Health Essentials
Weight loss and nutrition: How do I go about it?
Variety is definitely the spice of life and this year we will read from different professionals who will provide us with priceless nuggets to enhance our health and wellness. In our quest for weight loss, FAT LOSS should be the goal so even if your scale reads the same but your clothes fit better, you may have lost fat and gained healthy muscle that generally weighs more (3x) than fat of the same size.
I introduce Salomey Kokoro, a Registered Dietitian who contributes to www.healthessentialsgh.com. You will pick a line or two even if this is a path you have taken several times. Salomey writes;
In this day and era, where we get everything at the click of a button, Technology has made life very easy and convenient but unfortunately it has rendered us busy, inactive and prone to numerous health conditions. People in their late 20s, 30s and 40s are now susceptible to many lifestyle diseases like Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, High Blood Cholesterol, Heart Problems etc. which were earlier considered to affect people above 50yrs of age. Obesity and overweight has been ranked as the leading cause of many of these lifestyle diseases. The alarming fact is that majority of people do not know their weight status (whether obese or overweight), they reach this sad realisation only when the complications of obesity begin to set in. It is important that each individual makes a conscious step to know their weight status and begin to make positive efforts towards losing or maintaining weight. Our weight loss goals may come in various forms: losing that tummy pouch/pot belly, losing the baby fat after delivery, dropping down a few dress sizes, losing those flabby arms, get that hourglass figure or build up some muscle. Regardless of how little the goal may seem it will require conscious and active efforts to successfully achieve this, unfortunately there is no quick fix, magic pill or tummy shrinking belt, to make this happen. “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.” –Maya Angelou Ever wondered what life is going to be like in the next five years? The limitations that your current weight may pose on your lifestyle? The possible health complications that may arise? The strain it may put on your marriage/sex life? The possible reduction in your energy levels and productivity? The possible joint associated pain it may pose during old age? These and many more questions should be a source of motivation during our quest to lose weight. The mere act of contemplating starting the weight loss journey means you have taken the first step towards change. The next step is to seek the right professional advice on what the process entails and how to go about it. The World Wide Web is loaded with a lot of information but unfortunately about 70 per cent of this information are either diluted truths or mere fallacies. Again information out there are not individualised, usually written to suit the general public so following such advice may not give you the best possible outcomes. “Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” – Mark Victor Hansen In the human body, weight loss and weight gain has everything to do with eating. This is because food gives us energy (calories) needed for living and going about our daily activities. This calorie needs to be expended but due to the sedentary nature of our 21st century jobs and general daily lifestyle, a bulk part of the energy we consume is stored in the body in the form of fat simply because we are not physically active or we consume more energy than our body requires. Basically: we lose weight when we eat less calories than we expend. Conversely, we gain weight when we eat more calories than we expend. So to successfully lose weight or maintain your current weight, you need a proper and accurate understanding of calorie and nutrient content of common foods, appropriate meals for weight loss, meals and practices that hinder weight loss, best cooking methods, appropriate times during the day to eat, quantity of food to eat at a sitting and so on. 4 Common meals that hinder weight loss – Soda drinks – Oily soups/stews e.g. palmnut soup, groundnut soup, palava sauce etc. – Fried food and snacks e.g. fried meat, chips, kelewele etc. – Excessive intake of fruits A Registered Dietitian is your best shot at receiving professional advice tailored to suit your body requirements and lifestyle. A detailed nutrition assessment coupled with evidence based research information is the basis of advice meted out by the Dietitian. Book an appointment with a dietitian now and start making the change you have always wanted to make. “There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” –Dr. Denis Waitley Written by: Salomey Kokoro, RD Founder: RdSali Nutrition RdSali is a for – purpose company looking to better the lives of individuals, families and communities by providing credible and relatable healthy eating services.
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd/ Mobissel
(dressel@healthessentialsgh.com)
*Dr. Essel is a medical doctor, holds an MBA and is ISSA certified in exercise therapy, fitness nutrition and corrective exercise.
Thought for the week – “Keeping our surroundings clean and ensuring personal hygiene with an emphasis on washing our hands regularly and properly with running water and soap will get rid of most of the diarrhoeal and respiratory diseases that we suffer from!”
By Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials
Do you want to be happy?
Don’t we all dream of a life that is filled with laughter? That may be a reason for chasing big bucks, which like the Golden Fleece eludes the majority of us.
Financial Wellness is extremely important but there are other factors that make us happy and healthy and eventually wealthy.
I will introduce a few everyday activities that are guaranteed to make you happy if you continue practising them.
You definitely do not need to live in Finland to experience happiness even though many people agree that is the “headquarters” of happiness.
1. Wake-Up Ritual
a. Say to yourself that today will be a beautiful day or a great day!
b. Ask God what He has in store for you. Use me Lord (if not a Christian what you believe in will be useful as well.
c. Remind yourself of your purpose in life and get out of bed.
d. Do Not grab your phone as the first thing for the day.
2. Pray
a. Talking to God has a way of calming our nerves. It brings about unexplained peace and when we add praise and worship then the floodgates open. That is how to win battles against unhappiness.
3. Smile
a. Definitely floods your body with feel good hormones and insulates you from stress.
b. Smiling is infectious so the more you smile the better and you set off a smiling OR happiness domino effect.
4. Meditate
a. Extremely good for your brain and an easy way to start is to do deep-breathing and just focus on your “breath” excluding all others. That is what some will prefer to call mindfulness. Being in the moment has immense benefits. Things you never knew existed suddenly spring up.
5. Exercise
a. That wonder drug that trumps virtually all others. Like smiling it does pour out feel good hormones. Strength training even goes an extra mile causing our muscles to act as “pharmacies” that pour out life-changing signals every time they contract.
6. Be kind to yourself & to others
a. We are often too harsh on ourselves. Give yourself a break. Self-care is the real deal!!
b. Being harsh to others has no benefits.
7. Spend some time doing nothing!
a. We need to re-set from time to time. Spend about 10 minutes a day doing absolutely nothing. There is happiness and innovation in “idling”. Do not abuse idling though.
8. Spend time with loved ones.
a. This is another powerful happiness “hack”. You have to make time and be intentional about this; talk on phone, send messages, arrange to meet for a drink or meal. Social Wellness ranks very high on the happiness index and it’s fairly easy to plug into it.
b. While spending time together remember that your choice of food and drinks also impacts on how happy or sad or anxious you may feel.
9. Indulge in a hobby.
a. Our bodies and brain love variety. Do you have a hobby? Get one
10. Write in your gratitude diary.
a. That is all it takes – keep doing it regularly.
11. Get a pet.
This list is not exhaustive but definitely a good start. Share your happiness hacks with me via email and together we can keep the world smiling and happy.
At the end of each day ask yourself if you did better than the previous day. That is all it takes. Doing better than the previous day for 365 days, for 5 years, 10 years… How amazing that will be!!!
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd/ Medics Clinic
(dressel@healthessentialsgh. com)
*Dr. Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Therapy, Fitness Nutrition and Corrective Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’
Thought for the week – “There is no magic formula to being happy but making a conscious effort to be happy goes a long way.” – Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
By Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials
Measure your blood pressure accurately, control it, live longer
May 17 is World Hypertension Day and please do not panic. This is not a stress-filled day that aims at increasing your blood pressure but rather it’s a day set aside to increase awareness of a serial yet silent killer. That is exactly what Hypertension it; its killing the young and old at an alarming rate yet in most instances people with high blood pressure may feel absolutely well.
The theme for this year is “Measure your blood pressure accurately, control it, live longer”
Do these when you take your blood pressure since the accuracy of the reading matters:
• If you have been walking or running rest for at least 5 to 10 minutes
• No caffeinated drinks or alcohol two or three hours before checking blood pressure
• Sit (sometime you may need to stand or lay in bed) comfortably with your back rested/supported and your arm for the cuff resting on a table of firm surface
• Have your feet flat on the floor and not legs crossed
• Ensure the cuff is the right size for your arm
• If using an electronic monitor ensure battery is working well
• If clothing covering arm is thick remove
• Loosen your neck-tie or belt if uncomfortable
• If you are not conversant with checking blood pressure, get the appropriate training
Global statistics show that only 50 per cent of those with hypertension are actually aware and that awareness in some areas may be as low as 10 per cent while awareness may exceed 75 per cent in a few areas.
The bitter truth is some people do not have enough information about the condition, a significant number do not have easy access to measuring their blood pressure and a few stubborn ones think it is better not to know if something is going wrong.
What do we need to understand about our blood pressure numbers? There are ALWAYS two numbers in a blood pressure reading such as 120/80mmHg. The top figure represents the force of the blood against the artery (blood vessel) walls as your heart beats and the lower value represents the force on the walls in between beats or while the heart rests. Both numbers are important.
Essentially when your blood pressure is higher than it should normally be all organs in the body are exposed to elevated pressures since arteries supply blood to every part of the body. These sustained high pressures will be causing harm gradually every minute of the day.
Prevention of high blood pressure is based mainly on adopting the appropriate lifestyle, while having regular medical check-ups to pick up conditions that can may lead to hypertension if not tackled early. Management of hypertension on the other hand requires a three-pronged attack in most situations;
• Lifestyle modifications
• Regular medical checks to pick up other conditions that be worsen our hypertension or general wellbeing
• Use of appropriate physician prescribed medication
Age and our genes may have a way of increasing our blood pressure or predisposing us to hypertension, but since we have no control over the choice of our family and years rolling by, it may be worth focusing on the above three that we can control to a large extent.
Lifestyle Modification
• Exercise adequately
• Do not smoke
• Limit or avoid alcohol
• Aim at fat (weight) loss
• Manage stress appropriately
• If you have sleep apnoea (intermittent snoring during sleep and feeling tired and sleepy on waking up) seek medical intervention
• Adopt the DASH (dietary approaches to stop hypertension) diet; low sodium (salt), increased potassium from fruits and vegetables, low or no saturated fats and increased fibre.
• Control conditions such as diabetes, cholesterol challenges and kidney disease.
Exercise need not be rushing to the gym to sweat out only, but taking walks, gardening, cleaning your home, using the stairs and many others. Exercise increases heart function and lowers blood pressure but there is a little hitch: the benefits of exercise on blood pressure do not last beyond 72 hours.
In short frequency is the watch word. Do not be a once a week or once a month exercise fan. The effect of exercise on the heart does not rely on past glory so if you were an athlete years ago but you have now become one with your sofa, I am sorry to disappoint you but you need to get moving NOW!
All types of exercises will benefit you and lower your blood pressure but a word of caution here;
• When your blood pressure is not controlled DO NOT lift weights above your head
• Do not overdo exercises of the upper body but lower body exercises such s squatting will enhance lowering of your blood pressure.
• Breathe properly especially while you train with weights; breathe out during the exertion phase as you lift a weight and breathe in while you relax.
• Of course brisk walking, swimming, use of the treadmill and other exercises that target heart function are also a must
When all is said and done, you can never know our blood pressure without measuring or checking it. Take a few minutes to check your blood pressure and ensure at least one other person checks their blood pressure before the end of the month.
Associations, companies and all identifiable groups should ensure they check their blood pressure and go an extra mile and as a corporate social responsibility help to check the blood pressure of hundreds or even thousands of people. You will be saving lives.
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd/ Mobissel
(dressel@healthessentialsgh.com)
