Thursday, January 21, 2010

The Importance of Keeping a Healthy Weight

The benefits of keeping a healthy weight goes beyond appearances. Besides having a more appealing vital statistics, achieving and maintaining your body's ideal weight is equivalent to a healthier and hardier physique. In effect, your risk of contracting illnesses, especially serious ones, is decreased greatly.

Based on researches, obesity lowers a person's life expectancy by nine years on average. With this comes heightened risks of contracting serious ailments such as Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancers in the breast, prostate and colon. Accordingly, experts have pointed out that only a small percentage of people suffer from obesity due to Cushing's syndrome or slow metabolism due to an underactive thyroid. Majority of obese people worldwide attribute their condition to unhealthy habits characterized by consuming beyond their daily required caloric consumption coupled with a sedentary lifestyle.

But as debilitating as the health consequences of obesity are, it is still a reversible condition. In losing the excess weight, we also decrease our risk of the serious illnesses associated with obesity. Making important healthy lifestyle changes is imperative. Losing weight through a combination of healthy eating and regular exercise becomes more effective if we exercise more and eat less.


Contributed By: Maris Modesto

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Getting to Know Financial Stress

Tough economic times always puts the pressure on our finances that we can't help but feel anxious, worried, and/or sad. Where money matters are concerned, the need for surviving in the modern world doesn't exempt us from the burdening mental stress that comes with being preoccupied about anything concerning our bills. Hence, all of us are susceptible to financial stress. Like the usual stress, financial stress affects us physically and mentally. Find out how this comes about by pondering on these facts:

Physical Changes
  • trouble sleeping or staying asleep
  • declining concentration ability
  • feeling down or even tearful during random instances
  • loss of appetite

Mental Changes
  • pessimistic way of thinking that leads to feelings of helplessness and/or hopelessness
  • loss of enthusiasm reflected in oversleeping or wanting to be alone most of the time
  • shying away from other people's company or decreased enthusiasm for socializing with friends and loved ones

Coping with these adverse changes is possible when you follow the given suggestions below:

  • Stick to your usual routine in spite of yourself.
  • Expose yourself to early morning sunshine.
  • Talk it out with a friend.
  • Be attentive to your physical health needs (healthy diet and regular exercise) despite your feelings.

Contributed By: Maris Modesto