Hello! and welcome back to our blog, we’ve been off the radar recently due to the Christmas holidays and our highly successful NPIA’s that were held on the 18th of this month (January), but we are back now and all have more than enough juice to supply you with an eclectic mix of blog related banter, so buckle up and welcome to 2012 with RateMyPlacement.co.uk.

About now is make or break time for all those that wanted to get fit and haven’t done so as they have petered out of steam or lost interest. Much of the time people set unachievable goals which dis-heartens them and they then give up. Below, I’ve put together a couple of brief tips that may help you promote a healthier life style. I want to give your brain a work out too with a few educational app’s and lets not forget to reward our selves in the Leisure section.

Health

Running is the goto exercise to get slim, not necessarily. You can burn calories from lifting weights and that involves no running what so ever! The larger the muscles you use the more energy your body consumes ipso-facto more calories are burned, using a legpress is a great way to expend some calories and better yet, your sitting down!!

Metabolism is key when exercising, as a good metabolism means your body can burn the food that you put in it more efficiently. If you have 3 large meals a deal, your body struggles to process all that it consumes, much in the way a shredder jams if you stick too much paper in it. Don’t skip breakfast, instead, grab some scrambled egg and spinach on a slice of wholemeal toast, this is a really quick meal and gives your bodies furnace a kick start to the day to begin processing food. Don’t forget to drink plenty of water too (2 litres) and get that veg & fruit in side of you, try substituting carbs such as potatoes for more veg like broccoli or carrots. Click here for 8 ways to speed up your metabolism.

Sleep is an often over looked part of being healthy. Its important to get a good nights sleep (8 hours is real good), it gives your body a chance to repair after exercising and your mind to rest so you are less stressed. Those that sleep less tend to consume a lot more food as they need the energy to operate while awake. Try not to use your bed for anything other than sleep & sex, this way you only associate your bed with these two activities. If you watch TV in bed a lot your mind struggles to get to sleep as you begin to associate your bed with other activities that won’t allow you to rest properly – I discovered these facts when I was having trouble sleeping myself.

If you want to set your self goals and monitor your results, NIKE have released the Nike+ FuelBand. It is essentially a device that measures your activity, with the aid of a computer or your smart phone you can connect to the wristband to set your self goals. The band gives you your calories burned, steps taken and the Nike fuel score… oh theres also a watch on it too. Its due to launch in the UK in may and will cost around the £100 mark, if your serious about exercise and logging your results this maybe a good motivator.. not too sure how it works with less cardio based activities though.

Education

Many of us have smart phones and seldom time to educate ourselves but we have plenty of time to play games while sitting on the train into work or at the back of the classroom. Check out these two apps:

Night Sky £0.69 link Allows you to point the app towards the “Night Sky” (also works in the day) and identifies constallations for you, you can also identify planets with your naked eye and go satalite spotting. How is this eduction? I dare people not to be impressed when your busting out constellations and they can barely point out the big dipper.. and “no thats not the north star, it’s Jupiter”.

The Crystal Maze £0.69 link This is an absolute classic. The app itself comes packed full of everyones favourite zones including Aztec, Science and Medieval zones, along with a Richard O’Brian sond pack!!!! There are various games that will test your lateral thinking as well as some basic puzzle solving. All crystals are cashed in at the end of the game for extra time in the Crystal dome!!!

Heres a bonus video of the 90′s classic game show that is a favourite in the office;

Leisure

And finally, my favourite part of the blog, when I suggest movies I’ve seen and/or want to see. Theres been a few movie releases recently that have been massive, one of which being:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 7.3/10 Now I’m a big fan of reading but have never felt compeled to read this series of books. I’m not too sure why, regardless, I was unsure as to what to expect but enjoyed it nonetheless. The main character is interesting and you do jump on her side even though she is insane for what ever reasons. Pretty tense in places and un-funny throughout but I guess its meant to be a thriller. DC is good and refreshing when not playing the smarmy James Bond. 7.3/10

War Horse 6.8/10 Spielberg loves a war time epic and this doesn’t disappoint. Quite a romantic storey of a boy and his horse getting separated during WW1 and re-united over the course of the film, its kind of like Saving Private Ryan meets Black Beauty with an essence of Forest Gump sprinkled on, in the way the main protagonist infiltrates so many stories. Defiantly worth a watch and I’d like to hear from anyone that has seen both the theater production and the movie and how they compare.

Im still itching to watch Goon with Sean William-Scott who I always find hilarious and looking forward to Wes Andersons, Moonrise Kingdom, which if on par with the Life Aquatic is going to be pure gold.

until next time people..