TIPS TO GETTING YOUR FITNESS GROOVE BACK!

Summer holidays are rounding up. The kids are resuming school, and you are probably also resuming your regular routine. It is usually difficult for most people to keep up with their regular routines when on holiday. For example if you normally visited the gym thrice a week, you may find yourself visiting once during holidays, or not at all. Depending on how long you have stayed off exercise, you may find it difficult getting back to exercising, or, you may discover upon your return that your fitness level has dropped significantly. This is perfectly normal as fitness cannot be stored. Exercise must be performed regularly to gain and maintain noticeable benefits. Once you stop exercising, the body begins to revert to its pre-trained state.

I see quite a number of people getting disappointed and sometimes giving up when they discover that they cannot exercise as effectively as they did before taking a break, or when they return from holidays with an additional pound or two. Do not be demotivated. Even professional athletes, after a long term injury, have to train to get back to their previous form. If you've taken more than a three weeks break from exercise, do not expect to resume exercising at your previous level of intensity or duration. Allow your body to gradually re-adapt to your regular workout routines. For example, if you were able to run on the treadmill for two hours, but now you struggle to run for thirty minutes. Start off with thirty minutes and then gradually progress to two hours. You could also start off with a low impact exercise like walking.

Do not be tempted into overworking the body. You could end up sore and probably have to take another break to recover. If your old routine does not seem to be working for you, then try something new. Perhaps your taste changed during the break, or your body wants something new. Remember exercise is a lifestyle, so patiently allow yourself to rediscover what works best for your body.

NUTRITIONAL/HEALTH BENEFITS OF PLANTAINS

P lantains are widely eaten in West Africa. Plantains are similar to bananas but larger in size. While bananas are termed fruits, plantains are vegetables. Bananas are mostly eating raw, while plantains are usually cooked before consumption. Plantains can be eaten unripe, ripen or over-ripe. When unripe, plantains are usually green in colour, when ripen, they turn yellow. In Nigeria, for example, unripe plantains are usually used to cook plantain porridge, ripe plantains are mostly fried and used as a supplement to main dishes like rice and beans. Over-ripe plantains are used to make snacks like plantain fritters.

NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS OF ZOBO/SORREL DRINK

z obo/sorrel was a must have during family gatherings. As children, we loved drinking it, not only because of how nice it tasted, but also because it coloured our lips and tongues red. Zobo (Nigerian) or Sorrel (Jamaican) is a red coloured drink made from a flower called Hibiscus sabdariffa. The sorrel plant contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, calcium, niacin, riboflavin and a group of compounds called flavonoids. Flavanoids not only gives the sorrel plant its deep red colour, but, are also rich in antioxidants which rids the body of toxins. The sorrel plant also contains nutraceleuticals, which are said to be helpful to the health. Nutraceleuticals can help prevent and treat several diseases including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF LIME AND HONEY

L ime and Honey are two must haves in my house. I use honey as a substitute for white sugar. I remember a friend of mine visited me once and she wanted to drink garri (drinking garri is local to Nigerians, i.e. eating dried cassava with cold water as opposed to hot water), she was astonished when I told her to use honey to sweeten her garri. I'm not a tea person, but my parents are, and a cup of tea for them is not complete without limes.

Fabila's Fitness Club

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