Impacts of Walking

Walking is one the best low-impact, gentle exercise that's easily available to everyone. Right from the time we were kids, the first thing we do was to walk. It is freely available to us and suitable for all ages.

Below are the impacts of walking and why it is so good for you – 
1. Walking strengthens your heart
Regular walking reduces the risk of stroke and heart disease. It's great form of exercise which helps to lower bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol. In addition, a brisk walk into your every day routine also helps to control the high blood pressure and reduces the risk of strokes.

2. Walking lowers disease risk
A consistent habit of walking habit cuts the risk of diabetes. You are even less likely to develop cancer of the womb or breast with an active hobby such as walking.Taking more steps everyday can ward away diseases like asthma.
Recently my mom was diagnosed with having diabetes. She was feeling very tired and lethargic and ran down with energy. She was constantly drinking lots of coffee loaded with sugar to bring back that energy. Her eating habits were simply unhealthy and she skipped meals due to this lack of energy. Her doctor gave her a healthy eating plan, urged her to cut down on coffee and strictly take a 30 minute walk every day. She took the docs advice very seriously and within few weeks of following the plan, she noticed tremendous changes in her energy levels. Within a month, her sugar level came down and she is full of energy now. 

3. Walking helps you maintain weight
For someone weighing 60kg, brisk walk of 30 minutes helps to burn about 75 calories by walking 3.2km. If you increase your speed you end up burning more calories. If you walk 6.4Km per hour burns calories equivalent to having cakes.  The more you need to lose weight, the more you need to increase your speed of walking for burning more calories

4. Walking prevents Osteoporosis
Walking is a total body exercise, but mainly works on your feet and legs which support your body's weight. Walking restores and strengthens bones and increases bone density. This is very important to everyone especially for women. Walking about 8Km-10Km a week can help develop your bone health.

5. Walking tones up legs, glutes and abs
Regular brisk walking can give amazing definition to quads, calves hamstrings while lifting your glutes muscles. If you add intensity to your walking by walking on hills or inclines you will burn more calories and get more effective workout. Although it is a free form of exercise, we need to maximize to get a total body exercise. If we maintain correct posture in our walks, it also helps to tone your waistline and abs.

6. Walking boosts levels of vitamin D
Walking is effective if its done in the open air. That being said, we are free to do it anytime and anywhere. If we get a brisk 30 min walk in the early morning, we maximize calorie burns by also boosting our Vitamin D. Now this nutrient has a huge role in impacting many things from bone health to our immune systems. 

In addition to all this, it is great way to travel and wonderful form of social activity. It is effective and convenient and great way to interact with friends because you can easily talk and have a quick walk.

#TataZicaMarathon
This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

Impact of social media as a blessing

1st of April 2004. I still remember that day. Not because its April Fools day. But because it was the day that I created my first email account. Yes. My first email account with Yahoo. Having a social media presence was like owing a smartphone. It was not at all a must have to live but was a must have to survive. To survive among your friends and society. And that my dear friends was the first step of my journey into the gigantic world of social media. 

Right from Yahoo chat, to Orkut, to Facebook and now Twitter and Instagram and what not...The list is endless. New trends in the social media keep coming and change with time. What first started for me as a way to share my updates with friends shaped into way of keeping in touch with them. More so that these days I hardly check my Orkut or Facebook accounts.

What changed the most for me was the online contests held by many companies through social media. As a medium for promoting their brands, it gives an opportunity for amateur photographers like me to participate and showcase our talent. It gives me immense adrenaline rush to participate in these contests than mindlessly browse through news feed.

Slowly my focus shifted to searching for online contests in social media and participating in them. Through this I came to know about many brands and my general knowledge also increased. Initially I found a few contests in Facebook and kept myself busy with them. With so many medium these days, my hands are full of dates with photography contest deadlines. Slowly and steadily I started winning these contests. My sense of confidence improved and my passion for photography increased.

My most memorable contest was a photography contest with Woodland which I found in Twitter. I won first prize in that contest and they sent me to an all expense paid 7 day trip to Kenya. Imagine winning an all paid trip to an international country. It was like dream come true. 

It still amazes my parents because during their times television and Radio was the only way they get to know about updates. The awareness that social media brings across these days is simply tremendous. Isn't that a great way to stay updated with latest trends and current affairs. To me social media is simply a blessing in disguise. I am so thankful to all those companies who spend so much time in promotion so that their product is popular among consumers. Who would have imagined that a way to keep in touch with friends would now turn into my source of living. I may be very active in social media for checking contests but completely out of the league of commenting on photos. It was very easy to get lost in commenting on pics and stalking people.  But if we find our focus, we can turn anything to what we set our mind to. 

#TataZicaMarathon
This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

How healthy lifestyle can impact life

Adopting a healthy lifestyle, will not only make you look and feel better, but you also get to experience a plethora of other healthy benefits. Living in a healthy lifestyle, requires that you devote to making healthy choices, follow them regularly and stick with them.You can start with the changes today that can impact your overall health and wellness positively.

Eating a balanced diet –
The way to a healthy and balanced diet is having the right quantity of food that will help to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight. A healthy diet is as good for your taste buds as it is for your heart. Including fresh fruits, vegetables, proteins, and whole grains in your diet will give your body the energy and nutrients it needs to function properly and maintain overall health. 

Regular Physical activity
The benefits of regular physical activity and exercise are abundant. We all know simple activities like running, cycling, and swimming are good for you. It helps prevent many chronic diseases and improves digestion. In short, your overall quality of life gets better. 

Weight Control
A healthy lifestyle also helps you keep up with a healthy weight. This helps improves your appearance, your mood and your confidence. Controlling your weight reduces the risk of developing stroke, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and different types of cancer. By incorporating healthy balanced food and cutting down your intake of beverages and processed foods that are generally high in calories,  and sugar you positively impact your weight and overall good health.

Improved Confidence and Mood 
Physical activity helps in the release of brain chemicals that can make you feel happier. This emotional boost can help reduce your stress level and improve your self-confidence. In addition, the chemicals to enhance your mood that are released by physical activity can help you face a stressful day with a calmer mindset. 

Increased Energy Level
Exercising regularly improves your power to withstand stress and makes your body stronger. It also works on your cardiovascular system, which keep your muscles more energetic by delivering oxygen more effectively. Due to this you will have more energy to do everyday tasks. 

Improved Brain Health
A healthy lifestyle can increase your health of your brain. A balanced diet, regular exercise and good sleep can change your brain heath and mental functions. Basic exercise like walking, swimming is good for your brain. It regulates blood circulation and increases the amount of oxygen that reaches your brain thereby helping you to think more clearly. 

Improved Appearance
A healthy lifestyle can not only help you lose weight and look more youthful, but it is more than that. For example, staying hydrated by drinking enough water and getting sufficient sleep can reduce the visibility of under-eye bags. Cutting down on alcohol and tobacco intake reduces its aging effects on your skin and eyes.

Keep Up the Heart-Smart Lifestyle
Its one thing to know about what needs to be done for a healthy lifestyle and another thing to actually follow it. By following a healthy lifestyle you cannot always see the results of your hard work, but there are numerous impacts and every healthy choice you make does take you one step closer to a healthier lifestyle.

#TataZicaMarathon

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.