how to find your BMR?

BMR means Basal Metabolic Rate. It is used to estimate how many calories you should consume.By using a simple formula called the Harris-Benedict principle, you can assess your BMR.

• Women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

• Men: BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

• If you are sedentary : BMR x 1.2

• If you are lightly active: BMR x 1.375

• If you are moderately active (You exercise most days a week.): BMR x 1.55

• If you are very active (You exercise daily.): BMR x 1.725

• If you are extra active (You do hard labor or are in athletic training.): BMR x 1.9

Create a Calorie Deficit:
Lose at a Healthy Rate:

Your BMR is the amount of energy your body needs to function. Then, to lose weight, you'll need to cut calories or burn extra calories and shoot for a level lower than the results you get with this formula.

We use about 60 percent of the calories we consume each day for basic bodily functions such as breathing.Other factors that influence your BMR are height, weight, age and sex.

Step One : Calculate your BMR with the following formula:

Step two : In order to incorporate activity into your daily caloric needs, do the following calculation:

In order to lose weight, you must create a calorie deficit. It is easier and healthier to cut back your calorie intake a little bit at a time.

Every 3,500 calories is equivalent to 1 pound.

If you cut back 500 calories a day, you will lose 1 pound per week.

If you exercise to burn off 500 calories a day you will also lose 1 pound per week.

Ideally, you should do a combination of both, (e.g. cut back 250 calories; burn an extra 250 calories).

A healthy weight loss goal is to lose 0.5 to 2 pounds per week. Losing more than 2 pounds per week will mean the weight is less likely to stay off permanently. Never cut back to fewer than 1,200 daily calories without medical supervision. To find out how you are spending your current calorie intake, keep a detailed food diary for at least one week.

Making little changes like these will really add up in the long run.

Weight loss guidance

Always Think Fit:

First step in exercise is to always Think FIT. To make physical improvements, you need to work your body harder than usual. This is referred to as the overload principle. As your body becomes more conditioned, you need to increase the frequency, intensity, or time of your workouts in order to continue improving your fitness level.

• Frequency of exercise : How often you exercise. For beginners, consider starting with 2-3 sessions per week.
• Intensity of exercise : How hard you exercise. For example, the pace you walk or run, the amount of weight you lift, or your heart rate count.
• Duration of exercise : How long you perform an activity. "Time" can also refer to the number of sets or repetitions you perform in weight training.

Exercise Components:

1. Aerobic Exercise: Aerobic exercise increases the health and function of your heart, lungs, and circulatory system. Walking, jogging, cycling,swimming, aerobic dance, and stair climbing are examples of activities that use large muscle groups.
   
2. Strength Training: Strength training is the process of exercising with progressively heavier resistance to build or retain muscle. Unless you perform regular strength exercise, you will lose up to one-half pound of muscle every year of life after age25. Muscle is a very active tissue with high energy requirements, even when you are asleep, your muscles are responsible for over 25% of your calorie use. An increase in muscle tissue causes a corresponding increase in the number of calories your body will burn, even at rest.
3. Flexibility: Flexibility is a critical element of an exercise program but it is often overlooked. Stretching is important for a number of reasons; increases physical performance, decreases risk of injury, increases blood supply and nutrients to the joints, increases neuromuscular co-ordination, reduces soreness, improves balance, decreases risk of low back pain, and reduces stress in muscles.

Choosing an Exercise:

The best exercise is an activity that you enjoy enough to really pursue enthusiastically. Experiment with different forms of activity (cross training). Alternating new activities with old favourites will keep your enthusiasm high. Cross training also helps avoid injury due to repeatedly doing the same activity.

Here are some suggestions:

• Indoor (Facility) Activities: If the treadmill, stairmaster, rowing machine or stationery cycle doesn't excite you, sample some group activities that strike your fancy. Participate in a group cycling class, beat stress with yoga, find balance with martial arts, stay cool with indoor swimming, or kick some you-know-what with boxaerobics.
• At Home Activities: You don't need to join a gym to experience a variety of activities. Your local video store or library will carry a variety of fitness videos that allow you to workout in the privacy of your home. Some equipment may be required, depending on the activity you select. A few inexpensive pieces of equipment include a jump rope, a set of hand weights (preferably with weight plates that you can add and remove), Dyna-Bands or tubing, or a basic step (for step aerobics).
  If you enjoy working out at home then you may want to consider investing in a larger piece of equipment such as a treadmill, ski machine, stationery bicycle, or elliptical trainer.

Motivation is the Key Factor

Only one-third of those who begin an exercise program are still exercising by the end of their first year. The good news is that with some strategizing and planning, you can beat the dropout odds and make a successful transition to a lifestyle that incorporates exercise.

Here's some tips to help you stay motivated.

• Find a Fitness Partner: Studies show that exercise adherence is generally greater if the family or a friend is included in the commitment to exercise. Find a walking partner, play tennis with your spouse, or go rollerblading with the kids.

• Start an Exercise Log or Journal: An exercise log or journal is an excellent way to chart your progress and provide motivation. Nothing beats the feeling of success as you read through your accomplishments. Exercise logs can take on many forms; a calendar to record your workouts, a daily journal to record your feelings and goals, a computerized exercise log, or a log purchased at bookstore. The key is to select a log or journal that fits your needs and provides you the kind of information that is meaningful to you.

• Toss Your Scale: Ask yourself, "How often has stepping on the scale in the morning ruined my day?" If your answer is "often," consider whether or not you should give that little machine such power over you. The fact is that exercise should not revolve around a number on a scale. Exercise should be about making a commitment to your health and well being, weight loss is a natural side effect of that commitment.
• Dress the Part: Wear comfortable clothes appropriate for exercising, they will help you feel like working out. If you exercise at a gym put your exercise wear in a bag and set it beside the door the night before. When it's time to head out the door, all you have to do is grab your bag on the way out.
• Entertain Yourself: If you exercise alone, consider using a Walkman to listen to your favourite music or books on tape to help keep you entertained during your workout. Many pieces of exercise equipment have racks that fit onto the console to hold reading material. If you exercise at home, turn on some music or bring the television within viewing range.
• Evaluate Your Progress: It's a good idea to test your fitness level when you start and re-evaluate yourself every couple of months. There are a variety of fitness tests that you can administer yourself. Getting a body composition test is another great way to chart your progress and can be done every four to six months. The local YMCA or fitness club can perform this test at a minimal cost, even if you're not a member.
• Make Exercise Non-Negotiable: Think of exercise as something you do without question, like brushing your teeth or going to work. Taking the lifestyle perspective will help you make exercise a habit and will make you live a long and productive life hopefully keeping diseases associated with inactivity at bay.

Pinpointing health risks for overweight persons

Good way of pinpointing health risks for overweight persons:.

Waist to Hip Ratio determines distribution of body fat. More body fat in the upper body (chest and waist) suggests increased health risk for elevated triglycerides, high blood pressure, strokes, longer time to conceive, heart disease or diabetes. More fat in the lower body (hips and thighs) suggests fat loss is difficult.

1. Using a tape measure, measure the hips in inches (or centimeters) at the top of the hip bone on the right front of the body. This spot will be slightly lower than your belly button.
2. Next, measure the waist 1" (2.5 cm) above your belly button in inches (or centimeters).
3. Using these two measurement values, divide the waist reading (2) by the hip reading (1). This tells you where most of your body fat is located.

Apple shape (a ratio of .95 or greater) means your body fat is located above your waist which indicates a higher health risk for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and some cancers.

Pear shape (a ratio of less than .95) means your body fat is located below your waist which indicates a lower health risk, but fat located in the lower half of the body may be harder to lose during weight loss.

1. Change your eating habits (i.e. start eating smaller portions of food) before if you ate a full plate of food try eating 2/3 of a plate instead.

2.

o Substitute aspartame for sugar

o Try eating 3 or 4 smaller meals during the day rather than 2 large ones

o Eat your main large meal at midday with the other meals much smaller in content

o Don't eat heavy meals late in the evening as the body wont have time to digest it so it ends up stored as fat in your body.

o Balance your meals out during the day so in one day you have a mix of protein, carbohydrate and vitamins

o Drink lots of water during the day and before, during and after exercise, you should drink at least 8 big glasses of water per 24 hours

o Drink alcohol in moderation

o Stop smoking if you smoke or cut down

o Eat more fibre i.e. pulses grains nuts, pasta, brown rice, cereals, fresh fruit

o Eat more vegetables as part of your diet

o Eat less dairy products or choose those with less fat content i.e. cottage cheese

o Try steaming or poaching food instead of frying it, frying adds calories by the bucketful

o Cut down on Red meat and eat more lean or better still chicken and fish instead

o Use low fat oils in cooking i.e. sunflower, corn or Mazola

o Cut down on your salt intake, there are hidden salts even in tinned foods

o Try substituting carrots or fresh fruit instead of biscuits and sweetmeat when you have a craving for something in between meals.

o Drink semi or skimmed milk as opposed to full cream

Simply choose a diet which is low in fat and cholesterol, moderate in sugar and salt and high in fibre but at the same time has a variety of everything thus making it a balanced diet.

3. Start taking up regular aerobic (cardiovascular) exercise if you don't already (i.e. at least 3-4 times a week) This is aimed at those who want to burn fat and convert it into lean muscle, if your intention is to build muscle then you need a different routine based on heavier weights and less repetitions.

If you are in a gym and are starting off at unfit level and want to convert fat into lean muscle:

o Stretch your body in order to prepare it for activity (5 minutes stretches)i.e. side stretches, hamstrings, touch your toes etc etc.

o Do 10 minutes at easy pace on Cycle then 1 minutes rest then 10 minutes on rowing and 1 min rest and so on for each exercise machine you want to do.

o If you have weights then do 10 repetitions at a very light manageable weight, rest for 30 seconds and repeat this twice. So you do 3 sets of 10 repetitions at a light weight on each weight machine.

o Do the same for other weight machines taking only 1 minute rest in between each different weight exercise remember to use light weights

o Concentrate on cycling, rowing, stairmaster, stepper type machines, I don't recommend the treadmill simply because it puts a lot of strain on the joints, i.e. heels, ankle, knee. Jogging effectively can put 10 times the bodyweight force on the joints and should only be done on soft surfaces such as grass and with adequate cushioned footwear. That's why the treadmill is not to be recommended. The other aerobic machines put less stress on the joints.

o At the end of your program which should be about 40 minutes on average you need to cool down, try easy cycling for 3 minutes and then stretches after that.

It is very important to warm up before an exercise routine and to cool down after wards, this is so that you don't suffer from muscle soreness and tenderness after wards and besides it keeps the muscles and ligaments supple and with less chance of muscle tear and injury during a workout.

Remember muscles work better when they are warm.If you follow this program after a few weeks you will notice considerable improvement and will want to either increase the intensity, duration or weight in your program as it gets easier. Increase the reps to 20 for each exercise if you want to carry on getting leaner.

Remember to burn fat and get lean defined muscle do more repetitions at a less weight, to build heavy muscle and gain strength do less reps at a heavier weight.

Dry skin

Signs and symptoms..

Dry skin is often just a temporary problem — one you experience only in winter, for example — but it may be a lifelong concern. And although skin is often driest on your arms, lower legs and the sides of your abdomen, this pattern can vary considerably from person to person. What's more, signs and symptoms of dry skin depend on your age, your health status, your locale, the amount of time you spend outdoors, and the cause of the problem.

If you have dry skin due to normal aging, you're likely to experience one or more of the following:

• A feeling of skin tightness, especially after showering, bathing or swimming
• Skin that appears shrunken or dehydrated
• Skin that feels and looks rough rather than smooth
• Itching (pruritus) that sometimes may be intense
• Slight to severe flaking, scaling or peeling
• Fine lines or cracks
• Redness
• Deep fissures that may bleed

Commom causes

Most dry skin is caused by environmental exposures, such as:

• Weather. In general, your skin is driest in winter, when temperatures and humidity levels plummet. Winter conditions also tend to make many existing skin conditions worse. But the reverse may be true if you live in desert regions, where summer temperatures can top 110 F and humidity levels sink to 10 percent or less.
• Central heating and air conditioning. Central air and heating, wood-burning stoves, space heaters and fireplaces all reduce humidity and dry your skin.
• Hot baths and showers. Frequent showering or bathing, especially if you like the water hot and your baths long, breaks down the lipid barriers in your skin. So does frequent swimming, particularly in heavily chlorinated pools.
• Harsh soaps and detergents. Many popular soaps and detergents strip lipids and water from your skin. Deodorant and antibacterial soaps are usually the most damaging, as are many shampoos, which dry out your scalp.

Other factors

Other factors, including certain diseases, can significantly alter the function and appearance of your skin. These include:

• Psoriasis. This skin condition is marked by a rapid buildup of rough, dry, dead skin cells that form thick scales.
• Thyroid disorders. Hypothyroidism, a condition that occurs when your thyroid produces too little thyroid hormones, reduces the activity of your sweat and oil glands, leading to rough, dry skin.
• Alcohol and drugs. Alcohol and caffeine can visibly dry your skin. Prescription drugs such as diuretics, antihistamines and isotretinoin (Accutane) also have a drying effect.
• Dehydration. Severe diarrhea and vomiting, a high fever, profuse sweating during exercise or simply not drinking enough liquids can cause your body to lose more fluid than you take in. One of the first signs of dehydration is skin that has lost its elasticity.

Risk factors

Dry skin is a nearly universal problem, but certain factors make you more likely to develop tightness, flakiness and fine lines. These factors include:

• Your age. As you age, your skin tends to become drier because your oil-producing glands become less active. Your complexion can appear rough and dull. The lack of oil also causes cells to clump together in flakes or scales.
• Your sex. Although everyone's skin changes with age, a man's skin tends to stay moist longer than a woman's does. Men experience a relatively small decrease in oil production until well into their 80s, whereas women's skin tends to become much drier after menopause.
• Sun exposure. Like all types of heat, the sun dries your skin. Yet damage from ultraviolet (UV) radiation penetrates far beyond the top layer of skin (epidermis). The most significant damage occurs deep in the dermis, where collagen and elastin fibers break down much more quickly than they should, leading to deep wrinkles and loose, sagging skin (solar elastosis). Sun-damaged skin may have the appearance of dry skin.

Complications

Dry skin that's not cared for can lead to:

• Dermatitis (eczema). This condition causes redness, cracking and inflammation.
• Folliculitis. This is an inflammation of your hair follicles.
• Cellulitis. This is a potentially serious bacterial infection of the skin's underlying tissues that may enter the lymphatic system and blood vessels.

These complications are most likely to occur when your skin's normal protective mechanisms are severely compromised. For example, severely dry skin can cause deep cracks or fissures, which can open up and bleed, opening the way for invading bacteria.

How do I treat dry skin?

Drink plenty of water throughout the day.Moisturizers work well to treat dry skin. Choose a moisturizer that is hypoallergenic (it should say so on the label). Thick, greasy moisturizers work best. Avoid products with alcohol. Apply just after a bath or shower, when your skin is still damp.

Put a moisturizer on your skin 3 or 4 times during the day. Put moisturizer on right after you wash or bathe. This will hold in the moisture from the water. If you have very dry hands, put petroleum jelly on them before you go to bed at night and sleep with your hands in cotton-lined gloves.

Changing your bathing habits can also help. If you bathe too often, it may dry out your skin. Try to take short, lukewarm baths or showers. Oatmeal baths (one brand name: Aveeno) may be soothing to dry skin. After a bath or shower, pat your skin dry don’t rub and put a moisturizer on your skin right away. Try mild cleansers like Aveeno or Cetaphil or mild soaps like Neutrogena or Dove.

Apply cool compresses to itchy areas, and try over-the-counter cortisone creams or lotions if your skin is inflamed. If this is not enough, talk to your doctor about possible prescription lotions.

When should I see my doctor because of itchy skin?

Dry, irritated skin is more likely to get infected. Infected skin is red, warm and swollen. It may ooze fluid. You may need antibiotics to get rid of this kind of infection.

Severe itching or pain, especially in older adults, sometimes is caused by a serious medical problem. Call your doctor if you are an older person who has severe itching or

Effective Habits for Effective Study

You can prepare yourself to succeed in your studies.
Try to develop and appreciate the following habits:
· Take responsibility for yourself:
Recognize that in order to succeed you need to make decisions about your priorities, your time, and your resources

· Center yourself around your values and principles:
Don't let friends and acquaintances dictate what you consider important

· Put first things first:
Follow up on the priorities you have set for yourself, and don't let others, or other interests, distract you from your goals

· Discover your key productivity periods and places:
Morning, afternoon, or evening?
Find spaces where you can be the most focused and productive. Prioritize these for your most difficult study challenges

· Consider yourself in a win-win situation:
When you contribute your best to a class, you, your fellow students, and even your teacher will benefit. Your grade can then be one additional check on your performance

· First understand others, then attempt to be understood:
When you have an issue with an instructor (a questionable grade, an assignment deadline, etc.) put yourself in the instructor's place. Now ask yourself how you can best make your argument given his/her situation

· Look for better solutions to problems:
For example, if you don't understand the course material, don't just re-read it. Try something else! Consult with the professor, a tutor, an academic advisor, a classmate, a study group.

· Look to continually challenge yourself

Time Management

Strategies on using time:

Develop blocks of study time:
About 50 minutes? How long does it take for you to become restless?
Some learners need more frequent breaks

One goal is to help yourself become aware of how you use your time:
as one resource in organizing, prioritizing, and succeeding in your studies
in the context of competing activities of friends, work, family, etc.

Determine how you spend a typical 24-hour day: Time schedule

• Schedule weekly reviews and updates.
• Prioritize assignments:
  When studying, get in the habit of beginning with the most difficult subject or task
• Develop alternative study places free from distractions
  to maximize concentration
• Got "dead time"?
  Think of using time walking, riding, etc. for studying “bits”
• Review studies and readings just before class
• Review lecture material immediately after class
  (Forgetting is greatest within 24 hours without review)
• Schedule time for critical course events
  Papers, presentations, tests, etc.

Develop criteria for adjusting your schedule
to meet both your academic and non-academic needs:

Effective aids:

• "To Do" list
  Write down things you have to do, then decide what to do at the moment, what to schedule for later, what to get someone else to do, and what to put off for a later time period
• Daily/weekly planner
  Write down appointments, classes, and meetings on a chronological log book or chart.
  If you are more visual, sketch out your schedule
  First thing in the morning, check what's ahead for the day
  always go to sleep knowing you're prepared for tomorrow
  

Why a healthy weight is important !

Healthy weight

If your BMI or your waist measurement is above the healthy range, you're at increased risk of a number of serious medical conditions, especially heart disease and diabetes. You're also more likely to suffer from joint problems and back pain, and you may find you become breathless and may have difficulty sleeping.

The more weight you gain, the more severe these problems may become. The good news is that losing weight will alleviate many of these problems.

Weight Loss

Losing weight is about eating fewer calories than you burn off in your everyday life. Try to make small but permanent changes to your lifestyle, rather than opting for a dramatic new diet. You may lose weight more slowly, but you'll reduce the chances of regaining it again later.

Most doctors recommend that, on average, you should aim to lose no more than 1kg (2lb) a week.

“If your weight stays the same for a week or two, don't abandon all you've achieved”

Some weeks you may lose more weight than others. As long as your weight is continuing to decrease overall, there's no need to worry. If your weight stays the same for a week or two, don't abandon all you've achieved; instead, focus on the amount and type of foods you are eating and try to be a little more active.

Losing five per cent of your initial body weight in three months, or ten per cent in six to 12 months, is an excellent start. Reward yourself with a special treat - a beauty treatment, a new item of clothing or even a bunch of fresh flowers can all mark your success.