Robust You

It's another rainy Thursday afternoon. I wanted to curl up in my bed, have a mug of hot chocolate on my side while reading a romantic comedy- novel written by one of my favorite novelist, but dang! I got loads of work to do and my four month old niece is feeling the urge to cry nonstop while his parents are running some errands. I cant concentrate my mind is wondering somewhere else as I watch the raindrops hit my window glass.

People have different feelings about rainy days. Some see it as an opportunity to slow down in whatever they are doing. Some are not happy when it rains because they can’t do much. But rather than sulk and feel gloomy when it’s raining, why don’t you seize it as the time to do fun things. There are a host of activities you can enjoy even on rainy days.

True enough, with your busy schedule, you hardly find time to bond with your kids. On rainy days, you can get your kids to help out in the kitchen to prepare a rainy day recipe for the family. Use the time you are not working – because it’s raining, to teach your kids how to cook or bake. By involving them in the process of cooking or baking, you also build their interest in what goes into their bodies. You can teach them about healthy foods which they should eat, and enjoy the shared activity altogether.

Everyone feels lazy to get up during rainy days. Who wouldn’t? It’s the best time to curl up in bed and enjoy an extended sleep. Or better yet, grab a book and enjoy reading with the drizzling sound of the rain as your background. Or, you can spend the entire day, curled up in bed while watching your favorite movie or TV series. You won’t even notice that the day has passed.

Rainy days are the best time for family to bond together because everyone stays at home with nothing interesting to do outdoors. What activity can you possibly enjoy doing with the entire family other than the usual card or board games? Why not engage the kids to an indoor treasure hunt game? Let the kids hunt the treasure by finding one clue to the next until is they find the prize. Make sure you prepare interesting objects as clue so that the kids will be excited to find the next clue.

Who says rainy days are boring? Not if you can organize a dress-up cum fashion show in the living room. Ask your kids – boys and girls, to choose their best attire and be ready to compete with each other for a prize in the end. You can make it more interesting by capturing everything on video so you can play back and watch together after the fashion show.

When it’s not raining, everyone in the house is busy with their individual activities. Kids are busy with school stuff while you and your partner are busy with work or business. Rainy days are the opportune time to take advantage of the available time to sleep more and regain all the energy lost while working. In order to stay undisturbed by kids, make a rule that no one gets out of bed until the set and specified time. This shouldn’t be a problem because your kids will likely stay in bed longer than you during rainy days.

Have you ever wondered why, despite following every celebrity diet program known to man and trying every kind of workout, you couldn't shake the excess pounds off, or why they keep on coming back? Why you can’t yank your favorite pair of skinny jeans past mid-thigh, when they used to fit you like a glove? Chances are, your bad habits are sabotaging your goal of having a beach body. If you don’t like what the scale tells you, don’t blame it. If your jeans give you a muffin top, don’t blame them.

Blame these bad habits and break them.

Going on Starvation-Mode - Some people think that eating less, eating like rabbit, or skipping meals is tantamount to weight loss. These are common but wrong perceptions. Skipping meals, especially breakfast, slows your metabolism down and will most likely cause you to snack throughout the day to boost your energy level. Doughnuts, muffins, and other high-calorie, high-fat treats become more appealing when your body is screaming for sugar.

Instead, eat small portions of nutritious foods throughout the day. Not only will they give you the proper nourishment that your body needs to get you through the day, but they will also not make you feel deprived which can lead to overeating and poor food choices.

Not Getting Enough Sleep - When you stay up late for a movie marathon, you would most certainly end up having a bowl of popcorn on your lap, a box of greasy pizza on your coffee table, and a bottle of ice-cold beer in your hand - calorie-packed food that your body does not need before you sleep. Two appetite-regulating hormones are in play when you sleep late - leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is the hormone that stops you from eating while ghrelin tells you when to eat. When you are sleep-deprived, you have less leptin and more ghrelin. And you end up storing extra pounds in your body. Did I mention that your body burns calories during sleep?

Eat-And-Run - In the 21st century, we expect everything to be fast. Fast cars, quick delivery, high speed Internet connection, and of course, fast food. We live in such a fast-paced world that we don’t even have the time or patience to sit down, have a decent meal, and actually savor it. We just like to grab whatever is easily available and eat it as fast as possible. Eating meals should be a pleasurable experience, not merely a basic need to be met. Keep in mind that it takes at least 20 minutes for the stomach to let the brain know that it is full. Cutting your food into small pieces, chewing it at least 32 times before swallowing, and putting down the fork or spoon between mouthfuls are just some of the things that you can do to give your brain some time to catch up with your stomach.


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Size Matters - Since childhood, we were taught to finish everything on the plate before leaving the table. However, food portions in restaurants are getting bigger and bigger. We even have an option to upsize our drinks and fries in fast food restaurants. Food is served on large plates. The bigger the plate, the bigger the food portion is, and more often than not, we tend to eat everything. Sometimes, we eat with our eyes first. And since our eyes and brain cannot tell the difference between a large meal on a large dish and a small meal on a small plate, it’s better to choose the latter one. Also, we should let our stomach and brain tell us when we’re full instead of the amount of food left on our plate. Also, taking big bites or using bigger spoons will just cause you to eat more than what your body needs. Remember: bigger is not always better.

Multi-Tasking - Do you watch TV when you eat dinner? Snack on chips while working on a report or presentation? Drink cans of soda while playing video games? Did you answer yes to any or all of the questions above? And you’re still clueless on why you can’t get rid of the extra pounds?! When you are too absorbed in the latest episode of your favorite soap opera or reality show, you can’t fully concentrate on anything else that you’re doing, including eating. You probably won’t even remember what you ate and how much you've eaten. You pack on the pounds without even realizing it.