Back Pain & Healthy Lifestyle

Back pain is one of the most common problem that you will see in recent days. It is estimated that 60% -85% of people in Europe will suffer from low back pain at some point of their lifes. It affects men and women equally and most commonly affected 35 to 55 years old people.

It is important to bear in mind that back pain can also be a symptom of the other medical conditions that should be referred to the doctor. These can include bladder and kidney infections and some gynecological problems, osteoporosis and broken bones.

For many people, back pain can be triggered by doing normal, everyday activities, such as : -
1. Lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling incorrectly
2. Slouching in chairs
3. Standing or bending down for long periods
4. Twisting, bending awkwardly
5. Coughing
6. Sneezing
7. Over-stretching
8. Driving in hunched positions

The back pain can be divided into : -

1. Lower back (between the bottom f the ribs and tops of the legs)
2. Upper back (between the bottom of the ribs and tops of the legs)
3. Sciatica ( caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve which travels from buttocks down through the length of the leg.

Symptoms

The symptoms of the lower back pain is they may feel the pain in the buttocks and top of the legs. Whilst, upper back pain can be caused by a sudden injury, for example, by whiplash after a car accident. It can also be caused by strain or poor posture over a period of time; namely, sitting in front of a computer and etc.
The sciatic pain will feel the pain all along the length of the sciatic nerve from the lower back, along the buttocks, to the back of the legs and all the way down to the heel of the foot.

For most of the people, the pain lasts for less than six weeks, if longer then it is called chronic back pain. Condition persists, medical advice is very important.


The exact cause of the back pain is hard to pin down, but what is clear is that there are some things that will increase the risk of developing back pain. These includes : -
1. Lifting, carrying, pulling, pushing movements that require force to be applied
2. Repetitive movements
3. Vibrations
4. Age
5. Being overweight
6. Being pregnant
7. Infections ie. kidney infection
8. Lack of exercise
9. Osteoporosis

There are some warning signs if the back pain also cause the follows : -
1. Those are under the age of 20 or over the age of 55
2. Have pain that has gotten worse over a period of days or weeks
3. Have a fever
4. Pain is constant even lying down or resting
5. Pain that travel to the chest or pain that high up the back
6. Have pain down the legs and below the knees
7. Have recent trauma or injury to their back
8. Unable to control their bladder or pass urine
9. Numbness a round genitals, buttocks or anus
10. Taking certain medication ( steroids)
11. Had cancers
12. Low immune system
13. Drug abuse

Recommendation or treatment
1. Should continue normal activities as much as possible and avoid resting in bed
2. Paracetamol is essential for pain killer but
3. Heat pad

Back pain can be avoided by taking care of the belows  : -
1. Weight management
2. Wearing flat shoes
3. Avoid stress
4. Avoid sudden movements or muscle strain
5. Keep active (walking & swimming, yoga & pilates)
6. Stop lifting heavy items

Some postures awareness : -
When lifting
Keep feet apart with on leg slightly in front
Don’t stoop and squat
Keep the item close to your waist
Don’t twist your back or lean sideways

When standing up
Have your back and legs straight with weight balances evenly on both feet

When sitting down
Knees and hips should be level and feet flat on the floor.

When driving
Make sure the small of the back is supported.

When sleeping
Make sure you have enough support from your mattress.

Healthy lifestyle is corelated to our daily activities, our daily proper posture will bring to the better health. Posture awareness is very important to avoid the sickness of back pain.

Weight gain & hormone

Body weight and hormone changes in the body are corelated to the healthy lifestyle. I would like to highlight how to manage your body weight by controlling your hormone and lead a a healthy lifestyle.

There are literally hundreds of hormones involved in controlling body weight, the metabolism of body fat, hunger and cravings. Insulin is the one most talked about, yet, like most complex reactions in the body, it’s unlikely that one specific hormonal path is the definitive solution to keeping in shape. With more research focusing on the area, it pays to be aware of other hormones that can help or hinder.


1. Cortisol
This is a stress hormone that closely related to weight gain. This hormone tends to cause the depositing of fat around the abdomen rather than the hips. This is why people tend to become apple-shaped and also facing the development of cardiovascular disease. Stress! People who has more hormone of cortisol tends to eat more food which is higher in carbohydrates than those who secrete less cortisol hormone. Taking active steps to manage your stress can control cortisol levels and have a tremendous flow-on effect to weight loss success.

2. Leptin
This hormone is produced in fat cells and helps regulate the brain to reduce appetite and burn more kilojoules. Leptin levels are high for obese people. Promoting leptin levels and adequate sleep is good to control the weight gain. Aim to get a good night’s rest to allow your body’s natural night-time rise in leptin to occur for sufficient time.

3. Sex hormones
Women produce oestrogen, progesterone and testerone. This level of hormones will fall dramatically at menopause. Women tend to gain weight particularly around the abdomen. Hormone therapy will sometime work on this.

4. Thyroid hormones
The thyroid hormones are to regulate many metabolic processes including growth and energy. The little release of thyroid hormones will cause the metabolism to slow down and subsequently cause the weight gain. The symptom includes low energy, depression, slow heart rate, weight gain, intolerance to cold, muscle fatigue, dry skin, hair loss and constipation.

5.Ghrelin
This is a hormone that increase hunger, slowing metabolism and decreasing the body’s ability to burn fat. This is one of the most common hormones that cause the weight gain. People who have had weight loss following bariatric surgery have low levels of ghrelin. Surgery is recommended for the patients with a BMI greater than 40 or BMI greater than 30 with additional medical conditions ie. type-2 diabetes.

Understand the relation of  hormone with the gain weight reason is the first step of bringing yourself to best healthy lifestyle!

Weight Gain Excuses

When the weight gain in our body, as a human, we always find excuses saying that " i have low metabolism" or "genetic" & etc. No matter what your excuses are for over weight, your diet is always related to your weight problem, BECAUSE YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT.

Below are some of the suggestions for you to overcome your excuses which i find are useful : -

Excuse 1 : I don't have the time to organise nutritious meals everyday

Actully, you can still eat healthily even when on the run. Prepare a packed lunch the night before, such as chicken and salad wholemeal sandwich, or, have a snack bar as your breakfast to avoid an empty stomach.

Excuse 2 : I only have time for fast food lunches

Fast food lunch is popular among working adults. Fast food is high in sodium and fat, with the soda drink relatively high in sugar. This will increase the risk in becoming fat or overweight. It is encouraged that working adult should choose healthier food ie. low-fat yougurt, tuna flakes, almonds, low-sodium soups and fruits

Excuse 3 : I feel empy if i don't consume rice or noodles

Rice and noodles are asian favourite. white bread, noodles adn white rice are rich in refined carbohydrates which are considered bad carbo as it can cause a sudden surge in blood sugar.

Whole gains, vegetable and fruits also contains carbo, but these are good carbo.

To control yourself from overeating carbo, add protein to each meal ie. fish, tuna, eggs or soy tunas

Excuse 4 : I have to attend many social gatherings. I can't lose weight in that type of environment

Eating consistently and moderation are important in this. Exercise and healthy diet are more crucial than attending many social gatherings. Do everything moderately will ensure you are having a healthy lifestyle.

Effective Cardio Exercise

For effective cardio exercise, it is important to monitor our heart rates. Our heart rates can be monitored with a wrist cardiac monitor while exercising. Some of the more common brands of wrist cardiac monitors include Suunto, Polar, Garmin and Mio.

Our maximum heart rate varies with our age. The formula to calculate maximum heart rate is:

Max Heart Rate (HR) = 207 - (age X 0.7)

To effectively burn calories, we would have to maintain our Max HR around 60%.

Here are 2 examples of cardio exercise routines tailored to burn calories & effectively lose weight:
1. Run-Jog Routine
Run at 35% Max HR for 3 minutes. Then sprint at 90% max HR for 6 seconds followed by a jog at 60% max HR for 12 seconds. Repeat the sequence for a total of 16 minutes and finally end the exercise with a 2 minute walk at 35% max HR to cool down.


2. Run-Row Routine
Start with a run at 50% max HR for 5 minutes. Then row at 90% max HR at level 8 for 2 minutes followed by rowing at 30% max HR at level 10 for 3 minutes. Repeat the sequence for 30 minutes and then cool down.

These two cardio exercise regimes are specifically tailored to burn more calories and help in effective weight loss. Our heart rate is optimised during these exercise routines and it will help us to burn off the unwanted fat in a shorter period.

How to lose fat effectively?

I found this video is very useful and you might be interested in, so i uploaded here and to share with you how to lose fat effectively. It just take you 3 mins... Check it out!

Weight Loss and shape your lower abs

Any explaination through word and picture is difficult on exercise. Why not have a look on this video in order to have a better understanding on shaping your lower abs. I find that this is easy, useful and most importantly it works...

Shape your lower abs is one of the way towards weight loss.

Overview of Detox & weight lose

Desperate to lose weight? Detoxification might be a natural way of losing weight for you.

Generally, detox diet plan is not concentrating of cutting off some pounds from your body. Howwever, it mainly help to detoxify your body from the toxic waste that have accumulated for a considerable period of time.

Nowadays, many health experts have actively introduced the idea of detoxification as a means of maintaining overall healthy and wellness. In view of the chemicals and toxins in the environment and processed food intake, the detox diet plan is an important alternative to help individuals purge the accumulated toxic wastes and at the same time lose weight through natural and harmless means. The detox diet plan will work more effectively if complemented with other established health programs such as hydrotherapy and physical activities or exercises.

An individual who is strictly following a detox diet plan can easily notice immediate results, to name a few, they might see clarity of skin and definitely better digestion. However, it is generally advised to consult a doctor or medical adviser before going through the detox diet plan. This is due to not everyone is suitable for detoxification diets.

For example cancer patients, individuals with kidney problems and those who have heart diseases, are not allowed to have detox diet plan as it would be detrimental to their health.

Bear in mind also, a detox diet plan should not be treated as a substitute for medication, since it mainly provides cleaning effects and does not in way claim to have curing properties.

Due to the body changes during detoxification, you might see some side effects after few days of detoxification. These includes migraines, fatigue and skin problems. Anyway, do not worry, it will happen only for a short period of time. If the condition persist, you should consult the doctor on this to avoid complication.

You are actually having alot of variety of food even you are on detoxification diets. A typical diet plan would include fruits, vegetables, rice, fish, herbal tea and large amount of water. However, you are encouraged to stay away from wheat, starch products, sugar, dairy products and eggs, as well as food products with preservatives and all seasonings.

Check out the 7-day cabbage detox diet in this webpage if you would like to take a try on detox die plan.

5-day slim down meal

5-day diet plan that effectively slim you body down yet giving you a healthy and balanced diet...

Day 1
Breakfast : Veggie, Scramble egg and whole grain toast
Lunch : Sushi ie. 1 california roll, 1 cup brocolli, 1/2 cup edamame
Snack : 1 cup milk latte
Dinner : Salad and vege

Day 2
Breakfast : Cereal and fruity cottage cheese
Lunch : Tomato vegetable soup
Snack : Whole-wheat pita and 1 cup carrots
Dinner : Lemon Chicken with black beans

Day 3
Breakfast : Almond butter banana toast
Lunch : Bacon, Vege and tomato
Snack : Mozzarella stick
Dinner : Lamb with asparagus

Day 4
Breakfast : Berry Smoothie
Lunch : TunaMelt and fruits
Snack : Chocolate Banana
Dinner : Turkey Pita with fries

Day 5
Breakfast : Egg sandwich and fruit
Lunch : Broccoli salad
Snack : 1 cup yourgurt
Dinner : Penne with shrimps and peas

You will eat what you are craving for and still dropping pounds... Let's try!

Remember, cook with less oil and avoid a lot seasonings...

Can i sweat my fat out in a steam room / sauna?

Sauna and steam bath are very popular nowadays, as a place of relaxation, weight loss, detox and etc. What are you using it for?

Our body weight consists of water, fat, muscle tissue and etc. Fat is fat only. Naturally, in the sauna or steam room, we would feel that alot of sweats on our body. You might feel that it is abit oilly and you would think that it is our body fat.

Actually, the excess sweating is not body fat, it is only WATER. You might find that you have weight loss. Yes, you are right. This will slightly reduce your weight due to the loss of water in your body. Such weight returns when you consume fluid.

You might two and a half pounds in a session in the steam bath and you will replace it with drinking more water as you feel dehydrated. The worriying scenario is, in order to clear your thirst, you will take sweet or high calorie drinks instead. Eventually, you will end up gaining more fat than the weight loss that you are planning for.

Sauna and steam bath is good for detox for flushing out the toxins, however bear in mind, replace your dehydration with water or sugar free juice to keep the detoxificaiton work...

Weight loss in a healthy way

The principle of weight loss is “ Don’t Starve”. Starving will lower your metabolism, made you tired and hungrier and end up eating more than necessary. The right way of losing weight is think of “ how to diet? , how to control your metabolism? and what is the right amount of weight?”

Steps towards success weight loss

Food

1. Take smaller portion of meal divided the 3 meals to more ie. 5 to 6 meals.
2. Avoid cake, brownies, potato chips, ice-cream, chocolate and other junk food
3. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
4. Replace your snack with fruits and vege
5. Taking good carb ie. brown rice, wholewheat, oats.
6. Leave behind carbs after 5pm, carbs will be stored in your body as fat
7. Maintain the intake of protein for your body protein, take double if you want have some muscle.
8. Drink plenty of water, cut down sweet and carbonated beverages, avoid soda drink.
9. Eat breakfast in the morning to keep your metabolism going
10. When you eat out, opt for more healthy food ie. Salads and fruits. Avoid fattening food.
11. Buy a chronometer for counting the time for chewing the food or do 50 counts before swallowing your food. Our brain will receive the slower signal on “I am full”. If we eat too fast, by the time our brain receive the signal, we already over eating.

Exercise

1. Besides of cutting calories and portion sizes, “exercise”.
2. Daily 20 minutes jog is good to go together with the diet, if time constraints, make it at least 2-3 times weekly, or you may choose to go for exercise bike for 20 minutes or on treadmill for half an hour daily.
3. High intensity interval training will help to lose weight faster and better
4. Weight training is important to improve your metabolism and hence increase your fat-burning ability as well as building your muscle
5. Go for a bike after waking up. You would not have food in your system in the early morning and this is the best time to exercise. Your body will get energy from the fat stored the night before. Remember to take solid food after 20 minutes of exercise.
   
   

   

Others tips

1. Wake up on regular time say 7am or 8am, take an 8 hours sleep daily
2. Don’t take any food before bed
3. Work out the diet plan with your friend, encouraging from each other is essential.
4. Get the whole family to join you for the diet plan
5. Keep vege near in front of fridge to cause impulsive respond of taking vege.
6. Always remember how much fat in the junk food. This will keep you stay away from them. 1 pound of fat is 3500 calories. One ice-cream cone or 2 tbsps peanut butter is 500 calories each
7. If you can’t avoid junk food, take those with reduced fat
8. Do the diet plan in a slow process to avoid you are craving for food and over eat
9. Don’t think of dropping weight fast. Your body resists quick weight loss and will retain the stored fat. Gradual weight loss is easier to maintain

Check out the 7-day diet plan and further info on weight loss in few days time…

Detox Juice - Refresh

This is my self mix detox juice which i like most for weight loss and detox diet.

Ingredients
3 apples
2 carrots
2 leaves of celery
1/4 lemon

Juice all the ingredients together by the order of putting in the carrots, lemon, apples and celery.

Apple plays a role to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. Due to apple does not have any colestrol it help in weight loss as well. Carrots contain B-carotene which will be metabolised into vitamin A when salts are present in the intestine. Celery relax the nerves and mucles. Lemon helps in detoxificaiton process.

This is a very good refreshing juice that everyone will like it...

Lemon as Detox Juice and Weight loss agent

Lemon taste a acidic but actually it is a powerful alkalizing agent. It assists us to restore our body to natural state. As a main detox agent, it is consider very cheap and is the strongest alkalizing foods.

Lemon detox diet is not only targeting for weight loss, but it means to cleanse your liver in order to make you feel fresh, replenished and energetic for the day and eventually flush the toxins out of your body. Our toxins are all stored in the gallbladder and the liver. In order to improve your metabolism, detoxification of liver is most important. The lemon detox diet plays a role to improve your colon function as well. This is due to the colon builds up toxins over time which can lead to overall sluggishness and poor health.

This is a fasting diet, meaning you are not suppose to eat except for a special juice that you drink to do the actual cleansing and detoxing.

The ingredients of a lemon detox drink is mixed of
· 250ml water
· Half fresh lemon
· Half pinch of cayenne pepper
· 1 tablespoon of natural maple syrup.

Drink it warm or at room temperature. You are advised to take 8-10 glasses of this detox drink everyday for 3 - 5 days. When you are on this diet, you are encouraged to have a large glass of water each day with 1 teaspoon of salt, which helps stimulate bowl movements.

After this 3-5 days lemon detox diet, you will feel healthier in general because of this thorough cleansing and detoxifying.

During the 1st trial of my diet, i have my weight loss of 3kg and subsequently 2kg each. After these diet, i feel i am healthier and my weight is easily maintained...