Top 5 Olympic Games Commercials

With the Olympic Games coming to a close, I can't help but feel sad.  All the events, world records broken, legends cementing their statuses, and surprise medallists have not failed to impress in London.  In fact, I was eagerly anticipating the Olympics much more than the Euros.  The simple fact that all the Olympic athletes (bar the professionals that compete in the Olympics) are hungrier than most other athletes gives you this sense of fulfillment cheering them on.

That being said, the Olympic Games, as with any other major sporting event, is the time for commercials to shine just as much as the athletes.  Here are my five favorite commercials:


5. Visa Ads: Isinbayeva & Comaneci
There were plenty of great ads by Visa, but I had to choose my favorite one and ended up choosing my favorite two :).

 

4. Rona Olympic Relay
I'll admit, this commercial really cracked me up when they reached Montreal.  Great music too.

Smartphone your way into fitness!

Click on the link to see some of the best apps on Health and Fitness for your iPhones and Androids!
(Thank you "Rola")

Click here for Health and Fitness Apps

My CrossFit Experience

I've heard so much about this new sport of fitness called "CrossFit".  It combines weightlifting, strength training, and an elevated heart-rate with all the exercises.  I finally had the chance to try it out, albeit, after my friend (thank you Nazem!) somehow convinced me to do an hour of circuit training right before (not the best of ideas but a challenge nonetheless).

I tried it out at Inspire Gym in Blajat street in Kuwait.  Not the first place I would have thought to try it out in, since I've heard so much about it from Montreal already, but I am certainly glad I did it there.

The following exercises was the workout put together by the instructor:

1Km Run
90 Lunge Walks
80 Vipr Standing Overhead Shoulder Presses
70 Kettle Bell Swings
60 Back Raises
50 Air Squats
40 Sit ups
30 Vipr Leg Raises (lower abs and core workout)
20 Pullups
10 Burpees

All of these were to be competed within 40 minutes.  I managed to finish up in a little over 34 mins.  Oddly enough, the only two women in class completed it faster than I did (maddddddd respect!)

I was pleasantly surprised and really impressed with the intensity, tenacity, perfectionism, and professionalism  demonstrated by the instructor; always cheering you on, always correcting your form, never letting you cheat your way out of an exercise.  Moreover, the actual exercises themselves were quite rewarding once completed.  In other words, once you have completed one type of exercise, you genuinely feel a sense of accomplishment and motivation to carry on to the next exercise.  The biggest advantage of CrossFit-ing is the fact that the exercises are constantly varying; never allowing your body to grow accustomed to specific exercises and igniting the fat burning and muscle-building in your muscles.

All in all, I wholeheartedly recommend CrossFit to the following types of people:

1. Those who do not enjoy weightlifting
2. Those who like to take classes
3. Anybody looking to raise the level of intensity of their workouts
4. Those looking to reduce body fat %

I believe I have fallen in love with fitness all over again.

5 minute Breakfasts!

When it comes to eating habits, there are quite a few bad ones out there.  There are those that eat out all the time and rarely cook at home, there are those that do not eat enough protein/carbs/fats in their diet, there are those that eat too much of protein/carbs/fats in their diet, etc.  The list could go on and on, especially if you hail from the Middle East.

One of the most common bad habits stems mainly from the young professionals: early to mid twenties and working.  I'm pretty sure at least 7 out of every 10 do the following: SKIP BREAKFAST.  That is one of the most awful bad habits.

Why you should never skip breakfast:

1. It directly causes to more belly fat
2. Your awareness and concentration are affected 
3. It leads to binge eating in the evening
4. It distorts your eating at lunch and puts you in a "food coma"
5. It causes significant drops in your body's metabolism

I'm pretty sure I can dig up a few more reasons why you should not skip breakfast, but that's not the point of this post today.  The most common excuse made when people skip breakfast is the fact that "there is not enough time".

The following are 4 examples of breakfast meals that do not take longer than 5-10 minutes to prepare:

Motivation

What are you waiting for?

Thank you Roula Haddad.

Are your habits making you fat?

One of the main ideas I try to convince people to undertake and possibly the best piece of wisdom passed onto me is that being healthy is a habit and a lifestyle, not something you can do for a short while and reap the benefits.

David Zinczenko, Editor-in-chief of Men's Health Magazine, was one of the first people I chose to follow on Twitter.  Not only does he drop very wise words of wisdom, but he also authors the great "Eat this, not that!" books.  Click on the following link to see a list of habits that make you fat:

20 Habits that make you fat - By David Zinczenko

A few of these habits I would like to highlight:

- #1 Eating "Low-fat"
    Usually low-fat = more sugar to "enhance" the taste so be careful!
- #3 Sleep
  Remember that a lack of sleep is detrimental to your physical health!
- #5 Drinking Soda
  Diet is just as bad as regular.
- #6 Skipping meals
  Doing this makes the insulin spike the next time you eat a meal = more fat stored
- #11 Eating off large plates
  If you recall the Food Experiment YOU should try post that I put up a while back, this actually works
- #15 Not drinking enough water
  One of the biggest problems people have is not drinking enough water, how is your H20 intake?

10 Cheap Superfoods you want to make part of your diet!

First off, I would like to apologize for not having posted anything in the last month or so.  I really have no excuse but I will make a greater effort to make my posts a little more frequent!

Secondly, I've been known to bore people with all my health related babbling.  The only take home message I would recommend is changing little habits to your diet and lifestyle to improve your overall health.

The following is a list of 10 foods you should include as part of your healthy everyday diet.
I've highlighted a few of these foods as a short summary.  If you would like to read the full article, please click on the link at the bottom!

1. Sweet potatoes - despite the name, this veggie is nowhere near as full of starch and sugars as a potato.  Also, one of my favorites as a side dish!
2. Low fat Milk - try to drop the fat percentage in the milk that you choose to give milk that extra benefit it already provides.
3. Hard boiled eggs - The best source of protein.
4. Black tea - Caffeine is a good metabolism boost!
5. Mango - Filled with vitamins and plenty of phenols for your body to self-heal.

Read the the other 5 foods here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/07/cheap-health-food_n_919547.html#s323375&title=Kale