole reason that it is too drastic and you will not be able to stick with it. So instead of doing that, why not try to eat more of these foods during your meals or maybe even switch one of your meals to just these kinds of foods. These foods will you up fast and keep you full for longer as well... so you really don't have to starve yourself to lose weight. It is a great way to naturally burn some additional fat while eating. Who would have thought that would be possible.

Look forward to hearing your comments as usual.