The HEALTH : March 2019 | Page 23

MARCH, 2019 | Th e HEALTH MEN Tips for new dads Y oU have to understand that when you have your fi rst baby, you yourself are a baby. You are a new born dad. You would be so afraid that if you do something wrong, it might aff ect your child’s future. It could be something as simple as feeding them a few minutes later. You do not actually have to plan everything you do with your child or make schedules. Th ere are good and bad approaches to parenting and those are things that you would fi gure out by yourself. You’ll never feel like you have this thing down and that’s good. You will be able to manage it as you get to know child. Your child is your teacher. Everything you need to know about becoming a dad is from learning from your child. What they like and dislike, their allergies and more. Th ere are a few reasons a baby cries and that is when they are sleepy, needs to be cleaned or fed. Th e baby is the one who will decide when diapers need to be changed, but you can be proactive in setting up an eating and sleeping routine. Lastly, get sleep. Lots of sleep. Th is does wonders for both you and your baby. You need to be able to function and stay alert at any time an emergency might arise. Here are some tips in point form: • Get comfortable holding your newborn • Know the reasons why your baby cries • Help your wife as much as you can • Man up and change those diapers! • Get as much sleep as you can, even though it may seem impossible • Be very, very patient. You will be waking up in the middle of the night often now. — Th e Health tips for men over 50 to lose weight Eat more fruits and vegetables to lose weight, you obviously need to take in fewer calo- ries than you expend. But instead of focusing on what to eat less of, let’s talk about what to eat more of. People who increased their intake of fruits and vegetables lost weight, especially if they ate more berries, apples, pears, soy, or caulifl ower. Make bean stew Beans are packed with fi lling fi bre and protein, and as they travel through your digestive system, their roughage and resistant starch feeds the good bacteria in your gut, says tucker. Th ese bacteria in turn create short-chain fatty acids, which are helpful in protecting your metabolism Make friends with your weighing scale Weigh yourself each morning so you notice right away if the number is trending up instead of down. If you gain weight, and if you focus on it early and it’s only a few pounds, you can lose it quickly, but if you let it stay, basically it reprograms your body at a higher weight and it makes it hard to lose because you get hungry.  Focus on food Between your kids’ goings-on, appointments with your accountant, and all the other obligations facing the modern middle-aged man, you might not be giving your meals the respect they deserve. Eating slowly and mindfully can help your weight-loss eff orts. Stop drinking sugar sugary foods and drinks fi ll you with calories — about 150 calories in a can of Pepsi, for example—but they don’t satisfy your appetite. Eat the equivalent in a salad, and you’ll stay full longer. Mix up your workouts If you’ve been leaning on one type of exercise up to this point, now is the time to mix it up. In a recent study from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Iowa state University, older people who did a combination of 30 minutes of aerobic exercise and 30 minutes of resistance exercise three days per week reduced their body fat percentage and gained muscle. (Th ey also showed improvements in blood pressure and cardiorespiratory fi tness, important boosts to an aging heart.) — Th e Health 23