Shaivy Choubey

Hello Ziddis! One of the biggest factors that control our fitness quotient is our metabolism. Our metabolic rate is responsible for processing the food we eat. But is it constant throughout? No neither throughout your life nor throughout the year. Metabolism keeps changing as per the seasons. It is said that metabolism accelerates during the winter. Let us dive in to understand that better.

Metabolism Testing

Metabolism testing helps us understand how efficiently our body can convert food into energy. Testing your metabolism involves measuring:

• Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): The energy you burn while at rest.
• Thermogenic Response: The increase in calorie burn due to environmental factors like cold.

Getting this tested can give you a clearer picture of how to keep your metabolism at an all-time optimum level.

How to Boost My Metabolism During Winter

During winter, our body spends more energy in maintaining its core temperature. This process is known as thermogenesis as it generates heat in our body. This can speed up our metabolism as an added advantage. Here are other ways you could boost your metabolism during winter:

• Cold exposure by going on hikes and outdoor walks
• Exercising regularly, especially high-intensity interval training and strength-building workouts
• Maintain a fat-rich diet.
• Practice yoga

Metabolism Boosting Foods

Talking about ways to boost metabolism, some foods do it just the right way. Here are our top picks for you to help you boost your metabolic rate. To reap more benefits pair them up with exercising.

• Green teas
• Coffees
• Spicy food like pepper and jalapenos.
• Eggs, chicken and legumes which are rich in protein
• Nuts and dry fruits
• Omega-3-rich food like salmon
• Fit foods like protein bars
• Creatine to help boost your activity levels

Some of the best supplements can help you boost your metabolism too as an added advantage to their regular perks. Make sure you grab some from MuscleBlaze.

Metabolism Weight Loss

Do metabolism and weight loss go hand in hand? Most times it does. Moreover, having a good metabolic rate means your body only takes what is needed for your body. Winters can boost your metabolism but reduce your activity. To make sure you lose weight and not the game, use your metabolism to help you in your weight loss journey.

Here is how you can optimize your metabolism for weight loss

• Maintain a calorie-deficit diet plan.
• Stay hydrated.
• Add whole grains to stay energetic and fuller for longer.

High Metabolism Foods for a Winter Diet

Some foods can help you very well in boosting your metabolic rate. For this purpose, these are some foods you should include in your diet. Make sure these are a part of your winter special menu:

• Protein-rich foods like paneer, tofu, greek yoghurt, pulses and so on.
• Healthy fats like avocados, nuts and olive oil.
• Complex carbs like quinoa, whole grains and sweet potatoes.
• Herbal foods like lemon grass soup and green tea.
• Leafy greens like spinach and kale for more iron.

Takeaway

By making sure we are taking full advantage of how our metabolic rate is higher during winters, we can make sure to get fitter and for those hoping to lose weight, this would be a great chance. So step out there, challenge your body and reap the fruits of your hard work. Your body will thank you for pushing to the limits when the time is right! Stay fit, stay active!

Source: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/health-and-fitness/winter-metabolism-winter-weight-gain-12045341.html

Hello Ziddis! As we grow older, we feel a sense of fear about our health, body, fitness and many more fleeting things in life. Ageing is a natural process and should not be feared so much, so how to accept it without living under the fear of declining strength and mobility? Here’s what you need to know about getting stronger as you age.

What to Expect as You Age

Ageing is not always a pretty process. Your body starts growing sluggish and you feel less energetic day by day. Here’s what you could expect feeling as you age, so you won’t be caught off guard.

• Muscle Loss: In most cases, our muscle mass starts to reduce by 3-8% every ten years after the age of 30. This could affect our strength and mobility to a great extent.
• Bone Density Decline: This is something that everyone faces after the age of 40-50, but more so in women because of their physiological and hormonal changes. This could cause brittle bones and osteoporosis
• Joint Stiffness: The cartilage wears down and the joints may lose flexibility over time. This could impact your mobility.
• Slower Metabolism: Ageing could also lead to either rapid weight gain or weight loss because of the slowing down of our metabolism or loss of appetite

These changes may seem daunting, but incorporating strength and mobility training into your routine can counteract many of these effects.

Importance of Strength Training for Adults

Now that we know what to expect as we age, how do we make sure that we are at the top of our game when ageing does catch up with us? Two words- Strength Training. Strength Training is not just for bodybuilders and youngsters. It is a critical necessity for healthy ageing. Here is why:

• Preserve Muscle Mass: As we know ageing impacts our muscle mass so strength training is a good choice of workout for the same.
• Boosts Bone Health: Strength training helps bones to grow stronger which reduces the risk of osteoporosis.
• Improves Metabolism: When you build muscles, your metabolic rate grows healthily.
• Enhances Daily Functionality: As we age, we start to feel weaker doing daily chores as simple as carrying a bag full of groceries up a fleet of stairs. Strength training helps ensure that does not happen.
• Supports Mental Well-being: Physical activity releases endorphins, reducing stress and boosting confidence.

Strength Training Exercises

As you age it is important to age gracefully while respecting your body’s limitations. Hence, these strength training exercises for ageing are perfect:

• Squats: To help lower body balance and mobility.
• Push-ups: Helps your core and balance
• Deadlifts: A lower-weight deadlift could help your body to enhance balance and muscle mass.
• Planks: Excellent for core stability and back pain
• Rows (using dumbbells or bands): Helps strengthen your back and improve posture.

Strength Training at Home

You don’t need a gym to get stronger! Here’s how to get started at home:

• Use filled bottles or plant pots to lift.
• Squats don’t require any specific instrument but if you want to up your squats game, hold a weighted
• Invest in a good yoga mat for core exercises so you don’t hurt your knees
• Boost your wellness with Creatine Monohydrate so that you are pumped up for the lifts and weighted walks. You can invest in some basic weights to tie around your foot while you do your daily chores around your home. This helps build strength and improve your mobility.
• Take membership in online classes so that you hold yourself accountable even in the comfort of your home and follow online workout tutorials for guided sessions.

Resistance Training for Longevity

Why would you need resistance training when you are already training to be stronger? That is because your body will get trained using external resistances like a band. For adults, resistance training can:

• Improve joint health
• Keep the cartilage well-oiled
• Enhances your coordination
• Improves bone health.

Mobility Training: Stay Flexible

While you are building strength and getting stronger it is important to make sure your body is also flexible. Mobility training is important to improve your range of motion and reduce the risk of locking your joints or stiffness. Here are some things you could try.

• Dynamic stretches
• Yoga
• Pilates
• Foam rolling
• Balance drills like parvatasana
• Tai chi movements
• Taekwondo

It is important that you keep your head clear and your mind calm when you do mobility training, so try Ashwagandha capsules to help your mind along with your body.

Takeaway

Getting stronger as you age isn’t about defying nature; it’s about embracing it with purpose and care. By prioritizing strength and mobility training, you can maintain independence, enhance your quality of life, and enjoy the confidence that comes with feeling strong and capable. Start small, stay consistent, and celebrate your progress- you’ve got this!

Hello Ziddis! We give very little credit to one of the most effective workouts. Walking! Walking is one of the simplest and most effective ways to improve overall health. Haven’t we all tried to have 10k steps a day? But is it really that important to walk dedicatedly to complete 10k steps? Do you need to focus on walking for 1 hour or does a 10 min walk work too? Let us understand more about this!

Health Benefits of Walking

Walking has loads of benefits. It is known as a low-impact exercise but can help you in the long run. How? See for yourself: Helps your heart pump blood more efficiently.

• Regulates your blood pressure
• Improves your digestion and metabolism
• Reduces stress
• Lifts your mood by releasing endorphins
• Help burn calories
• Help maintain and lose weight.

Walking After a Meal

Walking after a meal is a practice deeply rooted in our tradition. If we follow our elders who stroll around the house after having a hearty meal, we could get the benefits of walking after a meal too. Like:

It helps maintain blood sugar levels, especially in people suffering from insulin resistance

• It is good for digestion
• Removes lethargy
• Reduces bloating
• Curbs acidity

Advantages of Walking After Dinner

A walk after dinner could be a ritual you follow every day. Here is why you should incorporate it:

• Light activity before bed can help you sleep better
• Relaxes your mood right before sleep
• Help reduce midnight cravings
• Do not let the fat settle on your tummy when you are in a dormant state for 7-9 hours.
• Improves digestion
• Supports gut function

Benefit of Walking 1 Hour a Day

In this long debate of whether walking 1 hour a day is important or not, here is how if you can fit it into your schedule it could be great for your health:

You can burn around 300 to 500 calories by brisk walking for 1 hour

• It helps your muscles build
• It improves your stamina
• It brings clarity into your mental space
• You feel more disciplined
• You can work more efficiently on self-care
• You get enough time with yourself.
• It helps you reach your steps goal.

10 Min Walk Benefits

If you are usually busy and can spare only 10 min, make sure you squeeze this 10 min walk to get the most benefits. Here is how it could help you:

• Studies suggest that right after a meal if you walk around for 10 minutes, you could successfully stabilize your blood sugar levels rather than a longer walk.
• 10 min walk can improve your glycemic control.
• It is ideal for your busy schedule so you don’t miss walking.
• It is a good step to build habits and start a routine.

Benefits of Walking Barefoot

Have you heard about grounding yourself? It is an act of walking barefoot on the ground to feel more connected to the earth. We often hear people say “Go touch some grass you will feel better” What does it mean? It means when you walk barefoot, your body enhances the benefits of walking. But please only try this in a clean environment to avoid allergies. Walking barefoot on the grass could be even more beneficial.

• Spiritually, it helps you connect with Mother Earth
• Mentally, it calms you down
• Psychologically, it reduces your stress levels.
• Physiologically, walking barefoot activates pressure points that help overall health.
• Cosmetically, it helps reduce inflammation in the body.

Takeaway

The point comes down to whether it is a 1 hour walk or 10 min walk or even multiple mini-walk sessions, getting into a habit of walking can improve your health exponentially. So to reap the benefits of walking start today itself. Your body will thank you for it. Make sure to wear comfy clothes like jogger pants and keep your drink handy in a shaker bottle. Make the most of the time you get with yourself while walking and stay mindful through your walk. You can also make it a colour walk to feel excited about the activity. The goal is not 10k steps the goal is to make sure you walk every day for yourself.

Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/walking/art-20046261