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Short Story: Shadow

Written by Tayyaba Aziz & Saqib Hussain   After 30 minutes of struggling to focus on work, Moosa finally gave up. He stumbled in hi...

Sunday 29 June 2014

Nutrition: WHAT, WHEN & HOW MUCH IS HEALTHY?

We live in the century of geniuses, smart brilliant people who can make you pay for tomato ketchup that does not contain any tomato in it, but the package has an awesome image. Likewise Potato chips that are not made from potato still tastes a lot like potatoes. We live in the time when EATING RIGHT is a myth, what to think of the right time or the right quantity.
Why EAT right isn't the exercise enough? Even if you do tough workouts combined with bad diet, you are only running in circles. I would share my own experience of how eating right helped me lose weight plus at the end of this article I’d share my little secret of what really helped me stay motivated on this quest.

EAT RIGHT:
Now I would NOT tell you to go on a crazy “Curbs Only” diet, I believe healthy food can taste good too, real food that can be added in a beautiful lifestyle.
Whatever you buy in packages or tin cans is merely a copy of REAL food. It’s a bad trade, as the trash you buy in beautiful packages has no health benefits. Artificial is easy to avoid but the sad part is today natural is not safe either. The natural fruits, vegetables or dairy products are injected with chemicals, to increase their production. The harm is, these chemicals used can lead to diseases relating to hormonal disorders. Hence the solution is eliminating fake food and adding the right natural food in the house. It’s easy to spot chemically ripped fruits and vegetables, as they lack the nature’s gift of sweet TASTE!

RIGHT TIME:
The mistake we all make here is skipping the breakfast, NEVER skip breakfast! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, as nutritionist says. Not only that, but also reduce the size of the meals as the sun goes down. Trust me it gives you remarkable health results.
RAMADAN: From the above information it’s easy to understand that what you eat in Aftar(after sunset) should be less than the Sehri(before sunrise). Funny, how we always do the opposite of it and then wonder why we gain more weight in this month.

RIGHT QUANTITY:
Over eating can lead to some grave health problems and diseases but this topic is never stressed enough. Eating in moderation helps you stay focused on your crucial goals in life. It also prevents anger, laziness and stress. Small meals have benefits for the heart and the spirituality so it’s a pretty BIG deal.

MY SECRET FOR HEALTHLY LIFESTLYE:

On the authority of Al-Miqdaam ibn Maadiy-Karib who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (SAW) saying: "No human ever filled a vessel worse than the stomach. Sufficient for any son of Adam are some morsels to keep his back straight. But if it must be, then one third for his food, one third for his drink and one third for his breath." (Hadith No. 47, Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasaa’I, Ibn Majah – Hadith sahih.)

Ibn Masaweh, a Muslim doctor, said after reading this hadith: "If the people only used these words, they would avoid all diseases and maladies and the clinics and pharmacies would be idle."

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "The believer eats with one stomach while the kafir eats with seven stomachs." (Muslim and Bukhari)

Al-Hassan Al-Basri said: "O, son of Adam, eat with one third of your stomach and drink with one third and leave one third of your stomach to breathe so that you may think."


So this was my SECRET motivation for healthy eating, I hope it benefits you too. Let this month be more about prayers and repentance and LESS about food. I wish you all a blessed Ramadan filled with great joy, health, peace and prosperity. 
RAMADAN KAREEM MUBARAK!

                                                        

Monday 16 June 2014

Short Story: MY BEST EVER STORY-LINE!

It was a wonderful cool breezy evening after a long hot sunny day. I was in the kitchen happily singing and making cupcakes with tea for my family. Suddenly a splendid brand new creative idea for a story popped in my head. All I needed now was to get out of the kitchen and write it down. Then I thought there’s no harm in staying a while and improve the story-line inside my head.

On the contrary more new ideas kept coming and started to mess with my best ever story-line. After a little while more changes were made and improvements done, yet my ideas won’t stop coming they started to fall all over the place. My ideas fell on the kitchen floor, on the kitchen counter and even inside the baking oven! It was an emergency I can’t lose this awesome story-line! I quickly shoved the muffin tray inside the preheated oven and almost ran to towards my room.

On the way my fashion freak sister bumped into me holding 5 dresses in her hand. Before she opened her mouth and ask me what to wear, and hear her up-to-date fashion trend opinions, I snapped “YELLOW!”
I smiled at her appreciation and managed to escape. The safe zone was finally achieved with my ideas still falling on my room floor. I quickly grabbed a pen and started to search for a blank paper to write down my storyline. Every page on the desk had something scribbled on it, articles, stories, doodles. Among the whole huge mountain not a single blank page though it hit me more as a shock than frustration.

I jumped into the pile like a dolphin and after 15 minutes of hard swimming I found a blank sheet of paper at last. The fortunate, precious, neat blank paper is ready to accept my brand new ideas, and provide a safe place to my story-line. I picked my pen and settled down slowly placing the blank sheet on the desk with care. I took a deep breath held my pen in my hand ready to write my BEST EVER STORY!
I close my eyes to fully concentrate, to listen to my mind and all I hear is the sounds of cricket chirping in deep woods. The End

Sunday 15 June 2014

Fitness: Five Things to keep you Motivated this Summer!

Summer is the best opportunity to lose weight, to achieve a better shape, or to fit in that old dress. Unfortunately not much of us benefit from this incredible opportunity only because it’s too HOT! 
No doubt this awful heat has drained not only our energies but also the profound motivation for fitness. So buckle up to take the flight of motivation that lands on the islands of Success every day.
Expecting to lose weight while skipping the “summer season” is like walking in the wrong way up an escalator, it won’t get you anywhere. Summer Workouts mean no cramps, no muscle pulled, no aftereffects of a tough workout. And don’t worry about the heat; perspiration from workouts has the tendency to COOL your body itself. Thus making you feel lighter and less irritated by the heat than you were before the exercise.

No more exercise:
If you hate workouts then do whatever moves you. Pick your favorite dance moves, your favorite sport, it doesn't have to be the same boring exercise every day. You can add you own secret spice and everything nice into your daily workout routines. Our goal may be the same yet I insist you to use your own special strategy that gets you there.

Gym wears: Get ready with clothing that prepares you mentally. Gym clothing that you feel comfortable in is a must. For instance shoes that get you running, is a motivation in itself. So next time when you feel lack of energy for a workout you know what to do.

Find a cool spot: The room you choose to workout in should be properly ventilated. Excessive sweating can lead to increased humidity and suffocation if the air doesn't circulate freely. Outdoors is also a good option but only when the sun is less harsh.

Stay Accountable: Motivation also comes in abundance when you are answerable to someone. Tell your family and friends what your goals are of weight lose this summer. Write it on facebook, twitter, comment it under this post, Go public, drive people crazy with your goals and in return people will help you stay motivated.

Avoid dehydration: Drink lots of water after the workout as I DO NOT want you to faint due to dehydration. Do your Workouts when the atmosphere is a comparably cooler. The early morning hours, or the evening when the winds starts to cool the temperature are suitable to avoid suffocation. 

Today during the walk from the bus stop to my home I felt like a lost princess in Sahara desert.  I glanced at the end of the street which seemed unreachable making it harder to even drag my feet. Then I focused only on my feet, trying to lift them instead of dragging and that’s how I finally reached home. I was able to do this only by focusing on the PROCESS and not the result.
Hence focus on the beauty of the workouts, the dance moves, the sports, or whatever ideas you have for sweating off pounds this summer. For those who are serious about results, summer is the golden chance from nature to you.
Please share your goal and strategy I would love to hear your creative ideas… Best of luck!

Tuesday 10 June 2014

Health: Not too hot for a cup of TEA?

Fiery sun comes out with scorching heat expressing its merciless rage over everything it can. Everything you touch is steaming like a pressure cooker. Fierce hot air, steaming hot water, sweltering kitchens, taps, roofs, floors, everything you touch is on fire! And on top of that people are fiercely enraged for no apparent reason at all. Like when you come to the kitchen and quickly start sharing jokes all the fun things happened that day and all of a sudden your mother turn to glare at you in slow motion.  Then you gulp and tiptoe out of the kitchen slowly, yeah that kind of a hot humid day.

And the craziest thing of all is seeing people drowning in sweat and still enjoying their hot cup of TEA! The sun is already burning our outsides, lets burn the insides too, wonderful idea. Everybody is doing it. It’s a grave intense addiction we can’t pull out of. I asked a few people if they are addicted to tea, but they instantly denied it, they said only two cups of tea a day is not an addiction. If you think you can’t skip One cup of tea, while you sweat in this blistering heat, you are ADDICTED my friend.

I agree tea opens up our minds and all the other good things advertisement stuff into our minds but you are already getting that kick from the sun you don’t need to punish your insides in summers. And don’t come up with the cold coffee idea, coffee stays coffee whether you put ice into it or an iceberg in it. A better idea if you are too willing for something hot would be a cup of GREEN TEA. Why, because it doesn't burn your insides, it soothes and have tons of health benefits.
I know it’s not easy to replace a severe crucial addiction of Tea to GREEN TEA in one day but one step at a time is the key. One thing I like about bad habits is we know they are UNHEALTHY and that’s what gives us the strength to abolish them. I hope I can give you a little push you need to attain a healthy life every day.

There are so many reasons to love summer it’s not just green tea folks, drink iced fruits smoothies, chilled milkshakes, watermelon juice, keep yourself and your loved ones cool, happy and healthy. Happy Summer everybody!


Tuesday 3 June 2014

Bad Handwriting: Reasons why NOT to Improve!

When we talk about new hairstyles or dresses, we find that Messy is the latest trend, why can’t we say the same for messy Handwriting?

I mean it’s about time we stop setting a standard for handwriting.  Let’s celebrate Bad Handwriting. At this point you might me thinking I am crazy or that I have bad handwriting…? Well that’s not the point the point is to LOVE yourself just as you are, even if it’s something as small as your handwriting. Secondly if you are the exception with the Times New Roman style font, then read on to find why bad handwriting is worth being proud of.

First of all we should drop the word “BAD” it’s too harsh. Handwriting is never bad, it’s just unique. Never call it sloppy either, it’s not careless, it’s actually Carefree. It’s more like freestyle dancing something way too artistic and inborn. You just can’t change it; in my opinion you should never try to change it. Google told me Bad Handwriting is a sign of intelligence. It comes when a person can think much faster than they can write. Then it told me it can be a disorder and that’s where I stopped googling. Avoid too much google it can be bad for health.

I hear a lot of criticism too; one of my teachers once told me, my handwriting is the Wingdings style font with the size of 16. And he also told me how my handwriting gives him a severe headache. My only excuse was I get a carpal tunnel syndrome when I try to write any better…
 Yet what I like about that is my handwriting stands out, he never had to read the name on my exam paper. It becomes your trademark, which is so awesome!

Bad Handwriting reflects your personality, it shows love for freedom, and it shows that you don’t want to get tied down with the rules of traditional standards. If you are trying to make it pretty you are just becoming a fake person. Something you are not and it will affect your personality too. Remember fake can never beat the original in beauty. So if you have bad penmanship, I mean “Freestyle Handwriting” be proud of it. This is who you are.

Please let me know if you think I am right, and if you are my teacher I don’t want to know… I’m kidding, please share your ideas, comment to let me know you were here.