Author: aoseibon

Fit, Lean & Beautiful #50

By, Afua Serwah Osei-Bonsu

A Baby Workout

• Waist line twists (30) bend at elbows raise to chest horizontal, access waist and twist
• Run in place (5 minutes cardio)-simulate running
• Sun Salutations (30) raise outstretched hands above head-breathe in, lower outstretched arms and breathe out
• Hamstring Stretches-prop foot on something about a foot and 1/2 high  (trunk or an ottoman or a chair) and stretch back of knee  (count 30)
• Neck rolls-place ear over shoulder and roll head in circles (while sitting)
  (4 times then reverse and go another 4 times)
• Ankle circular stretches (while sitting) (5 each leg)

This is a good workout at home when you haven’t made it to the gym or are traveling and in a hotel or need to quickly reduce tension.  It’s quick, light, and has low fatigue, but good stretch quality.  It can also be good for an elderly person, or someone for one reason or another doesn’t make it to the gym and wants a 10-minute routine or a morning routine or a TV routine or a turn on the radio routine.

Fit, Lean & Beautiful #49

By, Afua Serwah Osei-Bonsu

Here’s to getting fit in the New Year.   The January buzz for fitness and “dryuary” without smoking etc. has already started.  What really sounds great, if you are feeling like hell is to take action.  There’s nothing wrong with making some dietary changes to slim down.  What really seems to work after one friend promoted a diet of “omissions” no rice, no potato, no pasta etc.  What this writer finds works well is to assemble a binder of good, healthy lean recipes with careful research where you may store notes and ideas.  The internet is always your best friend, try websites such as:  perdue.com, halfbakedharvest.com, dinneratthezoo.com, Bon Appetit’s (Healthyish Column-subscribe) and keep searching online for good salads and dishes that float your boat health wise.  Assemble a binder for lots of good ideas and look through cookbooks, make photocopies and place them in the binder.  The binder will promote a lifestyle of health and give you lots of healthy options.

There are many dishes and desserts with lean qualities like Zatar, or cous cous, Fig Newtons, Mamoul (fig cookies), fruit cocktail, canned sliced peaches, tangines (homespun ones), quinoa, lots of seeds and dried fruits, tabbouleh, kebabs, cucumber salads, hummus, Buddha Bowls, strawberry spinach salads, vegetable plates with toasted nuts, Proactive Yogurt, minestrone and ciabatta sandwiches, cranberry juice, popcorn, herbal tea, little garden salads, spinach dip on pita, pretzels, celery and peanut butter, chicken salad, Nicoise Salads, plantain, lemons, yogurt, carrot juice, soup and salad, sandwich and soup, sandwich and salad, Mediterranean, African fish stews can be eaten with crackers.  One wife has her husband eating meat sauces with dippers for a savory lunch minus the starch, to trick the body he ate big, but actually ate small.  You can layer up a hummus platter with squash and lamb, then eat it with pita.  Dinneratthezoo.com promotes eating in big platters for big families.  Lay out several choice veggies etc. in a platter and everyone take a portion.  Diets heavy in turmeric promotes cleansing too, try chicken curry salad in a pita.  Antipasto platters are a nice change of pace.  Chicken teriyaki or Thai chicken salads with papaya and lime are nice choices.  You may want to make up fresh salad dressings to excite you for salad.

Broccoli salad and chicken salads are nice.  Black eyed pea stew with sausage is hearty. Lentils, broccolini and feta.  Sheet pan smoked sausage, apple and root vegetables.  Roasted salmon and citrus salsa verde.  Avocados.  California salads with chicken, avocado and goat cheese.  Crispy Chinese Chicken Salad.  Classic Cobb Salads or Waldorf Salads.  Southwestern Style Chicken Fajita Salad.  Acorn Squash cooked with Mango Chutney.  Try searching high and low for good interesting healthy options.  It’s nice to stay a foodie, be into culinary, make sure you get a quality meal and burn, burn, burn it off later.  The fewer the calories, the less there is to burn.  Don’t give up all your favorites, work out more.

What works really great are the zero calorie lemon-lime seltzer waters, to replace heavy sugars with satisfying refreshing drinks that are high in electrolytes.  The basic idea is to burn off more than you eat and what you don’t burn you keep.  You need cardio, to rev up your energy, metabolism and to burn calories.  Things like cycling tend to keep you at a long steady cardio rate.  If you’re in a cold state then stationary bikes or spinning classes or recumbent bikes.

What also adds to a work out and reduces depression is staying busy and working.  Get a few jobs and volunteer often, figure out a few ways to serve your community.

To enhance your workout, you may want to use protein powder shakes with milk and banana and super green food smoothies with blended fruits.  Balance your quantities with your desired physique. Buy a scale.  For men, very often muscle building powders and shakes are needed in addition to protein powders etc.  It’s a good time to look into gyms and see what local exercise and yoga classes are offered.  Some places offer Butts and Guts classes etc.  One gorgeous male model promoted twisting at the waist to restore the waistline-just light twisting right to left works.

What I heard is not to look for magic pills, they can put 100 lbs. on you in five minutes. Iron and Zinc are good for red and white blood cells.  Oh and back to basics- clear the colon.  It’s a great time for a closed system colonic to start shrinking faster. Other things to think about are a variety of cleansing techniques:  detox footbaths, fasting, microdermabrasion’s, saunas and ready clean drinks are all good for renewal and cleansing etc.

After you have your diet together, your regime together, have cleansed and blank slated (removed hair or tattoos, scars and stretch marks)then it’s a good time to make an appointment with a plastic surgeon for a consultation to work on making some improvements to your health and beauty.  Annual liposuctions can benefit the heart and whole bodies overall health.

It’s a new year, time for a new you!!!

Make some goals and get cracking!  May your purse also clackity clack to set everything into motion.