June's here and everybody's sniffing, coughing, sneezing and just generally sub-optimal. You don't have to be a victim of the cold weather. Play your cards right and you won’t only survive the winter but potentially thrive in it! Here's how:
Personal hygiene & skin protection Wash your hands with soap 🧼 at every opportunity. Do this for at least 20 seconds while remembering to scrub under your fingernails and you can be reasonably assured that you've removed most germs and viruses that you may have been exposed to. Moisturize your hands when you're done and don’t forget to place some vaseline on your crusty lips 👄 . For people like me that have eczema and general dry body syndrome you should invest in a good moisturizer like CeraVe or E45 (available at PicknPay) before the winter transforms you and your skin into a different species. It's a very dry season and the cold air tends to draw out the moisture from your skin so guard against it. Sleep 😴 Create a warm, cozy environment and sleep more. Ensure that you go to bed warmly dressed. Tip: Winter socks are absolute gold - find them, buy them and use them. These tips extend to married folk too. Get your mamina under control before you start thinking about other things. You might also want to consider spending some money on a weighted blanket to increase the heat and comfort in your bed. Incorporate more citrus fruits Any orange or yellow colored produce such as oranges 🍊 , naartjies, lemons 🍋 as well as any other fruits you can get your hands on will help a great deal in providing your vitamin needs and lifting your immunity. Supplements 💊 With the sun taking a vacation you might want to consider a vitamin D supplement to support your immune system. If you're male it'll likely do a lot more for you and go a looong way with other things. For those averse to supplements consider exposing yourself to whatever little sunlight you have available for 15 to 20 minutes daily or consume your vitamin D through vegetables that absorb it such as the darker vegetables like spinach and/or fortified dairy products. Other optional supplements to consider include a multivitamin pill that'll act as an insurance policy for any gaps in your nutrition. If you'd rather not engage in pill popping then have a serving of varying fruit and vegetables with every meal. Other useful tips:
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Winter's here 🥶and it's been brutal! The cold temperature changes can adversely impact positive health and wellness habits real quick but I'm hoping to keep you on track with your fitness goals. Here's how you can manage yourself:
Intermittently fast Can't get out the blankets? Choose to intermittently fast and skip breakfast to compensate for the lack of activity in the morning. Eat according to what you intend on doing. If that's nothing then place your mouth on the same abstinence schedule. The general idea is to force your body to sustain itself off your fat reserves. The jiggly components on your body consisting of your belly, thighs and love handles are all fat reserves. Intermittent fasting melts away any excess fat that you don't want. I highly recommend it! Watch your fluid intake Nothing beats a hot cup ☕ of anything on a cold, miserable day but consuming multiple cups with multiple tablespoons of sugar and honey WILL pack on the pounds. Opt for green tea 🍵 as your first choice hot beverage option and senna tea every now and then . Green tea will help you lose fat by stimulating your metabolism and slowing down your absorption of carbohydrates while senna tea will help you poop more 💩. ⚠️ Note: Senna should only be considered as a short term remedy to keep things moving and not as a daily tea option. If you prefer other teas then consider sweeteners such as stevia (available at Umoyo) ahead of sugar. As for honey, it isn't a get out of jail free card because if you over-indulge you will get fat. Watch yourself on those honey and lemon tea combinations. Home-based workouts Home-based workouts are a viable solution to your winter troubles. You can follow a structured program such as P90x or Insanity (available on Beach Body) or engage in simple interval training such as Seven right from the comfort of your warm home environment. If you’re too lazy to work out at the gym or go running every morning, you can always exercise at home. You can skip the gym, but there’s no need to skip the workout. Hit the Gym After Work or Over Your Lunch Break Just in case you don't feel motivated to leave your bed in the morning finding time over your lunch break or after work might work out better for you. You'll have a bit more time to adapt to the weather and get on with it. Befriend Your Bathroom Scale Remember that scale in the corner of your bathroom? Put some respect on it and bring it back to the centre of your bathroom and use it daily. Best done first thing in the morning after using the restroom. This practice will keep you well aware of any undesirable changes in body weight while you hibernate. Armed with this knowledge you can make an informed decision: Either you start doing some activity or turn your head from left to right every time food is offered to you. The winter provides you with an opportunity to hide what you're not happy with under various layers of clothing, summer does not. Avoid surprising yourself! Supplementary reading: Diet Ya Njala Restarting Your Fitness Journey The 5 Minute Myth Sleep Hygiene Sleep restores the body physically and mind mentally and emotionally. You need sleep to ensure that your mind and body operates optimally and your general mood is properly calibrated. An absence of memory recall, mental agility na ka temper temper is usually as a result of premature ejection from the blankets and hunger (in some cases). Sleep benefits Sleep is thought to help keep the immune system strong and the heart and blood vessels healthy. It allows for growth and healing, and helps control appetite and weight. Sleep also promotes creativity, attention, memory and learning. Sleep stages Sleep has 4 stages, 3 of which are non-REM (rapid eye movement) and the last being REM sleep. During stage 1, you are transitioning between being awake and asleep, and wake easily. During stage 2 your body temperature and heart rate starts to drop and your muscles relax as you fall into a slightly deeper sleep. During stage 3 you're in deep sleep with your body fully subdued and relaxed. At stage 4 (REM) rapid eye movements begin, your brain's activity increases as well as heart rate and blood pressure and most of your dreaming occurs. Dreams are considered important for learning and creating new memories. A complete sleep cycle comprises of all 4 stages of sleep with each cycle lasting an average of 90 minutes. How much sleep do you need? Most adults need about 8 hours of sleep per night which is roughly 5 sleep cycles. Some people can cope with less but that doesn't make it ideal or optimal. Test different sleeping hours and pay attention to things such as your mood, appetite control, memory and general alertness. Settle for the number of hours where you feel your best without forcing things or playing mind games. Generally speaking and without encouraging laziness, the more sleep cycles you can get in the better. How can you sleep better?
Do everything you can to level up your sleep game and it'll pay dividends if you stick with it. Your mental sharpness will skyrocket, emotional balance will maintain equilibrium and physical wellbeing will improve. Everyone has likely found themselves in a corporate building or shopping mall having to take the stairs because the elevator wasn’t working. If you're out of breath and cursing the engineers and the schools they went to then just know that you're letting yourself go. Life gets busy sometimes but you need to get back on track with your health and fitness. I want to show you how.
Make exercise the first order of business Go for a run/walk 🏃🏿♂️ 🏃🏾♀️ first thing in the morning or hit the gym 🏋🏾♂️ for a strong start to your day. Those afraid of getting slapped while exercising in the morning can opt to join the Lusaka Fitness Squad for group running sessions. If you don't have the discipline or experience to exercise on your own then consider guided classes such as aerobics with Lubasi (0969-900786), spin class with Twambi over at lifestyle gym or boot camp over at Go-Go Fitness. If you want personalized attention and encouragement then Joe (0978786307) has got you covered with personal training services to whip you back in shape. Whatever you decide to do just get it done as the first order of business before the spirit of laziness gets a chance to overwhelm you. And most importantly remember to have fun with it! You won’t be consistent if you engage in activities you don’t enjoy. Consider joining a recreational sports team/club Social soccer ⚽️ at the Barca Academy is good keep-fit option to consider for those that didn’t quite make it pro😅. Whatever team you decide to join will likely play a couple times a week and that's sufficient for a start (>0) and most certainly better than no activity at all. Your employer might even be paying for your recreational activities so join the madalas for free and run around a little. Alternatively you could sign up for golf ⛳️ . I'm not entirely convinced about the merits of golf as a sport but it does allow for a fair bit of walking 🚶🏾♂️ and for the opportunists among us, a chance to network. Purchase a home workout program such as insanity or P90x All you need is money and a TV and you can follow guided fitness sessions at a time and place of your convenience. I strongly suggest doing this in the morning before breakfast as any time after that is more of a gamble. Get active before someone spoils your day and sends you straight into your blankets 😤 🛌 after work. Available for purchase and streaming on Beach Body. Clean up your nutrition 🍽 🥦 🍌 🥛 Eating better and nourishing your body in a manner that aligns with your body goals doesn't require a complete kitchen overhaul. Small adjustments add up to big results over time. Tips on how to do this include:
Sleep adequately 😴 Aim to have better quality and quantity sleep by targeting 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Poor sleep in terms of quality and quantity has been linked to hormonal imbalances, and subsequent poor mood, appetite control and weight gain as well as a compromised immune system. Neglecting sleep is self-sabotage. Nga taule nchetekela kepushe ba Google 💻 . Dropping a dress size or getting rid of that belly doesn't have to be a long drawn out, punishing process that only the tough among us can endure. It could really be as simple as adding more of one specific nutrient to your diet: fiber. What is fiber? Fiber is an indigestible carbohydrate that passes through the digestive tract relatively undigested. There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber moves through your digestive tract and it absorbs water to create a gel-like substance. This has a softening effect on your stool. Insoluble fiber is essentially roughage that does not dissolve in water, but absorbs it, helping to form bulkier poop and improve elimination. Overall, fiber intake helps reduce your risk for constipation, haemorrhoids (you don't want these, trust me), and some forms of cancer while also stabilising blood glucose levels, lowering total blood cholesterol, increasing fullness and delaying hunger and finally, improving gut health and immunity Easy-to-find food sources of fiber:
Some tips for increasing fiber:
Conclusion Fiber has a myriad of benefits and on the weight loss front fiber is king. There's no better appetite suppressant or cravings killer that can outdo fiber. Get yours in and you'll literally be flushing away the excess weight 🚽 💩. ⚠️ Warning: For those unaccustomed to high fiber intake you'd be wise to incorporate more lemon water and/or a probiotic supplement or probiotic containing food or drink such as yoghurt or kombucha to combat the gas 💨 you'll likely experience. The effects of gas tend to wear off with time so this recommendation is for those that would rather not wait 😄. What makes a man a MAN? Testosterone. That bass in your voice, that hair on your chin and chest, that drive and motivation, that macho-man aggression, and those few hints of muscularity on your body are driven by this hormone. Testosterone is impacted by age, nutrition and lifestyle. You can't do anything about Father time but you can certainly make adjustments to your nutrition, lifestyle and training. I want to share what I’ve done to record higher testosterone levels in my 30s than I did in my 20s 🤯 insane but true. Listen up.
Lifestyle Sleep 😴 for a minimum of 8 hours every night. Testosterone is produced in your sleep and it’s output is displayed in your morning glory. More and better quality sleep aids it’s production and ensures more glorious days ahead 🦁 . You're not Elon Musk or Steve Jobs and there's really nothing you're doing when you're up late so prioritize sleeping more. If you smoke, stop. Shisha, cigarettes 🚬 and weed - lekefyo. Little Jimmy won’t stand up? Blame it on the smokes 💨 cutting off circulation . If you drink 🍺 , do so in moderation (x2 beers per day). Alcohol crashes test levels and elevates estrogen. That big belly? Blame it on the alcohol providing you with excess calories. Reduce your stress levels 😔. Stop trying to be superman; you can't be a hero for everyone and save them from their problems. Stress causes an elevation in the stress hormone cortisol and sustained or frequent elevations in cortisol subsequently reduce testosterone. Nutrition Keep doing whatever it is that you're doing but pay particular attention to your fat intake. You must look to increase this. When it comes to testosterone, fat is your friend. Look into incorporating things such as a fatty fish 🐠 , nuts 🥜 and nut butters, full fat dairy milk 🥛 or cheese 🧀 (choose ONE), avocado 🥑 , whole eggs 🍳 , chia seeds, olives 🫒 and olive oil (when cooking or alternatively you can consider throwing a tablespoon of it into your smoothie - you won't taste a thing!). Personally avocado is my go to, as well as placing the seed options in my smoothies and having nuts as snacks. Avoid estrogen containing products, mainly soy and soy related products such tofu and soy milk. Growing breasts as a man? That's a sign of excess estrogen. Estrogen goes up and testosterone goes down. Limit your overall sugar intake. Watch the sodas and consider drinking sugar free options instead to avoid increased fat storage from excess energy intake. Plain old water is the best. Training It's simple really, lift heavy things up and put them back down. Repeat this action 3-5 times per week for 30-60 minutes and you're all set. Strength training takes priority over cardiovascular training. Vo tamanga tamanga (running 🏃🏿♂️) won't help your testosterone unless you're overweight. If you're overweight consider incorporating both strength training and cardiovascular activity for accelerated results in the weight loss department. High Intensity interval training is a great option for those short on time. Supplements to consider:
⚠️ Low testosterone is associated with:
⭐️ Supplementary reading: Men's Health African King Ever attended a poop party by force? Don’t want to talk about it? Cool. I’ll talk about my experience on the dance floor of a foreign bathroom. In my younger years I remember visiting a friend’s home when a riot abruptly broke out in my stomach soon after arrival. I composed myself, asked where the bathroom was and made my way there. Got there in one piece and attempted to negotiate peace with my unsettled stomach but diplomacy had failed and missiles launched the moment I took a seat 💩 🚀 . The war was over in a matter of seconds! I breathed a sigh of relief and reached out for toilet paper, dressed up and attempted to flush………NO WATER 💦 😨 kwa bene imwe! Nati kwasila na onekela! To add insult to injury right at that very moment someone was knocking because they too needed to use the bathroom. Hmmm. Anyway, ma detail ya paka so I’ll end here. What I want to share with you is that you don’t have live this same story and literally find yourself in a shitty situation. You don’t have to be at war with your bowel movement. You can regulate and influence when you need some ‘alone time’ before you sebanya yourself pa bantu. How?
Higher levels of activity helps move things along faster so get going for 30-60 minutes daily with whatever activity it is that you enjoy doing. I’m yet to find a constipated runner, or at least one that’s experienced sustained constipation.
If things aren’t happening then you need to look into your fiber intake. Fiber is undigested carbohydrates that add the bulk to your poop and help push waste out. Things such as your weetabix, bran flakes, brown rice, wholegrain pasta and bread, beans, yoghurt, vegetables and fruit (apples, pears, mangoes and guava in particular) are tremendously helpful. For those that don’t like these these basic and common options then consider adding snacks like popcorn 🍿 or tamarind to your already existing meal preferences. NB: I personally consider the regularity of my bowel movement as an indication of the quality of foods I’ve been consuming in the recent past. Your body will respond to how you feed it and for me constipation is rebellion.
Quantity, type as well as the temperature of the fluid you consume has a big say on bowel movement. Quantity = the more the better. Ultimately fluid acts as a lubricant so unless you like pressure on a toilet seat I suggest that you increase your intake. 40mls x your body weight is good place to start. Type = plain water 💦 , black coffee ☕️ , green tea 🍵 , mabisi (fermented milk 🥛) plus any other drink that contains kawawasha (tamarind) are great bowel support options. Temperature = warm beverages loosen things up and help lubricate. Don’t believe me? Try drinking a warm beer. 👆🏾This is generic advice so find what combination works for you. Below is what I do specifically to ensure bowel movement 💩 as the first order of business every morning as I flush yesterday’s problems: Upon waking up I’d take a small cup of moringa tea (brewed 5-10 mins in hot water) + 500mls of plain warm water with sliced lemon. It takes about 30 minutes flat (or less) till detonation 💣 . I start my days ‘unburdened’, unshackled and unleashed every day, you should too. Don’t let nothing weigh you down in life 😌. Bonus life tip: Always check the water levels before you rush to answer the call of nature! Especially when you’re in an environment other than home. Conclusion I don’t have to tell you about the benefits of regular visits to the bathroom because you know exactly how off your game you feel when you’ve been a stranger. Prioritize ensuring that what you put in your mouth consistently finds its way out the other side and you’ll not only thrive in life but also avoid finding yourself in compromising situations. You should determine when it’s ‘time to go’ because if you wait on the call of nature you may only belatedly realize that a busy tone is not possible and you might not have toilet paper or water to mitigate an impending disaster! ⭐️ Supplementary reading: I was recently decommissioned by a flu I initially didn't pay much attention to. Mwebantu It was a humbling experience! I'm back up and running and I realized that all the things I was doing to boost my immunity could be of benefit to others to not only combat flu but prevent it showing up.
This is what I did: Restructured my nutrition
The general idea is increased fruits and vegetables intake, eating more home-made standard foods as opposed to canned goods and processed foods and elimination of soda 🥤. Modified my fluid intake I made amendments to the fluid temperature and volume of fluid consumed daily. The coldest fluid I'd consume would be at room temperature and I increased my overall fluid intake to 4 liters per day (0.40 x body weight to calculate your own requirements). Made lifestyle adjustments
All these things are what I did and continue to do to sustain my immunity. I encourage you to consider adopting a few of these things. Don't wait for mamina to roll down to your upper lip before grabbing an orange 🍊 . Still buzzing from the African King release I was informed by fellow gym mates that they now knew my secret! That I’m not natural! Ni jabba💉 because I use supplements 😧 🤣. I feel compelled to clear the air and draw a line between supplements and steroids. Supplements Dietary supplements are ingredients added to a nutrition protocol to enhance or complete it. These are typically vitamins, minerals, amino acids and herbs. You should consider supplements if you have a deficiency i.e. if you’re vegan, or if it’s more convenient for you to reach your macronutrient goals this way i.e. whey protein for daily protein targets, or you simply want a little help to get you to your goals faster i.e. fat burners and appetite suppressants. Steroids These are the synthetic form of the male dominant hormone testosterone. Testosterone is present in both men and women but in varying amounts. There’s more in men. It’s what makes you a man. Ka ndevu 🧔♂️, aggression, motivation and drive, sexual desire and the ability to pack on muscle. Signs of possible steroid use
Conclusion Supplements are not miracle ingredients but they do offer a small boost to help you get to your goals faster if your budget allows. Want to feel like more of a man without jabbing? Consider creatine monohydrate, pre-workout and a credible test booster. Outside of that, the secret is hard work and consistency. Chapwa. Steroids will take you to another level but all that comes with side effects and adverse health issues. The decline is just as dramatic as the rise. Supplementary reading: Supplement playbook Men’s health African King I was once recommended a book by someone that fundamentally changed everything for me and helped me appreciate the law of attraction. That book was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho 📖 ✨. As we embark on a new year 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣2️⃣ it’s a book that I view as compulsory reading for anyone with ambitious (and scary 😟) new year’s resolutions. I want to share useful concepts in the context of common goals set by most people at the start of every year in order to help you achieve them. Resolution: Get in shape/get a 6 pack/run a marathon/lose weight etc. Body goals will always make a resolutions list. Alchemy fix: Visualize it before you achieve it. See your body as the final product that you want it to be. Thoughts become things and the world will conspire to make it happen. Additionally, you must strive to be consistent with your training sessions. If any excuses you have wouldn’t be acceptable for missing work👨🏾💻 they shouldn’t be acceptable for missing training sessions🏃🏿♂️. Use fitness trackers to keep you honest and accountable. Supporting quote 1 - "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." Supporting quote 2 - “People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.” Resolution: Live life to the fullest Alchemy fix: You need to do more of what makes you happy and less of what others expect of you. Do not be a conformist if it means betraying yourself. Be authentic to you, live for you and 'remind yourself that nobody's built like you; you design yourself'. Supporting quote - "Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own." Resolution: Get organized and elevate Alchemy fix: the key to getting organized and the subsequent elevation it attracts is knowing what you want and finding the courage to go after it. We all have varying goals and ambitions ranging from completing a degree (or passing ZIALE), getting promoted, starting a business etc. What separates achievers from dreamers is taking action and believing it can be done. Supporting quote - "There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve, the fear of failure." Supporting quote 2 - "It is this, that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That’s the world’s greatest lie." Supporting quote 3 - “It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” Resolution: Give up drinking/quit smoking/other bad habits Alchemy fix: You know what you want so consider how drinking and smoking figures in your plans. The instant gratification these substances provide delay progression. Clean up and go at life sober minded one day at a time 👉🏾 'I will not smoke or drink today.' Repeat this action every day until abstinence is no longer a conscious decision. As for other less than useful habits know that if it’s not helping you then it’s hurting you. Your quality of life is oftentimes a direct result of the habits you kick and retain. Supporting quote - “When you can't go back, you have to worry only about the best way of moving forward.” Resolution: Find Happiness Alchemy fix: The key to enjoying life does not lie in making major life changes, but in actively enjoying your life as it is. Meditate 🧘🏾♂️ more as it will help you become more present and adapt you to pay attention to very subtle things. The little joys in life are what consolidate to provide sustained contentment. Adopt an attitude of gratitude to help with positive realignment, increased optimism and emotional balance. You can journal and list out things you're grateful for or pray just to say thank you every so often. Happiness is a deliberate decision that you need to make every day because ‘even on your worst day you live like somebody on their greatest’. Supporting quote 1 -"When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises." Supporting quote 2 - Because I don’t live in the past or the future. I’m only interested in the present. If you can concentrate on the present, you’ll be a happy man. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living right now. Supporting quote 3 - “Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.” Bonus resolution: Spend less time on social media Alchemy fix: You can replace this habit with spending more time on Roadrunner Zambia 😁. In summary, alchemy is about penetrating the soul of the world and discovering the treasure that has been reserved for you. When we strive to be better, everything around us becomes better, too. Key quotes/interactions and interpretations from the book
Supplementary reading: 2020 Finish line 2021 Dream Work Pray Happiness Ni We Mwine Kaja Ka Voice |
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