A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO PHYSICAL HEALTH & EATING

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO PHYSICAL HEALTH & EATING

Changes in weight occur mainly due to metabolic processes in the body. Catabolism, which breaks down resources and forms simpler substances e.g. Breakdown of sugar into CO2 and H2O And Anabolism, which gets simpler substances together to form complex processes e.g. storage of simpler sugars as oil/fat. The following is a list of simple, yet practical pieces of information to help choose which way to go.

1. Breathing: We are aerobic creatures. That is, we require oxygen to break down food and turn it into energy. Hence, efficient breathing leads to efficient break down of food. Breathing exercises such as yoga, pranayama and practicing conscious breathing throughout the day (including regular exercises) will therefore make one feel energetic and cause a balanced dispersion of energy and nutrients.

2. Water: The formula for breakdown of carbohydrates in aerobic organisms is often misrepresented as:

C6H12O6 + 6O2 -> 6CO2 + 6H2O

This creates a confusion, as it means that the carbohydrates are directly broken down using only oxygen. That is, if you breathe correctly, it will leave the body as CO2 and no weight will be gained. However, things are a bit more complicated than that. Here’s a simple-complex version of what really goes on:

6H2O + C6H12O6 + 6O2 -> 6CO2 + 12H2O

Therefore, food does not break down efficiently if there is less H2O (water). Not just that, with a lack of water, the body feels threatened and begins saving all its resources. As a result, it begins to aggregate the carbohydrates and begins to store them as fats and oils. So, drink enough water, in regular intervals. If you try to drink all the water in one go, it will either cause some kind of damage or just leave the body through sweat, and when you go to the toilet.

3. The Cost of Existence: A major part of energy gained through food is expended by (No, not by going to the gym.) existence! Yes, most of the calories burned by the body are due to passive existence. Just to sustain life. Our brain being the largest consumer of energy. So, if you can think, if you can utilize your brain in various ways, you can lose weight. This is why, reading will help you lose more late instantaneously than going to the gym.

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4. So, why should we exercise? If the above is true, then what’s the point of exercising? Well, the secret lies in the age-old formula of “success”:

BE x DO = HAVE

That is, if you want to HAVE success, you must BE capable of it and do things that bring you to success. If you are not capable enough, you need to put in more effort. If you are more than just capable, then you need to DO a lot lesser. But, there is an addition to the above formula:

DO x DO x TIME = BE

If you spend enough time doing something, it becomes a part of you. In terms of exercise, the more time you spend DOing aerobics, the higher your metabolic rate will BE. The more TIME you spend DOing strength training, the more your muscle mass will BE. Then, your body’s rate of burning energy will BEcome higher. So, exercise does not help you lose weight, the muscles and processes resulting from exercise will help you lose weight. Passively.

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5. Watchya eating? This is the modern bone of contention. Most of the diets and diet tips we receive today are about starving oneself, or eating expensive and tasteless things that either aren’t available in your region naturally, or are impractical to include in your regular diet. Our body and chemistry has hardly changed any from the last 50,000 years or so. Since the time Homo sapiens arrived first. So, why must our nutritional requirements? The ancient man ate what was available. The variety gave us the right nutrition, the daily activity kept our in-body food storage (oils and fats) in check.

Today, the food has been cross-bred/hybridized/genetically modified into grains, fruits & vegetables that are bigger, more colourful, sweeter, and… less nutritive than before. Since, bigger grains, fruits & vegetables means more carbohydrates (the greatest culprit for weight gain). So, our lives have become more sedentary, but our food has become more fattening. What can we do about it?

·???????Look for local foods that have been replaced by the newer foods and fads. Native species, older food habits, variety and cooking habits. Remember, the pressure cooker was invented to help cooking in the “regular” time (slow cooking) in low-pressure, high-altitude regions, such as the mountains. Slow cooking is still the more nutritive process.

·???????Food habits have been set in due to lifestyle adjustments. Not due to nutritional requirements. The whole, “3 square meals a day” thing is a lie. The ancient man ate what was available. Which, helped the body remain alert. Preventing any kind of complacency to set in. Hence, also preventing the body from storing anything unnecessarily. So, eat when it is necessary. Not because it is “time to eat”.

·???????The last point requires a dip into mindfulness and conscious practices. Studying the difference between what hunger feels like and being able to differentiate it from craving. One is an indication of what your body requires. The other is an indication of the unfulfillment of desire. This process is different for each one. But here’s an example to get you started. Should you feel hungry, try drinking a glass of water and observe for a few minutes. If you feel full, what you are experiencing is not hunger, but craving. If your hunger goes away, but you don’t feel full/bloated, you are hungry.

6. Foods of the 21st Century: The modern foods and food habits do more harm than good. Here are a few problems and a few directions (not a path) to work around them:

·???????Grains: We use mostly refined grains from the market. These grains lose a lot of important nutrients in the refinement process. Remember, white is not a natural colour of food. Food is meant to be colourful. due to various ions, minerals and so on. The whiter a food is, the higher that chance that it is processed.

·???????Sugar: The whiteness is and indication here too. The age-old conspiracy theory that fat makes one fat is a farce. Now that we know most of the metabolic processes working in the body, we know that sugar is what makes one fat. Whether it is glucose, or the artificial sweetener called saccharine. Our body and brain react to sugar much like a junkie reacts to cocaine. It is naturally and evolutionarily addicted. The ancient man required sugar as a boost before hunting, or as a cure after near-starvation, before the body is ready to ingest regular food. Practices and situations which are rare or implausible nowadays.

·???????Stimulants: Coffee and Tea are the workforce fuel of this age. Sure, they may give you the energy to work… temporarily. But together with sugar, they form a deadly boost-and-burnout combo. Hence, becoming addictive. They act as stimulants, burning your body’s energy more than normal, and then replacing it with exhaustion. Creating a craving for more, in its aftermath.

7. Salt, Spice and Subtlety: The modern foods are more about flavour than they are about nutrition. Which stimulates the senses, but does not necessarily help your health. This overload of senses conditions the mind to seek over-stimulation everywhere. Not just in food. From the definition of richness, to the evaluation of beauty. We have been conditioned to seek overstimulation everywhere. However, reducing salts, spice and sugar will make life seem duller for a bit (a week or 2, tops) but it will make life richer for you on the long run. You will begin to notice the beauty everywhere around you. You will begin to realize the difference between what is important to you than what you are socially conditioned to crave. You will begin to notice the subtle things. In food, and in life.