Author: Stan Lee

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5 Things

The Ultimate Guide to Keeping up Your Workout Routine as Corona Drags On

The pandemic has changed everything, including the way we work, socialize, and exercise. That doesn’t mean your fitness routine has to suffer.

Things may not be the same, but we can adjust to this new normal by making changes. This includes adapting your workout routine.

Let’s look into how you can keep up an exercise routine in the midst of COVID-19, even if your gym is closed. 

Have a Fitness Plan

Having a plan will help you stick to your routine or get comfortable with a new routine. To help you stick with your plan, keep the following in mind:

Schedule Your Workouts

If you find yourself having trouble keeping your workouts, try scheduling them as you would a work meeting or doctor’s appointment. This helps you prioritize your fitness and lowers the chances of canceling these “appointments.” 

Listing the workouts you’ll be doing each day will also help motivate you and help you mentally prepare for your routine.  

Set Concrete Goals

It’s easier to stick to a workout routine if you have a goal in mind. Every workout will bring you a step closer to meeting this goal. The more specific your goal, the better. 

For example, plan to run for 15 minutes on certain days and do half an hour of strength training on others. 

Track Your Workout Routine

When setting goals, you’ll want to see how close you are to meeting them. Write down each workout or track your progress using fitness apps to show how well you’re doing in your fitness journey. 

Keeping in touch with like-minded people will also help you stay on track. 

No Gym? Incorporate At-Home Workouts

If you’re able to work out in the gym through the wearing of medical masks, you can follow the tips above to stay motivated. If your usual gym is still closed or you’d prefer to workout at home, there are some simple workouts you can do at home, no equipment needed:

Yoga 

All you need to get started with yoga is a mat. There are many online programs to choose from that can guide you through the process. Whether you’re a beginner or a yoga aficionado, there are programs for everyone. 

Cardio 

Grab your running shoes and get outside for a workout that will provide you with fresh air while increasing endorphins. Whether you choose to walk or run, you’ll still reap the benefits of cardio. 

Bodyweight Exercises

If you miss strength training, you can still get a workout using just your bodyweight. For a good workout that will help you keep your muscle tone, try:

  • Air squats 
  • Reverse lunges 
  • Push-Ups
  • Planks 

Adapt Your Workout Routine with These Tips

The coronavirus pandemic doesn’t have to put an end to your workout routine. While you may need to make some changes, you can still stay fit and healthy, even if you can’t get to a gym. 

Make a plan, set goals, and track your progress to improve your chances of sticking with your new routine. If you’re trying to adjust to an at-home workout routine, you can do this by incorporating bodyweight exercises, cardio, and trying yoga. 

You may just end up finding a new exercise that you love. 

Looking for more exercise inspiration? Check out our workout builder and start making your fitness plan today. 

Categories
Health

5 Smartphone Apps to Monitor your Health

Of all the many benefits humanity receives from the digital revolution, the health sector might be at the top of the tree, and with smartphone apps, you can easily monitor many aspects of your health. Here are our top 5 health apps that you can download onto your device today.

  1. Instant Heart Rate – Measure your heart rate while working out or exercising; simply put your finger over the camera lens and the app will tell you your heart rate. This free to download app is ideal, as it can be used at any time and you don’t need any equipment aside from your smartphone. This app works best with a camera that has a flash facility.
  2. I-Care Health Monitor – Another free app, this one measures your heart rate and blood pressure, plus it can also measure respiratory rate, pulse wave, oxygen, lung capacity and even colour blindness. Simply place your index finger over the rear camera lens and hold it until instructed, and multiple testing is recommended for accuracy.
  3. My Plate – Calorie Checker – Perfect if you want to lose weight, this handy app tracks your calorie and water intake on a daily basis, and with a handy barcode scanner, you can record food items with ease. The app can also give you calorie and weight goals, and with a free download in Android or iOS, you can keep track of your dietary input and know when you are in need of hydration.
  4. Pulse Point – This app can be a lifesaver for a person with heart issues, as it can notify a specific carer of a change in heart rate, and once the CPR alert has gone out, the carer can take action. Companies that develop apps use SEO services by Move Ahead Media, a leading UK agency that has an impressive list of clients. The more people know about the app, the better, and digital marketing is used to maximise the exposure, encouraging users to download the app and receive the health benefits it brings. If you are looking to lose weight, here are some tips on when to fast, which is recommended reading.
  5. Kardia by AlivecOre – This is another free EKG app, with approval from the FDA regarding clinical validation, and it allows you to track your exercise routine, sleep patterns, dietary habits and respiration. This app does require the use of Kardia Mobile, and it helps the user by monitoring and sharing your health data with a physician, while also providing EKG analysis from certified cardiologists. Here is some UK government information about cardiovascular disease.

The healthcare sector benefits greatly from the use of smartphone apps and if you would like to browse what’s on offer, go to Play Store and check out the innovative apps that can monitor all aspects of your health. All of the above apps are free to the user, and the future should bring AI merged tech that will be able to diagnose diseases at a very early stage, which is good for everyone.

Categories
News

What to Cook on a Smoker: A Beginner’s Guide to the Best Meats to Smoke

If you love to cook, nothing is more enjoyable than cooking on a smoker. If you love eating meat, then you’ll enjoy cooking on a smoker.

But have you ever been confused about what to cook on a smoker?

There are a ton of great smoker recipes that you’ll enjoy. We’ve put together this guide with some of the best recipes, to help you decide what to cook next for your upcoming barbeque!

The Guide on What to Cook on a Smoker

You want to first make sure that you have a great smoker. You want a great offset smoker grill to cook your meat.

You also need to make sure that you are buying the best quality meat.

Once those two things are covered, here are some of the best and unique recipes you should try:

1. Char Siu

This is a great option if you love East Asian cooking. You’ll need a pork shoulder as your meat. The additional ingredients are:

  • 2 Cubes of red fermented tofu
  • 1 tablespoon of Korean red pepper flakes,
  • 4 slices (2-3 tablespoons) of ginger
  • 2 tablespoons of molasses
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tablespoons of honey
  • 2 tablespoons of Hoisin sauce
  • 2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
  • 2 tablespoons of Chinese cooking wine
  • 2 tablespoons of Soy sauce

This is made by cutting the pork meat into small strips – preferably cutlets. In a big bowl, pour in all the other ingredients except for the honey. Mix them together for your marinade. Add your pork cutlets and keep it in the fridge for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, keep the pork separate and add the honey to the marinade. Mix it well. Cook the marinade on low heat until it starts to boil.

To cook the meat, heat up your smoker to 325F. Once heated, cook your cutlets – 15 minutes on each side. There should be a small char on each cutlet. Then, use the heated marinade as a glaze while the meat is still cooking. Give it 5 minutes after glazing and its ready to go.

2. Smoked Ham

For this simple and great recipe, you’ll need to cut up slices of ham. You’ll also need mustard and a BBQ rub of your choice. You also need brown sugar and a spray bottle filled with apple juice.

Rub down the ham with the mustard and BBQ rub. Make sure to cover each slice generously. Heat your smoker to 250F and put the ham slices on them. As you cook each slice, pour a pinch of brown sugar on each slice. Occasionally spray each slice with apple juice.

Leave the ham to cook for 2 hours, remembering to flip each slice on occasion and you are ready to go!

3. Smoked Brisket

For this, you’ll need a 10-pound brisket. Additionally, you need a pinch (or your preferred amount) of brown sugar, garlic powder, paprika, seasoning salt, black pepper, oregano leaves, onion powder, and cumin.

Heat up the smoker to 225F. Generously rub your brisket with the additional ingredients. Then you are ready to heat your brisket. It will take 2 hours to cook and then you are ready to cut into your brisket. Make sure you serve it immediately.

Bon Appetit

Now that you know what to cook on a smoker you’ll love these recipes and your friends will too! Once you become more acquainted with cooking on a smoker you should experiment with different recipes.

Learn more about food, cooking, and nutrition on our website. 

Categories
Eat

A Basic Keto Diet Food List for Beginners

Ketogenic low carbs diet concept. Healthy eating and dieting with salmon fish, avocado, eggs and nuts. Top view

A 2004 study on the long-term benefits of a ketogenic diet with obese patients found that they lost a lot of weight with very few negative side effects.

Since then, research into this popular low-carb diet has only deepened. Whether you’re looking to lose weight or improve health, starting a keto diet might be just the thing to set you on the path to success.

Read on to answer the question “What is keto?” and get a comprehensive keto diet food list guaranteed to make your first keto-friendly shopping trip a breeze!

Why Is a Keto Diet Beneficial?

While it might seem like the latest fad diet, the ketogenic (or keto) diet has been on the radar of medical professionals since the 1920s. Researchers discovered the diet reduced seizures in some people with epilepsy. At the same time, it also began to gain popularity as a tool for weight loss.

Burns Fat, Not Sugars

The ketogenic diet is unique among other low-carb diets–like the Atkins, Paleo, and South Beach diets–due to its high fat requirement. Guides say fat needs to make up between 70% and 80% of your diet.

Human beings need glucose to fuel several essential cellular functions. The body normally gets this glucose from consuming carbohydrates. When starting a keto diet, you starve your body of glucose by dramatically reducing the number of carbohydrates that you eat.

Your body converts muscle and fat into ketones, which it can use in place of the missing glucose. Voila! You start to lose weight.

Benefits Your Blood

Cutting back on carbohydrates allows your body to process the little that’s left in your system more efficiently. This reduces the need for insulin production, which in turn regulates blood sugar levels. Combined with good eating habits like meal planning, starting a keto diet may also help some people to bring down high blood pressure.

Reduces Hunger and Cravings

Standard nutrition advice for weight loss recommends dieters to cut the fat. Because you’re able to eat as many fatty foods as you want on the keto diet (like bacon, butter, and avocado), you’ll be able to feed those cravings instead of resisting them. Essentially, the cravings will disappear.

Research also suggests that a diet high in protein and fat can help you to feel more satiated, which means you’ll stay fuller for longer.

The Essentials: Keto Diet Food List

We’ve done the hard work for you and put together this go-to shopping guide of top ketogenic diet foods. You can’t go wrong with a pantry, fridge, and freezer stocked with these essentials.

Lard and Butter

One of the best bits about starting a keto diet is never saying no to that delicious butter! When grocery shopping, look out for grass-fed butter; ghee (clarified butter); lard, tallow, and duck fat.

Plant Oils

Top plant oils for a keto diet include avocado oil and coconut oil. Avocado oil has a high smoke point, making it one of the safest oils to use for cooking. Coconut oil is rich in MCTs, which are thought to encourage ketone production.

Nuts and Seeds

When shopping for nuts and seeds for your keto cupboard, go with the lowest card options. Pecans, brazil, and macadamias top the list of nuts, while chia, pumpkin, hemp, or flax should be your preferred options for seeds.

Avocados

Avocados have a ton of natural, heart-healthy fat and they’re low in carbs. Not to mention the other vitamin and mineral nutrients they contain: vitamins K and C, folate, and potassium. Keto dieters aren’t allowed a lot of fruit, so embrace the avocado!

Eggs

One large egg has around 5 grams of fat, a little more protein, and less than 1 gram of carbs. Add them to keto-friendly salads or serve with a side of low-carb steamed vegetables. Cook hard-boiled eggs, cool them in the shell in the fridge, and pack them in your lunchbox for an easy at-work snack.

Fish and Seafood

Seafood is naturally low in carbohydrates, and if you choose oily fish like wild-caught salmon and tuna or high-quality tinned sardines, you’re sure to hit your macros. Even meaty shellfish like scallops or mussels can work on a keto diet. They’re delicious cooked in butter.

Meats

Go for fatty cuts of meat like brisket or ribeye. Bacon is great but look for nitrate-free brands. And keep the skin on chicken and turkey. Proponents of the keto diet encourage eating organ meats like liver and kidney but say no to cold cuts.

Cheese

Cheese is both delicious and nutritious for those starting a keto diet. Since all cheeses are low in carbs and high in fat, cheese is an almost perfect keto diet food. Use it in dressings, grate it onto meats and vegetables, or just eat it by the slice.

Vegetables

Because keto dieters are trying to avoid carbs, you want to choose non-starchy vegetables and leafy greens like kale, romaine, spinach, and collards. Common vegetables to avoid include potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, beans, squash, beetroot, corn, and peas.

Tips for Staying on Track With a Keto Diet

A decent number of people find the ketogenic diet hard to maintain. It can be expensive, restrictive, and difficult in social settings. But head into keto with the right mindset and you’ll be on track for success.

Remember It’s a Lifestyle

Don’t treat keto as a fad diet and you won’t beat yourself up if you have off-days. If you integrate keto eating into your lifestyle, you won’t even feel the need to cheat on your diet. Build-in treats and rewards and take a break on holidays if you need to.

Read Success Stories

There are a ton of public figures thriving on ketogenic diet foods. Head onto YouTube or Instagram and start following who’s trending. Look for influencers who back up their content with good nutritional research.

Facebook groups can be another great source of inspiration to keep you accountable. Look for keto groups in your area: you might even make a few new friends in your neighborhood!

Embrace Premade Keto

The $9.6 million global keto industry is expected to grow by at least 5% in the coming years. New keto diet food products are hitting the shelves at supermarkets across the USA all the time.

Keep an eye out for grab-and-go snacks and ready meals, or find out more about keto-friendly IQFs (Individual Quick Foods). Don’t be afraid to pop them in your shopping cart or order them online. They’ll save you time spent in the kitchen and make sure you stay on track with your diet when you’re eating out.

Get Professional Advice Before Making a Diet Switch

It’s always a good idea to consult with a medical professional before changing your diet. Work with a keto-friendly nutritionist or physician to put together a keto diet food list that suits you. There are even options for ketogenic diet foods for vegans and vegetarians.

Want more advice on the keto diet or eating for wellbeing in general? Browse the other health articles on Taste Terminal.

Categories
Health

6 Great Hints for Having a Better Rest During the Night

Sleep helps us maintain a healthy body and mind. Adequate rest improves productivity, concentration, your immune system, calorie regulation, and your social and emotional intelligence. It helps to decrease inflammation, weight gain, symptoms of depression, and chronic pain. 

Some of us suffer from sleep issues such as insomnia, sleep apnea, REM sleep behavior disorder, restless leg syndrome, and narcolepsy. If you have any of these problems or want to improve your sleep quality for another reason, we’ve got six of our best tips for you. 

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The Correct Mattress 

Having a comfortable mattress is essential for proper sleep. The correct bed for one person might not be ideal for another, so you’ll have to understand your needs. 

Side sleepers will enjoy softer memory foam mattresses because they support the curves of the body and weight distribution. In contrast, a back sleeper might want a firmer mattress for no sagging and proper posture support. 

Unsure where to start looking? The best mattress brands by health.com have a variety of options for all types of sleepers. 

Sleep and Wake Up at the Same Time 

Our bodies have a natural circadian rhythm, which tells the brain when it’s time to be awake and when to be asleep. You can sync your system by going to bed and getting up at the same time every night. It will help your body enjoy better quality sleep. 

This means that on the weekends you shouldn’t stay up late or sleep in all day. Also, napping can disturb your system because you’re snoozing when your body should be up. 

Set alarms to remind you to get to sleep and to wake up. Soon your body will do this naturally, and you’ll feel well-rested in the morning. 

Understand Light Exposure

Before electricity, the circadian rhythm was regulated with the sun. Our bodies haven’t fully adapted to false lighting, and our systems can become confused. 

To ensure better sleep, you need to expose yourself to bright light during the day. This signals your body that it needs to be alert. Try to sit by a window at work, or go outside on your lunch breaks. 

At night, you should avoid bright light to let your circadian rhythm function correctly. Nowadays, we have fluorescent lights, televisions, computers, and smartphones we look at during the evenings. 

Too much exposure can trick our brains into thinking it’s still day time, and you won’t start producing melatonin, the hormone that makes us sleepy. Try to shut off all screens one to two hours before you plan to sleep. 

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Limit Late Caffeine Intake

A cup of coffee or tea in the morning can get you up and moving. It’s a great way to start the day, but consuming caffeine too late in the day can make you restless when it’s bedtime. 

Caffeine stays in our bloodstream from six to eight hours. You should have your last caffeinated drink at 2 pm. This will ensure you can sleep by 10 pm without feeling jittery or alert. 

Exercise During the Day 

You don’t have to be a complete gym rat to get quality rest, but some type of light exercise daily will improve your sleep. It’s been proven that physical activity can improve symptoms of insomnia and sleep apnea. 

You can burn off any extra energy you have with doing exercises. At night, you’ll be able to get to sleep quickly and deeply to recover from the long day. 

Refrain from Consuming Alcohol 

A glass of wine or a beer is known to help relax you. Although this is true, it can have adverse effects on the quality of sleep you get. 

Alcohol interferes with melatonin production and doesn’t allow your body to go into REM sleep, which is the deepest and most beneficial type of rest. You should rethink your daily glass, and opt for chamomile tea to help relax you. 

The Bottom Line 

The amount of sufficient rest you get each night can have a tremendous impact on your health. Some people suffer from sleep issues, which creates fatigue and other negative effects. 

Use our six tips to get better rest at night. You should use the correct mattress, have a sleep routine, understand light exposure, limit caffeine intake in the afternoon, exercise daily, and limit alcohol consumption. Soon you’ll be waking up refreshed and well-rested.