Posts Tagged ‘health fitness’

Do Diets Actually Work?

Thursday, June 25th, 2009
by James King

Stop dieting, start losing. You’ve heard that before but what should you really do? Stop riding the diet roller coaster and get on to the path towards permanent weight loss.

I bet you lost weight in the past only to put it back on within a short space of time. Have you followed every diet including South Beach, Atkins, the Peanut Butter diet, the Drinking Man’s diet, or even the Chocolate Diet? All of these diets work, and none of them work, meaning that you will probably lose weight if you lose them, but you won’t keep it off. Why not? Because when you complete the diet is you simply go back to your regular routine; the routine that got you fat to begin with.

Diets used to carry warnings saying that you should not to stay on them longer than the prescribed time; this would normally be two weeks, or sometimes just three days. Today’s on the other hand most diets are aiming to style themselves as lifestyle choices, but this doesn’t working either. You need to be able to eat a sandwich now and again. You might want a burger and the bun from time to time! If you aim for a balance between foods you prefer, and you will have a much better chance of success.

Small Changes: Big Answer to Weight Loss Blues

If you start today, and just take one day at a time by making one or even two small changes like changing to the sugar-free soft drinks. Weaning yourself down to two or less a day. You don’t have to make drastic changes. If you try and do this it will never work because while you might be happy to start with, you slowly get depressed near to the end. In fact, that is the problem: you are anticipating the end.

It All Comes Down to Choices

Talk to people who’ve lost weight and kept it off. They’ll say, “This is a lifestyle.” It’s about choices you make every day. Are you choosing to take an extra helping, even though you’re comfortably full? Change that one behavior and you’re on your way. Do you choose to take the bag of chips to the couch? Change that, in fact just stop eating on the couch entirely and you’re one step closer. Eliminate the habit of grabbing a few bites on your way past the candy dish, that alone can shave several pounds.

Choose one small habit or behavior at a time, not your entire existence, and you’ll have a much better chance to reach your weight loss goals.

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Strengthen You Ab Muscles With Diet Plan

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
by Frank Powell

Regardless of your age, there is probably some interest in learning how to tone up your abs. If that wasn’t the case, then you probably wouldn’t be reading this article now. But getting rid of that stubborn belly fat in order to tone up your abs is probably one of the most difficult tasks to accomplish. The key is to continuously perform abdominal exercises everyday and eat the proper diet.

Some individuals are blessed with toned abs while others are too conscious about their stomach bulges. If you have excess body fats, the muscles in your abdomen area become invisible. According to experts, if you want to tone your ab muscles, you need to give particular attention to you diet. 75% of your effort should be dedicated to improving your diet and the other 25% is for the ab exercises.

The diet plays the largest role in toning ab muscles. However, with so many diet programs out there, you might find it hard to pick the best one that might work for you. The secret is to eat certain foods that can help in decreasing the body fat. Most of the diet programs help individuals in cutting down their calorie intake. If your body cant get enough calories from the foods you eat, then the fat stored in your body (particularly in your stomach area) will be used. If you start eating properly, you can surely shed those unwanted fats.

It is advised that you consult your doctor first before trying to select an eating or dieting plan. Doing this will ensure that you get meal plans that are perfectly suitable for your health conditions. Also, you need to learn which foods provide fewer calories. Remember, the less calories your body intakes, the more fat that is naturally burned by the body. This is why you need to change unhealthy eating habits that force you to intake large amounts of calories per day.

Exercise is also vital, especially abdominal exercises. The most common is the abdominal crunch and it is highly effective when done properly. The exercise is straight forward and very simple. Even if the exercise is obscure or weird, many people perform them. Having an exercise ball at home is also a good idea so that you can use it when doing your ab exercises. There are helpful DVDs and videos on how to use the exercise ball; watch the videos at home and follow the instructions carefully and properly. Another exercise is the sit up. Make sure that your feet remain flat on the floor when doing the exercise. Just bend your body as high as you can. Leg lifts, jackknife sit ups, and v-ups are effective exercises as well.

Please note that abdominal muscles are really stubborn. It requires a lot of patience in order to see your stomach muscles come in. But if you consistently exercise your abs and eat right for the next few months, you should be able to build strong toned abdominal muscles. Once you get rid of the stomach flab, you must continue with toning and strengthening your ab muscles so that they can show.

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The Scientific Way To Shed Those Pounds

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
by Tom McCarrick

There are many weight-loss products available online. They all have their good pounds and the information they provide is basically sound. But few of these (if any) take a scientific approach to weight loss or to fat burning. And they are missing a great opportunity I believe. To know why a body puts on weight (and keeps it on) is very valuable information in the “battle of the bulge”.

That’s not to say that exercise is not important. Of course it is – we should all have as active a lifestyle as possible, especially if we have a desk-bound job. Regular exercise (even if it’s just walking) is essential for a healthy heart and good circulation. And it helps in the fat burning process of any weight-loss program.

But few (if any) of the popular diet programs mention anything about the release of hormones, triggered by the food we eat and controlled by the brain. There are basically 2 main types – one controls fat burning and one controls fat storage

And these hormones can be manipulated – more of the fat burning type, and less of the fat storage type can be produced. To cause this to happen, you would need to eat more that 3 times a day!

People are flabbergasted when they hear this. It’s understandable – you would think that food is the “enemy” when it comes to being fat or being overweight. But that’s not right – food is not the “enemy”. In fact, through a judicious diet, food can be the main weapon to use in the battle against an overweight condition. The system is know as “calorie shifting” and it’s very effective as a way to lose weight. It’s achieved by eating certain foods on certain days. The inventors of this program have a very good understanding of how the whole fat burning/fat storage system works. And it’s hard to argue against their results – a loss of 9 pounds in 11 days is possible, and has been achieved over and over.

If you have been struggling with weight loss, it could be the answer that you are looking for. There are so many people who struggle with trying to lose weight and they are basically doing the same things over and over, and hoping for a different result.

But the chances are you have not come across a weight-loss program like this one (Fat Loss 4 Idiots) before. And one of the strong points in favour of it is, its just so different from anything else thats available. It gets to the root of the fat-burning issue and it works.

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The Skinny on Fat

Sunday, May 31st, 2009
by Dr. Madison Spurlock

Fat or to put it more eloquently adipose tissue is usually the least favorite ingredient in the recipe of us. Or at least its something wed only like a dash of. Should we get to know this valid part of our bodies? How much of it do you really need? What is fat actually used for and why are men apples while women tend to side with pears? I say know your enemy. So for today, were going to give the skinny on fat and know that it can be a friend in small doses.

What we are shooting for is a BMI over 18.5 but less than 25. That means we what our bodies to be less than a quarter made up of fat.

We can tack on another 4 percent for the fat that is stored in our organs, muscles and in our brain and spinal cord. This is essential fat and also why having a body mass under 18 is a health hazard due to possible organ failure.

Women need around an extra 4 percent to save up for the demands of pregnancy and breast-feeding. What we are shooting for is a BMI over 18.5 but less than 25. That means we what our bodies to be less than a quarter made up of fat.

And now that you know the skinny on fat, what can you do to help? Body By Laser is a new body-sculpting procedure designed to remove fat and contour the body without invasive surgery. Body By Laser unlike other procedures allows the patient to continue their daily activities without interruptions from surgery, pain, or wounds. Body By Laser works by utilizing the Erchonia LipoLASER (FDA market cleared for laser assisted liposuction) to emulsify adipose tissue which then releases into the interstitial space. The excess fat is passed through the body during its normal course of detoxification.

Low Level Lasers have been in use for over 40 years for treatment of many different conditions such as chronic pain, wound healing, and many other orthopedic conditions.

And now that you know the skinny on fat, what can you do to help? Body By Laser is a new body-sculpting procedure designed to remove fat and contour the body without invasive surgery. Body By Laser unlike other procedures allows the patient to continue their daily activities without interruptions from surgery, pain, or wounds.

Body By Laser works by utilizing the Erchonia LipoLASER (FDA market cleared for laser assisted liposuction) to emulsify adipose tissue which then releases into the interstitial space. The excess fat is passed through the body during its normal course of detoxification.

The Body By Laser procedure was proven through a double blind, randomized, multi-site, and placebo controlled study in which patients averaged a loss of 3.5 inches, and some lost up to as much as 9 inches compared to the placebo group that lost only a half an inch.

Women need around an extra 4 percent to save up for the demands of pregnancy and breast-feeding.

Low Level Lasers have been in use for over 40 years for treatment of many different conditions such as chronic pain, wound healing, and many other orthopedic conditions.

About the Protocol: Treatment takes 40 minutes and needs to be administered three times a week for two weeks for best results. The laser will be applied over the targeted area i.e.waist, hips, and thighs for 20 minutes and then the patient will turn over and do the same treatment on the opposite side. This should be a minimum, for maximum results consult your physician about doing more than one two week session. What to Expect: After completion of the two week protocol clinical trials resulted in an average of 3.5 inches lost; and some patient’s losing up to as much as 9 inches. As with any procedure results will vary and may be more dramatic from one patient to the next. This is not a quick weight loss program”we are targeting the adipose tissue and are not taking off excess water weight. We are removing the excess fat to successfully shape the body for a more desirable outcome.

Think of the last time your waist was 2-3 inches smaller, your hips had that natural curve, and your thighs were thinner. With the Body By Laser treatment you now have an alternative to a shapelier figure without having to endure the fear, and sometimes painful process of a surgical procedure.

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Bucks County Experts Teach On Six Pack Abs Made Easy

Sunday, May 31st, 2009
by Kareem F Samhouri, DPT, CSCS, HFI

Unstable surface training is the key to achieving six pack ab results without adding time to your workouts. Clients of mine that aim to improve six pack ab results have adopted unstable surface training to be their most influential factor in ab training. In addition to helping form ripped up abs, unstable surface training also assists with improving strength in the low back, decreasing waistlines, and achieving faster results in other aspects of fitness.

Two-for-one training programs suggest that you are working towards two goals at once while training. In the case of unstable surface ab training, you will be able to improve toning of your belly as well as improve function related to daily activity. Functional training of the abdominal region leads to improved rotational strength, low back stability, ease with transition movements such as on/off the floor, and digestion. Multiple muscle actions serve to:

Improve the likelihood of stimulating an entire muscle, as opposed to one region. Also, functional strengthening techniques generally lead to better regularity of working out, as you will be able to feel stronger with all daily activities.

Stomach fat reduction to the extent of achieving six pack abs requires diet modification as well as training. However, the statement should be made that lifestyle modification is much better than dieting, in that it is not temporary. Foods that require increased energy for digestion are considered less efficient, and, therefore, require more caloric expenditure for digestion. These foods are more likely to help you overcome the obstacle of belly fat reduction.

You will need to be disciplined and diligent in order to obtain the results you seeking. However, be cognizant of your fitness level, and progress slowly over time for best results. Plan for long-term results if your desire is to have six pack abs. Otherwise, your goal may only be sustainable for a short period of time, not a lifetime.

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Exercise Time Management in Bucks County

Saturday, May 30th, 2009
by Kareem F. Samhouri, DPT, CSCS, HFI

Establishing a routine with exercise is more difficult for most people than just about anything else they do. In actuality, it’s not that hard once you’ve been doing it for a little while. Most people that struggle with finding time for exercise are doing so because they are trying to “fit in” exercise, depending on the events for the day. Establishing a routine with exercise involves planning it into your schedule, developing workouts ahead of time, and mixing things up.

In order to be effective with your exercise program, you’ll need to schedule appropriately. This means that you’ll be more likely to succeed with your health and fitness goals if you schedule a specific time of the day to exercise for an entire month. The time of day does not have to be the same each day (although this is recommended), but it does have to be pre-scheduled, just as you would a doctor’s appointment.

Planning your exercises for a whole week at a time allows you to set small and manageable goals, while improving the flow of your exercise program. After all, whichever exercises you choose today will have an impact on tomorrow. Naturally, with this approach, you will see more variety in your exercise program as well.

Selection of which body part to exercise today based off of yesterday’s workout can be confusing at first. While this is another topic in and of itself, avoiding repetition of an exercise or muscle group for two to three days is usually only necessary in a pure strengthening program. On the other hand, sub-maximal exertion for endurance workouts allow for greater amounts of repetition throughout a week.

Creating a dynamic exercise environment is the last piece that will ultimately lead you towards finding more time to workout. By constantly changing which exercises you choose, and how you approach a workout, you will become more entertained, shock your body with each workout, and improve your results dramatically. By selecting the same fifteen exercises to perform every time you are in the gym, you are allowing your body to accommodate to these demands and become more efficient over time. Long-distance runners use their efficiency to burn less calories while running, thereby allowing them to run for longer. In the case of fitness, this is also true, so be careful or you’ll end up burning less calories as well!

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Langhorne Exercise – Finding Time

Saturday, May 30th, 2009
by Kareem F. Samhouri, DPT, CSCS, HFI

Finding time to exercise is about as difficult as cutting a penny with plastic scissors for most people. The truth is: it’s easy after you get started. Exercise time management requires blocking off exercise as part of your daily routine. People that try to exercise when they can “fit it in” normally end up with the least results. Exercise time management involves scheduling, workout development, and program variety.

Organization with scheduling is half the battle. It’s important that you organize your exercise schedule while you are rested, as this will have a direct impact on your motivation to be in the gym. Planning to exercise based upon how you feel at that given moment can be problematic. However, by choosing a specific time on each day that you plan on exercising, writing this time onto a calendar for an entire month, and following your calendar just as you would a doctor’s appointment, you will be leap years in front of everyone else.

Planning your exercises for a whole week at a time allows you to set small and manageable goals, while improving the flow of your exercise program. After all, whichever exercises you choose today will have an impact on tomorrow. Naturally, with this approach, you will see more variety in your exercise program as well.

Choosing which body parts to exercise on a given day can be a perplexing decision, although this is beyond the scope of this article. As a general recommendation, be sure to leave at least 48 hours between exercise sessions that involve a pure strengthening protocol. On the other hand, endurance workouts can have more frequent repetition, as well as decreased isolation of muscle groups.

Creating a dynamic exercise environment is the last piece that will ultimately lead you towards finding more time to workout. By constantly changing which exercises you choose, and how you approach a workout, you will become more entertained, shock your body with each workout, and improve your results dramatically. By selecting the same fifteen exercises to perform every time you are in the gym, you are allowing your body to accommodate to these demands and become more efficient over time. Long-distance runners use their efficiency to burn less calories while running, thereby allowing them to run for longer. In the case of fitness, this is also true, so be careful or you’ll end up burning less calories as well!

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Why Would You Want to Appoint a Hydroxycut Advocate?

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
by Tracy Cervantes

Lawsuits are being filed against the pharmaceutical company Iovate Medical Sciences due to a number of cases of liver damage and one death that are now being linked to the application of The drug was recalled by the FDA in May, 2009 and is no longer recommended to be used. Since the FDA does not officially regulate diet products like Hydroxycut, it’s unknown what quantity of people may really be suffering severe side effects from using the drug. With as many as 9,000,000 doses of the drug having been sold annually over the decade, there could potentially be plenty of victims who haven’t reported their issues. If you believe you could be one of them, see your GP, and then hire a Hydroxycut lawyer.

Being sick is dear. Some of the folks that have suffered liver damage from taking Hydroxycut have been forced to have expensive liver transplants and should be taking medicines for life. They may not be in a position to work. For people that do not have medical insurance, this could be a financially-devastating situation. Liver damage can also lead to liver failure and even death.

There’s no way the trusting public should have to foot the bills on their own without help from the company who manufactures the pills and reaps the big profits. That is the fact that numerous product litigation lawyers have analyzed the problems in a position to be ready to represent the victims. You’ll be capable of finding a Hydroxycut barrister in your neighborhood or you can look online for directories that will help you find one.

The bottom line of this entire screw up is that the pharmaceutical company should have tested the product thoroughly and resolved safety before releasing it to the general public. That’s the public. That is the moral obligation of all corporations market diet products. The fact that the company used the statement that the products were made of all natural ingredients in their marketing strategy may also be interpreted as confusing. We have all been conditioned to believe that natural is safe and good, and the words lull people into a feeling of complacency.

Have you taken Hydroxycut during the past to help you lose weight or build muscles? If you have, you need to observe for the symptoms. Though the percentage of people with issues compared to the amount of tablets that have been sold is very small, there’s no way to know who will develop issues from taking the drug. Any one who has taken the product could have sustained damage, not only to their liver, but also to their heart. You want to be conscious of the chance so you can protect yourself more from serious problems.

In the early stages liver damage shows itself with fatigue, weakness, nausea, abdominal pain, blurry vision, dark piss, and loss of appetite. As the illness moves on, the patient may develop jaundice, or a yellowing of the skin. If you have noticed any of these problems, see your GP straight away. If the doctor confirms a link between your fitness issues and Hydroxycut use, you’ll be wanting to hire a Hydroxycut counsel who will represent your interests against the company who makes the product.

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Why a diet fails: 10 reasons

Monday, April 27th, 2009
by Joshua Seth

How many times have you tried a new diet program hoping to lose weight fast only to end up in frustration and failure? Did you know that over 90% of people actually gain weight within 6 months of dieting! Here are the top 10 reasons why:

1. Diets focus all your attention on food and eating, which is what you actually want to minimize in your mind. What you focus on expands so focusing on food is counterproductive when you want to lose weight.

2. Diets create stress and stress creates a compulsion to eat.

3. Diets fail to address the real problems: your self-esteem and your reliance on food to control your emotions.

4. Dieting can result in mood swings and depression which make it harder to lose weight. Depression actually leads to weight gain.

5. Diets put you in starvation mode. When you severely restrict your food intake it signals your body that food is scarce. So Your body protects itself against the possibility starvation by storing fat when whenever food becomes unavailable.

6. Diets lower your metabolism. When you suddenly limit your caloric intake, your metabolism slows down and burns less calories. Dieting actually makes your body efficient at conserving calories and storing them up as fat .

7. Diets judge their success by the number of pounds lost instead by the true objectives: increased energy, feeling good about yourself, and looking good in your clothes again.

8. Diets are temporary. When you reach your goal on a diet you stop and then return your your normal eating habits so the weight eventually comes back.

9. Diet sodas increase your appetite. They contain phosphoric acid which increase your appetite and leaches calcium from your bones. They may also contain aspartame which drains your energy, your strength, and your stamina.

10. Diets change your short term eating habits without changing your long term mindset about food. Your thoughts create your actions, so if you still have the same thoughts and feelings about food eventually you will return to the same eating behaviors. To create long term, permanent changes in your body you must first start with changes in your thinking.

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Boxing Offers Great Workout Opportunities

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
by Benedict Hunter

Trainer as a boxer isn’t just for those who want to compete. It will make you dramatically healthier and give you a finely honed physique as well. Boxing strengthens your muscles, makes you more flexible, and improves your feelings of self-worth. It covers the body from head to toe.

Boxing programs are becoming more and more popular as a form of fitness training. It develops arm and leg muscles, as well as the core muscles that many programs neglect. They also focus on emotional issues like confidence, discipline, and control.

Develop a knockout body

A few years ago, members of the health care industry realized the great benefits you can get from training to box. These include improved heart function and muscle tone, to name a few. Martial arts began to meld into mainstream fitness videos in the form of Tae Bo and Cardio-Boxing.

A new breed of aerobics marries the qualities of a boxer’s training and a traditional cardio workout to form cardio-boxing. It gets your heart pumping utilizes boxer’s moves like power jabs and straight punches. As you master the moves, you can graduate to more complex punch-and-kick combos while honing your physique and getting fit fast.

Participants in martial arts exercise programs will usually perform their moves on imaginary rivals (you’ve probably seen aerobics trainers shadow-box), although with the appropriate safety precautions they can spar with one another. A well-equipped gym will provide medicine ball, heavy and speed bags, and other tools used to train boxers.

A High-Calorie Workout

Kickboxing and other similar training exercises aren’t just great for improving the way your body looks; these programs burn an enormous amount of calories in a relatively short amount of time-up to 600 per hour. They manage to keep your heart rate up at around 185% of its regular rhythm, which is the proper rate for getting cardiovascular benefits.

Kickboxing and the Big Picture

Boxing classes improve your endurance, speed and stamina. Agility and flexibility of muscles and joints are also developed. The repetitive motion of the arms and legs during training and sparring sessions develops speed and power behind these limbs.

Boxing and kickboxing workouts toughens your lower body fighting arsenals including the leg joints and muscles. This is an important factor to develop correct balance and coordination necessary in maintaining a strong fighting stance.

Moreover, knowledge gained from boxing and kickboxing classes will enhance your defensive skills and may come in handy in dire situations that require drastic measures. You will feel calm yet confident in knowing that you can defend yourself and your loved ones should the need arise.

Brighten Your Outlook

Boxing as a form of exercise will change more than just your body. It will alter the way your mind-set, resulting in a calmer, more collected you. You will have more control over your mind and emotions, and you will discover new ways to combat stress.

Many aerobic and fitness professionals advice beginners to take up boxing lessons. It allows them to start out at a comfortable pace until they can work themselves up to speed. Boxing training will push your body to the limit provided you are medically fit and conditioned.

Just like other exercise programs, this type of routine requires a lot of effort and a will to succeed. It will not provide an overnight transformation, but if you persist with the training you will be compensated with good health and a beautiful body.

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