nutty flowers and health: June 5 2024

flower power

hydrangea season is here! or is it? i am not so sure but the local ones near home are in bloom and they are lovely which inspired me to write about them. hydrangeas, called ajisai in japanese, have meanings associated with each color as follows:

Blue – apology, gratitude, understanding
White – vanity, boasting, purity
Pink – romance, true feeling, sincere emotion
Purple – pride, royalty, wisdom

but it has been found out that the colors depend on the acidity of the soil. as such, a plant's flowers may bloom different colors each year, and more interestingly, may have more than one color in a plant. ^source that explains the first picture above.

these flowers already look good individually, how much more when they are close together in long rows? the internet suggested a couple of places in japan, mostly temples, famous for hydrangeas so let us see in the coming days if we will visit one. and yes, they bloom in june, the rainy season of japan.

nutty life

from flowers to nuts! as shared yesterday, i went to some grocery and bought bags of nuts. the bags contained pistachios, almonds, walnuts and cashews. that might seem random at first but not so random at all. here are the benefits of eating nuts.

• Rich in protective antioxidants
  -- and that helps to protect cells from damage. they are also rich in protein, vitamins and minerals which can help boost your energy.
• Support gut health
  -- nuts are rich in fiber which are believed to lower the risk of heart diseases and diabetes. they also help to grow and increase the good bacteria in your gut.
• May aid weight management
  -- nuts contain nutrients that are quite difficult to digest; as such, eating nuts reduce hunger but limits risk of weight gain. (stick to the daily recommended serving though)
• High in fats
  -- but these are the healthy fat which have proven health benefits including the heart.
• Support heart health
  --aside from the healthy fats, nuts are found to maintain the lining of the arteries, balances cholesterol, and reduces buildup of deposits.

^source

eating nuts is very healthy but just note that a quarter of a cup or a handful is the suggested daily serving for nuts. too much of anything causes side effects and that is the same with nuts. weight gain, gas, bloating are some of the side effects. with special mention to brazil nuts which causes selenium poisoning when too much is eaten. some websites suggested 2 brazil nuts a day, some says 4 is fine, the fewer the better i suppose.

so the secret is out. i bought these for weight loss to promote better health.

cardio progress

i had two ab machine workout before cardio. i finally decided not to pursue the hip machine during cardio day; i find it more tiring to the hip area which inhibits good performance on the treadmill. i will probably add that to the leg day routine. let's just see.

• seated abdominal crunch machine (59kg x 3 x 12)
• rotary torso machine (75kg x 3 x 12 per side) <---- finally increased from 72kg

so there i was walking on the treadmill while watching a live volleyball broadcast between japan and germany. both teams were equally good, scores were pretty even. a german player got super heated at one time and got a yellow card. it was my first time seeing that card awarded at an international game. (yellow card is basically a penalty card) i was enjoying the game that much taking my mind out of the cardio exercise i am in.

halfway through, i felt some sharp pains to my sole. it was quite unbearable at one point that i had to pause and check if a pebble was inside my shoe. that greatly affected my pace. i went on but had to fix my footing.

i checked my foot closely when i went back home. alas! a blister! my shoe insole already had some tore and that probably cause more friction on to my foot. and i was wearing thin socks. that was the biggest mistake. lesson of the story: wear thick socks on cardio day.

as always, take care always and stay safe.
AMPING KANUNAY!

_{all content is by yours truly unless otherwise specified}

^{all photos are taken with a galaxy s23 ultra}

This report was published via Actifit app (Android | iOS). Check out the original version here on actifit.io

Daily Activity, Gym, House Chores, Treadmill, Walking

Height 168.0 cm		Weight 70.8 kg		Body Fat 20.2 %
Waist cm		Thighs cm		Chest cm