Archive for the ‘Body’ Category
Published by
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May 18, 2008
ApplePatchDiet.com - Herbal Weight-Management.
1) Resolve to never supersize your food portions-unless you want to supersize your clothes.
2) Start eating a big breakfast. It helps you eat fewer total calories throughout the day.
3) Eating out? Halve it, and bag the rest. A typical restaurant entree has 1,000 to 2,000 calories, not even counting the bread, appetizer, beverage, and dessert.
4) When dining out, make it automatic: Order one dessert to share.
5) Eat the low-cal items on your plate first, then graduate. Start with salads, veggies, and broth soups. Eat meats and starches last, by the time you get to them, you’ll be full enough to be content with smaller portions of the high-calorie choices.
6) Instead of whole milk, switch to 1 percent. If you drink one 8-oz glass a day, you’ll lose 5 lb in a year. Juice has as many calories, ounce for ounce, as soda. Set a limit of one 8-oz glass of fruit juice a day.
7) Get calories from foods you chew, not beverages.
Slow Down! Eating at a slower pace allows your mind to register the food that is in your stomach, and can prevent overeating.
9) Keep a food journal. It really works wonders.
10) Follow the Chinese saying: “Eat until you are eight-tenths full.”
11) Use mustard instead of mayo.
12) Eat more soup, the noncreamy ones are filling but low-cal.
13) Cut back or cut out caloric drinks such as soda, sweet tea, lemonade, etc. People have lost weight by making just this one change. If you have a 20-oz bottle of Coca-Cola every day, switch to Diet Coke. You should lose 25 lb in a year.
14) Limit alcohol to weekends.
15) Have a V8 or tomato juice instead of a Diet Coke at 3 pm.
16) At a buffet? Eating a little of everything guarantees high calories. Decide on three or four things, only one of which is high in calories. Save that for last so there’s less chance of overeating.
17) Dance to music with your family in your home. One dietitian reported that when she asks her patients to do this, initially they just smile, but once they’ve done it, they say it is one of the easiest ways to involve the whole family in exercise.
18) Next time you’re feeling wiped out in late afternoon, forgo that cup of coffee and reach for a cup of yogurt instead. The combination of protein, carbohydrate, and fat in an 8-ounce serving of low-fat yogurt will give you a sense of fullness and well-being that coffee can’t match, as well as some vital nutrients.
19) If you haven’t eaten in 3 to 4 hours, your blood glucose levels are probably dropping, so eating a small amount of nutrient-rich food will give your brain and your body a boost.
20) Drink more water! Water will not only prevent your body from becoming dehydrated, it will also help your body to continue to work efficiently throughout the day. Any type of calorie free beverages (ex. diet soda) can be consumed throughout the day as well. We often think that we are ‘hungry’ when we are actually just ‘thirsty’ so drink a glass of water before you head for the fridge!
21) Eat more fruit. A person who gets enough fruit in his diet doesn’t have a raging sweet tooth.
22) Eat your sweets, just eat them smart! Carve out about 150 calories per day for your favorite sweet. That amounts to about an ounce of chocolate, half a modest slice of cake, or 1/2 cup of regular ice cream.
23) Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The large majority of people who struggle with night eating are those who skip meals or don’t eat balanced meals during the day. This is a major setup for overeating at night.
24) If you’re eating at night due to emotions, you need to focus on getting in touch with what’s going on and taking care of yourself in a way that really works. Find a nonfood method of coping with your stress.
25) Brush your teeth right after dinner to remind you: No more food.
26) Eat without engaging in any other simultaneous activity. No reading, watching TV, or sitting at the computer.
27) Eating late at night won’t cause weight gain. It’s how many calories–not when you eat them–that counts.
28) Walk around the mall three times before you start shopping.
29) Make exercise a nonnegotiable priority.
30) Fat-free isn’t always your best bet. Research has found that none of the lycopene or alpha- or beta-carotene that fight cancer and heart disease is absorbed from salads with fat-free dressing. Only slightly more is absorbed with reduced-fat dressing; the most is absorbed with full-fat dressing. But remember, use your dressing in moderate amounts.
31) Skipping breakfast will leave you tired and craving naughty foods by midmorning.
32) If you’re famished by 4 p.m. and have no alternative but an office vending machine, reach for the nuts–The same goes if your only choices are what’s available in the hotel minibar.
33) Research suggests that you’re more likely to lose weight if you monitor what and how much you eat by writing it down.
34) Tune in to an audio book while you walk. It’ll keep you going longer and looking forward to the next walk–and the next chapter! Check your local library for a great selection. Look for a whodunit; you might walk so far you’ll need to take a cab home!
35) Think yoga’s too serene to burn calories? Think again. You can burn 250 to 350 calories during an hour-long class (that’s as much as you’d burn from an hour of walking)! Plus, you’ll improve muscle strength, flexibility, and endurance.
36) Overeating is not the result of exercise. Vigorous exercise won’t stimulate you to overeat. It’s just the opposite. Exercise at any level helps curb your appetite immediately following the workout.
37) Try 2 weeks without sweets. It’s amazing how your cravings vanish.
38) Use smaller plates or bowls during meal times to keep portion sizes in check and to avoid the temptation to “fill” the plate.
39) Watch out for “fat-free” products. With some products, the fat is often replaced with sugar, and it may contain just as many - if not more - calories! So it is always important to read food labels and exert calorie control!
40) Have fresh fruit instead of fruit juice.
41) Be careful of “empty calorie” beverages such as juice, soda, iced tea, and other “fruit” drinks. They provide you with a lot of calories, without a lot of good nutrition. They also fail to fill your stomach and satisfy your hunger.
42) Soups give you very good value for the calories. They are filling; a bowl of soup can be an entire meal. They are satisfying, for many people, they are more satisfying than raw vegetables, while many give you all the benefits of veggies (if you choose the soups chock full of vegetables).
43) On your next trip to the grocery store, load up on fruits and veggies and skip the candy and cookie aisles. Fool yourself by eating from dessert rather than dinner plates. Those two small steps added up to a huge but painless calorie reduction in a Pennsylvania State University study of 24 women.
44) Drinking water is a significant diet benefit, because the calorie-content of water is zero. Drinking water instead of milk, fruit juices or regular sodas helps to lower the calorie content of your diet and thus helps weight reduction.
45) An average 8 hours sleep burns about 450 calories, so your body NEEDS fuel at breakfast time. Not eating breakfast can cause your blood sugar levels to fall too low during the morning. A low blood sugar level may cause you to get a craving for high-calorie food. Also, going too long without food can cause your metabolism to slow down. Most surveys show that people who don’t eat breakfast are more likely to be overweight.
Published by
admin on
December 28, 2007
Moderate Exercises to Fitness!
Have you ever felt tired and stressed out from work and by the time you get home you see your three children running towards you asking you to play basketball with them? You refused and promised them that you will after you take you rest.
Instead of disappointing your children, why not say, “yes” after all? You will be surprised by the amount of energy you will have after that 30-minute activity.
Did you know that by exercising at a moderate pace for only 30 minutes, you would feel a lot better, mentally? It has been proven that this improves the appetite and sharpens your style in problem solving. Not only that. You will also feel that it is easier to sleep at night if you do moderate exercises even for only 30 minutes every day.
What are the benefits of regular exercise? It promotes self-discipline and has a positive impact how you perceive life. Exercise helps in lifting your spirits and getting you out of any depression. For first timers, it can be done for 15 minutes for 2 to 3 days a week. You can increase the time you spend once your body gets tuned up for it.
DON’T you ever force your body! If you get hurt, then stop. You can take a break from exercising for a few days and then you can start again but you need to start from day 1.
Here are some moderate exercises you can do and enjoy:
1. Do the Walking. Make use of your surroundings. You can walk your dog, with your partner or child. Encourage your family to do the walking exercise daily and you will find yourself burning calories while enjoying the surroundings and getting enough sunlight that is also good for your body.
2. Discover the wonders of Yoga. Yoga is one effective exercise that energizes not only your body but also your soul. You may want to learn even the basic yoga positions that are not too complicated but proven effective. A five-minute yoga exercise can perk you up and recharge your body with the energy you lost for the whole day. You relax and at the same time you stretch!
3. Engage yourself into sports. Play basketball, football, baseball, tennis or badminton. Many doctors have recommended sports as an effective way to stay fit and healthy. Sports can also be done in moderation. Do not take it seriously. Shooting basketball with a friend is one moderate exercise that is also considered a sport.
4. Join exercise programs at work. If you still do not have exercises programs at work, then why not start it? You can talk to your boss about it and start with your colleagues. You do not only lose calories but it is also one good way to bond with them. This can be done 30 minutes, 3 times a week.
5. Exercise while doing household chores. Gardening, raking leaves, lawn mowing, doing the laundry, vacuuming and car washing are effective moderate exercises at home. Make use of these chores to sweat and burn calories. Instead of using machines and gadgets to perform these chores, why not do it with your hands and lose some fats?
Making exercises as part of your daily routines will surprise you of how much calories you will lose. Doing these moderate exercises of the same amount every day can burn 150 calories up to 1,000 calories a day!
Published by
admin on
December 28, 2007
Before fitness training, one must give importance to doing warm-up or stretching exercises to prevent accidents or to enhance the output during the training. There are also a number of precautionary measures and tips to serve as guidelines when doing fitness exercises. Here are some of them.
1. To increase your flexibility and to avoid injuries, stretch before and after workout. Almost everyone knows that stretching before workout prevents injuries during the exercises, but only few people know that stretching after workout, when muscles are still warm, can increase flexibility.
2. Hold your stretching position for more than 60 seconds to increase flexibility. While holding your position for 20 seconds is enough for warm ups, holding each position for at least 60 seconds will develop the body’s flexibility.
3. Do not go into a stretching position then immediately return to the relaxed position, and do it repeatedly. This is more appropriately termed as bouncing while in a position. When stretching, hold that position for several seconds, and then slowly relax. You may do this exercise repeatedly this way. Bouncing or forcing yourself into a position during stretching can strain or damage some joints or muscles.
4. Work slowly in increments instead of immediately proceeding to doing the hardest exercise or position.
5. Make sure that you have stretched or warmed up all muscle groups. For some people, even if they have strong bodies, they tend to neglect the neck when working out of stretching. Stretching the neck muscles can be as simple as placing the palm of one’s hand against the front of the head and pushing it. Then, do the same to the sides and the back of the head.
6. Stretch regularly to continually increase your range of movements and your level of flexibility and strength.
7. Workout considering only your capabilities and not of others. Do not force yourself to do exercises that you are not yet capable of just because there are people who can do it. Increase your limits slowly. Listen to your body. There are days when your body may be too tired that you may have to consider reducing your range of motion.
8. Learn to rest. Rest in between sets and stations to make sure that the body has enough time to recover its energy. Also, it is advisable that you don’t work the same muscle groups consecutively for two days. The muscles grow during the period when you rest and not when you are working out.
9. Do aerobic exercises to strengthen your heart. Aerobic exercises are those physical activities that much oxygen for fuel. This includes cardiovascular exercises such as skipping rope, running or swimming.
10. Music may help you when you want to train for longer periods or to increase your intensity. You can use mp3 players, CD players or lightweight am radio receivers for this. Just make sure that you brought your headset with you so you wouldn’t disturb people who don’t prefer music while exercising.
Apart from preventing injuries and increasing one’s limit, it is also said that stretching is good for a tired body and also for a stressed mind and spirit.
Published by
admin on
December 28, 2007
One of the simplest and most effective ways to bring down blood glucose levels, cut the risk of cardiovascular disease, and improve overall health and well-being is physical fitness and exercise. Yet, in our increasingly sedentary world, where almost every essential task can be performed online, from the driver’s seat, or with a phone call, exercising and being physically fit can be tough case to sell.
In reality, everyone should exercise, yet survey shows that only 30% of the United States adult population gets the recommended thirty minutes of daily physical activity, and 25% are not active at all.
Inactivity is thought to be one of the key reasons for the surge of type 2 diabetes in America, because inactivity and obesity promote insulin resistance and other factors that trigger other kinds of diseases.
The good news is that it is never too late to get moving, and exercise is one of the easiest ways to start controlling the onset of any kinds of diseases. For people who are already candidates for some serious diseases like diabetes and heart failure, exercise and physical fitness can improve the condition of some parts of the body like insulin sensitivity, lower the risk of heart disease, and promote weight loss.
In 2003, the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism had published an issue regarding the result of their study and found out that lack of exercise and physical fitness were the key factors behind obesity and other serious diseases like diabetes.
Hence, it is extremely important for a person to stay healthy and be physically fit in order to avoid such illnesses.
Getting Started
The first order of business with any exercise plan, especially if you are a “dyed-in-the-wool” couch potato, is to consult with your health care provider.
If you have cardiac factors, your doctor may want to perform a stress test to establish a safe level of exercise for you.
Certain complications of some diseases will also dictate what type of exercise program you can take on. Activities like weightlifting, jogging, or high-impact aerobics can possibly pose a risk for people with diabetic retinopathy due to the risk for further blood vessel damage and possible “retinal detachment.”
Health experts also contend that patients with sever peripheral neuropathy or PN should avoid foot-intensive weight-bearing exercises such as long-distance walking, jogging, or step aerobics and opt instead for low-impact activities like swimming, biking, and rowing.
If you have conditions that make exercise and physical fitness a challenge, your provider may refer you to an exercise physiologist who can design a fitness program for your specific needs.
If you are already active in sports or work out regularly, it will still benefit you to discuss your regular routine with your doctor.
The bottom line is that physical fitness and exercise should not have to be a rigid activity and should not come off strong. Your exercise routine can be as simple as a brisk nightly neighborhood walk, walking the dog, or simply taking the stairs instead of the elevator. The important thing is that you keep on moving. Every little bit really helps a lot.
In the end, you will realize that the many things that good food can bring you are equally the same as what physical fitness can do for you.
