Fitness and Health Tips

2 Reasons YOU Should Strength Train To Lose Weight!

2012-01-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

1. Themore muscle you have, the higher your base metabolism will be and the morecalories you will burn even at rest. Butthe actual numbers involved in a whole day of "extra" calorie burningdue to extra muscle are relatively small compared to the number of calories youcan burn during an hour of cardio exercise.

2. Second reason is more important. Whenever you loseweight, you will lose some muscle along with the fat. If you don't exercise anddo some strength training, up to 30% of the weight you lose can come frommuscle loss, that isn't likely to be healthy over the long haul. Goodstrength and muscle tone are essential for functional living and health. Youcan hold your muscle loss down to 3-5% total weightloss with moderatestrength training.
Strength training helps to preserve bone density,balance, and many other important things.

Strength traineach muscle group at least twice a week--this really only takes about 30-45minutes per workout. Better yet, try circuit training, where you lift weightswithout resting between sets. This method meets both cardio and strengthrequirements because you keep your heart rate elevated throughout your workout,increasing the amount of calories you burn per workout.

3 things are key to good health and longevity:

Exercise, Good Nutrition, and Commitment.

Lifting Heavy is the Key to Weight Loss. We know that losing fat involves increasing your metabolism. What you may not know is that muscle plays a huge role in raising metabolism. A pound of muscle burns about 10-20 calories a day while a pound of fat burns 5 calories. That means any growth in your muscle tissue is going to help you burn more calories all day long. In fact, strength training has all kinds of great effects on your body like:
· Increasing resting metabolic rate so you burn more calories, even while at rest.

·      Making you lean and slim--muscle takes up less space than fat so, the more you have, the slimmer you are.
· Strengthening bones and connective tissue, which can protect your body from injuries in daily life
·      Enhancing balance and stability
·   Building confidence and self-esteem

However...this only works if you're using enough weight to stimulate that muscle growth. In other words, if you can lift the weights you've chosen (for most exercises) more than 16-20 times, you might not see the kind of fat loss you would if you increased your weight. 12 to 15 Reps 2 to 3 sets 3 to 5 days per week. Make sure you allow 24 to 48 hours between working muscles groups to recover and for muscle to build. Muscle builds during the rest period.

Why don't we lift more weight? For some, lifting weights is scary, especially if you've never done it before. The machines...the dumbbells...the people who seem to know what they're doing...it's enough to make anyone skip weights altogether. Aside from that, there are other fears that invade our minds, such as:
·              It feels weird. The goal of weight training, if you didn't know, is to lift as much weight as you possibly can (with good form!) for the number of reps you've chosen. In daily life, we typically don't push ourselves to fatigue in anything we do, so this idea may not only feel foreign, it may feel downright miserable. That's one reason it's best for beginners to gradually work towards that.
·              Fear of injury. Because our muscles burn when we challenge them with resistance, people often feel they're injuring themselves when they lift. And injury can be a real fear for beginners since injury can occur if you max out before your body is ready for it. Taking it slow while still challenging your body will help protect you from injury.
·              Confusion. When you haven't lifted weights before, you may not know what's too heavy and what's too light. It may take some time to get a feel for your body and what it can handle.
·              Fear of getting bulky. There's still a tired old myth running around that men should lift heavy and women should lift light to avoid getting big and bulky. Women hear this: Lifting heavy weights will NOT make you huge--you simply don't have the testosterone levels to build big muscles. Lifting heavy weights WILL help you lose fat.
·              Fear of pain. The other thing about lifting weights is the psychological factor. The discomfort level associated with training to fatigue is pretty high...if you haven't lifted weights before; you may not be able to overcome that discomfort enough to lift as heavy as you're capable of. Again, this is one reason it's best to err on the side of caution (if you need to), while always working towards more challenge and more weight.

These fears often keep people lifting the same amount of weight for weeks, months or even years. Most of these fears are unfounded, if you take time to ease into a weight training program and work (slowly) towards the muscle fatigue that will make your muscles grow.

Why diets don't work?

2012-01-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

3 things are key to good health and longevity:
Exercise, Good Nutrition, and Commitment.
Women who are troubled by stubborn weight gain will try almost anything to get rid of the extra pounds: weird diets, teeny-tiny meals, excessive exercise, and lots and lots of deprivation. 70 % Of Americans are over weight, who do you know that hastried every diet out there?

What you need to know is this
“There is no quick fix”. Diets Don't Work, Starvation diets don't work!
There are no easy, fast, ”silver bullet” solutions to losingbelly fat, regardless of what the infomercials say. Furthermore, ifyou’re looking for one way to lose belly fat, you might be disappointed. Reducing body fat, whether attached to your belly, hips, thighs, or arms is nota one step approach! The good news is that with a few lifestyle changes,the right mix of exercise, and some good ol’ fashioned consistency, YOU CANbeat the battle of your belly bulge!

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3 tips for a Rock-Solid Stomach

2012-01-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

1. Keep Your Abs Engaged. Your core region (lower back, abs and glutes) make up your “stabilizer” muscle group. This powerhouse is constantly at work when you’re doing ANY kind of workout, so take advantage of this! When you’re lifting weights, or doing anything that uses your stabilizer muscles, consciously tap into that strength—keep your abs tight and posture solid, and you’ll see big results.

2. Use Compound Movements. When targeting your abs, compound exercises are better than isolated ones. Why not work multiple muscle groups at once? Some compound movements that work the whole ab region include Planks and the Bicycle Maneuver:

For

Planks

, lie face down, forearms and toes pressed into the floor, and lift your hips up off the floor. Engage your abs, straighten your back and hold this position for as long as you can. Trust us, you’ll feel your entire ab region engaged!

For Bicycle Maneuver, lie with your back on the floor, hands behind your head and elbows spread wide. Keeping your lower back pressed into the floor and abs contracted, crunch across the body—one elbow to the opposite knee. Alternate continuously. This will work more muscles than a standard crunch. Add a fitness ball to increase strength.

3. Eat Protein. Protein will allow your body to rebuild muscle after your workouts. Great sources include lean meat, nuts, eggs, cheese and legumes. Another excellent source of protein is a protein shake, which can be one of your 5-6 daily meals. A whey or soy protein powder, when mixed with soy or skim milk, can give you roughly 20 grams of protein.

4 Steps To STOP Eating Sugar.

2012-01-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

What happens to your body when you eat sugar?

First the body goes into a "sugar shock" spiking insulin levels and creating a brief energy rush. After the body recovers from the shock, it starts working furiously to recover its internal balance by the raiding of vital nutrients in order to process sugar.
This can lead to our bodies becoming acidic. In other words... sugar can alter our entire blood chemistry research shows that just two teaspoons of sugar can throw off your chemical balance.

4 Steps To STOP Eating Sugar.

Step 1 You need to decide to what extent you want to remove sugar from your diet. If you remove all sugar it will, after a few days, stop the cravings. If you choose to keep eating some sugar like fruit juice and dried fruit you will still better your health because you’re eliminating refined sugar, but you will still have the cravings for sugar.

Step 2 Remove all sugar from your house, everything. Go to the store and buy meals enough for 3 days. Do not go back to the store once you have bought your weekend of groceries. You will want to go sugar free on the weekend because there will be no temptation around. It’s a good idea not to go anywhere where you will have the opportunity to buy any sugar. Stay away from the mall, friends houses etc…

Step 3 Day one might be easy. Day two will be anything but easy. You will find yourself going through all the cupboards looking for any kind of sweet that you can find. I hope you got rid of the hot chocolate, flavored yogurt and everything else, if not you WILL eat it. It is an addiction; you will not be able to control yourself.

Step 4 Day three will be easier but don’t think that you’re off the hook yet. One slip up and you’ll have to start all over. Keep eating healthy. Keep drinking lots of water. If you have trouble drinking lots of water then drink some green tea. You can drink a flavored tea but please don’t slip up and add sugar to it. If you have decided to completely stop eating all sugar you will notice that after a few weeks if you have a sip of fruit juice you will think it’s too sweet.

Refined sugar contains no fiber, no minerals, no proteins, no fats, no enzymes, only empty calories. What happens when you eat a refined carbohydrate like sugar? Your body must borrow vital nutrients from healthy cells to metabolize the incomplete food. Calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium are taken from various parts of the body to make use of the sugar. Many times, so much calcium is used to neutralize the effects of sugar that the bones become osteoporotic due to the withdrawn calcium.

Likewise, the teeth are affected and they lose their components until decay occurs and you lose teeth!

...Refined sugar is void of all nutrients, consequently it causes the body to deplete its own stores of various vitamins, minerals and enzymes. If sugar consumption is continued, an over-acid condition results, and more minerals are needed from deep in the body to correct the imbalance. If the body is lacking the nutrients used to metabolize sugar, it will not be able to properly handle and rid itself of the poisonous residues.

Sugar feeds cancer. Cutting out sugar cuts food supply to the cancer cells.

Soda is a significant contributor to obesity.
Drinking a single can a day of sugary drinks translates to more than a pound of weight gain every month.

Diet soda is just as likely to cause weight gain as regular, or even more -- it may sound counter intuitive, but people who drink diet soft drinks actually don’t lose weight.

Artificial sweeteners induce a whole set of physiologic and hormonal responses that actually make you gain weight.

Are you using exercise as an excuse to eat more?

2012-01-23T09:34:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, exercise does not burn as many calories as we might think. What you may not realize is that thirty minutes on the elliptical, for example, cancels out only one Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

Key to weight loss is to EAT SMALLER PORTIONS at least 6 times a day! Make an effort to control your desire for junk food by eliminating it entirely.

If you’re training for a sporting event, you may need to eat more to fuel your workouts—otherwise, consider regular exercise a keep-it-in-check tool, not a free pass to eat whatever you want.

Fuel your body with healthy eating. The right combination of proteins, complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables—as well as adequate hydration with water—can also add a kick to your energy levels.

While cardio exercise won’t completely burn away a weekend binge, it does benefit health by increasing energy and lowering your risk for heart disease.

Tabata one of the most effective workouts, want to lose weight?

2011-12-25T22:32:00.000-07:00

Tabata is a form of high intensity interval training method that offers more health benefits than traditional cardiovascular exercise. It’s short, efficient and can fit in almost any fitness program.

There aremany different forms of workouts out there and each workout will give you adifferent result. Some increase muscle mass, some increase strength, othershelp you lose weight and so forth.

Cardiovascular (cardio for short)exercises are a popular brand of exercise designed to improve endurance andstimulate fat loss. Cardio exercises can be anything from long distancerunning, skipping, biking or even power walking. All of these usually fallunder the category of moderate intensity training because they tend to lastanywhere from a half hour to more than an hour going at the same pace.

“Tabata” isthe name of a particular type of workout program that provides similar healthbenefits to that of cardio workouts, but Tabata has a bit more spice. Insteadof hours upon hours or exercise, Tabata can be completed in 4 minutes.Tabata falls under the category of high intensity training or high intensityinterval training. Today I write to explain to you thehistory of Tabata and exactly what it is.

How did Tabata come about?

Tabata was founded by a Japanese scientist named Izumi Tabata and fellowcolleagues at a department of physiology in

Japan

. Izumi and his fellow scientistsdecided to conduct a study to compare moderate intensity training with highintensity training.

He conductedthe tests on 2 groups of athletes; 1 of the groups used the moderate intensityinterval training and the other using high intensity interval training. In group one;the athletes were training in moderate intensity workouts (70% intensity) forfive days a week for a total of six weeks with each training session lasting anhour.

Group twotrained in the high intensity workouts for 4 days a week for a total of 6 weekswith each session lasting 4 minutes, at 20 seconds of intense training (170%intensity) and 10 seconds of rest.

What were the results of the tests?

Group 1 had asignificant increase in the aerobic system (cardiovascular system). However,the anaerobic system (muscles) gained little or no results at all.

Group 2showed much improvement in all their athletes. Their aerobic systems increasedmuch more than group ones, and their anaerobic systems increased by 28%.

Conclusion?Not only did high intensity interval training have more of an impact on theaerobic systems; it had an impact on the anaerobic systems as well.

So what does a basic Tabata training design look like?

Any exercisecan be incorporated into the Tabata training. However the basic outline of theTabata training method are as follows:
•     4 minutes long (whole Tabata Session)
•     20 seconds of intense training
•     10 seconds of rest
•     Total of 8 sessions or rounds

Some great tabata ideas at youtube.com just search Tabata Workouts!

Weight lift to reach fitness goals and lose weight!

2011-11-04T12:02:00.000-06:00

Strength training exercises are important for your good health, weight loss and fitness success. Bottom line: If you do not use weight lifting exercise on a regular basis you simply will not reach your goals.

Your health is the most valuable asset you have…without it you'll inevitably spend everything you have, financially and emotionally, to get it back!

Strength training is important regardless of your age and becomes even more critical after age 30.

There are many ways that you can incorporate it into your life even if you think you can't.

Weight lifting on a repeated basis will help you to improve your physical appearance, fitness level and reduce your risk of health problems like heart disease.

Strength exercises on a regular basis will help you lose a lot of weight, a lot more than any cardio exercise ever could.

In addition, before doing any weight lifting, make sure you warm up your muscles properly. Don't do any weight lifting when your muscles are cold.

Warm up 5 to 10 minutes on a stationary bike, treadmill, etc. is sufficient.

You know that weight lifting is good for you, so make it a part of your every day routine. You can effectively exercise while keeping up with your other everyday-jobs.

When I’m out for a walk with my dogs, I find a bench or short wall and do push ups to fatigue, triceps dips and then repeat.

Strength training helps you lose weight, improves your health so you can live a longer and more productive life. Be sure to include strength training exercises in your over-all exercise plan.

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2011-10-26T20:15:00.001-06:00

You are the only one that can change your health....only you can choose to eat healthy and exercise..hard to do---yes, can you do it yes---is it worth it...? Take a look at those that have lost their health, you can do it.. yes it's worth it, feeling great is everything...

How You Can Make Fitness and Nutrition a Lifestyle.

2011-10-20T17:22:00.000-06:00

It's hard to admit this but, many years ago my diet consisted of diet coke and licorice or gummy bears. I was in my 20’s and 30's and didn’t think a thing about it at the time. Little did I know what my diet was doing do my bones, my major organs and my health.

If only I could go back in time and start over with the knowledge I have now.

When I turned 40 (many years ago), I decided to make major lifestyle changes. I've always loved to exercise, but never really thought too much about what I was eating. I started teaching fitness in my 40's.
I stopped eating sugar, drinking soda pop, energy drinks, basically anything white, accept sea food. I focus on what fuels my body for energy and nutrition. Doing this will change your life and your children’s life. Teach your children young the value of good nutrition. Today. I make a conscious choice to eat a healthy diet. I'm still teaching and love it.

'How do you find the time to work out?' You don't: You make time. If you wait until you find time, you'll never work out.

If you are just starting to exercise, entering the world of fitness machines, exercise, diet and nutrition can be difficult.

After a few moments of peddling, your lungs gasp for air as the body screams, “What are you trying to do? Do you hate me?” Horror sets in as you realize how far your health has deteriorated. After only 20 minutes, you drive home to collapse on the sofa. Images from the gym haunt your mind: sculpted muscles and tanned, sleek bodies. “I could never look like that. This is me, so I might as well accept it.” Desperation calls for action. Staring wide-eyed at your vacuum cleaner, you consider Liposuction. But that’s just too radical.

Most people connect discipline with pain. It’s no fun forcing yourself to do something you don’t want to do. But if you are achieving an important goal, discipline becomes much easier. An athlete training for the Olympics does not have a grinding battle with willpower every day. Although there are battles, it becomes easier as the routine becomes a lifestyle.

Discipline in changing your eating habits becomes easy when you are doing it and difficult when you are not. But with patience, the right attitude, and keeping your mind on the goal, discipline becomes second nature. You don’t have to force yourself. It just comes naturally. That is the way it should be.

To gain discipline, you have to face pain. The more you face it, the more you gain confidence and determination. It is an exhilarating high to run five miles after you’re conditioned to running. It hurts to start, but as your training progresses, there is a feeling of freedom and joy.

Facing Challenge

Challenge is exhilarating. We love competition for that reason. It challenges us to give our best.

We need challenge to grow. The greater the challenge, the greater the growth. That is why dreams are important; they bring us to the edge of challenge.

Decision Power

When you ate the donuts, you made a decision. They comforted you and led you down the path of sugar-coated, chocolate-dipped, cream-filled pleasures. When the alarm clock rang and you went back to sleep, you made a decision. When you ate another piece of pie, you made a decision.

When you are laying on the couch watching TV instead of exercising, you made a decision. Each decision was a path, the easy road where you decided to give into your cravings, urges and laziness.

Most people make New Year’s resolutions. They decide to quit smoking, start exercising and lose weight. Four days later, they’re drowning in nicotine, pizza and reruns. Their resolution failed the test.

Where is the point where you have finally had enough and you make those resolute, I’ve-had-enough, never-go-back-again decisions? The ones that endure pain and stand the test of time. Those are the decisions that change our lives. We don’t argue with those decisions because we know the answer is, NO! They are resolute. Gandhi stood resolute and unbending before threats of pain, and freed

India

. That is the power of an unmovable, unshakable, unbending, uncompromising decision.

It is the power that shakes empires and inspires millions.

Life-changing decisions don’t pop into our heads while watching TV. They are decisions that are made deep within us. You make hundreds of decisions each day. Most are decided by habit. Don’t do that. Make your decisions, conscious of the path on which they are taking you. Choose decisions that challenge and cause growth. Make the decisions that force change for the better.

How badly do you want to be free from food addiction? Are you willing to face the ugly giant called hunger? You have the power to form life-changing decisions, but only if you are willing to face the challenges.

Stress Can Cause Weight Gain & Effect Your Health Here's How.

2011-10-19T20:23:00.000-06:00

Today’s life is faster than ever, filled with constant change, uncertainty and stress.

Because of the constant demands placed on us at work, at home, or we may really be in danger, our bodies respond like we're about to be harmed and need to fight for our lives. Our bodies respond to this need with a burst of energy, shifts in our metabolism, blood flow, and other changes.

STRESS not only affects your weight, but your health.

The stress hormone called cortisol is one of the reasons. While under stress, the fight or flight response is triggered in our bodies, leading to the release of various hormones.

We've known for a long time that depression and chronic pain are closely related in many ways. Both conditions share some of the same underlying biochemistry (related to stress hormones such as cortisol and inflammatory compounds such as cytokines) and people with depression tend to experience more episodes of chronic pain (and vice versa). Indeed, physical pain can undoubtedly make psychological pain (depression) worse - likely due to the finding that inflammation is known to worsen and perhaps evencause depression in many people. You might find it interesting to know that cytokines (inflammatory hormone-like chemicals produced in the body)

Conventional wisdom would suggest that controlling depression might also help to control pain - and that reducing pain would help to alleviate depression. However, the research findings in the PNAS article suggest that painkiller drugs may actually interfere with the activity of antidepressant drugs - potentially making depression worse.

4 ways Chronic stress can raise cortisol levels which contribute to weight gain and effect your health are:

Metabolism -- Too much cortisol can slow your metabolism, causing more weight gain than you would normally experience. This also makes dieting more difficult.

Blood Sugar -- Prolonged stress can alter your blood sugar levels, causing mood swings, fatigue, and conditions like hyperglycemia. Too much stress has even been linked to metabolic syndrome, a cluster of health concerns that can lead to greater health problems, like heart attacks and diabetes.

Fat Storage -- Excessive stress even affects where we tend to store fat. Higher levels of stress are linked to greater levels of abdominal fat. Unfortunately, abdominal fat is not only aesthetically undesirable, it’s linked with greater health risks than fat stored in other areas of the body.

If you remain in the state of chronic stress for a long period of time your health becomes at risk. One being high blood pressure, a potentially dangerous health condition.
“Stress can actually cause weight gain, particularly around the tummy,” Why? Because physical and emotional stress activates the release of cortisol, a steroid that slows metabolism

When your body is under the stress response, your cortisol and insulin levels raise. These two hormones tend to track each other, and when your cortisol is consistently elevated under a chronic low-level stress response, you’ll likely notice that you have difficulty losing weight or building muscle.

Food Cravings -- People experiencing chronic stress tend to crave more fatty, salty and sugary foods. This includes sweets, processed food and other things that aren’t as good for you. These foods are typically less healthy and lead to increased weight gain.

Other Ways Stress and Weight Gain are connected.

Emotional Eating – Not only can increased levels of cortisol make you crave unhealthy food, but excess nervous energy can often cause you to eat more than you normally would. Have you ever found yourself scouring the kitchen for a snack, or absently munching on junk food when you’re stressed, but not really hungry?

Fast Food -- One of the big reasons we’re seeing more obesity in our society today is that people are too stressed and busy to make healthy dinners at home, often opting to get fast food a the nearest drive-thru instead.

Too Busy to Exercise -- With all the demands on your schedule, exercise may be one of the last things on your to-do list. If so, you’re not alone. Americans live a more sedentary lifestyle than we have in past generations, yet our minds seem to be racing from everything we have to do. Unfortunately, from sitting in traffic, clocking hours at our desks, and plopping in front of the TV in exhaustion at the end of the day, exercise often goes by the wayside.

Today’s so-called solutions including prescription drugs, energy drinks, coffee, etc. aren’t combating the problem, they’re compounding the problem.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to reverse the pattern of weight gain and actually reduce your stress level and waistline at the same time. I recommend you take a yoga class 3 times a week, meditation on a regular basis and lots of good deep breathing.

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How Interval Training Can Help With Losing Body Fat & Weight Loss.

2011-10-15T17:06:00.000-06:00

What is Interval Training?

Interval Training is defined as high-intensity intermittent exercise.

High Intensity Interval Training without question, is one of the most effective ways to lose body fat and improve your cardiovascular conditioning. Not only do you stimulate your metabolism to a greater degree, but you burn many more calories than with lower intensity training, which can result in fat loss.

How to Perform High Intensity Interval Training:

Interval training is based on a very simple concept: go fast then go slow. Repeat. It sounds easy, but within this simple formula lies a tremendous number of possible variations and strategies you can use to take full advantage of the power available to you.

If you enjoy walking you can try this interval work, if you're in good shape, incorporate short bursts of jogging into your regular brisk walks. If you're less fit, you might alternate leisurely walking with periods of faster walking. For example, if you're walking outdoors, you could walk faster between certain mailboxes, trees or other landmarks.

Interval training can be performed on almost any cardiovascular machine (including the treadmill, stair machine, stationary bike, elliptical trainer, etc.) as well as almost any type of cardiovascular exercise (such as cycling, swimming, running, etc.).

Maximal High-Intensity Intervals
Maximal Intervals are much shorter than Aerobic Intervals. Generally, the longest you'll be able to perform a maximal effort is around 30 seconds so all the work intervals are 30 seconds or less.

Here are some examples of a number of different intervals you can use in your training:

Example 1

Steady Pace Maximal effort
2 min. 30 sec.
3 min. 1 min.
3 min. 45 sec.
2 min. 1 min.
5 min. 30 sec.

Example 2

Steady Pace Maximal effort
2 min. 30 sec.
3 min. 45 sec.

4 min. 1 min..
3 min. 30 sec.
5 min. 1 min.

One of my favorite Interval workouts is to jog 4 minutes thensprint all out 30 to 45 seconds and repeat 6 times..

Repeat this 6 times for a great workout.

Change Your Life, Just 20 Minutes of Exercise a Day,

2011-10-13T20:59:00.000-06:00

Just 20 minutes of regular exercise every single day can have a profound effect on your life, your health and your lifestyle.

With just 20 minutes a day, you can promote weight loss.
With 20 minutes a day, you can decrease how much stress you experience.
With 20 minutes a day, you can achieve the goals you set out for yourself.

Changing Your Life

Making a change in your life is about exerting a form of control over your life and your choices. 20 minutes a day is one of those changes that you can make and it's one that most of us - even at our busiest can find 20 minutes for.

"Our health always seems much more valuable after we lose it." -Unknown Author
5 Ways to get motivated to walk!

1. Get a Walking Buddy

Keep each other motivated no matter what the weather or other excuses is imperative. The conversation and protein smoothie after are great ways to make even a boring walk a lot of fun.

2. Get New Gear
Nothing is more motivating then getting some brand new walking shoes, a great outfit, that new ipod to make the time go quickly. Pedometers, speed and heart rate monitors can also get you moving because we all want to know how far we walked, what our target heart rate is and how many calories we burned. Walking gadgets can make walking a little more fun and give you a reason to get out the door to achieve your next goal.

3. Get committed!
Register for a Charity Walk or sign up for a fun run (no one says you need to run, you can walk instead) so that you have a goal and a commitment. By telling others you will ten be more likely to stay the path and will be more motivated towards your goal knowing that you must train to endure the event.

4. Keep a Walking Journal
Keep track of your walking minutes, steps, or mileage in a journal. Total up each week to see how you are progressing. Set yourself a reasonable goal and you will find that attaining that goal will motivate you enough to maintain your walking schedule. There is even various software applications available to do all the calculations for you.

5. Choose the Right Time and Have Fun!
What is the best time to walk? Many people find that if they commit to early morning walks, there are fewer distractions as may commonly pop up in the afternoon or evening. But if you hate mornings and feel most energetic later in the day - that should be your walking time. To stay motivated, analyze your habits and choose the time that will work best for you. Keep it realistic and most of all fun, and you'll find walking the best route to good physical fitness and health well into your elder years.

3 things to include in your fitness to Slow Down the Aging Process.

2011-10-12T21:30:00.000-06:00

You can't stop yourself from growing old,
but you can keep your body in great shape as you get older!

Studies have now proven that the natural aging process can be slowed and even reversed under the right conditions.

People between the ages of 30 and 70 with many of the symptoms; conditions that were traditionally associated with normal aging are in fact the result of sedentary lifestyles.

Our life expectancy in this day and age is much longer. 50 is the new 30, and while you may be eligible for some senior citizen discounts, you don't have to think of this stage of your life as the beginning of the end.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School have finally proven that when you are over the age of 50 you can continue to exercise with great benefits to your health. In fact, many of the effects of aging can be slowed down through a good exercise program and balanced diet taken in combination.

1. Cardiovascular exercises: take a brisk walk in the park, go swimming, dancing, jogging, recumbent bicycles and even a few jumping jacks. Try a fun dance class, Zumba is so popular and burns lots of calories.

2. Strength exercises: are an effective way to build muscle mass and maintain your body’s weight. Did you know that there are roughly 300,000 cases of broken hip bones due to elderly people losing their balance and falling over?

Doing a few balance exercises can help to strengthen those muscles responsible for supporting you body and keeping you mobile. It’s important that you work with a professional that can help you to put together a strength training program designed for you.

3. Stretching and flexibility exercises are needed to keep your joints working smoothly and stop them from ceasing up. These particular exercises help to increase the amount of movements that your body can perform. Warming up the muscles and joints should be done before any workout to prevent injury and decrease the amount of pain you feel in your muscles.

It’s important along with exercise to have a Healthy Diet. What you are putting into your body has a great effect on your health. Many people believe that they don’t need to eat healthy or watch their diet because they don’t need to lose weight. This couldn’t be further from the truth!

You should put only the best foods in your mouth no matter how much you weigh, what size you wear, or how fit you look.

Gaining muscle fast cannot be achieved if you continue to lift the same weights each workout.

91-year-old bodybuilder Charles Eugster is proof we can continue to be healthy and strong into our 90’s and it doesn’t end there.

At 85 Charles had a crisis. He looked at himself in the mirror, and saw an old man who was overweight, his posture was terrible and there was skin hanging off of him. Charles said “I looked like a wreck’ Read Charles inspirational story here:

You can read Charles entire story by clicking here.

If you are starting an exercise program, I recommend you consult your doctor first to make sure you are of sound body. This is especially true for seniors who may have weaker bodies. When exercising, start out slow and gradually build up to a long and more intense workout as you gain strength. If you have pre-existing medical conditions, you should definitely make your personal physician aware of you decision to start working out.

"It's never too late to begin" here's another great article about Charles Eugster 90-year-old bodybuilder by Hugh Esling a fitness professional he shares more tips on senior fitness http://he123.solobis.net/yes-sir-charles-eugster-90-year-old-bodybuilder

How to Stay Motivated to be Healthy and Fit.

2011-10-02T20:01:00.000-06:00

Nothing is a better motivator than a positive attitude.
If you feel good about yourself and your ability to accomplish things it will be much easier to make the choice to exercise when you may not feel quite up to it.

Muscle burns fat…..that’s why starvation diets don’t work. They depleat your body of escential muscle that will burn the calories we consume.

To be healthy and fit people"really know what to do" but it does take commitment and changinghabits. It does take a lot hard work and effort. Great advice from NIKE 3words " Just DO IT."

If you find your workouts are hit-or-miss and that you give in to temptation a bit too easily, your weight loss may not be happening. For exercise to work, you have to do it on a regular basis. Once your body adapts to your program, you then need to change it to keep your body challenged. If you skip too many workouts, it's almost like starting all over every time.

Do you know anyone that has worked out for years and looks exactly the same? They are pushing themselves day after day and not making any positive changes. There is a reason for this, they may not be working hard enough, or they may be working too hard.

One thing many people don't understand about exercise and weight loss is this: you have to work hard if you want to change the shape of your body. That means a balance of medium-high intensity cardio exercise along with challenging strength training workouts. Our Diets are a key factor in weight loss.

Cardio
For weight loss, you'll need to get about 3-5 cardio workouts each week at a medium-high intensity for at least 30 minutes. If you're a beginner, it's best to start slow and work your way up but, if you're in good condition-challenging yourself with harder workouts is the best way to burn more calories. Interval training is a good choice because studies show you continue to burn calories even after you've stopped exercising.

Strength Training In addition to your cardio workouts, you'll need to lift weights for all your muscle groups at least 2 non-consecutive days a week. And, by lifting weights, that means using enough weight that you can ONLY complete the desired number of reps. For example, if you're doing 12 bicep curls, you need to use enough weight that you can only do 12 bicep curls and not one more. Most people don't lift enough weight to really challenge their muscles. If that sounds familiar, check out Weight Training 101 and my Workout Center to learn how to lift weights and get some workout ideas.

Sticking with exercise starts with finding a program you enjoy and that fits in with your lifestyle, goals and needs. That means being realistic about what you'll really accomplish each week rather than going by what you think you should be doing. If you know you are not going to be consistent going to a fitness club, then learn what you can do out home out for a walk or jog and include strength training outdoors or in your home.

Some common reasons for plateaus include:

· Doing the same workouts over and over. Your body needs to be challenged to progress, so make sure you're changing some part of your program every 4-6 weeks.

· Not eating enough calories. If your body doesn't have enough fuel to sustain your level of activity, you can actually stop losing weight.

· Overtraining. If you exercise too much, the body sometimes responds by decreasing the amount of calories you burn during the rest of your day.

Healthy eating has to become a lifestyle.

Why Starvation and Yo Yo Dieting Doesn't Work!

2011-09-28T19:59:00.000-06:00

STOP STARVATION AND YO YO DIETING

Here's why:
The body reacts to weight loss as if it were starving, in response, slows our metabolism.
When your metabolism slows, you burn fewer calories -- even at rest. So it makes it almost impossible to lose weight.

If you continue to take in fewer calories, you will either stop losing weight as quickly as you have been, or you'll stop losing weight altogether.

After starvation diets, eating under 1400 calorie per day diets, when you increase your calorie consumption, you may actually gain weight more quickly than you have in the past. The most devastating effect of a very low calorie diet is the loss of muscle tissue. Once the starvation alarm is triggered, your body begins looking for ways to conserve energy. Muscle is metabolically active tissue. Getting rid of it is the body's way of decreasing energy expenditure.

The solution is to increase your physical activity and eat 5 small nutritious meals a day. (Skip sugar, white flour and empty calories that don't fuel your body)

Doing so will counteract the metabolic slow down caused by reducing calories. A regular schedule of exercise raises not only your energy expenditure while you are exercising but also your resting energy expenditure -- the rate at which you burn calories even when the workout is over and you are resting.

With each repeated bout of dieting, your metabolism becomes less and less efficient and you can actually become progressively fatter while eating less food.

Why it's important to Strength train and exercise as we age.

2011-09-22T15:46:00.000-06:00

During a fitness class I talked about the Importance of Resistance Training as we are aging and how important it is to continue to exercise, eat right, take time for meditation and stretching.

Strength training is the only type of exercise that can maintain muscle and metabolism as we age, and should be an essential component of every senior fitness program.

Men and women who do not perform regular resistance exercise experience a decrease in muscle mass throughout the aging process. Research indicates that inactive adults lose about one-half pound of muscle per year during their 30's and 40's. The rate of muscle loss may double to one-pound per year in people past 50 years of age. Unfortunately, the higher rate of fat gain masks the muscle loss. Adults typically lose about 5 pounds of muscle and add about 15 pounds of fat each decade during the midlife years.

Based on bodyweight the average adult changes approximately 10 pounds per decade, but based on body composition the average adult changes approximately 20 pounds per decade (5 pounds less muscle and 15 pounds more fat). A woman in her 50's may have 15 pounds less muscle and 45 pounds more fat than she had in her 20's. This represents an unhealthy 60-pound change in her body composition, which increases her risk for a variety of devastating degenerative problems such as cardiovascular disease, many types of cancer, type II diabetes, and low back pain.

While the focus is typically on fat loss, more emphasis should be placed on muscle gain. On average, previously sedentary seniors can replace approximately 3 pounds of muscle after about 3 months of regular resistance exercise. So I’m going to encourage you to start now to strength train 3 days per week! Not sure where to start? Check a fitness facility near your home to see if they offer senior classes. If you can, Hire a personal trainer who is over 30. Youtube.com has some great strength training videos for seniors http://youtu.be/JenGpTjS1lI watch this 4 minute video to learn more.

Our life expectancy is longer in this day and age. 50 is the new 30, and while you may be eligible for some senior citizen discounts, you don't have to think of this stage of your life as the beginning of the end. At 58, I feel better than I did in my 30’s. I eat healthier and work out harder.

There are still more adventures to be had and obstacles to overcome as well as events to attend in your grandchildren's lives. Your age may get older, but you need to keep your body young, so you can live longer and be there for your family.

5 Reasons to Run Trail's Verses the Road, improve your fitness level!

2011-09-18T11:49:00.004-06:00

I took this picture this weekend when I hit the hiking trails right out my front door. It was a great run on the trails this weekend and so beautiful. At times I get bored with my regular run, after a few miles I'm done. Today I could have kept going and it definitely wasn't boring. If you are bored with the same old routine, change it up and try a trail run.
If you are bored with the same old routine, change it up and try a trail run.

Here are 5 reasons to Trail Running Verses the Road:

1- Fewer Injuries   Trail running surfaces are much softer than the asphalt or concrete you'll find when running around town. Softer surfaces mean fewer injuries, not only due to lower impact forces, but also because you'll build more strength in the muscles that help stabilize your lower leg. These muscles help absorb impact forces and provide more support—no matter what surface you're running on—and that can add up to fewer injuries.

2- Improved Technique Studies show that running on uneven terrain causes you to take shorter, quicker strides and land more on the forefoot than the heel. These adjustments are helpful when you're running on any surface. Shorter strides, a faster stride rate and mid-foot landing requires less energy and allows for faster acceleration than heel-toe running with longer strides.

3- Mental Break   Just as important as the physical benefits, trail running is mentally relaxing.

4- Breathe Easier Trails are usually off-limits to motor vehicles, so you don`t have to worry about taking a deep breath of carbon monoxide every time a car goes by.

5- Get Faster   For those of you most concerned with improving your times, rest assured, trail running can make you faster. Most trail running involves hills and lots of them. Running uphill makes you stronger, it’s actually the most efficient form of strength training for runners since it uses all the muscles you activate when running on flat surfaces, but builds greater strength due to the increased resistance.

Don't be fooled by miracle weight loss, magic pill, etc. No Quick Fix to Weight Loss,

2011-09-15T13:57:00.000-06:00

“There is no quick fix”.

Overeating brings fat and fat brings regret and makes us feel less about ourselves. Feeling this regret can then bring extra efforts and most possibly over training with all its consequences. It's a kind of a vicious circle. Learn to control your food intake.

The most important thing you can do is to "believe in your self, believe in the process, stay the course, and you will look the best you ever looked before!"

8 important things you can do daily for your good health.

1. Drink plenty of water.

2. Don’t skip breakfast.

3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, eat less food that is processed and manufactured.

4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy

5. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day

6. Sleep for 7 hours.

7. Take a 10-30 minutes’ walk daily.

8. Smile more!

Why You Can't Skip Meals and Lose Weight!

2011-09-08T19:53:00.000-06:00

The body reacts to weight loss as if it were starving, and in response, slows its metabolism.

When your metabolism slows, you burn fewer calories -- even at rest. So it makes it almost impossible to lose weight.

If you continue to take in fewer calories, you will either stop losing weight as quickly as you have been, or you'll stop losing weight altogether.

After starvation diets, eating under 1400 calorie per day diets, when you increase your calorie consumption, you may actually gain weight more quickly than you have in the past.

The solution is to increase your physical activity & eat 5 small nutritious meals a day. (Skip sugar, white flour and empty calories that don't fuel your body & help you to stay healthy)

Doing so will counteract the metabolic slow down caused by reducing calories. A regular schedule of exercise raises not only your energy expenditure while you are exercising but also your resting energy expenditure -- the rate at which you burn calories even when the workout is over and you are resting.

How YOU can have Healthy Glowing Skin Naturally.....

2011-07-08T19:35:00.001-06:00

Keep your skin looking its best as you get older

For both men and women, the aging process can cause the skin to go through many different changes. According to health sources cucumber juice is beneficial for both skin and hair.

Cucumber is rich in silica, a mineral that strengthens connective tissues, like tendons, muscles, cartilage, bones, and ligaments. It is also reported that silica is good for hair growth,complexion,skin elasticity, and fingernails.

It is important to use cucumbers which do not require peeling because you lose much of the silica and other beneficial properties which are in the skin of cucumber.

Tips for Preparing Cucumbers:

Unwaxed cucumbers do not need to be peeled but should be washed before cutting. Waxed cucumbers should always be peeled first. Cucumbers can be sliced, diced or cut into sticks.

To have a healthy glowing and smooth skin use this recipe

Blend 4 - 5 leafs of fresh mint.

Peel and deseed the cucumber.

Add mint leaves to the cucumber to make a puree.

Beat egg white and keep it separate, then add this egg white to the cucumber mixture.

Apply this evenly on your face for 20 minutes and then rinse it with water and pat it dry.

How to increase your metabolism for better fitness results!

2011-06-06T14:53:00.000-06:00

It's important for you to understand that our metabolism slows as we age – by as much as two percent a year!

But there is something you can do to counterbalance nature.

“Muscle is the single most important factor for how well you metabolize your food, how well you burn calories

and burn body fat.”

Metabolism is affected by your body composition. By body composition, I mean the amount of muscle you have versus the amount of fat.

Muscle uses more calories to maintain itself than fat.

People who are more muscular (have a lower percentage of body fat) they have a higher metabolism than others that are less muscular.

For example, let's say you have two people who are the exact same height and weight. One exercises on a regular basis with weights, in addition to aerobic exercise, and has a low percentage of body fat. The other never exercises and has a higher percentage of body fat. The first person who exercises will have a higher metabolism than the second person. What this basically means is that person #1's body will use more calories to sustain itself than person #2.

Strength training with dumbbells or resistance bands at least twice a week is essential to boosting your metabolism. I Repeat – essential.

Your metabolism stays pumped for many hours after you finish your workout.

When I'm out for a run or a walk I find a park bench to do push ups and triceps dips, add a few more each time to increase your strength. When your watching TV, use your chair and do the same thing!

Fitness Tips, Stay Healthy and Fit

2011-05-26T17:55:00.000-06:00

It's important to remember YOU are in charge of your health.

It's NOT the doctors, it's NOT the government, and it's NOT your spouse.

How You Can Reach Your Fitness Goals!

2011-05-26T11:16:00.001-06:00

For good health focus on 6 words:

We become what we think about.

If you think in negative terms you will get Negative Results.

If you think in positive terms you will get Positive Results.

People that have success don't let their circumstances control them.

What is you fitness and health goal?

Focus on what YOU WANT TO HAPPEN!

Incredible things will happen in 2011.

Health Facts About Hormone Replacement

2011-05-02T13:26:00.001-06:00

FACTS ABOUT HORMONE REPLACEMENT

By Dr. Jeffrey Weiser

Low Testosterone levels in men is directly correlated with high body fat. If you have type 2 diabetes, you are twice as likely to suffer from low testosterone as a man without diabetes. If you have diabetes and your level of testosterone is very low, there's evidence testosterone replacement can help. The bonus is that you're also likely to see your libido improve.

Men with diabetes and low testosterone found that 80 per cent of those getting hormone treatment as well as the usual diabetes drugs managed to get their blood sugar levels, their body's resistance to insulin, and weight down to healthy levels.

Estrogen deficiency in aged females may trigger the development of high blood pressure and obesity.
Estrogen regulates the brain's energy metabolism in the same way as the hormone leptin, leading the way to a viable approach to tackling obesity in people resistant to leptin. Estrogen Curbs Appetite In Same Way As The Hormone Leptin
Research suggests that the sex hormone estrogen may be for women what testosterone is for men: The fuel of power.

Previous research suggests that reduced levels of the hormone estrogen during menopause are responsible for the increased body weight and abdominal fat often experienced by postmenopausal women. However, while estrogen replacement therapies can reduce weight gain, they also have unwelcome side effects, prompting a search for alternative methods of treatment.

Researchers conclude that there is enough evidence to support giving estrogen therapy to women with diabetes because they can gain protection against cardiovascular disease. Estrogen therapy might also help prevent type 2 diabetes because it lowers the elevated insulin levels often seen in postmenopausal women. Further studies are being conducted based on evidence that postmenopausal women on estrogen therapy developed diabetes less often than those who were not.

Personally I prefer natural solutions over pharmaceuticals whenever possible. I take Bone Health by Standard Process, a Whole Food Supplement without side effects Read More Here.

Dr. Weiser recommends: Evista (Raloxifene) is in a class of medications called selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs). Raloxifene decreases the risk of developing invasive breast cancer by blocking the effects of estrogen on breast tissue. This may stop the development of tumors that need estrogen to grow. This applies to the uterus as well. Raloxifene prevents and treats osteoporosis by mimicking the effects of estrogen (a female hormone produced by the body) to increase the density (thickness) of bone. Important: if estrogen levels are too high, this medication may be suitable to block estrogen in the breast tissue and uterus, but still allow estrogen to reach the heart (overall positive effect). You should eat and drink plenty of foods and drinks that are rich in calcium and vitamin D while you are taking Raloxifene.

I recommend you do your research on both before deciding.

Dr. J Specializes in Strength Training; Weight Loss; Pilates!

How You Can Stay Healthy With These 13 Reasons to Exercise

2011-04-01T18:37:00.001-06:00

Patti Goewey shares her recent article on these 13 Reasons

Patti is Your Personal Training Expert Exercise
and Nutrition Programs for REAL PEOPLE

Let's face it, some days you just don't feel like exercising.

You get too busy, too stressed and quite simply too tired.

Here's a list of 13 of the top reasons to exercise. Pull out this list and read it when you're having one of those days.

1. To Prevent Disease
Exercise has been proven to reduce the risk of just about every single health problem known to man, from stroke to heart disease to cancer and osteoporosis. Exercise is also a great defense against type 2 diabetes, which is one of the most widely growing diseases of our time.

2. To Look Great
Exercise firms your body, improves posture and even makes your skin glow. Looking your best is a wonderful result of regular exercise.

3. To Lose Weight and Keep It Off
Exercise burns fat and prevents future fat storage. If you want to have a thinner, healthier body, exercise is the answer.

4. To Have More Energy
Anyone who exercises regularly will tell you that they are more energetic, less easily irritated and are more peaceful.

5. To Sleep Better
Exercise boosts energy levels, but also wears you out. It makes you feel more vibrant during the day and sleep better at night.

6. To Age Slower
Exercise is one of the most effective ways to fight aging. When you age your body loses muscle and bone, while the loss of both are drastically reduced with regular exercise. Exercise also helps reduce inflammation.

7. To Relieve Back Pain
In most cases, the best thing that you can do for back pain is to move and strengthen those muscles. Consult your physician or physical therapist for guidance.

8. To Ease Depression
Exercise has been proven to reduce depression – sometimes even as effectively as medication. Just chalk this up as yet another amazing benefit to exercise.

9. To Reduce Aches and Pains
By strengthening muscles around your damaged joints you're able to use exercise to reduce joint pain and overall aches. Always consult your physician before starting an exercise program, especially if you have chronic joint pain.

10. To Stay Mentally Sharp
Exercise has been shown to improve memory and other cognitive functions, and seems to have a protective effect against dementia. A Harvard University researcher called exercise "Miracle-Gro for the brain."

11. To Enjoy Your Lifestyle
Whatever it is that you love in life – your kids, travel, sports, fashion - it is all more enjoyable when experienced in a fit and healthy body. Exercise so that you are able to enjoy all the great things in life.

12. To Reduce Sick Days
People who exercise regularly are 50% less likely to call in sick to work. A regular exercise program reduces colds and upper respiratory infections.

13. To Boost Confidence
Being fit, feeling healthy and having energy are all building blocks to having great confidence. There is no better confidence booster than sticking with a regular exercise program.

Regular exercise gives you so many amazing benefits, as you've seen from the above list. Call or email me today to get started on the exercise program that will change your life forever.

PATTI GOEWEY,
Las Vegas Nevada,
Join Patti's News Letter here:
http://www.pattigoewey.com/

Stay Healthy, how we contribute to every “illness” in our body.

2011-03-22T13:31:00.000-06:00

I believe that we contribute to every “illness” in our body. The body, as with everything else in life, is a mirror of our inner thoughts and beliefs. Our body is always talking to us, if we will only take the time to listen. Every cell within our bodies responds to every single thought we think.

True healing involves body, mind, and spirit. I believe that if we “cure” an illness yet do not address the emotional and spiritual issues that surround that ailment, it will only manifest again.

Most people don’t want to be sick on a conscious level, yet every disease that we have is a teacher. Illness is the body’s way of telling us that there’s a false idea in our consciousness. Something that we’re believing, saying, doing, or thinking is not for our highest good.

I read an interesting report a few years back. It stated that only 30 percent of patients follow their doctor’s instructions.

How to lose 5 to 10 pounds in less than 14 days.

2011-02-25T14:37:00.003-07:00

Are YOU ready to FEEL amazing!

Follow three simple rules and I promise you will feel great and lose those unwanted pounds.

1. Don't eat anything that is white. White bread, pasta, sugar, white rice, tortilla's and most milk products. Healthy foods like cauliflower, chicken, turkey, fish are all exceptions.

2. Don't eat anything with the word wheat in the ingredients list. Even if it's whole wheat, absolutely no Wheat Products ZERO, ZIP! It's only 14 days you can do this.

3. Only drink water, and herbal teas without sugar or dairy products added.You create a total imbalance in your body when you use these empty calories.

Saying “Sugar is bad for you” is an understatement.

Sugar is considered empty calories because it doesn't have any vitamins and minerals. It is no wonder you feel so sluggish and heavy all the time when this lifeless ingredient is found in so many of the foods you eat.

Sugar is rapidly converted in the blood to fat (triglycerides), which increase obesity, risk of heart disease, and diabetes. Sugar greatly increases the risk of dental decay. It is devoid of vitamins, minerals, or fibre; it is an empty food.

Here's what happens when you eat sugar: First the body goes into a "sugar shock" spiking insulin levels and creating a brief energy rush. After the body recovers from the shock, it starts working furiously to recover its internal balance by the raiding of vital nutrients in order to process sugar. This can lead to our bodies becoming acidic. In other words... sugar can alter our entire blood chemistry research shows that just two teaspoons of sugar can throw off your chemical balance.

You will be amazed at how fast you lose weight with these 3 simple Rules!
YOU CAN DO IT!

Set Your Personal Best Goal Fitness Goal!

2011-01-30T21:10:00.000-07:00

The Next Time You Workout at the gym or on your personal walk or run.
Try to set a personal record or change your workout in order to maximize results. I know from experience that this principle works, and should guide your workouts as well.

So, the next time you’re training, don’t be complacent. Push yourself, and don’t waste an opportunity to realize your potential.

However, when pushing yourself, be safe, and do not sacrifice your form for additional weight.

How to Lose Weight with "Portion Control & Exercise"

2011-01-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

One of the key ways to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight is through portion control. Research has shown that Americans often underestimate how many calories they are consuming each day by as much as 25%. You may have been one of the millions who have tried the “Low-carbohydrate (diet) which has come and gone, but portion control is here to stay.

Portion control is key to weight control. By cutting back on how much of each food you eat at every meal, your calorie intake drops. Instead of being overwhelmed by the idea of a diet and swearing off your favorite foods, strive to control the serving sizes of the foods you already eat.

“It’s an approach you can live with your whole life".

Eating out presents problems because of the trend to supersize serving portions. What to do? Request a half order or plan to take half your serving home for the next day.

In the United States, about 650 people out of 1,000 are overweight or obese. Healthwise, this means they’re more likely to suffer from life-threatening illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

Practice portion control, and exercise!

Portion Control For Weight Loss

Dieting, but not losing weight?

2011-01-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

After a few weeks of dieting do you experience trouble losing more weight?

Here are 4 reasons why the human body adapts to our workouts that can contribute to slow weight loss.

1. Physiological effects: a decrease in metabolic rate after we reduce our calorie intake, caused from loss of protein & hormonal changes.

2. Exercise effects, our energy system when we continually do the same exercise-less calories are burned because it’s no longer the same challenge as it was when we were first learning. Now our energy expenditure is less and we burn less calories.

3. Exercising too hard too soon forces cells to burn more carbohydrates and less fat.

4. Rapid reduction of food intake triggers starvation mode lowers metabolism quickly Skipping meals too often may produce intense food cravings caused by lower blood sugar levels.

What are the Energy Drink Dangers?

2010-11-05T16:00:00.000-06:00

Do You Know Anyone That Uses Energy Drinks, Caffeine or Other Stimulants to "GET GOING"?

The caffeine that is found in energy drinks is dangerous enough on its own. Not only is caffeine addictive, it acts as both a stimulant and a diuretic. As a stimulant, caffeine can make you have anxiety attacks, heart palpitations, and insomnia.

There are two things that must be kept in mind when we are talking about the side effects of the energy drinks.

Side effects are caused by the combination of the ingredients used for making the drink. The Monster energy drink is also made of a certain combination.

This combination consists of carbohydrates that can cause the body absorption of nutrients and food into the bloodstream to become more difficult. This means that the person drinking too much of the energy drink can encounter gastrointestinal issues.

Second, not only nutrients are harder to be absorbed in the body, but also the fluids. This means that hydration cannot be made at the optimal rate, also causing health problems. This hydration issue must concern especially athletes, whose bodies lose an important quantity of water during training. They should be careful about the intake of this energy drink, especially since it is designed for them.

The Monster energy drink is also rich in sugar. Once in the body, the product brings a lot of sugar, which is transferred into the bloodstream. When the effect of the energy drink wear off and the sugar level in the blood drops, this can be quite visible and the person consuming the product can feel it quite well. Also, some laxative effect can occur.

Other side effects of the Monster energy drink is strongly related to the caffeine it contains.

Red Bull Can Give You a Stroke This Report May Surprise You!

It Did Me! Just one can of the popular stimulant energy drink
Red Bull can increase your risk of heart attack or stroke.

The effect was seen even in young people. The caffeine-loaded beverage causes blood to become sticky, a pre-cursor to cardiovascular problems such as stroke.

One hour after drinking Red Bull, your blood system becomes abnormal,

as might be expected from a patient with cardiovascular disease.

Red Bull is banned in France, Norway, Uruguay and Denmark because of health risks. Energy drinks have been popping up all over supermarket and convenience store shelves in recent years, and have overtaken bottled water as the fastest-growing category in the beverage business.

No less than 3.5 billion cans of Red Bull were sold last year in 143 countries. Yet questions regarding the safety of Red Bull, as well as other energy drinks, keep cropping up at regular intervals.

Science Daily Reports that:

A ten-year study showed that girls who drank soda at age five had diets that were less likely to meet nutritional standards for the duration of the study, which ended at age 15. Girls who did not drink soda at age five did not meet certain nutritional requirements, but their diets were healthier.
Read the full report here.

Make sure you change your fitness workouts! Add Variety To Your Fitness Routine.

2010-08-18T12:30:00.000-06:00

Do you find yourself doing the same work out without any variety?
It's Time To Change Up Your Routine.

Your body adapts to your workouts as it gets stronger.

So, if you don't keep challenging it, you most likely won't be getting the results you want.

Make sure to add strength training 2-3 days per week to your fitness plan.

Add 20 minutes of interval training on the treadmill: walk for two minutes, then sprint for 30 to 60 seconds as fast as you can. Repeat throughout your 20 to 30 minute workout.

Speed Circuit Try this for amazing results:
(use treadmill, bike, or elliptical).

Start with a 4 minute warm up (cardio machine) then immediately

3 minutes strength training: work two different muscle groups in this 3 minutes (1 1/2 minute) per strength machine or free weights. (different ideas for your 3 minutes of strength: lunges, squats, abs, biceps, triceps, pull ups, chest press, lats try to work all major muscle groups throughout your workout)

then immediately go back to 3 minutes cardio (if you did treadmill for the warm up, you may want to switch to cycling, or elliptical throughout your workout remember to add incline and speed to challenge yourself.

Repeat this 6 times! Cool down and stretch.
If you get bored easily, do 10 minutes on the elliptical, 10 minutes running on the treadmill, followed by 10 minutes of biking.

Get a personal trainer. This is a great option if you need that extra push (and can afford it). Working one-on-one with someone will help keep you on track during each workout and evaluate your progress.

Weight loss is a powerful motivator to get fit! What Is Anaerobic - Aerobic

2010-08-14T15:02:00.001-06:00

Exercise is a critical component of good health

Especially as you age.

Exercise will help you:

Sleep better
lose weight
gain weight
or maintain weight, depending on your needs.
Improve your resistance to fight infections Lower your risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes
Help your brain work better, making you smarter.

Weight loss is a powerful motivator that can get people to start exercising.

Here are some other great benefits:

A reduced risk of cancer
Less back pain
Prevention of Alzheimer’s disease
A natural treatment for depression
A reduced risk of high blood pressure

How To Start the Right Exercise Program for Your Body
Find the right level of exercise for you by the way you feel after a workout.

You should feel GOOD after you exercise.

If you feel exhausted, nauseous, shaky or otherwise are in pain, you have done something that did not help your body. And, very possibly, you have overdone it or violated some other principle that was not good for your body at that time.

So trust your body and listen to the gentle -- and sometimes not so gentle -- feedback it gives you. Likewise, if you feel like you’ve hardly broken a sweat, you may need to increase your exertion level.

Aerobic, Anaerobic....what is the difference?
"Aerobic means 'with oxygen" any exercise where you are able to maintain a controlled breath is aerobic. A controlled breath doesn't necessarily mean you are doing an easy workout - you can have an elevated heart rate and a heavy breath and still be in control. These are exercises that you can maintain for an extended period of time (10 minutes or more). When you are doing aerobic exercise your body is using oxygen to produce energy (ATP). This is a very efficient and effective way to produce energy for the body and is a great way to burn calories.

"Anaerobic means 'without oxygen". This means that you are gasping for breath and unable to maintain the effort for more than 45 seconds to a minute. Anaerobic exercises can include such exercises such as sprinting - but for those just getting back into exercise even fast walking can send you into an anaerobic state. When you are exercising anaerobically you are no longer using oxygen to produce energy (ATP). You are now using glucose stored in your muscles. One of the results of anaerobic exercise is lactic acid build-up in the muscles which ultimately makes you stop the exercise. Although anaerobic exercises do have their place - for those of you who are really focused on weight loss these types of exercises are not necessarily a major focus for you.

Try exercising with burst of 30 to 60 seconds of anaerobic!

Top 10 Health & Fitness Tips

2010-08-02T20:31:00.000-06:00

1. Keep active with regular exercise

2. Do not starve yourself when attempting to lose weight

3. Lower calorie intake gradually, lowering calories to much too soon doesn't give you much adjustment when weight slows

4. Consume plenty of low calorie, high fiber foods

5. Consume more natural foods high in complex carbohydrates and reduce highly processed foods loaded with extra fat, sugars and salt

6. If doctor approves try weight training to help the body hold on to lean weight while losing fat

7. Try to change workout routines and gradually challenge the body to adapt to higher levels

8. Don't train too hard too soon, gradually build up intensity levels as fitness levels increase

9. After a few weeks of exercising try to work the whole body during each workout to boost calorie burning

10. Stay hydrated, drink lots of room temp water!

Top 5 Fitness Mistakes That Will Mess Up Your Workouts!

2010-07-24T13:00:00.001-06:00

Top 5 Fitness mistakes to avoid!

1. If you are reading on the treadmill: STOP just 10 minutes of vigorous workout equals 30 minutes of slow walking.

2. Stay hydrated during your workouts: Don't drink cold water room temperature water is recommended.

3. Change up your workouts: Your body will adapt to your workouts. It's important to challenge yourself often by changing it up every 6 to 8 weeks.

4. Don't skip workouts: Even when you don't think you have time, you do. Even 10 minutes of exercise has an impact on the body,

5. Don't Work Out Every Day: Your body needs the rest and recovery time to rebuild and be at its best. The rest period is for rebuilding muscle tears and easing muscle soreness.

Remember you are never too old to exercise!

The most important time to stretch is after your workout, not before.

8 Health and Fitness Tips To Break Bad Habits

2010-07-21T18:38:00.001-06:00

Are you doing too much cardio?

Yes, you can do too much exercise and if preserving and building muscle
mass is one of your fitness goals (it should be) doing more than 45 to 60
minutes of aerobics a day or more than five to six sessions a week can
actually lead to muscle loss.

Muscle loss equals a lower metabolism and less ability to burn fat. While not enough aerobic exercise is a minus, doing too much is too.

8 Tips for breaking a bad habits.

1. Essential first steps include recognizing the habit.

2. This is really the removal of denial. A common belief is that the habit is
the enemy – but it’s important to recognize that the habit is part of
who you currently are.

3. Other beliefs might involve low self-esteem, hostility towards groups of
people or things, ideas about punishment or self and others, and so on.
These limiting beliefs must be discovered, explored, and dismantled. This
is what frees up the way for change.

4. Be kind to yourself. DO NOT punish yourself when you lapse. Just smile,
and get back to it.

5. Find yourself a support structure to supplement your own willpower and
energy. A group of friends, a slimming club, etc.

6. Be goal-focused – not problem focused – so think about how things
will be when (yes when) your habit is gone – don’t dwell on how bad
things are now.

7. Find a way to energise your positive goal – what that means for you
depends on you and your goal – it might be an inspiring picture for you
to look at, reminding you of your goal.

8. Find a way to maintain focus on your goal to break this habit. Maybe
you can pin a note above your bathroom mirror.

When is a Good Time to Start?
There is only ever one good time to start working on a better life for
yourself.

And that time is NOW. Write down your fitness and health goals!

Write down 3 excuses you are using to avoid making the changes you need to
succeed.
1._______________________________________________________
2._______________________________________________________
3._______________________________________________________

How have these excuses affected your life? What have the excuses stopped
you from achieving? Write down 3 very important things that you have missed
out on because you've allowed yourself to make excuses.
1._______________________________________________________
2._______________________________________________________
3._______________________________________________________

Notice how you feel when you fall victim to one of your self-sabotaging
excuses?

Now give yourself the permission to change. "Envision the rewards you will
get when you make the change to your life and habits. Give yourself a
powerful list of reasons for fixing the habit.
1._______________________________________________________
2._______________________________________________________
3._______________________________________________________

Too much estrogen can cause big problems including weight gain.

2010-07-08T10:00:00.000-06:00

Is Your Shampoo and Conditioner Interfering With

Your Hormones and Making You Fat?

I just finished reading Dr. Mercola's article on this: To read the entire article visit here. The EPA has found synthetic hormone-disrupting chemicals in shampoo preservatives and many of them can be found in products that claim to be ‘natural’ and ‘organic.’ Check your products safety here.

The most disturbing of these is antimicrobial preservatives called parabens which have proven to disrupt your endocrine system.

So what is an endocrine disruptor and why should it concern you?

It all boils down to this: they mimic, disrupt or block the actions of your hormones and interfere with your body’s hormonal pathways.

And when you consider the fact the endocrine system regulates every function of your body and provides instructions to your body that tell your cells what to do, this can have disastrous consequences.

For instance, one messenger hormone, estrogen, is secreted by ovaries and plays a big part in regulation of fertility, pregnancy, menstruation and fat cell activity.

And too much estrogen can cause big problems including weight gain, fluid retention, and depression.

So what can you do to avoid these parabens?

Check your product labels for these terms:

Propylparaben
Parahydroxybenzoic acid
Parahydroxybenzoate
Methylparaben
Ethylparaben
Butylparaben
Benzyl-parahydroxybenzoic acid
Methyl-parahydroxybenzoic acid
Ethyl-parahydroxybenzoic acid
Propyl-parahydroxybenzoic acid
Butyl-parahydroxybenzoic acid

A safe effective Shampoo and Conditioner you can trust Juni™ by XanGo purchase or learn more about Juni here.

Every ounce of Juni is enriched with an exclusive blend of mangosteen actives, saturating your skin, scalp and follicles with phytonutrient goodness. Combined with pure botanicals and fresh lavender—the signature essential oil blend—Juni calms, cleanses, purifies and hydrates your hair and body. When you use Juni Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, Body Lotion and Body Bar, you’re giving your family the very best in its simplest, purest form.

How To Find Exercises You Can Do If You Have An Injury

2010-06-27T22:50:00.002-06:00

Recently I injured my knee; I was so bummed because one of my favorite things to do was to go jogging in the morning. My first thoughts were there goes my exercise for a month! But, I know that our body starts to lose conditioning within three days of becoming a couch potato, so I had to tell myself it’s time to change my workouts.

If you ever get injured: Depending on your injury, there’s more than one way to reach your fitness goal, most important is to keep moving and find something you can do if your doctor will allow it.

There are plenty of low or no impact exercise options
that can burn fat.

Great DVD Abs of Steel Workouts

Moderate elliptical training, cycling, or jogging in the water

If it’s a serious knee injury and it hurts to bend your knee opt for upper body workouts, hitting a boxing bag to get your heart rate up and upper body and abs.

How To maximize your growth hormone release you need to:

• Get a good night's sleep

• Avoid a high fat meal prior to exercising

• Drink plenty of water

• Eat healthy carbs (think vegetables) and high quality protein

• Optimize your vitamin D levels

• Avoid sugar, especially fructose

If you consume sugar or fructose, especially within two hours post-exercise, you will increase somatostatin which will in turn obliterate the production of growth hormone!

This is yet another example of why gulping down sports drinks that are chockfull of high fructose corn syrup can do your body more harm than good, and will just shut down your body's production of HGH and negate many of the benefits from your exercise.

Make sure to include stretching into your fitness routine: Learn more here http://www.stretchingusa.com

How to Breakthrough The Weight Loss Challenge 5 things you must do.

2010-06-15T20:35:00.000-06:00

How to Breakthrough The Weight Loss Challenge

Losing weight doesn’t have to be hard. If you are making a conscience effort to lose weight, this article will give you weight loss tips so you can lose weight and keep it off.

1. Breakfast is essential. Breakfast kick starts your metabolism for the day. Don't SKIP BREAKFAST.

2. Drink lots of water. I'm sure that you have heard this one many times. Water helps to flush out toxins and you will usually feel fuller and healthier. The more water you drink the less your body will tell you that it wants something in the stomach. Kick-Start your day with a large glass of water. Water should be the first thing you put in your body daily..

3. Stay away from soft drinks and energy drinks. Drinking all those fizzy drinks and colas is like consuming liquid sugar. They have no nutritional value - just useless calories and chemicals that make you gain weight and have no nutritional value.

4. Eat fresh fruits & vegetables. Instead of taking fruit juices, which contain lots of sugar. Sugar contains a lot of extra calories you don't need when you trying to lose weight quickly. Fruit juice offers no nutritional benefit over whole fruit. In fact, fruit juices lack the fiber of whole fruit which is needed by the body.

5. Make sure to finish your last meal at least two to three hours before bed. This allows for proper digestion and less chance of weight gain. Your last meal should consist mainly of a low-calorie and lean protein, fibrous carbohydrates (fruits and veggies) - avoid all starchy carbs close to bedtime (pastas, breads, potatoes, rice, etc.) Switch from white rice to brown rice.

If you have tried the HCG Diet I would love to hear your results and your thoughts on how this diet worked for you.

5 Reasons Why you should learn to love spin classes!

2010-06-11T14:23:00.000-06:00

What you may hear or say when you attend a Spinning Class!

My bum gets sore…

I feel claustrophobic…

it’s too hard…..

my legs will get big!

These are some comments often heard after a first attempt at a spin or RPM class. But I encourage you not to give up on your first try. It takes at least three attempts to get into the swing of a cycling class.

What is a cycling/spin/RPM class?

It is a cardiovascular class done on stationary bikes to music.

Spinning will increase your fitness levels, burn fat, and tone and shape your legs, hips and butt. You will gain leg strength and muscular endurance without building bulk.

5 Reasons WHY you should learn to love spin classes!

1. It’s an awesome fat burner and fitness booster. You will burn more calories in this class than any other when you put in max effort. In my spinning class I use the interval training style takes your heart rate up, then gives you a (short) rest, so you can do it all again. This is scientifically proven to be one of the most efficient ways to increase your fitness. Increased fitness equals more energy, faster metabolism, stronger joints and works your legs and glutes!

2. It’s low impact so safer on your joints. If you are a little on the heavy side, running might make you feel like your joints get the hardest workout, not your muscles. Cycling with your feet secured on the pedal is called a closed kinetic chain activity. This keeps you hips knees and ankles in alignment, reducing/preventing injury and allowing your muscles to be loaded in the right places.

3. You can’t help but work harder. Look around the spinning room. These people are working hard. Yes you can rest, slow your pedal speed, reduce your resistance, but you’ll get going again. Pumped up music, encouraging words from you instructor, and the comfort of knowing that everyone else is sharing your pain, makes you feel like trying that little bit harder. You will feel so proud of your accomplishment and feel confident to try even harder next time.

4. No coordination required. Men, this a class where you don’t need a dance certificate to participate! You’re locked in, the bike won’t fall over, and all you need to do is turn the resistance dial and sometimes stand up off the seat.

5. Every level of fitness can participate in any spinning class. The resistance knob can be adjusted to your level and if you can’t keep up with the instructors pedal revolutions, it’s no big deal, just slow down. Other classes may need you to be fitter, stronger, coordinated, or flexible. Cycling classes grow with your fitness. The fitter you get, the faster you pedal and the higher you dial up your resistance.

Stop Yo Yo Diet, Learn Why It Just Doesn't WORK!

2010-06-10T12:23:00.001-06:00

I just read a great article on why YO YO Diets Don't Work!

The articles gives a great explanation to help you understand why!

Constant yo-yo dieting makes it harder to keep the weight off because when your body mass decreases by 10 percent or more, it ends up slowing down your metabolism by 11 to 15 percent.
Read this full article here!

Stay away from fads that promise quick fixes.

Here Are 5 Better alternatives:

1. Aim for realistic weight loss goals
2. Decrease calorie consumption at a slower pace
3. Don't skip breakfast
4. Modifying activity levels to sustain muscle mass while losing weight
5. Taking a good look at what, when, and why you eat!

5 Overrated and Underrated Foods

2010-06-09T21:20:00.002-06:00

Are You Someone Trying To Lose Weight, and Wonder Why You Can't? Read this article!

5 Overrated and Underrated Foods
Written by by Bonnie Liebman and Jayne Hurley, May 2010

Bonnie & Jayne I just read the information you posted in your article. Great research and information to help people who are struggling to lose weight understand how many calories are hidden in the so called health food!

Alert: Protein drinks What YOU Need To Know

2010-06-06T17:05:00.000-06:00

Some protein drinks can even pose health risks, including exposure to potentially harmful heavy metals, if consumed frequently.

Consumer Reports Investigation including tests at an outside laboratory of 15 protein drinks, a review of government documents, and interviews with health and fitness experts and consumers, found most people already get enough protein, and there are far better and cheaper ways to add more if it's needed.

All drinks in our tests had at least one sample containing one or more of the following contaminants: arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. Those metals can have toxic effects on several organs in the body.

READ the full article Consumer Reports Investigation scroll down to article on protein powder.

The Most Asked Fitness Question is:

2010-06-04T17:05:00.000-06:00

Can you guess what fitness question is asked most from fitness professionals?

Did you guess "How do I Reduce my Stomach Fat"?

Everyone wants to know the mystery of reducing stomach fat. Millions of people try with the newest gimmick ab machines, crash diets, and fancy exercise programs.

Thanks to certain genetic coding many people store extra fat in the mid-section which happens to be the last place which fat loss is noticed simply because besides a balanced diet and training, reducing stomach fat often boils down to a simple decision you can easily make...

Another question often asked is "Should I spend 30 minutes doing crunches or 30 minutes on the StairMaster"?

The simple scientific truth is if you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight and vice versa.

There are various ways to create the caloric deficit needed to lose weight permanently but the most simple and relevant way to answer the question of how to lose weight is eat to less, exercise more or preferably a combination of both.

There are 3 different muscles in your mid section.

Rectus Abdominis
Your abdominals are the large muscle from your chest to your waist which look like a "six pack." Even though the rectus abdominis is a single muscle, exercises often attempt to isolate the upper or lower abs.

Your rectus abdominis concentrically flexes your lumbar spine (crunch motion). It also helps stabilize your core in certain instances.

Transverse Abdominis

Your transverse abdominis (TVA) or core muscle is a deep stabilizer of the spine. It helps stabilize your spine by building up intra-abdominal pressure and also pulls in at the belly button creating a tighter mid section.

Obliques

You also have internal and external obliques on both sides of your stomach. Your internal and external obliques work together to flex and rotate your lumbar spine in all 3 planes of motion.

What you must know is "There is no such thing as spot reduction". Not one abdominal exercise by itself or in combination will burn fat from your mid section.

Abdominal exercises are great for strengthening your mid section which may cause a tightening the waist, slimming, effect which could reduce waistline, but you will not go from "flab to fab" with any of the ab exercises.

3 Fitness tips to include in your workouts every week.

2010-05-30T19:45:00.000-06:00

Make sure you are weight lifting 3 times a week.

Cardio 3-5 times a week at least 20 - 40 minutes (fast walking, jogging, cycling, eliptical, change up your workouts if you usually bike, take a brisk walk next workout.)

Stretching 3-5 times a week or as often as you can, you may want to try a gentle yoga class!

No Energy to workout? Ask Yourself These 4 Questions.

2010-05-30T16:25:00.002-06:00

Have you ever said to yourself or someone else

"I don't have enough energy to workout"

If you have then it's time to take a good look at your sleeping, dietary and workout habits.

Ask yourself these 4 questions:

Do I get at least seven to eight hours of sleep at night?
Am I eating healthy quality calories from nutritious foods and beverages?
What is your workout frequency?
Do you have overtraining symptoms including lethargy?

Exercise has been shown to increase energy levels and

leave people feeling better about themselves
and more energized.

7 Tips How To Fit-Fitness Into Your Schedule Without Going To The Gym.

2010-05-20T15:07:00.001-06:00

How important is exercise to you? And if it's not, why not?

Do you really lack the time to exercise is there some other reason you're not fitting in workouts?

Exercise is just like anything else but, unless it's important to you,

you're never going to make time for it.

People who exercise don't necessarily have more time than you, they've just determined that what they're getting out of exercise is worth more. Without your health, it's tough to enjoy life.

7 Tips on staying fit without going to the gym!

1. Buy arm weights for your home. Arm weights can be used while you're watching TV or talking on the phone. Start with 8-pound weights and do three sets of 15 bicep curls each day. After two months, graduate to 12- or 15-pound weights, and add another exercise to your repertoire.

2. Buy a fitness video. A 15-minute aerobic routine is an excellent, quick way to bring cardio into your life. Or if Pilates is more your style, invest in a Pilates video instead. Either way, whether your fitness style is high-impact aerobics or intense yoga, there are lots of great fitness videos that you can use in your own home.

3. Use your lunch hour wisely. A brisk 20-minute walk during your lunch hour is a great fitness solution, especially if you can do it three or four times each week.

4. Take 15 minutes in the morning. Wake up 15 minutes earlier and do arm weights or a quick aerobic video routine.

5. Take 15 at night. Do 50 sit-ups and 50 push-ups 30 Tricep Dips before you go to bed each night or while watching your favorite TV show.

6. Invest in a good pair of walking or running shoes. Having the right equipment means you have one less excuse to avoid working out. Plus, once you glide into those comfy, bouncy new shoes, you'll want to run or walk practically everywhere.

7. Take a walk in the evening. This is an excellent fitness activity to do with a loved one or a close friend. Leave your cell phone behind and it can become a time for bonding and connecting with one another!

The depressing truth about antidepressants.

2010-05-05T15:19:00.002-06:00

Grace was in her 40’s when she first went to see her doctor. She was juggling a career and a family, caring for her aging father, and helping her husband start his own business.

Finances at home were tight since he’d quit his job, putting a strain on their marriage. She was feeling low and tired all the time. She left her doctors office with a prescription for an antidepressant. Four days later, she asked her doctor “Do I really need this?”

As you know we have serious problems in the world today. Depression, stress, anxiety and sleep disorders are concerns of virtually every family. Prescription drug usage has become epidemic and with all of the harmful side effects, it's a dangerous scenario. In fact, let me ask you, do you know anyone who is tired, stressed, depressed or sleep deprived? I think we all do.

There is a recent product discovery (it's all natural) that specifically addresses these problems. 84% of the people who have tried it noticed a difference within the first 7 days over 90% after 2 weeks -- with no side effects. People report that they are feeling happier, more energetic,and sleeping better some have said they lost belly fat and had increased libido.)

Please take five minutes and watch this short video that will give you the scoop on this product and then get back with me.

http://www.ljgethealthy.com/

It’s hard to believe antidepressant prescriptions have more than quadrupled in the past couple of decades, with twice as many women as men — by some estimates over 1 in 10 women in America — now taking one. Advertisements for Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Celexa, Cymbalta, Effexor, and others bombard us everywhere we turn.

The depressing truth about antidepressants.

Most health care practitioners have an average of seven minutes to spend with each patient. As you can understand, seven minutes isn’t nearly enough time to talk about a person’s emotional state. We can’t blame conventional doctors for how over-reliant on antidepressants our society has become — our medical system is broken, and antidepressants are a Band-Aid attempt to alleviate miserable symptoms. But in the end, any emotional concerns, including depression, anxiety or mood changes deserve more attention than seven minutes, and I encourage you to give yourself that attention.

There’s good reason to take some time with the decision whether to take antidepressants or not.
For one, antidepressants can cause several surprising side effects.

Here are just Some side effects of SSRI antidepressants
restlessness
anxiety
sexual dysfunction
marked changes in appetite
weight gain or loss
panic attacks
insomnia
fatigue or sleepiness
drug interactions
increased risk of bleeding disorders, such as GI bleeding,
bruising, and nosebleeds

Here is a short video where you can learn more about a natural solution without side effects here.

5 Reasons To Maintain A Healthy DIET

2010-04-09T20:00:00.002-06:00

Be pro-active in your health, Be unstoppable! But not obsessed with fitness. Obsession is harmful in all facets of life. We exercise for a better life, we don't live to exercise.

Your FIRST step in changing your habits is to change your attitude!

Change how you look at food--Learn to control your food intake and have more energy!

YOU need consistency! YOU need a cause! FIND a cause that will keep you motivated to change.

Here's 5 Reasons To Maintain a Healthy Diet:

1• The way your body feels after a healthy meal will become more important to you than the instant pleasure of having something loaded with fat or sugar.

2• Take it from someone who used to love diet coke and junk food, you can live without chips and Cokes and you'll gladly give those things up once you experience how great your body feels after healthier meals.

3• By not indulging every time you want a treat, you'll enjoy it even more.

4• Food becomes FUEL rather than something that controls your life. If you exercise, you'll learn very quickly how food affects your workouts. Eating a heavy, fatty meal makes you tired and your workouts suffer. Want better workouts? Simply you MUST eat better.

5• Being a good role model for your kids or co-workers is one way to teach them how to live healthy.

These changes come over time, sometimes weeks, months or years of slowly working on your habits and choices.

8 Fitness Myths Busted!

2010-04-07T18:21:00.000-06:00

Here are a few myths about fitness:

Is Spot reducing possible? "It's simply not possible to 'burn off' fat in one specific body part by exercising that area," Many studies have tried to dispute this claim, but none of any scientific value has proven that spot reducing is possible. At best you might lose some water weight in the area to give the impression that you indeed did "spot reduce". Rehydrate and you will see those stubborn inches "magically" reappear. Only regular exercise -- aerobic and strength training (weight lifting) -- and a sensible diet can melt body fat.

If you exercise, you can eat whatever you want. If you really want to lose weight and get into shape, do not use exercise as an excuse to eat more. Continue to eat a healthy diet, with lots of fruits and vegetables. When you train you build more muscle and the more calories you will burn at rest.

Exercise requires a huge time commitment. As little as 30 minutes a day works when you're in health-and-fitness maintenance mode, and 60 minutes a day will help you lose weight. "I spend 40 minutes a day 5 days a week". If you are not looking to be the next Mr.Olympia, 40 minute workouts is enough. If you are performing the exercises correctly, with great intensity, and combining the workouts with proper rest and proper nutrition.

There's a secret diet or a secret workout out there to get you in shape quickly. There is no quick fix. There are ways to train that can help maximize your time in the gym and the benefits you will drive from your workouts, but there is no quick fix. Most important is to "believe in yourself, believe in the process, stay the course, and you will look the best you ever looked before!"

Exercising at high intensity burns more fat. "This is a particularly confusing topic for some people," "Many people have thought that higher intensity means burning more fat. Well, you can burn more fat this way, you will burn more calories this way, but you also run the risk of burning more muscle this way too. If you burn hard earned muscle, the ultimate result will be a slower metabolic rate and in the long run you will be less lean than if you worked out at a lower intensity for more time.

Women who lift weights will get bulky muscles. Women don't have enough of the "male" hormone testosterone to develop large, bulky muscles. Strength training will not cause women to build muscles, although steroids might. I hear the same things from men who state that "they don't want to get too big". You can not get too big by accident. Putting on muscle takes dedication, hard work, and a plan.

Muscle weighs more than fat. "A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat. " The difference is that muscle is much more dense than body fat. Therefore, a pound of muscle will take up much less room in your body than a pound of fat."

No pain, no gain. It is important to know what is good pain and what is bad pain. Often beginners have not learned the difference here. It's OK to push yourself to fatigue, tax your heart, lungs, muscles, feel the burn, -- but be reasonable.

Don't push yourself so hard that you have to miss sessions, and even worse,

possibly risk an injury.

10 Major Reasons Why People Do Not Lose Weight

2010-04-06T18:57:00.000-06:00

1. Eating too much. If you finish what’s on your plate and then the plates of others, or if you always have seconds, you’re in trouble. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to receive the signal that your stomach is full, so stop eating before you’re full and wait at least 10 minutes before having seconds.

2. Portion distortion. Maintaining a healthy weight means eating the right foods in the right amounts. You’ll save yourself a lot of calories and a few pounds.

3. Drinking your calories. Beer, soda, and energy drinks have no nutritional value and can cause dehydration.

4. Snacking on unhealthy foods. Food is fuel for your body. Treat your body like the amazing machine that it is.

5. Eating late at night. Late night Hagen-Dazs binges are not going to help that expanding mid-section. If you must have a late night snack, consider healthy alternatives like almonds and fruit.

6. Not eating breakfast. A quick and easy breakfast that is a combination of carbohydrates and protein is all you need. Oats, Whole Grains Steel Cut Oats, Egg whites (with 1 egg yoke) Cottage cheese, fruit, and a slice of whole wheat toast will keep your engine running until your mid-morning snack.

7. Eating whatever you want. As an adult, your body’s metabolism has changed significantly from that of the teenager you once were, so you must adjust your caloric intake accordingly. To compute your caloric needs, click here.

8. Eating processed foods. Too many hotdogs, lunch meats, canned ravioli, and frozen dinners and neither should you. Instead, eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.

9. Not drinking enough water. Factors such a physical activity and climate increase your water needs.

10. Not eating enough. Skipping meals or not eating enough at meals, leads to overeating later. Eating five to six small meals a day, spaced two to three hours apart is really the healthiest way to eat.

Don't Skip Breakfast- get better results! Are you getting enough Protein in your diet?

2010-03-28T20:10:00.000-06:00

One of the most important things you can do to fuel your body is
"Eat a full breakfast".
Wake up early enough to eat a full breakfast.

When you eat and what you eat can affect your performance and the way you feel while you're exercising.

Don't workout hungry. If you start exercising in an energy deficit, your body is likely to preserve fat and perform poorly.

If you are going to have a tough workout, drink juice, fruit, whole grain bread or pasta to take in some calories.

To help your muscles recover and to replace their glycogen stores, eat a meal that contains both protein and carbohydrates within two hours of your exercise session if possible.

Avoid going for long periods of time without eating.

Here is a list of foods that are high in protein-
▪ Skinless Turkey Breast – 94% protein
▪ Shrimp – 90% protein
▪ Red snapper – 87% protein
▪ Crab – 86% protein
▪ Halibut – 80% protein
▪ Beef sweetbreads – 77% protein
▪ Steamed clams – 73% protein
▪ Lean pork tenderloin – 72% protein
▪ Beef heart – 69% protein
▪ Broiled tuna – 68% protein
▪ Veal steak – 68% protein
▪ Sirloin beef steak – 65% protein
▪ Chicken livers – 65% protein
▪ Skinless chicken breasts – 63% protein
▪ Beef liver – 63% protein
▪ Lean beef flank steak – 62% protein
▪ Lean pork chops – 62% protein
▪ Mussels – 58% protein

Healthy snack ideas.

Berries, especially blueberries, made the list of more experts than any other food. Berries are loaded with phytonutrients, antioxidants and fiber, and are low in sugar. Mix a bowl of berries with a piece of string cheese for the perfect pre-workout snack. The string cheese has 8 grams of protein, some fat to keep hunger at bay and only about 80 calories. And it's an excellent source of calcium.

Turkey and grapes. It's a perfect match of protein, carbs and low calories to take the edge off your hunger and prime your exercise pump. Four small slices of deli-packaged turkey contain only 87 calories but give you more than 14 grams of protein, plus some of the cancer-fighting mineral selenium to boot. A cup of grapes adds some carbs to the mix together with all the health-giving phytochemicals grapes are known for. Go for fresh turkey whenever possible as the packaged kind is high in sodium and go for red or purple grapes as they have more antioxidants.

This is one of my favorite snacks, period. I take some hearts of celery and fill in the groove with some organic almond butter or peanut butter. This snack really travels well in Tupperware and makes a terrific pre-workout snack. Why? The celery has fiber and nutrients (including calcium and vitamin A) 6 calories per medium stalk. The nut butter has protein and fat. The overall calories are low, and this really fills you up without slowing you down, providing great "slow-release" energy for a terrific workout.

Put apple with almonds. The apple is the perfect food for a pre-exercise snack. The sugar load is moderate, it contains valuable pectin fiber which slows the entrance of that sugar into the bloodstream, and it's a nutritional powerhouse containing vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Combine it with about a dozen almonds, which add some fat and protein, to further slow the entrance of the sugar into the bloodstream for sustained energy, and keep hunger away.

Whey protein is my favorite kind of protein powder. Not only is it extremely high-quality, bioavailable protein; it supports the immune system by providing the building blocks for glutathione, arguably the body's most important antioxidant. And studies indicate that whey protein may boost weight loss efforts. According to one French study, eating whey before exercise supports fat burning and may help with gaining or maintaining lean body mass. I suggest a whey protein shake made with either water alone or with frozen berries. The berries add fiber, nutrients and some extra carbohydrates, and make for a more delicious drink.

Try this awesome healthy snack, replace icecream with these healthier choices:
Freeze your grapes, blueberries, rasberries, sliced mango's they make a great healthy snack.

Power Fruits To Help You Power Through Your Fitness Workouts.

2010-03-20T19:00:00.000-06:00

Try eating a Banana right before/during exercise.

Bananas have potassium and calcium, which increase muscle contraction and allow you to work harder/lift more.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

Bananas also relieve cramps and will help you to be less sore.
Also, if you eat a small amount of parsley (yes parsley, the little green leaf) before your workout, it will aid in your potassium absorption ability, giving you am even better workout!

When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around.

"If you like to go for long runs"

Before you start eat some Blackberries!

This wonderful fruit not only has very powerful health benefits through its antioxidant content, but it also helps cure inflammation and promotes oxygen in the body.

When your running, you need oxygen, and wouldn't it be great if your body didn't get tired/inflamed halfway?

Blackberries are great for you,
and great for improving your workout regime!

Inflammation, silent killer. Learn how it can affect your health.

2010-03-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

How do you know if you have inflammation?

11 symptoms associated with low-grade chronic inflammation.
• body aches and pains
• congestion
• frequent infections
• diarrhea
• dry eyes
• indigestion
• shortness of breath
• skin outbreaks
• swelling
• stiffness
• weight gain/obesity

One of the main reason you put on more weight when you are under stress is due to a hormone in your body called cortisol.

Cortisol is released in much higher quantities than normal when you are stressed out, which increases your blood pressure and blood sugar level. This can be a major contributor to you gaining weight.

People who are stressed out are not likely to lose weight. We don't feel this inflammation yet it gradually damages the ability to gain energy from food consumed. Over time, the inflammation promotes diseases regarding the circulatory system and type 2 diabetes.

Inflammation makes people fat by eating creating wear on the cells causing the cells to become inflamed. When the cells are inflamed, they do not use insulin correctly resulting in weight gain and fat.

The body has natural enzymes that neutralize the free radicals, AGE’s, as well as other damaging substances in the body. The diet rich with processed food damages the body’s natural abilities to remove the hazardous substances leading to the inflammation of the cells and arterioles.

This makes the enzymes fight harder to remove the substances reducing the resistance levels of the body. The body becomes overwhelmed causing people to experience oxidative stress thus leading to the inflammation and weight gain.

To help reduce the possibilities of inflammation reduce the amounts of processed foods consumed. Increase the natural foods of vegetables, lean meats, and fruits. A healthy diet will reduce the changes of the inflammation and excessive weight gain. Diets rich in natural whole grains, fruits, and vegetables also helps to promote weight loss by removing the processed foods that lead the body to storing additional fat and other damaging substances.

Dozens of pharmaceutical drugs have been developed to override the inflammatory cascade, and many more are in the pipeline. NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like Motrin and Aleve disrupt the production of prostaglandins, which are needed to regulate inflammation, constrict or dilate vessels, and much more. Corticosteroids like prednisone, COX-2 inhibitors like Vioxx and Celebrex, and antihistamines each shut down a different inflammatory mechanism, leading to further long-term risks in the body.

The mangosteen fruit is a powerful natural anti inflammatory. A natural solution without negative side effects. Mangosteens are grown in Southeast Asia and have been used for centuries in healing.

Personally I drink Xango 3 times a day! It's a powerful known anti inflammatory that got me off of ibrupofen a few years ago I won't go a day without it. Xango is the only mangosteen juice on the market that uses the whole fruit puree, rind and pericarp of the mangosteen which has xanthones with science and research to back it up. Learn more about Xango here.

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Are you feeling tired before you workout?

2010-02-01T13:19:00.004-07:00

How about a Banana:
Try eating a Banana right before/during exercise.

Bananas have potassium and calcium, which increase muscle contraction and allow you to work harder/lift more.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

Bananas also relieve cramps and will help you to be less sore. If you eat a small amount of parsley (yes parsley, the little green leaf) before your workout, it will aid in your potassium absorption ability, giving you am even better workout!

When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around.

"If you like to go for long runs"
Before you start eat some Blackberries!

This wonderful fruit not only has very powerful health benefits through its antioxidant content, it also promotes oxygen in the body.

When running, you need oxygen, and wouldn't it be great if your body didn't get tired/inflamed halfway? I think so.

Blackberries are great for you, and great for improving your workouts!

2010 Health & Wellness Handbook!

2010-01-11T15:36:00.003-07:00

2010 Handbook: Health, Personality, Society, and Life

Live Life As It Should Be!

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water.

2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.

3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..

4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy

5. Make time to pray.

6. Play more games

7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .

8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day

9. Sleep for 7 hours.

10. Take a 10-30 minutes’ walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:

11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

13. Don't overdo. Keep your limits.

14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.

16. Dream more while you are awake

17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..

18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.

20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

21.. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

23. Smile and laugh more.

24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:

25. Call your family often.

26. Each day give something good to others.

27. Forgive everyone for everything..

28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

30. What other people think of you is none of your business.

31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will.. Stay in touch.

Life:

32. Do the right thing!

33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

34. GOD heals everything.

35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..

36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

37. The best is yet to come..

38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.

39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Overtraining, 14 Warning Signs!

2009-12-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

Just how do you know if you are overtraining?

It's hard to predict overtraining since everyone's body is different. It is important, however, to vary training through the year and schedule in significant rest time.

There have been several clinical studies done regarding over training.
14 warning signs that you may be overtraining.

•Washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy
•Mild leg soreness, general aches and pains
•Pain in muscles and joints
•Sudden drop in performance
•Insomnia
•Headaches
•Decreased immunity (increased number of colds, and sore throats)
•Decrease in training capacity / intensity
•Moodiness and irritability
•Depression
•Loss of enthusiasm for the sport
•Decreased appetite
•Increased incidence of injuries.
•A compulsive need to exercise

People who over train increased their body's cortisol levels and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). DHEA and cortisol are the body's long-acting stress hormones and are antagonistic to each other to some degree.

Normally these hormones are in balance.

They become imbalanced during chronic over training. After proper rest and recovery, the body will reduce its output of cortisol and DHEA to resting levels. This is what happens with short episodes of stress. However, if proper recovery is not obtained such as in chronic over training conditions, the body will continue to make increasingly greater amounts of cortisol, while reducing the amount of DHEA produced.

Elevated Levels of Cortisol Can:

Cause you to crave carbohydrates excessively especially in the evening
Make you feel fatigued and exhausted
Increase cholesterol and triglyceride production
Decrease serotonin levels in your brain which can trigger depression.
Deplete vital vitamins and minerals the body needs for proper function such as the B (aka, stress vitamins), Calcium and magnesium

The consequences of elevated cortisol and reduced DHEA can be devastating. Although the effects from high cortisol and low DHEA levels will vary with each individual and will also be dependent upon genetics, lifestyle and environmental factors.

The Negative Effects May Include:
Reduced growth hormone (GH) release, which related to reduced muscle mass and strength, increased fat tissue, a weakened immune system and other health declines.
Reduce protein synthesis.
Increased protein breakdown, which can lead to muscle loss, bone loss, arthritis, and overall muscle weakness.
Immune system compromise with increased risk to infections, certain and disease.
Thyroid function impairment resulting in decreased metabolism, and increased fat storage.
Glucose utilization and insulin function impairment resulting in higher blood sugar levels.
Salt and water are retention, which can raise blood pressure (this can be deadly if anabolic aids which can also raise blood pressure through fluid retention are also used).

Increased blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels increasing the risk for heart disease.
Disrupted sleep patterns.
Reduced R.E.M. (rapid eye movement)
Over training has also shown to cause an increase in the amount of free radicals within the body. This can serve to exacerbate the catabolic effects of over training, making symptoms worse.

A sports massage can help you recharge overused muscles.
If you are overtraining, the first thing you need to do is reduce or stop your exercise and allow a few days of rest.

Drink plenty of fluids, and alter your diet if necessary.

Crosstraining can help you discover if you are overworking certain muscles and also help you determine if you are just mentally fatigued.

The 5 Most Effective Abdominal Exercises!

2009-11-21T12:00:00.001-07:00

Just because you’re doing stomach crunches doesn’t mean you can skip on the diet and eat anything you want.

If you want to have definition of you ab muscles You need to lose fat. Remember, muscle mass and fat mass are two very different entities. Just because you’re gaining muscles doesn’t mean you’re automatically losing all the fat in your body and get a flat stomach as well.

Focus on the form, not the number!

Most individuals hurry though their stomach crunches, not minding their form. They end up straining their necks and eventually injuring their backs. It’s important to note that a stomach toning exercise is the last thing you’d want to rush. First and foremost, you end up wasting valuable time and effort this way. Secondly, it’s very difficult to recover from neck and spine injury. You might just end up losing more muscle mass in this manner.

Always remember, a good stomach exercise is one that concentrated the tension on your abdominal muscles, not your shoulders and neck. When you’re trying to pull yourself up, work your abdominal muscles. Never strain your neck and back just to sit upright. You don’t really need to sit up when you’re doing crunches. You can stop midway, as long as the pressure on your abs is consistent. Make sure that your chin isn’t touching your chest, and your back is kept straight.

The hand behind your nape is supposed to support your neck, not pull it up further.

25 well formed stomach crunches is definitely more effective compared to 300 hasty ones. The catchphrase in an effective stomach toning exercise routine is “slow but steady”.

#1 Long Arm Crunch

This exercise targets the upper portion of the rectus abdominis.

*Lie on a mat and extend the arms straight out behind the head with hands clasped, keeping the arms next to the ears.

* Contract the abs and lift the shoulder blades off the floor.

* Lower and repeat for 12-16 reps.Exercise

#2 Reverse Crunch

*Lie on the floor and place hands on the floor or behind the head.

* Bring the knees in towards the chest until they're bent to 90 degrees, with feet together or crossed.

* Contract the abs to curl the hips off the floor, reaching the legs up towards the ceiling.

* Lower and repeat for 12-16 reps.

* It's a very small movement, so try to use your abs to lift your hips rather than swinging your legs and creating momentum.

Exercise #3 Full Vertical Crunch

* Lie on your back and extend the legs up towards the ceiling.

* Place hands behind your head (lightly cupping it) and contract the abs to lift the shoulder blades off the floor.

* At the same time, press the heels towards the ceiling, creating a 'u' shape with the torso.

* Lower down and repeat for 12-16 reps.

Exercise #4 Criss Cross

The BicycleThis exercise was found to be the most effective abdominal exercise to target the rectus abdominis (six pack abs) and the obliques (love handles).

* Lie face up on the floor and lace your fingers behind your head.

* Bring the knees in towards the chest and lift the shoulder blades off the ground without pulling on the neck.

* Straighten the left leg out to about a 45-degree angle while simultaneously turning the upper body to the right, bringing the left elbow towards the right knee.

* Switch sides, bringing the right elbow towards the left knee.

* Continue alternating sides in a 'pedaling' motion for 12-16 reps.

Exercise #5 Plank on Elbows and Toes

The plank exercise ranked number 10 in the ACE study and is a great way to build endurance in both the abs and back, as well as stabilizer muscles. To do it right:

* Lie face down on mat resting on the forearms, palms flat on the floor.

*Push off the floor, raising up onto toes and resting on the elbows.

* Keep your back flat, in a straight line from head to heels.

* Tilt your pelvis and contract your abdominals to prevent your rear end from sticking up in the air.

* Hold for 20 to 60 seconds, lower and repeat for 3-5 reps.

Remember to train the abdominals as you would any other muscle group- with at least 24 hours of rest in between. Although these abdominal exercises are wonderful for strengthening the adominals they won't necessarily get rid of the fat tissue. Make sure to eat healthy and perform a variety of cardiovascular activity to enhance the abdominal exercises above. Drink Plenty Of Water!

It takes a healthy diet, strength training & cardio to remove the layers of fat to show off your abs.

What Stress May Be Doing To Your Body!

2009-11-10T12:12:00.001-07:00

Stress can create physiological changes in your body.

Stress can create physiological changes in your skin, heart rate, digestion, joints, muscle energy levels, the hair on your head, and countless cells and systems you don't even know about change with every emotion.

Stress has been discovered to be a major cause of premature aging. When "fight-or-flight" situations become frequent, the skin is consistently starved of both blood and oxygen, making it dull and lifeless, less hydrated and more prone to breakouts and clogged pores.

Under these physiological circumstances, your digestion completely shuts down. So a major problem with eating while your body is under the stress response is that you could be eating the healthiest food in the world, yet you won’t be able to fully digest and assimilate that food, and your body will not be able to burn calories effectively. You’re also more likely to experience increased sensitivity to food and gastro esophageal reflux, or heartburn.

While under stress, your heart rate goes up, your blood pressure rises, and blood is shunted away from your midsection, going to your arms, legs, and head for quick thinking, fighting, or fleeing. It’s important not to eat under stress. When we do our body responds the opposite of how we need it to in order to digest, assimilate nutrients, and burn calories.

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6 Home Remedies You Can Do To Protect Yourself During Flu Season!

2009-10-31T21:21:00.003-06:00

6 Simple Things You Can Do To Stay Healthy During Flu Season!

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. resist all temptations to touch any part of face.

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tami flu has on an infected one. don't underestimate this simple, Inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at Yoga asanas to clean cavities), but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in vitamin C. *If you have to supplement with vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. *Drink as much of warm liquids as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction.

Do You Have Trouble Losing Weight? Stop Eating Late At Night!

2009-10-06T12:00:00.001-06:00

Do You Have Trouble Losing Weight?

Stop Eating Late at Night! If you eat a lot of excess calories after 8 p.m., you wear them the next morning. Put a stop to this by making sure you have a healthy dinner consisting of lean protein, veggies, and fruit.

You can replace your automobile,

but YOU Only Get One Life?

"The most important thing you need to do is get your diet under control.

Without a proper diet, you can forget about losing any fat.

No matter how much exercise you do, or how many supplements or diet pills you take. The simple fact of the matter is that there is no magical exercise or miracle pill that is going to help you drop that extra weight unless you get your diet straightened out.

Should you add whey Protein to your diet?
Whey Protein is not stored as fat as easily as carbohydrates.
Whey Protein helps repair muscle.
Whey Protein helps strengthen your immune system.
Whey Protein helps shorten recovery time between exercise sessions.
Whey Protein decreases your hunger between meals.

Whey Protein helps build new muscle... Did you know if you gain 10 pounds of muscle, you will burn an extra 3500 calories per week? To burn that many calories doing cardio, you'd have to run for an hour each day of the week! To build 10 pounds of muscle, feed your body a high quality whey protein drink 1-3 times a day, and follow my protein tips.

Why whey protein is best: Each type of protein has a specific biological value. The higher the value, the better it works. Whey protein has the highest biological value (bv) of any protein (104). Beef has a bv of (80) and soy protein with a bv of (74). That means whey protein is 23% more effective than beef and 29% more effective than soy protein at helping you body build lean muscle!

The best times to use whey protein are: Between meals for a snack. 1/2 hour prior to weight training or cardio workout. Immediately following intense exercise to help repair muscle.

3 Reasons Why People Gain Weight.

2009-09-02T12:55:00.000-06:00

3 of the main reasons why people become overweight is because of indulging in high calorie diets, lack of exercise or genetic issues that are compounded by our busy lifestyles which ends up creating stress that can lead to unwanted weight.

In today’s society, people are under tremendous pressure and they have no time to eat right or to exercise. This creates a lot of stress in our lives, and can also be one of the major causes of weight gain. We usually end up going to a fast food restaurants whose food is usually high in cholesterol. It's no longer unusual to see entire families eating breakfast, lunch and dinner at fast food restaurants because they simply have no time to go grocery shopping or cook a wholesome meal.

Many of us just don't have the time to stick to our exercise routine, or too busy to plan our meals ahead of time. Today’s society demands a lot from its people. People are working two or three jobs just to make ends meet, go to school and in many cases also have families to take care of. These people come home too tired to exercise or even think of preparing a healthy balanced meal. For many, fast food restaurants are their only option to eat. Fast food is known to not only be addictive, but also has a very high level of cholesterol.

There has to be a consistent routine in order for people to keep their weight loss resolutions. This takes a lot of discipline and lifestyle changes. It can't be approached half-heartedly it has to become a habit and part of your daily routine. Sometimes this involves getting an accountability partner.

A good partner would be someone who wants you to succeed and keeps you on your toes so that you don't relapse into the old habits which were counter-productive. You can also join a weight loss club. There are many of these in each city and you can simply go online and you will find one.

Read this USA Today Article On The Number Of Americans Taking Anti Depressents, it's a serious problem.

Enhance your physical energy and endurance, end fatigue!

2009-08-25T17:33:00.011-06:00

A common thing to do when you feel tired is to reach for a cup of coffee, soda, or some kind of energy or candy bar. I see it all the time, I've done this myself.

What you may not know is that these everyday foods can act like poison in your system especially if you already have a worn down adrenal system.

Caffeine (found in coffee, black tea, and many sodas) contains chemicals called methylxanthins. These chemicals stimulate your central nervous system and give you a quick, but temporary, feeling of energy. However, they also weaken overused adrenal glands, so over time it gets harder and harder to create natural energy.

Candy bars, including many of today’s so-called energy bars, contain one of today’s worst toxins for women — sugar. Sugar depletes your body of B vitamins, disrupts metabolism, and forces your adrenal glands to work harder and harder.

Plus, too much sugar makes fatigue worse by narrowing the diameter of your blood vessels and putting extra stress on your nervous system. Excessive sugar sabotages any weight loss plan.

We also know that women over age 40 experience more trouble with energy and mood than anyone else. For some of us this means feeling tired and unmotivated some of the time. For others, it’s a more constant type of fatigue that affects nearly every part of your life.

Imagine what it would feel like to wake up tomorrow waking feeling so happy, optimistic, and full of life. That's what life is like when you possess one very important physical trait — natural energy. It’s a strong, steady energy that you feel physically, mentally, and emotionally. People with this type of energy tend to be far happier, healthier, and even appear more attractive to others.

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Top 10 Benefits of Interval Training Exercise

2009-08-12T11:00:00.000-06:00

Top 10 Benefits of Incorporating interval training 20-30 minutes 3-4 times a week.

I can't stress enough how much IT WORKS! It can be used for any activity such as walking, jogging, riding a stationary bike,using a treadmill, etc.

In 30 minutes 3 times a week try this workout walk briskly or jog 4 minutes, then push yourself to your max 30 seconds repeat this 6 times and watch your fitness levels change.

The true key to achieving results is to push yourself so your breathing rate increases and you feel out of breath. This “out of breath” feeling sends a signal to your body that it doesn't have enough oxygen.

The body responds by increasing oxygen delivery and leads to a faster metabolism. Not only will you have kick-started your weight loss, but, by creating a more efficient and effective workout, you will have created more energy, increased your cardio capacity and sped up your metabolism.

Before starting your exercise routine always check with your doctor first.

Here are the Top Ten Benefits of Interval Training Exercise.

1. You feel amazing for the rest of the day. With interval training, endorphin production is increased. These naturally occurring endorphins are produced in your brain in response to strenuous exercise. Interval training - due to its short bursts of intense activity - really get the endorphins flowing, and you feel fantastic.

2. Your resting pulse lowers.Resting pulse is a good measure of stroke volume - the amount of blood your heart pumps on each beat. The more blood pumped per beat the LESS your heart needs to beat each minute.

Cardiovascular exercise - over time - increases your stroke volume. Interval training is maximum cardiovascular exercise - and leads very quickly to increased stroke volume. Your heart rapidly increases its efficiency with consistent interval training. Your total lifetime fitness levels increase accordingly.

3. You save wear and tear on your heart. Because interval training increases your heart's stroke volume, your heart beats less during the course of the day to provide the amount of blood you need flowing to your tissues. Less heart beats means less wear and tear. The hypothetical extrapolation is that your heart will last longer because you're doing intense vigorous exercise.

4. You get faster - which is why you're doing interval training in the first place. Faster usually means funner - and you find yourself motoring along during your regular cardio training. Your regular cardio training becomes easier, and you're having more fun while doing it.

5. Climbing hills is easier - this has many benefits. After I began interval training, I noticed I could run faster, increased ability to work out longer.

6. You're stronger and faster in every other form of cardiovascular activity. Having better endurance not only benefits hill climbing. Because your heart is more efficient, swimming, cycling, cross-country skiing, and hiking all just got much easier. You can go faster, longer, and with better energy than ever before.

7. Decreased risk of high blood pressure. Cardiovascular exercise has abundant medical benefits, including decreased susceptibility to heart disease. Interval training, being the most intense form of cardio, offers even greater benefits over time.

8. Lowered cholesterol levels. Again, cardiovascular exercise has consistently been shown to reduce blood cholesterol. Lower cholesterol has many medical benefits, including lowered risk of heart disease, arthritis, and other inflammatory disorders.

9. Stronger immune system. Your immune system responds positively to regular strenuous exercise. Interval training - due to its intense qualities - yields a heightened immune response. People who exercise regularly build-up a "shield" against colds and flu.

10. You get younger. The benefits of exercise are profound and impact both physical and personal aspects of your life. You sleep better. You wake up more refreshed. Your skin glows. Your digestion improves. Overall, you're healthy and well. Your attitude throughout the day becomes consistently positive. You have more ideas. You're more creative. You're more fun to be around.

What Burns More Fat? Running or Weights?

2009-08-10T18:00:00.003-06:00

What burns more fat? Running on the treadmill or 1/2 hr of weights. Running will burn more calories at the moment (perhaps 300 calories for 1/2 hour) but a 1/2 hour session will suck up more calories thoughout the day because the body needs to recover from muscle break down. In addition, the more muscle you have the more your body will metabolize fat and increase your caloric effectiveness. So PUMP UP!

So don't sacrifice good form to use less intensity or more weight. So many people are concerned about how much they can bench press or how much they can curl or how long they can go doing cardio. Who cares? Don't bounce weight, swing the weight or throw the weight, control the weight.

Stay Healthy and Have More Energy, follow these 8 health tips!

2009-07-31T11:30:00.000-06:00

One of the most important things you can do to stay healthy is Portion control.
I'm often asked what to eat to lose weight and build muscle, my answer is always the same, to eat a small balanced meal every three hours to jump start the metabolism and balance blood sugar levels. Eating a small meal is just that - smaller portions.

Often time's people go all day snacking without eating a nutritious meal consisting of lean protein, complex carbohydrate and veggies. By the end of the day when they get home from work they are starving and end up eating the entire pantry filled with sugars, preservatives and sodium. Before they know it an hour of overindulging goes by then soon after painful bloating and indigestion kicks in. The body can only utilize and digest a certain amount of calories in one meal which is between 300 - 500 calories (depending on size and mass) then stores the rest as unwanted fat!

Did you know the body actually prefers less food? There's a reason why you feel lethargic and heavy after consuming too many calories in one meal - it's your body telling you it was over loaded with too many calories, sugars, salts and fats at one time. The best way to know how much food is enough is to eat until you feel satisfied or until you're "almost" full. If you feel you could eat a bit more, stop eating! That feeling is your "red light" signal to push your plate aside. If you have food left on your plate, congratulations! You're well on your way to living a longer, healthier life and that will lead to permanent weight loss success.

Eat Small Meals Frequently
By eating every few hours your body will utilize the needed calories (if you eat clean) and will go into muscle building and fat burning mode as it digests the needed nutrients to build a lean physique.

1. Get enough sleep.

2. Eat breakfast every day. Eat a meal that combines complex carbohydrates with protein, such as an omelette with whole-grain toast or unsweetened cereal with milk.

3. Decrease your sugar intake. Sweet snacks and drinks give you a quick high, but quickly make you feel tired as your blood sugar drops.

4. Cut down on your meat consumption and fat intake; these take a lot of energy to digest.

5. Eat low-fat, high-fiber foods such as whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables.

6. Eat foods that are rich in iron - for example, oysters, green beans and spinach.

7. Drink at least eight glasses of water a day.

8. Cut back on caffeine and avoid overindulging in alcoholic drinks.

How you can instantly accelerate fat loss and more!

2009-07-01T12:00:00.000-06:00

What I'm about to share with you can almost instantly, accelerate fat loss, promote muscle development & strengthening and prolong aerobic capability. Chances are that you are already using it, but not in correct amounts.

Want to know what it is?
It is WATER!
Now, you may say that: ”You aren’t telling me something new.
What you should know about water is that:
• Every physiological process in your body depends on water.
• Dehydration decreases endurance, strength and physical performance.
• Without enough water the body can’t “burn” body fat as efficiently as normally. When dehydrated, the body tries to hold on to as much water as possible. When this happens, the body’s waste products can’t be eliminated and the kidneys become overwhelmed. At this point the liver starts to help remove these waste products, neglecting its own job which includes using stored body fat for energy.
• Water is especially important on moderate to high protein diets. Processing protein produces much metabolic waste that the kidneys can’t remove completely without enough water.
• Drinking lots of water does not make you retain water. In fact the body only retains water when it does not receive enough water.
• Water is the only zero calorie liquid and the only one that properly hydrates you. You should not drink any other liquids for the two reasons above.
Make sure you drink the recommended 8 to 10 glasses of water per day!

When is the best time to eat after your fitness workout?

2009-06-30T14:17:00.000-06:00

For the first thirty minutes after a workout your body is
still ready to exercise; your muscles have been innervated,
they are ready to fire (workout) when you say so, and are
not ready to begin repairing yet. After thirty minutes,
your muscles relax and begin to repair themselves. This is
when one would want to consume protein, because protein aids
in the muscle rebuilding process. So, if you consume your
post-workout protein beverage 30 min to 1 hour after your
workout, you will be helping your muscles rebuild during
their primetime rebuilding process and maximizing the
benefits of the protein you're taking.

After 2-3 hours, you should consume a regular meal (with
protein in it) to continue aiding in the muscle rebuilding
process. Do not 'treat' yourself to sweets or alcohol or
whatever, for your muscles will still be crying out for
protein and you will be feeding them sugar or alcohol or
heavy carbohydrates...they want protein. Remember 'You Are
What You Eat'? That is especially true on the days you
exercise. If you can eat properly after a workout and stay
away from 'treats', your results will come faster than you
expect.