Keep Exercising and Keep Working

It did not feel the time is running very fast. It seems like yesterday new year 2013 has just begun, but even this time, January is almost gone. And one more thing that surprised me, that I actually work at a company that handles the health sector in terms of technology. Working in the health sector is one of my new year resolutions, right?. I am working in a company from Germany, but it also has several branches in my country, Indonesia. Indeed, the company is not purely talking about health, but at least it offered a healthy life in the form of technology solutions to support health. Currently I am still undergoing the training work, and it will run for 3 weeks. I wish I could develop my knowledge and skills here, because I met many great people.

Working at this company certainly has its challenges. One such challenge is time. The division of time is one of my homework. A lot of people are busy, and dissolve in their work routines. So that many of those who forget to take care of their own health. I realized, when later I've actually worked in full, I would have had a more limited time. Maybe I could go home until the evening. On the other hand, I must keep exercising regularly. Of course I don't want to if my work makes me not able to keep exercising. Therefore, it is very important to think of strategies that we can still exercise, but also to keep working properly.

Exercising doesn't have to be done in the afternoon

We can see that it's not uncommon a Gym also filled by people at night. I once asked them, that some of those who workout in the evening due to the work reasons. Yes, from here I conclude that the exercise can be done flexible. Many people think that exercise is only performed in the afternoon only. In fact it's an ancient statement, because exercise can be done anytime, as long as still within the bounds of reasonableness. Practicing at night is not a problem, as long as we also continue to regulate the intake of our nutrients, and our bedtime. If you want to burn fat, you can also do cardio in the morning. Jogging in the morning can also make us more fresh to face challenges in the office where we work.

Don't ever force yourself to exercise

One more thing needs to be noted, that if our bodies are not able to exercise, so don't push our body to exercise. If we work hard enough at the office, maybe we actually have a lot to burn calories while working. Unless the jobs just sit in a chair looking at a computer screen. In reality, only our own who really knows the condition of our bodies. Avoid push yourself, so it does not make us be an athletica nervosa sufferer.

Create a schedule of activities

We need to create a schedule, so we can actually regulate our activities. Sometimes the work is unpredictable, it could be we are faced with work piling up and forced us to overtime. Therefore we also have to learn to be smart in the rotating schedule. I myself have some rotation schedule, because I had to adjust my work schedule. Usually, I didn't exercise on Sundays. But now I put Sunday in the list of my workout time.

Work is an obligation for us to be able to earn an income. Without working, we can't live. However, a healthy life is also a mandatory requirement all humans. We could not really enjoy our wealth, if we keep sickly. Therefore, we still need to exercise regularly and maintain our health. So keep working, keep exercising, and keep healthy everyone.

HAPIfork The Vibrating Fork

Maybe I'm a little late to know this news. And you probably already know earlier about this innovation. HAPIfork is a fork that can vibrate. Of course there are a reason why this fork could vibrates. HAPIfork is an innovative idea of Jacques Lepine from HAPILABS. This fork will make us not to eat too fast with vibration signals. So, if we eat too fast, then HAPIfork will give a signal in the form of vibration that made us slow down eating.

In addition to vibration signal, HAPIfork also can provide a precise information about the feeding schedule and warn you with an indicator light relief when you eat food too fast. This fork also measure how long it takes to eat the dish, the number of "serving fork" made ​​per minute, and the interval between "serving fork". It equipped by Microchip Cortex M3 ST Micro electronic and capacitive detection, so if you eat too fast this fork will vibrate once and the LED light flashes twice.

That information can then be uploaded via USB to the online dashboard on your laptop or your mobile phone to show the progress you make. But hapilabs is also seeking to use bluetooth technology. HAPIfork also comes with an application HAPILABS coupled with a training program to help you eat better and change your eating habits. There are several color choices on offer, there are white, black, blue, pink, and green. However, at this time, HAPIfork still in pre-order for a store that sells products HAPILabs will start selling on 1 April 2013. HAPIfork awarded the Design & Engineering Showcase Honors 2013 in Innovation International CES.

Here are the specs of HAPIfork, according to the official website of Hapilabs:

Specs:

• Length: 7.87 inches / / 200 mm
• Width: 1 inch / / 24.5 mm
• Height: 2/3 inches / / 15.70 mm
• Weight: 0.14 pounds / / 65 grams

Electronic Key:

• Micro USB connector
• Lithium Batterie Polymere + 7.3 V
• Microchip Cortex M3 ST Micro electronic
• capacitive detection
• Return to the user: 1 + 2 leds vibrator
• 2 component plastic shells

Why do we need to eat more slowly?

Presiden HAPIlabs Carton Andrew said, "Most people eat faster than it should. They don't realize that eating too fast is not a healthy behavior. The negative habits also affect other things like digestive problems and weight gain."

Eating too fast is one of the habits you should remove if you want a successful diet program. I once wrote that a person will feel full after 20 minutes since the first time he chewed food. So, if we eat faster, then we will also eat be more and more. It better we eat more frequent small meals, rather than eating only once in a large portion.

So if you're having trouble slowing down your eating, maybe the HAPIfork could be one of your solution. Keep healthy everyone. :)

Image credit by : Hapilabs

Tips For Beginners Who Practice Yoga

The biggest problem that we often face in doing something new is a pessimist before trying. When we're feeling pessimistic, in fact we would lose before the fight. In the world of health and fitness, we must continue to feel optimistic and have a positive attitude. So that we can get the best results. This article is addressed to those of you who want to start practicing yoga. I want to share my experience about practicing yoga, because I was a beginner in yoga practice.

Yoga is an activity that is more than just exercise. Even yoga have existed long long before you were born. When you actually have the intention to join a yoga class, or want to learn yoga by self-taught, then not only physical factors that you should be prepared. You also have to prepare mentally and have enough knowledge. Remember! to dispose of all your negative thoughts.

Open your mind

Yoga is an art of classical physical exercise. You must open your mind to be able to establish a good mentality. It would be better if you throw away first all of your life problems. Leave your thoughts into a clean mind when we want to start practicing. We shouldn't think that yoga is an ancient type of exercise, and less relevant today. You should never underestimate yoga if you want to really learn it. Forget all your doubts and excessive expectations, then gradually you will get the benefits. In fact there are some people who think that yoga is a forbidden activity, as they relate to a particular religion. Of course we must be critical in addressing this opinion. Therefore, an open mind will be very important.

Don't worry about your body shape

Perhaps many of you who think that yoga can only be done by people who have a lean and athletic body. We should not think like that, because yoga can be done by everyone. We know that the one of our goals practicing yoga is to erode the body fat. The people often you see as the image model of yoga are the ones who practice diligently, they didn't suddenly can do that movements. Perhaps these people, at first also had full body fat.

And often we saw some of yoga pictures, that these images show a difficult movements. Because the movement is probably the upper level movements. For you are a beginner, you should try to move from the basic level. You don't need to afraid if you aren't currently have the flexibility of the body, because by itself it will be formed if we practice regularly and routinely. Sure, it can be a challenge for us, so that one day we can do the difficult movements that require a high level of flexibility.

Choosing a suitable type of yoga

When you want to start practicing yoga, and join a yoga class, it's a good idea to choose one type of flow yoga that you will focus on. There are many types of yoga flow, I don't know how many exactly, because yoga is also experiencing growth at any time. However, when I first practiced yoga, I prefer Hatha yoga, because this flow is a type of yoga that I first heard and it's quite common. Here are some examples of the flow of yoga that can be chosen by beginners.

Hatha Yoga

This stream focuses on techniques asana (postures), pranayama (breath though), bandha (locks), mudras (gestures), and deep relaxation. Hatha goal is to maintain body balance alarm with five principles of yoga practice (Regularly practiced, breathe deep, well-balanced diet, adequate rest, positive thinking and meditation). This technique is very effective for reducing stress and train your concentration. At first, hatha yoga are very similar to meditation.

Bikram Yoga

This yoga is an unique type, because it must be done in a room temperature of 40 degrees Celsius. The place to practice is like a sauna which aims to make the body expend a lot of sweat, and aims to improve blood circulation. Bikram yoga consists of 26 poses performed systematically. This type of yoga is suitable for you who like to work up to sweat very much. Bikram yoga course is not suitable for those who have sensitivity to heat, and hypertension. For those of you who are experiencing an injury, is also not recommended to do bikram yoga.

Asthanga Yoga

System training on asthanga divided into 6 series of asana. Starting from a low level of difficulty, moderate, and higher. The advantage of this system is that we can practice in accordance with our respective capabilities. But for a beginner, it would be better if the movements are determined by the instructor. Asthanga yoga performed non-stop at high enough speeds. Thus, proper regulation of breath is also required. This type of yoga would be very much to burn calories and expend a lot of sweat. When we are proficient with these movements, don't keep on expecting guidance from the instructor. Maybe this flow is also suitable for those who practice self-taught.

So everyone, don't ever hesitate if you have a desire to practice yoga. Trust me, it would be a lot of benefits that we will get. Remember to always think positive! Keep healthy :)

Tips to Stay Healthy on Holiday

It doesn't feel we are almost at the end of the year. The biggest event during the month of December is a celebration to welcome Christmas and New Year's Eve. If you are still at school or work, then in this case you will be given the opportunity to celebrate it by getting a day off. Not a few of us who get a share of the long holiday. Because of the opportunity to vacation, there will usually be a significant change in our lifestyle. While on vacation, many of us forget the activities that should still be something that must be done, in this case is to keep our health. Some of us may be many who are invited to attend the celebration parties, and often times we forget to keep our diet, even many of us are a lack of time to rest because always spend the holidays with staying up until morning. Here are tips to make your holidays keep enjoyable, but still healthy.

Avoid the following foods while away on vacation.

1. Carbonated drinks

Indeed, canned soft drink are practical and easy to carry while going on vacation, but carbonated drinks also cause bloating and stomach problems, and make bad breath be no odor. Of course we all want our stomach to feel keep comfortable while on vacation, don't we?

2. Cheese

Cheese does have a high calcium content. However, you better not carry it when go on vacation, because the cheese out of gas that make it difficult for the stomach to digest. It will also make your stomach discomfort along the way.

3. Junk food

Burger or pizza is also a practical food to be consumed, and this food can be very tempting during the holidays. But junk food is junk food, it will only give you an extra fat and it can destroy your diet during the holidays.

4. Chewing gum

Chewing gum can also be something fun to accompany us during the holidays. However, just like cheese and soft drinks, chew the gum while traveling will just make your stomach bloated. Because when chewing, there will be a lot of incoming air.

5. Spicy food

The food was very spicy would be very risky to create a disturbance in your stomach. You better not to consume too much spicy foods during the holidays, because your holiday might be overtaken by a sense of heartburn in your stomach. However, that doesn't mean you should completely avoid the spicy foods. The bottom line is don't overconsume it, because the stomach problem become a problem that often occur when people are away on vacation.

Bringing healthy snacks and meals from home

It is important for you to always carry some snacks while away on vacation. Why would this be so important? Because when we are traveling, we will often skip our meals, especially if you are traveling in a long distance. And it can accumulate your hunger, then it will make you overeat when you stop for a great meal. That is the task of healthy snacks, which prevents you from overeating. Therefore, it is very important for you to eat more frequently in small amounts. You can bring a healthy snack such as yogurt, berries, boiled eggs, almonds, toasted nuts or dried fruits. Avoid carrying a high-calorie snack.

Besides bringing some snacks, of course, you should also bring the lunch from home. Because you can better determine what type of menu that you want to eat when you're traveling. Surely it would be more appropriate if you keep bringing healthy foods, such as vegetables and lean meats. You must keep your protein needs. When you really enjoy your vacation, you may not be aware that you have been doing a lot of activity. Thus, the protein will make you feel full longer and help your body recovery.

But if it turns out you didn't have time to prepare your meal lunch from home, and you were planning to have lunch at the restaurant, then try not to eat at fast food restaurants. Look for restaurants that offer a wide selection of healthy foods. However, I still recommend you to bring a lunch from home. 

Because when the holidays, usually the food vendors will be less concerned about the quality of their food, and more concerned with the quantity of food they sell, because of course the number of buyers will also increase.

Keep your body to stay hydrated and rested

When going on vacation, don't forget to bring plenty of water supplies. Because a lot of your activities will make you lose a lot of fluid, so it is important to keep your body keep hydrated. If you feel dizzy while playing, likely your body is dehydrated. Therefore, you better bring mineral water supplies, rather than carrying supplies soft drinks or alcoholic.

When you have to welcome the Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve, you might sleep until late at night, or perhaps until morning. Make sure you still have enough sleep. Because of the holidays, of course, this is not a problem if you ever have to wake up late. The important thing is, you can still meet the needs of your bedtime, and sleep well.

Problems often arise when a vacation trip

Jet Lag

When you are traveling by plane, and traveled far enough, or perhaps between countries, then this could make you change your biological clock. If you are experiencing jet lag, after getting off from the plane try to bask in the sun for about 30 minutes, and consume melatonin supplements at night.

Stress

Although the purpose of your vacation is to eliminate stress and to have fun, but sometimes there's something screwed up your holiday because your plan doesn't go as planned. You should not be trapped by the circumstances, and must be able to think clearly to solve the problem. Try to get out of the hustle and find a quiet place, then take a deep breath several times, and try to think positively and recall your goal to go on vacation. Listen to music to be one of my mainstays when faced with stress while on holiday.

Body stiffness

When we sit too long in a private car or public transport, surely we can not move freely. Most likely your body will tense because of sitting too long. To fix this, do some simple stretching exercises by moving the muscles stiff.

Motion sickness

There may be some of you who are experiencing motion sickness that causes nausea and dizziness. Whether because traveling by land, sea, or air. Therefore, don't forget to take anti-motion sickness drugs before going. Or you can handle it by taking ginger to make your body feel warm.

Of course, your vacation would be more fun if you could enjoy it with the body condition remain fit and fresh. So, happy holidays and stay healthy :)

Simple Steps to Create a Healthy Family

Health knowledge that we have would be more meaningful if it's also passed on to others, especially our own families. But to invite family lead a healthy lifestyle, it's not easy, because there must be a growing motivation from within themselves. Therefore, we should make approaches are simple, but have a great impact. We must create the conditions to be used as a habit in daily life. Doctor Oz is an expert in family health. And from many of his opinions, I concluded, that to create a healthy family, to do with the daily activities approach and this can be done together with your family. From that point, we won't only get the benefit to the individual health, but also will foster a harmonious and healthy family.

Grow a critical attitude in your kids

Kids will be more receptive to a new knowledge than adults. Therefore, talk to your children about the importance of exercise, eating well, and healthy eating.

Indeed, a good teaching technique is by giving an example. But on this occasion, train your kids to be critical by deliberately giving a wrong example. If you previously gave teachings that Junk Food was not good, then later try to eat a junk food in front of them. Then let your children blame you, let them protest you and then ask, "Why do you eat junk food?". Then try to appreciate their reprimand by saying "thank you very much".

These events will keep in their memories, and the knowledge you provide will be absorbed properly. Plus, it will create a habit to warn each other in the family.

Create a good eating habits

1. Provide fruits and healthy snacks at the dinner table

There are so many children who are difficult to be asked to eat vegetables and fruit, they tend to prefer sweet foods with high sugar content. Indeed, these habits can't be immediately eliminated, so we had to accustom them to look healthy foods. We have to show that the fruits have a better taste than any processed foods sold in stores.

Also provide healthy snacks in your cupboard. There is nothing wrong with snacking activities, as long as we keep control of the types of nutrients that we eat. You can provide snacks made ​​from wheat or almonds. You as a parent need to be more creative in choosing healthy foods, but still appealing to children and families.

2. Do not let your family Starve

We know that a healthy diet is to avoid the starvation. To keep your family members still have the ideal weight, you shouldn't let them starve. So, always prepare foods in the right amounts for your family, no shortage and not excessive.

3. Create an on-time breakfast, lunch, and dinner

We know, breakfast is something very important to start our daily activities in the morning. Make it a rule that governs the time of breakfast, lunch, and dinner in order to be done on time. If you are a mother, then be made a packed lunch for your family if they could not eat lunch at home, so they can still have lunch on time.

As well, with dinner to be done on time, and eliminate the perception of eating at night can make fat, as long as we aren't overeat and choose the proper nutrition.

Try as much as possible to be able to eat together, especially for dinner. Because when you eat together, usually it will create an open conversation, as well as to foster family harmony.

Doing healthy and fun activities together

1. Take time regularly to exercise together

Exercising would be much more fun if it done together, especially with family members. Keep a regular schedule, at least 3 times a week to exercise together. You could spend some time in the morning or evening. Spend at least 20 minutes to do it together. Make the exercise as a mandatory habit for your family.

2. Make a healthy holiday travel

If you want to go on vacation but still healthy, you can choose nature as your destination. Keep on vacation, but you can still make your family moving. And it would be better if you bring a healthy packed lunch from home.

3. Take time to play together at home

If there is a time when all the family get together at home, and there was no work involved, it doesn't wrong if you play and joke with your children. Perform a simple but funny game in the house. Let you keep burning calories, even if you're having a relaxing time.

Create a good sleeping habits

1. Make a bedtime rules

We all know that sleep is a mandatory requirement for everyone. Therefore, getting your kids to sleep on time is an important thing. Make a bedtime rule that must be obeyed by all of family member on a typical day. But for a special moments, you might be able to change the rules.

2. Tell a bedtime story

Apparently, listening to a bedtime story can affect the quality of sleep in children. They will tend to have a good night's sleep. Give tales that have good advice, so that they can bring it into a beautiful dream.

3. Create a good bond in bed

Of course this is addressed to married couples. Husbands and wives need a harmony in all areas. However, the most appropriate time to initiate intimacy is when in bed. Creating an intimate bond in bed would be very powerful in psychology to improve the quality of your sleep.

Naturally, we would be happy if we have a healthy and harmonious family, wouldn't we? Hopefully the suggestions above can be simple steps to create a healthy family, and it's  useful to you. Don't ever give up and bored to always live a healthy lifestyle, because healthy can always be fun. :)

Let Us Prepare For Stronger Bones In Old Age

Bone is the supporting framework of our body. And everyone wants to have strong bones until well into old age. The golden age of the bone growth is when we are entering the age of 20 to 30 years. There are many people thought that the bone is solid substance, but actually the bone is a living tissue that continues to change. After entering the age of 30 years, it was a time where our bones will experience deterioration that caused it will be more fragile slowly. Surely, many of us who still want to have strong bones up in our old days, right? We may not be able to fool our age, the increasing age after the age of 30 years will make the condition and function of our organs decreased, including the bones. But, we can slow the process of deterioration, Of course, by doing some efforts that can not be achieved in an instant of time.

Previously, I was the one who had a bent posture, perhaps because it has become a habit of mine since childhood. Of course I want to repair that condition, and therefore I was trying to make some efforts. Just like you, I also want to have strong bones until well into old age later. Actually, the attempt to prepare for strong bones are almost similar with the activity to obtain health care in general, but it does not wrong us to know these efforts are more specific. and now I want to try to answer the question about how do we prepare for stronger bones in old age. Here are the programs that will I do to prepare for strong bones in the old days:

Reduce the consumption of these foods

Without us knowing, there are foods or substances that can reduce the density of our bones, even those very close to us and become the part of our daily lives.

1. Salt

Indded, salt can not be separated from our daily lives. Because this substance is the main flavoring in cooking. In a healthy diet program, we also advised to reduce salt intake, so was also if you want to have a bone density durable. As it turns out, sodium is a substance that can erode the calcium in our bones.

2. High sugar foods

Excessive sugar is really not good. Different from salt, the excess sugar will inhibit the absorption of calcium, and the substance to be eroded by the sugar is phosphorus. Therefore, it's better to reduce foods that contain high sugar, you better get a sweet taste by consuming fruits.

3. Alcohol

Excessive alcohol consumption, besides can damage the nerves, apparently alcohol can inhibit the bone growth. Alcohol will prevent osteoblasts and bone-forming cells to do their job. It's also give an impact on the healing process of bone injury, obviously it will inhibit the bone healing. I also noticed on the world-class soccer player who suffered injuries. The players who rarely consume alcohol, will recover faster than those who like to consume alcohol, at the same type of injury.

4. Soft Drink

We know that many types of soft drinks have a high sugar content. But other than that, phosphoric acid contained in it has an bad impact for the bones. So now, there are one more reason for you to reduce the consumption of soft drinks, or even do not consume them. Better you drink milk or fruit juice high in calcium to strengthen your bones

Consuming these following healthy foods

In order to grow and maintained properly, our bones need a variety of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin D, vitamin A, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. But the most of all, Calcium and Vitamin D are two key components in establishing a healthy and strong bones. Calcium have a duty to maintain and establish bone density, while vitamin D on duty to keep the calcium can be absorbed properly. So, if you are deficient in two types of these nutrients, then your potential for osteoporosis will be higher. This following are some examples of foods that contain lots of calcium and vitamin D:

Animal source foods

- Milk

Until now, milk and dairy products is still the best source of calcium. Choose the milk fortified with vitamin D.

- Cheese

Cheese is a dairy product that is very well known, and the cheese has a very high calcium content, despite having not a lot of vitamin D.

- Yogurt

One cup of yogurt can meet your daily calcium needs. In the market, there is a yogurt products are fortified with vitamin D, and some of them are not.

- Eggs

Besides being a good source of protein, eggs also contain of high vitamin D, which is in the yolks. In an egg, we can meet the 6% of our daily vitamin D requirement.

- Sardines

Although sardines have a small size, the type of fish that we often encounter in the form of canned foods was found to have calcium and vitamin D is quite high.

- Salmon

Besides having a fat content of Omega-3 is good, the fish was able to meet your daily requirement of vitamin D even more than 100%.

- Tuna

Fish contains healthy fats and vitamin D that is quite high. 3 ounces of canned tuna contains 154 IU (it can meet 39% of your daily requirement of vitamin D).

Plant sources foods

-Spinach

If you are a vegan, then spinach can be an alternative as a substitute for milk. A bowl of spinach can meet 25% of your daily calcium needs, in addition to spinach are also rich in fiber, iron, and vitamin A.

- Mustard greens

Mustard greens have calcium amount similar to spinach, which can meet 25% of your daily calcium needs.

- Broccoli

The vegetables that have flower heads, besides having a calcium content , it also contains vitamin K and vitamin C in high enough quantities.

- Cereals

In the cereal products, usually contain a lot of vitamin D and magnesium, even some certain cereal products that could meet 25% of the daily calcium requirement.

Doing regular physical exercise

It is undeniable, physical exercise is a necessary condition for healthy and strong bones for a long time. Of course, physical exercise should also be combined with consuming foods above. We have to maximize our physical training at the age of 20-30 years, as I mentioned above. However, that does not mean that after the age of 30 years then you should stop doing physical exercise. In fact, the more you get older, then you should remain consistent exercise.

- Age less than 20 years old is the age to maximize bone growth

- Age 20-30 years old is the age to maximize the density and strength of bones

- Age over 30 years is the age required to maintain the bone density to prevent osteoporosis.

Moreover, for those of you a woman who has experienced menopause. So physical exercise would be necessary, because when a woman is experiencing menopause, the bone strength will also decrease.

The first step to consider is to look at and improve your posture habits. If you are accustomed to bending over, then try to get rid of the habit. When you sit, walk, or drive a vehicle, remember to always enforce your body.

Exercise and weight training

Whatever type of your exercise, whether; basketball, soccer, running, swimming, jogging, aerobics, tennis, etc; then do it routinely. Because this will affect your bones and joints reflexes to become stronger and have a quick response. Therefore, not surprisingly, if the villagers have stronger bones than the citizens. Even people older than 70 years is still strong enough to lift heavy loads. Because they're used to physical activity, especially a farmer.

Weight training is a physical activity that must be done to maximize the growth and density of bones. Weight training will stimulate the bone to develop the mass. Do 8-10 reps weight training, for 3 times a week. Remember! practice with the gradual, if it's your first time doing it, then don't directly force your body to work with a very heavy burden.

Stretching and balance exercises

One more a secret for healthy bones and strong for a long time, is by doing stretching and balance exercises. Perform stretching exercises on a regular basis until it reaches the maximum point. In the stretch, hold in 10-30 seconds. Stretching to improve flexibility of your joints.

Do balance exercises after you do stretching exercises. Because to get a good balance, you have to increase your flexibility. The most common balance exercise is to stand with one foot in turn. The most common style is to do a "plane style".

Indeed, to maximize growth and bone density, the tender age is the best time. However, for those of you who are middle-aged or elderly, maintaining your bone health is also something that must be done. Certainly, you want to always be able to play with your grandkids someday, don't you? So from now on, let us prepare for Stronger bones in old age. :)

Weight Loss VS Weight Gain

Although the title of this article is a "weight loss versus weight gain", but that does not mean this was a boxing match, :). I want to try to discuss the facts for comparing the level of effort required between the weight loss program and the weight gain program. So far, there are many people often compare the difficulty level between them. Some say that the weight loss is harder than weight gain, but there is also a saying that weight loss is far easier than weight gain. I obviously don't know, which opinion you currently approved. Therefore, for more details, let us first trace the factors that support both programs.

Understand your body shape

In general, there are 3 types of the human body, they are : ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph. Although there is a theory said that there is also an hourglass shape and apple shape. As shown in the image above, that:

1. Ectomorph, is called a thin body shape. The body is straight from the top to the bottom. Waist and shoulders have the same size.

2. Endomorph, is a rounded body shape and fat, which tend to store a lot of fats in the body, especially in the abdomen and waist.

3. Mesomorph, is an athletic body shape. It has a small waist and ideal, but has a broad and muscular shoulders.

Ectomorph to mesomorph = weight gain | Endomorph to mesomorph = weight loss

If we talk about weight gain, then we should think about a changing from ectomorph to mesomorph. For women, having a ectomorph form may be a blessing, because women are skinny and tall can be a model. But unlike men, because men with ectomorph body may look less manly. People with ectomorph body has a high metabolic rate, making it very difficult to store fat in the body. If you think eating a lot will gain weight, then it is a wrong idea, because it will only lead to fatty deposits around the abdomen only, while the other parts will be still look skinny. So, there is only one healthy way to gain weight the ectomorph body shape, that is by increasing the muscle mass.

To increase the muscle mass, of course we have to do weight training. Unlike weight loss program, then the program should reduce the cardio activity, because the ectomorph body already has its high metabolism. Cardio exercise is still to be done for fitness, but it should be only in small portions. In doing weight training should also not be arbitrary, because the load used should also be a heavy burden.

Having to do heavy weight training, automatically, you will get a lot of damage cells, so  your sleep pattern should be kept. If you're in a weight gain program, it is taboo for you to stay up, because you have to meet the necessity of 8-9 hours your bedtime. And you need to know, that if in the middle of weight gain program, you do not regularly or even stop doing weight training, the muscles that are undergoing development period will shrink and make your previous exercise becomes useless.Increase in body weight by 1 kg to 2 kg per month is a very good result at all.

For the rule of nutrient you should eat, the weight gain implementers must consume more calories than normal amount he needs daily. If your daily calorie requirement is 2000 calori, then you need to consume 2300 calories. It's unlike weight loss program, isn't it? that must consume fewer calories than the amount of the daily calorie requirement. And one more thing that is very important is that you have to increase your protein needs, which the measure of the protein should be more than carbohydrates. If the normal diet was 35% protein, 45% carbohydrate and 20% fat, so, for the weight gain you have to convert it to 50% protein, 30% carbohydrate and 20% fat.

Now, let's look at a weight loss program. Because it's very often I discussed in my previous articles, then let us discuss in general terms. Weight loss is a changing from endomorph to mesomorph. The owner of endomorph body shape has a slow metabolic rate, making it prone to store fat and have a fat body. Therefore, the weight loss program implementers have to do sports activities are able to burn a lot of fat, which is cardio. Clearly contrary to the ectomorph, who have to reduce cardio activity, while the activity of weight training on the endomorph used to spend so fat carbohydrates can really burn. However, the owners of endomorph body still have to think of the body muscle formation, because muscle will increase the metabolism of our body. In addition to burn fat, the weight loss program also aims to increase the speed of your metabolism. Your bedtime is also something to keep you note, as well as the nutrients you should be consuming.

Judging from the facts above, I conclude that the difference between the weight gain and weight loss lies in the rule of "quantity". The portion that is needed in weight gain program, majority require more servings, such as strenuous exercise portions and eating. What is clear, to increase muscle mass it will take more effort, compared to just to burn fat. In fact, it's now apparent that the weight gain is more difficult than weight loss. However, in the end it all also depends on the persistence of your efforts. Perseverance, patience, mortification of the passions, and the true knowledge is the key to achieve your healthy life. :)

3 Small Habits That Cause Belly Fat

Excess fat is the cause of the stomach becomes distended. And the belly fat is one of the most difficult fat removed. Sometimes we've been on a diet and have done sports, but fat doesn't go away. Perhaps the cause is diet or exercise you are doing less precise. You've avoid foods that contain lots of fat and sugar. However, we often does not realize that there is little habits we often do that can cause belly fat. And maybe, this little habits might have done for a long time or even from childhood. Here are 3 small habits that can cause belly fat.

Eating too fast

There are already a lot of research done to find the relationship between eating too quickly with the risk of obesity. The majority of the study said that, it takes about 20 minutes after starting a meal, in order to the brain give a signal that the stomach is full, and make us stop eating. If we eat too quickly, of course, we will put more amount of food within 20 minutes of it.

We also need to know, that when we chew food in the mouth, digestive process occurs mechanically, and the chemical digestion occurs in the stomach. Eating too fast will make the process of mechanical digestion to be imperfect, so that food enters the stomach becomes not easily digested. The foods are difficult to digest will be potential to be stored as fat in the abdomen.

Chewing too fast also can make the air enter the stomach for more, and make our stomach bloating.

Body stooped

There are many people who having body stooped, just because of their habit. Walking bent, sat hunched, even when riding a motorcycle was also bent body. I was also have a habit of body bending, and is currently still in the process to address them. When our body is bent, the diaphragm muscles will be loosened, and our stomach will look loose and sagged. Why can it cause belly fat?

When the body goes straight, the muscles of the abdomen and around the waist will contract, and it will increase your metabolism, because the muscles are tightened. If we bend, then your metabolism will be uneven. That is why, if we're exercising, especially when weight training, our posture should be upright.

Skipping the breakfast time

Many people who have a diet program by reduce food portions. Many of them who skip their breakfast time. Intensive activity also sometimes make us skip breakfast. No breakfast will only make you overeat during the day, and make us eat anything as long as it makes us full. If you are a morning person, we would need energy to carry out our activities in the morning. If we lack nutrients, especially protein, the body will break down the protein in muscle, and this could certainly reduce your muscle tone, and makes the body loose. 

So, is there any of them that become your habits? or even all three? If so, I hope you fix it soon. Keep healthy :)

Exercising When We Got Flu

Weather now is very difficult to predict, in my country is currently experiencing the transition season, from summer to rainy season. Transition season does make us vulnerable to disease. 2 days ago I was exposed to rain, and the next day I got the flu. And that day was my exercise schedule. I am lucky, because I just had the flu and was not accompanied by fever.

Why do I say lucky only had the flu? because if i have a flu accompanied by fever, then I can not exercise. When we are sick, our immune system will decrease, it will certainly affect the stamina and endurance of the body. Thus when we have the symptoms of flu with fever, we are advised not to do exercise, because in addition to avoiding transmission to others, exercise in such conditions will only slow down the recovery process.

However, if you got flu without fever, mild cardio exercise to moderate it will help you to recover more quickly, because exercise can relieve nasal congestion, giving the effect of relax and not tense, and increase immunity. Of course this will help your respiratory tract.

However, even though we only got the flu, we still can not assume lightly. We still can't exercise the same as when we are in a healthy condition. Therefore, do not exercise too hard, the recommended is light cardio. Keep your intake of food and nutrients for your bodies, because if we attacked by the flu, usually this will make our appetite reduced. The water intake should also not be forgotten, so that our body well hydrated, because there is often mistakenly, that drinking water will make the flu get worse. And most importantly, if we feel dizzy when we exercise, quickly stopped, so it does not cause the flu more severe.

You have to be smart to know and get to know the condition of your body, because a good physical exercise will keep us from disease and makes your body become more robust in the face of disease. So, keep healthy :)

How is Your Sleeping Position?

Sleep is a necessity for living things to rest from various activities. People takes 7-8 hours as the ideal time for sleep. Sleep is a time when the body's repair cells damaged by everyday activities. To that end, in addition to nutrients that must be considered, our position or our style while sleeping should be considered in order to obtain maximum benefit of sleep.

Like we are playing tennis, when we already have a complete equipment such as tennis clothes, tennis shoes, a good tennis racket. However, when we play, we are using the wrong technique to hit the ball, so it will make the game are not good, and the ball does not bounce well.

Yes, most of us are indifferent to our sleep style or position. Especially when our body is very tired, when we've met with the bed, it will be very nice to immediately close our eyes. However, we need to know, your sleeping position will affect what your body is doing during sleep.

1. Supine Position

Supine sleep position is the most commonly performed by people. Even this position is a position that is generally recommended. In practical terms, it was thought, that sleep in this position was very good for those who have back pain. Supine sleep position causes a person to breathe through his mouth, this position tends to make your mouth open because the jaw in relaxed conditions. The proper organs, and prepared to do the breathing, is the nose, because there is hair in the nose and mucous membrane that serves to filter and clean the incoming air.

Breathing through the mouth is usually done when a person develops asthma due to allergies, cold, or flu, especially in winter. In addition, breathing through the mouth also cause dry gums that can cause inflammation.

In the supine position, palate will prevent slit the back of the nasal cavity and respiratory tract, that is why we snore. When we woke up, our tongues will be filled by a layer of white that is not fair, and bad breath odor.

2. Tummy Position

Tummy sleep position is the worst position. This position will make your heart, lungs and stomach distress. This is what causes a person who sleep in tummy position, will feel shortness of breath for a few moments. This position will also lead to bone bent neck and collar bone and reproductive organs pressured into sleeping mats so this encourages someone to masturbate.

When someone is sleeping on tummy they would feel short of breath for a while because the magnitude of the burden of blocking backs chest muscle to contract while sucking and exhale. Difficulty in breathing during sleep facedown will result in the heart and brain fatigue. Times Magazine UK edition also contains the  results of the study about the increasing intensity of sudden death experienced by children during tummy sleep .

However, if you're forced to sleep in this position, I suggest using a pillow under your stomach and waist. Avoid using a pillow at the head or reduce the pillow's size, because it will push your neck.

3. Tilted Position

a) Tilted to The Left

Just like sleeping face down, sleep on his side to the left will burden the heart with your weight. At the same time, the heart is to pump blood. This will lead to cardiac fatigue which can be fatal in the long run. This position will also make the heart depressed by the right lung. The size of the right lung bigger than the left lung. If you press the heart, will certainly affect the function and slow down, especially in older people.

b) Tilted to The Right

"To right side sleeping position is the correct sleeping position and best." This position is the most successful medical practice. Sleep on your side to right has many benefits.

• Resting the left brain. By tilted to the right sleep, then the left brain will be protected from the dangers arising from the circulation slows down during sleep / silence. This is important, because the left brain that regulates the activities of organs to the right, which generally becomes the dominant part in our daily activities.
• Reduce the burden of heart. Sleep on right side makes the heart doesn't hit by other organs. Position a flat bed to the right, allowing the body fluids (blood) evenly distributed and concentrated on the right (bottom). This will cause the burden of blood flow in and out of the lower heart. The impact of this position is a slower heart rate, blood pressure will also decrease. This condition would Increasing the quality of sleep.
• Resting the stomach. Human stomach shaped like a comma-shaped tube with the tip of the outlet valve into the intestines facing towards the bottom right. If someone is sleeping tilted to the left, so the expenditures of "chime" (food that has been digested by the stomach and mixed with stomach acid) will be slightly disturbed, it will slow down the emptying of the stomach.
• Improve gallbladder emptying and pancreatic. The existence of a smooth flow chime will cause bile output also increased, this will prevent the formation of gall bladder stones. Pancreatic lymph output will also increase with the tilted to the right position.
• Increase nutrient absorption time. During sleep, the movements of bowel will increase. With this position, the food's trip that has been digested and ready to be absorbed will be longer, this is due, the position of the small intestine to the large intestine is below. Periods of time during sleep may allow optimal absorption.
• Stimulate bowel movements. By sleeping tilted to the right, process of filling the sigmoid colon (before the anus) would be quickly filled. If it is full, it will stimulate bowel movement followed by relaxation of the anal muscles so it make easier the defecation.
• Maintaining healthy lungs. The left lung is smaller than the right lung. If you sleep on your right side, the heart will be skewed to the right. This is not a problem because the right lung bigger. Another case when resting on the left side, the heart will press the left lung are small, of course this is not very good.
• Keeping the respiratory tract. Tilted sleep to the right will prevent the tongue falling to the base of which can interfere with the respiratory tract. Supine sleep position, will make us snore. Even sometimes can lead to cessation of breathing for a few seconds that will wake you from sleep. This situation would make us wake up with the state of dizziness due to lack of oxygen to the brain. Obviously this is very disturbing quality of sleep.

But in reality, each person shifting their position during sleep. Your early sleep position may be different from when you wake up. The change of position was reasonable, as long as not excessive. To reduce the change of position so often that harm your body, use a soft cushion and hard enough and clean bed linen or badcover so as not to cause itching. Protect yourself from the attacks of insects, such as mosquitoes, and don't forget to pray before sleep. :)

Break Away From Smoking With Exercise

Anyone knows that smoking is not good for health. Heart disease, lung disease, cancer, impotence, sleep disorders and other adverse effects. In fact, ironically, smokers know that their activities were not good for their health. I am not here to explain how smoking can be harmful to your body, you can get easily the dangers of smoking from many websites.

In my country, there are so many people who become smokers, because cigarettes sold so freely, even a children under the age could easily get it, that is sad. Smoking is believed can relieve stress, this is what makes many people become smokers. Maybe some people really feel the cigarette to relieve stress, but "smoking is addictive". If we deal with stress, we definitely want to smoke, want it and want it again. Even if they do not smoke, they feel something is missing from their life. That is a sad presumption. What if you do not smoke, whether you will easier to die if you do not smoke? not just the opposite?.

In the past, i had been a smoker. Just like most people, the goal I smoke is to relieve my stress, not only for lifestyle just like the majority of young people today. When I start to feel stressed, which was in my mind is smoking. Whereas on the other hand, I have had lung disease. Yes indeed smoking provide stress relief effect on me, but the good effect was only momentary, it give me more  bad effects. Became difficult to sleep (insomnia) in the night is the effect I felt. When we have an irregular sleep, then the chances of our stress levels will be higher. And when we feel stress, definitely sought is smoking.

That bit of my story, when I was still smoking. So what motivates me to be totally separated from the "tobacco"?. What is clear, there must be a desire from within ourselves first. However, That really became a powerful tool to break away from smoking, is by exercising. I often discuss, exercise can relieve stress.  Starting from that idea, then I make exercise as a substitute for cigarettes. At that time, jogging or running be my options as a substitute for stress reliever, and this sport is still the most powerful stress reliever for me.

If previously you rarely exercise, the first time you exercise will definitely feel the negative effects of cigarettes that you consume during this time, respiratory factor that you will surely feel. However, little by little it would have gradually getting well. I'm not suggesting you should exercise jogging or running. Whatever type of exercise that you like, do it. Whether basketball, tennis, soccer, swimming, cycling and others.

For those of you who use cigarettes as a stress reliever, it's better that immediately change your habits. Make exercise as a substitute for cigarettes to relieve stress. Stress relieving effects given by cigarettes only for a moment and have an effect tail more negative. Meanwhile, stress relievers offered by sport, obviously has a great effect on our health. You would be better be a sport addict than cigarette addict, wouldn't you?. Always remember that health is our precious treasure.

Healthy Ways to Relieve Stress

Stress is the emotional and physical strain caused by our response to pressure from the outside world. Stress seems to be a part of our lives that are difficult to avoid, especially for those of us who live big city. A solid routine, traffic jam, high work pressure, a short deadline work, romance issues, financial issues, phobia of something, and many more things that cause stress. Prolonged stress can also affect health, both physical and mental health.

And sometimes we do a variety of ways to relieve the stress, but most of us are relieving with stress in ways that are not healthy, such as smoking, drinking alkhohol, or take it out with a lot of eating, also called "emotional eating". These methods only have a momentary effect in relieving stress, and it adds an adverse effect on our body. We should know that there are many healthy ways to relieve stress.

• Exercise. Cardio become my favorite sports to relieve stress. Jogging, cycling, swimming, or playing football is an example of a fun exercise to relieve stress on the head. Whatever your favorite sport, do it right away if your stress begin to descend
• Meditation or yoga. This method is also one of my favorite ways. Maybe meditation or yoga are unpopular with the public. Meditation is not difficult, but it was not exactly easy. The essence of meditation practice is to manage our breathing, and circulation of oxygen going to the brain, it will certainly reduce our stress loads. Meditation will spur our thoughts become more positive
• Immediately clean yourself. When you come home from work, and the condition of the brain is overwhelmed with work, get to the bathroom, take a bath and clean yourself. This will make yourself become more fresh. Go to the salon for a spa can also be an alternative.
• After you take a bath and body refreshed. Immediately rest, adequate sleep will also affect your mental health. make sure to sleep 7-8 hours at night. And try to get up early, do not oversleep.
• Go to a fun recreation. Go on a vacation to a place that you like. Look for leisure or weekend. Nature recreation is my favorite place to take a load off my mind. You can take a vacation with friends, family or even alone.  Aloof, sometimes also a way to forget all the stresses in life
• Watching movies or listening to music. Watch comedies that make you laugh, or listen to music that is fun. Do not watch the movie and the song contains sadness, this will only add to your stress. hehehe
• And the way that I think is the most powerful, is hanging out with your friends. Gathered, talking, joking with our comrades will be an effective way to relieve stress. With notes, hanging out with friends and doing positive activities. Do not get together then just get drunk.

If you are experiencing severe stress and prolonged, and the above methods can not help to reduce it, I suggest contacting a psychiatrist. Don't underestimate the stress. However, if we take immediate action when stress comes to attack, I believe stress can be easily overcome. So, just leave your bad habits to relieve stress, change in ways that are more healthy to get a better quality of life.

How To Read The Nutrition Facts

When we buy food or drinks packaged / processed, definitely there are a white label containing food nutrition data or called "nutrition facts". Currently, food manufacturers is required to include a list of food ingredients and nutrition facts in their products. Nutrition Facts provide information about food ingredients, herbs and chemicals in its food. The nutrition listed,written in sequence, according to weight. The most widely used nutrients listed first and the least written last.

I have many friends who asked me about how to read the "Nutrition Facts" data correctly. Indeed, there are still many people who do not know how to read the nutrition facts correctly. In fact, for those of you who want to start running a healthy lifestyle, it is important to know the nutrient content in the food, to make better decisions about the food we buy. Here I describe an example of how to read a nutrition facts:

1. Usually at the top of the nutrition facts, presented information serving size and serving per container. Serving size will indicate the portion or serving size recommended, while serving per container is the maximum amount of serving size. If you eat more or less than the recommended serving size, then the information on the nutrition label should be adjusted for the amount of nutrients you consume. For example, if you eat 2 times a portion of the serving size, the nutritional value of the information is also multiplied by 2.

2. In this section, the information included total energy (in calories) in one serving of food. Calories shows a measure of how much energy you get from a serving of food. Remember, that the number of servings you consume determines the number of calories you eat, if you eat 2 x serving size, the number of calories is also multiplied by 2. To determine the size of the high-calorie foods or not, can use the benchmark; 40 calories is low, 100 calories is moderate, and 400 calories or more is high.

There are also included calories from fat shows how many calories from foods that come from fat. Each gram of fat is worth 9 calories, you should consume a maximum of 3 grams of fat or 30 calories of fat per 100 calories of food.

3. This section contains the main information content in foods, such as fat, cholesterol, carbohydrates, fiber, sugar and protein. Beside it, there is a measure of the amount of nutrients in grams. And next to them again in the size of the data contained percent, percent of the data here is the percent of the total 2000 calories. For example, 50gram carb calories will meet the needs of 17% of 2000 calories. In general, the nutritional value of 5% is considered low, and a value of 20% is considered high.

• Total Fat, shows how much good fats and bad fats. Good fats are: monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat, while bad fats are Saturated Fat and trans fat. Optimal fat intake of no more than 3 grams per 100 calories, and daily intake of bad fats should be no more than 10% of your daily calorie intake (less than 1 gram per 100 calories). When comparing foods, look at the amount of total fat, saturated fat and calories in each serving. Choose the least.
• Cholesterol shows how many total cholesterol, which consists of good cholesterol (HDL) and bad cholesterol (LDL) in every serving. Consumption should not exceed 300 mg per day. Choose a product that at least the amount of cholesterol, and 0 is better.
• Sodium (natrium), it would be better if the sodium consumed, no more than 2,400 mg per day. Choose a product that at least the amount of sodium.
• Carbohydrate, it includes simple carbohydrates and sugars, complex carbohydrates and fiber. I recommend to choose high fiber carbohydrates, try to consume 20 and 35 grams of fiber per day. The higher the fiber content of a food product, the lower the sugar content.
• Protein, this content is also one that should be considered in addition to carbohydrates and fats. if you buy dairy products, it would be great if the milk is high in protein and low in fat and sugar.

4. In the fourth section contains additional nutrients besides the main nutrients, namely vitamins and minerals. From here it is also the one you can tell if the food you choose poor nutrition or not. You also need to make sure the food you buy is not only contain of fat, carbohydrate or protein, but also contain vitamins and minerals that are useful for the body.

Yes, that's a brief explanation on how to read the nutrition facts. But indeed the majority of food products tailored to the needs of 2000 calories, while we have different calorie requirements vary. For that please adjust your dose your nutritional needs according to your calorie needs. And to see the content of the food that is not packaged, you can look at a page table of nutrition. Because knowing the food you eat, is your outset to be healthy. Hopefully useful :)

My Preparation Before Starting A diet Program

On this occasion I will describe my experience of preparation before starting a diet program. To implement a program of diet, it requires planning, if not, the diet will only torment our lives. Actually, before 2012, I have often planned to go on a diet, but it always fails at the middle of the program, because I feel it a restrictive sense, and would end with the word "FAIL!", :). Beginning in 2012 I began to feel the top of where my physical condition is not very good. I began to have the intention of actually starting to improve my health. Then I tried to learn and gather information about the diet, whether from the Internet, magazines, or ask with my friends. And after getting enough information, I finally begin preparation by the following steps:

1. Starting to change my wrong perception about diet, as described in my previous article about Misconceptions About Diet, the diet can not be done quickly, and should be the pattern of everyday life. If we are overweight, we can not make our weight down 10 pounds with the practical. Do not assume that we run programs such as military service. Patience is the key.
2. Never be ashamed reflected on out to your friends and family if you want to start living and healthy eating. Because then, instead they will support and assist you in your diet. Once they see the results of your diet program, it will motivate them to live like you.
3. Began to abandon bad habits are detrimental to health. At that time I was trying hard to leave cigarettes and beer. It is quite heavy, because when hanging out with my friends, these 2 things often accompany. But finally I could leave a strong embroidery. Stay up too late at night is also a bad habit of mine at the time, even now, I sometimes still hard to leave. But I limit order before 11 o'clock at night I have to sleep, I can sleep at least seven hours per day.
4. Fill out the fridge, larder, and my table with healthier foods, like vegetables and fruits. In order that we always looked healthy food, so we always remember about the program in which we live. But, replace your fruits and vegetables regularly, so as not to bore. Even now, when there is no fruit and vegetables, I feel something is missing my place. Addiction vegetables and fruit is better than addiction to cigarettes, isn't it? :)
5. Set my eating schedule. As set our agenda, set an eating schedule is also critical to the success of the diet. We can write, once used, we no longer need to write it down. And for those of you who work in the office, you can bring their own lunch from home. 
6. Make a photo of the body, before we go on a diet. That in the future, we can compare our physical changes. But even better, the physical form should not be used as the main reference in the diet. Because if our goals for health, physical form would be a bonus.
7. If you are overweight or underweight, gather all the information about the data size to your body weight, waist circumference, chest circumference, neck circumference, and others. So that you can easily estimate your target to achieve an ideal weight.
8. Rate the picture; computer wallpaper,mobile phone wallpaper or your poster, with pictures of people healthy or ideal or athletic stature. This will motivate you to have the same condition as they were.
9. Bring water anywhere. Such as fruit and vegetables, water will remind you about health. Because water is a mandatory requirement to support our diet and healthy living. Drink 8-10 glasses per day.
10. And the most important thing is exercise. Begin to expand our physical activity per day. would be better if we exercise regularly, Sports weights and cardio is the best exercise supporting our diet. But for the first step, starting with simple physical activities. Pick up the stairs instead of using elevators. if you just go to a place nearby, just ride a bike or walk

That's the first steps that I apply to my diet plan. What is clear, solidified your intentions, make healthy lifestyle is not just a moment activities. Not only are people overweight or underweight that require diet, everyone needs a diet to maintain health. Hopefully useful. :)