Drinking water is the best solution to weight loss, drink at least 8 glasses of water per day. Water helps your body function better and hence you feel and look much better. Practice drinking water on a daily basis, it will only help you for good.

Packaged and processed foods are unhealthy; avoid indulging yourself in these foods. Canned food contains loads of chemicals and preservatives that you should keep away from. Frozen foods contain too much salt and can be unhealthy. If you want to stay fit, stay away from such foods.

Your quality of sleep affects your weight; hence you need to sleep well. You need to sleep for at least 7 hours to stay fit and healthy. To lose weight sleep for 7-8 hours, it will keep your mind out of stress and tension.

Sitting on the couch for long hours is very tempting and comfortable, but it only makes lazy. Your body needs to move about to lose weight, so don’t sit and waste your time watching TV and eating popcorn. Watching TV is the most interesting thing to do, but very harmful. It affects your weight, eyes, body functions and mind.

Eat healthy vegetables, to stay fit. When you’re hungry choose a cup of salad over fried food. Fresh vegetables help your body a great deal, they keep your health. Salad is not a bad snack at all; take away that notion from your mind. Salads are extremely tasty; once you dig into it you won’t be able to stop.

If you indulge yourself in some fatty and oily foods, don’t keep blaming yourself for it. It is ok to get tempted at times, learn from your mistakes and move on instead of feeling guilty. Guilt can affect your mind and then make you give up and lose focus. If you want to lose weight give up on that fatty food and choose healthy food.

Make small adjustments to your daily life, instead of suddenly dieting and leaving all the food you love, try adjusting. Leave all the wrong food and habits one by one. This will help your body to adjust to the changes and behave accordingly.

Walk regularly to lose weight, walking provides your body with the movement that it needs. Instead of pushing yourself to work out extensively at the gym, first try small exercises like walking, brisk walking, jogging and cycling to keep your body fit. Check out this article on How To Burn More Calories By Walking on Your Treadmill to help get you started.

About the Author: This guest post is contributed by Zara, a Guest blogger from UK. She has written many articles on health, nutrition and finance. Apart from blogging she does research on refund ppi. Catch her @financeport.

The High Protein Diet

The common belief is that high protein diets are beneficial to those who wish to gain muscle mass and look trimmer. Unfortunately, there are possible side effects to high protein consumption. Eating mostly protein has been linked to kidney stones. You can choose to increase your water intake to keep your kidneys in fighting form and prevent dehydration. It is advisable to drink about half a gallon of water per 100 grams of protein. However, it would be in your best interest to consult your physician beforehand.

source

Studies also show that people on high protein diets are in danger of lower bone density. In order to digest protein, you body requires calcium to complete the process. Therefore, if you decide to increase your intake of proteins, you will need to increase your consumption of calcium as well.

The Low Carbohydrate Diet

Many are under the misconception that they can achieve a slender physique by lowering their intake of carbohydrates. Our body requires a significant amount of carbohydrates to function because it is a major source of energy. People who lack a sufficient amount of carbohydrates in their diet may experience malaise or weakness due to carbohydrate deficiency. They may also experience muscle cramps, rashes, constipation and headaches.

Make sure you include a portion of good carbohydrates in your diet, especially if you are an athletic person. Experts advise would-be dieters to ingest about 150 grams of carbohydrates per day to keep up with their bodily functions. You may also visit a nutritionist to find out about healthier carbohydrate options and the appropriate serving size you can eat per meal.

Anorexia and Bulimia

A person with a negative body image may resort to developing an eating disorder to achieve a slimmer figure. Anorexia is a serious mental illness where a person decides to stop eating or chooses to eat unnaturally small portions to stay trim. Bulimia is a condition wherein an individual may choose to regurgitate his or her food in order to achieve a desired weight. The person may also choose to take laxatives as well.

Both conditions are hard to spot. The telltale signs may be an increased and unexplainable loss of weight. The person suffering from this problem will usually complain of generalized malaise or weakness. Eating disorders are a deadly condition. Our body requires nourishment to function properly. If you or a loved one is either anorexic or bulimic, it is best to seek out a physician at once.

Intense Strength Training Workouts

With the emergence of various high impact workouts that promise a leaner figure, people have been straining their muscles in order to achieve their dream physique. However, many of those individuals have been sedentary individuals before the workout craze. They may not realize that their new fitness routine may be doing them more harm than good.

It is best to slowly transition from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one. Start by incorporating at least 30 minutes of cardio to your everyday routine. Brisk walking is another way of keeping your heart rate up. You can also invest in gym equipment. Get the right treadmill or invest in an exercise bike. Purchasing gym equipment can act as positive motivation as well. Increase your physical activity in a slow pace to help your body adjusted. You may also visit the gym and enlist a personal trainer to help you during this transitional phase.

While we all dream about looking slim and fit like most celebrities, remember to keep your body healthy in the process. By investing in a gym membership and visiting a nutritionist, you will be able to attain your dream figure. You can get fit and stay healthy at the same time.

About the Authors: Joyce G. is a professional health blogger and writer.  She currently partners with Nordictrack.com in raising awareness about the importance of health and fitness. NordicTrack has come to symbolize the means for serious athletes and fitness-buffs alike to “get ready for adventure,” whatever that may be. Visit our website and get the right treadmill. 

Begin first by testing your ability to do several workouts. Stand straight against a wall and reach out as far as you can in every direction. Touch your toes if you are able but do not worry if you are less flexible than you would like. Measure your resting heart rate and record it. Go to a mile-long stretch of track or sidewalk and time how fast you can run it. If you cannot run a mile then go a half mile and multiple by two. Take a moderately heavy weight (around 50 pounds) and try to lift it above your head. Lift first with your legs. See how many push-ups and sit-ups you can do in a minute. These will all be benchmarks for your current fitness levels.

Every day, whether you plan to work out or not, stretch out your muscles. Rotate your neck around your shoulders, extend your legs while sitting on the floor, and wrap your arms around your opposite shoulder. Spend about 30 seconds on each and try every day to spend a bit more time stretching out.

Work your heart out by walking or running around the neighborhood block. Track your progress and work your way up to spending an hour each day (or several times per week) walking or running. Once you have gotten to that hour benchmark, increase the intensity so that you get a little farther each hour. If you feel too tired after intensive running, slow down the pace; it is important not to push yourself too hard, especially early on. Check this website for running equipment.

Begin working out your muscles slowly. You can do conditioning exercises like push-ups and sit-ups in the comfort of your own home, and may find that you can quickly increase the number you are capable of doing as the days and weeks progress. You can find a number of yoga routines that increase your muscular endurance with nothing more than the weight of your own body. Yoga is a popular choice because it requires no weights and puts very little stress on your joints. Routines can be found on YouTube that range from beginner to advanced. Aim to spend about half an hour, three times a week, increasing muscular endurance.

If you have access to a gym or to a weight set, you are capable of augmenting your exercise with weight training. Weight training is the most efficient way to build muscle mass and requires very little time—as little as 20 minutes, three times per week. Whenever you weight lift, start off with very little weight and slowly build up until you cannot do more than five repetitions. You will get the most benefit from working the largest muscles in your body, the thigh and calf muscles. Doing squats and leg extensions works these areas of the body. Curls, bench presses, and overhead presses will tone your upper body. Work out the abdominal muscles by doing curls while holding weights. Give yourself a day to recover after you lift (you should be sore enough to need it) or else you will not be able to regenerate muscle mass and develop better gains.
Image source.

About the Author:

Joyce G. is a professional health blogger and writer.  She currently partners with Nordictrack.com in raising awareness about the importance of health and fitness. NordicTrack has come to symbolize the means for serious athletes and fitness-buffs alike to “get ready for adventure,” whatever that may be. Visit our website to look for the best elliptical machines.

Effects of Music on the body

Music has some amazing effects on our bodies. Workout music with its beats and rhythm helps in following major ways:

• It increases the heart rate thus improving blood flow to muscles.
• Blood pressure has direct effects from workout music.
• The metabolic rate of the body is increased with each rising beat.
• The physical and mental stress is reduced by music.
• A less fatigued body and mind pours out of musical experience.

Key benefits of workout music

Workout music has several key benefits, the major ones being

• Distraction: Music distracts the mind of the athlete from the physical exertion he/she face during a strenuous exercise routine.
• Personal Touches: You have always planned to give that workout a personal touch. Music helps you do that when a song you always loved boosts your energy level during a workout.
• Moving with the beat: The tempo and beat of appropriate workout music works well in moving you with the beat. Be it the fast paced running beats or the slowly rising walking tempo.
• Energizing the body: The energy that music creates in the body is one which makes you move instead of sitting down and staying put.

Does your workout beat really work?

It is not at all difficult to check whether your workout music works or not. You don’t feel the time flying by while working out? You don’t feel how hard you are working out? You don’t find yourself lazy anymore for a workout? If answer to any of these questions is yes, then definitely your workout music is working.

What good should your workout music accomplish?

Good workout music should give you a chance to synchronize your heart with the music. It should make your legs swing to its rhythm and most importantly it should make you move with its beat.

It should start slow, catch pace and take over you in a way that you look forward to your next workout.

Best workout music to choose

That absolutely is a personal choice. Be it Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Katty Perry, Michael Jackson or Elvis Presley, if they make you feel good just pimp up the beat a little, load them on your iPod and you are ready to go! Your heart will work better and respond to your moods with a glass of Pre workout supplement.

I’ve carefully selected a list of exercises that anyone should be able to do. All of these exercises can be done right at home and there is no fitness equipment necessary. If you’re interested in fitness equipment, check out this site. They offer treadmill and elliptical coupons that give you a cheap price! This list also emphasizes on bodyweight distribution, meaning you will
be depending on your partner to help each other with balance.

1. Joined Yoga Tree: We are going to start off with a fun one that will allow you to see what bodyweight distribution is all about. If you’ve ever done yoga before, you will recognize this posture. It is a great way to start a workout because it focuses you from within and allows you to find balance. This posture should give you double the benefits since you will be balancing with your self and then your partner at the same time! Okay. So, you start off by standing tall and lengthening your spine, then when you’re ready, you will bring the outside leg up and place it on your inner thigh or calf (depending on flexibility). Once you both have that position mastered, you will bring your inner arms toward each other and place your palms together and then hold the outside arms out long and face your palm up towards the heavens. This is an easy way to start off your partner work out. It is also a great way to begin your connection with one another (especially if this partner is your significant other!).




2. Bunk Bed: This balancing pose and strengthening exercise is used in many dance classes, however, it is a great exercise that anyone can practice! This one is quite fun also, but it can be extremely challenging (and some people may think it is awkward). One partner will lay on their back, flat on the ground. The other partner will turn their body the opposite direction, so their head is facing towards the partners feet. The top partner (who is facing down) will grab the partner on the ground’s (facing up) ankles. The partner on the bottom also grabs the top partner’s ankles. Confusing? Right now, you should both be grabbing each others ankles. From here, you can either hold in plank and just work on each others balance, or you can be daring and try and do some push ups!




3. Reach-and-Touch Plank: If you’re not too tired of planks yet, I would definitely recommend this one. Or you can even use this one as an alternative for the last one! I got this idea from www.realsimple.com. They wrote an article on 6 challenging partner exercises, that I would definitely recommend reading. You start this exercise by lying on your stomach facing each other. Then, place your elbows directly underneath your shoulders, with palms flat on the floor, and toes tucked under. Use your abs to raise your body up, while you reach out with your right hand to touch your partners right hand. Switch arms and repeat.




4. Balancing Squat: Regular squats can get so boring and monotonous; This one will definitely spice up your work out and challenge you and your partner. You start by facing each other with feet slightly wider than hips width apart. Next, you will grasp onto each others forearms making sure to have a secure and equal grip. You will hold onto each others forearms throughout the whole routine. Once you are secure, you will begin by squatting down at the exact same time. Go as far deep as you can, preferably with your thighs parallel to the ground. This exercise can either be simpler or more difficult depending on how well you accomplish it. You should feel each others strength while you are lowering down, and if you are both pulling with equal force, it should be easy and enjoyable. If one partner is pulling harder, you will get off balanced. Don’t get discouraged though, that is the fun of the exercise!




5. Belly Buster: This last one was inspired by www.self.com (they also feature a great list of partner exercises). We’ve talked about exercises that are good for your arms and legs, but now it is time to work that belly fat off! This last exercise is so fun and beneficial for you. Start by lying on the ground face up, with your head opposite of each other. Extend both of your legs straight up into the air. Now, this part can get confusing and it is the most difficult part of the exercise, so pay close attention. Once you are lying on your backs with your feet stretched towards the sky, you will begin the workout by lifting both of your hips off the ground and switching your partner positions (so your hips will now be where your partners used to be and vice versa). At first your right hips were touching, now your left hips should be touching. From there, you will lower your legs to a 45-degree angle, and then bring it back up and lift hips and switch positions again, repeating this step for 16 reps (or as much as you can, because it is difficult).

Now that you’ve got some partner work outs in, you should always finish with a nice stretch out! There are many stretches that you and your partner can do together. These can be really fun, and your partner can keep you motivated while you are stretching. This site seemed to have some decent partner stretches that will help stretch out those areas you just worked out! Or, if you’re more into the natural, soothing stretches, try out these awesome yoga partner stretches!

Hopefully these exercises have given you some motivation to get up and moving! That’s all that really matters anyways. Working out can be tough sometimes and it can get really old. We are always searching for new ways to exercise that will make it more fun or interesting. I believe that partner stretching is a great way for you to enjoy exercising! Even if you do not like any of these partner stretches that I mentioned above, you can always research or try your own unique ideas! Overall, having a partner to work out with will make the routine all the more fun and interesting. Don’t believe me? Just give it a try and you will see!

1. “You can do it Lisa, don’t die!” This sign is awesome, and it reminds me of a sign that I made once for my friends.

Image Credit: Ego TV Online (P.S. There are several other funny pictures on their site!

2. “Keep Running, We Would Rather Wait (Metcalf Mortuary)” This one is pretty awesome because it was displayed in St. George, UT for the marathon there, and that is my very favorite race to watch (probably because I live in St. George, haha.)

Image credit: The Rickards Family Blog

3. “This Marathon would be fun if not for all the running!”

Photo Credit: Pam Daugherty’s Running Blog

4. “Go, Random Stranger, Go!” This has to be one of the best signs ever for watching a race. I always feel bad for not cheering the thousands of runners who I don’t know, but this gives you the chance to support everyone!

Image Credit: Writing:Place Lorne Daniels

5. “You’re almost there…. That’s what she said.” Of course we have to include a picture with the classic “that’s what she said line.” I love the creativity of these gals!

Image Credit: Bloggin’ and Joggin’ 

I hope you all have enjoyed the race signs! Leave a comment and let me know what your favorite running sign is!

I don’t want to scare you, but there are bad exercises for women over 50. Injury at this age can set you back a lot longer than it would have in your 20’s, so work smarter, not harder. This means you should include weight training to gain strength and stay firm and toned, as well as dynamic body weight exercises that can help with flexibility and balance. Of course, cardio is also important for maintaining healthy weight and cardiovascular health.

The best approach at this age is start light. There is no need to push yourself over the top with any exercise. For the best results, you should see a trainer for at least a few sessions to build a good routine of strength exercises. This will make sure your workout arsenal is diverse, and that you are maintaining proper posture and mechanics while performing your exercises. This second point is REALLY important if you want to last for the long run, as bad form during exercises can do more harm than good. Secondly, you should do a cardio exercise that’s built for women over 50. You’re not training for an ultra-marathon, or some other fad competition – you’re training for health. So, with any exercise, target that focus, and your results will surely contribute to living a longer, happier, and healthier life.

Szechwan Shrimp

(Serves 4) About 150 calories per serving

Ingredients:

8 Tbsp. Water

4 Tbsp. Ketchup

2 Tbsp. Low Sodium Soy Sauce

3 tsp. Cornstarch

2 tsp. Honey

1/2 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you like your food!)

1/4 tsp. Ground Ginger

1-2 Tbsp. Cooking Oil

4 Cloves Garlic, minced

12 Ounces Uncooked Shrimp, de-veined with tails removed

2 c. of your favorite Stir Fry Vegetable

Cooking Instructions:

In a bowl, stir together the first 7 ingredients until well mixed, and set aside.

Steam your vegetables so that they are tender. (Follow cooking instructions on the package if frozen or canned)

In a large skillet, heat the oil over med-high heat. Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Stir in shrimp, and coat evenly with oil. Cook shrimp until they are slightly opaque.

Stir in sauce and vegetables, and let cook until sauce is thick and bubbly.

You can serve this delicious and healthy stir fry over cooked rice or noodles, but just keep in mind that they will add calories to your meal.  Brown rice or quinoa are both very healthy and delicious options, so putting your shrimp on top of these will yield delicious and healthy results!

By collecting recipes like this one, you can start to work on maximizing your diet/exercise plan. Enjoy the Szechwan Shrimp, and relax knowing that you can eat a hearty shrimp dinner without having to do your regular treadmill workout!

What is Stress and Why is it Bad?
First off, stress is any reaction our body has to changes with physical, mental, or emotional responses. This doesn’t seem too harmful. In fact, change can be an extremely good thing in our lives, and of course we cannot avoid change. Stress and changes are what make us human. We are all designed to experience stress, but how we deal with our stress is a completely different story.

Stress describes the feeling that we get when we do not receive relief or relaxation between given challenges. If you are getting all of these different challenges thrown at you daily, but you feel relieved after figuring them out, you are experiencing stress, but you are dealing with it correctly.

• Forty-three percent of adults suffer adverse health effects from stress.
• 75% to 90% of all doctor’s office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints.
• The lifetime prevalence of an emotional disorder is more than 50%, often due to chronic, untreated stress reactions.

*These statistics came from www.webmd.com

How to Deal With Stress
Here are just a few tips on how to get rid of everyday stress:

1. Positive Thinking and Positive Self-Talk: Instead of saying, “I can’t do this,” or “Why does this always happen to me?” try saying, “I’ll do my best,” or “I have been here before, and I know exactly how to deal with it.” Simple sayings like these will completely change your world.

2. Preventing Stressful Situations: Instead of dealing with stress after it has struck already, try preventing stressful situations. If you are already feeling stressed that day try taking several deep breaths in a row, or counting to 10 before you speak. If you are worried about being late to somewhere, because if you are it will really stress you out, then set your alarm back five to ten minutes. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes during school, or work, and don’t be afraid to say, “I’m sorry” when it does happen. If stress has already struck, do things you love to relax you, such as going on a walk, talking with a loved one, giving someone a hug, or reading a book.

3. Relax Throughout Your Day: This is probably the most important thing a person can do each day. With all the stressful situations of life and work, the first thing you should be doing is relaxing your body and mind. A great way to do this is through aerobic exercise such as yoga, or even meditating. You do not have to think about anything. All you do is sit in a comfortable position and quiet your mind and push all negative thoughts out of your mind completely and just focus on the “now.” Sit quietly for five to ten minutes each day and breath slowly and just relax.

First warning of possible boredom during your workout is you are not sweating during your exercises any more. If you have stopped sweating then you are not pushing yourself to the extent you should be. When working out you should be raising the internal temperature of your body. If you are not sweating it means you are not raising the internal temperature of your body, which also means you are not getting caloric burn. When you start to sweat is when you are really getting a good calorie burn. Always work to build a sweat when trying to keep good quality exercise and this will also help to maintain the excitement of exercise too. If you are just sick and tired of the elliptical or the treadmill, maybe it is time you switch the exercise.

Cardio exercise can be done with weights just as easily as it can be with treadmills, pools, or ellipticals. The trick is circuits. Pick four or five exercises either machine exercises or weights, or any other repetitive exercise. Start with five to ten reps in the exercise then move to the next one. If you can do more than ten reps with the weight you are at, then you should increase the rate so to maximize benefit. You can lift a five pound weight all day, and it won’t give you any benefit. Conversely you can lift a fifty pound weight once and get muscular gain and caloric burn. Work through the circuit as many times as you can, aim for four or five.

Each time through lower the weights a little, so that you can keep energy expenditure up and physical exhaustion down. Be creative and find ways to make your exercise more fun and interesting. Maybe even try taking up some sports or other activities that get you out and being active.