ParentWonder

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Health and Fitness

Tips on how to raise a happy and healthy family.

How I managed to run from zero to 7km without military style training

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Photo Credit: Living Fitness

When I first picked up running again in early 2017, I couldn’t even finish a one-kilometer run without stopping. I panted like fish out of water.

If you know me I am the least athletic person of all. When I was younger, I had always envied my friends who could run fast, jump high, play good basketball or football or volleyball. It’s never in my genes to be a leisure runner, let alone a competitive sportsman.

But I persisted.

Slowly, over a period of a few weeks, I could run 1.5km. And then 2, then 3. [Read more…]

This is what I did to lose 5 kg in 6 months

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Dumbbell
Photo credit: BrotherM

After being idle for a few years, I made myself active again almost two years ago by picking up exercise. Here’s my story if you have not read it already: How I found time to exercise (And I achieved more than I thought)

Losing 5 kg in 6 months is not much and it’s not attractive compared to those over-hyped weight loss advertisements. However if you want a weight loss result that stays without taking the fun out of your life, you might want to take a look at my exercise routine. I am a living testimony to this and it works for me.

Before we go there let’s take a look at the record of my weight history:

  • December 2017: 73.3 kg
  • March 2018: 71.5 kg
  • April 2018: 69.5 kg
  • May 2018: 69.7 kg
  • June 2018: 68.8 kg

Currently I weigh 68 kg. My weight is kind of stabilized ever since.

Below is what I do to reach the current state of weight. Let’s dive into it.

Exercise Routines

I have divided my exercise in 3 categories.

1. Cardiovascular exercise

This is the first exercise I began with. For cardio exercise, I choose running. When I first started, I couldn’t run even a kilometer without stopping. But after some time, stamina had improved. After a few weeks, significant difference was seen. I lost some weight. If I can’t run, I walk. On average I run 1.5 to 3 km in the neighborhood. Since the beginning of the year I changed to HIIT training. I sprint and jog in intervals. You think I am a fast runner? I am not. I run about 3 km in 25 minutes.

Occasionally I do some walking with my wife. Not a hectic walk. 3 km for 40 minutes.

2. Weight training

For weight training, when I first started I used only body weight exercise. Mainly focus on the abdominal area. Then I incorporated dumbbell after seeing one lying around collecting dust in my brother’s home. Ever since, I combine body weight training with dumbbell. To make it more time efficient, I bought another similar set of dumbbell. I work on my biceps, shoulders, triceps, and chest. For core, I combine body weight training and dumbbell. For other muscle groups I use only dumbbells.

3. Flexibility exercise

Flexibility exercise seems like a workout for sissies. Let me tell you it’s not. Flexibility is very important and it’s here to make sure that we don’t get injured or strained ourselves easily. Flexibility exercise is to make sure that our muscles are supple. Hence yoga and stretching exercise is part of my routine. I’ll do my best to cover all important muscle groups, if not all.

Equipment

In the beginning, I only used a yoga mat and bodyweight exercise. I did this for a year. Only at the start of this year, I used a dumbbell. After working for a few months, I bought another dumbbell. This is all I use right now: a yoga mat, 2 sets of dumbbells. Of course, a pair of sneakers for running. The workout plan that I follow is flexible and you can do it anywhere, without equipment or gym membership. The key here is to keep it simple and easy to follow.

Frequency

I run 3 times a week. I do yoga exercise on the same day as my run. On the days that I don’t run I do weight training. 2 to 3 times a week. On average, each workout lasts 25 – 40 minutes. I rest on Sundays.

Diet

Above all, I strongly believe that diet is the utmost important component of a healthy body and weight loss. I adopted a plant based diet about 7 years ago. Not entirely plant based but about 75 percent. Besides fruits and vegetables, I also do my best to consume other natural foods such as nuts and beans, oats, grains, olive oil, various types of vinegar and more.

I am not saying plant based diet is the way but you do what works for you.

Another significant lifestyle change I made was afternoon tea. I used to go for afternoon tea very often with my kids but after I found out I have high cholesterol and high blood pressure, I skip afternoon tea. I only consume 3 meals a day and no supper after dinner. With the exception if I am on vacation. I will forgo the rules and eat whatever I fancy. Weekends are sometimes my cheat days too.

Conclusion

This is what I do to lose weight, and maintain a lean, healthy body. This routine might not be suitable for your lifestyle and if so, feel free to adopt and adapt. As long as you exercise to cover cardiovascular, strength and flexibility, you’re good to go. If this seems overwhelming, try focus on one area first. I would recommend you to first do some cardiovascular exercise. And then strength/weight training. Start slow. Be persistent. And follow through. Don’t give up. You’ll be there one day.

As the saying goes, “It’s better to exercise than no exercise at all.”

Here’s another of my true story about weight loss. It happened a few years back when I changed my diet:

My True Story: How I Lost 10 kg Naturally In Two Months (or Less)

Nine Life Lessons from Haruki Murakami You Can Teach to Your Child

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Marathon
Photo Credit: Zürich Marathon

I first came to know about him not from a friend’s recommendation but when I was leisurely browsing at a bookstore. I saw his name popping up many times on bookshelves. Due to his massive works, there were many books by him lined up neatly. That was how he got my attention.

I didn’t pick up any of Haruki Murakami’s books that day but I told myself I would like to read one of his books one day.

After a few months had passed, and I had totally forgotten about this until I made a visit to a local library last month, only then did I remember about Haruki Murakami when I happily found a complete collection (based on what I observe, at least) of his books were newly added to the library’s collection.

I was ecstatic. And I picked a few of the books to start reading. After finishing his first two books, Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973, I picked up his What I Talk About When I Talk About Running: A Memoir. Murakami wrote all but two novels. Out of the two non-fiction books he wrote, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running: A Memoir is one of them.

The book is short and simple to read. But it contains many lessons Murakami has learned as a novelist and long distance runner for over 25 years.

Not only does he set a goal of running a full marathon each year, Murakami has participated once in ultra-marathon (62 mi/100 km) in Hokkaido and numerous triathlon races throughout his life. He is also dubbed as “The Running Novelist.”

Haruki Murakami - What I Talk About When I Talk About Running - A Memoir

Here are the nine takeaways from his book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running: A Memoir which I think we can learn from Murakami and also teach them to our children.

  1. You really need to prioritize in life, figuring out in what order you should divide up your time and energy. If you don’t get that sort of system set by a certain age, you’ll lack focus and your life will be out of balance.
  2. You can’t please everybody.
  3. Life is basically unfair. But even in a situation that’s unfair, I think it’s possible to seek out a kind of fairness.
  4. I think I’ve been able to run for more than twenty years for a simple reason: It suits me.
  5. Human beings naturally continue doing things they like, and they don’t continue what they don’t like.
  6. The most important thing we ever learn at school is the fact that the most important things can’t be learned at school.
  7. It’s pretty thin, the wall separating healthy confidence and unhealthy pride.
  8. Whether it’s good for anything or not, cool or totally uncool, in the final analysis what’s most important is what you can’t see but can feel in your heart.
  9. To be able to grasp something of value, sometimes you have to perform seemingly inefficient acts.

Why I Finally Allowed My Children to Have Dog

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Photo Credit: Franco Vannini

K handed me a draft, written on a piece of A4 paper, to review.

It’s a simple table, if you want to call it that, that contained a list of tasks and their respective persons in charge.

The tasks comprised bathing, feeding, cleaning up, etc. They were distributed among the family members: J, K, wife, and me.

J and K approached me to get permission to have a dog. The handwritten “table” was a tool to convince me to let them have a dog as pet. I told them having a dog was easy but the chores that came with the dog were no joke.  [Read more…]

How Transcendental Meditation Can Bring Balance to Your Life

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Photo Credit: Pixabay

Like most parents, there’s a good chance you’ve experienced something similar to what we described in a previous article here on ParentWonder. While being a parent can be a wonderful thing, it’s also stressful, especially due to the fact you’re most likely handling numerous responsibilities on a daily basis.

With that in mind, it’s not surprising that various forms of relaxation techniques are becoming popular among parents. Transcendental meditation is one popular trend being lauded as a solution to help you regain your peace of mind and take back control over your wellbeing.

WebMD defined transcendental meditation, sometimes referred to as simply TM, as the practice in which a person silently utters a mantra repeatedly within a certain time period, while keeping their eyes closed. According to practitioners, this helps you achieve proper focus, while learning how to achieve stillness and stability.

There is increasing empirical evidence that TM can actually result in a variety of health benefits. An article on the Huffington Post talks about some of the effects, which includes lower blood pressure, increased insulin resistance, and a lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke. The practice has also been proven to bring about several psychological benefits too, including reduced stress and anxiety, better management of emotions, improved memory, and even aiding self-realisation.

Due to its numerous benefits, TM attracts all sorts of practitioners from all walks of life. The most notable of which are high profile actors and actresses who find that TM helps provide balance to their hectic lifestyle. Take for instance David Lynch who is known for his surrealist films. The American director even created the David Lynch Foundation to support the teachings of transcendental meditation to anyone who is compelled to try TM for the first time.

In an interview with Los Angeles Times, the filmmaker attributed stress as the culprit behind a variety of illnesses and problems, and explained that TM can actually help manage the condition so you become calmer and more open to new experiences. He even said that transcendental meditation can help unlock creativity. The director stated, “You want more ideas, you want more energy to do the work and more happiness in the doing – where are all of these things? They are within… I think ideas are out there and you catch them like how you catch fish.” He continued, “The more consciousness you have, the deeper you can catch those ideas.”

Heather Graham, who was introduced to TM by Lynch when they were working on Twin Peaks, credited the meditation technique for helping her manage her anxiety. She admitted in a Today interview that she suffers from anxiety, and credited TM for helping her keep her thoughts in check. She said, “I’m kinda high-strung, so it’s easy to get anxious. But TM calms you down. It helps you find that peaceful place inside yourself – so whenever your life is going a bit crazy, it reminds you how to be really centred.” The starlet, who is the new face of the popular online community Foxy Bingo, pairs TM with yoga to help her manage her stress and allow her to balance both her personal and professional activities more effectively.

While it can be difficult to squeeze meditation into your busy schedule, it’s crucial that you take the time to do it or another similar ritual for your own peace of mind and wellbeing. In another article here on ParentWonder, we talked about the importance of spending time by yourself to help you de-stress and replenish your vitality so you can provide better care for your loved ones, too. If your schedule is full to the brim, remember what we said in ’38 Life Lessons I’ve Learned in 38 Years’: any activity can be a form of meditation if we focus on the things we are doing at the moment, instead of getting distracted about what happened in the past or the prospects of the future.

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