Stop worrying about weight

Stop worrying about weight

As we know the scales can be your worst enemy. Not many cases is it your best friend. Maybe because of social media or lack of education we are fascinated about weight on what really is important..

Have you ever wondered how well your body internally is doing?

Don't get me wrong , weight tells a lot about someone eating patterns, BMI, muscle mass and body fat.

I would like to think most people firstly want to know if they are healthy. So there are some key markers I want you to consider/check to see whether your overall health is great.

1. Blood pressure

Blood pressure is how

What is the range?

Below is a graph to check age range to different levels

When should I check?

I would recommend once a month for healthy individuals, once a week for people who are unhealthy.

What is a sign of high blood pressure?

For most people there is no general signs, but dizziness,  tiredness and fitness levels are good signs.

2. Resting heart rate

This is where you measure your heart rate at resting. So sitting down for more than 5-10 minutes.

What is the range

For every day people between 60-100 bpm. So athletes can have a resting heart rate of 40 bpm. (Beats per minute)

How can you check it?

You can find you pulse on your neck or wrist. Count the beats for 10 seconds and times it by 6. 

3. Mood

Often it is our emotions that will be a telling sign on how healthy you feel. So if you are feeling happy, then there is a good chance your lifestyle correlates to that. However, sometimes we may need  that extra check up. ;)

4. Energy levels

Similar to your mood but this will match depending on how well you are managing your health. Are you full of energy throughout the day? Or are you someone who gets tired very easily. The scales can say you are losing weight but will it impact on your energy levels??

5. Stress management

Stress management is the fundamentals behind a well balanced lifestyle. If you are not in control of your daily stresses, it can impact on your health. Things such as lack of sleep, appetite and weight gain/loss can be the effect of stress.

For those that want to be more specific with how well there body is functioning. I would recommend testing your blood sugar levels and cholesterol levels.

How do I measure that?

Blood sugar levels

The reason why you test for blood sugar levels in the blood is to see how much glucose is floating in the blood stream. High blood sugar levels is associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Testing you blood sugar levels can be done on a monitor. You place a drop of blood on a strip to see where the blood sugar range is. This can be brought at most health stores.

What is the range?

Most health care professionals follow mmol/L

When should you test?

The times to test are when you have fasted for over 6-8hours, so first thing in the morning. The other time is 90+ minutes after eating a meal.

What happens if it is too high?

Re-do the test to confirm, then consult a medical professional for a check up.

Obesity is very high in Brunei, so there is a higher chance if you are in the obese levels to be diabetic.

How do you reduce blood sugar levels (if not type 1 diabetic)

This is mainly through a balanced diet. Getting good quality healthy fats included in your food intake, such as olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, avocados. What is key is increasing fibre intake and sufficient water intake daily. Exercising through strength training helps to increase insulin sensitivity.

Cholesterol levels

Cholesterol is a type of fat found in the bloodstream. Too much build of bad cholesterol can lead to heart attacks or strokes. If there  is high amounts of cholesterol in the blood it can slow down blood effecting the blood pressure. This can lead to the vessels getting narrow and less efficient in transporting vital nutrients in the blood.

How can you test it?

This can be done by your local GP/doctor or you can buy a monitor from most health care stores

What is the best ways to reduce bad cholesterol?

Increasing your healthy fats that are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as; nuts (almond, pecan, macadamia, hazel), avocados, olive oil and coconut oil. 

What is the healthy levels?

The chart below will give you a guideline

I hope you found this blog useful. If you want to leave a comment please do.