Every moment spent in the presence of your loved one is indeed special. But some more so than others! Valentine’s day is just a reminder of what your life partner means to you and the occasion to celebrate that togetherness with a renewed commitment to each other. What better way to reiterate that promise than take the responsibility of the other’s health and fitness?
Men and women are not only physically and emotionally different. They are also biochemically different. That is why what works for one does not work for the other. Even when a couple begin a fitness program together, follow the same diet and lifestyle, do the same activities and exercises, it is almost always frustrating to the woman, for her body does not respond as dramatically to these changes as a man’s. All of us have ‘lipogenic’ or fat storing enzymes and ‘lipolytic’ or fat burning ones. Unfortunately, as procreation has been entrusted on the female, the fat storing enzymes are far more in women than men. Her body is always ready to keep not just her, but also the fetus alive. That is why we at Maverick insist that a woman should never go on a extreme calorie restrictive diet, for immediately it alerts the biochemistry within to start ‘storing’ in anticipation of child bearing. To the body survival is the key – for a man just himself, for a woman always herself and her little one – real or imaginary as every menstrual cycle proves.
The basic property of a muscle is elasticity, the ability of the muscle to extend and also bounce back to original length (as I discussed in the December issue). Men and women are always biased to one aspect of this principle. Women by nature are very flexible finding it very easy to stretch and extend. Unfortunately, they never work on the rebound action by lifting enough weights and end up with loose muscles that look very flabby with no tonicity. On the other hand men by nature have a lot of muscle tone but are unlikely to be flexible. Without stretching those muscles, men will loose their range of motion capable by each muscle, over an extended period of time becoming less and less agile. A proper exercise program ensures you stretch the tight muscles and tone the loose ones. Both men and women ought to be able to have both flexibility and muscle tone.
In addition to diet and the muscle tone, the most crucial message I wish to spread this valentines day is the need for women to start some kind of structured exercise program. Muscles are the metabolically most active tissue in the body. By not lifting enough weights, she will soon loose her fat burning mechanism adding to the victory of her already overactive lipogenic fat storing enzymes.
A woman believes the health of her family is her responsibility. Unfortunately she forgets that her own health is primary to ensure she can take care of her loved ones. It becomes the responsibility of the men in her life – the father, brother, husband, friend – to insist she gift that one hour to herself to take care of her own fitness. It is a pretty consistent phenomenon that when the woman in the house falls sick, the entire well run machine called home comes to a halt. Time to take the responsibility of her own health first.
Love is love only when it can make a difference, not when it merely pampers you to a momentary feeling of fleeting happiness. Let this Valentines day be a turning point in your lives to take responsibility for your sweetheart’s healthy future rather than merely an entertainment lost in the mindless expenditure of time, money and energy! From our side, Maverick is happy to extend a very special Valentines day offer to the readers of Food and health this February. On behalf of the entire Maverick team, here is wishing you most and more in health, wealth, love, peace and bliss!
Written by Gita Krishna Raj | Published in Food & Health in February 2013
