WHO'S WORLD OF FANTASY WILL YOU DIVE INTO NEXT?

EL-NINO OR THE NORMAL short rains of September to November (if my primary-school science memory is correct)? I’ll leave that up to you to decide; nevertheless, caution should be taken to remain safe at all times. In the bus, on the streets and even in the workplace, the current flow of conversation revolves around the alleged pyramid scheme that was El-Nino, and even if that were the case, wouldn’t it better pay off in the long run to be ever vigilant?

Happy new week, folks! Did you get children at your door on October 31^st Trick or Treating in scary Halloween masks? I wonder, what sort of tricks do they play whenever there’s no candy at your place? Maybe throw flour in your face? I do feel like that would be something I would want to grow younger again to do – the trick or treating, not the throwing flour prank, hehe. And speaking of candy, did those kids sleep that night, or were they entertaining sugar rushes? I’d definitely love to know.

Brilliant! Now, why don’t we take a look at candy and other sugars that have an interesting habit of getting into our systems after flirting and courting with our eyes?

Wait, before you say “Argh, not you too,” I’d like to put forth a disclaimer that this isn’t an advisory conversation. This is not about me telling you what to and not to do, or even suggesting that you may be wrong in a certain area of your life. No. There are too many of those channels around that may or may not make us feel invalidated. Here, we are about having a conversation where at the end of it, we draw our own conclusions and move on, not to mention smile and laugh from time to time. 🙂 Even then, not all the conversations may be…pleasurably favourable.

Quick question: how do you burn away the sugar (and salts) you consume? Do you maybe have a daily jogging routine? Perhaps attend an aerobics class every other day? What is your preferred method?

Sugar has this way of appealing to our taste buds as well as give one the energetic shot – think sugar rush – albeit for a short time. After that, well, it becomes to the body what plastic bottles and plastic bags become to the environment when trashed negligently: an eyesore! Only problem is, we really cannot exactly see it until it is a little too late.

Perhaps if we had disposed of the trash in the recommended way at all times, our yard or neighbourhood wouldn’t attract scavengers and pest infestations. Perhaps if I had spent the extra energy to trash my candy wrappers in the bin, the grass in my lawn would not have to compete with them for sunlight and ample growing space. Can the same be said of the sugar we consume?

Don’t get me wrong: sugar is not bad. If anything, your body requires sufficient amounts of sugar to function effectively, with the possibilities of diabetic shock and diabetic comas on the extremes with either too little or too much blood sugar respectively. When blood sugar is higher than normal, the pancreas produces insulin which stimulates the body cells to take up the excess blood sugar and store it as glycogen – which is then used to power our exercise bouts. On the other hand, when blood sugar is insufficient, glucagon is released by the pancreas to add to the blood sugar levels from the glycogen stored in the cells.

Interestingly, however, the glycogen stores are not unlimited. It gets to a point where the body cells cannot take up any more sugar from the blood, which then has the potential to lead to Type 2 diabetes. In fact, this type of diabetes occurs either due to the inability of body cells to be appropriately stimulated by insulin, or due to the inability of the body to produce insulin. Consequence? Type 2 diabetes with a potential of diabetic shock.

Supposing the body cells react appropriately to insulin and take up more of the blood sugar to store as glycogen, if the previously stored glycogen is not burnt during physical activity or exercise – distinct terms – it is then converted into fat. Yes, fat is sugar that was stored in the body for quite some time without getting spent. If one were to think of a bank and compound interest, they’d have an idea of this implication.

Now, if I were any other author, I would probably advise you against taking sugar and candy and alcohol, to which your most likely response would be to maliciously continue to indulge – that’s human nature. It’s not about one person telling the other person what they should do; rather, what conclusion and decision can we come up with together that is favourable to both parties? After all, don’t we all want to cheat death and live as long as we possibly come, possibly even become immortal?

In this case, it would seem to appear that the issue is getting rid of the excess sugar in the body, right? And the way to do so is to dispose of it appropriately (like trash in a designated bin) by burning it away from the system. And the best way to do this is not to set the body on fire – and by the way, it takes a lot of courage to attempt or commit suicide – but, through exercise.

Earlier, I hinted at a distinction between physical activity and exercise. Well, that’s because physical activity involves gross motor movements that cause motion of the major muscles of the body (for example: lifting a leg, or even taking a leisurely walk, or climbing stairs); while exercise is a subset of physical activity whose components are planned, structured and repetitive (for example: daily jogs, weekly gym sessions, daily yoga). Although both classifications make use of the stored sugar in the body, one burns a little (much) more effectively than the other, can you guess which one?

In this day and age, there are numerous options to exercise depending on one’s preference. For example: there is (power) yoga, aerobics sessions, zumba classes, running, cycling, swimming, aqua zumba, aqua conditioning, gymnastics, baseball…with even follow-along YouTube videos! I particularly enjoy aqua conditioning because you can get all the benefits of working out on land with the addition of increased resistance and reduced weight on the joints.

Again, how do you burn away the sugar you’ve consumed?

Now, perhaps you are concerned about a few things when it comes to exercising: is it really worth it? Isn’t it hard? I have aching joints and weak bones, how can I even think about working out? With this economy, how can I afford to go to a gym when I have other bills I need to pay? I have tried starting before and I couldn’t go on, so I quit…. These questions are super valid – even coaches and athletes face such damning questions from time to time. ‘Damning’ because they can be pitfalls into inaction.

The first thing to do in case you are yet to start or have started before and couldn’t quite go on is to find something that you enjoy, something that works for you. For example, I know a group of people who are part of a Weekend Roadies club who go cycling together over the weekend with a super nice coffee break in-between, and it’s made up of people from a variety of ages and professions! If one were to suggest that they should go running instead, or swimming, well, what happens when you provoke a hive of bees?

Similarly, there are other cyclists who aren’t a fan of the roads and prefer to instead go Mountain-biking, with nice doses of chapati and chai. 😉 Both these sports are physical activities that almost anyone can do, yet the difference comes in when they do it in a manner that is planned, structured and repetitive. Cycling works for them as their mode of exercising. Interestingly, the rides take place even beyond the weekends!

I also know a couple of other people who prefer dance to any other workout activity – and yes, dancing is a workout! In Zumba, for example, dance moves are designed into workouts by increasing the intensity of the movements while keeping the aesthetic quality of the dance, and an hour’s worth is enough to be a full day’s workout. Dance is their preference.

If you are someone who would like to dance or run or do any other activity that can be classified as weight-bearing (on your joints) yet are limited by weight, arthritis or weak joints or injuries, aqua fitness becomes an available option. Whatever you can execute on land, you can do in a swimming pool. The major advantage – and this is a repetition – is that you get the full benefit of the exercise drills with the additional factor of strengthened muscles due to the increased resistance in water. And if you can run fast in water, how much faster can you be on land? 🙂

Choose what works best for you. This would be the first step. Also, would you be interested in trying out whether aquafitness would be the one for you? You can sign up for it here.

Then, if you are working solo without training buddies or a fitness coach/instructor, find ways to make it fun. Boring activities are a huge turn off, even to me. Activities that have flair with the right amount of challenge are easier to become habits and transition into our lifestyle. Who said that fun only belongs to the children we once were? Fun is and should be part and parcel of our lives, and exercise is the one place where it really plays a huuuuuge role.

With these 2 factors in place, others like consistency and discipline become no-brainers. In fact, if I were to link this paragraph to the previous article, I would say that consistency and discipline are very important aspects in exercise, yet they come after the right activity and fun we have spoken about before but may have taken for granted in our adult lives. The vitally important little things. 🙂

As I conclude, remember the main question in today’s discussion: how do you burn the sugar you consume? Let’s see if you can drop off your answers in my inbox, email or even comments. 🙂 All the best!

Cheers!