EXERCISE, WEIGHT MAINTENANCE AND CALORIES
When discussing Exercise habits, many would confess that they walk for a few minutes each day or jog or go on the treadmill.
Any form of exercise is good for you and most importantly it has to be done on a daily basis.
Why do the Americans find it so hard to loose weight or maintain their lost weight?
Those who are familiar with this country and its eating habits, you become aware of the high calorie foods that are everywhere, the poor quality of their snacks which cause more damage than calories and the slight dent on the total caloric picture caused by the exercise.
Before discussing this further, I would say: Do 500 calories worth of exercise per day, you would have no problem with weight maintenance.
That is easy, you might say but in practice it is difficult ..
I decided to prove it
Using the podometer, i was able to calculate the time, steps, miles and calories spent on one wonderfully balmy morning in Miami.
After 50 minutes of brisk walking, I had covered slightly over 3 miles, more like 5 kilometers, or about 6000 steps and had spent 250 calories.
There are couple of things in my favour.
BMI ie Kg in weight divided by height in meter squared, is 22 which is the maximum normal for a person of Asian Origin. 23 would be considered overweight and 27 considered Obese. Of course if you are european it would be 25 for overweight and 30 for obese.
Secondly, becoming aware of my body as an adolescent in Australia, I discovered that cuisine from Lebanon and Greece suited me the best, years later I myself formulated for my friends and family, in health and disease, the concept of Genetic Food, ie food eaten by your ancestors. If you cannot eat your ancestors food, you should at least imitate it. For all racial persuasions, Meditarranean food or Vietnamese or Thai food would be a suitable alternative.
Looking around, I see how easy I can falter on this road to good health. A bag of Pita Chips whether it says natural or nothing added to it, has over 1200 calories, you can walk those calories away, in nearly five hours but you will never can walk away from the harm done to your heart by the Palm Fruit Oil in them. Also think about Homeless Orang Utans!
Fresh food, organic when you can, a nice glass or two of wine (Life is too short to drink bad wine! Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough is excellent with Cuisine Libanaise!)..and most importantly,
eat with friends and schmooze a beezle and thus less stressed is your metabolism and able to digest food well.
I would guess that if you do strenous exercise such as Zumba rather than my brisk walking, you can burn twice as much calories. So one hour of Zumba will burn about 500 calories which is what you need, if you want to add that to your weight loss regimen.
Whatever exercise you do, do it regularly
Be truthful to yourself when it comes to food
As a rule, dont eat that which is not food, that which comes wrapped in plastic, that which contains preservatives, that which comes through your car window, it is not the calories in them that cause damage but the chemicals.
Eat with friends and family whenever you can. Eating alone or eating in moving vehicless are not good for your health, regardless of its caloric content.
Bon Apetit
Buen Provecho
When discussing Exercise habits, many would confess that they walk for a few minutes each day or jog or go on the treadmill.
Any form of exercise is good for you and most importantly it has to be done on a daily basis.
Why do the Americans find it so hard to loose weight or maintain their lost weight?
Those who are familiar with this country and its eating habits, you become aware of the high calorie foods that are everywhere, the poor quality of their snacks which cause more damage than calories and the slight dent on the total caloric picture caused by the exercise.
Before discussing this further, I would say: Do 500 calories worth of exercise per day, you would have no problem with weight maintenance.
That is easy, you might say but in practice it is difficult ..
I decided to prove it
Using the podometer, i was able to calculate the time, steps, miles and calories spent on one wonderfully balmy morning in Miami.
After 50 minutes of brisk walking, I had covered slightly over 3 miles, more like 5 kilometers, or about 6000 steps and had spent 250 calories.
There are couple of things in my favour.
BMI ie Kg in weight divided by height in meter squared, is 22 which is the maximum normal for a person of Asian Origin. 23 would be considered overweight and 27 considered Obese. Of course if you are european it would be 25 for overweight and 30 for obese.
Secondly, becoming aware of my body as an adolescent in Australia, I discovered that cuisine from Lebanon and Greece suited me the best, years later I myself formulated for my friends and family, in health and disease, the concept of Genetic Food, ie food eaten by your ancestors. If you cannot eat your ancestors food, you should at least imitate it. For all racial persuasions, Meditarranean food or Vietnamese or Thai food would be a suitable alternative.
If you are not a descendant of the Moghuls, Rogan Josh and Chicken Karahi may not be for you, except occasionally as a
treat. One can select certain foods from various cuisines, such as the Doorg from Iran or similar yogurt from India or elsewhere.
I am also fortunate enough to have a sister who is an excellent cook of Lebanese food. In just a few days, I have feasted on home made Babaganoush, Hummus, zattar pita, Lubi, chanclish, with slight additions of Kibbeh, Mujaddar and Labneh, just in the last couple of days.
My stomach thanks you, Sister.
I am also fortunate enough to have a sister who is an excellent cook of Lebanese food. In just a few days, I have feasted on home made Babaganoush, Hummus, zattar pita, Lubi, chanclish, with slight additions of Kibbeh, Mujaddar and Labneh, just in the last couple of days.
My stomach thanks you, Sister.
Looking around, I see how easy I can falter on this road to good health. A bag of Pita Chips whether it says natural or nothing added to it, has over 1200 calories, you can walk those calories away, in nearly five hours but you will never can walk away from the harm done to your heart by the Palm Fruit Oil in them. Also think about Homeless Orang Utans!
Fresh food, organic when you can, a nice glass or two of wine (Life is too short to drink bad wine! Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough is excellent with Cuisine Libanaise!)..and most importantly,
eat with friends and schmooze a beezle and thus less stressed is your metabolism and able to digest food well.
I would guess that if you do strenous exercise such as Zumba rather than my brisk walking, you can burn twice as much calories. So one hour of Zumba will burn about 500 calories which is what you need, if you want to add that to your weight loss regimen.
Whatever exercise you do, do it regularly
Be truthful to yourself when it comes to food
As a rule, dont eat that which is not food, that which comes wrapped in plastic, that which contains preservatives, that which comes through your car window, it is not the calories in them that cause damage but the chemicals.
Eat with friends and family whenever you can. Eating alone or eating in moving vehicless are not good for your health, regardless of its caloric content.
Bon Apetit
Buen Provecho
