Health Happy Life Blog

Fruits and Veggies

2008-07-31T02:07:00.000-07:00

We have heard it once we have heard it a thousand time. 'Eat your veggies'. Most of us heard this more than anything during our childhood. All you could think of as a child was when you get older you will never eat another one again. Who needs those things anyway? I hate to break the news to you, but fruits and veggies are a very important part of our diets. You can't live without them. Oh you can, but you will either gain weight or feel like shit in the long run. Go a week without eating any, you will see what I mean. I guess the problem is, we tend to over cook veggies. We cook them to the point that they are either mush or they don't have the taste they once had. This is the worst thing that you can do to them. When you over cook a veggie, you rob of it of everything that makes it good for you. This is very foolish and a waste of money. A person should eat 5-10 servings of veggies per day. I know you have had that pounded into your head while you were at school. It sucks to learn they were actually telling the truth doesn't it?

Before you get all bent out of shape, lets talk about how big a serving really is. A medium sized fruit or veggie is one serving. A medium sized apple, carrot or banana is one serving. 5-10 of those doesn't sound too hard does it?

There are easy ways of getting the amount of veggies that you need. One is by preparing them the night before. Before you go to bed, peel and slice anything that you would want to eat the next day. This won't take much time. You might want to invest in a peeler. They don't cost very much. You can buy them at any shop that sells cookware. Also your grocery store might have one. If you can't find it, ask one of the stock boys. They will know if they carry them. One easy way to consume more fruits and veggies is to cut them up and put them in small sandwich baggies. Cut up a variety of things and store them in the small bags. You might cut up an apple, some carrots and some celery.

Keep these on hand at work. When you have a coffee break, eat these instead of rushing over to the vending machine to get a bag of snack chips. Keep a salt shaker in your desk or in your locker at work. A little salt will bring out the natural flavor of the veggie and make them more appealing. Think of these as snacks to go. You can keep them on hand if you are going to take a long trip. You can keep them at work, in the ice box for when you get the munchies, or if you want a late night snack. Soups are a great way to get a serving of veggies. You need to watch though, some of the canned soups will have a lot of salt in them. That is the downfall of buying soups that are already prepared. If you can make your own soup, that is great. Also you will cut out any unneeded fat.

A small salad is also one serving of veggies. When you go out to eat, order a salad. Make sure that you don't load it up with bad salad dressing. Go for a oil and vinegar. If you are at a place that you can put on how much oil and vinegar you want, that is even better. Just put enough oil on your salad to counter act the acidity of the vinegar.

You need to make sure that you are getting as many fresh fruits and veggies as possible. When they are raw, they are the best for your body. Some times during the canning or freezing process, they might cook them slightly. Eat a can of raw green beans straight from the can. Compare that to a raw green bean, you will see what I mean.

I would suggest to you that you eat as many raw veggies as possible. If you must cook them, blanch them slightly. Just cook them long enough so that they starchy feeling of a raw veggie is gone. Certainly don't cook them until they are limp and colorless. That robs them from anything that is worth eating. You are eating these to be healthy, that is a choice you make. Cooking them to the point that they are worthless might be an easier way to force yourself to eat them, but your efforts are being wasted.

Here are some ways to increase your fruit and veggie consumption. For breakfast put some fruit in with your cereal. This is great, I love doing this. This gives your cereal a sweet zing without adding a bunch of sugar. Also you can drink a glass of juice along with your breakfast. Juice is a great way of 'eating' your fruit. Make sure to get juice with the pulp in it, it is also good fiber.
Lunch. Eat salads. Make sure not to load them with bad dressing. Have veggie sticks along with your meal, this will also fill you up. For desert you can have a piece of fruit. This is a better desert than having a ice cream or something you will regret.

For dinner I would suggest that you try vegetarian pizza or meals based around veggies. Why not eat some fish and a plate full of greens and corn? You can mix and match things how ever you like it.

The key thing to understand is, you need to make fruits and veggies fun. If you keep it bland, you won't want to eat them. So, get a cook book or a favorite cooking site and learn how to eat your fruits and veggies. You will notice a big difference in how you feel.

How to avoid becoming a fitness failure

2008-07-30T02:03:00.000-07:00

Few things are worse than trying to get your body into shape and failing. It takes quite some courage to start on a fitness program and it takes willpower to stick to it and avoid ditching it a couple of days later. Unfortunately, more than half of the people who decide to take up a fitness program do so on a whim and drop out within the first six months. Boredom, busy schedules and a feeling of being fit enough to no longer need the exercising combine to convince people that exercises are not worth the effort and striving.

The first thing you want to do in order to avoid being a complete failure is to set a goal for yourself. If you want to be thinner, then decide on a number of pounds you want to shed. If you want to be able to run around the park without spitting your lungs on the sidewalk, then train accordingly. But whatever you do, set a clear goal so you don’t have to guess whether you’re making progress or not. Also, make sure your goal is realistic. Dropping 1 pound per week through a combination of reduced intake of calories and increased physical effort is a realistic goal. Shedding 50 pounds in two months is not just a dream, but the attempt may also prove dangerous for your health.

After deciding upon a goal, always make sure you’re keeping track of your progress. This will help keep you motivated because you will always have the visible proof of your success at whatever it is you’re doing. But bear in mind that tracking should also be done carefully. If you’re going for weight loss, don’t give in to the temptation to weigh yourself every day. Body weight fluctuates naturally from one day to the other and depends on many factors. It’s much too easy to be discouraged and abandon the program just because two extra glasses of water have messed up your weight.

Keep your fitness schedule as varied as possible. Exercises are great for your health, but only hardcore bodybuilders are never bored by them. Doing the same thing over and over becomes tedious sooner or later so make sure you mix your exercises and change the order every week or whenever you feel boredom starting to move in. Don’t let yourself get to the point where you say “Damn that exercise! I’m not going to do it again as long as I live!”. If you can’t come up with a good plan, ask a gym trainer or a veteran to help you out.

The final advice is to share the joys and problems of fitness with somebody. Find a friend who also goes to the gym and start going together. You can help each other achieve your goals and swap stories about successes and failures in between reps. A workout partner will make things look easier with a positive attitude and you can do the same thing for him or her. Oh, and don’t allow yourself to come up with excuses for avoiding the gym. Cheap tricks like that are never any good.

Low Fat Dessert

2008-07-29T02:00:00.000-07:00

No meal is over unless there is a dessert involved. If you are here in America, you know that most of the desserts out there are bad for you. They are loaded with salt, sugar and or fat. We have become a nation of junk food addicts. I do have a theory on this. I think that when a group of people experience wealth, their diets change. I know that this is simple and even a moron can come up with something like this, but hear me out. When a group of people have enough money that they have a choice of what they will eat, they will choose to go along with the more fatty foods. I think this is because we tend to store fat to keep us warm for the winter. In our minds if there is a bunch of food to choose from, then we will go towards the fatty foods. Like most animals, we prepare for the winter time. We know that it will be cold so we want a layer of fat to keep us warm. Another aspect of it is, we are greedy. All people are greedy. We want the best of everything. We want a nice new car, new house and all the rich food that we can eat. In the past, a wealthy person ate different foods than someone who is poor.

What to do? You want that little bit of joy at the end of the meal, but you don't want to become a lard ass. Well, you can have your cake and eat it too. We will discuss some of the more healthy desserts that you can eat. First I want to say, don't get fooled by this low fat stuff. It isn't worth the time. You will eat twice as much of it to fill your cravings. It is because it is missing something, the fat. The one thing that you are craving the most. In the end you aren't really doing yourself any favors. You are falling in the trap that all fat people fall into. They think since it is low fat, they can eat twice as much of it. That maybe true, but only if you don't want to loose weight.

Fresh fruit is always a good dessert. You can prepare it easily and it tastes great. Nothing tastes better than fresh fruit that is in season. Make sure that it is perfectly ripe and ready to eat. If it is ripe, it will be sweet and juicy. If you eat fruit that isn't ripe it will be hard and not have all the flavor that it can yield. You don't have to stick with the ho hum fruit salad. You can choose a ton of different ways to eat fresh fruit. You can bake apples for example wrapped in tin foil with a little bit of brown sugar. This is wonderful.

One of my favorite things is bananas sliced in orange juice. The sweet tangy flavor of the orange juice is really different compared to the banana. I could eat a truck load of this stuff. It is also a great pick me up if you are feeling sluggish. We have all seen those wand mixers advertised on television. Some people call these boat motors. It is a hand held mixer/blender that you can use for a lot of things. I love these things. If you have one of these, it is easy to make a great low fat dessert.

Here is a simple dessert using your boat motor. Take skim milk. You need to make sure that it is ice cold for this. Take your milk and put it in a drinking glass. Use your boat motor to whip air into it. You will notice after awhile it kind of looks like whipped cream. Add some bananas and strawberries and a little pinch of sugar to make it sweet. This is very low fat and it tastes great. You get that desire for fat taken care of that you have been craving so much. The whipped milk really almost feels like whipped cream. You won't believe how much it feels like the real thing.
You can also use this to add some zing to all kinds of things. You can use it to make your low fat milkshakes. You can add your protein mix to this for a great meal with very little fat. You will be surprised at how many things you can do with this whipped topping. People will think that you have fallen off of your rocker when they think you are eating a big serving of whipped cream. Before you know it, all your buddies at the gym will want you to make them something to eat with your boat motor. That is when you will have to tell them to get their own.

You can also eat gelatin. Make sure that you get the unflavored kind. It will come in either envelopes or in sheets. There will be directions on the package to tell you how to make it. You can add fruit juice or you can add fresh fruit to your gelatin. If you have a boat motor, you can use it and add some of that whipped topping you make from the skim milk. You will love this. You can also eat some low fat cakes. Just because it is cake, doesn't mean that it is bad for you. Just make sure that there isn't a whole lot of eggs or dairy involved. Also sometimes people sneak in mayo in their cake batters. Make sure you know what is on the cake. Also jam or jelly is great instead of frosting.

I'm sure that you can come up with your own ideas as well. Just think of what you already like to eat and put a spin on it. Please, stay away from the low fat stuff. All that will do is make you crave more of that than you should be eating. In the long run, you aren't saving any calories.

The Many Advantages of Herbal Medicine

2008-07-28T02:00:00.000-07:00

Nowadays is the era of everything that is herbal and natural. Millions of “all natural,” “all herbal” health and dietary supplements are swamping the markets today. Some of us are puzzled as to where and how the sudden exaggeration for those things started. Maybe it was because we became suddenly concerned and watchful of our health and well-being. On the other hand, maybe the media has so much influence over us that we often fail to see beyond the glamorous models and endorsers. In any way, do not fail to recognize that usage of herbal medicines and natural remedies dates back millions of years ago. Archaeological remains from early civilizations have revealed that plants were used in burials and other rituals. The earliest written account of herbal remedies comes from China and dates back to 2800BC.

Herbal medicines have had a chequered history ever since, in and out of favor with the great and the common man. But throughout the last 5000 or so years, it has continued to develop until today, when in the light of growing concern about the efficacy and side effects of many synthetic drugs, herbal medicines are once again providing a safe and natural alternative treatment for many everyday complaints.

Among the listed advantages of herbal medicines and natural alternatives are as follows:

1. Cost- Herbs cost less than prescription drugs. They are certainly much more convenient. Without a prescription, you can go to the health food store and buy whatever you want. However, it is always wise to consult with your doctor first before taking ANY medications. Natural does not necessarily mean safe for you. Many natural substances can be harmful. However, it is also important to note that medicines are not categorized as drugs. Alternative medications are treated as food, not medicines, because they are considered "natural". They can be sold as dietary supplements without a prescription. Supplement claims are not subject to the same scientific scrutiny as prescription medications. Unlike prescription medicines, herbal products do not have to be tested to prove that they work well and are safe before they are sold. In addition, herbal products may not be pure--they might have other things in them, like plant pollen or contaminants that could make you sick. At the present time, testing and standardized manufacturing of herbal and other supplements is needed.

2. Effectiveness and Potency - Reasons for seeking alternative treatments include dissatisfaction with traditional healthcare, although the efficacy of herbal medicines is mostly subjective to the patient. Potency may vary, depending on genetic variation of different strains of herbs, growing conditions, timing and method of harvesting, exposure to air, light and moisture over time and type of preservation.

Fighting fat

2008-07-27T02:06:00.000-07:00

Dealing with being overweight or obese and the consequences of these conditions is a daily nightmare for some people. Many people are overweight because of their own lifestyle choices. Others have ended up with a lot of extra weight through no fault of their own. These people have to face everyday the prejudices of others and to live in a world that doesn’t always take kindly to them. An overweight man is funny on a good day. An overweight woman is not even that. This is the sad reality some of us have to face at great personal cost.

Self-image and self-esteem depends largely on how other people see us and it takes a lot of egotism or willpower not to care about the opinions of others. And the bigger you are the harder it gets. People staring wherever you go and having to listen to all sorts of bad jokes and insults is a surefire way of lowering your self-esteem and triggering a self-destructing circle. Obese people prefer to stay in-doors and avoid moving about much, which leads to even more weight gained from lack of exercise, which leads to less exercise and so on. People whose self-esteem is low find it very hard to motivate themselves to improve their lives.

Relationships are hard to handle for overweight people. Sex becomes awkward, especially for a self-conscious person who doesn’t enjoy being naked. The extra weight makes sustained effort quite hard to perform and heavy sweating is not sexy. Unfortunately, the shape of an overweight person is not sexy either and most overweight people are hard pressed to find sex partners who don’t mind their shortcomings. The fact that overweight people don’t go out much makes finding partners even harder, which is why many simply give up and reach out for more sweets to stave off depression.

One of the best ways to deal with obesity is to help motivate yourself. Outside support is crucial because obese people are especially prone to taking the easy way and eating more than they should. A little flexibility also counts. Food addiction is next door to drug addiction and less food means less glucose triggering endorphins in the brain. This, in turn, means that a person who used to feel quite content is suddenly faced not only with depression, but also with the perspective of a lifelong depression. And that is bound to be harsh on anybody.

Getting fat is easy, shedding all that extra weight is not. Fighting fat is a struggle every step of the way and one needs to be strong and also to have the emotional support of a loving circle of relatives and friends. Being able to rely on others to help you through the worst parts of a diet is almost half the battle. Especially since after the diet comes a lifetime of less food and more exercise. This may sound a bit scary to the average overweight person, but you must remember that looking into the mirror or walking down the street won’t be a nightmare anymore.

Where diets go wrong

2008-07-26T01:57:00.000-07:00

The first reaction of most people who discover that they’ve put some weight on is to eat less food. It sounds simple enough and reasonable. Since food is what got us into trouble it follows that eating less of it will make everything right again. Nearly every diet or eating plan in the magazines or on the Internet says pretty much the same thing: eat less food. Therefore the answer to this problem is very simple and handy. Sure, going with less food than usual is a challenge, but it also carries with it a sort of expiation feeling.

Unfortunately for those who hope that lowering the food intake would help them lose weight, this doesn’t work. Over the thousands of years of evolution the human body had to face starvation many times and had to find ways of surviving. We are the offsprings of those who managed to survive periods of starvation by coping with the lack of food. Therefore, a simple decrease in the volume of food is not going to make a big difference because the body will simply compensate for it by lowering the amount of energy produced and limiting the capacity for effort.

The best way to reach your weight loss goal is to work around this defense system by eating smart instead of eating less. Overweight people and thin people eat roughly the same number of calories per day because they share the same required amount of food. However, overweight people eat far more fat than thin people, who seem to prefer complex carbohydrates that are easily broken down and metabolized by the body. This is the biggest difference between the two groups and the best point to start when considering what and how to change in your eating patterns.

Good dieting always takes time. The excess weight was not accumulated over night and will never go away in a single day. Every year hundreds of thousands of people are searching the Internet and reading magazines in order to get dieting tips and to find the modern Holy Grail: a pill that can make fat disappear in an instant. Well, maybe this is an exaggeration, but you get the idea. You have probably encountered by now a lot of advertisements promising such amazing results with the help of some quasi magic ingredient or other. And you probably know that losing weight doesn’t work like that.

The only way to lose weight for good is to avoid eating foods that are rich in fat and to exercises on a regular basis. Dieting without exercising is pointless because all the weight lost by eating less food will come right back in the following months. The sedentary lifestyle most of us lead is one of the causes behind the recent increase in the number of overweight people around the world. Cars, office jobs and foods rich in fat have brought us an unforeseen problem because the easy modern life has a price tag, just like everything else.

Five Ways to Start Losing Weight

2008-07-25T01:56:00.000-07:00

Some people find it hard to stick to diets and consistently fail to lose weight. They try nearly every kind of new dieting idea that comes along hoping that one of them would finally work, but the miracle never happens. Naturally, these people tend to overlook their own mistakes and fail to understand what prevents them from losing weight. The human brain displays a remarkable ability of ignoring the things it does not want to face, so it’s not hard to understand why some people eat all manner of things and still claim they haven’t touched anything but salad for a whole week.

But there are ways of working around these problems and if you don’t want to become one of these people, then you should stick to these pointers. Their purpose is to make eating a conscious act in order to avoid giving in to compulsions and temptations. The easiest thing to do is to carry around a notebook and a pen and to write down everything you eat. And I mean every little thing. Have you finished that half a slice of pizza that your partner couldn’t eat anymore? Write it down. At the end of the day look over the list and you’ll be surprised at how many things you actually eat on a regular basis.

Since eating and drinking are, for the most part, acts that bypass rational thinking you should try to bring them out of the twilight zone. So every time you reach out for a drink or some food, stop and ask yourself “Why am I doing this?”. You may be thirsty, hungry, bored, lonely, depressed, tired or stressed, but out of this list of reasons only thirst and hunger are legitimate. Put the bottle down if you’re not thirsty. Put the food back on the shelf or on the table if you’re not hungry. Do you crave sweets because you’re tired? Get some sleep instead. Do you feel the need to eat because you’re lonely and depressed? Go to the cinema or visit a friend. Read a book, watch a movie or listen to some music. There are options.

Never starve yourself. This is one of the big mistakes in dieting. Unless you have enough willpower to qualify for Nietzsche’s Overman status you will break down sooner or later and eat the first thing that you can get your hands on. Such as snacks or fast food. Starvation also makes the body go into power save mode by limiting your energy levels and hanging on to the existing fat. The body makes no difference between dieting and actual starvation and will behave as if in danger. Therefore you must eat three meals a day, plus snacks consisting of fruit and vegetables. This is the best way to lose weight.

Don’t try to banish your favorite foods completely because you will only sap your own willingness to stick to a diet. The key to dieting is moderation, not denial. Do you like ice cream? Well, have a couple of spoonfuls of ice cream every Sunday. Take a break from whatever it is you’re doing and enjoy this special treat. Don’t feel like you’re cheating on the diet and keep any guilt pangs away. You’re just dieting, not preparing for admission to a convent or monastery. So have a bit of forbidden food every five days or so and enjoy the moment.

And, of course, you must exercise. If you’re not used to exercising and are a bit scared of all the effort and sweating, then start small. There’s no need to rush into hour-long training sessions. Five minutes per day will do for starters. Get a treadmill and a pair of dumbbells and make your own schedule. Two minutes and a half of running and two minutes and half of curls. Every week increase the time spent exercising by another five minutes and add new exercises. Your goal should be to spend at least 30 minutes every day working out your body. Sixty minutes is even better, but it will come in time. It’s OK to start small.

Diet secrets of Hollywood stars

2008-07-24T01:55:00.000-07:00

Diets come a dime a dozen in Hollywood. They practically fall out of the sky. Any doctor or layman who manages to have an original idea or, at least, a new twist on an old idea, and is marginally successful in selling it to the public is thinking of setting up a shop in Hollywood. There’s probably no other place on Earth where diets and any other idea that could keep a body slim are so venerated as in Hollywood. Hundreds of young women and men (and some of them not so young) employ personal trainers and are up to date on the latest dieting trends because it’s good for their jobs to do so.

The general public is also interested in finding out the dieting secrets of movie stars and singers. They think that actors might have some tricks up their sleeves if they manage to stay so slim and good-looking through the years. Actually it’s not quite like that. Actors and singers are normal human beings. They have their unique genetic make-ups which means that no single diet works for everybody. So each one of them tries a couple of diets in order to find out which one suits him or her. Moreover, not all Hollywood stars stick to their diets. The crave for a treat does not discriminate.

Celebrities don’t have some sort of secret knowledge that opens the path to a beautiful body. Most of them get their tips just as the rest of the people do. They hear them from hairdressers and make-up girls. They get them from agents and publicists. Or they follow the latest fashionable trainer or dietician, just as they pick up on the latest philosophies or mystical experiences. Moving from Atkins to cabbage soup is not more complicated than dropping Buddhism in favor of Kabbalah. Some stars hire people who know a lot about diets to make these decisions for them.

All these famous people have to deal with the same kind of issues we all do. Sticking to a diet is hard on them, too, so they eat things they shouldn’t and resent the fact that they can’t do it all the time. They worry about the effects of such and such diets on their skin and they don’t look all that great all the time. But for every star there’s a small army of lighting experts, make-up artists, beauticians, image editing and visual effects people who work hard to make sure that the faces we see on screens and in magazines look perfect. No blemishes, no unsightly skin, no sagging anywhere. Just perfection.

One thing that could be said for Hollywood stars is that they work harder at their diets than most people. It’s very important for their jobs and popularity and so they try really hard to stay in shape and look good everyday. They’re not dieting experts and it’s unrealistic to expect them to be so. They’re good at other things and we’re content with them being that way. So, the bottom line is that there really is not secret to Hollywood dieting. Just the will to carry on and the struggle to stay fit.

Help Your Heart

2008-07-23T01:52:00.000-07:00

1. TAKE THE TEST!. That’s the highly sensitive C-reactive protein test, or HSCRP. It has been found that this blood test is as effective as a standard cholesterol test in predicting heart attacks and strokes. It measures the levels of a specific blood protein that indicates that you have inflamed heart arteries--the kind that rupture and cause heart failure. Seeing as how 50% of all heart attack victims have normal cholesterol levels, the hsccrp test is much more accurate and important see your doctor and have one done .

2. Who Cares what you could lift.... for the last forty years various studies have told us that exercise is good for your heart but none have told you that you are only as healthy as your last work out, the affects of exercise develop and deteriorate quickly so constant exercise is key to good health and a healthy heart. Doctors have compared those that still exercise to those that used to but stopped and the health rate was much higher in those that still, maintained there exercise schedule. While the effects of exercise diminish quickly doctors note that it is never too late to start and maintain an active healthier lifestyle to promote longevity.

3. Hang out in the weight room. As well as making your muscles bigger, working out and lifting weights will make you stronger , therefore making everything you do less taxing, thus putting less overall stress on your heart. if you develope a good strong set of muscles your heart will be less fatigued and you will live longer.

4. Get off the weed. Smoking weed is known to increase the chance of heart attack of heart failure dramatically for a few hours after you smoke a joint. If you are still smoking weed get of it, you live to be glad you stopped

5. Buy extra-virgin olive oil. So its more expensive, so what it'll keep you around longer, extra virgin olive oil is lower in fat and "bad cholesterol. so the extra dollar is worth it .

6. See a genetic counselor. Usually your doctor knows nothing about your genetic history, change that. it is the most valid peice of medical information available about you, find out what is common in your genetic make-up and take the steps to prevent those problems, genetic information is a good place to look for possible problems

7. Get an ultra sound . the thing with heart disease is that most people don't know they have it till the hit the floor. A new procedure called an electron-beam cat scan (EBCT) could be a solution. Best for men over 40, the EBCT gives your doctor a 3-D ultrasound of your heart and blood vessels and can show blockage in its early stages, while it is new enough to correct it..

8. Pop a pill, taking high doses of cholesterol-reducing statin drugs. In a study last year of patients with coronary-artery disease, half underwent angioplasty and half were treated with the statin drug atorvastatin. The atorvastatin group had fewer heart attacks within the next 18 months. Statins are proving that blood vessels Aren't just in need of cleaning . statins do more than clear blood vessels--they actually help the vessels become larger to accommodate greater blood flow.

9. Ask your doctor about Ramipril. For 30 years, Ramipril has been used as a hypertension drug. But a study from McMaster University in Ontario shows that it actually helps prevent heart attacks and strokesand even rudeces the need for bypass surgery!.

In the study, which included nearly 10,000 patients (80 percent of whom had coronary artery disease), vitamin E and Ramipril were tested against placebos. The subjects taking vitamin E showed no benefit, but those taking Ramipril had a 25 percent reduction in death rate.

Cholesterol: Good or bad?

2008-07-22T01:52:00.000-07:00

In today’s world, almost everything is free… not that everything has no price. It just seems that we have reached the era where we become more aware of our health conditions. Thus, it seems to be the era of everything that is -free. Try scanning every available product in your local grocery and you will see what I mean.

Your bread is bromate-free; your yoghurt is fat-free; your cooking oil is cholesterol-free; your canned soup is preservative-free; and the list goes on and on. Now you are beginning to wonder about the next -free commodity that you would encounter.

This is not exactly bad. In fact, health experts encourage us to be more sensitive about the foods we eat and the nutrients that we get from them. However, not everything that is –free is healthy. Our bodies need certain substances to be able to function well.
Let us take a look at cholesterol for instance. Very simply defined, cholesterol is a fatty substance that occurs naturally in the blood, cell walls, and most body tissues. Cholesterol is made by the liver, and it enters the body via foods rich in saturated fat.

There are two types of cholesterol; these are what they termed as the good and bad cholesterol. Like the literary split personality of Jekyll and Hyde, it has a good side because it is needed for certain important body functions. But for many people, cholesterol also has an evil side. When present in excessive amounts, it can injure blood vessels, cause heart attacks, and stroke.

Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) is the "bad" cholesterol. This is the form in which cholesterol is carried into the blood and is the main cause of harmful fatty buildup in arteries. The higher the LDL cholesterol levels in the blood, the greater the heart disease risk.
On the other hand, High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) is the “good” cholesterol. This "good" cholesterol carries blood cholesterol back to the liver, where it can be eliminated. HDL helps prevent a cholesterol buildup in blood vessels. Low HDL levels increase heart disease risk.

So before you go into your cholesterol deprivation program, remember that cholesterol is essential for human life. It builds and repairs cells, it is used to produce sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone, it is converted to bile acids to help you digest food and it is found in large amounts in brain and nerve tissue.

Healthy Snacks

2008-07-21T01:49:00.000-07:00

No matter if it is while we are watching television or a quick bite to and from picking the kids up at school, we all love snacks. We can't get away from that fact. So why fight it? Our whole life we have been told that snacking is bad for us. It will ruin our apatite, it will make us fat, it will break us out in pimples. Some of it is true, while on the other hand, it is nothing more than fiction. Snacking performs a very important role in our lives. Some times we snack because we are bored. We eat because we are bored. That 600 pound man didn't get that way because he was eating three square meals a day. He got that way because he was eating too much food. Our bodies tell us when we are hungry. That doesn't mean that it that all the time we are hungry we need food. But, if you have a good diet it does. There is no reason to cut out snacking all together. Snacking is also a great way to avoid things that we do as a pick me up some days. For example, we can eat a piece of fruit instead of going for that cola to get a jolt of energy.

The key thing to do is, to know what to eat and what not to eat. Here we will give you some snacking ideas that will help you choose what is right. It doesn't require a genius to figure it out, but you might be surprised at some of the suggestions. This might sound a bit strange, but I would suggest to you that you get a food dehydrator. You can get one for next to nothing and they are easy to use. I know that learning how to use something new isn't always as easy as it sounds, but believe me, these things are a snap to use.

You can dry all kinds of things in your dehydrator. The key thing to remember is to cut things thin. The thinner the item is cut, the faster they will dry. Fruits are a great thing to dry. You can dry what ever is one sale at the super market that you can find. You can also dry canned items. I would suggest that you start out with a few easy things. Start out with strawberries. They are about as easy as you can get.

Not only are strawberries easy, but when they are dried, they carry a punch of sweetness that only sugar can match. The great thing is, these are sweet, but they don't have the calories of candy. You can also dry veggies as well. Are you like me, do you love the instant soup mixes they sell at the store? Well, I love them but hate all the added salt. If you dry your own veggies, you can make your own soup. What I love is, I can control how much salt I add.

Here is something that I love to do as a snack. I take a handful of banana chips, strawberry chips, and about two apple chips. I take them and put them in some low fat yogurt. That makes for a snack that is good for you and something that I love eating. It doesn't get any better than that. You can snack on the dried food just plain. Grab some fruit chips instead of potato chips or candy. You really can't go wrong with dried fruits. They will last a very long time if you keep them in a baggie as well.

You can also make fish jerky, turkey jerky and beef jerky. I love making jerky because it saves me so much money. I don't have to pay over ten dollars a pound for jerky. I can use what ever cut of meat that is on sale at the store. You can always go with the same boring veggie platter for a snack. I do love my veggies, but this can get a bit boring at times. That is why I love the dried fruits and veggies.

A great veggie plate can be made up of any type of veggies. I would suggest that you make yours out of what ever is in season. That will produce the best veggie plate that you can. Also try putting a little oil and vinegar dressing on them. Don't use too much, but just enough to taste. Sprinkle salt to taste and also put some pepper or some pepper flakes on them. I love using pepper flakes because it gives the veggies a zing. You can also squeeze half a lemon over them for zing if you like.

You need to make sure that you aren't eating a healthy diet and snacking on foods that aren't good for you. I know tons of people who have a very good diet, but their problem is that they eat all kinds of junk when they snack. This doesn't serve any purpose at all. I'm sure you know people like this as well. Actually, I feel like yelling at them and calling them a moron.

If you must have some carbs, don't do anything stupid. Don't go running for the potato chips. Instead, eat some sliced potatoes and add some seasoning to them. I like to use Cajun seasoning myself. I think that adds the kick that they are lacking since there isn't any fat.

Another great snack idea is the small fruit cups that they sell in the stores. Don't get the ones that are in heavy syrup. Heavy syrup is a nice way of saying loaded with sugar. Also some of the pudding cups aren't too bad either. They also have yogurt cups these days too. They are good, especially if you get the ones with the fruit on the bottom. There you have it. The next time you feel guilty because you ate the wrong snack food, come back and read this article again. This will help you curve those hunger cravings and allow you to snack without the guilt.

Dieting Myths Revealed

2008-07-20T01:48:00.000-07:00

Are you tired of spending tremendous amounts of time and energy on something that doesn’t even work? The truth is no miracle pill or gadget will suddenly cut your body fat by huge amounts. Instead, concentrate on adapting a healthy lifestyle and avoiding old wives’ tales when trying to stay lean. FALSE. It’s true that eating nutritious foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and skim milk may provide more fill with less calories, but low in fat does not necessarily mean low in calories. Many desserts such as non-fat ice cream and other low in fat desserts contain great quantities of calories. Also, foods that are high in carbohydrates such as bread and pasta can also attribute to weight-gain when eaten in large amounts.

1. Cutting fat from your diet will ensure weight-loss.
FALSE. It’s true that eating nutritious foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and skim milk may provide more fill with less calories, but low in fat does not necessarily mean low in calories. Many desserts such as non-fat ice cream and other low in fat desserts contain great quantities of calories. Also, foods that are high in carbohydrates such as bread and pasta can also attribute to weight-gain when eaten in large amounts. It is important to consider portion size as well as calorie content when attempting to lose weight.

2. Extra protein will promote muscle growth.
FALSE. Although proteins are important in the building and maintaining of muscles, excess amounts of proteins are stored as fat, just as excess carbohydrates or fats are. Basically, any calorie-containing nutrient will be stored as fatty deposits if too much is eaten. In order to build muscles, strength training and sufficient amounts of calories and proteins are the best method.

3. Walking is a great way to lose weight.
TRUE. Like any other physical activity, walking burns calories and can help weight loss. The best way is to take a brisk walk (rather than a stroll), and the longer the walk, the more calories you lose. Every mile of walking burns approximately 100 calories. About 5 miles of walking every day will amount to the loss of one pound in a week.

4. Diet drugs are effective for weight-loss.
FALSE. Certain diet drugs that have been approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for those who are medically significantly obese, which is defined as those who are over 30% over a healthy weight or those who have obesity-related diseases such as high blood pressure or diabetes. These drugs often work by affecting the brain chemicals which control appetite, or block fat from being absorbed by the body. Diet drugs should only be used in conjunction with an attempt to change eating and lifestyle behaviors.

5. You can eat eggs without getting fat.
TRUE. Research proves that the major dietary culprit is high saturated-fat intake. Since eggs are low in saturated fat as well as in calories (approximately 75 calories if hard-boiled) they are not as unhealthy as some may think. They also contain many various essential nutrients. The American Heart Association recommend one egg per day. However, the key to a good diet is to eat a variety of healthy foods and to use light oil rather than butter or margarine when cooking eggs.

Adopting a healthy lifestyle is an important first step in dieting. Keep in mind the following tips, and you’ll be on the right track to healthy and effective weight loss. Start first by getting rid of all the junk food in your place, and replace them with more nutritious snacks such as fruits, vegetables and nuts. Then make sure to increase your level of activity each day. For example, you can park your car at the end of the lot and walk an extra hundred meters to the entrance of the mall. Or take the stairs instead of the escalator. Small steps such as these will add up to pounds shed.

Quit smoking, gambling, binge drinking, and any other addictive behavior. Then start following a meal plan for the whole week and stick to it. Include some of your favorites in your meals such as pasta and steak, but keep a watchful eye on the portions. And most importantly, drink plenty of water each day. This helps to regulate your metabolism and strengthens your immune system, in addition to satisfying your appetite. When you drink more water, you will feel less hungry. These steps may seem tedious at first, but maintaining routines such as the ones above will be integrated into your daily life in no time.

Are All Natural weight Loss Plans Beneficial to Your Health?

2008-07-19T01:47:00.000-07:00

All natural weight loss plans sound almost too good to be true. Is it even possible to lose weight, look and feel great without being forced into an unnatural diet or without taking dangerous drugs?

Well, if you want to lose weight, you have to have a plan. You have to set some goals and pursue them. And you have to be patient. There is no such a thing as fast weight loss. You cannot take a pill and get rid of all the fat deposits in a matter of weeks or months. Your body just doesn't work this way.

Here is a good plan with all the things you will have to do to lose weight safely and effective:

1. Exercise.
This is nothing new really, but exercise is probably the most important predictor of whether you will succeed at long term weight loss and weight loss maintenance. In order for exercise to be helpful in weight loss, you should strive for a minimum of five 30-minute sessions per week. The good news is that recent research has shown that three 10-minute sessions in a day are as good as one 30-minute session.

The goal of exercise for weight loss is to burn more calories, although exercise offers many other benefits as well. How many calories you burn depends on the frequency, duration and intensity of your activities.

Even though regularly scheduled aerobic exercises are best for losing fat, any extra physical activity helps burn calories. And since lifestyle-related activities may be easier to fit into your day, you should think about ways you can increase your physical effort. For example, make several trips up and down stairs instead of using the elevator, park at the far end of the lot and walk instead of taking the bus.

2. Stay focused on being healthy, not on becoming thin.
Many people become more successful at long-term weight loss when their motivation changes from wanting to be thinner to wanting to be healthier. Change your mindset to think about selecting foods that will help your body's health rather than worrying about foods that will affect your body's weight. The Food Pyramid offers a basic outline of the types and amounts of food you should eat each day to give your body the nutrients it needs for optimal health.

Adopting a new eating style that promotes weight loss must include lowering your total calorie intake. But decreasing calories doesn't mean giving up taste, satisfaction or even ease of meal preparation. One way you can lower your calorie intake is by eating more plant-based foods - fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Strive for variety to help you achieve your goals without giving up taste or nutrition.

3. If you have to use any weight loss pills, don't try those advertised as "fat burners" or other nonsense of this kind. There are plant extracts out there that can help you reduce the sensation of hunger and bind some of the fat in your meals so you get the benefit of a relaxed approach and positive attitude.

A good attitude is essential for your success. A good attitude can help you have patience and not try to see fast results. Fast weight loss will only result in gaining back all the fat and then some.

All natural weight loss plans and baby steps do work wonders!

Weight Loss Remedy - Overcoming Weight Loss Excuses

2008-07-18T01:42:00.000-07:00

We often make excuses when it comes to losing weight. Because of this, we stop ourselves from doing our diet routine, gain more weight and get disappointed in the end. How do you stop making those weight loss excuses?

You make many weight loss excuses and it automatically comes in without realizing it. Losing weight is not that easy but you have to discipline yourself. Next time, ask yourself why you make excuses every time you commit it.

Some of the most common excuses include:

• No time to do any exercise.
• No time to prepare healthy meals.
• Too old to exercise.
• No enough support
• Not feeling well.
• Bored with exercising.

The excuses mentioned above are just a few. You might have noticed that some are just lame excuses. So how do you stop making those weight loss excuses?

Find out why you are making excuses. Are they acceptable? Or you are just thinking of another better way? If not, then why are you not taking some action? There are some who didn’t like being overweight yet they’re doing nothing about it because they are afraid that they might fail and end up still overweight. Don’t be afraid of change…

The way you think will affect how you succeed with your weight loss routine. The more negative you think, the more excuses you’ll commit and fail. Don’t let your low self-esteem win over you. Strive harder for something that is important to you.

Lack of time with exercises is the one of the most common used excuses because we are too occupied with other things. Lack of time is not a valid excuse because if we think that losing weight is really important for us, we need to find time to for it no matter how busy we are. Do as much as you can each day and you’ll feel more energetic.

In order overcome weight loss excuses, know you need to understand the reason why you’re making an excuse and think its importance to you. Discipline yourself; strive for a happy and healthy you.

Yo-Yo diets

2008-07-17T01:44:00.000-07:00

Most people who have ever tried dieting have at one time or another gone through yo-yo diets. These are the classic ideal of all those who don’t like what the measuring tape is telling them about their waists and thighs. Everybody wants a diet and some pills that can help them shed a significant number of pounds fast. In a week or two, if possible. However, all those pounds that you have been fast to discard are coming right back in the next month or so. Probably with some liver or stomach problems from the pills used to speed up the process.

Yo-Yo diets always sound like a good idea because people don’t like to think that weight problems are long-term problems which should be managed as such. They are looking for the miracle cure, the three-day wonder that would fix everything in a couple of days. Unfortunately, long-term problems solved in three days have a way of refusing to stay solved. It’s a sort of nudge from Mother Nature reminding us that we should not try and hurry things, especially when it’s impossible to do so. It doesn’t matter what the labels of dozens of pills say because weight loss is not a short term problem.

The best weight loss advice one could get comes from dietitians and physicians, but people tend to stay away from these professionals. Their answers offer no hope for a simple solution and their eating plans and diets seem to take forever. Nevertheless, these neglected experts know that the body has gained weight in time and will shed it in the same manner. Trying to force a new weight gain/loss rhythm is not healthy for the body and fast diets always end up causing damage to the internal organs and decreasing the muscle mass.

What a Yo-Yo diet can never give you is the guarantee that all the weight lost in one week won’t return after a couple of glasses of soda and two or three burgers. A proper diet that takes at least four weeks to complete allows the body to get rid of the accumulated fat and not of water or muscle mass. Crash diets that cut off your intake of calories may seem to work for the moment, but your body is going to pay a heavy price as the internal organs are left without the required daily nourishment.

Short term solutions always lead to long-term disasters and what looked like a sound proposition yesterday might prove to be a health hazard tomorrow. While your weight problem is nothing to be proud of, there is no magic solution that is going to make everything right just like that. You are going to have to put together a sound eating plan, exercise on a regular basis and make sure you’re not putting anything back on. There are many recipes fit for dieting that you can choose from and even cook yourself. Dieting is always simpler than it sounds. It starts with you reaching out for a bag of snacks and remembering that an apple would be better for both your waistline and self-esteem.

Young adult fitness protects heart health in middle age

2008-07-16T01:41:00.000-07:00

The early bird catches the worm and the early jogger doesn’t have to worry as much later on in life. I know that this may sound like some half-baked self-help slogan, but it’s the truth. The sooner you start to take care of your body, the better your health will be.

A study conducted by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute revealed that cardiorespiratory exercises performed in the early adulthood have a huge impact on the risk of developing high blood pressure and diabetes in the middle age. Both of these conditions are likely to lead to strokes or heart attacks in the old age. Regular fitness sessions also lower the risk of developing the classic spare tire that nobody likes, high blood pressure and high levels of triglycerides (the bad version of cholesterol).

Just because you’re young and healthy it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be exercising at all. Preventive measures are always a good idea because it’s easier to put a little effort into improving your health than having to deal with the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle in your middle age. Eating all sorts of good things is great, but after a certain age all those burgers and snacks will come back to you as high blood pressure.

Once you’re past your thirtieth birthday you no longer snap back the same way and excess eating coupled with excess TV watching equal fat, diabetes, hypertension and other unpleasant things that require frequent trips to the doctor and many pills. While the 30s and the 40s seem far away to a young man, time flies faster than we think and suddenly you’re no longer young. But you can still be healthy with a little exercising every day.

The Curves Diet Plan

2008-07-15T01:39:00.000-07:00

Try as we might, we cannot be creative all the time. Not all ideas are original enough and the harder you try, the more difficult it seems to get something decent out of your own head. This is one of the reasons why some people simply use something that has already been proved to work, add a little twist and try to pass it off as a new idea. The Internet, for instance, is choke full of websites, topics, design concepts and blogs are are nothing more than a poor rehash of a good idea. Diets are like that, too.

This one is not particularly original, despite sustained attempts to come across like a whole new and different idea. The theory behind the diet is that a high-protein, low-carb diet coupled with a lot of exercising will help you build muscle in order to keep metabolism high and burn a lot of calories. A high metabolism allows you to lose weight faster and to make sure you stay in shape for years, because it will be harder to put on weight in the future. Nothing new here; it looks like a variation of the Atkins diet (or any other low-carb diet for that matter).

Users can choose between two eating plans, depending on which suits them better. The Carbohydrate-Sensitive Plan reduces the intake of carbs to 20 grams per day for the first two weeks, increasing to 40-60 grams per day after this period. The second plan is called the Calorie-Sensitive Plan and it focuses on limiting carbs to 60 grams per day and calories to 1,200 for the same two weeks, moving up to 1,600 later on. The second phase of the plan is supposed to last for five weeks or until you’ve reached the desired weight and are preparing to return to normal food.

The eating plan is supplemented by exercises and some recommended vitamins and minerals. However, just like in the case of the Atkins diet, most carbs are off limits for both eating plans, which leaves the user eating a lot of low-fat, high-protein foods in order to keep hunger contained. This means no bread, no pasta or wholegrains, no fruit and only a few vegetables. By sticking to this diet you can expect to drop between 6 and 10 pounds during the first two weeks and between 1 and 2 pounds per week in the second phase.

The Cabbage Soup Diet

2008-07-14T01:36:00.000-07:00

Ahh, the famous Cabbage Soup diet. Most people interested in dieting have certainly heard of this one. many of them have actually tried some version of it. Since nobody has ever claimed to be the inventor of this diet, there is no definitive cabbage soup diet, but rather a string of versions floating around magazines and the Internet. Every expert who tried to promote this diet has either added or replaced an existing feature, which means that aside from that cabbage soup you can expect to see a wide range of other foods, although nothing spectacular.

The biggest problem with the cabbage soup diet is all the hype that surrounds it. Some people claim that cabbage has fat burning properties, which is nonsense. Others say that one could shed a whooping 10 pounds in a single week on this diet, which is not true. There’s no magical ingredient in cabbage that helps weight loss. The basic idea behind the diet is to starve yourself by drinking a lot of cabbage soup and some water on the side. The trick is to keep your stomach filled with cabbage soup in order to keep hunger away while the body burns fat to maintain itself.

The early version cabbage soup diet featured nothing else than the basic soup. Recent versions have added fruit, vegetables, skimmed milk, lean meat or brown rice to the eating plan in order to help people stick to it for a longer time. Dieters are not allowed any alcohol. The only drinks allowed beside the cabbage soup are water and unsweetened fruit juices. The soup itself is based on cabbage, onions (or onion soup mix), tomatoes, green peppers, celery, carrots and mushrooms. There are some variations even here, but nothing important.

Unfortunately, the cabbage soup diet is not a good idea. Many people cannot stick to a diet that forces them to starve every day, especially people who have to go work. Another issue is the fact that most of the weight lost through this diet comes from water and muscle mass, instead of fat. This means that seven days later the dieter still has all the initial fat on and a good chance of replacing all the lost muscle mass with even more fat. Moreover, the low calorie intake at the core of the diet will force the body to enter starvation mode and hang on to the existing fat for its survival. This is not a good way to lose weight.

The Body Clock Diet

2008-07-13T01:35:00.000-07:00

All diets are based on an idea that’s supposed to make them different. Aside from the basic “eat this and don’t eat that”, diets have to have an original twist in order to be noticed by the general public. Standing out in the crowded field of the modern dieting industry can sometimes make the difference between success and failure and even a good idea needs to be promoted. The same can be said about the Body Clock Diet, which is one of the diets that try to look beyond food in order to link the eating process with the greater picture of body processes.

The basic idea is that aside from being careful about what you eat, you should also be careful about the timing of meals in order to fit in with the natural rhythm of your body. The body has its own internal clock that regulates the metabolism, appetite, sleep and energy levels. This diet focuses on eating the right kind of food while observing the internal clock. It is important to eat regularly and getting the right balance of nutrients with each meal since this lets the body turn the feeling of hunger on and off naturally.

There is, of course, a two-week eating plan that you must follow in order to lose weight. Staying true to the body rhythms, each day features three meals and two snacks that are rich in vegetables and fruits. The eating plan follows a general protein-rich, low-fat pattern, which is nothing new. The best part of the diet, however, is tying everything in with the rest of the body. For instance, the author argues that eating grains and cereals should be done in the morning in order to match the effect of insulin on the brain, while dinner should consist of a light blend low glycemic cabs and lean protein.

According to estimates, this diet should allow you to lose up to two pounds per week, which is the average weight loss rate. The book explaining this diet comes with recipes and general eating advice and a comprehensive and no-nonsense explanation of how the body works, what impact the daily rhythm has on weight and how to work with the body instead of against it. This is a good eating plan that doesn’t come with any strange ideas about magic ingredients that can make anybody lose weight in a flash.

The Beverly Hills Diet

2008-07-12T01:34:00.000-07:00

From the star-studded hills located near Hollywood comes a diet rich in fruit and lacking sound ideas about weight loss. Really, if weight loss was so simple, there would be no problem for anybody to drop as many pounds as desired just by eating fruit. Nevertheless, a fruit-based diet sounds good to some people and so one may run into the happy statements of those who managed to lose weight by sticking to this eating plan.

The diet itself is very simple. It claims that papaya softens the fat, pineapple burns it off and watermelon washes it out of the body. Unfortunately, this concept hasn’t been proved yet in a scientifically sound manner. While grapefruit has a positive effect on the sugar absorption system, it doesn’t burn fat outright. The only thing that burns fat is effort.

According to actress Judy Mazel, the founder of the Beverly Hills Diet, people can lose 10 to 15 pounds in 35 days. Since the founder claims that eating different types of food together is one of the causes behind weight loss, the diet focuses on eating a single type of food for a whole day. One day you eat nothing but grapes, while the next day it’s just melons for you.

The problem with this diet is that the eating plan is really boring. The average dieter has every chance to get bored and start dreading the coming of the next day. This is more of a quick fix type of diet instead of a long-term eating plan and should not be pursued by more than one month. Fruits alone cannot provide your body with all the minerals and vitamins it needs every day.

By restricting your food to fruit will leave you exposed to malnutrition and diseases. The fast loss of weight usually means that some of that weight will be muscle mass and water, which means that some of the fat will stay in place. It also means that if you start gaining back weight, you will simply be replacing muscle mass with fat. In the long run this will do you a lot of harm.

And, for the final words, I hope you can get used to diarrhea, because eating nothing but fruit will keep you in a near constant state of diarrhea. All in all, this is not a good diet. Poor access to crucial vitamins and minerals and a lot of water and muscle mass loss is definitely not a good way to lose weight.

The Coconut Diet

2008-07-11T01:37:00.000-07:00

Some people are willing to sell anything and this is why some bad ideas are actually launched on the market, much to the dismay of unsuspecting customers who are duped by the hype and advertising. One such bad idea is the Coconut Diet, which is yet another of those diets that add some kind of miracle ingredient to a strict eating program and hope that everything turns out great. The magic ingredient in this case is the coconut oil and its metabolism boosting capacity. It seems that coconut oil can be rapidly burnt by the body, despite the fact that it is rich in saturated fats.

This diet is in fact a regular low-carb diet, very similar to Atkins. During the first stage of the diet, users are not allowed to eat any kind of carbohydrates and must do with lean foods, such as eggs, nuts, cheese, fish, chicken, turkey and up to 10 glasses of water per day. They also have to swallow 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil per day. The first stage lasts for three weeks, only to be followed by an optional detox stage. This stage lasts for 4 weeks and focuses on cleansing the liver, kidneys, gallbladder and colon through certain interesting means (such as drinking water mixed with lemon juice and olive oil).

The third stage of the diet is the reintroduction of carbohydrates in the daily eating plan. Starting with fruit, wholegrains and potatoes, the dieter is once more allowed to eat carbs. It is assumed that the dieter has lost more than 10 pounds by this point and still maintaining a weight loss pace of 1-2 pounds per week. The fourth stage of the diet means that even more carbohydrates are added to the eating plan, while still drinking coconut oil.

Unfortunately, the person behind this diet provides no sound explanation for the alleged positive influence of coconut oil on weight loss. While it’s true that coconut oil helps regulate the thyroid gland, it has far too much saturated fat to be healthy. Furthermore, it’s not very clear whether the coconut oil plays any kind of role in this diet, since the weight loss can easily be ascribed to the strict “no carbohydrates” eating plan. Most dieting experts and dietitians agree that access to saturated fats should be limited during diets, so it’s pretty strange to see one that claims the opposite.

The Atkins Diet

2008-07-11T01:33:00.000-07:00

Can you say hype? If you’re living in any Western world country then you’ve probably heard of the famous Atkins diet. Whether this is the most successful diet ever or not it’s still up for debate, but it certainly is the more advertised one. The Atkins diet has been for a while the most hyped eating plan around and millions of people have tried it at some point or another. This is no exaggeration. It was estimated that more than 3 million people in the United Kingdom alone have tried the Atkins diet at the peak of the hype in 2003.

The basic idea behind this diet is that cutting down on the carbohydrates, while allowing people to eat high-fat food is going to work. One of the best things in favor of the Atkins diet was the fact that it allowed people to eat eggs and cheese and steaks. It sounds like a dream diet actually. Who’d pass up the chance of losing weight while still enjoying a good eggs and ham breakfast? Well, the downside is that you get no bread or salad with that steak. None whatsoever. Which becomes a real problem after a week or so. How much meat can you eat without touching any vegetables at all?

Anyway, the theory is that cutting out the carbohydrates will force your body to use the stored fat in order to obtain the energy needed through the day. This means that you get to eat no bread and pastries, potatoes, pasta, milk, rice, fruit, vegetables (well, there are a couple you can still eat) and, obviously, no junk food or soft drinks. On the other hand, you are allowed to eat red meat, fish, chicken, cheese, mayonnaise, cream, butter and eggs. This is going to be your only food for the first two weeks, which are called the Induction Phase.

The second phase of the diet is called Ongoing Weight Loss and it lets you increase the intake of carbohydrates by 5 grams per day, starting from the basic 20 grams per day stipulated by the Induction Phase. The user must find how far the amount of carbohydrates can be increased before the body is unable to lose between 1 and 3 pounds per week. This is called the Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing Weight and this is where the amount of carbs stops growing. This phase is supposed to last until you almost reach the desired weight.

With 5 to 10 pounds left to shed it’s time to enter the third stage of the diet. This one is called Pre-Maintenance and it’s supposed to increase the carbs intake by 10 grams a day in order to slow down the weight loss process. Welcome to the world of 30 grams of pasta per day. The final phase is called Lifetime Maintenance and a lifetime of eating around 90 grams of carbs per day for the rest of your life. Moving from 250 grams or more to less than 100 grams and for the rest of your life could be quite a challenge for many people.

The side effects of the Atkins diet depend on the user. Some people did fine on this diet, some got infections of the kidneys from the high-protein content or heart problems from all the fat food they ate. Dizziness and general weakness are also to be expected as the body goes into starvation mode when denied carbohydrates. With high-fiber fruit and vegetables out of the way you can also expect constipation to become a problem. Also, the lack of many dairy products leads to a significant drop in the amount of calcium absorbed by the body and may cause osteoporosis or other bone conditions later on.

Free Diet Plans Can Work for You

2008-07-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

Dieting web sites and dieting plans are so successful that it's almost a given that anybody can find the perfect free dieting scheme on the internet. Free diet plans are, well, free - you don't pay anything upfront. But many people don’t trust them having a good reason. The famed "cabbage soup diet" or the "3 days diet" are just two random examples of diet plans that will never work and can even be downright dangerous.

So how can you find a sound free diet plan? Is there any such a thing?

The keyword when you're looking for a diet plan is common sense. Use your knowledge and your intuition to pick between the various diets, it's not that hard. For example it would be a good thing to find out right from the start what the right amount of calories you need based on your current weight and daily activity. It's worth noting that even if you are 100 lbs and a complete couch potato, you still need about 1300 calories per day just to stay alive and well.

For most of us, a good dieting plan would do nothing more than give some guidelines on what to eat to stay within the daily limits for calories. And any plan that attempts to tell you that 500 calories per day is good for you won't help you at all.

After decades of dieting, many people have become more knowledgeable and it's easier to say when we are eating something we shouldn't. Any scheme, be it a free diet plan or one especially made for you by a dietician, will take into account that you will be faced with having to eat some no-so-healthy food sooner or later. You never know what will be on the menu at your cousin's wedding party or at that very important dinner meeting with out of town customers.

The next very important thing is to find a diet that can accommodate your favorite foods, even if they are pork chops and fries. You won't be able to diet and feel happy about it if you have to give up everything you like. Incorporating foods you like is beneficial in the long run and it will drastically decrease the danger of binge eating.

And another tricky part you have to take into account when you try a free diet plan is during the day you are most likely to eat. I am yet to find a person who likes to eat very early in the morning and needs to diet. Hey, maybe I'm on to something here!

A good diet plan will make the transition from a dedicated evening eater to a healthy morning eater seem easy and enjoyable. And the whole purpose of a diet plan is to make life and food enjoyable even when it's served in small, healthy bites. Dieting is supposed to be fun, to make you feel happier, healthier and ready to try even more nice new things in your life!

Lose Weight with Water

2008-07-09T03:58:00.000-07:00

The human body is mostly water trapped inside the fragile walls of cells. We drink water to maintain the optimum level of hydration in our bodies, to flush the toxins out and cleanse the body, to cool off, to keep the joints working and to help the food digestion process. The minimum daily recommended water intake is 2 liters, because this is how much water the body uses throughout the day through sweating, urination and other bodily functions. Without replenishing lost water, the body goes into dehydration and all functions start to suffer, which is why dieting professionals recommend abstaining from food, but never from water.

Like many other bodily functions, the metabolism is dependent on water to work properly. Without enough water, the process of breaking food down and converting it to energy slows down dramatically, which means that too few calories are burnt and that too little weight is lost. Not drinking enough water can be compared to “running of fumes” and if you’re dieting and you seem to have hit the plateau, then you are probably not drinking enough water. When the metabolism slows down, weight loss slows down even more dramatically, especially since exercising becomes less effective as the body’s energy levels diminish.

Water also plays an important part in the process of digestion and elimination of residues. Not drinking enough water is a one-way ticket to constipation and a host of other problems of the intestines. Poor digestion means that you will not get enough energy from the food you’re eating. This will prompt the body to ask for more food and this is how the weight loss process stops and the weight gain process begins. A dehydrated body sends out fake hunger pangs, thus tempting you to forget about the diet and eat more food than you should.

Not to mention that water is also a good filler. If you want to eat less food, drink a tall glass of water half an hour before every meal. The water will fill a large part of your stomach and the body will be content to feel that the stomach is not empty. This is not idle speculation, but a sound advice whose effectiveness can be confirmed by many dietitians and weight loss experts. Nobody can overeat with half of the stomach filled with water and with the body telling him/her: “Seems like we’re almost full. We don’t need that much food, so cut it short this evening”.

Keep in mind that in order to reap the benefits of drinking enough water, you will want to spread the intake throughout the day. Don’t drink 2 liters of water all at once because the body will simply flush the excess and a lot of it will simply be wasted. Also, you don’t need to restrict yourself to water. Fruit juices, weak tea and coffee count as liquids that can be used by the body for hydration. Alcohol is out of the question, because alcohol has the opposite effect on the body. And, ladies, don’t be afraid that drinking a lot of water will make you retain it. It’s dehydration, not abundance, which forces the body to hang on to what it has.

Easy Ways to Successfully Lose Weight

2008-07-07T03:30:00.001-07:00

Some people try all sorts of unnatural programs to lose weight. They drink shakes instead of meals or pop pills to curb hunger. It really doesn't have to be all that hard. There are many ways you can gently encourage your body to release unwanted weight. Weight loss doesn't have to be as hard as some people make it.

Look at Self-Sabotage. While many people say they want to lose weight, their actions do not meet their words halfway. Are you saying, "Oh, I want to lose forty pounds" while you are eating a double cheeseburger with onion rings for lunch? Or are you saying that you want to wear a smaller dress to that summer wedding though if you are not exercising every day like you promised yourself you would?

Both of these are examples of how you self-sabotage yourself when it comes to your weight loss results. A lot of the time, you need to get out of your own way. If you want to lose weight and you need to eat lunch out, go to a restaurant you know you can easily order a healthy lunch. Or at least one where you won't be tempted by something fattening. Put your sneakers by the door so you'll be ready to change into them the minute you come home. Make things easy for yourself.

Give up a Little. Some people gain weight without realizing the "why" of how they did so. However, if you look at their habits, they added an extra snack or there were some other "sneaky" calories that got added into their daily lives. Without them realizing it, they were slowly packing on the pounds. Fortunately, you can use this same little trick in the reverse!

Instead of going on some sort of extreme diet, look for ways to easily cut calories. Take the cheese out of your sandwich at lunch to easily cut 100 plus calories a day. That is at least seven hundred calories a week with one choice. Switch to diet soda from regular to lose two to three hundred calories a can of pop. Calories can sneak into your diet and you can also make them sneak right back out.

Add Some Daily Sweat. The people that succeed at weight loss are the ones that become regular exercisers. Period. If you want to see the pounds go, get ready to sweat a little. Or maybe even a lot sometimes. So find an exercise that you like that is fun and something you'll look forward to doing and do it five times a week for at least half an hour at a time. Do even more of it if at all possible. Are you new to exercise? Try to start with just fifteen minutes of exercise a day and ramp it up as you go. Remember to get your doctor's permission before starting any physical fitness program.

Connect With Other Losers. One of the best ways to encourage weight loss is to connect with those who are also working on losing weight. You can cheer each other on and you can commiserate when the pounds just don't seem to be leaving as quickly as you'd like them to. People in groups just seem to help each other succeed at all types of things that includes weight loss. Getting support to reach your goal will help you feel more motivated. It also may encourage you to stick with your diet when you don't feel like it, because you don't want to let down the group.

Fat Loss 4 Idiots Review: it is truly worth the hype!

2008-07-07T02:42:00.000-07:00

GO Fat Loss 4 Idiots Site Now!
Out of the many fat loss programs in the market today the Fat Loss 4 Idiots seems to be one of the most promising around. Our comprehensive and unbiased Fat Loss 4 Idiots Review will help you decide on whether this program is good for you or not.

Can be easily followed
Unlike the scores of fat loss programs which restrict your diet and literally make you starve to accomplish your fat loss goals, the Fat Loss 4 Idiots program has been designed to achieve long term weight loss. Therefore it is a much more sensible program which is relatively easy to implement. Most people who have followed this program have started seeing positive results (losing as much as 9 pounds) in as little as 11 days.

9 pounds’ weight loss: not for everyone
Every person’s constitution is different and so obviously the results of the Fat Loss 4 Idiots program will also vary from one person to another. However while many people have lost 9 pounds within 11 days, on an average the overall weight loss seems to range between 5 and 6 pounds. Our Fat Loss 4 Idiots Review believes that dramatic and substantial weight loss in limited periods of time is not a very healthy thing. It is because most of the loss is in terms of water, fat as well as muscle. When considering a long term weight loss perspective losing muscle is not a very healthy aspect. However in general the Fat Loss 4 Idiots seems to promise a 5-6 pounds loss in 11 days which is healthy enough.

What you get from the program
Right at the onset of the Fat Loss 4 Idiots program people receive a report that details 10 fundamental rules to accomplish weight loss. While our Fat Loss 4 Idiots Review feels that these are mostly common sense but the fact is that most people do not follow these rules strictly enough. For example the report contains useful tips such as drinking plenty of water, avoiding snacks in between meals and exercising more regularly.

The Diet Generator
The most important aspect of the Fat Loss 4 Idiots program is the diet generator provided online on their site. You can select from a regular or vegetarian diet plan. Subsequently you need to select your favorite foods from the dropdown menu provided. These foods will then comprise your diet plan for the next 11 days. Our Fat Loss 4 Idiots Review believes that this is one of the winning factors of this program. It allows people to indulge in their favorite foods and still delivers results. This is drastically different from other programs that force you to eat foods that you dislike.

Flexible meal plans
The program comprises 4 meals daily with one of the days comprising only 3 meals. On this day there will be 2 vegetarian meals and one fruit meal. Each of the meals are very easy to cook which is another plus point as per our Fat Loss 4 Idiots Review. Also the portion sizes are flexible which means you can eat till you are satisfied. On the whole this is a great weight loss plan for those looking for something easy and long term.

GO Fat Loss 4 Idiots Site Now!

Proven Ways Of Losing Those Unwanted Pounds For Good

2008-07-07T00:53:00.001-07:00

An exercise doesn't have to be complicated or intense to be efficient at burning fat. The following list of fat burning exercises will help you identify simple activities that burn fat and fit your lifestyle.

Walk Away From Flab

Study after study has proven that low-impact exercise, like walking, actually burn more fat calories that high intensity workouts. This means that even people who need to avoid putting stress on their joints can lose weight and burn fat. An extra perk of walking is that pretty much everyone can do it for free.

You can begin by walking for ten to twenty minutes. Walk at a comfortable pace and try and up that pace a little bit every day. Be careful not to over exert yourself. If you can't carry on a conversation, you are walking too quickly for your fitness level. Until your fitness level improves, just slow down a little bit. If you need to add a boost to your walking workout, add light hand weights. This simple addition will help you gain muscle and burn fat and calories.

Dance Away Fat

Dancing is rapidly becoming a popular exercise choice to burn fat and whittles down waistlines. Plus, dancing can be so much fun that you will completely forget you’re exercising.

A 150 pound person will burn between 103 and 189 calories ballroom dancing and over 200 calories ballet or aerobic dancing in only thirty minutes.

So dance burns calories--how does it do at burning fat? Dance combines fast and slow steps, which forces your body to switch back and forth between aerobic and anaerobic systems that burn fat. When you do fast-steps, you jump start the anaerobic system which uses up the energy stored in your muscles. The slow steps make the aerobic system kick in and convert stored carbohydrates into energy. This burns fat and calories, and also builds muscles which will help burn fat too.

Jogging for Less Jiggle

Another fabulous fat burning activity is jogging. In just 30 minutes of jogging, a 150-pound person will burn 238 calories. You can make jogging into an even better fat burner by incorporating the aerobic/anaerobic switching we just talked about. The first step is to walk at a medium speed for two minutes. After that, switch to a jog for two more minutes. Alternate between walking and jogging for a total of 30 minutes. You'll burn fat most effectively if you alternate between slow and fast motions which switch the aerobic and anaerobic systems on and off.

Muscling in on Fat

As you read before, additional muscle helps you burn more fat. Muscles accelerate your metabolism, which means you'll burn more calories. Weightlifting is the all around best way to build muscle.

When you first start, use a very low weight barbell. For most people, 5 pounds is a good starting weight. Test the weight by attempting ten lifts with the barbell. If ten repetitions are a cinch, move up to a heavier weight. If ten repetitions are too difficult, you should use a lighter weight. You can switch out a fat burning exercise with a weightlifting regimen on alternate days.

Choose the exercise that works with your lifestyle and you'll soon start shedding pounds.

Healthy Life Style

2008-03-26T22:57:00.000-07:00

Even though we all dread the thought, we all must think about our bodies at some point in our lifetime. I know for many years I either pushed it aside or felt uncomfortable thinking about it. It isn't always an easy thing. I have never been uncomfortable with my appearance per se. I guess you could say the problem was that to identify my body, meant I had some responsibilities. Not only that, but sometimes things go wrong. When we live in a fast paced world the last thing we can afford is to have something go wrong with our bodies. The car is one thing, but our bodies are another. I don't know at what age that I began to realize that my body was important.

I would say that it was probably latter on in life than what most people do. I have never really been the active type of person. Sure, I loved to go hiking and stuff like that, but I would never hit the gym. Well, some things never change.

Maybe it is because of age or maybe it is because of all the people around me are fat. Maybe it was a combination of those two things that made me start to think of my diet and my health. When you are young, you can eat fast food three meals a day and not feel it. When you start to get older, you begin to feel it more. I would like to think that my progression towards a healthy lifestyle was to make myself more healthy. On the other hand, I think it was because I was tired of feeling like shit. I am sure that you know exactly what I am talking about.

When your diet goes down hill, the rest of you goes along with it. Your sleeping patterns go to hell, your hair doesn't look as good, and your skin looks like leather. I had always wondered why some people's skin looked like a pair of old combat boots. Now I know why. So, what do you do? You are starting to feel over the hill but yet you don't know how to change things. Change is the hardest thing to do in life. You should know, its not impossible. If you are a married man or have been in a long term relationship this will be easy for you. Chances are the old lady would like to shed a few pounds and firm up that once tight heart shaped ass that she once had.

You will be more successful if both of you do it. I'm not saying that you should expect perfection in this venture. Though if both of you are doing it, there won't be those tubs of ice cream laying around to tempt you.

Where do you start? First I would suggest that you go to your doctor for a physical. Have some blood work taken and see how you are. If you haven't done anything like this before, it is a good thing to do. He will check your cholesterol and all that stuff. Also if you have a health condition, you will want to talk about your diet and exercise plans with him before you do anything. You want to do this so that you don't screw yourself up. If you have diabetes and you start a new diet, if not done right you can cause a lot of problems.

So, after you have things squared away with the doctor. I would suggest that you figure out what kind of diet you want to go on. I would suggest that you focus on a diet that is high in veggies and fruit. Cut back on the meat and the carbs and stick with as many fresh items as you can. This will help you loose weight. I would also suggest that you look into some type of exercise program. I would start out with walking or jogging and work your way from there. You and your old lady can do this together. Get a dog, they love to go on walks. This will give you motivation when it comes to taking your walks.

After you get used to walking, I would hit the gym. If you can afford a personal trainer, I would go that route. If you can't, then I would start off by doing some swimming and doing the exercise bikes. You can also start out with the treadmill as well. I would continue to do your walks. Not only is this good exercise, but this is quality time with your old lady. You will come to enjoy the talks that you have during your walks. If you are over 40, I'm not sure how much I would push doing weight lifting. It might be something that you might want to look into. On the other hand, it will take your body some time to get used to lifting weights. For the first few weeks, you will feel like someone beat you to a pulp.

Personally, I hate lifting weights. I think it is a bit, well, boring. I think it is boring to stand or sit and just lift things for hours on end. If there is some hot chicks doing squats or something in front of me, that is another story all together. The main thing to understand is, change your diet, get more exercise, and listen to your doctor. If he gives you the green light to go ahead, then go ahead. If he gives any warnings, make sure that you listen to them.

Diet Comparisons

2008-03-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

Probably the most important things people want to know when they think the time has come (again) to cut some of the daily food intake is which diet is the best. Although we are all different beings, we all share the same goal: a diet that can make us thin in no time at all. Some sort of miracle pill or eating plan that makes fat go away and never ever return. That’s actually the second part of the big wish: how to make sure that all the weight lost through dieting stays lost through the years.

The more diets published in magazines and on the Internet, the more people are confused about what dieting really means and about the right way of bringing your body back in shape. The growing number of overweight people has turned weight loss into an industry like never before and the market is growing every year. It seems that nowadays all one needs is a fashionable idea and a flair for marketing in order to make a lot of money or garner a lot of popularity by proposing some sort of weird diet, despite the lack of professional expertise in this field.

And there is a LOT of diets out there. We’re going to go here only through the best-known diets, since a review of all the diets floating around the industry would be beyond the scope of this article.

So let’s start with one of the latest fads of the dieting world: the Atkins diet. Pretty much everybody’s head of the Atkins diet, largely due to the flood of articles praising the extraordinary results, not to mention the loads of good mail from satisfied customers. The biggest thing in favor of this diet is that it lets you eat high fat dairy products like cheese and butter. However, the Atkins diet has fallen from its lofty perch over suspicions of increasing the risk of heart diseases, not to mention the proved fact that bigger number of followers complain of diarrhea, weakness, muscle cramps and rashes. The debate over the scientific fundamentals of this diet is still raging.

Next comes the Zone diet; another well-known eating plan. This diet is the brainchild of Barry Sears and it’s all about eating the right mix of foods in order to reach the proper hormonal balance. This state of balance, which is called the “Zone”, lets the body take in calories and use them through the day without putting anything aside as fat. Unfortunately, this diet does some serious discrimination among foods without any scientific basis. Starchy vegetables, whole grains and beans are banned, although these foods are not in conflict with the principles of the diet. The American Heart Association says the Zone diet lacks essential nutrients while promoting high-protein foods.

The Jenny Craig diet is next on the list. One of the longest running diets, Jenny Craig started this business in the early 1980s and it’s still around. The basic idea of this diet is a trade off: you don’t have to choose recipes, do the shopping and the cooking, but you have to buy the Jenny Craig prepackaged food. And that runs to some $100 per week. Plus the membership costs. Plus the vegetables and fruits which are not included in the prepackaged food. If you can afford it and if you can stick to it, the diet is pretty good. However, similar low-calorie foods can be bought at the grocery store and you don’t have to discuss this with a Jenny Craig expert that insists on your eating the prepackaged food because he gets a percentage of the sale price.

From sunny Florida comes the South Beach diet. This one has the right idea and wrong approach combination down pat. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of people have managed to lose weight with this diet and it actually works. But the question is: can you really stick to it? The first phase of the diet will eliminate most foods containing carbohydrates from your daily consumption. Fortunately, this phase lasts two weeks. Unfortunately, second phase focuses on a half-hearted return of whole grains and fruits and lasts… as long as necessary. If reaching the desired weight takes you one year, then that’s exactly how long this phase is going to last. And if you don’t like the foods allowed by this diet then you’re out of luck. There are no alternatives.

And yet another veteran dieting program around is Weight Watchers. This is actually one of the best diets around because it puts all the management tools in the hands of the user. If you are really committed to losing weight, you have all the information you need to do it. And a lot of people who are going through the same thing are going to be there to help you. If having company during difficult times helps your willpower, then you are probably going to lose all that extra weight. If, on the other hand, you don’t like the idea of being constantly under peer pressure, then this diet is not for you.

As you can see from this short review, there are a lot of diets out there, dozens more than we’ve been able to cover here. The best thing to do when choosing a diet is to do as much research about it as possible. See what people who tried it have to say. Then see what doctors and dietitians have to say about it. Between those singing praises and those trying to prove the diet wrong you can probably get the truth yourself. Still, pay special attention to what the doctors have to say. If they tell you a certain diet will put your body to risk then think twice before trying it.

Binge Eating

2008-03-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

All of this time we have talked about what to eat and what not to eat. Though, that is only part of the solution to a good diet. There is something that we also need to talk about. What we haven't talked about is eating habits. When you should and shouldn't eat. That is as important as what you eat. Why is it important? It is important because you don't want to binge eat. You don't want to eat a whole bunch of food at one time. This isn't good for you. Does this sound like you? You skip breakfast because you are running late for work. You have a bunch of work that has been piling up, so you skip lunch. Instead you have a cup of coffee and some snack crackers. You go home and you eat enough for three meals. You are so hungry you could eat a live pig. You eat so much that you don't think you will be able to walk for a week. You go watch some television and you fall asleep while watching it.

Is this the same as eating three good meals each day? Eating one meal that is the same amount of food as three? No it isn't. It isn't because of the way that the body digests the food. All day long you have starved your body of what it needs, it can't handle everything at once. All you are doing is over loading your body. The real risk of bingeing is this. You will end up eating things that you shouldn't be eating. You will end up eating a ton of fast food or other food that is high and fat and easy to obtain. Why is this?

This is because you are so hungry, you have to eat something now. This tends to be whatever you can get your hands on. Generally, it will be something that isn't good for you. This is why it is important that you eat all three of your meals. You can snack in between those meals too. You want to make sure though that your snacks are healthy ones. Did you know that most doctors say that snacking is good for you? It gives you some energy when you are feeling like you are running on empty.

The key thing to remember is to eat healthy snacks. Eat things that make your feel good, not things that are loaded with fat. Things that are loaded with fat will only make you feel drained and make you want to snack more. If you are having problems eating three meals a day, you really need to work on your diet. This is because you don't want to binge eat. Binge eating will only hurt you in the long run. Don't believe me? Look at it like this. You know what will happen if you don't eat all day long. You will get hungry and you will get the shakes. If you start to get the shakes you will go for whatever that you can to make it stop.

Here is what I do to help me eat three meals a day.

I start off by making my lunch before I go to bed. I do this because I won't do it when I wake up in the morning. I try my best just to get my clothes on and get out the door in good time so I am not late for work. I also pack some snacks for me to eat at work. I might put some veggie sticks and some fruit in little plastic bags. I love to eat these as snacks while I am at work.

When it comes to breakfast, I try to think in advance what I want to eat. I will have all of the things that I need on hand incase I decide that I want something different. Will I want an omlet? I always have some cut veggies in the ice box incase I do. That way all I have to do is throw them in the pan and cook away. It takes the same amount of time to cook that as it would to cook anything else. I do the same with dinner. I will try to prepare whatever I can the day before. This way if I am too tired, all I have to do is put the stuff together. I might also make dinner while I am making my lunch.

What do you mean make my dinner before I go to bed? Well, don't have a cow. What I will do is prepare all of the things that I need in advance. I do this when I am using the crock pot. I just put the stuff in the crock pot in the morning before I go to work. I set it and then I head off to work. When I get home, I have a hot meal waiting for me. I can time it so that almost right after I walk in the door I have something hot to eat. Try it, you will be amazed.
Eating three meals a day isn't that hard. If you put your mind into it, you can do it fairly easily. All you have to do is be prepared. If you feel that you can't do it, buy one of those event planners. Make a schedule for everything that you want to do.

Eating a Healthy Diet

2008-03-21T10:01:00.000-07:00

One of the important things you can do for your overall health is to eat a healthy diet. Your diet affects your weight and increases your risks of health diseases. Deciding a healthy diet is easier to say than to do because it is tempting to eat less healthy foods. Different people decide different healthy diet because you might eat this kind of diet while others just cannot stand the food you eat and find its alternative. That’s what health experts are here for, to let us know which food are healthier than others.

What are the principles of healthy eating?

Know What Healthy Food Is and How You Should Eat

When pursuing a healthy eating plan, you should remember the following:

1. Try and Eat a Variety of Different Colored Food - You should remember that different foods have different nutritional values. Food can be rich in antioxidants or Vitamin C. So, when you go to do your regular weekly shop, try and see what different colored foods you can pick up.

Down the fruit and vegetable aisle you should see greens, yellows, oranges and reds. You should have as much of a color variety in your trolley as you can. For example, when picking out fruit pick up strawberries, oranges, pineapple, apples, blueberries and bananas and you will notice what a large color selection you actually have. The same goes for vegetables. Basically, more color means that it is better and healthier for you.

2. Eat Foods from All Food Groups - The problem with many diets these days is the fact that they tell you to cut certain foods from certain food groups, out of the diet altogether. This means that you lose important nutrition and don’t eat as healthy as you could be. So, the answer to a healthy diet is to eat a variety of different foods.

Generally, fruit and vegetables should make up the main portion of your diet but you still need carbohydrates such as potatoes, meat or fish and a little bit of fatty foods like flaxseed oil which many experts recommend as part of a good fat diet. Overall, a diverse mixture of all food groups is needed for a healthy diet!

3. When You Need to Eat Snack, Do It on Healthy Foods – It doesn’t mean that just because you want to lose weight, you’ll have to skip your snack. In fact, snacking can actually be quite good for you just as long as you are eating the right foods.

Generally, when we want to eat snack, we reach for a biscuit or a packet of crisps. However, if you want to eat a healthy snack, then you will have to swap those for nuts, seeds or fruit and vegetables. That way you will get energy, you will also be full until your next meal time and it will be completely healthy.

Since you know what foods you like and what you don’t, you really have to decide for your own healthy eating plan. However, the said tips above can help you to choose the best healthy eating plan for you.

If you are switching to a healthy eating plan, then a Proactol can help you. Proactol is new clinically proven weight loss product that can help you cut down your fat intake by 28% of your dietary fat intake when taken after food. You don’t have to deprive yourself of foods you love to eat healthy. Just eat the food you like in moderation and take Proactol to deal with your diet effortlessly.

Practicing a sensible weight loss is not just taking a diet pill - you should live for a long-lasting healthy lifestyle.

The Abs Diet

2008-03-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

Going through diet after diet, sooner or later everybody ends up thinking that there’s nothing more to learn. Frankly, it doesn’t take long to get exhaustive hands on experience with just about all the major dieting concepts and to learn in which way each of them is supposed to influence the body. And once you’re familiar with all the pros and cons of dieting, it’s only fair to think that nothing could surprise you anymore. Well, this is where the Abs Diet comes in with a rather strange take on the old concept of losing weight through exercises. And, no, there are no magic pills to swallow.

The basic idea is much simpler than that. It goes something like this: the body has to expend energy in order to keep the muscles and internal organs alive and in shape. This means that every addition to the muscle mass will force the body to spend more energy. Therefore, instead of lowering the daily food intake in order to lose weight, this diet focuses on increasing the “energy bill” above the normal level. The extra muscle mass is supposed to absorb all the calories that would otherwise be stored as fat and also force the body to burn existing fat in order to keep up with the effort.

Every 1 pound of muscle added to the body costs the body 50 calories per day on top of everything else. It’s pretty easy to see that 10 pounds of muscle are going to keep busy 500 calories of your daily intake every single day. This is enough to make you lose 1 pound per week, which is not bad at all. It’s interesting to notice that the diet is based on achieving a snowball effect: the more you exercise, the more muscle you put on; the more muscle you put on, the faster you lose weight, which allows you to exercise harder and lose even more weight. Once you get the snowball rolling it will turn into an avalanche on its own.

The food users are allowed to eat consists of 12 nutrient-rich power foods. These are supposed to provide all the minerals, vitamins and fiber your body needs to stay healthy over the six weeks of dieting. The 12 foods are: beans and peas, spinach and a couple of other green vegetables, almonds, instant hot oat cereal, wholegrain breads and cereals, berries, eggs, low-fat dairy products, lean meats (such as turkey), peanut butter, olive oil and protein powder. All other foods are to be shunned during the diet.

Sticking to this diet might seem a little hard, especially for as long as six weeks. However, the mandatory exercises should make a big difference. Not only that you lose weight, but you also get to show off a nice set of abs and a far better toned body than before. One extra thing on your side is that part of the fat will be replaced by muscle, so even if it seems that you’re not losing much weight, you’re actually shifting weight from fat to muscle. Nevertheless, you can expect to get rid of up to 12 pounds in the first two weeks of dieting.

Planning Your Diet

2008-03-19T13:47:00.001-07:00

We have plans for everything these days. That is how we can fit 100 different things into each day. While to an extent this seems a bit over doing it, some things do need to be planned. I don't know why we don't plan our diets. I mean, we plan everything else. Some people even plan on when they will have sex. Hence, the birth of hump day. Why not spend a few minutes and plan out what you will eat? If you are reading this, you have the time so. So sit back and follow these seven easy steps. Don't blink, if you do it will be over. It is really that simple.

1. Mini meals are great.
They tell people with certain disease that they should eat several small meals each day. They say that a person should eat something every two hours. Well, that isn't too impossible to do. I would suggest that you start out every four hours. Keep it like you normally would any of your other meals. Make sure you have your protein and your fiber. Have some veggies and some fruit to balance everything out. Don't make your mini meal a bucket of fried chicken. I know that since it is a mini meal, the temptation doesn't seem as great. I mean, if you only slip up in a mini meal, who is watching?

These are a great way to avoid hunger and improper snacking throughout the day. Just make your mini meals up and eat them every time that you have planned. If you plan on eating every two hours, every two hours it is. It doesn't take a road map to figure this out.

2. Don't go over board.
This is easier said than done. You need to have a specific amount that you are trying to reduce. If you are trying to reduce your meals by 10%, then you should stick to that. I'm not suggesting that you break out the calculator and count up every meal that you have. If you have been on a diet for very long, you already have a good idea how many calories things have. Don't eat with your eyes, eat with your mind. That will help you cut down on the amount of food that you eat.

3. Eat good tasting food.
From time to time let yourself go. Eat something that you know you shouldn't. If you get it out of your system, it will be easier to maintain your diet. If on the other hand you don't allow yourself to eat things you shouldn't from time to time, all you will do is hurt yourself in the long run. You are going to nibble each day on those things instead of just eating them occasionally.

4. Eat your calories, don't drink them.
Don't fill up on sodas and other drinks. You can get all your calories for one day in these if you do it too much. A few sodas here. A few cups of hot chocolate there. A few beers here. You get the point. That will put on the pounds easily.

5. Exercise.
You need to do this to keep fit. Not only will it keep you fit, but it will keep you mentally sharp as well. That can go a long way in helping you stick to a diet. If you are depressed, chances are you will end up eating fatty foods that will make you fat. When you consume all of that fat, it will make you more depressed. It is a bad cycle to start.

6. Make your meals last.
Chew your damn food son! I bet you heard that one as a kid. Well, it is true. Don't swallow your food. Instead, eat it slowly and enjoy the taste of it. If you do this, it will make you feel like you have actually ate something. If you swallow it down, you won't get the same benefit. You will continue to feel a void.

7. Discover your food triggers.
We all have these. When was the last time you went grocery shopping and you looked at a bag of cookies and realized that you had to have them? I do this sort of thing all the time. You need to understand what foods trigger your response system. If you can do this, you can avoid situations that will make you eat things that you shouldn't eat.

Well, that wasn't so bad was it? There is no need to flip out when it comes to a diet plan. It is simple and easy. Just like anything in life, you should have a plan before you begin to do whatever it is that you are doing. The same is true with your diet.

Losing Fat Fast: Is it possible

2008-03-19T01:27:00.000-07:00

The first thing you need to know if you want to lose fat is that you need to BURN fat. Burning fat is all about using up more calories than you take in. If you eat more calories than your body uses throughout the day, these additional calories will be stored as body fat. To prevent a build up of body fat you need to either reduce your calorie intake or increase your daily activity levels - doing both will have the best effect on reducing body fat.

This simply means that the more fat you want to lose then the greater the amount of calories you have to burn off. To help you achieve and speed up your fat loss, here are few things that helps.

Speed up your metabolism—Exercise speeds up metabolism. The more active your lifestyle the more likely you are to have a quick metabolism and lose weight.

Metabolism does control weight, this is true. What most people don’t know is that they do in fact have the ability to control and adjust their metabolisms and thereby control their weight. Exercise does speed the metabolism up. The more active your lifestyle the more likely you are to have a quick metabolism and lose weight. It may not be healthy for all of us to get into a highly active lifestyle all at once but it is possible to get there as quickly as you safely can as an individual.

Eat healthy balanced diet— Be sure to eat a variety of foods, including plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole grain products. Also include low-fat dairy products, lean meats, poultry, fish, and legumes. Drink lots of water and go easy on the salt, sugar, alcohol, and saturated fat. A large part of the battle in fighting fat and a slow metabolic rate is the western world’s view of food as entertainment. In addition to taking on an active lifestyle you will need to stop looking at food consumption as a means of gratification. This is what causes us to be gluttons. Instead of stopping when our hunger is sated we continue on until we are stuffed to get more enjoyment out of it.

Get plenty of rest and sleep— Sleep and other lifestyle patterns can help or hinder the rate at which we metabolize foods. An active lifestyle should lead eventually to being able to exercise to exhaustion; this in turn should keep your metabolism quick and your fat content low. By extending oneself to ones limits you fully utilize the lungs, heart, and muscles and burn fat most efficiently.
Be strong mentally—Try not to be obsessed by your weight. Everyone has a bad day. Do not punish yourself. Try to lose any guilt feelings towards the mistakes you have done. Instead, just move on, start again and enjoy life as it comes.

Breakfast Ideas

2008-03-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I'm sure that you heard that all the time when you was a kid. But, it is true. Breakfast is one of those meals that people today tend to skip. I really don't understand this. Maybe this is why people are so uptight in the morning. They have the shakes from not eating. You might have a busy lifestyle, but you need to make sure that you have time for breakfast. Breakfast is one of those meals that you must eat. I don't think there is any choice about it. I know that most people who do eat breakfast, tend to be the type that run out of the house with a donut in their hand. This really isn't a good idea. I don't know why people jump to the sugary breakfast foods. I guess it is why people drink coffee. They need that bolt of energy to wake them up. Or they think that maybe they can avoid eating a good meal by eating something full of sugar. After all, they feel energetic after eating a bunch of sugar.

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to wake up at work? Have you noticed how during the day you get tired? This is because you aren't getting the right foods for breakfast. You don't realize how important this meal is. Every day you should have a good meal for breakfast?
What are some good things to eat for breakfast? First, let's start off with what you shouldn't eat.

Don't eat donuts. For the reasons we spoke above.

Don't eat any cereals that are loaded with sugar. This is nothing more than empty calories. They don't offer you anything. Not only that, but too much of this and you will gain weight. Have you ever noticed how sluggish you feel before lunch? This is because you are eating too much sugar!

Don't eat a ton of fried foods. Don't eat a bunch of bacon, fried eggs, and some french toast. The added fat will weigh you down.

Don't eat those pasties that come in the boxes. These are loaded with sugar. They don't offer you anything that is actually good for you. They rob you of all the things that you should be eating.

Don't load up on coffee. Don't think because coffee can give you energy, that you can drink it instead of eating. Now, what you should be eating.

Eat a cereal that is low in sugar. Cereal with milk is a great breakfast. It is a good all around meal.

Try a new egg sandwich. People seem to love the egg sandwiches at fast food restaurants. Why not make one at home? You can put some cheese or some lean ham on yours. Use your imagination, these are fun to make.

Eggs are good for breakfast. I'm not going to go through the whole mess about how they say eggs are bad for you. Don't buy it. Eat them, but eat them in moderation.

Pancakes. These can be great from time to time. Try to get yourself one of those griddles that you don't need to add fat too. If you get one of those, you will be able to eat these more often. To cut down on calories. Instead of using butter and syrup, put fresh fruit on yours. I love eating mine with fresh fruit on top of them.

Juice is great for breakfast. Get that pick me up that you need without the caffeine of morning coffee. You don't have to worry about getting the shakes if you drink too much juice. Though, you might get the shits, but not the shakes.

Old fashioned toast. This is still a great thing to eat. Just don't load it up with too much butter or other things.

Oatmeal. I know that most of you probably hated oatmeal when you were a kid. But, this is some great stuff. Add some milk and a bit of sugar and you have a breakfast that will stick to your ribs.

Fruit salad can be great for breakfast. I love things that taste refreshing that don't take all day long to make. Throw your favorite fruits together and call it a meal! There you go. A good breakfast isn't as hard as you might think that it is. All you have to do is stay away from the drive through window and you will be fine. Also, don't eat those pasties in a box. They are nothing but junk food.

Lose Weight by Sleeping

2008-03-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

Do you fell that you need to lose weight? Well then don’t just count calories. You might want to count sheep as well.

Recent studies have shown that sleep deprivation disrupts a series of metabolism and hormonal processes. It causes increased hunger and affects the body’s metabolism making it difficult to lose and control weight.

Lack of sleep causes a hormone called cortisol, which controls the appetite, to take excess calories and store them as excess body fat. In addition, sleep loss interferes with carbohydrate metabolism which may cause high blood glucose levels. The excess amount of glucose encourages the overproduction of insulin, which may lead to diabetes or even obesity.

Furthermore, sleep deprivation can promote weight gain by affecting our behavior. People who lack sleep tended to crave sweets or high carbohydrate, high fat food with low nutrient value. They tend to snack on chips, cakes, pastries, burgers, fries, soft drinks, etc. Though the short-term rise in blood sugar, brought on by these snacks, gives a surge of energy, the extra calories are not needed by the body and must be stored as body fat.

These calories are not so easily shed than taken. When they are sleep deprived, people are often too tired to exercise or they work out less intensely than usual. They commonly feel exhausted and lack the energy and motivation to do even simple exercises. They rather go to sleep, or eat, than go physical. In due time, the calories that are gained and not easily burned are deposited in the body as fat.

Some people may require less hours of sleep to be in top condition during the day; while others need more than 10 hours. But experts agree that most people need at least eight hours of sleep each night to give themselves enough energy to exercise, eat right and keep off those unwanted pounds. Yet, according to a poll sponsored by the National Sleep Foundation, only 30 percent of adults get eight or more hours of sleep on weeknights; while 52 percent do on weekends. A third of adults reportedly sleep no more than six-and-a-half hours nightly.

In fact, disruption in the sleeping patterns in the United States and in the industrialized world is thought as one of the main reasons that people are getting overweight. People should start making behavioral and lifestyle changes now for a better, healthier tomorrow.

A Guide to Common Herbs

2008-03-17T00:46:00.000-07:00

Herbs are nutritional foundation nutrients and good alternative medicine to nourish the body's deepest and most basic elements. Medicinal herbs have been used safely and effectively since the time of recorded history for an endless list of reasons from health, healing, weight loss/gain/maintenance, to survival and more. Herbs can offer the body nutrients it does not always receive, either from a poor diet, or environmental deficiencies in the soil and air. They are great body balancers that help regulate body functions.

The benefits of herbs are many and varied. Even the once skeptical traditional medical community is starting to embrace alternative medicine practices using herbal remedies and healing philosophies and practices incorporating herbal medicine and medicinal herbs. Chinese herbs have been used by the Chinese for over 4,000 years to promote health and as healing agents.

Chinese Herbs are taken as tonics to enhance physical and mental well being. Since the dawn of man, herbs have been used for healing purposes and to promote wellness. Today, herbs are still the alternative medicine and primary source of health care for 80% of the world.

Here are some of the more well-known herbs and plant products and their modern uses.

Herbs Modern Uses
Bilberry Fruit Extract, Vaccinium myrtillus Various microcirculatory conditions. Night blindness and poor ability to adapt to bright light.

Cascara Sagrada Aged Bark, Rhamnus purshiana Constipation.

Cayenne Pepper Fruit, Capsicum annuum Carminative, diaphoretic, counter-irritant.

Cranberry Fruit, Vaccinium macrocarpon Prevention of urinary tract infections.

Dong Quai Root, Angelica sinensis Various menstrual disorders.

Echinacea Herb, Echinacea purpurea As supportive therapy for colds and chronic infections of the respiratory tract.

Evening Primrose Oil, Oenothera biennis Conditions related to deficiency of essential fatty acids (e.g., chronic fatigue syndrome) and alcoholism.

Feverfew Leaf, Tanacetum parthenium Treatment of migraines, fever, menstrual disorders..

Garlic Cloves, Allium sativum Elevated levels of cholesterol in blood and as a preventative measure for age dependent vascular changes.

Ginger Root, Zingiber officinale Modern Use: Prevention of the nausea and vomiting of motion sickness, dyspepsia, stomachic.

Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Ginkgo biloba Memory deficits, dementia syndromes. Improvement of distance and pain-free walking in peripheral arterial occlusive disease. Vertigo and tinnitus.

Asian Ginseng Root, Panax ginseng Tonic for invigoration and fortification in times of fatigue and debility, physical or mental exhaustion, stress, inadequate resistance to infections.

Siberian Ginseng Root, Eleutherococcus senticosus Tonic for invigoration and fortification in times of fatigue and debility, also during convalescence.

Goldenseal Root, Hydrastis canadensis Catarrhal conditions of the upper respiratory tract associated with colds and flus. Mucosal inflammations.

Gotu Kola Herb, Centella asiatica Improved memory. Venous insufficiency.

Grape Seed Extract, Vitis vinifera Microcirculatory maldistribution of blood flow. Altered capillary fragility and permeability. Anti-inflammatory.

Green Tea Leaf Extract, Camellia sinensis Chemopreventative. Hypercholesterolemia.

Kava Kava Root Extract, Piper methysticum Conditions of nervous anxiety, stress, and restlessness. Sedative and sleep enhancement.

Licorice Root, Glycyrrhiza glabra For catarrhal conditions of the upper respiratory tract and gastric/duodenal ulcers. Bronchitis. Adrenocorticoid insufficiency.

Milk Thistle Seed Extract, Silybum marianum Toxic liver damage, and for supportive treatment in chronic inflammatory liver disease and hepatic cirrhosis.

Saw Palmetto Berry Extract, Serenoa repens Urination problems in benign prostate hyperplasia stages 1 and 2.

St. John's Wort Herb Extract, Hypericum perforatum Mild to moderate depressive states.

Valerian Root, Valeriana officinalis Restlessness, sleeping disorders based on nervous conditions.

How to measure BODY FAT: Your Fat Calculator

2008-03-16T10:58:00.001-07:00

When it all comes down to losing or gaining weight, most people turn to the scales to determine how much they should lose or gain to have the weight or the shape that they desire.

However, health experts said weight alone is not a clear indicator of good health because it does not distinguish between pounds that come from body fat and those that come from lean body mass or muscle.

Being over fat and overweight is not the same. Overweight simply means an excess of total body weight based on population averages for heights and body frame sizes. On the other hand, obesity is defined as an excess of body fat regardless of weight.

What we have to consider, experts said, in order to determine our fitness, is to know our body fat. Remember that body fat is a percentage of your total weight, so even slender people can have dangerously high levels of body fat. (See

Here are three ways of measuring your body fat:

1. Home Body Fat Scales-- Body fat scales claim to measure body fat quickly and conveniently. These body fat scales use the Bioelectrical Impedance method to measure your body fat percentage. A low-level electrical current is passed through your body and the "impedance", or opposition to the flow of current, is measured.

2. Skin fold Calipers-- Calipers are a tool that looks somewhat like a giant tweezers. These are used to grasp your skin folds at different points on your body and measure the thickness. These measurements are then compared to standard values for persons of your age and gender to give you your estimated body fat.
3. Hydrostatic Weighing—This is just a fancy term for underwater weighing. You sit on a scale inside a tank of water and blow out as much air as you can. You are dunked underwater, where you blow out even more air. Since fat is lighter than water, the more fat you have, the more you will float. The scale measures underwater weight to figure out body density. The margin of error is around 2-3%, but the accuracy depends on the amount of air you expel. You have to blow it ALL out or it will not be as accurate. This is a difficult way to measure body fat since it can be uncomfortable and even scary to be dunked underwater with no air in the old lungs.

Burning Fat

2008-03-15T05:52:00.001-07:00

In general, people will practice cardiovascular activities and forget about weight bearing exercises when it comes to burning fat. Many trainers will say that aerobic exercises burn off fat and weightlifting is only used to build muscle bulk. This statement is not entirely correct because the more muscle mass one acquires through weight bearing exercises, the more he will burn fat calories...even at rest. We see a growing trend from cardiovascular training towards weight and strength training.

According to a study by the Fitness Products Council and Sporting Goods Manufacturers, the number of people lifting free weights has increased 76 percent in the past decade. Right now, weight lifting is among the most popular sports in North America. This change is for the best because cardiovascular activity combined with weight training will result in much more effective fat loss. Cardiovascular exercises will raise muscle metabolism during the activity and for a short time after the exercise session.

Weight lifting exercises, on the other hand, will raise your muscle metabolism during the exercise session, and for a long time after the exercise session. Some high intensity trainers have even seen their metabolism rise for several days following their training session.
Performing adequate weight training exercises should limit your repetitions anywhere from 1 to 20 (more or less). Such resistance on muscles will make their tissue leaner and stronger. The muscle development will take place during the rest period following the resistance training. Therefore sufficient rest periods are essential.

Whether your goal is to tone or build muscles, it is important to know what happens during the muscle training process. When lifting weights, muscle tissues are torn apart (at the microscopic level) from the stress, and it's in the recuperation period that your muscles become stronger and therefore able to support the extra stress. Usually the recuperation period required is 24 to 48 hours after the weight lifting activity.

During the recuperation period, the muscle metabolism is still burning energy, and that's when it's time to perform cardiovascular activities. Carrying out high repetitions of the same movement will tire the body on a different basis. Combining low repetition exercises (weight lifting) with high repetition cardiovascular exercise will stress muscles in a complementary way to increase the total fat burning effect.

Anybody who debates the fact that weight bearing exercises don't help people lose weight and fat should lift weights for one hour and see their heart rate go through the roof. Simply look at athletes who specialize in short, intense bursts of energy and you still see that they are very low in body fat.

The point is to combine a weight lifting routine with a good cardiovascular workout to increase muscle metabolism and total fat burning ratio.

An important factor to consider when trying to lose weight is that lots of muscle mass can be lost as a result. As muscle mass will keep your metabolism high, try to avoid quick weight loss through miracle diets or starvation. This weight loss will be regained just as quickly. Instead, opt for a gradual fat loss routine by combining weight training and cardiovascular activities, and allow muscle mass to build up and increase your metabolism. Results may take a little longer , but they will last for a longer period of time.

Diet and Sleep

2008-03-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

The food you eat not only contributes to the quality of your weight and general health, but also on how well you sleep. Some foods help you sleep better. While others can make sleep difficult or even impossible.

Foods that improve sleep include fruits, green leafy vegetables, whole grain breads and cereals, and mushrooms. Even spices such as dill, sage and basil help with sleep problems.

Drinking milk before bedtime, a common method to aid sleep, is actually effective. Milk actually contains tryptophan, which can be converted to serotonin, the hormone that controls sleep. Honey, turkey, egg whites and tuna also contain tryptophan, which are good night time snacks.

Alternatively, caffeine-rich food and beverages should be avoided right before going to bed. This includes coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, soft drinks and some medications. Some foods that are rich in tyramine can also affect sleep. Tyramine actually causes the release of a substance that stimulates the brain keeping you awake. This is found in bacon, cheese, sugar, ham or tomatoes.

Spicy foods, on the other hand, may cause gastrointestinal reflux or heartburn. While sweet or greasy foods can also cause indigestion and bloating. And though alcohol can make you sleepy, it actually upsets sleep patterns later in the night resulting to frequent waking in the night to urinate.

Even how much and when you eat affect sleep patterns. It is best to keep the last meal of the day light. Eating too much or heavy meals before sleeping may cause indigestion, heartburn and discomfort. It is recommended to start with a hearty breakfast, the main meal of the day around noon, and a light supper early in the evening.

You may also take vitamins and supplements to aid sleep. Calcium and magnesium helps induce sleep. Calcium-rich foods include milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, sardines, salmon, broccoli, tofu, egg, and calcium-fortified food. Magnesium is found in nuts, almonds, cashews, beans, and spinach. Vitamins B6 and B12 are often beneficial and used in the treatment of insomnia. Some of the foods that contain Vitamin B6 are liver, meat, brown rice, fish, butter, wheat germ, whole grain cereals, and soybeans. Foods rich in Vitamin B12 include some plant milks, some soy products and some breakfast cereals.

Be careful on what foods you eat. It can directly affect the way you sleep. By improving your eating habits, you will have a better chance at a good night’s sleep.

20 Food

2008-03-14T07:12:00.000-07:00

by Michael Messner

The one problem that most single men have is, they never have a well stocked pantry. This can cause major problems. If you don't have a stocked pantry, you are more likely to fill up on snack food or even worse, fast food. You need to make sure that you have a well stocked pantry so that you can cook healthy meals without much effort. Don't know what kinds of things that you should always have on hand? Well, no need to worry about it anymore. We will give you a list of 20 items that are must haves for you pantry.

1. Water his might sound silly, but always have some cold water on hand. Get yourself a pitcher or something that you can keep water in the ice box.

2. Milk. You should always have some low fat milk on hand. Cereal in the morning is a great way to get a good easy meal.

3. Fruit. Always have some fruit on hand. It is great for snacking. You can eat fruit and instead of potato chips.

4. Carrots. These are great for snacking. Just add some low fat dip and you have a snack that will rival any deep fried snacks.

5. Peanut butter. This is a great way to get some protein without having to worry about the fat. Use it on your toast for breakfast instead of butter.

6. Eggs. You need these for baking and other specialties. Also they are great for a protein filled breakfast.

7. Yogurt. This is great for hot summer days. You can make tons of drinks out of this. Also, it is great with chicken. You should learn a bit about Indian cooking for more ways to use yogurt. Indians love yogurt and eat it often.

8. Butter. You shouldn't suck on butter like you do a lollipop. But, butter is a must for baked goods. Also, fried eggs taste great cooked in butter.

9. Lemons. These are a must if you eat a lot of seafood. Also, a cold glass of lemonade is great after a hard days work.

10. Mayo. Don't use this stuff every day. But, you do need to use some if you make tuna or chicken salad. It can also be great on low fat cuts of chicken and such. It is good on items that are dry. Make sure to buy the low fat kind and to use as little as possible.

11. Mustard. I like to use this instead of mayo on sandwiches. It is a great way to knock out the fat.

12. Cheese. This is a must have. Don't eat too much of it. But, cheese is the beauty of life. It can make a dull dish come alive.

13. Drinks. Always have some drinks on hand. Have some fruit juice, beer and sodas in the ice box. Don't go over board with them, but have a beer from time to time as a treat.

14. Fresh ginger. This will keep for a long time in your ice box. Don't cover it or anything like that. Keep it whole in your ice box for best keeping.

15. Bread. You should always have some bread on hand. Don't go hog wild here on the carbs. A good sandwich is great from time to time. I would suggest that you find a local bakery and buy your bread there. Don't buy that awful white stuff that has been sitting on the shelf for who knows how long.

16. Canned veggies and fruits. When in a pinch, canned is better than none at all. Even though I suggest that you always eat fresh fruits and veggies, you should have some canned ones on hand. How do you know when you will have a craving for corn and not have any fresh on hand? Canned food can last a very long time, so you don't have to eat it right away.

17. Pasta. Want a meal in a minute? Pasta is the way to go. It cooks quickly and easily.

18. Rice. Same as pasta.

19. Spices and herbs. Always keep some of these on hand. Go to a place where you can buy them in bulk. Don't buy those little containers in the store. Not only are they too expensive, but you don't know how long they have been sitting there. When you buy from a place that sells bulk, you know that you will be getting fresh items.

20. Cereal. Great for that last minute breakfast. Have some of this on hand so you don't have to wait in line at the fast food joint to get your heart attack on a muffin.

How to Lose Unwanted Weight

2008-03-13T08:50:00.000-07:00

With social and career success being firmly rooted in modern life, physical appearance is more important than ever. The popular image of a successful person seems to be built around fitness in both the physical and moral aspects, a sort of a physical and moral correctness. Therefore many people are interested in keeping themselves in shape, especially after a winter of eating heavier food at the expense of fresh vegetables at fruits.

The first thing to do when trying to get rid of the unwanted excess kilograms is to take a look at your diet. This is the first step on your journey. Are you relying heavily on chips, soda and fast food to make it through the day? Are you eating enough vegetables and fruits? While hamburgers, fries and soda is a tasty and satisfying combination, it is also a deadly proposition to your health. If you want to stay fit, you must quit eating high-powered food that provides too much energy.

Your body doesn’t like to waste things it can use later on and energy is one of the most important things that can be stored. Eating hamburgers and chips while leading a largely sedentary lifestyle gives your body much more energy than it normally uses. This energy is not thrown away, but converted to fat and put into storage. Therefore, you must cut down on this type of food and turn to the humbler fruits and vegetables to keep hunger in check without putting your health at risk.

The second part of the system is exercising. While a sound diet makes sure your body doesn’t get more energy than it needs, exercising is here to help use up energy already stored. Taking brisk walks after meals is OK, exercising half an hour per day is good, going to a gym for an hour or so five days a week is perfect. There’s no need to starve or exhaust yourself. Diet and exercising can be fun with a bit of thinking and a positive attitude.

To take vitamins or not to take vitamins? (It's best to eat right, but if you find it difficult, a multivitamin can help)

2008-03-13T06:17:00.000-07:00

It's absolutely important that our body gets the nutrients it needs to function effectively and efficiently. However in this modern time it has become more distinct that we tend to supercede health with convenience and instant gratification. In this fast paced world where career and education demands all our time, we learn to favor what's quick and easy to obtain especially when it comes to food. We turn to fast foods and junk foods instead of the good old balance daily diet. The lack of balanced diet in addition to the daily stress of pollution depletes our body of nutrients. Is it any wonder why cancer and other chronic diseases became rampant during the turn of the century? It's up to us to replace these nutrients. We can do this through healthy nutrition, or better yet, through healthy nutrition and proper supplementation.

For the average person, it's difficult to get the proper amount of nutrients needed from food alone. Have you ever wondered how many people actually eat five to ten vegetables and fruits a day? Or who drinks seven to nine glasses of water each day? Even the healthiest of eaters cannot be assured that they are getting the recommended amount of vitamins and minerals. Mainly because it's hard to judge exactly how much nutrients you are getting from the food you are eating.

In a report printed in 1940 regarding the nutrient content of spinach, it laments the high depletion percentage of iron and other minerals found in the plant mostly due to soil depletion, mono-cropping, artificial fertilization, and lack of varieties. Since that period, nutrients in both fruits and vegetables persistently depleted, not to mention that certain forms of cooking in fact destroy the vitamins and minerals in the food. This is why taking a multivitamin supplement would be so advantageous.

Eating a balanced diet and then supplementing it with a quality multivitamin will be the most logical and sound decision to make. We'll be able to get the nutrients that our body needs from the food and then back it up with the multivitamin for a powerful effect.
There are four forms of mulivitamins available in the market today, that's capsule, tablet, soft gel, and liquid. Liquid multivitamins will be the easiest for our body to absorb because there's literally nothing for our digestive system to breakdown. Capsules and soft gels are also a good choice when it comes to the forms of multivitamins with regards to absorption rate. While tablets on the other hand, will be the hardest for our body to breakdown and absorb. Remember, that no two individuals will respond similarly from taking any type of vitamin or mineral supplement, because each individual have different metabolisms, eating habits, exercise regiment, or sleeping habits, and are under different amount of stress or even take their supplements differently.

I often heard it say that supplements are expensive, and many feel they cannot afford them. I find it ironic though that those same people who cannot afford to take supplements can afford to buy soda, latte, cigarettes, alcohol, or coffee, why not save your money for your health? There are cheap supermarket multivitamins that are inexpensive however they cannot compare to a quality, more expensive ones. The best way is to decide how much you can afford to spend and then do a research on the net on the multivitamins that fall within your price range.

Multivitamins are probably the single most important supplement you can take. If you aren't taking one, you really should start doing so.

Exercising – why you should take the trouble to do it

2008-03-12T08:34:00.000-07:00

Exercising is a bore for many people. Although workout fans like to claim that others are simply too lazy or too spoiled by the modern sedentary lifestyle to exercise on a regular basis, this is not always the case. Some people have far too busy daily schedules to squeeze in another time and effort consuming activity. Not to mention that a significant number of people find the endless repetition of the same movements more than a little boring. Truth is exercising can only be considered fun by people who love such things, while other manage to focus their entire attention on results and ignore the boring routine. If you are unable to love or ignore the boring part, then you probably find exercising a burden.

However, this attitude is not very good for your health. You may have a highly paid job that takes away all your waking hours and you may think that you can tank it until you’re in the forties and can afford to lay back and relax. But this nice scheme doesn’t always work out the way it’s supposed to. By the time you reach the forties you may not be in a position to lay back and relax and your health may not be in top shape precisely because of neglected exercising. Simple things like 30 minutes of jogging or aerobics per day can go a long way toward reaching old age with a sound heart and a better shape than most.

I know that people are impressed by wealth, but money can’t buy your youthful health back, not to mention the fact that they are also useless when it comes to love. Or so other people say. If your busy lifestyle had brought you high blood pressure and high cholesterol, then money is not going to solve these problems. But just a little exercising everyday could make the difference in your old age. It should also keep you from acquiring a spare tire around your waist. More importantly, if you want that successful young exec look, then you simply have to stay in shape. You can’t afford to look soft and flabby.

So it can be boring and time consuming and doesn’t always help you relax in any way, but it does help your body cope with pressure and it does help your endurance at all levels. Most of the members of the opposite sex will also find a fine shape more attractive that a fat wallet, especially if you’re looking for short-term relationships where long-term financial power is less relevant. So stop crowding your schedule with so many tasks every day and make room for a little exercising now and then.

Kicking the habit – putting an end to fast food and snacks in your diet

2008-03-12T00:03:00.000-07:00

It’s always easy to gain weight and damned hard to lose it. Eating is one of the true pleasures in life and refraining from food has huge physical and psychological implications that cannot be easily discarded. Nobody likes to have to give up a pleasure, which is why many people drift farther and farther into fat without doing anything to stop the process. Moreover, recent data showed that the body does not respond to diets as doctors thought it should. The body has to adapt to changes and diets are seen as lean periods that should be offset by making fat harder to burn. While the body is certainly the most complex instrument we posses in our lives, it cannot discern between actual lean times and diets.

Another problem for the body is the widespread use of fast food, snacks and soft drinks. Fast food is highly powered food that fools the stomach into calling for more, despite the fact that one giant burger is the caloric equivalent of an entire meal. The giant burger is not usually enough to fill the stomach of an adult person, so most people eat more than one and wash it down with soft drinks that are little more than sugared water. This is an unfortunate way of eating, since the body gets far more than it needs from burgers and soft drinks. The largely sedentary lifestyles led by most urban residents mean that the excess calories will certainly be stored as fat.

Snacks are another threat to a healthy life by bringing in too much calories and by being too readily available when hunger strikes. The correct option for between meals snacks is to buy fruit. Sure, it may not taste as good, especially if one is used to chips or other types of snacks, but one or two bananas or some apples are far better for one’s health. A very important point is to remember that habits can be kicked just as easily as they take root. By ignoring the temptation of chips you will gradually lose interest in them and get used to fruit. Once chips are no longer a staple of your diet, you will find yourself wondering what was so good about them anyway.

The causes of obesity

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Obesity is caused by unhealthy eating combined with sustained lack of activity. If food gives you more calories than you burn, your body turns on the storage program and puts on fat. This is the basic idea behind obesity.

Disorderly eating habits are the top reason why people becaome obese. With neither the time, nor the inclination to control one’s meals, it’s no wonder people get fat all over the world. Couple that with a sedentary lifestyle where most trips are taken by car and you got a health situation out of control.

Genetics: Obesity can also be inherited from family members who suffered from it. If your family has a history of obesity, then you would do well to watch your weight.

Junk food: We are all busy, but this does not mean that we have to eat everything fast food restaurants put before you. Burgers may look good, but they are fat too highly powered got your health. Thing is, a single burger is worth a whole meal, but your body does not judge the situation this way. Your stomach will never be filled by a regular burger, so it will keep asking for more, despite the fact that your body does not need more burgers.

Do you feel like giving up?
Many people try diets and manage to lose a few pounds. But returning to the old lifestyle and eating habits almost always means that weight lost turns into weight regained. Moreover, as diet follows diet, the body gets used to these “lean times” and makes it harder for you to lose weight.

To all this you may add that following a diet for a longer period of time is hard, because you will always crave the forbidden foods. The fact that certain delicious foods are forbidden makes them that much more attractive. A successful diet means adjusting your lifestyle to your needs, especially by making time for more exercising.

Obesity – a review

2008-03-11T08:01:00.000-07:00

Most people think that obesity goes no deeper than a less than fashionable look, but they are wrong. Obesity today is an epidemic, a disease spreading fast across both the industrialized world and emerging economies.

Obesity means having too much fat on your body. First and foremost, obesity puts a strain on joints and bones that have to sustain more weight than before, which leads to arthritis in the long run. The weight also tends to make people less active, which, in turn, means more weight is put on.

The lack of activity and high cholesterol brought by eating too much of the wrong kind of food impair the proper functioning of your heart and blood vessels. This results in high blood pressure, stroke and other blood and heart conditions. Excess weight also leads to apnea, the cessation of breathing during sleep.

However, obesity can be cured with patience and effort. As this diseases spreads over the land, so do the efforts for curing it increase. Talk to your physician if you are interested in getting rid of obesity.

Recognizing obesity?

The textbook definition of obesity is a body mass index of 30 or above. The body mass index is a measure of a person’s weight scaled according to height, as developed by Belgian scientist Adolphe Quetelet in 1840. This index serves to show the amount of fat stored on the body, and the higher your BMI is, the worst is your exposure to certain diseases.

Physicians also warm that having a lot of fat stored around your waist increases the risk of developing diseases. Going beyond size 35 in women and size 40 in men means only trouble in the future.

Common Myths From The Weight Loss Crowd

2008-03-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

Myth: You’ll be OK with a high protein/low carb diet
Fact: This type of diet aims to secure most of the daily required amount of calories from protein foods, such as meat, dairy products and eggs, with a very small part taken from foods containing a lot of carbs (bread, pasta, potatoes and fruits). The biggest problem with this diet is that many common and popular foods are forbidden, which makes it easy for the user to get bored or frustrated. When boredom and frustration set in, quitting time is never far off. Another problem is the lack of nutrients that are usually brought in by carbohydrate foods, while allowing the user to eat bacon and cheese that raise cholesterol levels.

The bottom line is that high protein/low carb diets result in fast weight loss in some users, but it’s not just fat that goes away. People also lose some of their lean muscle mass and a lot of water as the kidneys work harder to rid the body of excess waste from protein and fat.

The added stress to your kidneys is not healthy at all and, in the long run, will lead to dehydration, headaches, feelings of nausea and dizziness. Before engaging in a long-term diet, you would do well to discuss it with your physician. And if you are really keen on dieting, try a balanced diet first, because it will help you lose weight without hurting your system.

Myth: Permanent weight loss can be achieved with fad diets.
Fact: This is yet another common myth among the weight loss crowd. Like any other diet that tells you to cut this or that food from your daily meals, fad diets are not healthy for you. The cornerstone of any diet is supplying the body with all the calories, proteins and minerals it needs. Diets that cut out foods without regard for the needs of your body cannot be healthy for you. Fad diets fail to deliver on the promise of permanent weight loss because people will always crave the forbidden foods and will always end up breaking the rules and ditching the diet.

The key to making weight loss permanent is more exercise and to avoid eating food that makes you fat without nourishing your body. Our extensive studies confirmed the importance of exercising and of a well-balanced diet.

Myth: Low-fat or no fat food is always a good choice.
Fact: The only low fat foods that are also low in calories are fruits. The rest of the huge low-fat or non-fat group are not a safe choice if you are dieting. These products may have added sugar, starch or flour to make them taste better, which means extra calories that do not belong into your diet. So make sure you check the list of ingredients on packages whenever you decide to buy low-fat.

Myth: Switching to vegetarian food will help you lose weight and stay healthy.
Fact: I know this is a hard pill to swallow, but no food plan will work for you unless you take charge of your eating and make sure that everything that goes past your lips is the right kind of food. The key here is to be absolutely sure that the vegetarian diet will give your body all the nutrients and calories it needs. Eating heaps of foods that do nothing for you from the nutritional point of view, outside maybe of filling your stomach, can bring you a lot of trouble in the future.

Since plants tend to have a lower concentration of nutrients than meat, you will have to eat more food than before to make up for this difference. Not to mention that a strictly vegetarian diet will not get you enough vitamin B12, vitamin D, iron, calcium and zinc. These substances are taken mostly from dairy products and eggs in a regular diet, but true vegetarians can’t touch those. You’ll have to rely on the few and uncommon vegetables that can provide these substances.

Myth: Dairy products cause heart problems and make you fat.
Fact: Well, thanks to modern medicine everybody knows that eating a lot of dairy products is a surefire path to high blood pressure and stroke, although a large group of people from France refuse to die despite the large quantities of cheese and wine they consume.

Dairy products are the main source of calcium that keeps your bones strong and healthy. It is absolutely essential for children and can be in no way overlooked by adults. Dairy products also contain vitamin D, which is crucial to maintaining the normal levels of calcium and phosphorus in your bloodstream.

If you don’t want to gain weight from dairy products, then choose low-fat or non-fat brands. There are enough of those around. If you are lactose-intolerant, drink soy or rice milk. It does not taste exactly the same as true milk, but it’s still good and nutritious.

Butter and margarine are the only dairy products you should worry about. They do contain big levels of fat. Still, if you can’t do without them, at least eat butter. Margarine is an over-processed fat that is not particularly good for you. Butter may be a bit fatter, but it definitely is the healthier of these two.

Things to avoid when trying to lose weight

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Dieting is not always easy. In fact, it can prove a tough challenge for many people. So here’s a little guide to avoiding things that could make you lose control and start eating. Avoid them like plague if you wish to succeed.

1. Don’t rush into the toughest diet you can find.
This is a common mistake. Many people decide in a moment of desperation to follow a super-strict diet and fail. Don’t rush into a diet that may be too strict for you. If you don’t have any dieting experience and are not 100 percent sure you can stick with the diet, then choose something else.

2. Don’t lose touch with reality.
You can’t realistically expect things to happen over night. When choosing your goal, start small, but be prepared to go far. If you hear someone saying that he lost a large number of pounds in a short time, don’t make it your goal to match his performance. Diet results are different from one person to another.

3. Don’t go to the gym too often
Another common mistake is to use the enthusiasm of the first days to hit the gym every day. This won’t help you at all. Your body needs time to heal and expand the muscle mass after each training session and going to the gym every day interferes with this natural process. Besides, a week of non-stop training could never offset ten or twenty years of couch potato lifestyle.

4. Don’t get hard on calories.
We all know that cutting down on calories is one of the building blocks of all diets, but you have to be careful about it. Cut down on too many calories and your body will start storing anything it possibly can. This is not a good way to lose weight.

5. Don’t skip meals.
Some people think that skipping one or two meals could help them lose weight faster. They don’t understand that dieting is all about eating the right food and not starving yourself.

6. Don’t check the bathroom scales everyday.
Everybody is eager to see the confirmation of his or her efforts in the shape of lost pounds, but you should not let this drive you to checking your weight everyday. The daily fluctuations of your weight will soon have you depressed and ready to quit dieting. And this is something you want to avoid.

7. Don’t let emotions drive you.
Aside from the eagerness that drives people to check their weight every day, there are other emotions that influence dieting. If you know you’re used to reaching out for ice-cream or snacks when you are bored, frustrated or angry, then you should deal with these issues and not allow them to come between you and your purpose.

8. Don’t refuse to seek help.
Not everyone was born with iron will and nerves of steel. If you need advice or help, don’t hesitate to ask it from your friends or from professionals. Don’t try to solve all problems by yourself.

9. Don’t deny yourself your favourite foods.
Treats are a great way of raising your willpower and determination. Diets are just food control methods, not prisons. So what if you eat something forbidden once in a while, especially if that food is a favourite of yours? If such treats are not frequent, then they will make no difference in the long run.

10. Don’t rely on your willpower alone
Use your head as well. If you wish to know how much you eat, then write everything down and analyze the list for things that should not be there. Sometimes hunger creeps up on you and make you eat something you shouldn’t. Be honest with yourself and keep a clear head.

The Truth About Six Pack Abs Review: the holistic natural method for strong, lean six pack abs.

2008-02-09T10:33:00.000-08:00

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Instead of focusing on gimmicks and regular cardio routines, the program called The Truth About Six Pack Abs deals with innovative and natural ways to deal with belly fat. As the name suggests the focus is on eliminating abdominal fat. As per our Truth About Six Pack Abs review this is one of the most scientific ways to achieve those six pack abs.

Facts uncovered
The program tends to do away with the clichés that the advertising industry would have us believe. For example the program encourages people to discard all the ab loungers, rockers and abdominal belts as they are of no use to eliminate belly fat. It also advocates using natural foods to boost metabolism and eliminate hidden layers of belly fat. Instead of spending exorbitant amounts of money on expensive abdominal exercising machines the program focuses on using natural and effective exercises to burn belly fat. It also uncovers a very popular misconception that abdominal crunches and sit ups can flatten the stomach. Fact is that as per the program these do not help at all. The Truth About Six Pack Abs also tells you that many health foods found in the market today are in truth junk foods which encourage your stomach to hoard fat. As per our Truth About Six Pack Abs review this program promises to do away with many myths and focus on novel weight loss methods.

Changing lifestyles and habits
Instead of promising lofty claims the Truth About Six Pack Abs focuses on helping men and women change their lifestyles to incorporate healthy habits – both in terms of exercise as well as nutrition. While most women blame their sluggish metabolism for belly fat and lack of time for exercise, the fact is that with this program it is possible to adopt a practical and effective natural method of weight loss. According to our Truth About Six Pack Abs review this is a program which is thoroughly implement able and yet effective.

Certified nutritionist
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Healthy foods to remain lean

Mike Geary in his book elaborates on healthy foods that are not expensive and yet enable people to remain lean. He eliminates the usage of fancy foods or supplements and instead focuses on balanced diets to help achieve that perfect six pack abs. According to our Truth About Six Pack Abs review this is a book that helps you effectively change your eating habits to more healthy ones and achieves a sculpted and toned body.
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