After a long time, another quick tip! Just to refresh your memory, here’s the description of quick-tips from my first post in this category:

Typically these [(quick tips)] will be no more than a couple of sentences and it will always be about making a minor change in your lifestyle leading to a huge change in your health and fitness levels.

Today’s quick tip deals with signal clothes, so a quick definition is in order:

Signal Clothes: I would like to define signal clothes as those that signal to you that you are within your normal weight range (typically plus/minus 3-5 pounds) and also serve as the first warning if you are either losing/gaining weight outside this range. These clothes typically fit comfortably without the need for a belt and are never made of elastic materials or of the wrap-around type. The best kind of signal clothes is a pair of nicely-fitting trousers that do not have any form of elastic at the waist (I have noticed that jeans sometimes have a habit of stretching out an inch or two and so they make poor signal clothes).

Make sure you regularly use signal clothes.

Wearing your designated signal dress atleast once a week will not only ensure that you are on the right-track with your fitness regimen, but will also serve as an instant warning should your holiday diet have put you slightly off track. Why is this technique so effective? The answer is simple: 99% of the time excess weight is first stored in your abdominal region. What was looked upon as the bane of over-eating can quickly be turned around to our advantage: your abdomen can now be your warning signal!

I am just back from a short vacation to India and looking at it now from my newly acquired pair of “Fitness Mantra” eyes, I quickly realised several reasons for the amount of obesity prevalent in many big Indian cities: for one, the clothes are all wrong! (Well, so is the kind of food and lack of activity, but that is fodder for another post). There is one common thread among the obese in India: many men gain weight once they retire and many housewives are overweight.

Now if you thought lack of activity was the only factor to blame, think again: clothes play a major role here too. The typical Indian clothes for retired men are wraparound skirt-like pieces of white cloth called dhoties. And you might be familiar with the female version: the wraparound multi-colored garments called sarees. The common feature between these clothes? They are almost infinitely expandable - just wrap around and fasten wherever is most comfortable! For men, as long as they are working in desk jobs that require trousers, there was atleast some form of check and awareness about the “growing” problem in their middle. But retired men and housewives have no idea when they move from lean to chubby/venus-like to overweight and then to obese: they have/use no signal clothes!

What signal clothes do you use and what other signs warn you when you move out of your normal weight range? Do comment about your techniques.

Technorati Tags: fitness, nutrition, signal clothes

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Salad lovers are used to having crunchy greens mixed with their favorite dressing and possibly topped with nuts or croutons. But which greens are the best? As is almost always the case with vegetables, the darker/richer the color, the better it is for you. For salads, this tip will come in handy:

Use Romaine Lettuce instead of Iceberg Lettuce.

Romaine is naturally a much darker green and its nutrition content immediately show why. A single serving of Romaine lettuce (about 3 ounces or a little less than 2 cups) contains:

• 100% of your daily requirement of Vitamin A
• 34% of your daily requirement of Vitamin C
• 2g of fiber

(from the NutritionData page for Romaine Lettuce)

Compare this with a serving of iceberg lettuce which has a paltry 9% of your required Vitamin A, 4% Vitamin C and 1g of fiber.

Romaine’s vitamin C and beta-carotene content make it a heart-healthy green. Vitamin C and beta-carotene work together to prevent the oxidation of cholesterol.

The fiber in Romaine lettuce adds another plus in its column of heart-healthy effects. In the colon, fiber binds to bile salts and removes them from the body. This forces the body to make more bile, which is helpful because it must break down cholesterol to do so. This is just one way in which fiber is able to lower high cholesterol levels.

Equally beneficial to heart health is Romaine’s folic acid content. This B vitamin is needed by the body to convert a damaging chemical called homocysteine into other, benign substances. If not converted, homocysteine can directly damage blood vessels, thus greatly increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

In addition, romaine lettuce is a very good source of potassium, which has been shown in numerous studies to be useful in lowering high blood pressure, another risk factor for heart disease.

With its folic acid, vitamin C, beta-carotene, potassium, and fiber content, romaine lettuce can significantly contribute to a heart-healthy diet.

-Via The World’s Healthiest Foods

So the next time you grab a salad or make one at home, use romaine lettuce instead - your body will thank you for it!

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, nutrition, romaine lettuce, salad

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