Discover a Secret of Being Unstoppable

Discover the Secrets of Being Unstoppable

Sunday 7 October 2012

Ways to make your skin healthy

The primary step to keeping your skin healthy is preventing damage. Pollutants, air, sun as well as by just natural aging can certainly mortify the form of your skin. Frequent grumbles incorporate dry along with itchy skin, sagging, wrinkles, color alterations, together with age spots. Luckily, there are various methods that you can readily apply in order to maintain a healthy skin, feeling and looking at its most excellent appearance.

Keeping yourself fit, having enough rest, as well as getting healthy diet can set the basis for fine-looking and vigorous complexion. Moreover, a proper diet is not only the excellent way in attaining good health in general but it as well assists you to guarantee that your skin will get all of the vitamins and minerals, along with the nutrients that it requires to preserve and fix itself.

Another way to keep your skin healthy is to apply the right skin care products to your skin. The best anti aging skincare products that can aid you to hydrate the skin are now available at your favorite skin care product store online. Having a clean skin by using the best skin cleanser is also a great way of preventing skin damages.

One of the most essential ways to protect your skin is to keep it away from the harmful rays of the sun. Ultraviolet radiation harms the skin as well as it can result to wrinkles, premature aging, age spots or even cancer as well. An individual should really get further preventative measures in order to be certain that his or her skin is not totally exposed under the harmful rays of the sun. Do not fail to remember that one should apply a natural sunscreen, or a moisturizer that includes sunscreen (with minimum of SPF 15) every day. Although, it does not mean that you should not go out at all during the day, as if you are like a nocturnal creature. Your skin also needs some sunlight every day. A 10 to 15 exposures at sunrise or sunset will be alright.

In addition to that, a variety of fine skin care products such as an all natural moisturizer is one of the essential components for a vigorous complexity. Keep on moisturizing all through the day to keep your sensitive skin vigorous. Your hands as well as your face is especially vulnerable to everyday dent, and might require it to be moisturized further.

About The Author
Skin Care Products are not only witnessed in industrial or professional application since there are as well the likes which are utilized at home or as personal use. One is that I generally utilized is the area of elderly care or in areas where care of people enduring the dilemma of incontinence.

Wednesday 26 September 2012

Ph Balance Is An Important Consideration For Active Poeple

Active people who cycle, run, hike, play tennis, golf, build muscle up, or do anything physical and want to perform at peak levels of fitness, have a choice to make. It's a choice many never consider, but one of the most important choices for overall health and fitness. It stares you right in the face every time you eat or drink anything. The choice to consider is whether or not a food or beverage is going to help you maintain proper Ph balance, or is it going to throw that delicate balance off and leave you vulnerable to health challenges.

In order to maintain suitable Ph balance, nutrition experts suggest 80% of dietary intake should be alkaline and 20% acidic. The alkalinity or acidic properties of a food or beverage come into play when your body burns them for fuel. Consuming too many acidic foods, drugs, tobacco, sodas, cocktails, or coffee cause the Ph level of the blood to become overly acidic, therefore, out of balance. Too much alkaline food can also throw the body out of balance, but not many people have that problem.

Most people have this alkaline/acid ratio upside down, which means the body has to find something with enough alkalinity to correct the acid/alkaline imbalance. A human being's blood Ph level is meant to stay at 7.4, so the body is constantly working to maintain that level, no matter what you consume. If you are forcing your body to work harder in order to preserve that Ph level, how hard can it work for you when you are in the middle of physical activities? If the body has to neutralize more acid than it is designed for, where do you think it always finds a readily available supply of something with enough alkalinity to do that? The answer is, your bones. When the consumption of alkaline food and drinks is insufficient to do the job, then the body has to pull calcium from bones in order to neutralize excess acid in the bloodstream.

It is a nutrition fact that over indulgence in acid forming foods and beverages such as meat, coffee, alcohol, sugar, dairy, and refined flour products can cause a body's Ph balance to be overly acidic. This can lead to all sorts of health problems, not the least of which is bone weakness. A calcium supplement may help. However, if the calcium is not from a whole food source, the body does not absorb it as efficiently due to the lack of live enzymes, but more about that in a future article. The best whole food sources for calcium are broccoli, green leafy vegetables, and other alkaline foods.

Here is a short list of foods that are acidic when the body burns them for fuel:
·White flour, refined sugars
·Dairy products
·Meat, fish
·Peanut butter
·Chocolate
·Nuts (not all of them, but most).
·Plums, prunes and cranberries (surprising, but true, even some healthy fruits and vegetables can form an acid ash, especially over- cooked vegetables)

Here are some good choices for alkaline food to help maintain proper Ph balance:
·Almonds, Apples, Avocados
·Bananas, Beans, Brazil nuts
·Broccoli, Cantaloupe, Carrots

Ph balance is just one of many considerations when choosing a healthy balanced diet. Search the Internet for more alkaline food options and other choices for improving and maintaining overall health and fitness.

Thursday 6 September 2012

Stretch for Fitness Success

When you think of developing a strong, muscular physique what type of exercises do you think of doing? To improve and develop strength most individuals focus on lifting weights exercises such as bench press, push ups and flies that focus on powerful pushing and pulling movements. Cardiovascular activity usually takes the passenger seat, when it comes to developing strength - unless youre involved in a sport that requires a lot of endurance training, or if you want to loose excess body fat on top of improving your strength.

Stretching unfortunately isnt even put in the strength development category, because most of us figure that since its a low intensity movement its purely for cooling down after our workouts. However stretching isn't merely a great way to cool down trust me it can actually help make you stronger. Thats why I feature a great stretching diagram on my website, FitnessGear101.com.

The benefits of stretching have numerous effects on your weightlifting progress. Just remember when you stretch you should feel slight tension in your muscles, but no pain!

Stretching is your key to the following fitness pluses:

Increased Strength - Stretching actually helps to increase your muscular strength because it expands your range of motion, and range of motion literally applies to weightlifting. For example when you lift in a wider range of motion compared to a smaller range, youre enlisting the help of more fibers, making your muscles stronger.

Reduced Stress We all know that stretching helps reduce the stress and tension in our exercised muscles, but did you know that a quick 20-mintue session of stretching can also release most of the tension that built up throughout an entire workday?

Improved Posture Flexible muscles are your key to good posture, because stretching promotes balanced muscle tone in all the major joints in the body. This affects your strength training because good posture reduces stress and soreness in the muscles and joints, letting you get back to the gym faster.

Improved Speed & Reaction Time if youre an athlete youre aware of how important agility is to top performance. Flexible muscles make you quicker on your feet. This allows for you to run faster in sports like soccer; react quicker by making saves in hockey and by maneuvering around opponents in football.

Decreased Muscle Soreness - This means less time off from the gym and your game, and more time to devote to developing those muscles.

Ease of Movement If youre not an athlete, never fear, stretching does more than improve sports performance. It makes simple daily tasks easier as well, by lessening the general stiffness in joints so you can bend down, reach up and lift things easily. Stretching will also affect the future of your joints by making you less likely to develop joint pain later in life.

Reduces Chances of Injury More flexible muscles translate to less chance of injuring tight muscles during exercise. Take for example your hamstrings, the muscles that run down the back of your upper legs. I like to compare the hamstrings to an elastic band the flexible hamstring has a lot of stretch; whereas the inflexible hamstring is that dried out elastic that breaks when its stretch too far.


Anna Fleet is a certified personal trainer. When she is not working out or helping others achieve optimal health, she is the face and voice behind www.fitnessgear101.com an excellent online resource for information about

Saturday 14 July 2012

Staying on Track

It's that time of year when we are busy with the holiday season and guess what is usually the first thing scratched off our list? YUP! You guessed it YOU are scratched off the list, but most importantly our body is the most valuable possession we have and we neglect it every holiday season.

I hear people whispering goodness the dreaded 5lbs are coming, I can't resist the temptations, the parties, the dinners OH MY GOODNESS TIS THE SEASON TO EXPLODE! I THINK NOT!

Let's talk about how we can permanently stay on track throughout the holiday season and beyond.

In a world filled with fast food advertising, sweet temptations, and a host of entertainment opportunities how do we stay on track with our nutrition/fitness goals and keep the unhealthy habits in check? The first thing that you've got to do is create a healthy foundation. If you have a routine that consists of a balanced healthy breakfast every morning along with eight cups of water throughout the day, and exercise three or more days a week that you stick consistently to on a regular basis, then you've got a very good start!

The key to living a healthy active lifestyle is not just having a to do list that says you need to "do these five things everyday". The motivation starts with having a vision of the life you want to live - your life, not someone else's. Although we all need role models/mentors with whom we can look up to so we can look at what they're doing and in some way duplicate their efforts, we also need that vision of the life we want to create for ourselves. You've got to be able to look into the future lets say five years or even ten years and think about what you'd like to be doing, how you'll feel, what you'll be doing: exercise, physical activity, your job, travel, family life, etc. Don't be overwhelmed by it all, but think about it to the point where you know you'd be happier and most successful if you were to take the steps toward that life.

It all starts with making one simple change each day and building on that positive change with another. Our purpose in this journey of transformation is not about how much we can accomplish in how little time but about how we use our time and resources we have at hand. If you feel that you have made good use of your time five years from now, then you'll realize goals that go way beyond losing few pounds.

It is always easier to "sell you" on the idea that you can lose 7 pounds in 7 days. You can certainly do that with the right motivation and dedication. I can get you all excited to do it and you can go do it. But, not unlike many fad diets that sell the same idea (making lots of money in a short amount of time), only a small percentage will succeed in that time frame and even smaller percentage will succeed beyond that! Not very good odds now is it?

You must first learn the reasons you want to lose weight and create that long-term vision and follow a longer term plan, then you stand a much better (greater then 50%) chance of not only realizing your weight goal but, more importantly, many of your life's goals. The challenge we have here is teaching people to start thinking differently than what advertising conditions them to believe in. Take a step in a different direction and see what happens. It may be uncomfortable at first, but it will be much more rewarding a year from now than if you are still where you are now.

Sunday 10 June 2012

How To Lose Weight From A Low Carbohydrate Diet Plan

With the sudden boom of dieting in the country, different diet programs have been introduced in the country. Although many experts believe that proper exercise and not only diet can lose those pounds in a healthy way, many people still believe in the power of diet programs and diet plans. One of the most controversial kinds of diet plans is the low-carbohydrate diet program, which focuses on the reduction of carbohydrate consumption in the body.

According to the theory, when carbohydrates are no longer being taken in, the body will be forced to use fats and water as alternative sources of energy; thereby helping to shed off those unwanted pounds.

Fats, unbeknownst to many, can actually be converted to energy. The body just doesn't use it as the first priority because it is more complex in structure and therefore, harder to break down and convert into energy. Among the popular low carbohydrate diets in the country is the Atkins diet.

Despite arguments from its critics, low carbohydrate diet has proven its effectiveness in terms of losing that extra weight. To date, it counts millions of followers not only in the country but also outside America.

Actually, cutting down on carbohydrates in the diet is a practice that people have been doing for years. When people cut down on their rice or bread or do not eat rice at all, they are reducing their carbohydrate intake. Of course, because it is not an official diet plan they are not really restricting themselves completely. When you are under a diet plan, you are not allowed to eat any kind of carbohydrates.

One of the advantages of low carbohydrate diet is the fact that it can actually increase the levels of good cholesterol in the body. This is really good news to people who have a heart problem. This is perhaps the reason why Atkins diet was used for cardio patients. This diet plan can also reduce the amount of triglycerides in the body. Triglycerides can be dangerous when combined with a high level of LDL or bad cholesterol. Both can increase the risk for heart attack and heart disease.

Low carb diet plans are also found to be good in balancing mood swings. They will not be prone to extreme lows such as depression or extreme high. People who are under the program are found to have fairly stable energy levels unlike those with high carbo levels.

LOW CARB DIET 101

Indeed, a lot has been said about various diets and how these work for some people. There' s the Atkins Diet, the South Beach, the After-Six Diet plan and so on goes on the list of diet crazes that swept the western world and even Asian regions. Among all these, one type of diet has become popular than the others it's called the Low Carb Diet.

Basically, low carb diet actually emphasizes cutting down on from a person's daily food intake. This diet allows the dieter to take in all foods except those that have carbohydrates. Although there are many testimonies that prove that low carb diet really works, you must be very knowledgeable first about its pros and cons before deciding to go with the hype.

People who have tried low carb diets say that its advantages include:

1. Faster and quicker weight loss compared to fasting.

2. The diet may result to higher protein intake and absorption.

3. It stabilizes blood sugar levels and is extremely beneficial to those who suffer from diabetics.

Experts say that the disadvantages of low carb diets may include:

- High cholesterol levels due to the lack of protein-rich and fatty foods that has saturated fats.
- Increased blood pressure due to elimination of whole grains products that help lower blood pressure.
- It can lead to osteoporosis because there will be no enough supply of calcium.
- In some cases, this diet can lead to diarrhea, constipation, and severe headaches.
- Low carb diets increase the possibility of lower mental acuity.
- Instead of losing weight, this diet can lead to weight gain.
If you are planning on taking low carb diet, here are some helpful tips to keep you in track:

1. Make sure to drink lots of water to avoid dehydration and constipation.

2. Consider taking in more fiber and vitamin supplements.

3. Cease from consuming products that has sugar.

4. Cut down on taking in products that contain caffeine.

5. Monitor your daily carbohydrate intake.

6. Don't mind calories, they are allowed in this diet.

7. Acquire a carbohydrate counter to keep you updated.

8. Do regular physical activities and exercise to reach ketosis easily.

9. Brace yourself for diarrhea that may last for a couple of days.

10. If possible, avoid eating foods that have saturated fats.

Tuesday 29 May 2012

5 Weight Loss Tips To Keep You Slim And Fit

Being overweight brings about lots obesity related health problems. In most cases, people who are obese suffer from type II diabetes and hypertension. If you are one of those people who have tipping the scale more than you should, start making a difference in your life today. Here are five weight loss tips that could help you get into shape and make you look really fit and attractive.

Eating a balanced diet

Losing weight starts with a balanced diet. More often than not, people who are overweight tends to eat more fatty foods and less on the fiber. According to experts, having a high fiber diet will help you lose weight because fiber helps speed up the metabolism. Unlike fatty foods that are often slower to digest, fiber would facilitate digestion. What is more interesting about a high fiber diet is that you feel full for longer period of time. Since you don't get hungry easily when you are on a high fiber diet, you will tend to eat less between meals.

Drinking plenty of liquids

Drinking plenty of liquids is one of the best weight loss tips that you will ever get. The good thing about drinking plenty of liquids is that it is very easy to follow. You just simply put a water bottle on top of your table at the office and you will always be reminded to drink up!

Drink at least eight glasses of water per day. Aside from drinking water, drink plenty of fruit juices. If you have blender, blend at least five types of fruit juices, which you can drink throughout the day. The more types of fruits you mix in your juice, the more nutrients you will get.

Climb stairs

One of the best ways to burn those extra calories is to climb stairs. If you happen to work on the 10th floor of an office building, make it a point to use the stairs at least three times a week to help you exercise. According to experts, climbing stairs is equivalent to running or walking a few miles so go ahead a climb stairs.

Walk around while taking phone calls

If you think that you can't do enough exercise while in the office, think again. There are plenty of ways to exercising while you are working in the office. One of the best ways for you to exercise is to stand up and walk around the room while taking phone calls. Stretch those legs and flex those muscles while talking on the phone.

Do household chores

One of the most practical weight loss tips that experts recommend these days is to do household chores. According to a recent study, doing household chores would help you flex those muscles and those joints. Cleaning around the house and moving furniture on the process could definitely give you a good work out. Besides, doing household chores will not only help you tone those muscles and loss weight, you can save a lot of money on housekeeping fees as well.

Monday 21 May 2012

The Many Causes of Obesity

There is a big difference between being a bit overweight and being obese. Obesity is "an over-accumulation of fat that interferes with the function of our bodies." Obesity is defined as having excessive fat in body tissues. Obesity increases the risk for many health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute defines being overweight as having a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9 and obese as having a BMI of 30 or greater.

Obesity can be caused by many different factors. The most significant are:

Genetics or Heredity

Genetics are what your forefathers (and mothers) bequeathed to you in the form of your genes. There is a perception that very obese people are lazy and greedy. Not all obese people have reached that state because they eat everything in sight. If both of a person's parents were heavy, that person has a 70% probability that he or she will also be heavy. That percentage drops to 40-50% if only one parent was thin.

Metabolic

Metabolism is the amount of energy (calories) your body burns to maintain itself. Metabolism is the process in which nutrients are acquired, transported, used and disposed of by the body.

Every person is unique and they all have their own unique metabolism. The terms "slow metabolism" and "fast metabolism" refer to how easily our bodies convert food into fuel (energy) and nutrients. A person's metabolism is affected by genetics, hormone levels, thyroid conditions, food allergies, amount of body fat, age and insulin levels. Since there are so many factors that contribute to a person's metabolism, it is difficult to specify and special "diet" or "metabolic diet" for a specific person. An entire medical and psychological history would have to be determined.

Psychological

A person's mental state can contribute to a person's obesity. But the person's state of mind is usually caused because he/she is obese, not the obesity being caused by the person's state of mind.

Societal

Everywhere around us there are ads, pictures, and other people who urge us to eat more. Almost all social activity is based on food and drink. Dinners, luncheons and barbecues.

Even some religions have a type of food that should or should not be eaten at certain times. All of these little nudges to eat contribute to the obesity in our population.

Sedentary Lifestyle

A sedentary lifestyle is one of the major causes of obesity. Physical activity is one of the best ways to lose those pounds.

Prescriptions

Some prescriptions, especially antidepressants, have been shown to increase appetite, and therefore increase obesity.

Overeating

Taking in more calories than our bodies need is the most significant factor in obesity. The combination of overeating and under-activity can be the death knell to successful weight loss.

Most obese people have reached that state through multiple causes. In fact, all obese people have at least two or three of the contributing factors. That is why it is so difficult for some people to lose weight. If there is an underlying medical condition, all the diets in the world may not be enough.

Now that you've seen all the causes of being overweight, how can you overcome them?

Start simple. In weight loss, the basics are quite simple: Eat protein from the best sources you can find; vegetables in mostly unlimited amounts; high-fiber, low-sugar fruit in moderation; and eat less of fats like butter, mayonnaise and the like.

Always check with a doctor and ask for advice before starting on a stringent diet and exercise program. It's best to unearth any medical problems before doing something that will make them worse.

First, know yourself. Keep a food diary that records not only what you eat, but why you are eating and your mood at the time you are eating.

Second, be committed. Not to your spouse, your children, or your friends, but to yourself. Do it for YOU.

Third, cut down on portion sizes and reduce your fat intake. Healthy food choices are extremely important for weight loss and for health.

Fourth, increase your activity. Go for walks, go swimming or find another physical activity that suits you. My stepson lost 96 pounds by increasing his exercise level. He didn't change his eating habits at all!

Diets came into being to help people to structure their eating habits. Very stringent diets are very hard to follow and a lot of people don't have the self discipline to follow through. I believe that eating healthy foods - lean meats, vegetables and fruits - in moderate portions will be easier for most people to follow. Having some flexibility will help combat those feelings of deprivation.

Changing the eating habits of a lifetime is difficult. Start with one thing such as reducing portion sizes, and keep at it until it becomes a habit. It is said that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Don't try to take on too much at a time. Baby-step your way to healthy weight loss and better health. Persistence and patience wins the day.

Wednesday 9 May 2012

Healthy Weight Loss Diet Plan, Simple Easy Tips For A Healthier Lifestyle

A healthy weight loss diet plan should be first and foremost on our radar screen. We also understand that the modern world demands a successful career and a fast paced tech savvy social life. These demands also place such an unbalanced burden on people in the area of physical appearance.

The career, social and physical aspect can be so crushing that proper health practices suffer as a result. Not everyone can keep up with the blistering pace set by those at the very top. It can be quite brutal; more fall off the wagon than not. After a winter of hibernation, many are looking to shed those extra pounds. Some do, and some do not.

You should check your diet and rid it of the following:

1. chips and dips

2. soda and sweet juices

3. fast foods

4. these are deadly combos to your health.

These daily combos will set you up for long term health challenges. Your body tends to store these items as fat, especially if you are sedentary. The scales tip, and before long you are battling an obesity problem.

In any healthy weight loss diet plan exercise should be an extremely important segment. The balance of a sound diet and regular exercise safeguards your body for the future. Simple things like:

1. walking after meals

2. half hour exercise per day

3. gym workout for an hour

4. adopting a five day a week exercise program.

Just these simple exercise tips incorporated into your lifestyle will serve you well and go a long way to staving off obesity.

It is easy to talk about what you should not eat, but let us consider some of the foods we should keep around our homes. When starting a healthy weight loss diet plan it is important to keep healthy food items in our storage cabinets. When the good foods are not readily available we tend to snack on fast foods and unhealthy quick foods.

Keep these items in storage at home at all times:

1. Water! Keep your favorite water on hand at all times. Remember, do not just have it readily available, drink it! It is always best to drink water at room temperature. Cold water tends to slow and impede the digestive process.

2. Soy Milk. Good for cereals. If you cannot handle this, try the powder form. That works better for me. I mix a pitcher of the powder and it goes great with my cereals and oatmeal. Stay away from cows milk. It is for calves.

3. Have fruit handy. I am a banana person. They fill you quicker than a bag of chips will.

4. Carrots and Broccoli. Get a vegetarian recipe for dip.

5. How about peanut butter. Spread that on your toast instead of butter.

6. Do you like eggs? Have you ever heard of Egg Beaters? They are an excellent alternative to eggs.

7. Bread. I am talking about the wholesome wheat bread. Never allow white bread to cross your lips.

8. Cheese. Make your own vegetarian cheese; it is great, tastes better too!

9. Brown rice. Great for a quick meal. Never white rice.

10. I did mention cereals earlier. Read the labels, watch for the sugar content.

Thursday 5 April 2012

What is Cardiovascular Health?

We all remember our days in gym class of running laps and climbing ropes. We treasured playing dodge ball and running under a giant parachute. Aside from delighting our childlike desire to play, these activities were designed to accomplish an important purpose. Gym class and sports practices were developed to get our hearts pumping and to improve our cardiovascular endurance.
What is cardiovascular endurance?
Cardiovascular training involves exercises that recruit both our cardiovascular and respiratory systems. When you think of activities that cause your heart to beat faster or you to breathe rapidly, these are activities that improve your cardiovascular endurance. Cardiovascular training is often referred to simply as "cardio" or "aerobic" training and includes exercises such as cycling, running, walking, and swimming.
Why is cardiovascular endurance important?
Cardiovascular training engages both your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, or more simply, your heart and your lungs. Stressing these systems and organs through exercising teaches them to become stronger and more efficient. For example, the stroke volume (amount of blood that is ejected in one heart beat) of a trained athlete will be much higher than the stroke volume for an untrained individual. As a result, a trained athlete's heart at rest will be required to beat fewer times per minute than an untrained individual's. Improving the efficiency of these systems allows the body to maintain health with less strain and difficulty.
How do we measure cardiovascular endurance?
While many activities are outstanding methods to improve cardiovascular health, measuring the intensity of these activities is an important way to assess both effectiveness and improvement. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that individuals train between 64 - 94% of their maximal heart rate to improve health and endurance. The following equation is used to determine individual maximal heart rate:
Maximal HR = 220 - age
Using the maximal heart rate an individual can determine his or heart ideal training rage by multiplying maximal heart rate and target percentage.
Target HR (lower) = [maximal HR] x 0.64
Target HR (upper) = [maximal HR] x 0.94
For example, a 35 year old individual with an estimated heart rate or 185 (220 - 35 = 185) would want to exercise with the range of 118 - 174 beats per minute.
How do we measure our heart rate?
There are several methods for measuring your heart rate. We are all accustomed to the stethoscopes that health professionals utilize to clearly hear our heart beat, but it is unlikely that you will be carrying a stethoscope with you the next time you go out for a walk. Finding your pulse on your neck or on your wrist is an effective way to count your heart beats. After you find your pulse you can watch a clock for 15 seconds as you count the number of times that your heart beats. When you determine the number of beats in 15 seconds you can multiply this number by 4 to establish your heart rate, or beats per minute. You can also purchase a heart rate monitor to wear while exercising to ensure that you are training within the target range.
Improving your cardiovascular health and endurance is a key aspect in developing your overall wellness. A healthy heart will undoubtedly lengthen your life and the types of activity that you are able to enjoy as you grow older. As you fondly recall your days of recess and gym class, remember the activities that you once enjoyed with great enthusiasm, and try those activities again. You will get your heart pumping and improve your health!

Sunday 25 March 2012

Will the Mediterranean Diet Work for Me?

The Mediterranean diet is surely one of the hottest things you can try today as any hardcore dieter can tell you. It seems to be quite easy to follow being a lot less restrictive than other diet plans and wine consumption is actually encouraged (with moderation, of course, what did you think?)

A lot of people both medical professionals, nutritionists and dieters seem to believe that this is the perfect diet if you want to achieve a healthy weight, keep your blood pressure low and reduce the risk of heart disease. Is it really so? And will it work for you?

I would like to point the basics of this diet: fresh fruits and vegetables rule supreme, a huge amount of vegetarian dishes traditionally prepared with fresh produce (no frozen, no canned etc), a lot of fish, some poultry and very little beef or pork. Well, it does sound very healthy. The fact is, they do have fruits and vegetables in season all year round. As we all know, this is not the case in Northern Europe and much of the US. And nor is it likely for anyone living here to find organic produce at reasonable prices.

The true Mediterranean diet can be very, very expensive.

Another thing that bugs me when it comes to Mediterranean diet is that olive oil is considered to be the ultimate source of phenolic compounds, known to help reduce cholesterol and decrease the risk of developing certain types of cancer. It's great to replace as much animal fat with unprocessed vegetable fat, but olive oil it's not the only thing that can help you if you are after more phenolic compounds in your diet.

Phenolic compounds may be found in berries, prunes, red grapes and red grape juice, kiwifruit, currants, apples and apple juice, and tomatoes. Note to any Med diet fan - red wine is not really necessary, red grapes and red grapes juice will do just fine if you are not comfortable with daily alcohol consumption. And the last thing that stands between most of us and this diet is time. This diet takes an awful lot of time.

You have to prepare every single meal from fresh produce. If you've ever traveled in that part of the world, you'll notice that people true to their roots and traditions cook with fresh produce for every single meal, no frozen dinner. Also, it should not be discounted that life on the Mediterranean is generally conducted at a slower pace than life in the United States and Western Europe.

Perhaps another important factor of this diet is not only what they eat, but also how they eat it. After all, many people in the Mediterranean are eating their healthful meals during a long relaxing midday break, as opposed to gobbling down a frozen meal during a quick lunch hour while simultaneously trying to make it to another ten appointments.

Reducing stress can help keep your heart healthy and can certainly cut down on the amount of stress-induced eating that we do, whether or not we eat Mediterranean food.

Friday 16 March 2012

A Diet Buddy Will Help You Lose Weight

One of the best ways to stay consistent with your diet and exercise plan is to team up with a diet buddy. A diet buddy is a friend or co-worker who you partner up with so that the two of you help each other lose weight by staying focused and accountable for your actions. Many fitness experts agree that if you have a friend to rely on then you are much more likely to stick to your program and successfully lose weight.

Choosing a diet buddy is not hard but it can be a challenge to finds someone who you can trust and who will be honest with you. You need someone who will remind you not to eat junk food when you confess that you have fallen off the wagon and who will also be sympathetic to your guilty feelings. Try to find a person who has similar weight loss goals because if you want to lose 20 pounds and your buddy wants to lose 50 then you may not be compatible. Avoid choosing someone you live with, if possible, since the constant interaction will make you feel like your every move is being watched so try to choose a co-worker or close friend to help you out.

You should also choose a diet buddy who you will see on a regular basis. A really great way to stay on track is to meet at the gym every morning and then get something to eat afterward. You can compare notes and talk about what’s going on and how you are progressing. If breakfast doesn’t work then lunch is another good alternative.

You and your diet buddy should set goals and rewards for each other. When you hit a weight goal, you can celebrate by shopping for a new outfit that shows off your weight loss or you can go out together for a healthy dinner at a nice restaurant. You and your buddy are working together to help each other reach your goals so if you lose weight faster than your friend, be supportive and help them realize that everyone has a different body type and some people take longer to lose weight. On the flip side, be prepared for your friend to lose weight quicker than you and if that happens, be sure to cheer them on and reassure yourself that your consistency will pay off for you in the near future.

Tuesday 6 March 2012

Choosing the Right Diet

There are so many different diets around today that it can be intimidating to make a sound decision regarding which one is right for you when you feel it’s time to lose weight. Some diets emphasize low fat while others suggest that low calories are the best way to go. Other diets require you to cut out all forms of carbohydrates. One diet combines factors from at least two other well known diets with claims to produce an optimum fat burning weight loss program. There are also other diets that have circulated around the world for years with numerous success stories such as the cabbage soup diet, the pineapple juice diet and the cider vinegar diet. With all of these choices, how do you know which diet is right for you?

One of the most important factors you must consider is whether you will learn how to eat healthy and nutritionally. A number of different diets that offer incredible results do so through damaging nutritional methods. These fad diets encourage you to indulge in eating habits that can do more harm than good.

Many weight loss programs promise almost instantaneous results and you can achieve them only to come to the realization that you cannot stay on this diet for the rest of your life. You should be looking for a healthy weight loss and maintenance program, not a fast acting diet plan. Even though a low-calorie or liquid diet will allow you to initially lose some weight, you will find that your weight loss problems recur quicker than you would like and you may become depressed and find yourself a little worse off than when you began. To avoid these negative feelings, try to look for a weight loss program that can help you to achieve your long term goals on a permanent basis.

Many weight loss programs promise that you can reach your goals without exercising but it is not possible because a successful weight loss program consists of a healthy diet plan combined with a moderate exercise plan. The trick is to not go into your new routine with too many thoughts about the changes you are attempting to make. It seems that our minds have a way of doing the opposite of what we want when we think about things too much. Instead of thinking about your new diet and exercise routine, just ease into it and get it done. Your mind will adjust and soon your activities will become a new habit.

Please make sure to check with your physician before engaging in any weight loss program and drink plenty of water throughout the day.

Wednesday 29 February 2012

Weight Loss Tips For New Mothers

In fact, one of the most important things that you need to look into when trying to achieve weight loss after baby is your own personal diet. Unlike the fad diets of today, the very last thing that you need to do is to concentrate on one type of food group to the exclusion of all else.


You have only just given birth, not to mention the fact that you might be breastfeeding. The very last thing that you want is to lack a nutritious diet. On the contrary, you will need to keep your weight loss after baby to be one that is healthy not to mention practical.

The first thing that you need to ask yourself therefore, is how much of your time you are willing to sacrifice in looking after you figure, as well as everything else that you do. When you have reasoned this out satisfactorily for yourself, it is then a matter of deciding on a proper weight loss course for yourself.

Remember that it needs to be healthy and practical, so you might want to take the time to think over what exactly you want from such a course of action. How fast do you want to lose weight, and how much weight do you want to lose? Are you willing to go the extra distance and maybe even – horror of horrors – exercise?

Weight loss after baby won’t be easy, but it is doable with the right attitude and a positive outlook. When you have these two things, you will be all set to get your pre-pregnancy body back.

It will of course take time and it behooves your success of losing weight that you keep this in mind. This will make it easier for you to accept the gradual changes which are healthier for you than more rapid changes will be.

If you are looking to achieve a rapid weight loss after baby has passed the two to three month mark, thinking that it will be safer to do so then, not to mention easier, think again. Rapid weight loss at any time is not safe, unless you have thee right support structure to back you up. Stick with the slow and gradual weight loss and you will be the better for it.

Wednesday 22 February 2012

A Lady Doctor Gets Death Threats for Revealing TOP SECRET Fat Loss Secret to General Public!

A new breakthrough secret is all you now need in order to forever shed countless pounds, stay healthy, and add many years to your life!

A lady doctor from Arizona has blown the lid off the best-kept secret in weight loss ever discovered -- and this has the whole diet food and drug industries turned upside down and in nothing less than a torrential uproar.

Her name is Dr Suzanne Gudakunst, and she's marching to the beat of a different drum.

And no, nothing about her "secret" is difficult -- nor does it require that you do something completely out of the ordinary or anything unnatural.

Instead, the Arizonian boasts proudly "...this is something that I caught onto just before 2002 when there was so much research and exploration going around concerning the human colon and digestive system working in harmony with nutritional absorption, and I started doing independent studies just to test things at first ... but which I later expanded on after seeing some fantastic results."

This same woman medical practitioner went on to accurately determine a definitive correlation between harmful plague and parasitic infestations of the human bowel tract, and people suffering chronic obesity -- and who despite intense diet and exercise appeared to be unable to lose any weight whatsoever.

Over the course of six years the Arizona doctor developed a number of natural treatments for the removal of these same harmful, even life-threatening plaques and rapidly reproducing digestive parasites -- and when applied to even worse-case patients suffering extreme obesity (98 effectiveness and success rate.

She then borrowed from her research on the severely obese, and applied the same strategies on milder cases of overweight persons -- only to find the same effectiveness and quality results as described above (although the individual weight loss per subject wasn't nearly as much as those obese patients 100 lbs to 200 lbs or more overweight).

So powerful is her secret that she's able to reverse diabetes, rid illness altogether in people suffering from cancer (linked directly to poor diet and overweight factors), as well as an elimination of an entire spectrum of serious and otherwise life-threatening diseases.

Nearly 100 of Americans labeled obese, and others worldwide.

But she's not promising any of us for how long.

Some experts and sociologists suggest that in the bigger scheme of things, the world will never tolerate a discovery of such magnitude, any more than it would be realistic to expect a car that runs on water (even if very real) to ever become commercially available to the general public for day-to-day use.

One well-respected and famous diet & wellness author wrote years ago that if anyone ever "truly unlocked the keys to permanent fat loss, they may actually suffer the same fate as JFK."


...so you may want to head on over there now and get it and before someone or "something" gets it forever yanked out of ever getting in YOUR hand at least.

It's in a very easily readable format and is quickly and readily understood and mastered by anyone with even a 4th grade reading level.

While you're there, why not scroll down and review for yourself the huge successes others are now having with this incredible breakthrough in rapid, massive weight loss and extremely improved and enhanced health, now made freely available to the rest of us?

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Muscle Building Foods That Help Build Muscle And Burn Fat Fast

Eating muscle building foods does help you get the edge and build muscles much faster than just eating normal foods. Muscle building foods that is refereed here is not some engineered freak food, it just carefully selected natural foods that contain high in protein that can help you accelerate your muscle building process. Building muscle is not as simple as just hopping into the gym, lift a few weights and you will get results. It requires much more than that. Number one, you need an excellent workout plan and then, you need a solid diet. Just imagine you are a homebuilder, even with the best tools and blue print, you cannot build if you do not have enough cement.

You get results from your workout when you rest, not when you are working out. During your workout, you are tearing your muscle in microscopic scale, and your muscles will recover and grow bigger when you feed them with muscle building foods like protein. You cannot get big muscles by just eating bread and beans. You need foods that contain complete amino acid profiles.

You have to include these power muscle building foods in all your meals. Consuming them bit by bit, spread throughout the day can increase the absorption rate of these foods in you body. Eating a large portion at once will not work because your body cannot absorb all the nutrients at once. Here are mini lists of muscle building foods that can help you build lean muscle that is rock solid in no time!

Muscle Building Foods 1

Beef is an all time favorite in a body builders diet. Roughly, 100 grams of beef contains 30 grams of high quality protein. These proteins are high BV protein, which means that, if you consume 100 grams of steak, 30 grams of protein will be absorbed by the body and utilized for protein synthesis. The steak, which contains the highest protein, is the Silverside lean. This is a good choice of steak because it also contains very low fat, 5 grams of fat only. There are many ways you can cook beef. The best way to do it is to roast it because this way of cooking uses very little oil. For a quick meal you can also buy beef strips and stir fry it with vegetables, onions and chili using olive oil.

Muscle Building Foods 2

Famous body building food number two is the all time favorite, eggs! Eggs are such a power food for building muscles because it the eggs whites contain no fat and although the egg yolk is high in cholesterol, it provides Omega 3, which is good fats. Eggs are also a source of protein, which contains a complete amino acid profile. Eggs are very easy to get, dirt cheap and convenient to bring around. One egg contains 6 grams of protein, 3 grams in the yolk and 3 grams in the white. There are tons of ways to cook eggs. The best way to cook eggs for dieting is to cook in hard boil or half boil, then eat it with a bit of soy sauce, this is good method of cooking because it contains low fat. To kick out of the boredom, make scrambled eggs with olive oil and chili.

Muscle Building Foods 3

Another fantastic lean source of protein is poultry. Chicken and turkey is a very good source of protein, low in fat, cheap and easily attainable. Although some parts of the chicken are high in fat, like the thigh, it is ok to eat it if you take the skin. 100 grams of chicken can give you 30 grams of high quality protein. The good thing about poultry is that it taste really good in sandwiches, salads, roast as well as stir fried.

Muscle Building Foods 4

When your parents say, eat your fish, they are right. Fish is also a powerful muscle building food because it is low in fat, high in protein and high in omega 3. Although fish is slightly more expensive that the other sources, having fish twice a week is good enough. The fishes that are high in protein are lobster, haddock, mullet and saithe. If you want convenience, go for tuna fish. Tuna fish is also very high in protein; a can of tuna can easily supply you with 30 grams of protein. Tuna have become a more desirable choice because it can be use with sandwiches, salads and other dishes. Tuna comes in handy cans than be ripped open. Some even comes in airtight packet so that you can carry it around.

Muscle Building Foods 5

Do not forget about milk and soy! This stuff is good stuff. Although they may appear as liquid, they are a good source of protein and when taken with meat, they compliment the amino acids supplied by the meat. 100 grams of tofu made from soy contains 8 grams of protein. One glass of low fat milk contains roughly 8 grams of protein. You have to be careful not to over do the milk because milk does contain lots of fat. Choose the low fat or the pasteurized version.

There you go, five choices of muscle building foods to fill up your menu. Make sure you include protein in all your meals, spread them out evenly in a day. Try to shot for 2.0 to 2.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight for positive nitrogen balance. This will give you optimum results along with intense weight training.

Saturday 4 February 2012

Healthy and Safe Exercises for Children

It's important that children get a lot of exercise. While it is easy to keep them occupied with television, DVDs, video games, and a playroom full of toys, it is not always so easy to get them moving. Varying the types of exercises you want the children to do and treating exercise as play time will help get them up in motion. Make sure that the exercises you choose are age appropriate and that safety is always a priority when exercising.

Here are some healthy and safe exercises for children that any adult can join in on:

Bicycle riding - Whether on a tricycle or a mountain bike, children love to hop on their bikes and take off. Bicycle riding is good cardiovascular exercise and also works several muscle groups.

Keeping it safe: Children should always wear a proper fitting helmet when riding, and young children should ride on sidewalks or bicycle paths, not in the street. Teach older children the rules of the road when they begin to ride on the streets and do not allow them to ride at night without reflectors on their bike and proper reflective clothing.

Dancing - Children love to dance, and it is a great form of exercise. It takes no special equipment, just some music with a great beat. As long as there is a radio or CD player available, it's easy to get kids moving to the music.

Keeping it safe: There are few things you need to do keep dancing safe. Give children a large enough space to move in so they don't bump into things and hurt themselves and let them go wild.

Yoga - Here is an exercise that seems very adult to children, and since kids love to feel grown up, they like to do yoga. It is a simple exercise to do in the home and there is no need for any special equipment or clothing. Most libraries will have yoga for kids' books or DVD's so it's not even necessary to spend any money. This is an especially good exercise for kids who have trouble calming down or falling to sleep. A little yoga right before bedtime can calm them down and help them fall asleep more easily while giving them some much needed exercise.

Keeping it safe: Make sure that the children are doing yoga exercises that are specifically designed for kids. Sure, many kids are flexible, but some of the more advanced yoga poses can be harmful for children.

Walking - Another fabulous exercise that almost anyone can do that costs almost nothing. This is a great exercise for children that are struggling with weight problems. For children who are severely overweight and struggle with other exercises, walking can be the perfect solution. They can start out with a short walk around the block and work their way up to longer walks each day as they become more fit.

Keeping it safe: Proper walking shoes with good support should be worn. Also, children should be taught to stick to the sidewalk or a walking path and never to walk in the street. Younger children should always be accompanied by an adult and older children who are ready to go out for a walk by themselves should stick to an agreed upon route.

Playing Ball - Kicking a soccer ball, throwing a Frisbee, taking shots on the basketball court, or running the bases in a kickball game are all forms of exercise. Grab a ball (or Frisbee) and take children in the backyard or to a park for some games that also double as excellent exercise.

Keeping it safe: If you have got children of different ages playing together, keep it well supervised to make sure that the older children don not hurt the younger ones. Also, try to make sure that everyone is getting a fair turn.

Jump Ropes and Hula Hoops - These are great exercises that really get children's hearts pumping and improve their coordination all at the same time. The cost for equipment is very minimal and these exercises can be done outdoors or indoors if space permits. They are also very fun games and activities involving jump rope and hula hoops that most children enjoy.

Keeping it safe: Keep a safe distance between children as they jump rope or hula-hoop to ensure that they do not bump into each other and get hurt.

Children who get regular exercise have advantages over those who do not. They have more stamina, fewer health problems, better self-esteem, and an ability to control their weight more easily. So turn off the television, power down the computer, hide the handheld gaming devices, and then encourage children to get more exercise while providing them with a safe and fun environment in which to do so.

Sunday 29 January 2012

How To Stay in a Shape after 40

Turning 40 can be a powerful and transient event even though many women believe that everything starts to change or even fall apart at 40. This doesn't have to be so! Women can stay strong and competitive, healthy and fit well over the age of 40. There may be some changes you need to make, but it is an important time for you to make these changes so that you can continue to stay in shape.

Some basic dietary changes can help you to supplement your workouts and keep you strong. Calcium, for example, has always been important in a woman's diet, but it is critical to start supplementing calcium now if you haven't already. Bone density begins to decline and if this gets really bad, it can lead to osteoporosis later in life. Ginseng is an herb that can help to give you energy when you start to feel fatigue, and some people swear it is what helps keep them young. Consuming a lot of fruits and vegetables is crucial to keeping yourself young. Not only is it very healthy for your body, it is quite beneficial for your skin as well. Natural foods, especially fruits and vegetables, are full of antioxidants, and these help keep free radicals from destroying that youthful appearance of your skin. Also good are salmon and other foods such as almonds, flax and fatty fish which provide a strong source of Omega 3 fatty acids. Again, this is good for your heart health but also for your radiant skin.

Staying in shape also means getting - or staying - physical, of course. You may discover aches and pains that you haven't noticed prior to turning 40. It's not because 40 is some magical age, but rather a useful timeline to gauge when women tend to start feeling less energetic, more rigid, or have tighter muscles than they used to. A fun and relaxing antidote to this is yoga. Yoga has been said to be the true fountain of youth! A good, long yoga session a few times a week or a simple practice of ten to twenty minutes daily can relax, tone and lengthen your muscles as well as your spirit. It also helps to de-stress your mind, which has been shown to have an effect on cortisol levels in the body. By reducing cortisol, you can help reduce the belly fat that may be more stubborn to remove these days. Any time of stress-relieving mechanism you use will help keep you young, but yoga is an especially good one.

If yoga isn't really your speed, pick something that is. Maybe you enjoy spinning, or a step class or kickboxing. Whatever it is, don't stop now just because you've reached that dreaded age. Keeping active now is just as important as it was when you were twenty, if not more so. If your aches and pains feel like they are preventing you from doing what you like to do best, it probably means you need to stretch more. Stretching can be a wonderful tool to keep you young and keep your muscles supple and strong. It can help prevent muscle tears and help you reach new levels of fitness by warming up the muscles and ligaments, but it can also just feel great after a nice, long bout of exercise. If you run or bike, be sure to stretch the calves and quadriceps muscles as well as the hamstrings. If you like to partake in a class at your gym and there is a lot of jumping involved, make sure to stretch the ankles as well. Simply adding ten or fifteen minutes of stretching to your daily routine can make you feel years younger if you are faithful about it.

Staying in shape doesn't just mean looking good or staying in good shape on the outside. Once you reach the age of forty, keeping up with regular doctor appointments becomes more important than it was in days past. Make sure to get a mammogram and screen for early detection of breast cancer. Make an appointment with your general practitioner for a complete physical. Consult with a dermatologist, and keep regular full-body skin checkups once or twice a year, which can help screen out skin cancer and suspicious moles that may crop up. If you used to see the eye doctor once every couple of years, cut that in half and see him once annually. Unfortunately, the eyes are quick to deteriorate as you age, and you will want to keep up with these check-ups for safety reasons, to be able to keep reading, and to check for signs of glaucoma and other age-related diseases.

Nobody said getting older was fun, but it does not have to be painful. The age-old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure applies to the aging process very well, and if you take these measures you too can age gracefully.

Monday 23 January 2012

How to be Fit and loss weight

When you think of fitness, you may be thinking of well-toned bodies, rock-hard abs and generally, just a fit and outstanding physique. What if I told you that in order to be truly fit and feel great you don’t need to be a body builder?

Fitness is more than exercise. If you think exercise and weight control are all there is to fitness, you may be surprised! Fitness is a lifelong pursuit, not a short term goal. "Physical fitness is defined as "a set of attributes that people have or achieve that relates to the ability to perform physical activity" (USDHHS, 1996).

In fact, physical fitness is made up of five main components: cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, body composition and flexibility.

An interesting quote I came across is this: "The biggest obstacle people face in achieving physical and financial fitness is developing consistent and long-term healthy habits." This came from Countrywide Bank Managing Director, Pierre Habis. Interestingly, it points up the fact that anything worth achieving should become a mindset based on a long term goal. Add anything that is worth while achieving to your regular life routine.

In general, physical fitness is the ability to do daily activities without feeling overly tired. Physical fitness is especially beneficial in preventing coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease, enhancing muscle quality, preventing muscular deterioration and reducing depression.

You see, true fitness is everything from proper sleep to proper nutrition, from stress reduction to weight reduction, and from flexibility to balance to relaxation. Being physically well toned and muscular does not mean you’re healthy.

Diet and exercise work together for your body's best interest. That’s because nutrition and physical activity go together like bread and butter for our bodies. Dieting alone is not going to be able to give you all of these health benefits. You need to have the physical part as well. Exercise will aid in digestion, provide strength and endurance, and does wonders for the heart.

On the flip side, it is important to be aware of the fact that a bad diet can affect your fitness training, even if you follow the best type of exercise plan available! In order to stay as healthy as possible, you need to combine a healthy diet with a lot of exercise!

The average person needs at least twenty minutes of exercise three times a week. This is not hard for most people to attain – even if you’re not used to any kind of fitness training. It will help to strengthen your cardiovascular health and your overall fitness. Regardless of what sort of physical activity you choose, you should burn about 3500 calories per week. You will soon start feeling the benefits!

When you start any type fitness plan it is recommended that you talk
to your doctor about it first. He may work out a specific exercise plan with you that is best suited for your particular physical needs. Be sure to discuss with your doctor any special health concerns like blood pressure, hypertension and any special diet needs that you may have.

It just cannot be stressed enough how the combination of a healthy diet and exercise plan will do wonders for your overall well being. It will make you feel good mentally, emotionally, as well as physically!

Did you know that you can use diet to control high blood pressure? Studies have shown that exercise has a role in keeping blood pressure from increasing. Yes; hypertension can be controlled by physical activity, a low fat diet, and reducing your salt intake, weight, and alcohol consumption!

There is also increasing evidence that weight bearing exercises, like walking, dancing, running, and sports are all excellent for good bone health.

To balance your overall health, you need to have a healthy diet that provides ample calcium, vitamins and minerals along with the adequate amount of exercise to keep your body working great for the rest of your life.

Vitamins and suplements

Vitamins and minerals are naturally occurring substances necessary for many processes in the body. Vitamins and minerals are substances your body needs in small but steady amounts for normal growth, function and health. They are necessary for virtually all reactions to occur in the body.

Vitamins and minerals are in many foods you eat, but you can also take a supplement to make sure you get all the nutrients you need. Vitamins and minerals are not present in typical diet we eat at the level they were a couple of generations ago.

Vitamins and minerals are used by our bodies and if we do not get enough of the right ones it can affect us mentally and physically. Vitamins and minerals are two completely different things: minerals help the vitamins work. Vitamins and minerals are considered necessary because they may partake in the chemical reactions within the body that allow humans to actually burn the fuels or build new tissues.

Supplements

Dietary supplements aren't meant to be food substitutes, as they can't replicate all of the nutrients and benefits of whole foods, such as fruits and vegetables. But dietary supplements can still play a role in your health by complementing your regular diet if you have trouble getting enough nutrients. If you depend on dietary supplements rather than eating a variety of whole foods, you miss the benefits of these substances. Although for some people, including those on restrictive diets, dietary supplements can provide vitamins and minerals that their diets often don't.

Dietary supplements can lose potency over time, especially in hot and humid climates. Store dietary supplements in a dry, cool place. Also, store supplements out of sight and away from children.

Health

Your body needs larger amounts of some minerals, such as calcium, to grow and stay healthy. Vitamin C is used to keep many different types of tissue healthy. Calcium along with vitamin D helps to keep your bones healthy. Vitamin E : its usefulness in health and in curing diseases. Even for those who eat a healthy diet, there appears to be difficulty in obtain enough folic acid.

Scientists and researchers know the roles the following vitamins and minerals play in our bodies, and this group may have heart–healthy effects:Three of the B–vitamins: vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and folic acid. Calcium Magnesium Another group of supplements, the antioxidants are still being tested at this time for their benefits in heart disease and cancer prevention.

Nutrients

Your body can't make most micronutrients, so you must get them from the foods you eat or, in some cases, from dietary supplements. A lack of any of the essential micronutrients from the diet may lead to deficiencies, compromising the ability to function and impairing health. These nutrients are needed for a variety of biological processes, among them growth, digestion and nerve function. These nutrients are the main components in your teeth and bones, and they serve as building blocks for other cells and enzymes. Many people don't receive all of the nutrients they need from their diet because they either can't or don't eat enough, or they can't or don't eat a variety of healthy foods.

Supplements can be an inexpensive way to make sure you get all the vitamins and minerals you need, even if you get most of them from the foods you eat. It may be important for you to take certain amounts of some vitamins and minerals in the form of supplements. Vitamins and minerals are vital for human function, each one playing a different role. Vitamins and minerals are essential to our survival. They are generally considered to be the most important aspect of maintaining optimal health.

Sunday 15 January 2012

Fitness for Health and Wellbeing

When you think of fitness, you may be thinking of well-toned bodies, rock-hard abs and generally, just a fit and outstanding physique. What if I told you that in order to be truly fit and feel great you don’t need to be a body builder?

Fitness is more than exercise. If you think exercise and weight control are all there is to fitness, you may be surprised! Fitness is a lifelong pursuit, not a short term goal. "Physical fitness is defined as "a set of attributes that people have or achieve that relates to the ability to perform physical activity" (USDHHS, 1996).

In fact, physical fitness is made up of five main components: cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, body composition and flexibility.

An interesting quote I came across is this: "The biggest obstacle people face in achieving physical and financial fitness is developing consistent and long-term healthy habits." This came from Countrywide Bank Managing Director, Pierre Habis. Interestingly, it points up the fact that anything worth achieving should become a mindset based on a long term goal. Add anything that is worth while achieving to your regular life routine.

In general, physical fitness is the ability to do daily activities without feeling overly tired. Physical fitness is especially beneficial in preventing coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease, enhancing muscle quality, preventing muscular deterioration and reducing depression.

You see, true fitness is everything from proper sleep to proper nutrition, from stress reduction to weight reduction, and from flexibility to balance to relaxation. Being physically well toned and muscular does not mean you’re healthy.

Diet and exercise work together for your body's best interest. That’s because nutrition and physical activity go together like bread and butter for our bodies. Dieting alone is not going to be able to give you all of these health benefits. You need to have the physical part as well. Exercise will aid in digestion, provide strength and endurance, and does wonders for the heart.

On the flip side, it is important to be aware of the fact that a bad diet can affect your fitness training, even if you follow the best type of exercise plan available! In order to stay as healthy as possible, you need to combine a healthy diet with a lot of exercise!

The average person needs at least twenty minutes of exercise three times a week. This is not hard for most people to attain – even if you’re not used to any kind of fitness training. It will help to strengthen your cardiovascular health and your overall fitness. Regardless of what sort of physical activity you choose, you should burn about 3500 calories per week. You will soon start feeling the benefits!

When you start any type fitness plan it is recommended that you talk
to your doctor about it first. He may work out a specific exercise plan with you that is best suited for your particular physical needs. Be sure to discuss with your doctor any special health concerns like blood pressure, hypertension and any special diet needs that you may have.

It just cannot be stressed enough how the combination of a healthy diet and exercise plan will do wonders for your overall well being. It will make you feel good mentally, emotionally, as well as physically!

Did you know that you can use diet to control high blood pressure? Studies have shown that exercise has a role in keeping blood pressure from increasing. Yes; hypertension can be controlled by physical activity, a low fat diet, and reducing your salt intake, weight, and alcohol consumption!

There is also increasing evidence that weight bearing exercises, like walking, dancing, running, and sports are all excellent for good bone health.

To balance your overall health, you need to have a healthy diet that provides ample calcium, vitamins and minerals along with the adequate amount of exercise to keep your body working great for the rest of your life.

Monday 9 January 2012

Daily Easy Weight Loss Tips

Weight loss for some people is not as easy for others. Although dietary pills and diet programs are rampant, still some opt for remedies that are not financially draining and stressful.

Here are some easy weight loss tips that you can do without straining your budget consulting dieticians and stressing yourselves finding the right diet programs that will help you cut down the excess fat.

Easy Tips

Never skip meals. If you think that skipping meals will help lose weight, you’re wrong. Skipping meals will only result to having twice the skipped meal because you’ll be starved and deprived by the time of the next meal.

Eat slowly, chew a lot. The brain tells us if we are full. It usually takes 20 minutes for the brain to signal that we are full. Eating fast will not give the brain enough time to register the ‘full’ feeling, making us stuff ourselves with more food.

Plan the meals. It is safer to plan what you will have for a certain meal to save you a trip to a fast food joint.

Avoid tempting foods. Human as we are, we all have foods that we crave and we can’t resist. Food is our weakness. The best way to get rid of these tempting foods is to not have it around the house. The more you don’t see it around, the more your mind will not think of it.

Watch the portions. The amount of food we eat is highly critical in weight loss. Watch the portions and the kind of food you eat. Unhealthy foods are not good. If you eat at least 10% less of the portion you usually have, then you can lose weight without even changing your diet.

Turn Calories into Time of Exercise. Every intake of food that is high in calories should be converted into time of exercise. Take for example eating a hamburger will cost you 3 hours in the gym just to shed off the calories. It’s up to you to choose which one to give up – eating hamburger or taking 3 hours in the gym.

Taking a Pause. It is helpful to sometimes think before eating something you shouldn’t. Sometimes you’ll end up answering it’s worth eating that food and sometimes not worth eating the food. If it is worth it, then indulge. If not, then step back.

Avoid Soft drinks. A soft drink contains 150 calories. Instead of drinking soft drinks, stick to water. It does not only replenish, it’s good for the body.

Exercise a lot. Exercise helps the mind and the body. Do brisk walking or jogging to lose weight. Choose the stairs instead of the elevator. Exercise helps in more ways than one.

Weight Loss Diet Programs

Obesity or over weight badly affects the health of a person. To retain the health, it is important to reduce the over weight. A weight loss diet program is the best solution to being overweight. A person can make a research on these programs through the Internet, books or friends. The choice, to consult a dietitian, is another way to find the proper meal plan. A dietician gives information about the proper nutritional plans, as per the physical requirements of the person.

Some people take diet pills to cut down the weight. Studies have shown that, in the year 2007, more than 50 billion people had taken weight loss pills. Accordingly, the health professionals stated that, these pills offer great success but can be harmful to the human body.

A simple weight loss program such as a low carbohydrate, low fat and low sugar can bring out miracles in a person's life. A person can improve their health and reduce the overweight with the introduction of fruits and vegetables, daily in their daily nutritional program.

List of Diet programs:

The list of weight loss programs include:

1. Protein programs: The protein diet programs or Dr. Atkin's diet is a weight loss program that focuses on muscle mass increase. Dr. Atkin principle states that, if there are more muscles, the body supplies the additional nutrients to muscles to perform their work. The additional nutrients in normal case are stored as fats. This weight loss program includes only protein food.

2. Balanced weight loss diet program: This one focuses on a balanced chart of a diet plan. This diet sheet involves fruits, vegetables and unique soup. The plan divides the eatables evenly on weekly basis. A person on balanced diet program has to avoid high cholesterol food such as dairy product, oils and noodles.

3. Milk and Banana program: This program includes only milk and banana intake. A person on this diet program has to avoid all other food supplements.

4. Detox weight loss diet program: An initial diet program removes toxic waste to keep the body healthy. The plan concentrates on easily digestible food and a plenty of water intake. This diet program increases the bowel movements, which helps to remove the waste easily from the body. A person on detox has to avoid chemicals, coffee and processed food.

5. Liquid diet plan: This plan includes food in the liquid form. A person can take water, coffee, soups, milk and fresh juices. The health experts state that liquid food supplies minimum calories and has low fat and carbohydrate content. People with liquid weight loss diet program have to avoid solid food.

Impression:

It is very easy to reduce the weight of a person with regular exercise and a proper diet plan. Apart from the above discussed plans, natural diet plan is another weight loss program practiced by the ancestors. Researches show that, our ancestors had good health. This is because, they were on naturally obtained food such as fruits, vegetable and water. The food from nature increases the body's metabolism and reduces the excess body weight. The diet plan comprises of uncooked organic food only and is the best of all weight loss diet programs.

Weight Loss Supplements - Which Should You Take?

Trying to lose weight is tough. It's real tough. There's months of eating right and working out to get back into shape. It seems like anything that might make the process just a little bit easier would be welcome. There are many things out there that could help, but what might really work?

There is no miracle cure to lose weight quickly. There simply is no replacing cutting calories and exercise in order to lose weight. There are products, however, that can help you to feel better, pump up your metabolism, help you curb your appetite and just make the journey that much easier.

There are tons of supplements out there that are available, many of which claim to do amazing things. Are any of them true? Well some are probably more hopes than reality. There are a few that are pretty popular. Here's a list of five weight loss supplements that could help you with your weight loss.

Five Natural Weight Loss Supplements

Hoodia

Hoodia is a very popular natural supplement that decreases your appetite. Your body is used to taking in a certain amount of food after so much eating. When you diet, or adjust your food intake to fit what a normal person eats, your body might go through periods of cravings. Cravings can cause you to think you are hungry and eat more. Hoodia eliminates your appetite, so you do won't feel hungry. Some people have stated that they didn't feel a need to eat so they forgot about food.

Does it work? Those who have tried it seem to have felt a decrease in appetite. While there is no conclusive evidence, hoodia still sells well and seems to be somewhat safe. There have been many people supporting hoodia as a natural supplement in support of weight loss or weight maintenance.

Chromium

Chromium is a supplement that supposedly eliminates fat and improves muscles. Chromium is a supplement that humans require, though in very small amounts. You can get chromium in your food, like in Broccoli, grape juice, or in potatoes. It is believed that taking in the supplement actually enhances your body's ability to improve muscles and get rid of fat.

While no evidence has been gathered about it's effect, it has proven to be relatively safe. The long-term effects of taking chromium are unknown. While the details of if it works is still unknown, there have been many claims.

Oolong tea

Like many other teas, oolong tea is a natural supplement that can help to boost your metabolism. Most research suggests that it can boost your metabolism by about 4%. It can help when you're trying to work on increasing your energy for exercise and lose more weight. One of the reasons why this one is so popular is that it has been recommended by Oprah Winfrey.

Oolong tea is just like any other tea, it is just process differently so you get different levels of antioxidants, though the results seem to be rather promising. Mild side effects seem only to be an increase of urination in the beginning, supposedly as your body is getting rid of toxins. The oolong tea is readily available online.

Chitosan

Chitosan comes from the shells of shrimp. It works as a fat inhibitor. It helps to block the fats you are eating from being digested. So if you are on a diet, and you use something like chitosan, it will help lower the mount of fat your body takes in, and it flushes right out with your excess waste.

While thorough studies have yet to be done, it has been deemed to be relatively safe. Again the long-term effects of using chitosan as a weight loss supplement is unknown. Some side effects include bloating and constipation.

Guar Gum

This is another natural supplement that while not quite as popular, it is growing in popularity along with the other supplements. It helps you to lose weight by blocking the absorption of fat. It can also increase the feeling of fullness, so you eat less when you sit down to a meal. It has been deemed to be safe.

Side effects might include diarrhea or flatulence. You must also take plenty of water when taking guar gum or it might lead to a blockage in your intestines. Not many studies have been conclusive to identify if the effects promised are accurate, though it does seem to be promising.

Talk With Your Doctor Before Taking Supplements

As with all supplements or beginning any weight loss program, talk to your doctor before taking. Make sure you stop taking any supplements if you find yourself having any kind of symptoms that seem out of the ordinary. Call your doctor immediately if any side effects seem to be severe.

So there are supplements that might help you with your weight loss program. Taking one or more of these supplements might be an aide, but again, there is no miracle cure. There's nothing on the market that you can simply swallow and expect results of weight loss over night. It does take effort to be able to lose weight and to be able to keep it off.

All of the supplements are available over the counter at your local herbal or wellness store. They have been deemed safe to use, and since they are all natural, you don't have to worry about chemicals or toxins. Some of the supplements actually help to detoxify your body.

It can be done though. The supplements listed can also help make it easier. You might try going on a diet. Supplements like the hoodia might take your mind off of food until your next meal. Oolong tea can help you find that extra boost of energy to get you off the couch and into your walking shoes.

So if you are going to get into a weight loss program, do it right. Talk to your doctor. Plan ahead. Eat right. Exercise regularly. Take supplements as needed and as directed by your doctor to help support you in your plans. Most of all, be safe in your goal to lose weight and to help keep it off.