Why is everyone concered about there weight? I was concered badly one time, And I
Got skinny and it wasn't really fun so I put on a extra few pounds. Your weight is what
god wanted you to be, and if you don't like it, then you don't like what god gave you.
You should be happy god gave you a life.
But!, If you really wanna loose weight heres what you do. swimming season is coming
up and I know your really scared people will laugh at you.
- with every meal drink Water or Orange juice, Milk sometimes (Milk is very fattening).
- If you are bored and you think about eating and you think your hungry don't eat
Because you are really not hungry your just thinking about it. So try to do some sit ups
or push ups instead. Or do what you like to do.
- If you have junk food in your house, then get it all out. Because if you don't have
Junk food in your house, Guess what, You want be ABLE to eat it.
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Let's say you eat alot of junk food, and you stop eating it. You will drop 15 pounds
easy.WHEN YOU SEE A CANDY, THINK OF A HOT GIRL/GUY IN A BATHING SUIT AND THINK WHO
YOU WANT MORE.
- Get some Fruits in your house loaded, and eat those when you are hungry but try
Drinking Lots of water too.
- Exercises -
1.) Punch air - Makes your arm look non-fat.
2.) Running/walking - Good for you also burns what you ate in the past 24 hours.
3.) Biking - Burns the most calories and fun. just ride around fast for 10 - 20 minutes
straight.
4.) Swimming burns the same and more as biking, because your using your whole body, You
can loose 5 pounds by swimming for 2 hours doing fast laps.
5.) Weight lifting - Light weights make your muscles the same and get the fat off you
also you look better. Heavy weights - Builds muscles like body builders.
But, People like you for who you are and if they don't and you wanna
change so they will like you don't because that is not a true friend.But
if you are really fat, and you want to impress a girl, then do what I just told you
Believe me it works. DONT get frustrated if you don't see results, because it will
take about 3-5 days mabey even 2 days if you try really really hard.
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HERES WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO :
Get on your couch and put your behind right on the edge of it or
where your comfortable, and start doing sit ups while watching T.V., I
do This everynight and moring for 100 sit ups for 3 sets. I did this for
4 days and got a flat stomach
You might start seeing your lower body stick out more, and thats normal,
All you do is lay on a flat floor and raise your legs for 25 seconds each for
5-7 sets. Do this in the moring and at night. P.S. - Lower body is the hardest part
to get tight so don't get frustrated about instant results cause your not going to get
instant rusults.
If your pecks, or known as your upper body is popping out, then do some
push ups at your house. Do 10-15 a set if you wait them to get a bit littler
and cut. You see guy models with cut pecks because that is what turns the lady on.
For cardio vascular - Skip fast rope for 3 minutes then another session
do this for 30 minutes if you want results fast!
Also jogging. Helps tremendously! Do 20 minutes of jogging, and if you
can't do the whole 20 minutes jogg in between.
Foods that I eat alot :
Apples - 0 calories and feels you up.
Green beans - 60 calories a CAN but great for your health.
Grapes - Idk how many calories but great too.
Any fruits are good for you.
Drinks :
Soda - Twice a week or non
Water - ALOT 0 calories, good for you, FEELS you up alot.
Orange juice - Great for your health.
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1. LEARN HOW WEIGHT LOSS WORKS
If you're an overweight young adult, you probably eat too much. By "too much," we mean more than you need. Your body needs a certain amount of calories to keep itself going, and if you eat more than that amount, you will gain weight. If you consume fewer calories than you expend, you will lose weight. It's that simple, and you must not allow charlatans and mountebanks to persuade you otherwise. Unless you have some sort of illness, this method will work for you. So read what we have to say, discuss it with your doctor, and follow it if he or she approves.
The equation described above is complicated by the fact that your body doesn't like you to eat less than it needs; it will think you are starving. If you go on a severely limited diet, your body will do a bunch of irritating things, such as: giving you hunger pangs, making you feel tired and sluggish, drawing the energy it needs from your muscle tissue as well as your fat, etc. Therefore, you shouldn't try to lose weight by dieting alone.
You have to exercise in addition to eating less, so that your body knows that you are still doing just fine and is forced to maintain your lean body mass and live off your fat. If you eat fewer calories than your body needs, but don't go under your requirements by much, and exercise enough that your body keeps going and burns even more fat to do so, you will lose weight. And all the unpleasant nicknames that go with being a tubbo.
A pound of fat represents approximately 3500 calories of stored energy. In order to lose a pound of fat, you have to use 3500 more calories than you consume. It's best not to do this over the course of a day; you'd probably hurt yourself, and your body (knowing it, the uncooperative creature) would probably have some extreme reaction which did not involve you losing any actual weight. It's better to spread this out over a week, so that you aim to exceed your caloric requirements by 3500 to 7000 calories per week, resulting in weight loss of one to two pounds per week. It's not healthy to try to lose more than two pounds in a week, and if you do attempt to do so you're unlikely to be successful.
Let's say you want to lose two pounds per week. To do so, you need to figure out how many calories a person of your age, sex, and weight usually needs in a day (see Eat Less), subtract 500 from that amount, and follow a diet that provides you with that many calories. For example, if you would ordinarily need 3000 calories in a day, you would follow a 2500 calorie per day diet. Then you figure out how much exercise a person of your weight would need to do to burn 500 calories per day (see Exercise), and you get off your lazy *** and do it. The result is simple. 500 fewer calories consumed plus (minus, actually, but we don't want to confuse you) 500 more calories expended equals a 1000 calorie per day deficit, which, over the course of a week adds up to 7000 calories, or two pounds. Your mileage may vary, but there's no getting around it. If your body is consuming fewer calories than it's expending, something's got to go (see God, "The First Law of Thermodynamics").
That's how it works. Now you just have to learn how to eat less (see Eat Less) and exercise (see Exercise) and you will lose yourself some weight. We'll even tell you how to keep it off (see Keep the Weight Off.)
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2. EAT LESS
Calculate your needs
In order to eat fewer calories than you need, you have to determine how many calories you actually need.
Adults can calculate their approximate energy needs using the following formula:
Note: This assumes that you are almost totally inactive. In order to determine the caloric requirements added by excercise, go to step 3A Basal Metabolic Rate Body weight multiplied by 12 (for men) or 11 (for women) e.g., 160 lbs. x 12 = 1920 B Activity One third body weight multiplied by the number of hours you don't sleep, typically 16 hours 160 lbs. x 1/3 = 53 x 16 = 848 D Required Calories A + B 1920 + 848 = 2768
Thus, we determine that a 160-pound man requires approximately 2768 calories per day. The "Basal Metabolic Rate" is the number of calories a man of that weight would burn just to keep the heart beating, the lungs pumping, etc. You would just burn your basal metabolic rate worth of calories if you slept 24 hours per day. "Activity" is approximately the amount of calories a person would expend by spending his or her whole day sitting around. This attempts to hit an average between the hours you spend sitting around and actually doing things (e.g., pretending to work, driving, talking on the phone) and the amount of time you spend just sitting there and watching TV. If you spend more time watching TV than walking around, you may want to decrease your activity level a couple of hours to get a more accurate "Activity" number. Conversely, if you are an exercising machine, you may want to add a couple more hours to your "Activity" level.
Any deviation from sitting around can be considered exercise and added to the amount expended when you get to step 3.
Adult females can calculate their approximate energy needs using the same formula, except that A (the "Basal Metabolic Rate") is determined by multiplying body weight times 11 (e.g., 130 lbs. x 11 = 1430).
Children and teenagers require more calories by body weight, but we're not going to tell you how much. There's no way we're going to recommend that you take some course of action with your children so that you can screw it up and then come and sue the hell out of us. You should talk to your pediatrician or family physician for advice on the caloric needs of your young.
Cut back
Once you've determined how much you need to eat, stop eating that much. In order to reduce your calorie intake to an amount less than you require, you'll have to keep track of how much you eat. The best way to do this is to buy a book that includes an extensive list of foods and the number of calories each item contains. A good, thorough listing takes many, many pages; don't buy something that just contains a one-page list of "sample caloric values," because you eat lots of different things. We recommend some good ones in our related books section. If you don't want to buy a book, you can just eat nothing but packaged foods that indicate the number of calories they contain. This works if you only eat at home, but if you eat out at all you need the listings to help you estimate the caloric intake from your restaurant meals. Some chain restaurants really have their acts together and they can tell you the caloric content of their menu items; ask a non-drooling staff member who seems potentially literate.
Now that you have the means to keep track of your caloric intake, you need to set a daily allowance and stick to it. As we noted earlier, you could lose two pounds per week by reducing your intake by 500 calories worth of food and increasing your expenditure by 500 calories worth of exercise. If you want to lose two pounds, simply take the daily caloric requirement you've already calculated and subtract 500 from it (e.g., a 160-pound man would subtract 500 from 2768 and come up with 2268). If you want to lose one pound per week, subtract 250 from your requirement. It is very difficult to function on a diet that is more than 500 calories under your requirement, and we don't recommend trying to follow such a diet. Under no circumstances should you reduce your caloric intake to fewer than 1200 calories per day.
Now that you've calculated your daily allowance, you just need to keep track of what you eat and stick to your diet. Let's say that your daily requirement is 2500 calories and you've lowered that by 500 calories to a 2000-calorie per day diet. That means you can have three meals of 600 calories each and one snack of 200 calories or a couple of 100 calorie drinks throughout the day. Don't forget to include drinks, by the way. You must include everything, from mints to "nibbles" to "healthy things that don't count." Don't play yourself that way. A calorie is a calorie, whether it came from a doughnut or a glass of organic prune juice. One exception: you can eat as much celery as you want. Celery is composed almost entirely of water and fiber, and the few calories it contains are burned up in the process of chewing it. Celery is great to chew when you're feeling hungry, which will happen. When you knock down your intake by 500 calories, your body notices and it lets you know by making you feel hungry. Ignore this. Eat lots of celery, eat low-fat, high-fiber meals, and drink lots of water.
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3. EXERCISE
For many people, this part is even more unpleasant than setting aside the economy size tubs of ice cream and chewing celery all day. Yes, we really do expect you to get up off your fat *** and shift it around in some kind of aerobic activity. If you want to lose two pounds per week, we recommend that you do exercise that will burn 500 calories every day (in addition to reducing your caloric intake by 500 calories per day; see Eat Less). If you want to lose one pound, you do 250 calories worth of exercise per day (and eat less).
How do you know how much exercise you'll have to do to burn your target number of calories? Well, it depends upon your weight and what kind of exercise you do. Heavier people burn more calories during physical activity than lighter people do. More intense physical exercise, such as running, burns more calories than easier exercise, like walking.
There are several ways you can find out the calorie expenditures of various forms of exercise for a person of your weight. First, you can look in a book about exercise that has a robust listing of different exercise forms and their caloric expenditures based on various weights (some do not specify weights). Second, you can use this excellent online activity calorie counter. Third, you can use exercise machines, such as stair climbers, treadmills, or stationary bikes that prompt you to enter your weight ahead of time and tell you how many calories you burn during your workout.
Here are some examples of the energy expended by a 150-pound person in 30 minutes of continuous exercise:
Aerobics 200-250 calories Bicycling, Stationary 250-300 calories Bicycling, Actual 300-400 calories Running, 5-6 mph 300-350 calories Stair climber 200-250 calories Swimming laps 350 calories Walking briskly 150-180 calories
As you can see, none of these activities is going to burn up 500 calories in 30 minutes, unless you're much heavier than 150 pounds. We told you it wasn't going to be easy. There are three ways to deal with this: 1) pick a strenuous exercise and do it for 45 minutes to an hour in one session; 2) do a half hour of strenuous exercise and burn the rest of the calories in a second session later (e.g., go for a run in the morning and take a walk at night); or 3) abandon your earlier ambition and just lose one pound a week, which only requires you to burn 250 calories in a day.
Figure out what sort of exercise you're going to do, where you're going to do it, and when you're going to do it, and create a schedule you can follow. It's important to do this before you start, so that you don't become frustrated and quit when you can't figure out what to do. If you like to use exercise equipment and you don't want to buy any, you're going to need access to a gym. If you want to run or bicycle, you need to figure out how to do that without hurting yourself. Sort it all out ahead of time and it'll be a lot easier when you're actually working out.
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4. KEEP THE WEIGHT OFF
The diet and exercise program we outline above is pretty hardcore. Most of us like to eat more and exercise less. The reason we have to eat less than we need and exercise more than we're used to is that we have to shock our bodies to force them to lose weight. Once you've reached your target weight (note that it is not weight that is important, but bodily fatness -- look at yourself, not the scale), your life can become less hardcore.
Your life should not, however, go back to normal. "Normal," to most North Americans, means complete inactivity coupled with near-constant corn chip consumption. In order to keep the weight off you need to keep some moderate aspects of the extreme weight-losing life you've been living.
If you've been on our diet for a number of weeks, you've learned to count calories pretty well. You know what a 600-calorie meal looks and feels like, and you know that if you eat twice that much at a sitting, every sitting, you're almost certainly eating too much. Be conscious of how much you eat and remember the calorie counting tips you've learned, such as the number of calories you can unconsciously add through drinks, and the insane number of calories in high-fat foods. You don't have to keep religious track of every morsel you eat anymore, but you do need to be aware of what you eat. That should be good enough.
Now that you've slimmed down, you don't have to exercise every single day. We're not discouraging it; in fact, it would probably do you some good to get in at least a walk or something every day. We are aware, however that it takes up a lot of time and that it can be a pain. Why don't you try exercising three days per week? Or try four days. We aren't going to set an upper limit on it, but we'd like to propose a lower limit: more than nothing. Don't go back to a completely exercise-free life because it's not good for you, and it's going to be much harder to keep the weight off if you're sedentary. You've gotten used to doing a lot of exercise, so it's going to seem like a holiday if you cut that in half. Walk to work one way four times a week, or go swimming, or get in fights with cops (we're definitely kidding about this last one). Just do something.
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Want to slim down fast for that beach vacation or high school reunion? While there are many things you can do to shed pounds, losing weight too quickly, like any sudden change to your body, can be dangerous. While fad diets, diet pills, and fasting may indeed induce rapid weight loss, these methods can cause you to lose muscle and may also injure your heart and other organs fairly quickly. The best solution? Don't go for an overnight miracle. Instead, follow these steps to lose fat rapidly, healthily, and sustainably.
Steps
Determine your daily calorie intake. Losing weight is simply a matter of expending more calories, through exercise and your daily activities, than you take in. Exercise alone won't make you lose weight if you're still taking in more calories than you burn. What's more, a healthy diet is important for overall health, so it's a good idea to take a good look at what you eat.
Write down all the things you eat on a typical day. Carry a small notebook with you and jot down every snack, every drink, and the contents of every meal. Don't forget to include the pats of butter or the spoonful of sugar in your coffee. It's best to do this for at least a couple days.
Do an itemized calorie count. When possible, write down the number of calories in each thing you eat as you eat it. Keep in mind that the serving size on the container is often considerably smaller than the serving you actually eat. Look up the calorie count on the internet for foods that don't have calories listed on the container or for fast food meals. You don't have to be 100% accurate, but you do want a good estimate of the number of calories you're taking in.
Go over the list and decide which foods to cut out or reduce. Cutting calories is usually a lot easier than you might think. For example, that daily tall latte in the morning may pack 500 calories. Since a pound of flab (lost or gained) is roughly equivalent to 3,500 calories, replacing that rich beverage with black coffee can help you lose a pound a week. Other easy cuts include salad dressing--salad dressing is the number one source of fat in the average American woman's diet--soda pop, candy, and butter. Look at the nutritional information for the foods you eat, pay special attention to your intake of saturated fats and empty calories (high-sugar foods). You don't need to cut these things out entirely, but if you reduce your intake of high-fat, high-calorie foods you'll lose weight fast. Click here to learn exactly how much food you can eat to safely lose body fat
Seek out alternatives to the unhealthy foods you've identified. You can simply reduce the amount of soda you drink or mayonnaise you put on your sandwiches, or you can substitute healthier choices. Drink water instead of soda, for example, or use mustard instead of mayo. Low-fat and low-calorie options are also available for most foods, and many of these are natural (some are made with strange chemicals) and tasty.
Choose lean meats. Chicken and fish are both very low in fat (and certain fish like salmon, sardines, and fresh tuna are an excellent source of antioxidants which is also beneficial to your health), so aim to replace some or all of the beef or pork in your diet with these foods.
Replace high-calorie side dishes with healthier alternatives. Many people get a ton of calories from side dishes such as macaroni and cheese, french fries, or potato salad. You can eat healthier and lose weight by replacing these with vegetables and salads. Pre-made salads are practically effortless, and when accompanied by a reduced-calorie dressing or no dressing at all, they're weight-loss gold.
Start your days off right. A fattening breakfast of bacon and eggs or a pastry can be replaced with yogurt, oatmeal, high-fiber, low-sugar cereals; or fresh fruit or fruit smoothies.
Plan your meals. Look for healthy, delicious meals online or in your cookbooks, and create a menu for the week. Make sure that your meal plan reduces your total calorie intake: you're not going to lose weight if you consume the same amount of calories by eating different foods. Make a list of what you'll need for these meals, and--except for a few snacks, of course--don't stray from your list when you get to the market. Planning your meals helps ensure you get a balanced diet and reduces the temptation to stop off for fast food or order a pizza. Remember, it's easier to stick to your shopping list if you shop when you aren't hungry.
Watch your portion sizes. Opening a bag of rice cakes and eating all of them in one sitting isn't going to help you lose weight. When eating chips, nuts, or dried fruit put a portion in a small bowl and then put the bag away. That way you won't mindlessly eat a larger portion than you intended.
Graze on healthy snacks. Just because you're getting healthy doesn't mean you can't snack. In fact, eating small meals and snacks throughout the day (grazing) has been shown to aid weight loss (compared to eating three large meals) by keeping metabolism steadier. Pick snacks that are low in calories and fat and high in fiber (dried apricots, nuts, rice cakes, fruits, baby carrots, baby tomatoes, and so on). Vegetables are generally very low in calories, very high in fiber, and full of flavor and nutrition. Avoid starchy vegetables like potatoes, and try to eat vegetables plain, without fatty dressings or dips. Fruit also makes a good snack. Fruit contains more soluble fiber than vegetables, which slows your body's absorption of carbohydrates, thus releasing energy slower (preventing sugar highs) and keeping you full longer. Fruit juices are okay, but are not a replacement for the real thing. You need that fiber, and juices often have more calories than the equivalent serving of fruit--as many calories as soda! Be careful with dried fruits, because without the water, you tend to eat more, and fruits--when dried--are calorie-rich per ounce.
Get more fiber. There are many myths about fiber, but there is science to back up its helpful role in the diet. Fiber keeps the right amount of water in your intestines, making your digestive system work more efficiently and helping to keep you regular. Thus, just eating enough fiber may help you feel slimmer in just a day or so. There is also evidence that fiber in the diet can help prevent stroke and heart disease, ease the effects of diabetes, and may even directly help in weight loss.
Drink plenty of water. Adequate water is essential for health, and a great many people simply don't get enough. What's more, if you're chronically dehydrated, your body will retain water in unflattering places, so if you make sure to get plenty of fluids you can start visibly trimming down in as little as a day. Remember, the more you exercise, the more water you'll need. See the related wikiHow for more details on how much water you should be getting.
Exercise. Remember, you can lose weight either by decreasing your calorie intake or increasing the number of calories you burn. Any health strategy should include both, but if you want to lose weight fast, exercise is essential. Click here to see how much weight you can lose doing various activities
Perform high-level aerobic activities. Moderate aerobic workouts incorporating jogging, brisk walking, cycling, or aerobic machines or classes not only burn calories--they also keep your heart healthy. Swimming is also great, especially if you are quite overweight or have joint problems, because you can get the same benefits of running--typically burning even more calories--without health problems. Try to get at least 30-40 minutes of aerobic exercise at least three or four days per week.
Pump some iron. Resistance training (weight training) can help both sexes stay lean by building muscle and raising metabolism. The fact is, hours and hours of aerobic exercise won't help most people lose weight fast because your metabolism drops back to normal fairly quickly after stopping the exercise. If you gain muscle, however, your body's resting metabolism (the amount of calories you burn when you're just sitting still) increases, because muscle requires a lot of calories to maintain. Studies have shown consistent weight training to raise the body's metabolism by 15%. This means an average woman might burn 200-300 more calories at rest every day! Resistance training, then, is the gift that keeps on giving.
Rest properly. This means not only taking at least 24-48 hours between strength training the same muscles (and taking 1-2 days off from exercising each week); it also means getting enough sleep at night, since sleep deficiency impairs your ability to lose fat.
Be realistic. Don't expect a miracle. Healthy weight loss can be achieved fairly quickly, but you'll need to be patient. In addition, be sure to set realistic goals. Make sure that the weight you're trying to reach is a healthy weight for you, and understand that gaining pounds of muscle will help you lose fat and be trimmer without actually losing weight.
Make adjustments. A successful weight loss strategy based on reducing calorie intake and increasing activity can be adjusted to maintain your desired weight once you reach it. Unlike dieting, this method is sustainable--it is a lifestyle change, not a binge-and-purge exercise. Slowly adjust your diet and exercise to include more weight training and calories, to where it's comfortable. If you do gain any weight back, you want that weight to be lean, toned muscle, not fat. In addition, weight training, no matter what your age, prevents muscle atrophy and can help stave off osteoporosis.
Tips
It's good to do a blood test before you begin your new diet and exercise regimen. Some people may not need to lose a lot of weight, but they may need to lower the blood sugar level slightly. You can also check for mineral deficiencies.
The goal is to lose fat, not just weight in general. If you are doing strength training during your weight loss (which you should be), you might actually see an initial gain in weight -- don't worry! You have probably lost fat and gained muscle, which is denser than fat.
A better measurement than what a scale reads is body fat percent. If you don't have access to calipers or a body fat scale, a better gauge is how your clothes fit and how you look rather than your absolute weight. If you can, though, it is good to measure your body fat about once per month. Men should be between 15%-25%, but no lower than 4%; and women 20%-30%, but no lower than 15%. Females have higher fat percentage due to pregnancy and menstrual requirements.
Generally, you want to - with a combination of calorie reduction and increased activity - reduce and burn a certain number of calories a day, causing a net loss of calories so your body is forced to use its own stores of fat. How much aerobic exercise you need to perform depends on what you eat, how fast you'd like to lose weight, and how much muscle you gain. A pound of fat contains 3500 calories. Men can safely lose around two pounds a week, and women can safely lose around one pound a week. Any more than this and you might be losing more muscle mass than fat. Thus, with a combination of calorie restriction and aerobic exercise, a man should aim to run a 3500-7000 calorie deficit each week, and women should aim for a 1750-3500 calorie deficit.
With regard to weights, men and women differ on their goals with weight training. Women, don't worry, no amount of weight training will make you as bulky as a man; women just don't have enough testosterone to build large muscles. The female bodybuilders you see are either taking steroids or training 2-3 hours every day. Male and female beginners should start with 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions, and should use the heaviest weight you can while still maintaining good form, even to the last repetition of the last set. Get a weight training book or find a reputable website that will show you different exercises and the correct form. When lifting properly, you will stretch the muscle during the exercise, but you should still stretch properly to prevent injury!
Don't try to spot-improve, because your body loses fat from all over, no matter what the exercise. No amount of crunches will get rid of that gut if they are not backed up by proper aerobic exercise and diet! Washboard abs do not come from millions of sit ups; they come from having low levels of body fat, so if that is your goal, make sure you do plenty of aerobic exercise in addition to your ab routine.
Sugar comes in many disguises. Check your food labels: fructose, glucose, molasses, and corn syrup are all sugars. Limit all sugars, but especially stay away from high-fructose corn syrup. It is just a corn syrup full of sugar. Choosing foods without it will help you reach your weight loss goals faster.
Remember your body needs 'fuel' just like a car needs 'fuel'. Your body needs the 'right' kinds of food to lose weight effectively.
Despite popular belief it is not terrible to eat after 6 p.m. A reasonable dinner (with extra protein if you've had a good weight training session) is going to help deliver nutrients to the body to prepare it for the next day. Additionally if you find yourself very hungry before bed, a small bowl of high fiber cereal and low fat milk will actually help maintain your metabolism while you sleep. The key is to not overeat in the evenings.
Take a multivitamin. While it is better to always get your nutrients from your food, most people miss something in their diet, especially when they're trying to cut calories. There are many vitamins and minerals that play important roles in keeping the body chemistry balanced energy levels healthy.
If you find yourself missing some of your favorite foods, don't worry. There is no harm in having your treat once a week. Pick a day each week where you treat yourself to your guilty pleasure--remember, everything in moderation. If it's pizza, try going to a gourmet pizza place that will use better ingredients and fresher vegetables. If it's a Big Mac, try making your own. A homemade burger is generally much healthier than the food they serve in fast food restaurants. Electric grills that are slanted to allow most of the fat to slide off make nice, lean burgers.
Save some calories for potassium and protein for after you work out, this will help reduce soreness. (A banana and an egg does the trick.)
Do not forget to stretch. Stretching can help increase your strength and flexibility.
Warnings
Don't try to starve yourself. In the short run, reducing your calorie intake to unhealthily low levels will slow metabolism and actually cause you to lose weight more slowly. In the long run, starving yourself (anorexia or bulimia) can kill you.
When creating a weight lifting routine, do not focus on a single muscle or group, doing so will overbuild that muscle while under building others - in other words, if you work your biceps, and not your triceps, your arms will begin to naturally curl inward and you will look silly. If you work your chest and not your back, you will have a hard time maintaining good posture as your pectoral muscles overpower your back muscles and pull your shoulders naturally forward.
If you have a serious medical condition (such as asthma or diabetes, or allergy to protein such as dairy products or you have lactose intolerance) or you are severely obese, consult with your doctor as well as a dietitian.
Do not take any harmful drugs. They are unhealthy and may ultimately make you gain weight instead.
Carefully consider whether you need dietary supplements. Most people can get the mineral and nutrients they need through eating food, For example, the multivitamin supplements can make you overdose in other vitamins you need, and you can't store most water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C as excess will be urinated. But just because you are under the recommended value don't always mean you are deficient in it. So only use supplements when the doctor and dietitian says you need to.
Despite the title of this article, getting into shape is best done slowly, and if you find yourself losing more than a pound or 2 (or more than 500g) each week, you are probably doing something wrong. Losing weight too quickly is dangerous and can have adverse effects on your health.
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There are many popular diets on the market today. This article will explain how to eat healthy for life and avoid the fad diets.
Steps
Decide how many calories your body needs to function each day.
This number can vary wildly depending on your metabolism and how physically active you are. If you're the kind of person who puts on 10 pounds just smelling a slice of pizza, then your daily caloric intake should stay around 2000 calories for men, and 1500 calories for women. Your body mass also plays a part in this. More calories are suitable for naturally bigger people, and less for smaller people. If you're the kind of person that can eat anything you want without putting on a pound, or you're physically active, you may want to increase your daily caloric intake to 3000-4000 calories, a little less for women. Also consider the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you need to function.
Don't fear fatty foods.
You need to consume fat from foods for your body to function correctly. However, it's important to choose the right kinds of fat. Most animal fats and some vegetable oils are high in calories and are high in the kind of fats that raise your LDL cholesterol levels; the bad cholesterol. Contrary to popular belief, eating cholesterol doesn't necessarily raise the amount of cholesterol in your body. If you give your body the right tools, it will flush excess cholesterol from your body. Those tools are mono unsaturated fatty acids, which you should try and get a lot of. These are the good fats, and they help lower the bad cholesterol in your body by raising the good cholesterol. Foods that are high in mono unsaturated fatty acids are olive oil, nuts, fish oil, and various seed oils. Adding these "good" fats to your weekly diet can lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease. Consider eating fish at least three times a week, sautéing vegetables in small amounts of olive oil, and grabbing a hand full of mixed nuts for a snack instead of a candy bar. There are also various supplements that contain these good fats that you can take daily.
Carbohydrates are important.
You need to eat foods high in carbs since they are your body's main source of energy. The trick is to choose the right carbs. Simple carbs like sugar and processed flour are quickly absorbed by the body's digestive system. This causes a kind of carb overload, and your body releases huge amounts of insulin to combat the overload. Not only is the excess insulin bad on your heart, but it encourages weight gain. Insulin is the main hormone in your body responsible for fat storage. Eat plenty of carbs, but eat carbs that are slowly digested by the body like whole grain flour, hearty vegetables, oats, and unprocessed grains like brown rice. These kinds of food not only contain complex carbs that are slowly digested by the body, but are usually higher in vitamins and other nutrients that are beneficial to the body and they are higher in fiber which keeps your digestive system running smoothly.
Eat larger meals early in the day.
Your metabolism slows down towards the end of the evening and is less efficient at digesting foods. That means more of the energy stored in the food will be stored as fat and your body won't absorb as many nutrients from the meal. Many American families tend to have their big meal at dinner time. The problem with this is your day is basically over and your body's need for energy isn't as great as it is early in the day. This large meal late in the day can also make you feel tired, and who wants to feel too tired to have fun now that the work day is over? Try eating a medium sized meal for breakfast, a large meal for lunch and a small meal for dinner. Better yet, try eating 4-6 small meals over the course of your day. That keeps your body fueled for the whole day without dumping a large amount of food into your stomach, which your body might have a hard time digesting.
Don't skip breakfast!
Many people do because they don't feel they need to eat breakfast, or they just don't feel hungry first thing in the morning. Research shows that people who skip breakfast are usually fatter than those who eat a well balanced breakfast. Although you might not feel hungry first thing in the morning, if you skip breakfast you will feel extra hungry come lunch time, making you more prone to overeating for your afternoon meal. In addition, skipping breakfast makes your body think that you are starving. After all, by lunch time, you may not have eaten in almost eighteen hours. For the rest of the day after you skip breakfast, your body will store up most of the energy you get from food, instead of allowing you to burn it, in anticipation of food scarcity. Not only will this cause you to be tired during the day when your body isn't using the food that you ate, but the extra energy stored up will result in weight gain.
Make eating fun.
Avoiding simple carbs and fatty foods doesn't need to be boring. Have fun not only with the food, but with the meal. Eating with family and friends makes the meal more satisfying than eating in front of the TV or in the car on the way home from work. You will also eat slower when enjoying your meal which gives your body time to feel full before you burst a button. There are more creative cooking resources available to us than ever before. You can find great tasting recipes in magazines, books, and right here on the Internet. Eating baked fish three or four times a week can get boring, so do a little recipe hunting to find more exciting ways to prepare your meals.
Buy non-fat or reduced fat foods.
This is done not to avoid getting fat, because eating fat will not make you fat. And it's not about eating less Calories. It's about control. Control over what kinds of fats you put in your body. For instance, olive oil has many health benefits, so buy non-fat or reduced fat salad dressing and add a table spoon of olive oil to the jar. You'll have a salad dressing that taste great, and is also better for your health. So buy the non-fat foods so you can replace the missing fat with "good" fats. Remember, you do need to eat a moderate amount of fat each day.
Give yourself a cheat day.
Cheating doesn't mean pigging all day on all the wrong foods once a week, it means enjoying a food you really love once a week. Have a couple slices of greasy pizza on Sundays, or a big slice of double chocolate cake on Saturdays. This cheat day will help you stick to the change in diet, and in some ways it's actually good for your body.
Avoid excess amounts of alcohol.
You know that heavy drinking is bad for your body, but it's also bad for your will power. A heavy night of drinking could send you to the fridge pigging out on all the wrong foods. However, many studies show that a beer or glass of wine a day is actually good for the body. Wine contains anti-oxidants which help fight illness and that moderate amount of alcohol can help you relax. Excess caffeine can also be bad for the body since caffeine stimulates your body into producing insulin in the same way that carbs do.
Exercise regularly.
Find a way to exercise that's fun. Even if it doesn't burn too many Calories - like taking a walk in the park with your closest friends - what matters is that you stick with it in the long run. You may burn lots of Calories slaving away at a treadmill, but if it's not an enjoyable experience, you'll probably lose interest after a few months...And that won't do your body much good!
Tips
Eating healthy will give you some health benefits, but you won't achieve the full benefits possible unless you exercise. Exercising doesn't have to be hard, and you don't even have to break a sweat. Just going for a short 30 minute walk four times a week will greatly improve your health.
If you consume more Calories than your body needs each day, your body will store the excess energy as fat. In today's society, that excess body fat is unnecessary. We are no longer hunter/gatherers. Your next meal is as close as your local grocery store and we don't need extra energy stores to hold us over till the next meal.
Use extra virgin olive oil when cooking. It's more pure, and is better for your heart than other kinds of olive oil. The darker the better. Furthermore, "light" olive oil has as many Calories as extra virgin olive oil -- the "light" refers to the color and flavor intensity.
This takes patience. You won't see a drastic drop in your cholesterol level or weight or increase in your energy level immediately. You need to give the changes in diet some time to kick in.
Have a positive and upbeat attitude. If you start your new diet thinking "This is something I HAVE to do," instead of "This is something I WANT to do," then you've already failed before you started.
Don't let a little cheating turn into a lot of cheating. Remember, nothing tastes as good as thin and healthy feels.
Adding whole, unrefined grains to the diet can add valuable vitamins and minerals that would otherwise be lost, however it can completely upset our digestion as well. Many animals that eat grains have 4 stomachs they use to digest them adequately, and ferment them so they can uptake nutrients. Humans have only one stomach, and if you introduce grains without first fermenting or sprouting them you may experience digestive upsets. There are various anti nutrients in grains (like phytic acid) and enzyme inhibitors that will prevent mineral absorption and lead to deficiencies and digestive problems. To remedy this, take oatmeal and soak it the night before in a little bit of yogurt. This will make it taste slightly sour, but make it more digestible. Sourdough bread is also another good example.
Lettuce is a great choice of natural fiber, and can taste great with the proper healthy dressings. You can make a great salad with nuts, raisins, and whole wheat croutons. Mix it in a bowl so it's evenly distributed and place it on top of a salad. Use a sugar free and low carb balsamic dressing; it has less than 1 gram of carbohydrates and 0 Calories. The head of lettuce is 21 Calories, plus the nuts and raisins and whole wheat croutons which could range depending on size but for this example we will estimate 100 Calories, bringing you a very healthy and filling meal for only ~120 Calories.
Choose wheat bread instead of white bread. Processed carboydrates such as those found in white bread are harder to draw nutrients from, and therefore are seen as empty Calories.
Smoothies are great for breakfast. Combine the following:
banana
4 medium-size strawberries
1/2 cup of skim milk
For protein, try adding boneless skinless chicken breasts, or tuna.
Non-fat yogurt can make a great snack, and its healthy bacteria can help with various stomach problems.
Carry water with you at all times. Try to drink water in place of soft drinks and other flavored beverages. A good rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces per day.
Warnings
You should always consult your doctor before making drastic changes to your diet and your lifestyle.
Excess body fat is hard on your body. It's hard on your heart because it needs to work extra hard to push blood through your larger body. Your body builds extra veins that run through the extra body fat and has to work harder to push blood through those veins.
Excess body weight is also hard on your muscles and joints. Carrying around extra weight puts more pressure on your knees, hips, and back. While this might not have a huge effect in your youth, you will feel it as you get older.
Any drastic change in your diet can cause constipation, so make sure you eat a lot of dark green leafy vegetables, or take a fiber supplement. The constipation will go away after a week or two, but you should consult your doctor if it continues.
Make sure there isn't a lot of unhealthy food in your house that can tempt you. Give or throw away the foods you shouldn't eat.
Consider eating organic. Organic food isn't made with the use of a lot of harmful chemicals, or other harmful processes. Not only is organic food good for you, but it is sustainable and good for the environment too! Other foods are extremely harmful to the environment. A word of warning about eating organic foods... Rarely have organic foods been proven to be more heathly than the regular option, so don't think that just because it is organic, you can eat as much as you want. Much of the time, the organic option has just as many calories as the normal option. So even if it is organic, make sure you pay attention to your caloric intake.
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U.S culture has distorted the innate act of eating sensibly by its overwhelming abundance of food. Sure, the presence of a culture that is sufficient and advanced enough to feed all of its citizens three times what they actually need is comforting, but along with that comes obesity and disease. Read on to learn the tips and secrets to eating properly and maintaining a healthy body.
Steps
Know what being hungry feels like. This takes some practice. Know that being hungry is a feeling of needing food, any food, in the pit of your stomach. It is not your mind thinking about what it wishes you could eat. When you know you are truly hungry, recognize what this feels like and remember it so that you can recognize it in the future.
When you're eating a meal, stop when you're satisfied, not when you're full. Don't you hate when you feel as if your stomach is so gorged it's going to explode? This is a sign that you have made a mistake in how you just ate. After you're done eating, your stomach should feel good, not hurt or stressed.
Eat only when you're actually hungry. U.S culture seems to think that people get hungry at about 9 AM, 12 noon, and again at 6 PM. While this may be a generally good schedule for eating, remember that (usually) you don't have to eat at meal time if you're not hungry yet. Also, if you are hungry between meals, go ahead and have a healthy snack. It's not good to starve yourself between meals; you'll just eat more when the meal comes. It's all about listening to your body. You cannot follow this suggestion, however, until you have mastered Step 1, knowing when you're hungry. Another thing to remember is that by eating whenever you're hungry throughout the day, you shouldn't be eating so much at meal times, because you won't be as hungry and because you haven't waited and starved yourself. If you follow the suggestion of eating between meals if you're hungry, but at the continue to eat the same amount at meal times, you'll only end up gaining weight.
Realize that in general, your portion sizes are probably too big. Accepted portion sizes have practically doubled in the past 50 years. Remember that your stomach is about the size of your fist. Don't expect to stuff 10 times that amount of food into it without negative consequences. Also, your stomach will get bigger when you're used to eating a lot. If you only eat small amounts of food at a time, your stomach won't ever stretch out like it does when you gorge yourself on a big meal, and then, with a small stomach, it won't take as much to make you feel full. You can do this by only taking a little tiny bit of food onto your plate, and when you're done with that, sit back and feel whether or not you're still hungry. If you are, get a tiny bit more; however, you'll find that you're usually not still truly hungry.
Have many small meals, rather than a few big ones. This goes along with Step 3. Nutritionists point out again and again that this is a better, healthier way to eat. In general, it is considered healthier to eat five meals a day than three. In fact, if you watch any makeover or weight loss reality TV shows, they are always eating about 5 to 8 meals a day (with small portions and healthy choices at each meal, of course). This is because it keeps your body in the digesting-food mode. In scientific terms, it keeps your metabolism up. Think about it, if you've eaten barely anything all day, your metabolism will be slowed way down, then when you finally do eat, your metabolism will be so slow that your body won't be using it and digesting it efficiently.
Eat breakfast every day. This starts your metabolism going early in the morning (since it slows down at night because you haven't eaten anything for awhile).
Exercise. This again raises your metabolism, not to mention burns calories. Exercise also increases the digestive process, speeding up digestion. To get all you can out of exercise, try to combine typical gym-related work such as running on the treadmill and lifting weights with "fun" work like biking, hiking, or playing soccer with your kids.
Try "low fat" foods--but check the labels. Lots of low fat versions of foods are available, but make sure it's worth it. "Low fat" sometimes means extra sugar or other ingredients were added to preserve the taste and texture, tricking you into thinking you're eating something healthy when there is no real difference. Polyunsaturated fats (like vegetable oils, as in salad dressing) are actually good for you in moderation. Make sure the number of calories per serving is significantly lower than in the regular version.
Keep in mind that sweets aren't the only things that taste good. Yes, everyone knows that cakes and cookies taste good to your taste buds. People living in the western world, however, have an over-abundance of fatty foods at their disposal and by no means should be eating it as much as some do today. But yes, it does taste so good. But remember, other things taste good, too. How about some nice spicy grilled chicken? Or a tropical banana smoothie (with low-fat yogurt)? And doesn't Marinara sauce on pasta taste good? These are all perfectly acceptable foods, eaten in moderation of course, as with everything else. And even foods that don't seem so appealing can taste good with a little preparation, such as adding some Cinnamon to applesauce, or cooking broccoli before eating it if you don't like the taste of raw broccoli.
Don't fantasize about food. It is a proven fact that watching TV makes you want to eat more. It's because of all those mouth-watering commercials with close ups of perfectly prepared food. Don't watch these, it does nothing for your stomach to just think about food. Also, don't fantasize on your own time about just how great devouring an entire ice-cream cone would be. Just push it out of your mind and think of something else, then you won't want it as much. Or, think about how good those fresh strawberries you're going to have with lunch are going to taste.
Don't waste calories on drinks. It is a good idea to drink water or flavored water whenever possible. It not only is great at hydrating you, but has no calories. A glass of most other drinks have 100-200 calories, and they don't make you feel any fuller. In essence, drinking something other than water does nothing for you except quench your thirst and add calories to your count for the day. Just think, if you normally have three drinks a day other than water, that is about 500 calories that you could cut out by having water instead.
Eat slowly. Chew your food well. This means at least 10-20 chews per bite of food. And no, you can't just take bigger bites so that this is a reasonable amount of chews; take small bites also. Remember that it takes about 20 minutes for your full-feeling to get into your stomach, regardless of how much you eat. You could eat 10 plates full of food, and as long as you did it within a few minutes, you still wouldn't feel full. Likewise, you can eat just a small portion and feel full the same amount of time later. Eating slowly helps to keep the amount of food you're eating small until you feel the full feelings. It also prevents you from gorging yourself, and gives you more time to accurately reflect on whether your stomach feels full yet or not. It takes a whole 20 minutes for your stomach to send the message to the brain that you are full, so you could be eating 20 minutes more than your body wants. Eating slowly makes this excess food amount lower and sometimes even nothing at all.
Save your sweet-eating opportunities. You know that you're going to eat some sweets, like your neighbor's birthday cake, Christmas dessert at your grandma's house, the chocolate your boyfriend got you, or the cookies that your kid made you. The fact is that quite often people like to give you fatty foods as a thoughtful gift or work hard to make it for a special occasion and will be offended if you don't have some. And of course, everyone wants to indulge and splurge every once and a while. The key is to allow yourself sweets at only these special times. It's a mistake to eat sweets regularly so that when you do reach these must-eat sweet times you've over-indulged.
Change from 'eating whenever you can and exercising only when you must' to 'eating only when you must and exercising whenever you can.' Most people like eating, and don't like exercising. The result is that they eat every chance they get and exercise only when they have to. You must change your thinking around, to exercising being the necessity and eating being the luxury, and work towards developing a lifestyle that reflects this.
Choose an appetizer instead. While it's not recommended that you eat hot wings and potato skins for every meal, appetizers often have more reasonable portions than full meals.
Drink 8 glasses of water every day, this is so important. You may think you are hungry and you are really just thirsty. It also makes your liver a lot happier.
Tips
Stick with it. This isn't a diet, or a fad, or something you will only do for a little while. It is a complete lifestyle that you must re-adjust yourself to until it becomes second nature.
To help with eating slowly, make it a habit to put down the utensils every time you take a bite. Don't pick them up again until you've chewed and swallowed.
Remember that there is a difference between being hungry, and having an appetite. Sometimes you can crave food just because you want the taste, but you don't really feel hungry (that is, your stomach isn't grumbling, and you don't feel pangs of hunger in your gut).
If you feel hungry, often you are in fact thirsty. Forget about eating while you drink a glass of water or something. It's really hard to drink too much water.
Also, the first sign of feeling content with the amount of food you have eaten, is feeling thirsty.
A trick to help thwart (or postpone) a craving: when craving food (esp. junk food) shortly before a scheduled meal, use toothpaste to brush your tongue (brushing teeth too much can be bad for gums). This triggers an automatic aversion to eating anything for a short while because few flavors go well with toothpaste. This simple act can stop the craving for junk food in its tracks, or at the very least, hold it off long enough for you to prepare/arrive at a much healthier meal. Good breath is, of course, an added bonus.
Don't eat less than two hours before you go to bed.
Fruit eaten after meals will sit in your stomach for a lot longer than usual (losing nutrients while it waits) and can cause bloating. For this reason, it's best to eat fruit in the morning, before any other meal.
Put an extra plate on the dinner table and put some of your meal on it for lunch tomorrow. After reading this article, you may see that your meal portion is too large. Normally you just work through it, but this time you'll offload enough for a second meal, and possibly avoid feeling bloated.
Eat with chopsticks as often as possible to slow your eating down.
Ask yourself, 'Am I really hungry, or am I bored?'
Do not compare yourself to models and actors on TV. Most people will never look like them. Instead concentrate on healthy lifestyle.
Research more resources on diet on the web and at your local library and doctor.
Warnings
Remember first and foremost that your lifestyle, including eating and exercising, is meant to take care of your body, not harm it.
Read the label of any flavored water that you choose, as many of them have as many, or even more, calories than a soda.
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Do you find yourself making resolutions about exercising to get in shape, but never seem to stick to the resolution? This "How-to" can help you with some ideas to provide the little nudge you need.
Steps
Do something you enjoy; if you like it you'll keep at it. Not all workouts are at a gym: try biking, inline skating, rowing, swimming, hockey, a rugby team. Enjoyment is the key to sticking with it.
Make a commitment. Don't just make a mental promise to yourself. Get a journal. Write down what you want to accomplish and a time frame for reaching your goals.
Make reasonable goals for yourself. If you've never worked out before or haven't worked out in a long time, don't expect you'll be able to work out for an hour a day, six days a week. Try starting out with three, 30 minute sessions of aerobic exercise per week. Then after two weeks, incorporate two weight lifting sessions in between your aerobic days.
Tell people what you're doing! Tell your husband, wife, sister, friends--anyone. We always do better when we think someone else is watching! Don't be obnoxious and remind everyone all the time, but let your close friends and relatives know about your goals. Ask them to encourage you once in a while.
Chart your progress in your journal. You can weigh yourself, although weight is not always an accurate view of fitness. Record the way your body feels after workouts and take body measurements.
Try to incorporate a healthy diet with your exercise routine. Eating foods high in nutrients and low in fats and empty calories certainly makes you feel better before and after work outs.
Drink water! Read How to Drink Water for Health. On the days you work out, you should drink even more than the suggested amount.
Start small, then build up from there! Maybe start with doing 10 minutes of exercise, every other day. There is no need to make a giant commitment right away. You'll be suprised how starting small slowly winds its way up to a daily excercise regimen, and healthy body!
Tips
Find a workout buddy. Motivate one another.
Doing interval training can help speed up your ability to reach your fitness goals, i.e. run for two minutes, jog for four minutes and continue for 24 minutes total.
Just because you're in the gym doesn't mean you're working out. Concentrate on your goals and use exercise time for stress relief not chat time.
If you don't know what kind of exercise is best for you, ask a personal trainer. You don't necessarily have to pay someone to work out with you every week, but you can hire someone to help you draw up a plan.
Joining a gym can be helpful because monetary commitments always seem a bit more binding. If your gym has group fitness classes, the classes can help you mix things up a bit.
Classes are also a good idea because it is quite possible to hurt yourself should you over-exercise in the wrong way. This makes a great excuse later on in your exercise for quitting, or it can cause debilitating injuries.
It often makes sense to consider alternative forms of exercise; biking, indoor climbing, Yoga, Tai Chi, martial arts, etc. These might be more interesting to you and if you are interested you will have a much easier time sticking with a fitness regimen.
Consider using diet and exercise tracking software. There are several software packages that can help track calorie intake from foods, set up exercise programs and help you monitor your progress. A few of them even have components that synchronize with your PDA.
Treat yourself every once in a while.
Don't have enough time for a good workout? take a walk during your lunch break, do crunches and jumping jacks while watching TV, or pace while talking on the phone... in other words, allow yourself no excuses to not exercise. nothing is more important than your health - you can't do anything without it.
Try incorporating exercise into your daily routine. Always take the stairs instead of the escalator or the elevator. Politely refuse offers to drive you short distances in a car when you could walk instead. It will be hard for the first week or so if you're not used to exercise, but you'll eventually find that you can easily climb long flights of stairs without getting out of breath. Plus, in train stations and the subway it has the added benefit that you avoid the crowds - no-one takes the stairs.
Schedule your workouts on your calendar and stick to it! Treat the workout as a standing appointment.
Do exercises you enjoy.
Warnings
Consult your doctor before starting any new workout regimen, especially if you've had heart or lung related illness in the past.
If you feel faint, dizzy, sick, or in pain while working out--stop! Missing one workout is better than missing the rest of your life!
Consult your doctor if you are severly overweight, obese, or suffer from asthma.
If you are starting to gain weight, don't worry -- it's probably only your muscles building. Muscle weighs more than fat, so you are probably gaining muscle as you are losing fat.
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Don't have time to go to the gym but still want to lose weight? Here's how to put those muscles to work even when your eyes are glued to your favorite soap opera or sitcom. Jog on the spot.
Steps
Start by lying on your back, head flat on the ground/couch/bed (ground preferred) and pulling your knee up towards your chin (they do not have to touch), then SLOWLY pushing it flat. Do not let your leg touch the floor. Do this 25 times each leg.
Lie on your side, make your bottom leg straight and the top leg lifted a few inches in the air, bent at the knee. Now lift your leg up until it won't straighten any more. Do this 30 times each leg.
Take the weights; depending on your strength, take one or two (five pound recommended; if you don't have weights, anything heavy like soup cans that will fit in your hands will do) and stand up and put your arms over your head. Bend at the elbows so the weights and your hands are behind your head. Do this 25 times.
Lay down on your back with one weight in each hand. Start with your arms an inch or two over your chest. Lift all the way up and all the way to the sides (your left arm to the left and your right arm to the right). Don't let your arms touch the ground. Do this 25 times.
Lie on your back and hold the weights to your chest. Lift your back several inches off the ground (do not use your head to pull yourself up--your back needs to be off the ground, not your head). Do this 25 times at least twice a day. If you cannot do 25 crunches in a row, then do three, take a breath, then three more. Do at least 10 sets.
Tips
Doing this every time you watch TV will help, especially if you make a habit of exercising during commercials. Don't skip!
Another thing you can do is find a good music channel and dance to every song that comes on. Dance with your whole body!
You don't have to do every exercise; mix it up and do different ones during each commercial break.
Don't eat while watching TV.
Sit on a stability ball instead of the couch while actually watching the program. Bounce a little to keep your body warmed up between commercial breaks.
Use commercial breaks as an opportunity to do pushups or other exercises that take your eyes permanently from the TV. Keep the volume on if you find yourself constantly looking to see if the commercials are over.
Work yourself hard during the commercials, and then stretch for a short time when the commercials are over. After stretching, continue your standard excercises.
Warnings
Check with your doctor before starting any exercise program
Things You'll Need
A TV
5 pound weights (recommended but any will do)
Stability ball (for use with tip suggestion)
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The simple 2 step process to gaining six pack abs is as follows: strengthen your abdominal muscles and lose body fat. The concept is simple, but putting it into action is not. It will take dedication, willpower, patience and time to get a six pack but in the end, the effort is well worth it. Here is some info on the process.
Steps
Build Muscle
Do Crunches. Lie on the floor (with or without a mat). Do not place both hands behind your head but rather cross your arms in front of your chest. Placing both hands behind your head can cause lower back problems in the long run as it places unnecessary stress on that part of your body from pulling on your head and neck. Another alternative to crossing your arms in front of your chest is to lightly place your finger tips behind your ears, without pulling on your neck or ears to help raise you off the floor. Draw in your abdomen to your spine while inhaling through your nose. Now raise your shoulders (upper torso) towards your knees, using strictly your abdominal muscles. It is very important not to lift your entire back off the floor, as this can cause back strain, and the extended movement does not help you develop six pack abs any faster. The most important part of the crunch is the initial flexing of your abs as you lift your shoulders off of the floor. As soon as you begin lifting off the floor exhale through your mouth, ending with a gasp once your shoulders are off the floor. Then pause for a second once you are at the top of the crunch and exhale the last bit of air from your diaphragm while flexing your abs. The proper breathing and flexing make all the difference. Now lower back down slowly and controlled while inhaling through your nose, just until your shoulder blades touch the ground. Do not let your head touch the ground and repeat.
Do Sit Ups. Lie on the floor, feet on the floor, knees up and hands behind your head or crossed on your chest. Sit all the way up, lifting your lower back off the floor along with your shoulder blades. Lower yourself down. Repeat. Once this becomes relatively easy for you (i.e. you can do a quite a bit with ease) start adding more challenges. Find an incline bench or do these on an exercise ball. Once you "graduate" from that, do weighted sit ups. Hold a weight on your chest while you do these. As these become easier, hold heavier and heavier weights. You might also try lifting your feet off the ground while doing the sit ups or alternating the leg in the air, like pretending to pedal while sitting up. If your hands are behind your head, bring your left knee up to touch your right elbow and then your right knee to the left elbow.
Do Leg Lifts. Lie on the floor, legs straight out, hands at your sides. Lift your legs straight up (not bending your knees at all) until they're at a ninety degree angle (or close). Lower your legs and repeat without letting your legs touch the floor. For more challenge there is equipment at most gyms that will allow you to raise yourself up using your arms as support and dangle your legs. You can perform leg lifts there too. If you're using this piece of equipment, you can make it easier by just raising your knees to your chest. It's more difficult to raise your legs to a horizontal position with your legs straight. This helps firm up the lower abdomen. If you're truly a monster, try doing leg lifts with a medicine ball hanging from your feet. Or hang from a pull up bar and raise your legs in front of you all the way up to the bar. Still too easy?...
Do Jackknife Sit Ups. Lie down flat on the floor. Place your hands on the ground to your sides for balance; you can pick them up as you get used to the movement. Simultaneously raise your knees and torso so that your knees and face meet on an imaginary line extending from your pelvis to the ceiling. You should be able to kiss your knees at the top of the motion. Your legs will naturally fold bringing your feet towards you hips, much like a jackknife. Lie back down (i.e. "spread out") and repeat. Place a weight between your feet when you think you can handle it. What's that? More?
Do V-ups. Lie on the floor, legs straight out, hands on the floor but this time extended out over your head. Simultaneously raise legs and torso. Don't bend your knees! What kind of V would it be if you bend your knees? Reach with your hands toward the raised feet. Touch your feet if possible (might require some flexibility). Relax, return to starting position and repeat. Add weight between feet to match your taste.
Train Your Oblique Muscles. It's not as important to work on your oblique muscles at first, but eventually you'll want to start working these too. These are the muscles to either side of your stomach. There are multiple ways to do this and anything that includes twisting your torso against a resistance counts. There are twisting machines at gyms, you can twist while you do sit-ups, you can do side bends, you can twist side to side with a medicine ball in hand, etc. Be aware though, that many beginners tend to have weak obliques compared to their abs (it simply isn't used as much in daily life) so go easy on the sides at first.
Other stuff Since it is, literally, the center of your body there are many other tricks you can use to train your abs, and some of the other movements will more or less involve your abs. Including every abdominal exercise in existence would make this article painfully long and new methods are being developed constantly. Now that you've made up your mind about a washboard mid-section, get creative! Find new ways to crunch, bend and twist in your daily life. Some possibilities include:
Use a stability ball. Do your crunches on the ball to introduce instability to your workout, which will improve your balance too. There are also lots of core exercises that can be done with a stability ball.
Duck and twist during your daily routine. Reach with your left hand to things on your right and visa versa. If you feel like turning around to face something, see if you can do it with keeping your hips in place and twisting at the waist (warning: awkward when talking to other people, use only against inanimate objects). While walking or standing, pretend that something is coming toward you and you have to duck to get out of the way. Do this as often as you are comfortable or at times when it won't look weird. You can bend forward from the hips or, if you're really into it, bend at the knees too and really "sink" out of the way.
Lose Fat
Lift Weights. The more muscle your body has, the more calories your body burns, even at rest. Many people are afraid of getting huge due to weight lifting. This is meaningless. You will NOT gain a lot of mass if you're not taking in a lot of calories as well. Also keep in mind that most of the huge people you see on TV or in print achieve that state by going on high protein and high carb diets. They increase their calorie intake specifically to bulk up. So the fear of bulking up should NOT be a reason to not lift weights. As a rule of thumb, the larger the muscle the more energy it will burn to sustain itself. Therefore the most effective muscle groups to work for fat loss are large muscle groups: thighs and hamstrings, the back, and the chest. You can also lift your body weight without going to a gym, through pushups, situps, chinups, etc.
Do Cardio. No matter how muscular your abs are that six pack isn't going to show if you cover it up with a layer of fat. Running, biking, swimming, stair climbing, jumping rope, tennis, volleyball, dancing, squash, playing dance dance revolution or any other activity that gets you moving and keeps you moving is a great way to burn fat. However, a cardio workout should be performed for at least 20 MINUTES to burn fat. Prior to this your body will simply run on it's stored energy, which results in minimal fat loss. Cardio should always be done after your weight lifting workout. While lifting weights, you use stored, (carb) energy, thus, by doing cardio after weight training your body will have less stored energy to use and go straight into the fat storage for its energy use. The overall best way to shed fat fast is to do cardio(30 min minimum) right when you wake up. Your body will search for energy to use, when it finds nothing in your stomach, it will go directly to your fat storage for energy and the fat will burn up so fast!
Diet Tips
Keep Metabolism Steady. Eating one small meal (such as a potato, a salad, etc.) every three hours that you are awake will not speed up your metabolism, rather, it will keep it going. Your metabolism goes and slows with your food intake and eating something small every three hours will keep that metabolism burning calories and will help you lose weight.
Eat Smaller Dinners. Cut down on the size of your dinner. If you're hungry, snack on fruits or other healthy, low calorie snacks. Large dinners tend to hurt a fat loss process because most people aren't very active after dinner. This is the basis for advice along the lines of "don't eat anything within X hours before going to bed". The claim that your entire dinner is stored as fat isn't entirely true (the process is more complicated than that) but the fact you don't move after dinner is enough to hurt your cause. You can offset this by eating a larger lunch or snacking healthily before dinner. Fresh fruits or vegetables are excellent choices for curbing appetite not to mention other health benefits. A handful of nuts might do the same. Drink a large glass of water before sitting at the table.
Eat More Fiber. Most people don't get enough fiber. The recommended amount is actually not that much if you eat a healthy diet. "Fibre foods" include whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and nuts and seeds. Other options are fibre supplements.
Eat Breakfast. Many people skip breakfast because they don't have time for it. Keep this in mind: You don't have time to skip breakfast, it's simply too valuable to skip. The fact that skipping breakfast messes up your concentration and other mental functions is beyond the scope of this article. The harm of skipping breakfast from a weight loss perspective is it makes you eat a huge lunch since your body hasn't had anything in the past 12 (or more) hours. When you eat a huge lunch you get that after meal drowsiness so now you're both unproductive and inactive. Cereals don't take much time to prepare and consume, and most of them are very healthy nowadays. If you are extremely pressed for time, consider grabbing a box of breakfast bars or a smoothie and throwing one in your bag when you leave for work or school. Some breakfast bars out there are also excellent sources of fibre.
Eat Smaller Meals More Frequently. This helps raise your metabolism too. It's not easy to do though since it's a relatively big change to most people's routines. But it doesn't have to be a full blown meal, simply eat often but less. A jar of nuts in the office will do just fine, grab a handful when you feel like it. Most fruits can last for a couple days without refrigeration, and if you have a refrigerator at the office, make use of it.
Drink More Water Everyday. Many places suggest 8 cups (2 L) of water a day. It sounds like an absurd amount of water, but actually, you can drink tea without sugar to make up some of the quota. In fact tea, especially green tea, rev up your "metabolism" (actually cause a temporary increase in calories burned). For fat loss purposes, consuming water instead of the other junk will keep you away from the carbs and curb your appetite. Needless to say there are many benefits of water. 70% of your body is made of it!
Tips
It may help to use a record-keeper or plan book for your exercise program. Exercise journals are fantastic for this purpose because as you enter daily information in the journal, you´re putting together a complete record that can be referred back to in the future.
If you feel you need to, ease into the changes in your lifestyle. Start eating breakfast. If you have difficulty with this, start with a couple glasses of water or a large cup of coffee right when you wake up. It'll go down easy and prepare your stomach to get back to work. Cut the amount of dinners little by little. For the exercises, start slow and increase pace and/or repetitions as you are comfortable. Attempting lifestyle changes in a drastic, sudden manner can backfire. Do what you can but don't sell yourself short.
Make a photo diary of your body but don't take pictures too often, maybe once a month. Don't study your pictures intensely since you might not get motivated if you don't see a difference. If you are consistent in your diet & exercise you should see changes monthly. Keep in mind that you won't see changes in the mirror everyday since they will be very small improvements.
Unless you are watching your weight for another reason, ignore the reading on the scale. You may be decreasing your body fat but your weight may stay the same (or even increase) as you build muscle. Muscle tissue is denser than fat so it will be heavier than the same volume of fat. Water weight can also vary your readings by a surprisingly large amount.
Try to keep a steady eating routine. It will throw your body off if you skip a meal and starve yourself only to stuff your face later. Avoid such situations as much as possible.
For added variety you may look into using a stability ball and/or a medicine ball during your ab workout. Doing crunches on the stability ball will improve your balance, or you may use it to get a little more flexion in your abs. The medicine ball has many different uses, the simplest one being added weight.
If you are already skinny, but simply don't have the abdominal muscle that you want, passively exercising while doing other things can help a great deal. If you spend a long time in a sitting position, try continuously clenching your stomach. Get in the habit of doing this for hours at a time and you may be surprised at its effectiveness.
Warnings
This exercise regimen will only work for a select few individuals. For some people, this exercise advice will actually provide the opposite desired effects. For example, for people who have a few extra pounds around the belly and start this from scratch, they are actually more likely to look larger in the belly for a period of time since they are putting on muscle beneath their fat at first. You may want to begin for a significant period of time by doing more cardio to lose fat all over the body. Doing specific muscle exercises, unfortunately does not remove fat from that specific area of the body. Additionally, focusing solely on the abs can produce an imbalance in the body and may cause back problems where there were none before or exacerbate any existing problems
As with any exercise program, consult your doctor before making major changes in your workout routine if you have medical problems. Increase loads slowly. Being eager is great but setting unrealistic goals isn't going to help you in the long run.
If you have a bad back be especially careful when doing abdominal exercises. You can injure it or aggravate any injuries you may have. Always stretch after warming up (a short jog or brisk walk is a good way to warm up)and after exercising.
Don't starve yourself. If you go hungry for an extended period of time your metabolism will slow down. The body, thinking that no food is available tries to make the best of what it has and goes into power-saving mode. Not only that, but starving yourself makes it very easy to go on eating binges, building up your desire for high-calorie foods.
Fibre also acts like a mild laxative. Be careful if you eat a lot of fibre. It can also cause some gas if you're not used to taking in so much fibre. If you increase your fibre dosage by a lot, increase your water intake too. Excessive fibre with little water can result in digestive problems.
Habitual snacking on unhealthy foods is often done almost subconsciously. Many people do this and don't realize how many calories they take in. They insist they eat very little (which is true during their major meals), but they don't realize that their snacking is making them gain weight or stopping them from losing weight. Avoid buying high sugar snacks and instead buy healthy, low calorie snacks. A way to prevent unhealthy snacking is to write down everything you eat in a day. As you watch the list grow you will be inclined to put that donut down.
Be wary of ab machines that you may see on TV. You can get a great ab workout just by using the floor. Remember that it's not the exercise that will give you the six pack. It's the combination of strength exercises and fat loss. Playing more athletic sports, weight lifting, and cardio exercises are a million times more effective for fat loss than using an exercise machine. If you feel you need to use those machines, a gym membership will likely suit you much better.
Supplements can be useful, but they are just what they advertise themselves to be; supplements. There is no magic pill to make you lose weight with no work. There are some supplements out there that can help you lose weight by increasing your metabolism or by helping you curb your appetite, but you still have to work. Most tend to be "snake oil" and will not really give you any results while costing you great deals of money. And remember, even if they DO help, all supplements still require the consumer to watch their diet and increase their exercise. A simple multivitamin/mineral pill is likely all that most people will need.
Sit ups can be bad for your back. They have caused many lower back problems and are not recommended by most doctors. More and more K-12 schools are phasing sit ups out and switching to crunches. A good alternative to sit ups is to lay on your back, lift your feet in the air as high as you can reach them, and lift your butt off the floor instead. The best results come when you do them slow and tighten your abs (and even butt). When you lower your legs do not let your butt touch the ground completely, then repeat. This exercise conditions, tightens, and hardens all the same muscles as a sit up when used with crunches as well.
Most of us search for ways to tone up our abdominal area. However, a lot of us can't or don't want to do basic sit ups, for various reasons. Here are a few alternative exercises that are very effective in tightening the abdominal area.
Steps
Use your furniture. Simply sit up straight on an ottoman and hook your toes underneath a chair in your living room. Come straight back laying across the ottoman. Then, slowly, bring yourself back up to a sitting position. Do as many repetitions as you think you can.
Lie on your bed . Lie back, place your arms to your sides, and lift your legs (keeping both legs together) in a pointing straight up position. Then slowly bring them down. When your legs are about 2-3 inches from the bed, hold them there for 1-2 minutes. Then lower the legs and relax. Do as many reps as you can.
Do scissor cuts. Keeping your legs and arms in the same position on the bed, lift your legs and cross one over the other. Just work at your own pace and do what you feel you can.
Multitask. While cleaning up the kitchen or doing chores, try to remember to tighten your stomach muscles and then let them relax. This tip works great for your rear-end, as well. Add a little bending and stretching into your daily activities whenever you can.
Climb stairs. This can be great for your stomach, as well as other parts of your body. If you'd like, you could buy or have someone make a step-master for you.
Eat a high-fiber diet, with healthy and moderate amounts of food. This will help to keep your body in good condition, and make it receptive to workouts. A small amount of apple cider vinegar added to a cup of prune juice may be good to try.
Exercise when you can. Use a bike or exercise bike regularly--it will help to tighten your abdominal area and improve your overall health.
Stand up while doing the sit up motion. Be sure to keep your back straight and maintain your posture. Alternate your angle of attack to work different muscles, even going so far as to do the sit up backwards.
Tips
Stay faithful to whatever route you take.
Any exercise is better than none at all.
Some of the exercises listed are easier on a person's back than the traditional sit-up.
Having an exercise bike can help you to exercise even when the weather is not nice outside.
Be sure to record your exercise activity. It's highly recommended that you use a calendar with large spaces to write in. Keep it hanging in the room where you have your exercise equipment or where you exercise. When recording exercise activities, use abbreviations, such as "EB" for exercise bike.
Save your calendars. This way, you can look back, from year to year, to see how long that you stuck with it. Hopefully, you will be amazed with yourself and very pleased.
Warnings
Don't be too hard on yourself. You'll enjoy exercising more if you don't drive yourself into the ground.
Don't set unrealistic goals for yourself, such as trying to look like a certain celebrity or supermodel.
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As technology and medicine evolve over time, the life expectancies in most countries are increasing. Here are a few additional ways of increasing the odds that you will make it to that ripe old age of 85 and beyond.
Steps
Eat healthy for life. Indulge only when necessary and have a well-balanced diet. Read and understand "Nutrition Facts".
Eat less processed food. Processed foods contain lots of refined sugar. Sugar makes your body cells replicate at a faster rate. Unfortunately, cells can only replicate a certain number of times before the replicating process ends. In other words, those cells aren't there for your body any more, and there are no cells to replace them. That means that you die. So, although sugar feeds the cells and helps the replication process, it shortens their life span, and by extension, your lifespan.
Not many people have the time to find the correct foods to eat. Multi-vitamins do not help you attain the nutrition level you need to sustain a healthy life. Healthy eating is much better enabling you to absorb correct vitamins which also solidifies your mental and physical state; In effect allowing you to live a longer better life as well.
Introduce regular exercise into your life. While most people lead quite busy lives, the benefits of exercise usually present themselves in all areas of your life. Gradually introducing exercise will lead to longer patterns of fitness rather than adopting a harsh workout regime each New Year's.
Develop a sleep schedule. It is not as important to get a certain number of hours of sleep, so much as it is to get the same amount of sleep, at the same time, day in and day out. Sleep gives your body a chance to heal and regenerate; having a stable sleeping routine will help your body take care of itself more easily. If you do not carry out successful sleep cycles over an extended period of time (48+ hours) you can seriously affect your physical and mental health.
Have close relationships People who are able to confide in close friends or life partners have been shown to live longer and healthier lives. This is due to the alleviation of stress, boredom, and depression. The result will be a mentally and physically healthier person. Cherish your friends and family.
Drink plenty of water. This universal solvent is a most effective weapon against toxins and many other violators. It flushes out your system like nothing else does.
Think first. This step includes looking both ways before you cross the street, as children are taught but many adults take it for granted, and wear protective gear when necessary. Whether you are riding a bike or skateboard, working on a construction site, or handling potentially harmful substances. While the human skull is quite thick and sturdy, severe head trauma can result from the brain being jostled around inside the skull from an impact, potentially resulting in permanent brain damage or even death.
Reduce causes of stress and depression in your life. This can have a very negative impact on your heart, and other physiology. Learn to cope with stress by trying different relaxation techniques or simply by looking at things differently. Take deep breaths during your most stressful moments.
Quit smoking. Any form of smoke is bad for you, no matter how little you take in. While tobacco companies still stand by their claims that smoking does not cause cancer, there is a consensus in the medical community that smoking is very hazardous to your health and can often result in premature death. Attempt to break the addiction by trying nicotine gum, or a nicotine patch.
Be safe. Avoid potentially dangerous activities that frequently or occasionally end in death or dismemberment, such as skydiving, bullfighting, or relationships with dangerous people.
Attend yearly physicals. Identifying potentially deadly health problems early can result in their eradication.
Stock up on antioxidants. Recent studies have shown that antioxidants may slow the process of aging. Antioxidants can be found in a number of fruits and vegetables and can also be found in herbal supplements and teas.
Avoid overindulgence. Too much of anything can cause harm, whether it be food, drink, drugs, or even medicine -- even Tylenol can be fatal if ingested in great enough quantity. Non-prescription and illegal drugs may contain chemicals and/or other drugs that are unfit for human consumption, but keep in mind that alcohol and tobacco are among the worst drugs. Do not forget that caffeine is also a drug. Any drug, from alcohol to aspirin, carries with it a risk of shortening and ending your life. If you do decide to use any drugs, be responsible -- do your research, make sure you understand their properties and side effects, and use them appropriately. The same applies to food -- read nutrition labels and do some research to understand what the information means to your health. With anything you ingest, moderation is key.
Wear sunblock. Even if you are dark skinned and have no history of skin cancer in your family, the increasing number of UVA and UVB rays hitting the Earth from the sun pose a threat to anyone and everyone who spends more than 15 minutes a day out of the house or office. Get SPF 30 or higher.
Try not to be afraid. Seriously, the worst stress comes from the inside. If you are in constant fear of anything or everything (phobias) you become as fragile as an ant, asking for life to step on you. Be as passive and easy going as you can. There are bigger things like earthquakes, stray bullets, automobiles and airplanes that can kill in an instant but which you cannot defend against, and are not afraid of anyway, right? Fear is a tool, and it has a purpose, but it is most often bad for your well-being. Do not be afraid, be aware.
Drink lots of tea. There are two main types of tea - green and black. Both are from the the same tree, however green tea is less processed than black tea. Green tea has many health benefits, including reportedly reducing the chance of heart attack and cancer. Other benefits include increased energy and metabolic weight (good for weight loss), and high antioxidant content (slows down aging). Black tea has these benefits also but at a reduced level. Try and drink 5 cups of green tea a day, and let the tea brew for at least 5 minutes before drinking - the stronger the better for you!
Eat dark chocolate. One piece of dark chocolate a day can benefit the heart as cocoa solids have a beneficial effect of the heart and arteries. Dark chocolate has more antioxidants than other kinds of chocolate. Look for 60% cocoa or more. Chocolate also makes you happy (in case you did not know) because it releases endorphins.
Drink one glass of red wine a day. Red wine contains substances called polyphenols which maintain the elasticity of the artery walls and also act as antioxidants - thus helping maintain a healthy heart and slowing down ageing. Anecdotally, the oldest woman in the world, Jeanne Calment, drank one glass of wine a day, and she lived until she was age 122. If you would rather not drink wine everyday, consider eating red grapes instead.
Look on the bright side. Having an optimistic point of view is healthy and those who drink from the cup that is half full tend to have a much stronger resilience to any health problems.
Enjoy fish such as salmon. Whether it is farmed or wild, eating salmon 2 to 3 times a week can reduce your chance of contracting coronary heart disease by up to 30 percent as well as contribute to reducing your risk of other factors such as diabetes, alzheimers, asthma and so on.
Keep on working. It's been proven that people who stay active in their jobs, or volunteer work, live longer. Being a part of a community and/or work-force into your golden years will keep your life filled and fulfilling up until the end.
Tips
There are moisturizers (both facial and body) with built-in sunblock that don't make you smell like you just came from the beach. In addition to keeping your skin protected, lotion will help keep it firm.
Eat Garlic, but use it in moderation (need I say more?). Having certain quantities of garlic in daily meals actually keeps you from getting sick and builds up your immune system.
Study the lifestyles and habits of "centenarians" - people who've lived past 100 years old.
While the body is always an important factor in long life, do not neglect your psychological health. What good is having a body that can live for 120 years if your brain dies from the inside out at 50? If you experience any changes in your attitudes or behaviors, such as a quickening of the temper, a dulling of the senses, or a slowness in speech or thought, consult a mental health professional. It may be nothing, but better safe than sorry. Also, reducing stress and anxiety will help to keep your mind healthy.
Premium medical insurance will help not only keep you alive, but alleviate much concern over whether you will have a fighting chance should tragedy strike.
Warnings
Don't get so caught up in living long that you forget to enjoy life! A happy life full of strong relationships will definitely reduce stress and make your long stay worthwhile.
Be wary of bad science. Many things found to be beneficial to your health today may tomorrow be declared harmful. Make sure you research each alteration to your diet before you implement it. Consider the source and where the funding for the research came from. If in doubt, consult a doctor or two.
Too much water can also be bad for you and have its own side effects. Several glasses a day, or just water in supplement of other liquids during meals will be enough.
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The Soup Diet is based on a fat-burning soup that contains negligible calories. The more soup you eat the more weight you should lose. It allows people to eat as much Cabbage Soup as they want each day, which should sound appealing to dieters. After all, dieters love to hear that they can eat unlimited amounts of food and still lose weight fast.
The Diet relies on eating strange and bizarre combinations of food that nearly force you to starve each day. Dieters are allowed all the water and cabbage soup they want, plus a very restricted set of other foods.
A running myth suggests that this diet originated at any number of hospitals, but thus far, no medical facilities have claimed it as their own. Consensus is that the diet is effective for temporarily losing a few pounds. However, this is not a very nutritionally sound plan and certainly not one to live on.
As with any other diet, care is required and you should consult your doctor if you have any health concerns.
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The 7 Days Cabbage Soup Diet Plan
Eat as much soup as you desire for seven days and you can lose 10 to 15 pounds. The recipe varies slightly, but includes a variety of low-calorie vegetables such as cabbage, onions, and tomatoes, flavored with bouillon, onion soup mix, and tomato juice. Each day of the seven-day program has specific foods that must be eaten, including potatoes, fruit juice, many vegetables, and on one day, beef.
Day One:
Eat only fruit, all the fruit you want except banana.
Drink unsweetened tea, black coffee, cranberry juice, and water.
Eat as much soup as you like.
Day Two:
All you want - fresh, raw, or cooked vegetables of your choice. Stay away from dry beans, peas, and sweet corn. Reward yourself with a big baked potato with butter for dinner. Eat as much soup as you like but no fruit for today.
Day Three:
Combine days one and two, eat as much fruit, vegetables, and soup, as you like but no baked potato.
Day Four:
Eat as many as eight bananas and drink as many glasses of skim milk as you would like on this day, along with your soup. This day is supposed to lessen your desire for sweets.
Day Five:
You may have 10-20 ounces of beef (300-500g) and a large tin or up to six fresh tomatoes. Drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water this day to wash the uric acid from your body. Eat your soup at least once today. You may eat broiled or baked chicken (skinless) instead of beef. If you prefer, you can substitute broiled fish for the beef.
Day Six:
Eat beef and vegetables today. You can even have two or three steaks if you like, with fresh vegetables or salad. NO BAKED POTATO. Eat your soup at least once.
Day Seven:
Eat all you want of brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices, and vegetables. Be sure to eat your soup at least once to day. No bread, alcohol, or carbonated beverages, not even diet soda.
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Independent Articles About:
1. Lose Weight Fast
2. Diet fads & Dieting
3. Long Term Weight Loss
Lose Weight Fast - Six Sensible Tips for Long Term Weight Loss
By Sacha Tarkovsky
In this article we are going to show you some sensible PROVEN Ways to lose weight fast.
The good news about the diet tips enclosed are they do not involve starving yourself, or using fad diets that can actually be bad for your long term health.
1. Drink water
Water is quite possibly the single most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off longer term.
Water acts as an appetite suppressant by keeping your stomach full and fending off dehydration which can lead to false cravings/hunger.
Water also helps your body metabolize stored fat by helping the kidneys flush out waste. When you don't drink enough water the liver which works to provide stored fat for energy helps the kidneys eliminate waste and becomes less effective at metabolizing fat.
Drinking water ice cold burns about 62 calories a day. Your body has to work to raise that waters temperature to your body's temperature. This equals around 430 calories per week.
2. Eat regularly
This means eating 5 times a day and the most important meal is breakfast.
Make sure you fuel your body first thing in the morning to avoid hunger pangs later in the day.
When you eat 5 times a day you will never feel hungry, make sure the total calories consumed are sensible and don't over eat in any of the meals learn portion size control!
3. Eat lots of fibre
Eating adequate fiber foods to help keep things moving through your bowel. And like water, fiber rich foods bulk you up and make you feel fuller for longer.
Fibre is found only in plant foods our bodies cant digest it to so it simply goes through the body. During the elimination process it cuts calories consumed by attaching to protein and fat that you eat along with it removes that as well
In addition, high fiber foods are typically low in calories and filling, so you are reducing your calorie intake overall.
Good fibre foods include: strawberries, apples, figs, chickpeas, potatoes, (with skins) broccoli, brown rice, beans, bran and nuts.
4. Consume more good fats
There are good fats and bad fats
Good fats provide you with essential fatty acids (linoleic and linolenic acids) needed for normal reproduction and growth, as well as for production of prostoglandin, a hormone like compound that regulates blood pressure, prevents blood clotting and lowers the risk of heart disease.
For example, the reason oily fish is a great food stems from the fact that the essential fatty acids which it contains can actually help your body burn fat more efficiently and protect against disease. Get at least three portions of oily fish a week with Salmon, mackerel, herrings and sardines being good choices. 5. Get plenty of quality protein
Quality protein is an effective weight control tool because of the satiety factor and its ability to keep you full for longer periods. It also balances out carbohydrates by preventing insulin spikes that cause energy loss and sugar cravings
Protein helps to maintain muscle mass which is important in the fat burning process.
Good choices include:
Fish, shrimps, Low fat cottage cheese, low fat yogurt, skimmed milk, egg whites, s Weight gain is caused by consuming too many calories, whether they are from carbohydrate, protein or fat.
6. Carbohydrates can help you lose weight
Don't believe what you read about carbohydrates being bad for you, they can actually help you lose weight!
A diet containing good carbohydrates such fruits and vegetables, wholegrains and moderate in fat and calories, will result in weight loss
Good carbohydrates will also help you combat hunger pangs as they are slowly realized into the body.
When eating carbohydrates eat them "from the earth" with no refining or processing.
These include whole grains, vegetables; fruits and beans.
Sensible weight loss
If you have read the above you will see that it is not the food group, but the quality of the food in it that's important for fast weight loss.
We have outlined all the major food groups above and providing you eat quality foods in these groups and eat a sensible 5 meals a day you will lose weight and feel healthy and full.
For more sensible advice on diet and wieght diet as well free newsletters and ezines go to: http://www.net-planet.org
Quality Protein - Eat It and Lose Weight Fast!
By Sacha Tarkovsky
It provides an immediate satiety factor and because it keeps you full for longer periods.
It also balances out carbs by preventing insulin spikes that lead to a drain of energy and cravings for sugar.
Protein helps maintain muscle mass which is a very important part in the fat burning process.
Lose weight and feel healthier
A diet based on increased, levels of protein has been shown in a number of studies to give an added boost to dieters. By helping them increase weight loss, increase loss of body fat, and reduce the loss of muscle tissue.
Most experts recommend a diet containing 25 - 35 percent protein for weight loss and between 20 - 25 percent protein for weight maintenance.
In the above cases, the protein consumed should be high quality protein.
Evidence as to why protein curbs hunger
An experiment found that feeding rats a high protein diet increased the activity of genes involved in glucose production in the animal's small intestine.
The consequence of this led to increased glucose production, which was detected by the liver, and relayed to the brain, causing the rats to cut their food intake.
So lets look at some great quality proteins, that if eaten will make you healthier, more energetic and help you lose weight.
Chicken and turkey
These are excellent their low in fat (without the skins) and you can roast, broil, grill, or sauté them
One word of caution: If you're buying ground turkey or chicken make sure its breast meat. Most ground turkey or chicken contains dark meat and skins and other stuff as filler, which is certainly not quality meat!
Fish and shellfish
You have a huge variety to choose from here.
In fish you have salmon, tuna, cod, haddock, halibut, sea bass, snapper, herring, mackerel, sardines and swordfish.
In shellfish crab and lobster are good choices.
You can't go wrong with these foods, just be careful on the sauce and don't fry them.
Red meat
Yes you can eat red meat!
Contrary to belief it's not all full of cholesterol. You can have lean meat which is only about 7% fat.
Choose the round cut, top sirloin, shank, round flank or chuck for meat low in saturated fat.
Low fat cottage cheese
Of all the protein foods this is one of the best and you don't even have to cook it, it's a tasty quick snack whenever you feel hungry.
Egg whites
Packed with protein, low in calories and containing no cholesterol another great quality protein choice.
Just make sure the egg is well cooked to kill salmonella bacteria.
A word of warning
Yes quality protein is good for you, but don't go over the recommended proportion in your diet i.e. 35% maximum.
You still need fat and carbohydrates for a balanced diet!
Diet at the end of the day is all about balance and it's the balance of the food and the quality you eat, which is reflected in your weight and overall health.
For more sensible advice on diet and wieght diet as well free newsletters and ezines go to: http://www.net-planet.org
Beware of Diet Fads When Trying to Shed Pounds
By Tony Robinson
It might be actresses such as Suzanne Sommers and Jane Fonda, or models such as Christie Brinkley or Kathy Ireland. It seems that a number of celebrities today offer their own weight loss programs. The programs are appealing because we see these various svelte celebrities and we want to have bodies just like them. The celebrities are also highly likable, so we have a predisposition to be accepting of their products.
However, did you ever stop to think whether these celebrities have any nutritional training? Do they have medical training? Is the information that they offer nutritionally sound? Or is it just a good sales pitch?
Nutrition experts Annette B. Natow and Jo-Ann Heslin, authors of the book Get Skinny the Smart Way, say that consumers should be leery of celebrity-inspired diet books. They point out that such books are often based upon nutritional fiction and that, while the diets outlined in these books may result in short-term weight loss, they can be far from healthy in the long run. Therefore, you might consider passing up the celebrity diet books and opting for those written by nutritional experts instead.
But celebrities aren't the only ones preaching fad diets. For instance, there's the so-called grapefruit diet which recommends consuming a grapefruit prior to each meal. Another fad is the cabbage soup diet, which requires you to consume all the cabbage soup you can handle. Other fads call for eating all the eggs you can...consuming only raw foods...or fasting every other day. Such diets are not only based on nutritional misinformation--they can also be dangerous.
For instance, let's take a closer look at the cabbage soup diet. No major health organization has endorsed it. Moreover, the American Heart Association disapproves of it, noting that it can actually harm you. Promoters of this diet say that you can lose as much as 15 pounds a week by following it--what they don't say is that most of that weight is water weight. Once you begin eating normally again, you will see your weight rise once more. Some of the side-effects of the cabbage soup diet include a feeling of weakness, stomach pains, and diarrhea.
Yet another questionable diet approach is what's known as food combining. Such a diet assumes that you are overweight because you are not eating the right combination of food. The requirements of such a diet can seem quite arbitrary. For instance, you might be told that you can eat a banana only in the morning. This is rubbish, since your stomach can deal with a variety of different foods at one time. The idea behind such a diet is to eat food with fewer calories, but there are other methods you can use to accomplish the same goals.
Some companies even claim that you can shed pounds while you dream. They say that, if you use their product right before bedtime, you will lose weight. In actuality, no company can make such a claim with any degree of credibility. It is impossible to burn a large number of calories while snoozing. In other cases, you may be tempted to try to lose weight by consuming special milkshakes or candy bars. In essence, these products are just milk and candy with certain vitamins and minerals added. However, one rarely feels satisfied after consuming these products.
As a result, you may find yourself actually consuming additional calories during the rest of the day. While you might be able to theoretically lose weight in the short-term, you'll find it difficult to maintain the weight loss over the long haul.
The fact of the matter is that there is a great deal of money that can be made through the sale and marketing of diet products. As long as America has a large contingent of overweight people, companies will try to make a profit off of overeating. It is up to you to be savvy enough to recognize a diet fad when you see it and opt for a different approach to losing weight. You'll find that there are really no short-cuts to weight loss. Any successful diet program takes time, patience, and determination, along with a willingness to change your eating patterns.
As a Teacher of Sport and Physical Education, Tony Robinson has a keen interest in Health and Weight Loss issues. For handy hints and tips for weight loss visit http://www.weight-loss-arena.com
Need To Lose Weight Fast For A Special Occasion?
By Kirsten Hawkins
If you have just a little weight to lose, and want to take it off fast (say, so you can fit into those great pants for your cousin's wedding), there are a number of diets that you can use. Most of these wouldn't be recommended for long-term weight loss, as they substantially restrict your intake of some essential nutrients, so using them habitually may not be healthy. But if you're normal diet is healthy, and you just want a quick boost to drop 8-10 pounds quickly, or to kick off a new diet with a bang, the Cabbage Soup Diet actually works. The cabbage soup diet has been around for nearly 30 years. It's based on the notion that your body actually uses more calories to digest cabbage than the amount that it derives from cabbage. It's a so-called 'negative calorie diet', and includes many foods that, like cabbage, are high in fiber and very low in calories. The base of the cabbage soup diet is - what else? Cabbage soup. There are several recipes for cabbage soup available. Essentially, the soup is made with onions, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, celery and spices to taste. You'll be eating the soup every day - as much of it as you want. In addition, there is a seven day routine of foods to supplement the cabbage soup. Day One: All the fruit you want (except bananas) along with all the soup that you want. No caffeinated beverages or sodas. Drink only water, tea and cranberry juice. Day Two: Eat all the vegetables that you want, but avoid dried beans, peas and corn. Eat veggies raw, fresh or cooked. No fats, no sauces, no butter. At dinner, you may have one baked potato with butter - and of course, all the cabbage soup that you want! Day Three: Eat all the fruits and veggies that you want from day two and day three - but NO baked potato. Day Four: Bananas and skim milk - yes, all the skim milk you want, plus up to eight bananas, along with -- you guessed it, all the cabbage soup you want. Day Five: Eat ten to twenty ounces of beef (or skinless chicken, or broiled fish). Drink at least 10 glasses of water, and eat up to six fresh tomatoes. (if you substitute for the beef today, you may not tomorrow) Day Six: Eat all the beef, vegetables and cabbage soup that you want. No baked potato. Lots of leafy green vegetables. Day Seven: You can have all the unsweetened fruit juices, brown rice, and vegetables that you want - and at least one bowl of soup. That's it. Remember - this diet is NOT recommended for long term weight loss, or long term use. It doesn't contain enough complex carbohydrates to be healthy for longer than a few days. But if you just need a jump-start or a quick fix, it's a good way to pick up the pace for a week.
Kirsten Hawkins is a nutrition and health expert from Nashville, TN. Visit http://www.popular-diets.com/ for more great nutrition, well-being, and vitamin tips as well as reviews and comments on popular diets.
Lose Weight Fast - 5 Detox Tips To Speed Metabolism & 5 Tips To Lose Weight Fast!
By Sacha Tarkovsky
The enclosed ten tips are designed to help you lose weight fast.
The first 5 will get your metabolism working quickly to burn fat quicker and then you the 5 tips that follow will help you lose weight easily.
These 10 tips can be incorporate in sensible any diet and will see you shed pounds and lose weight fast!
5 Detox Tips
The body needs to be working as efficiently as possible to lose weight fast; as if your body organs are working at maximum efficiency you will shed weight quicker. Logical but not many people think about this when dieting
So here are your 5 easy natural detox tips
Eat cherries and strawberries
These foods are rich in ellagic acid a nutrient that helps mop up free radicals and help combat pollutants such as alcohol and as a by product they boost brain power.
You can also add raspberries an alternative to the above 2 choices.
Eat Grapes
These are rich in flavinols, which help your arteries work to their maximum and make blood run smoothly and quickly around the body.
Eat citrus fruits such as berries
These foods are rich in vitamins C & E, which will help cleanse and detoxify the liver making it work more efficiently.
Prunes & Fibre
Eat prunes as they will naturally cleanse the colon stimulating the gut and help expel waste quicker, you should also up your intake of fibre as well to cleanse the colon further.
Apricots
If you are smoker this food is particularly useful, apricots are rich in beta-carotene and vitamin C which helps repair smoke damage to the lungs.
Cranberries or juice
Contains proanthocyanidin which are antitoxants that will help cleanse and flush out the kidneys.
You can also add a couple of supplements if you wish top the above list to help detoxify further. Alfalfa and milk thistle are good choices. The first acts as a general cleanser and the second as a cleanser for the liver.
Your organ will be working more efficiently with above foods and this will help you get rid of weight faster as your kidneys and liver in particular will work more smoothly.
Now here are 5 tips to lose weight fast
5 Easy weight loss tips
Drink Iced Water
Two litres a day minimum. Water has to be iced as the body will burn 100 calories just heating the water to normal body temperature. Also hunger pangs are very often thirst pangs, so this will help you stop over eating.
Add lemon to flavour if you wish and gain the added benefit of cleansing your liver at the same time.
Water also helps your body metabolize stored fat by helping the kidneys flush waste quicker. When you don't drink enough water the liver needs to help the kidneys perform this function. When the liver has to help the kidneys its normal function of providing stored fat for energy is slowed down.
Green tea
Drink 5 cups a day. Research shows this can burn a massive 80 calories a day! It is believed the antioxidant catechins in green tea boost the metabolism and help burn fat.
Chilli sauce & mustard
These foods increase your calorie burning capacity by between 5 - 10% for up to 2 hours after eating. This is because they contain capsaicin which speeds the metabolism, so if you enjoy hot food your in luck!
Low fat diary foods
Can increase fat burning in the abdominal area. Why? Because these foods are rich in calcium which encourages the release of fat from fat cells and also reduces the amount of fat absorbed.
Eat Fibre
Eating fiber foods to help keep things moving through your bowel as stated above and makes you feel full.
The average person can lose 9-10 pounds in one year just from doubling their fiber intake aim for 25grams per day ( the average for most adults is just 8grams ) fiber rich foods include strawberries, apples, brown rice, chick peas, potatoes ( with skins ) and brown rice.
The above tips should be incorporated into a sensible diet and they will enhance it and help you lose weight fast.
For more sensible advice on diet and wieght diet as well free newsletters and ezines go to: http://www.net-planet.org
Little Tricks To Help You Lose Weight Fast
By Spencer Fogliano
Little Tricks To Help You Lose Weight Fast
Yeah we all know that we are supposed to cut calories, do cardio and hit the gym to get in shape, but there are lots of little tricks you shouldn't ignore if you want to slim down quick.
Take The Stairs Taking the stairs instead of the elevator every day can help you burn some extra calories. It may not seem like a lot but it adds up. Over a period of a year, taking the stairs can burn off an extra five lbs. of fat.
Snack on Pickles Pickles are delicious and they have only 1 calorie each!
Drink H20 Before You Eat Drinking water before you eat will fill you up so you don't eat as much. Try to down 2 glasses of water 10 minutes before each meal. You'll notice that you can't down that entire pizza if you do, and you definitely will skip deser.
Skip The Soda If you do nothing else, at least skip the soda for 1 meal a day. This can save you up to 3,000 calories per week!
Don't Shop Hungry When you are about to go to the supermarket to pick up food for the week, make sure you eat a big meal before you go. You'll notice that suddenly all of those junky foods won't have the same appeal and you'll be more likely to make wiser decisions.
Don't Be Fooled By The Fat Free Phenomenon Skip the fat free frozen yogurt and other sweets that are loaded with sugar. Very often these fat free sweets are filled with sugar to make up for the taste they lose with the fat.
Put Up Photos Put up some photos on your refrigerator of how you want to look and/or pics of you when you were in great shape. This will help motivate you to resist every time you feel like reaching for that gallon of ice cream. You can also put a pic of you when you looked really out of shape to show you how you DON'T want to look. This can be even more motivating.
Eat Slowly It takes a while for the brain to register that it's full. If you eat slow enough you'll give your body time to notify the brain that you've had enough and you'll eat less because you'll feel full
Don't Eat With Fat Friends Yeah, we know Joey's been your friend since the first grade but that doesn't mean you have to go eat with him. Getting into the eating pattern of fatter friends can be a quick road to destruction.
Don't Eat Everything On Your Plate Americans have the habit of finishing everything on their plate even when they are full. It probably stems from our mom telling us that we need to finish everything because there are starving kids in Ethiopia that would do anything for our food. Forget about all of this guilt. Your mom will be much happier when you eat less and live much longer to take care of her when she's old.