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Keto Diet. How Low Carbs Can Improve Your Health
A low carb diet is essentially, what it says – it is a diet that greatly reduces intake of carbohydrates. This is not as easy as it sounds.
Carbohydrates are found in foods such as sugary snacks, bread, pasta, starches, fruit, and many processed foods. Typically, the most strict low carb diets limit intake to 20 grams of net carbs per day, at the very least less than 50 grams and the main source of these carbs should be non-starchy vegetables.
Although it may seem drastic, there is plenty of scientific research that shows low carb eating to be beneficial to your health, from weight loss, medical reasons, or a wish to simply eat better. Whatever your reason for starting the low carb lifestyle, there are several key health benefits that can be attributed to this kind of diet.
Weight Loss
With many diets, people often end up hungry and then snacking and fail to lose weight. They try to restrict their food intake too much and end up ‘falling off the wagon’. This is a very real issue for many people and the ultimate reason why they do not lose the weight they are trying so hard to shift.
In contrast, with the low carb lifestyle you do not get the hunger cravings or need to eat like you do with other diets. Research has shown that people who reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat and replace these with additional protein and healthy fats will eat less and reduce their overall calorie consumption.
If you are trying to lose weight then this can be an effective method, as you actually want to eat less. When you are eating a low carb lifestyle, you lose weight in different ways.
For example, a lot of the body is made up of excess water and the low carb diet can help to get rid of some of this.
A low carb lifestyle leads to lower levels of insulin, which causes the kidneys to work more efficiently and by eliminating insulin triggers, most people lose weight and often very quickly.
Lower Levels Of Visceral Fat
When we do lose weight from following this diet there is an important point to consider. Not all weight is the same, and visceral fat is the bad kind that sits around our organs and can cause serious health problems.
Research has shown that a low carb diet can help to reduce levels of visceral fat specifically rather than the other type of fat, the subcutaneous type.
Stabilize Blood Sugars – Prevent And Manage Type 2 Diabetes
When a low carb diet is followed long term, there is a clear reduction in the chance of developing diabetes and other health issues.
Eating less carbs reduces the need for the body to produce insulin; insulin is used to break down all the sugars in carbohydrates and too much of this can lead to diabetes in later life.
By simply reducing the amount of carbohydrates (insulin trigger foods) that you are eating, you are reducing the production of insulin the in the body and reducing the body’s resistance to it.
A low carb diet prevents erratic blood sugar spikes that may lead to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
Similarly, research has shown that diabetes, both type 1 and type 2 can be better controlled with a low carbohydrate diet. Of course, anyone who is considering changes to their diet should consult their doctor. This is particularly the case if you are taking medication for your diabetes, as this may need to be adjusted too.
High Blood Pressure
Like diabetes, high blood pressure has been connected to many serious health disorders such as heart attacks and strokes. Ultimately, we should all aim to keep our blood pressure within the healthy range, but this can be hard with our lifestyles.
Research is therefore focused on finding ways everyone can realistically lower their blood pressure. The low carb diet can help to keep blood pressure where it should be and prevent it from getting too high.
Bottom Line
The overall message is that a low carb diet can be beneficial in many ways and can help with certain health issues.
However, there is always a risk when making drastic changes to your diet such as significantly reducing the amount of carbohydrates you consume. It is therefore best to consult your doctor before making any changes to your diet; this is particularly the case if you have been diagnosed with any current health issue.
Ask your doctor, a low carb lifestyle may really work for you.
7 Superfoods that reverse the aging process
Introduction
Aging is a natural process through which all the living things have to pass before death. Being superior to all creatures, human beings are more conscious about this process. This is because it shows many effects on the skin. The elasticity of the skin decreases and it becomes dull and dry.
All this happens due to decreased production of natural oils by the skin. The result appears in the form of changing skin. No one can stop this process because it is natural. However, there are certain foods that can prove beneficial in slowing down the process of aging. Regular intake of such foods may even reverse the effects of aging from the skin.
What is Aging Process
The process of becoming older is called aging process. All the living things have to pass through this stage before death. The time of the aging process is different in all the living things. In human beings this process usually starts after forties. Skin is the part of the body that shows this aging prior to all other parts. Similarly, many other human organs also become weak with this process. Thought, reasoning, eyesight, memory, hearing, and many other body systems get weaker.
We can also define aging as the collection of changes that bring human beings close to death. This means that aging is directly related with mortality rate in human beings and many other species. The mortality rate increases with the increase in age. This is because the functioning of all the parts of the body comes to sub optimal level with increasing age. The scientific study of the process also shows that with increasing age, the production of useless cells in the body increase.
Signs of Aging
Aging shows various signs in the body. One of the largest signs of aging is the dull and dry skin. Our skin produces oils naturally. These oils keep our skin fresh and tight. The increasing age tends to slow down the process of secretion of oils from the skin. As a result, the skin becomes dull and dry. The elasticity in the skin also increases and this becomes the first sign of aging. The other systems of the body also become slow and weak.
Apart from skin, aging shows negative effects on brainy processes like reasoning, memory, and thoughts. Eyesight also becomes a lot weak with increasing age. Aging seems surprising in the start and you began to wonder what is happening with your skin. You also start thinking about your diet and notice no particular change in diet. In spite of taking usual diet, and without any change in your daily routine, the aging process still continues.
Ways to Reverse Aging Process
Human beings always remain conscious about this aging process. They have always been trying to slow down or stop the process since ages. They have tried various options to slow down the process. The scientific study of the aging process shows that it is deeply related with DNA. This means that the aging process can be slowed down by protecting this DNA from aggressors both from outside and inside the body.
The researchers have carved out some ways to slow down this aging process by protecting DNA. The first and the most important way to protect your DNA and slow down the aging process is to eat balanced and healthy diet. One of the largest reasons of deterioration of DNA and body cells is eating unbalanced diet. Nowadays, people prefer to eat processed foods and soft drinks that are harmful for body. You should have to change your eating habits to remain healthy and slow down the aging process.
Another way to slow down the aging process is to take regular exercises. Regular exercises help the body in digestion of foods and also power the immune system. Also, your positive attitude plays a vital role in keeping you young and reverses the aging process. This shows that these three factors are important to slow down and reverse the aging process. The most important of these factors is eating balanced diet.
Role of Superfoods in Reversing Aging Process
Eating superfoods is a key to slow down and reverse the aging process. The superfoods are the foods that have balanced ingredients. These foods provide the body with enough proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, and other components that prove helpful in strengthening the cells in the body. Eating these healthy foods also slows down the deterioration of the cells in the body. As a result the production of useless cells in the body stops. This keeps the body in a better working position.
Although there is no criterion to grade the food as superfood, yet the foods that are nutritiously dense are called superfoods. Eating these foods keeps the body healthy. The researchers say that if you want to reverse or slow down the aging process, you’ll have to develop good eating habits in yourself. They have also listed some foods as the superfoods and said that eating these foods may either slow down or reverse the aging process. These foods are:
I. Green Foods
One of the most important kinds of foods that are proved effects in slowing and reversing the aging process is the green food. When we talk of green foods, we are referring to leafy vegetables and cereals. The green cereals may include barley and wheat grasses that have great nutritional effects. The green leafy vegetables are rich in phytonutrients.
Some leafy vegetables are also rich with multivitamins. For example, spinach is rich with vitamin E, vitamin C, and beta carotene and proves effective in slowing the aging process. There are also some such vegetables that help you protect from the UV rays of the sun. These veggies keep your skin soft and fresh. Most of these veggies can be eaten in many ways.
You can eat these as salads, drink their juice, and can cook these. The veggies like cucumber are used as a mask on the face. This helps the skin to produce natural oil and keep it soft. You can also take many vegetables in the form of soups.
Broccoli, spinach, kale, and mustard green are also known for keeping the skin hydrated and save it from becoming dull and dry. The vegetables are also famous for their antioxidant properties. The researchers say that drinking juice of leafy green vegetables is like drinking multivitamins filled with antioxidants.
You can also add sugar to increase the taste of certain veggies and make these eatable. The green leafy vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and Brussels also help the body to detoxify through the chemicals in these. This detoxification decreases the chances of cancer in human beings.
Almost all the vegetables are categorized as superfoods because these are rich of minerals, vitamins, and other useful ingredients. Regular eating of any of these may reverse the effects of aging on your skin.
Here, one thing regretting is that the vegetables you are using are sprayed with various poisonous chemicals. The water being supplied to these is also not pure. This has changed the nutritional values of the leafy vegetables. These are proving more harmful than advantageous.
To overcome this problem, you have to change the growing methods of the vegetables. Always try to provide these a natural environment without using chemicals. Supply of pure water must be ensured.
II. Beans and Lentils
Beans and lentils are also among the foods that are rich with various contents that are helpful for the body. These contain much fiber content than any other food. Eating beans and lentils maintains the quantity of fiber in the body. These foods are always good for the body because eating these do not have any negative impact on the body. These foods never increase the blood pressure and blood sugar in the body.
Eating beans and lentils have proven effects on the health of human beings. Regular intake of these may decrease the risk of fatal diseases like cancer. These play a vital role in maintaining the blood pressure at a constant level. Many people eat beans to increase the iron level in the body. This is because the research has proved that beans and lentils are a good source for iron in the body.
Eating beans and lentils also helps the body boost enzymes. These enzymes make the digestion system more efficient. The good and efficient digestion of food in the body provides enough vitamins and minerals. Some of the enzymes also play a role in making the skin pigments. These are also helpful in making connective tissues and keep the skin fresh and soft.
Beans and lentils are also effective in heart diseases. The medical research has proved that people eating more beans and lentils are safe from heart issues. This is because of good quantity of folate and magnesium in various lentils. Also, eating more fiber in the form of lentils also saves you from many heart risks.
Overweight is one of the greatest reasons of aging. Regular intake of beans and lentils controls this overweight. This is because these make you feel full for longer time. Moreover, their power to boost the enzymes empowers the digestion system in the body. Eating lentils and beans also proves effective against diabetes and provides body with needed energy to perform various processes.
The growing conditions of the beans and lentils have also changed. To get more yields of crops, you are using various methods and chemicals. These are negatively affecting the nutritional values of crops. However, we can control this situation with a little care.
III. Blueberries
Blueberries are also given a lot of importance in anti aging foods. The research has proved that eating blueberries shows a lot of positive effects on cognitive ability of human beings. It not only protects the memory effecting parts of the brain but also boosts the memory. These also save the brain from oxidative damages and slows down the aging process.
Blueberries often remain at the top of the list of superfoods because these are a rich source of vitamins, soluble fiber, and phytochemicals. Here, one thing very interesting is that these nutrients are also found in other berries too. The regular intake of phytochemicals provide the body with enough flavonoids. These flavonoids are a lot effective against various cardiovascular problems.
One thing where blueberries excel the other berries is the quantity of anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are considered a lot effective in stopping the decaying of cells. This keeps the body fresh and alive.
Another very good thing about blueberries is that these have low calories but are rich with nutrients. This means that eating blueberries in considerable quantity has no negative effects like overweight. Eating a cup of blueberries provide only 84 calories and 15 grams of carbohydrates.
Blueberries contain high quantity of antioxidants than all the fruits and vegetables. These antioxidants save the body from damages by protecting the cells from decaying. This contributes to slow down the aging effects and also saves you from cancer. Polyphenol is the antioxidant that is found in blueberries in large quantity.
The aging process is directly related with DNA in human beings. The oxidative processes taking place in the body also damage the DNA’s. The antioxidative properties of blueberries reduce this DNA damage and reverse aging. The research has proved that drinking 1 liter of blueberries and apple juice can reduce the DNA damage by 20%.
The oxidative damages also negatively affect the blood cholesterol. This causes many heart related problems. Blueberries are a lot effective in protecting the blood cholesterol from decaying thereby saving you from heart diseases.
The protection of blood cholesterol also proves effective against high blood pressure. High blood pressure is one of the greatest reasons of aging. The research proves that eating blueberries can lower the blood pressure about 4-6%
IV. Sour Citrus Fruits
Another superfood that is a lot effective in reversing aging process are the citrus fruits. Almost, all of these fruits are easily available and affordable. These are found in cold season and many of you avoid eating these to save yourself from cold and flu. These citrus fruits are a rich source of Vitamin C. Oranges, lemons, tangerines, limes, and grapefruits are a great source of vitamin C.
Citrus fruits are also very important because of nutritional values. Eating these fruits and drinking their juices keeps your skin fresh and tight. These are considered a good addition to the balanced diet for many reasons. The very first reason of their being superfoods is that these contain fiber in large quantity. About 25-35 grams of fibers should be taken and citrus fruits fulfills this need of human beings.
Here, one thing worth mentioning is that the fiber found in citrus fruits is soluble. This soluble fiber is a lot helpful in lowering the blood cholesterol and proves effective against high blood pressure. The citrus fruits also are rich with antioxidants and are useful against heart diseases. This is because these lower the level of LDL cholesterol which is considered bad cholesterol for human health.
Some people think that eating too much citrus fruits or drinking juice may increase blood sugar. The research has proved that citrus fruits have low glycemic index. This means that eating these fruits or drinking their juices do not increase blood sugar. This lower index means that glucose taken through these fruits is released in the blood slowly.
Citrus fruits are also a good source of potassium which is one of the mostly needed minerals in the body. Eating citrus fruits provides the body with enough potassium that proves effective in muscles contraction and fluid regulation. It also regulates the quantity of salts in your body and helps the body to get rid of extra sodium.
Oranges, lemons, and other citrus fruits also help body to absorb certain nutrients. These help the body to absorb iron and minerals that are important for the body. These minerals are effective in boosting the immune system of the body.
Aging is mostly caused by dehydration. The skin dries and becomes dull. Eating citrus fruits saves your body from dehydration. These contain more than 85% of water content which helps to control dehydration. These provide the body with enough necessary fluids along with quenching thirst.
Eating citrus fruits also has proven effects on smoothing the skin cells and weight loss. This proves that citrus fruits have countless benefits in reversing the aging effects on the skin. Some people even use the peels of the oranges for massaging the skin cells. Lemon is especially used by mixing with various other creams for massaging the skin cells to make them look fresh and smooth.
V. Salmon
It is a proved fact that protein is one of the basic necessities of human body. This is because it is the greatest nutrient to repair the body cells. Here, it is also necessary to mention that proteins cannot be stored in the body. In order to remain healthy and reverse aging process, you have to use some constant protein source in your food to save your body cells.
Protein is found in many foods. But, Salmon is one of the greatest sources of this nutrient. It is a kind of fish found in many parts of the world. Alaskan Salmon is considered the best of all Salmon fish because of its nutritional value. The protein found in this fish has anti-inflammatory properties because of astaxanthin found in it. This is actually a caroteneoid that has strong anti-inflammatory effects.
Salmon fish is also a source of Omega 3 fatty acids that are considered very important for the body. These fatty acids are also anti-inflammatory and keeps the skin fresh, radiant, and wrinkle free.
Salmon fish are a good source of astaxanthin because these fish feed on algae, bacteria, and fungi. Algae, bacteria, and fungi are the greatest sources of anti-inflammatory nutrient astaxanthin. The researchers have proved that this nutrient also saves DNA from damages. It reduces the C-reactive proteins in the body and strengthens the immune system.
Astaxanthin is also a lot effective in increasing the HDL cholesterol in the blood. This cholesterol is considered beneficial for human health. It also helps in decreasing the triglycerides in the blood and saves you from heart related ailments.
VI. Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolates have also proven effects in slowing the aging process. Eating a moderate quantity of dark chocolates can also reverse the aging process. This is because these chocolates are loaded with such nutrients as are required by the body from time to time. Dark chocolates are one of the greatest nutrients that have antioxidant properties. These also lower the risk of heart diseases and show positive effects on bodily health.
Dark chocolates are a good source of iron, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, and many other nutrients. There are also considerable amount of fibers in these chocolates also. Moreover, there are both saturated and unsaturated fats in chocolates also. These provide the body with sufficient amount of calories but add moderate sugar.
Dark chocolates are rich with organic compounds that act as antioxidants in the body. Among these antioxidants, polyphenols and flavonols are the most important for the body. This flavonol in dark chocolates also helps to stimulate the inner coating of the arteries and helps in improving the blood circulation in the body. It produces Nitric Oxide that sends the signals to arteries. The arteries relax and the resistance in the flow of blood minimizes.
Dark chocolates are also useful because it increases the production of good cholesterol HDL and controls the production of bad cholesterol LDL through oxidation process. Reduction in oxidized LDL cholesterol lowers the risks of heart diseases. Another research proves that dark chocolates are also effective against insulin resistance. This reduction in insulin resistance also lowers the risks of heart diseases.
Dark chocolates are also beneficial for skin. These tend to increase the flow of blood to the cells that are exposed to the sunlight. This increased blood flow keeps the cells safe from any damage by increasing its density and hydration.
Dark chocolates are also used widely across the world because the nutrients in these are considered useful for brain. It stops decay of cells in brain by improving the flow of blood to the brain. It also shows positive effects on cognitive abilities of human beings. It has proven benefits in improving speech of the people who are mentally retarded.
VII. Eggs
Last but not least, another commonly used superfood that is a lot effective against aging process is egg. All of us know that eggs are powerful source of proteins. These proteins are one of the basic necessities of body to perform various functions. Eggs are the greatest source of choline. Choline is a kind of vitamin B which is anti-inflammatory. This anti-inflammation of choline saves you from Alzheimer disease.
The large amount of protein in the yolk helps in prevention of muscular degeneration. This muscles degeneration is one of the largest causes of blindness. The protein in the yolk also protects the retina from the UV rays of the Sun.
Eggs are a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin B2, B5, B12, and folate. There is also good amount of other vitamins in eggs too. Eating one egg daily may only provide 77 calories with 6 grams of protein, and 5 grams of fats. The researchers consider it a perfect food because of traces of almost all the nutrients required by the body.
Eggs raise the level of good cholesterol HDL in the blood. Frequent intake of HDL cholesterol saves human beings from heart diseases. On the other hand, it turns the small LDL particles into large LDL particles that are not much harmful for human health. The antioxidants in eggs like Lutein and Zeaxanthin controls the degenerative process of cells and save the body from many ailments.
How these Foods Slow Aging Process
A lot of research proves that aging is related with nutrition. This is because it starts from age related diseases and bad health. Oxidative stress is also one of the largest reasons of aging process. This is because the oxidation causes the degeneration of cells and inflammation. To protect the body from degeneration, you have to boost the immune system of the body. This is the natural system in the body that fights with invading bacteria
Eating red meat, carbohydrate rich foods and sugary foods increase the inflammation in the body and create risks of many diseases. To slow down the aging process, you have to protect your body against inflammation. There are a lot of balanced foods that are readily available throughout the world and has the power to fight inflammation. You only need to learn about these foods.
You need to change your eating habits and include anti aging foods in your diet. This is because these foods provide protection against following diseases.
§ These foods lower the risks of cardiovascular diseases. This is because most of these superfoods increase the level of HDL cholesterol and controls the production of LDL cholesterol through oxidation process.
§ These foods also protect the skin cells from degeneration. The antioxidants like asthaxanthine, lutein and zeaxanthin stop the degeneration process of cells. This stoppage in the decaying of cells make skin tight, fresh, bright, and smooth.
§ Another large benefit of eating anti aging superfoods is that these show a positive effect on the brain and cognitive functions of the brain. The polyphenols found in many anti aging foods is effective in cognitive problems. It sharpens the memory and reduce the chances of Alzheimer disease.
§ Eating anti aging foods also proves beneficial for bones health. The contents in most of these foods are anti-inflammatory and antioxidant and have wonderful effects on bone health. The multivitamins in many of the superfoods are a lot useful for bones. Consumption of vitamin C and vitamin K is especially useful in this regard.
§ Superfoods are also beneficial for visionary protection. The carotenoids like lutein are zeaxanthin reach the macula of the eye and save the retina cells from degeneration process.
§ These anti aging foods also are useful for digestive system because these contain soluble fibers. This boosts the enzymes in the body and improve the digestion of foods.
How to Take these Superfoods
The ways to take these superfoods are different in various parts of the world. Some people prefer to eat fresh leafy vegetables. You can also intake these foods regularly by extracting juices. For example, you can make the juices of citrus fruits, blueberries, and many other superfoods. There are many people who make the pudding of blueberries.
You can also take in Salmon fish in grilled as well as roasted form. Some superfoods can also be taken in the form of tea. Green tea is also a superfood that is widely used across the world. Some of the superfoods can be eaten after cutting into small pieces. Even, massaging some vegetables like cucumber shows positive effects on the skin.
Conclusions
In conclusion, we can say that though we cannot avert fate, yet can slow the pace of the aging process. Aging process is related with your diet and you can control this by consuming well balanced diet. The balanced diet has anti-inflammatory effects that stop the degeneration of cells. You should plan your foods and mix certain items in your daily food chart to achieve the target of stopping degeneration of cells.
Eating protein rich foods is always beneficial because it is one of the largest requirements of the body.
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Carb Cycling Made Easy
Introduction
For anyone trying to lose weight, the word "carbs" is akin to blasphemy. Carb is the age-old enemy. Carbs are the evil nemesis of WeightWatchers everywhere. Carbs mean calories and weight loss requires cutting calories.
It has been the traditional belief that foods packed with carbs will cause you to pack on the pounds. Even healthy carbs like starchy vegetables and whole grains are high in carbs, so many classic diets restrict them as well. The result is that we have become to believe that carbs are bad for us. Not only do they hinder weight loss, but they are downright unhealthy.
Well, science has recently turned that belief upside down by telling us that carbs may be your best ally in the battle to lose weight. Leveraging carbs to help us lose weight is called carb cycling. it is a method whereby eating carbs can lead to weight loss rather than weight gain!
Carb cycling is done through a weekly eating plan with a few basic rules to stick to. Other than that, you have a full run of what you eat. Your meal plans can consist of all your favorite healthy foods, including carbs. You even have cheat days to indulge in your less healthy favorite foods to satisfy your cravings!
Why Is The 7-Day Plan Different?
Many of us struggle with our weight and strive to be fit and healthy. We've all experimented with different diets and eating regimens. We’ve tried diets that promised amazing weight loss, in X number of days. We've tried diets that promised we'd never feel hungry or sluggish. We’ve tried diets that you could eat everything and lose weight – only to find that "everything" meant in half spoonfuls.
We have been let down repeatedly. We either fall off the wagon and binge like crazy or get too discouraged to continue. Most, if not all traditional diets simply do not work for us.
What makes the carb cycling plan different? First, it makes a lot of sense because it addresses our metabolism rather than our stomach. After all, it’s our metabolism that burns calories and melts off those pounds.
Secondly, although it has been recently hailed as a breakthrough in the field of healthy eating and weight loss, it has been popular among athletes for decades, especially those doing high resistance training. Many of them rely on carb cycling to build lean muscle and boost their energy levels.
Thirdly, a carb recycling plan is not as restrictive as other diets. It's therefore easy to follow.
Fourthly, the plan is used only to achieve shorter-term weight-loss goals, after which you must stop. However, you can use elements of it to develop lifelong healthy eating habits to stay fit and healthy for the rest of your life.
This is a very simple guide for the layman who wants to try the 7-day carb cycling plan. We will not go into the deeper technicalities of how carb recycling works, the different hormones it triggers nor discuss complex measurements. It will explain how and why carb cycling works, and what you need to do to put together your 7-day carb cycling plan. The results will speak for themselves.
So, if you are considering giving the carb cycling plan a try, this book will help you get started.
Here, I must insert the traditional disclaimer. If you suffer from any chronic illness or are taking any sort of medication, do consult your doctor before embarking on this plan.
Chapter 1 - How Carb Cycling Works
Remember how those old railway trains used to run? Workers had to stand in front of a huge coal furnace, shoveling in huge quantities of coal. If the furnace was regularly fueled, the train would keep running at full speed. If the coal input slowed down, the train would lose speed. If the furnace was not regularly fed with coal, the train would come to a standstill.
Our body's metabolism is very similar to this process. Carbs are the main food group that "fuels" our metabolism so that it burns calories and gives us energy. Carbs are also very filling. Therefore, diets that cut out or strictly limit carb intake make us feel tired and sluggish. They also make us irritable, hungry and more likely to binge.
With the 7-day carb cycling plan, a person consumes carbs to boost metabolism. The plan causes the body to use crab-rich foods to function at the optimal peak, burning fat and building muscle. The result is weight loss with less flab. It's that simple! This is what makes carb cycling unique and revolutionary.
But there's a catch. This doesn't mean going overboard with the carbs and eat tons of them day in, day out. The catch is that you follow a 7-day plan where you eat more carbs on certain days and less or no carbs on other days. This allows your body to optimally "cycle" your carb intake so that you lose weight and build muscle mass.
The theory behind this is that on the days when your carb intake is low and fat intake is higher, your body is forced to burn fat for energy. This is what causes weight loss. The purpose of the High carb days is to keep your metabolism fueled and functioning peak level, providing you with energy.
What Is The 7-day Plan?
The weekly plan alternates high carb days with low carb days to keep your metabolism in a regular cycle of fat burning.
On high carb days, you can increase your carb intake while decreasing your fat intake. On low carb days, you can choose to eat small quantities of carbs or eliminate them altogether, while increasing fat and protein intake.
Athletes and people who exercise regularly often choose to synchronize their high carb days with practice or workouts when their energy levels are high. You may want to consider this for certain days when you are particularly active.
A typical 7-day plan looks like this:
Monday: High carb intake
Tuesday: Low carb intake
Wednesday: High carb intake.
Thursday: Low carb intake.
Friday: High carb intake.
Saturday: High carb day – or the option of rewarding yourself. You can indulge (moderately) in your favorite foods. This is also called "cheat day".
Sunday: Low carb day.
Versions of the 7-day plan
There are several versions of the plan where two or more high carb days will be followed by low carb days or some variation of this. Some examples are:
Alternative plan 1:
Day 1: High carbs
Day 2: Low carbs
Day 3: Zero carbs
Day 4: Low carbs
Day 5: High carbs
Day 6: Low carbs
Day 7: Zero carbs
Alternative plan 2:
Day 1: High carbs
Day 2: Low carbs
Day 3: Zero carbs
Day 4: Low carbs
Day 5: High carbs
Day 6: Low carbs
Day 7: Zero carbs
There are a variety of other versions as well, such as 4 high carb days followed by three low carb days. However, as a beginner, you will want to start with the simple alternate day plan.
You can switch to a different cycle when you get the hang of it and feel you are ready. Or, you can stick to the basic plan throughout your journey until you have achieved your weight loss goal.
If you find that carb cycling works for you, you may want to delve deeper into these other plans. In this case, you will want to consult an expert. They will help you customize a plan that suits your weight goals, gender, and lifestyle.
The alternate-day plan we will use here is just the simplest for a beginner and will work for anyone.
What You Eat
Carbs: They are the main source of fuel for the body and essential for boosting metabolism. They are also essential for potting the fat-burning cycle into action.
Protein: This is the foundation of your carb cycling plan. You must eat between 1/5th to 1/7th of the minimum required daily intake with each meal.
Fats: Fat intake will remain consistent throughout the plan. You may raise your fat intake a little bit on low carb days for more energy.
Calculating your daily intake
For the best results, you need to calculate your daily intake of carbs, proteins, and fats. This a very easy process of multiplication
Low carb days
Carbs: Women simply must multiply their body weight by 0.6. Men should multiply bodyweight by 0.9. The resulting number will represent the carbohydrate intake in grams per day.
Proteins: Women can calculate their daily intake by multiplying their body weight by 1.2. Men can calculate their daily intake by multiplying their body weight by 1.5. The resulting number will be the required daily intake of protein per day.
Fats: To calculate daily fat intake, women should multiply their body weight by 0.5, while men should multiply by 0.8. The resulting number is your daily intake of fats in grams.
To calculate the total number of calories, add the totals from the three food groups.
High carb days
The same calculation is used, except that in this case, your intake of carbs and proteins will be higher. Your intake of fats will decrease.
Carbs: Women should multiply their body weight by 1.4 while men will multiply by 1.7.
Proteins: Women multiply their body weight by 1.4 and men by 1.7 (yes, it's the same ratio as for carbs)
Fats: Women should multiple bodyweight by o.3 whereas men should multiply by o.6.
The total of the three numbers will give you the total number of calories you can consume for High carb days.
It is up to you how you divide your daily intake throughout meals, whether you are having three meals or six meals per day.
Calories
As for daily calorie consumption, the recommended range is 1500 – 2300 for women and 1500 – 3000 for men. This is the general recommended range that you should stay within. However, don’t beat yourself up if you exceed it a little on some days. I highly recommend that you invest in a calorie counting app. As for how many calories are contained in the foods you consume, you can easily look this up online and prepare a reference list to store on your computer.
Portions
Carb portions range from 200 grams to 300 grams on high carb days and 50 grams to 150 grams on lower carb days. We will discuss portions and food types in a later chapter.
This was a very simple explanation of how the carb cycling plan works. Next, let’s find out why it works and how it can benefit you.
Chapter 2 - Why the Carb Cycling Diet Works
The carb cycling diet has become mainstream recently. Research is still ongoing with regards to the additional benefits. However, many people have reported great success with the 7-day plan for several reasons. Here are some of the arguments for why it works:
· One of the main reasons is flexibility. It really doesn’t feel like a diet because there is a wide variety of foods to choose from. You can eat your favorite foods on certain days. People who follow the plan report not feeling deprived. And, the cheat day really helps as well!
· It gives you the ability to customize your plan if you stick to the basic rules.
· It can easily be adopted into your lifestyle and become permanent or a long-term eating habit.
· It is a simple protocol. Any layman who wants to lose weight will have no trouble following the easy guidelines.
· Perhaps the strongest point is that it is proven simultaneously build muscle while burning fat. This is a dream come true for anyone who wants to shed stubborn pounds.
· A high carb diet has been shown to increase insulin production in the pancreas. This important hormone helps boost metabolism and energy levels. Insulin also helps maintain better body composition.
· The high carb intake increases the production of leptin, a hormone that decreases hunger.
· The high carb days will replenish and fuel glycogen, a compound that builds muscle
· You do not need to use elaborate measurements or track macronutrients. You will be able to see results by just monitoring daily calorie intake sticking to the basic guidelines.
Traditionally, it was believed that you could not build muscle and lose fat at the same time. This is because losing fat requires less calorie intake while building muscles requires more. Amazingly, carb cycling is the magic formula that helps the body do both. This is the real game-changer.
Carb cycling works because it's a healthy way to lose weight and get into better shape.
Chapter 3 - Starting off on the Right Foot
A little bit of preparation before starting your plan will save you a lot of time, hassle, and mistakes. Here are the basics you need to have in place to start off on the right foot.
Choose Your Plan
First, decide on which days will be your high carb days and which will be low carb days. For the purpose of simplicity, we will use the alternating high carb/low carb day plan. If you would like to use another of the versions described above, just switch the meal plans around to fit your days.
Ideally, your high carb days should correspond to days when you are the most active, However, this is not a rule. Next, pick your "cheat day".
This is the plan you will stick to for the next month. It is not recommended to switch plans midway as it will disrupt the existing cycle.
Decide On The Number Of Meals
How many meals you eat per day is totally up to you. Some people prefer four to six smaller meals instead of the traditional three. This type of plan may suit you if you are used to snacking more during the day. The 3-meal plans include healthy snacks as well. If you are the type of person who frequently feels hungry, then more meals a day will work better.
More advanced carb cyclers may incorporate fasting or eating just two meals a day. However, this is not recommended for beginners.
Set Your Week's Meal Plan
This is the fun part! It's better to plan your meals weekly, biweekly or even monthly if you're really organized. This will save you the hassle of scrambling to put a meal together at the last minute.
The meal plan should list the day, whether it is a high or low carb day and the number of meals.
Each meal should be followed by the time you will have it. The times are just a general framework. You can have your next meal a little earlier on days when you feel hungry.
There are also be those crazy days when you just can't stick to your schedule. You can have meals a little later but don’t skip them altogether so as not to disrupt your metabolism.
Include the portions of food you will have for each meal
Stock Up On The Food You Need
Your cupboards and fridge should have all the ingredients you need for your meal plans. It's a good idea to shop weekly for all the food that you need. You can freeze some foods; store others and vegetables will not have time to go bad. You will have some sample meal plans to guide you in a later chapter.
Remember that you must follow your chosen plan for at least four weeks before changing high carb and low carb days.
Stock Up On Long-Life Healthy Carbs
A lot of healthy carbs like potatoes, nuts, and legumes have a long shelf life. Buy them in bulk so that you never run out of carbs.
Recommended Food Portions
In addition to calorie and gram intake, the recommended quantities for carbs, some meal plans include portions in half-cups or cups (if you are using meal plans you found online for example). This is perfectly fine. There is no need for complicated conversions.
Notice that on low carb days, your fat and protein intake will be higher. Make sure you are eating healthy fats and proteins.
Invest in a small food scale easily measure gram and oz. portions.
To follow is the recommended daily intake of carbs, proteins, and fats.
HIGH CARB DAYS
FOOD TYPE GRAMS PER POUND OF BODY WEIGHT Carbs 2 – 2.5 gm. Proteins 1 gm. Fats 0 -0.15 gm.-
LOW CARB DAYS
FOOD TYPE GRAMS PER BODY WEIGHT Carbs 0.5 gm. Proteins 1.5 gm Fats 0.35
Once you have these basics set up, you are now ready for the next step – what to eat and what to avoid.
Chapter 4 - What to Eat and What to Avoid
Healthy vs. Unhealthy Carbs
First and foremost, you need to eat healthy carbs and avoid unhealthy carbs like the plague. Healthy carbs are known as complex or unprocessed carbs. Processed carbs are those that are loaded with useless calories and really have zero nutritional value.
This is one restriction that you really need to follow for your carb plan to work. So, if you are addicted to white bread, summon up the willpower to avoid it except for maybe one slice on cheat days. Luckily, the list of healthy carbs is so varied that there is something on it for everyone.
HEALTHY UNPROCESSED CARBS UNHEALTHY COMPLEX CARBS Brown rice White or whole wheat flour Natural sweeteners like honey or molasses Table sugar Whole grain bread Processed cereals Whole grain pasta Store-bought cookies and cakes Sprouted grains like buckwheat, oats, and quinoa Soft drinks White potatoes Pizza Sweet potatoes French fries Lentils white pasta All types of beans and legumes Muffins Butternut squash Tortillas and wraps Oatmeal Processed chips and similar snacks Corn Ice cream Peas Jams and jellies Couscous Processed fruit juices Fruits rich in carbs like bananas, peaches, plums, pineapple, and blueberries Bagels and pretzels Beets Chocolate and candy Some vegetable with low amounts of carbs include tomatoes, mushrooms, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, and peppers. Pancakes Dates Beer
Healthy vs. Unhealthy Fats And Proteins
Vegetables, proteins, and fats are the basis of your low carb days. But if you're eating unhealthy fats and proteins on low carb days, that just defeats the purpose. Healthy fats and proteins not only boost the process of carb cycling but also give you more energy. Make sure you include a good variety of these in your plan.
HEALTHY DAYS AND PROTEINS FOR LOW CARB DAYS UNHEALTHY FATS AND PROTEINS Grass-fed lean meat Processed meats like bacon, pastrami and luncheon meats Organic eggs Hot dogs and sausage Poultry Fish, especially that high in healthy Omega-3 fats like tuna, salmon, and mackerel Heavy cream and milk Raw dairy products like goat cheese, feta, and ricotta Peanut butter Low-fat dairy products Nuts and seeds Olive oil, palm oil, and coconut oil Leafy greens and all non-starchy vegetables Avocadoes Apples and apricots Almond butter
Hopefully, you get the idea. Now, you can begin to incorporate healthy foods into your meals and start carb cycling!
Chapter 5 - Sample Meal Plans
Putting all this information into a concrete meal plan can be daunting for beginners. These sample meal plans for a typical carb cycling week should help. Use them as a basic blueprint for designing your meals but remember, it's not carved in stone. You can add or discard meals according to your chosen 7-day plan.
PLAN 1
Monday (low carb day)
Breakfast
· 3 whole eggs, scrambled, poached boiled or fried.
· 1/2 cup of high-carb fruit like blueberries, pineapple or peaches
· 1/cup oatmeal sweetened with honey
Snack
· I apple or 1/2 cup unsalted nuts
Lunch
· Turkey sandwich with lettuce and tomato on whole-wheat bread.
· Herbal tea
Snack
· 1/2 cup ricotta cheese or 2 medium apricots
Dinner
· Spinach Frittata
· Grilled beef strips with green bell peppers
· Green salad
Tuesday (High carb day)
Breakfast
· Two slices whole wheat bread with Swiss cheese
· 1 cup low-fat yogurt with fresh blueberries
Snack
· 1 banana
Lunch
· Grilled salmon with brown rice
· Grated carrot and cucumber salad
Snack
· 1 slice whole wheat bread with almond butter
Dinner
· Whole wheat pasta with fresh tomatoes
· Black beans with garlic oil
· Fresh green salad
Wednesday (low carb day)
Breakfast
· 3 scrambled eggs with avocado
Snack
· 2 apricots or 2 plums
Lunch
· Caesar salad with grilled chicken strips
· Herbal tea
Snack
· Low-fat yogurt or 1/2 cup of nuts
Dinner
· Flank steak with green beans and onions
· Green salad with feta cheese
Thursday (High carb day)
Breakfast
· 2 poached eggs
· 2 slices whole-wheat toast
· 1/2 cup fruit
Snack
· 1/2 cup fruit or nuts or 1 banana
Lunch
· 1 cup brown rice with chickpeas
· Sweet potatoes
· Green salad
Snack
· Low-fat yogurt with honey or 1 banana
Dinner
· Baked potato
· Grilled chicken breast
· Avocado and tomato salad
Friday (low carb day)
Breakfast
· 1/2 cup oatmeal
· 1/2 cup fruit
· 1/2 cup ricotta, feta or goat cheese
Snack
· 1/2 cup fruit or nuts or 1 low-fat yogurt
Lunch
· Avocado and chicken salad
· Sliced tomatoes on lettuce
· Herbal tea
Snack
· 1 orange or 1 apple or 2 plums
Dinner
· Grilled salmon with vegetables
· Naked beans
· Green salad
Saturday (high carb day)
Breakfast
· 2 scrambled eggs on whole-wheat toast
· 1 low-fat yogurt sweetened with honey
Lunch
· Sweet potatoes
· Lentil soup
Snack
· 1/2 cup nuts or fruit
Dinner
· Tuna Casserole Whole wheat noodles
· Spinach salad
Sunday (low carb + cheat day)
Breakfast
· Lean sausages with fried eggs
· 1/2 cup fruit
Snack
· Almond butter or 1/2 cup nuts
Lunch
· Tuna salad
· 1 piece of fresh fruit
Snack
· 2 plums, two apricots or 1 apple
Dinner:
Whatever you want! In moderation, please. For example, have two slices of pizza instead of two or three. Indulge in a moderate portion of ice cream or cake. If you've been craving French fries all week, eat a small plate of them, not a whole platter. You get the idea.
PLAN 2
If you prefer more than three meals a day, here is a sample plan to guide you.
TYPICAL LOW CARB DAY
Meal 1
· 3 egg
· 3 strips of lean bacon
· Sautéed peppers
Meal 2
· 4 oz. grilled turkey or chicken breast
· 1 cup carrots
· Lettuce and tomato salad
Meal 3
· 4 0z grilles salmon, tuna or shrimp
· 1 cup broccoli
· 1 banana
Meal 4
· 4 oz. chicken
· 1 cup spinach
· 1 low-fat yogurt with honey
Meal 5
· 4 oz. tuna
· 1 cup chickpeas
· 1 sliced tomato or cucumber
Meal 6
· 4 oz. lean steak
· 1 cup green beans
· 1/2 cup fruit
TYPICAL HIGH CARB DAY
Meal 1
· 2 eggs
· 3 strips of bacon or 3 small sausages
· 2 slices whole-wheat toast
Meal 2
· 4 oz. chicken
· Green salad
· 1/2 cup oatmeal sweetened with honey
Meal 3
· 4 oz. salmon
· 1/2 cup brown rice
· 1/2 cup carrots and peas
Meal 4
· 4 oz. chicken
· 2 cups spinach
· 1 cup arb-rich fruit like peaches, plums or apricots
Meal 5
· 1 cup of corn
· 1 sliced cucumber
· 1/2 cup of wild rice or quinoa
Meal 6
· 4 oz. grilled beefsteak
· 1 yam
· 1 cup green beans
· Green salad
PLAN 3
Here is a third meal plan sample that just includes several suggestions for each day, letting you calculate the portions as you learned in a previous chapter.
Low carb day
Breakfast
· Egg muffins
· Sour cream with chives
· 1 banana
OR…
· Whole wheat pancakes with cream cheese
· 3 sausages
· Blueberries or diced pineapple
OR…
· 3 scrambled eggs with green peppers and tomatoes
· Vanilla yogurt with sliced banana
Lunch
· Tacos with lean ground beef
· Green salad
· 1 piece whole fruit
OR…
· Bell peppers stuffed with lean ground beef
· Sliced cucumber and spinach topped with grated parmesan cheese
· 1 apple
OR…
· Chicken salad on lettuce
· Baked butternut squash with herbs
· Fruit salad
Dinner
· Whole wheat pasta with grilled chicken strips and parmesan cheese
· Green beans with carrots
· Oatmeal sweetened with honey
OR…
· Beef stroganoff with mushrooms
· Brown rice
· Shredded lettuce and tomato salad
· Jelly cup
OR…
· Chicken fajita wraps
· Zucchini boats stuffed with mozzarella
· Green salad
· 1 piece whole fruit
Snacks
· Rice cake with almond butter
· Protein shake
· Hummus dip and celery sticks
· Strawberry and banana smoothie
· Cottage cheese with honey
· Cream cheese with herbs and carrot sticks
HIGH CARB DAYS
Breakfast
· Scrambled eggs with bacon and chives
· Oatmeal with blueberries and honey
· 1 piece whole fruit
OR…
· Boiled eggs
· 2 slices whole-wheat bread with cream cheese
· 1 banana
OR…
· Fried eggs with sausage
· 2 slices whole what toast
· 1 yam
Lunch
· Grilled turkey sandwich
· Chickpea salad
· Yogurt with honey
OR…
· Grilled salmon
· Sweet potato and spinach salad
· 1 piece whole fruit
OR…
· Shrimp with whole wheat noodles
· Potato salad
· 1 piece whole fruit
Dinner:
· Baked chicken
· Mexican brown rice
· Peas with carrots
· 1 piece whole fruit
OR…
· Pan steak with potatoes
· Broccoli with sweet corm
· Jelly cup
OR…
· Pasta with chicken and mushroom
· Cherry tomato and spinach salad
· Quinoa sweetened with honey
As you can see, there is huge room to get creative and once up with mouthwatering, meals. Once you get the hang of it, you will be able to come up with delicious treats for the whole family to enjoy along with you (although family members not on the plan or kids should not restrict themselves to portions or calories.
You can also tweak your favorite recipes to make them carb cycling-friendly by replacing processed carbs with healthy ones, and saturated fats with good fats.
Chapter 6 - Normal Side Effects to Expect
Don’t worry. The side effects are nothing remotely dangerous. Consider them as minor symptoms that may cause some discomfort.
Any disruptive changes in diet or exercise routines may have some temporary side effects. It's like when you work out after a period of inactivity. Your muscles will ache for a couple of days afterward. But you know it's a result of your workout.
Some people starting the carb cycling plan have reported experiencing some side effects. These should pass or decrease significantly within a week or so.
1. Water weight gain. Expect to see some water weight gain especially on high carb days. This is because your body stores four times more water for every gram of carbs you consume. This should normalize over time.
You will notice less water weight gain on low carb days. So, rest assured that you are not gaining real weight.
Exercising on high carb days may also help with this issue. Note: Despite this water weight gain, you still need to drink lots of water throughout the day.
2. You may feel more tired and lethargic than usual during the first week or so. This is normal. You will regain your usual energy – in fact, you will notice increased energy - once the carb cycling kicks in.
3. You may experience constipation or bloating. This is due to your high carb intake, especially more starchy foods like potatoes and rice.
Herbal teas, especially chamomile, is a wonderful cure for this. You can also replace your fruit intake with stewed fruit until your digestion improves.
4. You may feel irritable and experience mood swings. This is a normal complaint.IT could be that for you, the carb cycling plan is restrictive What does that mean? If you are used to eating more carbs than the quantities prescribed in this plan, then you are restricting yourself. This deprivation may cause some irritability and moodiness for the first few days.
5. You may experience cravings due to the switch from unhealthy carbs and fats to healthy ones. Willpower and the cheat day will help you overcome this.
6. Your body may crave more carbs on low carb days.
Other than the above, the harmless side effects, there is no real danger in following a carb cycling diet. However, always listen to what your body tells you. If these side effects last for more than two weeks, then the carb diet may just not for you.
Chapter 7 – Helpful Tips
Here are some sensible tips to make your carb cycling plan more effective. You may be practicing some of them already.
1. Cheat days are not an open invitation to go overboard and stuff yourself with all your favorite food. Have a slice of pizza or a Big Mac if you're really craving that. Just remember that the cheat day is there as an option and not as a mandate.
Your carb cycling results depend on how much you "cheat". If you do it every week then, of course, your weight loss will be slower. If you want faster results, keep cheat days to a minimum.
2. Don't skip breakfast and always make sure you eat protein and fiber. This is essential for beating those cravings and keeping you full until the next meal
3. Consider resistance or aerobic exercise to maintain your muscle mass and make the most of carb cycling. If this doesn’t appeal to you, any exercise you prefer will be beneficial. Walking, cycling or swimming are good alternatives.
4. If you are active in sports or work out regularly, synchronize high carb days with your high activity days. This will help you shed those pounds faster. Plus, you will have higher energy levels on those days.
5. Avoid "drinking" your calories. This includes smoothies, sweetened tea, and coffee or fruit juices. Stick to water or herbal tea. If you must have your morning coffee, try to take it black. As for tea, it doesn't taste too bad when sweetened with honey.
6. Supplements can maintain your carb cycling at an optimal level and improve digestions. Omega-3, Vitamin B 12 and probiotics are good choices.
7. Get creative with meal plans. Work with the wide variety of foods that you have, to create delicious dishes. Search online for new recipes to try and experiment with new carb combinations. Also, experiment with things you've never tried before, like quinoa, kale or hummus. You might be pleasantly surprised!
8. Get enough sleep to stay energetic and avoid stress. Give your body the rest it needs for optimal carb cycling. This is just good common sense for anyone striving for better health.
Conclusion
This was a simple presentation of the carb diet and how it works. We have covered all the information you need to know to get started.
So, what are the main takeaways?
· Carb cycling works by fueling your metabolism to burn fat and build muscle simultaneously.
· Carb cycling is based on a 7-day plan where you have high carb days and low carb days.
· You plan your meals around the recommended daily intake of carbs, proteins, and fats for that day.
· You lose weight!
Diets that eliminate carbs just don’t work for everybody. The deprivation and resulting cravings can be too much.
Because the 7-day carb cycling plan is not restrictive, you have a much higher chance of sticking to it. Even on low carb days, you are still able to eat carbs. This could possibly be the easiest and least painful way of losing weight.
If you find the flexibility and wide variety of foods appealing, then it's worth a try. It is certainly far less rigid and restricting, and people have reported that they hardly ever feel hungry. And of course, there is the ultimate benefit of losing weight and building muscle mass simultaneously.
So, go ahead, stock up on healthy carbs and proteins, have fun with your meal plans, and start looking better, feeling better and getting in shape today.
Ready To Lose Weight Fast With Carb Cycling? >> CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED NOW! <<
Eating Healthy 6 Ways To Unlimited Health
Let’s face it… Who doesn’t want to wake up every morning with unlimited health and vitality to kick off their day with style?
However, it's super hard to perform at peak levels when you always feel tired and sick. Everyone succumbs to the occasional cold or stomach bug, but have you noticed the most successful people seem to be nearly invincible (like they never seem to get tired at all even though they have to manage 50 companies or perform 6 hours on stage)?
It's unbelievable but true. Successful people value themselves highly and invest in their own well-being FIRST. They enjoy life, and don't want illness or injury to disrupt their trajectory. With winter and the holidays ahead, there is no better time to be thinking about staying healthy. To keep you at your best, here are 6 simple habits that will help you stay healthy and enjoy your rise to the top.
1. Eating Right
Eating the right foods and the right amounts of foods can help you live a longer, healthier life. Research shows that many illnesses—such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure—can be prevented or controlled by simply eating right. Getting the nutrients you need, such as calcium and iron, and keeping your weight under control can help. Try to balance the calories you get from food with the calories you use through physical activity. Remember, it is never too late to start eating right.
Not just that, it is important to not skip breakfast. Research shows that children who skip breakfast generally have poorer nutrition. Their diets contain less:
• Dietary fibre
• Iron
• Calcium
• Vitamins such as riboflavin and niacin.
Skipping breakfast becomes more common as children get older. Some schools have introduced breakfast programs because they were concerned about children who skip breakfast. Study shows that children generally perform better at school when they have breakfast. They are also more likely to maintain a healthy weight when they consume a healthy breakfast.
On the other hand, adults who eat a healthy breakfast are also more likely be a healthy weight and more productive at work. Breakfast is a way to kickstart your metabolism in the morning (A way to signal your body that it’s time to fire up!)
You need to get good nutrition from the calories you need. At all cost, avoid "empty" calories. So what exactly is it?
It basically means food or bevarages with calories not made up of basic macronutrients (Healthy Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats). An excellent example of empty calories beverage is alcohol. They provide NO nutrients to your body but add on those unwanted calories that make you FAT!
Speaking of fat, also try to avoid food with lots of unhealthy fats or added sugars (or both!). These will seriously make you obese easily if consumed in large quantities.
Secret to lose weight: Opt for FILLING, low-calorie food; rather than sugary, fat-rich CALORIE-DENSE FOOD!
Here's an example: There are 2 foods on the table – One is a piece of carrot cake, and another is a bag of carrots. Both contain the SAME amount of calories.
If you eat a piece of carrot cake, you won't get very much to help your health (and most probably you even crave for MORE!). But let's say you eat the same number of calories in the form of carrots. In that case, you get the calories plus a whole bunch of great nutrients (and you’ll feel extremely full).
Keep in mind that most girls should aim to eat no more than 120 or 160 empty calories a day. How can you avoid empty calories? Try cutting back on sugary sodas, fruit drinks, ice cream, cookies, and cake.
Here are some helpful tips of eating healthy
Eat a variety of food, especially:
• Vegetables. Choose dark-green leafy and deep-yellow vegetables.
• Fruits. Choose berries, melons, citrus fruits or juices.
• Whole grains, such as oats, barley, corn, rice, wheat, rice, oats.
• Whole grain breads and cereals.
• Dry beans (such as soybeans, navy beans and red beans), peanuts, lentils and chickpeas.
Eat food low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, especially:
• Fish.
• Poultry prepared without skin; lean meat.
• Low-fat dairy products.
2. Be Physically Active
Research shows that physical activity can help prevent at least six diseases: heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity (excess weight), diabetes, osteoporosis, and mental disorders, such as depression. Physical activity also will help you feel better and stay at a healthy weight
Not just that, a number of studies has found that exercise relieves depression. Simply moving your physical body can actually help people out of depression. Physical exercises also block negative thoughts or distract people from daily worries (Some even call it an active form of meditation). Plus, exercising with others provides an opportunity for increased social contact. Increase fitness may lift your mood and even improve sleep patterns.
Research suggests that brisk walking can be just as good for you as an activity such as jogging. A good rule to follow is to do a total of 30 minutes of constant physical activity, such as fast walking, most days of the week.
Before you start being physically active:
• Talk with your doctor about ways to get started.
• Choose something that fits into your daily life, such as walking, gardening, raking leaves, or even washing windows.
• Choose an activity you like, such as dancing or swimming.
• Try a new activity, like biking.
• Ask a friend to start with you, or join a group.
Don't quit:
• Make time for physical activity, start slowly, and keep at it.
• If the weather is bad, try an exercise show on TV, watch an exercise tape in your home, walk in the mall, or work around the house.
Physical Activities Guidelines
Here’s an excellent guideline to follow:
• Doing any physical activity is better than doing none. If you currently do no physical activity, start by doing some, and gradually build up to the recommended amount.
• Be active on most, preferably all, days every week.
• Accumulate 150 to 300 minutes (2 ½ to 5 hours) of moderate intensity physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes (1 ¼ to 2 ½ hours) of vigorous intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both moderate and vigorous activities, each week.
• Do muscle strengthening activities on at least two days each week.
3. Maintain a positive attitude.
Positive thinking is contagious (So is negative). People around you WILL pick your mental moods and are affected accordingly.
Going day-to-day with negative thoughts constantly can weigh a person down both physically and mentally. It is important to shift these negative thoughts into positive ones before it can ruin your day and take a toll on your personal life. Many people do not think to push the thoughts away from our thinking pattern, but we can actually control what thoughts we decide to let affect us.
It is important for us to make time for positivity. It is a given that if you surround yourself and your life with negativity, you will end up in a bad place. Make time in your free time to do things that make you happy personally.
This can be a hobby, reading, sports or exercise. Anything that can be focused on and enjoyed by you is a good distraction from negativity. If you are too focused on aspects of your life that do not promote happiness and positive thinking, those things will end up controlling your life.
When practicing the technique of ignoring negative thoughts, you can also practice introducing positivity in those circumstances. Think of anything positive to replace your negative thoughts. Instead of getting down about something, find something to be happy about and use this optimistic thought to replace your pessimistic thoughts. Practicing this over time, your mind will begin to focus on the good rather than the bad.
Finding a good balance with your emotions is crucial to being a happy and successful person. Take care of your mind, body and soul by making sure negative thoughts do not run your life. Your body will thank you. These personal habits will improve your overall life and therefore your happiness and well-being! Here are 5 tips to overcome negative thoughts.
5 Tips to Overcome Negative Thoughts: Positive Thinking Made Easy:
1. Do Yoga Or Meditate
2. Surround yourself with positive people.
3. Remember that no one is perfect and let yourself move forward.
4. Count Your Blessings
5. Don’t play the victim. You create your life—take responsibility
Hence, always remember to maintain a positive attitude. It has a huge impact on your overall well-being. The Mayo Clinic reports a number of health benefits associated with optimism, including a less depression, reduced risk of death from cardiovascular problems and an increased lifespan.
4. Rely on professionals
There are over 200 types of cancer known, and each type requires its own specialized treatment. Early diagnosis will allow these treatments to begin quickly thereby giving the patient the highest chance for a successful recovery. Nearly 1.5 million people are diagnosed with some form of cancer in the United States, and cancer kills over 500,000 people annually in the United States alone, worldwide that number is closer to 12.5 million cases diagnosed and over 7million deaths from cancer. Thirty to forty percent of these cases could be prevented and close to one third cured if detected early.
So the question you have to ask yourself is; are you willing to assume you are in good health because you “feel fine”, or do you think it would be more wise to make an appointment, especially if it has been over a year since you”ve been, and go get a checkup. What have you got to lose? A few bucks for the visit? Can you put a price on your health? Or even more so, can you put a price on life?
One should get annual physical check up to make sure everything is as it should be. There is no harm getting regular check ups as it's good for your own body. Do breast or testicular self-exams and get suspicious moles checked out. Getting exams regularly benefits you because if and when something is abnormal, you will get to know about it timely and can consult with your doctor.
Also, it's important for you to play an active role to get the most out of your doctor's visit.
To make the most of your next check-up, here’s a quick checklist:
• Review your family health history
• Find out if you are due for any general screenings or vaccinations
• Write down a list of issues and questions to take with you
During your actual doctor's visit, don't be shy about getting your questions answered. Also, if your doctor gives you advice about specific health issues, don't hesitate to take notes. Time is often limited during these exams, but by coming prepared you’re sure to get the most out of your checkup.
Regular checkups will provide doctors with a way to spot any health issues early on. Checkups incorporate several tests, including preventative screenings and physical examinations, to check patients' current health and risks. If any problems are found, your doctor will provide information on treatment plans and ways that you can prevent health issues in the future.
Popular health checks include:
• Cervical smear tests (Pap tests) for women
• Blood pressure tests
• Cholesterol level checks
• Body mass index (BMI) and obesity tests
• Diabetes checks
5. Get Enough Sleep
Sleep loss and sleep disorders are among the most common yet frequently overlooked and readily treatable health problems.
The body requires rest to perform at its best. Not only does shortchanging sleep take its toll on health, but also relaxation is also required for maximum performance. Successful people schedule time to rest.
Sleeping is as important to your health as eating properly and getting exercise. It is actually damaging to your health to work too hard and not get enough rest. Yet, many people are doing this on a regular basis. In America, we do everything on the go and at a hurried pace. Slowing down and taking a breather is mandatory!
It is estimated 50-70 million US adults have sleep or wakefulness disorder. Notably, snoring is a major indicator of obstructive sleep apnea.
Lack of sleep can affect your overall health and make you prone to serious medical conditions. This includes:
1.Diabetes
2. Obesity
3. High blood pressure
4. Heart disease
How Much Sleep Do We Need? And How Much Sleep Are We Getting?
How much sleep we need varies between individuals but generally changes as we age. The National Institutes of Health suggests that school-age children need at least 10 hours of sleep daily, teens need 9-10 hours, and adults need 7-8 hours. According to data from the National Health Interview Survey, nearly 30% of adults reported an average of ≤6 hours of sleep per day in 2005-2007. In 2009, only 31% of high school students reported getting at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night.
Sleep Hygiene Tips
The promotion of good sleep habits and regular sleep is known as sleep hygiene. The following sleep hygiene tips can be used to improve sleep.
• Go to bed at the same time each night and rise at the same time each morning
• Avoid large meals before bedtime
• Avoid nicotine
• Avoid caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime
Here are five ways in which a good night's sleep can boost your health:
1. Sleep boosts mental wellbeing
2. Sleep prevents diabetes
3. Sleep boosts immunity
4. Sleep can slim you
5. Sleep wards off heart disease
6. Take vacation days.
Although many Americans receive paid time off through work—and 96 percent of people recognize its importance—only 41 percent of workers plan to use all of their vacation days. But taking time off helps us de-stress—and that has long-term health implications. Women who only took one vacation every six years or less were nearly eight times more likely to suffer a heart attack or develop heart disease than those who took at least two vacations every year, The New York Times reports.
Everyone needs a vacation once in a while.
Clearly, then, stress is not a good thing. Even people who claim to love the high-pressured lifestyle will admit, in their quieter moments, that there are times when they just want to get away from it all, if only for a short time.
Vacations have the potential to break into the stress cycle. We emerge from a successful vacation feeling ready to take on the world again. We gain perspective on our problems, get to relax with our families and friends, and get a break from our usual routines.
Meeting people from other cultures will teach you that the way you’ve been looking at the world isn’t the way everybody else does. In fact, your point-of-view might have some major blind spots. Seeing the world for yourself will improve your vision and your grip on reality.
Not just that, If you’re between jobs, schools, kids, or relationships, around the world travel can be a perfect way to move from one of these life stages into your next great adventure. A big trip won’t just ease your transition into the next stage of your life, it’ll give you a chance to reflect on where you’ve been, where you’re going, and where you want to end up.
Seeing the world provides an education that’s absolutely impossible get in school. Travel teaches you economy, politics, history, geography, and sociology in an intense, hands-on way no class will. It makes you feel alive.
We’re always told that to seek happiness, you need to try and live in the moment. And it feels almost impossible to do this in the process of your nine-to-five job and in the midst of routine. You’ve seen it all before, so your mind moves in a habitual motion just passing it all by. But when you travel, your mind is there, you experience so much for the first time that without any effort, and you’re present in the moment. It’s no wonder so many people become addicted to travelling. It’s a constant rush of adrenaline and adventure. The perfect way to reinvigorate yourself, and can be a great way to shake-up your life.
Conclusion
And there you have it, 6 top tips to live a life of unlimited health!
But if you wish to learn more about Eating Healthy (Also The #1 Way To Unlimited Health), I have an awesome resource for you!
Work Out From Home Introduction
Isn't it amazing - and so frustrating! - how easy it is to gain weight? Our bodies are like magnets that seem to attract and pile up excess pounds as soon as our guard is down. All it takes is a couple of rich desserts, a few weeks on vacation or the Christmas holidays…bam! Our waistline has expanded in proportion to our indulgences. Conversely, losing weight can be a grueling struggle. For some people, staying fit and maintaining a healthy weight is an unending cycle of diets, weight loss schemes and exercise programs. However, everybody who has struggled to lose weight will unanimously agree on one thing: the most frustrating issue has got to be belly fat. Nothing is more unattractive. Nothing is more frustrating than that "spare tire" around your waistline. Belly fat is that ugly layer of flab around our bellies and when we are trying to lose weight, it's usually the last to go. Why do some people struggle with belly fat? Whether you are generally overweight and have a big waistline or whether you seem to gain weight mostly around your middle, there are several common causes. *
Lifestyle: Naturally, lifestyle is the first culprit. Poor diet, smoking, too much alcohol and lack of exercise is the main cause of belly fat. Studies have found that the rise in obesity and weight issue is due to our increasingly sedentary lifestyles. *
Age: Belly fat and the loss of muscle tone is just part of the body's natural aging process. As some people age, they seem to gain more weight around their middle than anywhere else on their bodies. Women going through menopause are also prone to gaining belly fat due to hormonal changes. *
Trans-fats: The excessive consumption of trans-fats, found in fast foods and baked goods, are a major cause of belly fat and obesity. *
Alcohol: The term "beer gut" is an indication of the link between excessive drinking and belly fat. * Stress: When our stress levels are high, our bodies release the hormone cortisol, which works to lower and alleviate stress. The problem is that cortisol can slow down metabolism and fat-burning. In addition, in times of stress, many of us instinctively turn to food for comfort. These two factors combined are an ideal recipe for body fat. *
Genetics: Yes, studies have found that belly fat can be genetically inherited, making you more prone to gaining weight in this area. This is why some people, while being fairly slim and fit, will still have a little potbelly. This could very well be due to genetics. *
Poor sleep: A study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found a correlation between reduced sleep hours and weight gain in general. Not getting enough sleep slows down metabolism and can lead to unhealthy eating habits, both of which contribute to the build-up of belly fat. Reflect on these causes (even the genetic cause can be reversed) and identify which one or ones could be behind your belly fat. You can then choose to work on them along with the exercises for more effective results.
How can this book help? There's only one way to get rid of belly fat and that is good old-fashioned exercise. There's no magic pill, no wonder diet or miraculous "power drink" that will melt off that stubborn flab. Whether we like it or not, we need to work it off with exercise. This book will help you bust your belly fat with seven easy but powerful exercises specially designed to tackle this specific area. They will give your abdomen a good workout and melt off that flab like nothing else can! The great thing is that you don’t need to go to the gym to practice the exercises, nor do you need any expensive equipment. You can do them at home at no cost or trouble at all, except for some dedicated practice.
Chapter 1: Some Fun (and not so fun) Facts About Belly fat Before we jump into the exercises, here are some basic facts about belly fat that are interesting for you to know.
1. In some cultures, a big belly and plump figure were something to be proud of. Belly fat was a badge of prosperity and "good" living and in fact, this mindset still exists in some Middle Eastern cultures today.
2. The scientific term for belly fat is "abdominal obesity" while the clinical term is "central obesity".
3. There are two classifications of belly fat. Visceral fat is the fat that's buried deep in the abdomen and surrounds various body organs. This type can be a potential health risk. The good news is that it responds very quickly to exercise. Subcutaneous fat is the fat that accumulates between the abdominal wall and the skin. This type is generally harmless except to your wallet when you may have to keep buying bigger sized pants! Subcutaneous fat is somewhat stubborn and harder to shed than visceral fat.
4. In one of the longest and most extensive studies ever conducted, a group of researchers monitored 360,000 European participants over a long-term period. They made a staggering discovery. The people with more belly fat were at a higher risk of dying prematurely than those with less or no belly fat.
5. Visceral fat has been proven to release chemicals called cytokines that increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and even cancer. Studies have suggested that there is a link between belly fat and breast cancer in women.
6. Belly fat is metabolically active, which means that it releases inflammatory substances that can elevate stress levels, affect mood and cause hormonal imbalances.
7. Belly fat does not protect your bones. This is a common myth that has no basis in truth. Actually, the opposite is true. Studies indicate that visceral fat is associated with lower bone density and strength. A Harvard study conducted in 2012 even found a correlation between belly fat and osteoporosis in men. While some of these facts are fun to know, the more serious ones are pretty scary. They are red flags indicating that belly fat can have some pretty serious health consequences. In addition to being unattractive, it could actually be shaving years off of your life. All the more reason to make the resolution to tone up your waistline ASAP!
Chapter 2: The Seven Best Exercises to Bust Belly fat These seven exercises are specially designed to bust belly fat and give you a great workout as well. They will work primarily on your waistline and abdomen to burn fat and tone the abdominal muscles. Now, while the steps are simple and easy to learn, the actual doing is going to require quite a bit of effort at the beginning. These seven mini workouts fall under the category of resistance exercises, although not all of them require weights. However, they will powerfully work your core muscles to increase metabolism and fat burning, while lifting and toning at the same time. Note: You will need a yoga mat for the exercises that require lying down on the floor.
1. Muscle Master Crunch This exercise forcefully works those abdominal muscles, allowing your body to burn fat faster. An added bonus is that this awesome exercise works every muscle of your body as well. Steps: * Start the exercise by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart. * With your arms held out also shoulder-width apart, bend downwards and rest your palms flat on the floor. Hold the position for 3-4 counts. * With your palms still flat on the floor, kick both legs out behind you in one forceful push so that you assume a pushup position. * Do one push up, pull your legs back under you and stand up with a jump. * Repeat the exercise 10 times. The secret of this exercise is in the fast-paced repetitions that pump up your metabolism to melt away belly fat. Naturally, you may be a bit slow and awkward at first but when you get the hang of it, you should be able to do all of the steps in one fluid movement and increase your pace.
2. Mountain Climber Crunch This exercise resembles a forceful climb upwards against the pull of gravity. It really puts your core into overdrive as you strive to keep your body straight when lifting your foot. This exercise will be difficult at first, especially if you have not exercised for a while and are out of shape. Just keep practicing and hang in there. It will become much easier as your body gains strength. Steps: * This exercise requires a yoga mat. * Assume the traditional pushup position with your body stretched out completely straight, hands in front of your shoulders with the palms down. * Raise your body off the floor as if preparing to do a pushup. * Raise your right foot from the floor and forcefully pull your knee up towards your chest. * Tap the floor with your right foot and return it to the starting position. * Repeat 20 times, alternating between both feet. This crunch can be practiced as a conditioning exercise that ramps up your heart rate and burns some serious calories. To make the exercise really effective, do as many crunches as you can for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds and repeat for a total of 4 minutes. Again, you will probably be a little slow at first but as you get stronger, you should be able to do the reps quickly.
3. Trusty Toe Touches This good old exercise will never go out of fashion because it's one of the simplest and most effective exercises for busting belly fat and toning up the abdominal muscles. Steps: * You can start by either lying back on your yoga mat with your arms stretched straight behind your head or sitting down with arms raised straight above your head. * If you are lying down, do a full sit-up, stretch forward and touch your toes. * If you start in the sitting position, simply bend forward and touch your toes. This exercise may not be as easy as it seems. Naturally, the more belly fat you have, the harder it will be to easily reach your toes. But as the fat gradually melts away, what an amazing sense of accomplishment you'll feel the more easily you're able to touch your toes!
4. Med-Ball Slam-dunk This explosive exercise is great fun - and great for toning your belly because it requires the use of all the muscles between your neck ad hips. Steps: * You will need a one-kilo medicine ball for this exercise. * Stand with your legs firmly planted on the floor, with your feet shoulder-width apart. * Hold the ball straight above your head. * Take a deep breath and slam the ball down with all of your strength, then quickly catch it when it rebounds. * Repeat 2o times. For this exercise to work, make sure to pack some real power behind that ball when you slam it down!
5. Planks This exercise gets its name from the "plank" position, which works several groups of muscles but particularly the abdominal muscles. Planks is an endurance exercise that will really challenge both your endurance and your focus. Steps: * Lie down on a yoga mat in the pushup position, then lift and support your body with your forearm and toes. * Make sure that your back is perfectly straight and that your hips are not touching the floor. * Hold this position for 15-20 seconds, while fully concentrating on keeping your body straight and balanced. * Release the position and rest for 10 seconds. Repeat the exercise 3-5 times.
6. Leg Curls This is a great exercise for burning belly fat and toning the thighs as well. Steps: * It's best that you use a high chair for this exercise, or some other elevated object such as a sturdy table, * Sit on the edge of the chair or table and lean back with your legs stretched out. If using a chair, do not rest your back on the backrest when you lean. * Bend your knees and raise them up towards your abdomen than unfold your legs slowly to their original position. Keep your muscles clenched tightly as you do the exercise. * Repeat 8-10 times.
7. The Oblique Exercise This resistance exercise is a great way to stretch and tone the abs. It involves the use of two hand weights. Steps: * Stand with your feet slightly apart, keeping your back straight and holding a weight in each hand. * Begin the exercise with both hands holding the weights at your sides. * Slowly lean to the right side as far as you can. Keep your legs straight and don't bend your knees. * Return to the starting position and repeat on the left side. * Do 1o repetitions, rest for 30 seconds and repeat two more times. So, did you expect the exercises to be this simple? Well, they may be simple but they absolutely pack a powerful punch when it comes to busting belly fat. Just don’t forget to warm up before starting in order to prevent injury and muscle cramps. Don’t worry if you are a bit slow at first, especially if you're a little bit out of shape. Don’t overexert yourself and rest between reps if you need to. It will get easier as your muscles become firmer and you will gradually be able to ramp up the pace and the forcefulness required. So, what can you expect from these exercises, when can you expect to start seeing results, and what is the best way to do them? Read on to find out.
Chapter 3: What to Expect Your body will respond to these exercises if you follow the Three-P rule, which is Patience - Perseverance - Practice. These three factors combined are the key to your success. Patience: Tough goals are not achieved overnight. And shedding stubborn belly fat is definitely not a walk in the park. Moreover, the more of it you have, the tougher it will be to get rid of it. The change will come but it will be gradual. That's why patience is crucial. Don’t expect to notice any change before a minimum of two weeks. However, this is just an average timeframe. Some people may start to see results as early as one week from starting their exercise routine. For others, weight loss will be slower but the average is in the range of two weeks. How quickly or slowly you will see results depends on your lifestyle and your body's metabolism. Likewise, the amount of fat you lose as you continue to exercise again depends on your body's natural propensity and metabolism. Some people will start to shed the fat very quickly while for others, more patience is required. The bottom line? Be patient and give the exercises time to work! Perseverance: It's going to be tough going, especially at the beginning. Be prepared to moan, groan and grunt your way through some of the exercises the first few times you do them. You're going to wake up so sore and stiff the next day that you may actually consider quitting. It will require every ounce of perseverance to keep going. Just know that soreness and stiffness, especially around your midline, is a good sign. It means that the exercises are kicking in and that your body is responding! Your only course is perseverance and your stubborn will to lose that unattractive flab. So, grit your teeth and let your mantra be, "I can do it. Quitting is not an option. I deserve to be fit and to look good." Positive self-talk will do wonders for your perseverance because it consistently sends the message to your brain that you are fired up and intent on a certain behavior. In turn, your brain will boost your mental tenacity and physical perseverance. The good news is that these exercises will get easier over time. And once you start seeing and feeling the results, this will be all the motivation you need to continue.
Practice: It will take some time to get the exercises down pat and decide how you will create your own exercise routine. Just make sure to read the steps carefully so that you do them correctly. The most important thing you need to do is schedule a time for your exercises and stick to it just as you would an important meeting - or a hot date! Make your exercise sessions a priority and schedule other tasks around them. Never let them be the first thing you cross off your list when something unexpected comes up. It's vital that you practice the exercises regularly so that their effects can gain momentum and start shedding belly fat. Falling off the wagon repeatedly will mean that each time you pick up again, you are actually starting from scratch. How often should you exercise and in what order? A minimum of twice a week for 15 minutes is required if you want to see any kind of result. Of course, if you want to schedule three, four or more sessions a week, or even do the exercises daily, go for it! A good option is to start with 2-3 exercise sessions a week and add more days as you go along to really ramp up the workout. There's no specific order in which to do the seven exercises, nor do you have to do them all. Just design a program that works well for you. For example, you can choose to do the seven exercises one after the other in one session. Or, you can do three or four with more repetitions. You can even do just two with more reps during a 15-minute session. Another option is to start with two or three of the exercises that appeal to you most for the first week and add more as you progress. Remember, nothing is carved in stone here.
The beauty of these exercises is that they allow you to be as flexible as you want or need to be. Feel free to play around with different combinations until you are able to create your ideal exercise plan. A word about lifestyle Naturally, a healthy lifestyle will help you get the most out of the exercises. There's no need to go into details here. We all know more or less what a healthy lifestyle involves. What's the point of sweating through the exercises if you're going to order fast food every night for dinner? Or going out for a pint of beer with the guys every day after work? To be perfectly honest, trying to lose belly fat with these exercises is a waste of time unless coupled with some lifestyle modifications. There's no need to go on a diet while practicing these exercises, thinking you will lose weight faster. In fact, strict calorie restrictions may actually weaken your body. The beauty of these belly fat-busting exercises is that they will work great with a few lifestyle changes. These include eating a balanced diet, avoiding alcohol and carbonated drinks, drinking plenty of water and getting enough sleep. If you're a smoker, it wouldn't hurt to cut down, either and hopefully, gradually quit altogether. Your intention to lose that belly fat can be the perfect opportunity for you to break some bad habits. Let these exercises motivate you to develop healthier eating and lifestyle so that, your weight loss will be long-lasting and life-changing.
Chapter 4: Some Cool Tips to Keep you on Track Staying motivated and on track is an important piece of the process. You may want to consider some of these ideas that you can incorporate into your exercise routine. They'll actually make busting belly fat an enjoyable experience!
1. Listen to a fascinating podcast or audiobook Your exercise session can be the ideal way to catch up on your reading. If you're a busy career person, it's a great way to work on improving your mind and your body at the same time. Here's an added bonus: if the content is especially riveting, you'll want to keep exercising to see what happens next!
2. Check out the app store for some awesome fitness apps Fitness apps have been a popular trend for years and they're still going strong, with millions of users worldwide. They can do anything from scheduling exercise times, tracking how many calories you burn and alerting you to start/stop/duration time of an exercise. One app will actually gamify your workouts allowing you to challenge yourself and up your game through increasingly challenging levels! Another really cool app will play the music that matches your pace, right from your own playlist. Whatever type of motivation or support you need, you can be sure that there's an app out there for you. Most apps are also customizable so that you can tweak them to suit your personal needs.
3. Wear suitable workout clothes Exercising at home doesn’t mean doing it a beat-up pair of shorts and tattered t-shirt. Or, heaven forbid, in your underwear! Think of it this way: if you're invited to a black-tie event, you wouldn’t show up in jeans and a denim shirt, would you? Your exercises are serious business - and good quality workout clothes matter. After all, they're designed for working out! The right workout clothes will make you feel streamlined and support your body so that you will enjoy exercising more. In addition, being well-kitted out in proper workout wear will subconsciously give you the mindset that exercise is important and beneficial enough for you to invest in the proper gear. This may seem like a trivial tip if you're doing these exercises at home. But if you try it, you'll see that it makes a difference to your mindset and motivation.
4. Follow a strict schedule for the first month It's crucial that you structure your first month of exercise with a strict schedule - and stick to it - why? Quite simply, because the first month is the hardest. You might even want to enlist the help of a friend or family member to monitor you and hold you accountable. As you start to gain strength and see tangible results, you will be motivated and eager to keep going without any help.
5. Keep a journal Record the frustrations, challenges and breakthroughs of your journey on a regular basis. You should ideally make no less than two entries a week but if you feel like journaling every day, by all means, go for it! Journaling is a great way to keep track of your progress and identify specific patterns that work especially well for you. A journal also makes for enjoyable reading a couple of years down the line. Another good tip is to add before, during and after photos of your journey, photos of you exercising and so on.
6. Listen to music! Create a playlist of your favorite music that lasts as long as your exercise session. Nothing will make the time fly and your workout more enjoyable than your favorite tunes keeping you company. The music doesn't necessarily have to be fast-paced. If your passion is classical music or even hymns, awesome! Whatever works for you.
7. Don’t weigh yourself every day Never fall into the frustrating and guilt-inducing trap every day. And don’t wake up and run to the mirror every day to check whether your waistline looks thinner. Just continue with your exercises and don't obsess about your weight or belly fat. You will see and feel the changes gradually without needing to jump on the scale or check your figure in the mirror.
8. Don't beat yourself up about setbacks Setbacks are a fact of life. If you encounter a setback. Beating yourself up about it will only discourage you more and may make you stop exercising altogether. This is where perseverance comes in. Pick yourself up, keep going and tell yourself that you can do it.
9. Visualize your goal Your goal is a trim, toned waistline. Take a few minutes every day to visualize how you will look when you have achieved your goal. Take a few minutes each day to engage in this visualization. Imagine what you will be wearing, how fit and energetic you will feel and how your friends will compliment you on how amazing you look. Visualization is a powerful tool to keep your goal top of mind and boost motivation.
10. Celebrate successes Celebrate successful milestones on your journey by doing something nice for yourself! Your goal of getting rid of belly fat will be a process of trial and error as you grow and settle into your exercise routine. Get creative and come up with your personal tweaks to help you stay on track and stay motivated. Finally, don’t forget to warm up for five minutes before exercising and do some stretches when you are done.
Conclusion As we have seen, belly fat can be a health risk and cause some pretty serious issues. Plus, it is unattractive, plain and simple. The solution is in your hands with the seven exercises discussed here. You can do them anywhere in your home, and even outdoors if you prefer. You can even do them in your office if you have enough space. No gym memberships, no expensive equipment is required, and no grueling, military-style workout routine; just seven simple exercises that will have you feeling and looking super fit. Remember the Three Ps: patience, perseverance and practice as you begin your belly fat-busting challenge. Use some of the fin tips to make exercising more enjoyable. You owe it to yourself and to your loved ones to live a long, healthy and active life. Getting rid of belly fat will help you do that. And having a toned, trim waistline doesn't hurt either! HAPPY EXERCISING! Want To Take Your Fitness To The Next Level At Home?
Introduction Most people who are overeaters are totally unaware that they are. This is until they realize that they have a weight or health problem and start questioning why. People, by and large, are creatures of habit and often overeating is done subconsciously from habit. Fortunately, the human brain is able to relearn and change, so old habits can be eliminated and new healthy habits acquired to take their place. We will explore what are the four types of people who are most likely to have an overeating habit, the reasons why and how to counter this habit with a healthy alternative eating pattern.
1. Sensitive People Some people are highly sensitive. They pick up more from their environment and other people around them than the average person does. This sensitivity causes them to become aware of and feel things, both of their own and from other people, often quite strongly. They also tend to think about their immediate situation and reflect on the consequences of things before acting. This attention to detail, the higher levels of consciousness in their immediate environment – as well as being aware of other people’s feelings, emotions, requirements and actions - leave them open to being overwhelmed, over-aroused and over stimulated.
One of the first things sensitive people come across is the sudden realization that most people they meet are not very sensitive. In fact, the modern world has very little room for sensitivity. We live in a culture that is emotion phobic, the vast majority of people are just not aware of what life is about for a sensitive person. When someone feels overwhelmed, over-aroused and over stimulated, they seek a way to diminish these feelings. One of the simplest ways, apart from running away, is to eat something, a comfort food, usually something sweet and creamy or just sweet, anything that gives them a sugar rush and a sense of being lost in the moment. The more of this comfort food you eat, the more lost in the act of eating you become to the point that your sense of reality is reduced, a form of escape much like drinking or taking drugs. Most of us instinctively feel or think that the more we eat, the more energy we will have. This can be true if eating healthy, wholesome food, up to a point. However, the compulsive overeater goes way past that point. Because of the excess food in their system, they start to feel tired, lethargic and sleepy. The reason for this is that when eating in a normal fashion, the gut and small intestines naturally stretch until full. Once a certain amount of food has entered your stomach, a nerve, the Vagus or pneumogastric nerve (the longest nerve of our autonomic nervous system, which has many functions), sends messages to the brain to tell the brain that there is food coming. When the stomach has stretched enough to contain the necessary amount of food to provide the body with all its nutritional requirements, the message to stop eating is sent. When this happens, the message goes from your stomach to your brain to say stop eating, an overeater will have already consumed far more food than someone eating in a normal fashion. This is because of the time it takes for the message to travel, usually between 10 and 20 minutes. A normal or slow eater will take the time to chew each mouthful and savor the taste, most overeaters eat very quickly.
For the majority of human history and evolution, humans were hunters and gatherers. They would eat what they could hunt, find or scavenge. Because often it required a lot of effort to reach fruits and berries containing essential nutrients important for optimum health, they needed a good reason to put in the extra effort required to find them. Most fruits and berries have a high level of natural sugars, so our ancestors, through necessity, developed a sweet tooth or the desire for sweet foods. Whether these sugars are there by design to attract predators, so they can devour the fruit and spread their seeds or they just happen to be part of the makeup of the plant is unknown. Regardless of the reason, many fruits are very sweet and early man found great pleasure in finding and eating these fruits.
The brain releases pleasure producing compounds when the taste receptors encounter the sweetness of sugars. This encourages the search for more of the same, ensuring an ample supply of the compounds and nutrients contained in the fruit. A sensitive person often looks for relief from being overwhelmed by situations such as being out at social events, having to put up with bright lights, loud sounds, enticing displays and the general noise found in shopping centers, supermarkets and other commercial centers. This sensory pollution can cause sensitive people to have a sensory overload and seek relief. One of the easiest and quickest forms of relief they can find is the eating of some sweet rich comfort food. The brain loves these foods and rewards the body by producing calming and pleasuring compounds. It is no surprise that many people love to indulge in these taste experiences, especially when stressed.
Unfortunately, if you indulge too often is can lead to overeating, food addiction and obesity. It is rare to find anyone who has chosen to be fat, but we are all biologically programmed to crave sweet, sugary and even processed foods because of the pleasure we gain from eating them. People who struggle with a sugar craving, are trying to avoid having sugar binges or get past a sugar addiction are not alone. In fact, they are fast becoming the majority thanks to the increasing availability of highly processed, super sweet and yes delicious, but incredibly bad for you junk foods. No wonder sensitive people are prone to be overeaters and overweight.
Many sensitive people feel confusion and shame when they get stressed or are unhappy, this leads to them developing an uncontrollable, overwhelming and urgent urge or craving to overeat. Sensitive people, usually crave sweet, creamy and crunchy type foods such as chocolate and ice-cream, cream filled pastries or sugary desserts. It is not often they will pick savory or spicy things. In order to help relieve these feelings and lower the tendency to overeat there are a few things an individual can do.
Probably the most important thing is to try to come to terms with your anxiety. This can be done in a number of positive ways, such as recognizing the different situations where you feel stressed and over stimulated. Once you can recognize the cause of your stress, then you can address it in a calm and logical way. These feelings often come to sensitive people because they are always trying to control things and make their world fit into what they perceive as the right way. They have a need to try to be in control. Things to do or avoid doing to relieve stress
● Try to avoid trying to control your environment and the people in it, just try and accept that things happen and you cannot be or are not in control of a situation and let it pass. Many situations are random, no one’s fault and unavoidable.
● If you are in a situation that you find threatening or uncomfortable, then the best option is to quietly leave if possible.
● Instead of trying to control your feelings and inner experiences such as reactions and emotions, try and observe them and recognize them for what they are. They are not you, they are the thoughts you have. Try to control your thoughts.
● If you are feeling overwhelmed or over stimulated, try to see it for what it is, it’s your thoughts you’re feeling. Instead of your thoughts controlling you, relax if possible, and take several breaths and look through your thoughts and see them for what they are. They are just your thoughts, they are not you.
● Do not be judgmental about your feelings. Recognize that is all they are, feelings, not fact. If you are feeling overwhelmed, then say to yourself “I’m just feeling over stimulated or over aroused” which is a positive way of looking at it. Instead of taking a negative view of the situation and feeling like “Here I go again, this is all too much for me.” This way, you’re not being so self-critical, which in itself, can cause lots of stress. When you think about these types of situations, it is often a good idea to try and think about what someone in your life who has been supportive of you would say. Try using their voice in your imagination to suggest to yourself to relax.
2. Neurotic People Being the type of person who has neurotic tendencies is very likely to result in overeating for many. This is for the same reasons sensitive people overeat. The nature of a neurotic person gives them a tendency to have an addictive personality. Neurotic people also often have other mental health issues that can not only affect their eating patterns, but give them a desire to overeat to compensate for feelings of inadequacy. Most people have been, at one time or another, accused of being neurotic. This is a term that people use to explain a range of behavioral idiosyncrasies, from a fear of mice, spiders and the dark, to excessively washing their hands or plates and eating utensils. Being slightly neurotic can lead people to eat impulsively and often even lose self-control when they are faced with an anxiety situation. This often happens when they are close to or have easy access to food, especially high calorie, sweet food, as this helps them to deal with any negative emotions they may be feeling. A person is usually referred to or described as being neurotic if they show symptoms or behavioral patterns that include having phobias, irrational fears or become anxious, in situations that a normal person can easily cope with. Some other common symptoms of a person considered neurotic are:
● Finding it difficult to make decisions
● Having difficulty concentrating on the ordinary
● Tending to blame others for events that are unavoidable
● Feelings of insecurity or abandonment
● Losing track of your train of thought and often drifting off the subject during a conversation
● Being a hoarder of things
● Being quick to take offense or overly defensive
● When you are quick and easy to get over excited or frantic
● Being subject to large emotional swings
● Being subject to depression
● Being self-centered
● Being subject to self-abuse
● Being a binge eater
● Tending to over-indulge in alcohol or drugs When you find that you are feeling anxious or overwhelmed by things or situations that you feel you do not have any control over or are in an environment that makes you feel uncomfortable and vulnerable such as:
● Being overwhelmed because of the intense, negative, feelings of loneliness, sadness, fear or self-doubt
● By being in an environment that is very loud or noisy ● Having the feeling you are off balance because of traveling, shopping in large, busy places or being at a social event with unknown people
● Having to rush to an appointment or meeting
● Having the feeling that you are under pressure to perform and an unfamiliar task
● Being just too busy to complete the tasks required
● Being overworked or working long hours without sufficient time to recharge and relax
● Thinking or worrying about things you have no control over and are unable to change
● Being placed in charge of others
● Having to train or teach others
● Having to be a caretaker for someone
● Taking an exam or test
● Having to do some public speaking or performing in front of people If you can relate to some of these types of experiences and reading this list causes you some apprehension, then it is possible that you are neurotic to some degree.
3.People Pleasers Some people hate to be involved with any type of conflict. They usually go out of their way to please everyone and are great social eaters. People pleasers will eat more food when in another’s company in order to be sure others are comfortable. They do not want to be the one who is eating a salad while everyone else is eating pizza and burgers. People pleasers are often the nicest people to have around. They are helpful and never say no. These types of people are prone to overeating because they are so busy trying to please everyone, they just do not have time to relax and look after themselves. Often the intense need or feeling they have to please and care for or take care of others comes from a personal fear of being rejected or the fear of failing. These feelings or fears often stem from events that happened in early life. Sometimes, people pleasers think they have to do anything and everything they can, to make a person happy or else that person may leave and stop caring. Another fear people pleasers have is that if they make a mistake or do something wrong, they will disappoint people and be punished. These feelings usually stem from harsh punishment or criticisms when young or from being abandoned by someone they loved and were dependent upon. But regardless of the reason, origins or motives of people pleasers, the result is often similar for each of them, they are very likely to become overeaters. People pleasers hearts are in the right place. It’s a pity that a little of the “being helpful to others” that people pleasers have cannot be distributed more evenly amongst all people and the world, it would be a better place.
Some of the consequences and solutions for overeating, people pleasers are:
● People pleasers devote so much of their time to looking after others, they often neglect to look after themselves and are prone to health and eating disorders such as overeating. What is needed is for them to slow down and take proper care of themselves and eat slowly. Then they will be better equipped to devote their time to looking after others.
● Many people pleasers develop anger or resentment at people in their lives because they feel that they are constantly being taken advantage of, but their underlying need or desire to be kind and helpful causes them to suppress these feelings. Often they will manifest as passive aggression when a few of these feelings escape in the form of sarcasm or sharp comments. Alternatively, the people pleasers resort to overeating as a way of making themselves feel good and coping with their resentment. The only way to deal with this is to find a way to speak out and communicate the real way you feel to those you care about. If done in a sensitive and caring way, it does not matter if they are not happy to hear this or if they reject it and say that it is not their responsibility. What matters is that you have made a conscious decision to do something positive about it.
● Often people pleasers will go to events, visit people they really do not want to or just do not enjoy. They will listen to a recital or concert that grates on them; they will put up with it, although they would rather be anywhere else or listen to anything else. But they do this because they do not want to upset or offend the person. It would be much better for them to have an excuse prepared for these occasions like most normal people do. People can usually tell when you are not enthusiastic about something or are present, but disengaged with the event.
● When you spend all your time trying to please everyone it can turn into a vicious circle of being over stressed causing unhealthy behavior. This can lead to depression with the feeling that you are always doing things for others, but have no time to look after yourself. Changing is often very difficult as you are unable to let anyone down or upset those who have grown to rely on you. The best solution is to find one area of responsibility you can reduce or share with another to get a little free time. At the same time try and find just one person, often a person who is like you a people pleaser (as they will understand the issues you face) who you can talk with, share the problems you have and work together.
● It is interesting and not well understood that we actually teach other people how we want to be treated by the way we treat them. This does not always work, but people pleasers give out the vibe or feeling they will try and accommodate your requests and that they just cannot so no. Most people are just not aware that you are overextended already and will take things at face value and accept an offer of help or assistance. However, there are also people who look for people pleasers that they can take advantage of as they know you will not say no. If someone takes advantage of you once, then it is their fault, but if you allow them to do it again, it becomes your fault for letting them. It is a problem to say no, because everyone is expecting you to say yes. You have to learn to not feel guilty when helping someone is beyond what can be reasonably expected and you must help yourself first. It is a bit like in a plane when the flight attendants does a safety check and drills. They say, “If you have small children, secure your own life jacket and oxygen mask first.” This because if you do theirs first, you may not live and survive long enough to be able to help them.
4. Extroverts Extraverts are likely candidates for over eating because they are social animals. They like to mingle and become involved with people often dining or eating in social settings. Because of this, they are more likely to eat and even drink more than other types of people. Although sweet sugary types of foods are particularly addictive to most overeaters, many extroverts tend to like more fatty and spicy foods which are in contrast to the likes of sensitive or neurotic people. Many extroverted over eaters fall into the old trap of carefully planning the usual three healthy meals each day, but neglecting to count the extra calories they get from extra snacks and drinks during the day. These can add up very quickly and soon cause a person to inadvertently overeat. The different ingredients added to processed foods can have properties that are able to chemically change some of the physiological factors of the hormones in our body. This includes those hormones that regulate a person’s appetite and the different neurotransmitters of the brain, especially the chemical known as “the feel good” chemical dopamine. Many types of processed and junk foods that are heavily promoted contain compounds and substances that closely mirror those of other addictive substances. Although they do not have the intoxicating effect of drugs, they are by nature very hazardous to a person’s overall wellbeing and encourage overeating in general. It is a sad fact that many overeaters or compulsive overeaters tend to obsess over their food and feel compelled to eat food with very little self-control.
The Anterior Cingulate Gyrus is the part of the brain responsible for the ability of moving between thoughts; it allows us to see errors and problems, it acts a bit like a gearshift, problems with the anterior cingulate gyrus can be caused by a poor diet, genetics or emotional trauma. A combination of certain foods and eating patterns has been shown to promote or prompt reactions that are usually associated with addictions from alcohol and drugs.
5. Other Causes of Overeating Studies have revealed that the vast majority of people are sleep deprived either because of lack of sleep or because of low quality sleep. It is now known that the same hormones affected when someone is suffering from sleep deprivation are closely related to those that regulate your hunger. Ghrelin is the hormone that triggers hunger and is produced when someone is over tired or lacking sleep. Conversely, leptin, the hormone that is used to signal to the brain that our stomach is reaching full capacity, is reduced so the strong, “we’re full, stop eating” message does not get to the brain, causing us to overeat. Even if we do not need any food, without this hormone leptin regulating our needs, the brain thinks it needs a quick energy fix, so goes in search of carbohydrates. Once an easy source of carbohydrates is found, then eating begins. As there is no internal regulatory control to tell the brain to stop eating, the food is consumed until the supply is exhausted or there just is no more room to stuff more in. Many people eat to make themselves feel better. This is understandable as it is a direct result of their early mother, baby connection when the mother comforts and feeds her baby.
There is much more to eating than just the physical act, although it is in its own right very soothing for many people. Some of the chemicals in common foods can also help to improve our overall moods and disposition. Many natural carbohydrates will enhance or increase the level of serotonin - a necessary brain chemical. Many antidepressant medications are designed to do the same thing, so maybe, when you have a craving for some extra sweet carbohydrate type junk food, it’s your brain telling you that you need some more serotonin. It is also widely believed that adding fat to the diet can reduce the feeling of being sad because the fatty acids contain mood changing compounds that can boost a person’s mood. Unfortunately, if you use this too often it will increase your weight and can lead to overeating. Many people, when bored, will look for food and eating to help reduce this feeling. One of the most overlooked reasons people over eat is that it is actually a natural instinct that is encoded into our DNA. No, I do not mean heading to the fast food restaurant.
Our early ancestors lived in a world that was very different. The foods they had available were largely what they could hunt down, gather or scavenge. Foods that naturally contain sugars, fats and salt were very scarce and, when found, they would have been totally consumed. There was no waste allowed, as no one knew when the next food source would be found and rich, tasty food sources, full of necessary nutrients, would not be allowed to remain uneaten. So our early ancestors would have on occasion overeaten, but it would have been a very rare occasion. Some Ways to Help Limit Overeating
1. Try and eat slowly and taste each mouthful, a good suggestion is to try and chew each mouthful a minimum of ten times. This helps because it gives your mind a chance to keep up with or at least catch up with your stomach and make eating much more enjoyable. Chewing your food adds saliva to aid in digestion and to help create hormones as well as allowing your brain to monitor your satiation.
2. When people allow themselves to get very hungry, they tend to over eat. Having a few healthy snacks between meals will mean you are not that hungry so will not feel like overeating.
3. Many people are always dehydrated simply because they do not drink enough water. Drinking soda does not really hydrate you, but gives a sugar spike which in turn causes an insulin spike. This then later results in low insulin levels. Often when dehydrated it feels like you are hungry. If you drink a glass of water 20 or 30 minutes before a meal, then it will stop you feeling so hungry and reduce the urge to overeat.
4. Because a person’s willpower can be severely reduced when they are hungry, keep a selection of healthy snacks on hand. When you are out and about, it is so easy to spot a snack for sale. They are everywhere to tempt you. If you are filled up on healthy snacks you will not feel the urge to overeat on junk food or processed snacks.
5. Do not skip breakfast as you will be hungry at lunchtime and if you do not over eat then, by the time dinner time rolls around you could be ravenous and start to eat everything in sight - drastically overeating.
6. Very few people will sit down and eat 4 bowls of steamed vegetables, but quite a lot of people will have little problem eating the same amount of ice cream or some other sugar packed dessert. This is not a matter of will power or greed. It is genetically programmed behavior, developed by evolution, and our neurochemical reward centers. These are designed to override willpower and common sense in the interest of self-preservation of our species. Unfortunately, evolution did not anticipate man meddling with the food chain and adding all the toxic chemicals we now eat daily.
7. If you try to eat real minimally processed foods, you will find they are more satisfying and filling and you will not be tempted to overeat.
8. Try writing a food journal of all the food you eat and how you feel before during and after eating so you can consider whether your overall eating enjoyment is improving and have a record of your not overeating.
9. Exercise is not only for weight reduction and overall fitness, you will be able to metabolize your food better and have more control of your appetite.
Conclusion I hope it has enlightened you on who are the most likely people to overeat. When you become aware of your eating habits and the reason you eat or overeat, you are then in a position to change and become a regular eater. Mindfulness is a very handy tool to use to address the problem of overeating. Essentially what this does is when you feel the need to eat, instead of just rushing to the nearest food source and munching, take the time to relax and examine the reason you feel hungry. Use a simple breathing meditation to relax your mind and center on your mind rather than your thoughts and emotions. Want to learn how to put an END to Overeating and madness around food?
Medical Short Articles By Doctor Loy: Healthy Resolutions
Medical Short Articles By Doctor Loy: Healthy Resolutions
1. Achieve Your Dietary And Nutrition Resolutions The New Year is a popular time of the year for many reasons. Not only is it a fresh start, the dawn of new opportunities, if you will, but it’s a time where people are liberated and inspired to set goals and make improvements. New Year’s resolutions are great! The most common New Year’s resolutions tend to contain characteristics involving health, fitness, and wellness: lose more weight, drink more water, gain more muscle, improve one’s eating habits, and ultimately become a healthier version of oneself.
Unfortunately, however, there’s a stigma surrounding its effectiveness, and rightfully so. What follows is a discussion centered around achieving and succeeding, not failing and quitting. More specifically, we’ll discuss how to achieve your dietary and nutrition-based resolutions, ensuring that your resolution develops into a long-term, sustainable habit.
The Most Common Dietary Goals Setting health-related goals, or any goal for that matter, requires a committed approach. In other words, setting broad & bland goals with no roadmap to success will only set you up for failure. Unfortunately, though well-intended, most people who set goals tend to fail during the first crucial set: goal setting itself.
Some examples of the most common dietary goals, well-intended but ineffective, are the following:
• “I want to lose some belly fat”
• “I need to lose weight”
• “I want to get stronger”
• “I want to exercise more”
• “I plan to eat more vegetables”
• “I’m going to drink more water”
The problem with these goals, though healthy in nature, is that they indicate desire without a clear plan. They’re so broad, in fact, that they’re hardly goals but instead, just empty statements. In order to achieve your dietary goals, you need to set effective and specific goals. The following section will provide several tips on how to do so. Tips on How to Achieve Your Dietary Goals Improving one’s health should be a top priority for all, so it’s great news that it’s one of the most common New Year’s resolutions to be made year after year. But, unfortunately, most resolutions fail, dietary or otherwise.
The following are several helpful and effective tips on how you can avoid making common goal-setting mistakes and instead achieve your dietary goals in confidence:
Set Reasonable, Attainable Goals Get Specific With Your Objective Choose a Diet You’re Going to Enjoy Make One Change at a Time Hold Yourself Accountable by Tracking Everything That You Eat Approach It as a Lifestyle, Not a Life Sentence Prepare to Make Adjustments Along the Way Generally speaking, a healthy diet comprises lean meats, vegetables, nuts & seeds, some fruit, little starch, and NO sugar. Of course, it’s up to you to adjust for allergies, preferences, and food limitations (i.e., vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian). By following such a whole-food, plant-based diet and adjusting for preferences to help you stick to the plan, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your dietary goals and resolutions.
Final Thoughts At the end of the day, the best diet for you is the one that you’re going to stick to; these are the diets with the greatest success rates. While there are certain diets superior to others, there isn’t one diet that trumps all. In addition, there needs to be a greater emphasis on lifestyle and less on “diet”. Because there are so many fad diets being marketed on a daily basis, it’s easy to get caught up in the overwhelm of it all. Instead, if we took a more holistic approach to health, we’d begin to see that a truly healthy diet is a simple one, such as a whole-food, plant-based diet that allows abundance, variance, and freedom: the kind of dietary habit that you can learn to enjoy. Health is a spectrum, and it’s all about finding where you are on that spectrum, improving one small healthy aspect after another. Then, decide to create lasting, sustainable progress towards a healthier lifestyle in the upcoming year.
2. Healthy Resolutions: How to Break Bad Health Habits The definition of a habit is a routine behavior frequently practiced, both consciously and subconsciously. It can also be thought of as a fixed way of thinking, acting, or feeling. While habits aren’t inherently good or bad, some are certainly more beneficial than others regarding your health. When habits begin to impact your health and well-being negatively, they need to be stopped. In order to cease a bad habit or replace it with a good habit, one must take the action necessary to do so. In other words, quitting a bad habit rarely happens overnight, and instead, requires time, discipline, and commitment. While there are several ways to break a bad habit, we’ll discuss four (4) of the most effective approaches. Unhealthy Habits That Need to Be Broken Life is intended to be enjoyed and lived in moderation. However, when activities begin to be abused and thought patterns begin to get invasive, it’s time to put on the breaks and take a step back to examine the impact these things may be having on your health and well-being. While multiple bad health habits exist, these are some of the most common unhealthy habits:
• Smoking or Vaping
• Alcohol Abuse
• Poor Posture
• Not Getting Enough Sleep
• Living a Sedentary Lifestyle
• Excessive Screen Time
• Overconsumption of Caffeine
• Fast Food or Overall Poor Diet
As you can begin to understand, some of the habits listed above aren’t inherently bad. Take alcohol consumption, for example. Alcohol consumption in moderation has been found to be potentially beneficial in some cases, particularly in men. However, when one begins to abuse alcohol, the result can be catastrophic. At the end of the day, it’s all about moderation. But, moreover, if you find yourself to have addictive tendencies, it may be best to avoid them altogether.
How to Break Unhealthy Habits
The development of an unhealthy habit is often unintentional and happens subconsciously. However, many struggle with habitual residue, whether it’s a learned behavior from the environment, the dopamine hit we receive as a reward of the behavior, or simply a pattern we’ve found ourselves in for no apparent reason. No matter how deep you are into the habit, however, it can always be broken, reversed, and eradicated. While breaking a bad habit isn’t particularly easy since it requires awareness, attitude, and action, it can be done.
The following are some helpful tips:
Avoid Triggering Environments Unhealthy habits are always initiated by a trigger of sorts. That’s why it’s imperative to identify what it is that triggers you to partake in the unhealthy habit. Avoiding these specific triggers is the first step to breaking the habit. Triggers come in all forms and fashions, from the people you hang around to the places you reside and the environments and situations in which you find yourself. Discover the trigger, and eliminate it as soon as possible.
Build a Support System
Support systems are an incredibly effective way to achieve a goal, or in this case, break an unhealthy habit. Not only is your support system there to help you when times get tough, but they’re also there to celebrate with you during successes and console you during failures. So, if you’re finding it difficult to change an unhealthy habit, consider enlisting a friend or family to be your support system. Celebrate the Small Wins A great way to motivate yourself is by celebrating the small wins.
Breaking an unhealthy habit isn’t as easy as deciding to quit and then quitting. Instead, it may involve several ups and downs, successes and failures, times of relapse and times of sobriety before ultimately eradicating the behavior. It’s crucial, then, to learn not to be so hard on yourself. Instead, celebrate the small wins, and take one small step at a time. Small wins can be avoiding the habit for an hour, a day, two days, 4 days. Each small win builds on itself, and the celebration is a motivator. Soon enough, you’ll have reached a point where the habit is no longer a habit.
Find Your Reason Why
If you don’t have a strong enough reason to change, you’re likely to fail in your pursuit. Finding your “reason why’ gives you the strength to persist when times get tough, and it will provide you with a purpose and a reason to change. Finding your reason why is arguably the most powerful tactic you can implement on your journey to breaking unhealthy habits. So spend some time on this endeavor, and be sure to remind yourself of it daily.
Final Thoughts
Breaking unhealthy habits can be a tough journey, yet it’s always worth it in the end. Depending on the unhealthy habit, it may be not only a detriment to YOUR health and wellness but also to those around you. However, by implementing the tactics mentioned, you can become inspired to make those healthy changes.
3. Healthy Resolutions:
Building Healthy Habits With the New Year on the horizon, you're likely considering making a healthy resolution towards new and improved healthy habits. If so, congratulations! You've taken the first step to successfully developing a healthy habit; the decision to do so. Building a healthy habit, or habits, cannot stop there, however. Instead, it will require further action, taking time, planning, discipline, and commitment. In what follows, we'll be discussing the importance of habits. More importantly, however, we'll share how to create a lasting habit so that you can enter the new year prepared and positioned for success. The Importance of Healthy Habits While we may not be consciously aware, our lives are made up of a composition of habits that constitute our health and wellness.
The importance of healthy habits, then, is essential to the quality of our lives. Whether it's committing to a healthy diet, starting an exercise regimen, drinking more water, or quitting destructive habits, the importance of doing these things is undeniable. In addition, discontinuing an unhealthy habit or implementing a good healthy habit could be the difference between life or death depending on the habit in question. The most important characteristic of a habit is that it gets stronger with time. In other words, the longer you commit to a habit, the easier it gets and the more impactful it becomes. How to Create a Lasting Healthy Habit Similar to breaking a bad habit, building lasting healthy habits take time. In fact, they say it takes 63 days to turn an action into a habit. Yet, by deciding on what you want to change and committing to the process wholeheartedly, the time it takes to reach the goal should be irrelevant. Once you've decided to commit to your goal of achieving a particular habit, it's now time to begin.
Remember that the key to any healthy habit is sustainability and longevity. With that in mind, below are a few helpful tips for creating a lasting healthy habit. Start Small Too often, people set grandiose goals at the beginning, failing to understand what it truly takes to achieve such goals. The typical result is failure. Instead, it's best to set smaller goals, make smaller changes, and stack one small healthy habit on top of the other.
Track & Measure Progress
Tracking and measuring your progress isn't only a means of analysis but also a tool for accountability and motivation. If you're trying to drink 2 gallons of water every day, for example, track each day you were successful. A true measure of progress, such as doing this for seven days in a row, will be very encouraging and help to maintain your motivation. But, on the contrary, it will hold you accountable when you miss a day or two. Celebrate the Small Wins One of the keys to successfully creating healthy habits is being able to look forward to rewards.
For example, if you celebrate the win of getting through just one day where you have implemented a healthy habit, you can build on this and do it again. The journey isn't always easy, and these kinds of rewards can be so helpful for your progression.
The following are excellent healthy habits to consider as a true resolution for the upcoming year:
• Eliminate sugar from your diet (Consider Simplized Health's Three Step Slim) Emulin can help end sugar cravings.
• Exercise regularly
• Drink more water
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator
• Eat vegetables with every meal
• Cut down on alcohol consumption
• Take the bike instead of the bus
• Go to bed earlier; wake up earlier
Whatever you decide to pursue, make sure that it's worth pursuing for YOU and no one else. It's really difficult to do things for others when you don't really want to do those things for yourself. To get a new habit to stick, you must also want it for yourself.
4. Fitness Resolutions Worth Sticking To The most common goals and New Year’s resolutions are those that relate to health and fitness. If you’re looking to improve your fitness this new year, you need some helpful information to get started. What follows will be a discussion of the importance of exercise and movement and how YOU can begin to implement physical activity into your daily life. Exercise doesn’t have to be restricted to competitive weightlifting, bodybuilding, and marathon running, nor should it be reserved for only the fittest and most athletic people. Instead, it should be thought of as a new lifestyle adjustment based on your current fitness level. Exercise is for everyone, and what follows is a discussion as to why. The Importance of Exercise In general, exercise and physical activity are imperative to good health, longevity, and well-being. Not only does it assist in weight loss, muscle building, and athletic performance, but it also improves heart health, mental health, and is linked strongly to lifespan.
Contrary to popular belief, exercise is an activity in which everyone young and old, healthy or health-compromised, fit or sedentary, should participate. In addition, exercise doesn’t have to be rigorous and intense. It also shouldn’t be defined solely as “going to the gym”.
Instead, exercise takes many forms and can easily be implemented in daily activities. How to Exercise More The mistake that many make in the pursuit of exercising more is that they try to do too much too fast. Unfortunately, this course of action typically leads to burnout, injury, and ultimately, failure.
Exercise doesn’t have to be complex. Instead, it can be quite simple; an implementation of small daily habits that make a significant impact over time. In other words, exercise isn’t only defined by your time spent in the gym, but rather by the lifestyle with which you live. The following are several examples of how you can become more active in your daily life without relying solely on the “gym”:
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator
• Walk wherever you can (Walking For Weight Loss course is featured inside the Simplized Health Membership site https://simplized.health/1million
• Exercise in between TV commercials (ex. sit-ups, air squats, pushups, planks)
• Get a stand-up desk at work
• Participate in sports
• Engage in hobbies that require physical activity (ex. gardening, dance, cleaning)
• Take your dog for more walks
• Regularly houseclean
Some simpler cardiovascular activity is a great way to start for those looking to take their fitness to the next level yet concerned about being overaggressive. Activities like walking, machines like the elliptical, and programs involving low-weight, resistance-style training are all great options.
Final Thoughts
Understanding that exercise and physical activity is imperative to your health and well-being is the first step towards becoming healthier. The hardest part of any habit or goal is starting; as the saying goes, “the hardest part is walking through the door”. However, by starting small and gradually building your habits on top of one another, you’ll quickly begin to see progress. Exercise more! Your body and mind will thank you later.
5. 5 Ways to Improve Brain Health this New Year
While it's common practice to train our bodies through physical exercise, we often forget about the health of our brain. Unfortunately, much like our bodies, our brains become weaker, more prone to deterioration, and decline as we age. However, one way to combat this problem is to exercise your brain. If you've been prioritizing health & longevity yet focusing on physical exercise alone, you might want to consider adding a strategy. Although exercise is imperative to good health and lifespan, it's only part of the equation. The other obvious yet often ignored part of the equation is brain health. What follows will be a discussion of the five (5) most common and effective ways to improve brain health.
Top 5 Ways to Improve Brain Health
Since aging is inevitable, we should do what we can to combat the brain issues that come with aging, such as deterioration of brain memory and cognition. Brain atrophy or decreasing size begins to occur in the ages from 30 to 40 and then becomes more rapid after age 60. It’s imperative that we learn to regularly improve our brain health through healthy brain activities.
The following are some of the top ways to improve one's brain health:
• Frequently Consume "Brain Food"
• Participate in Brain Games
• Engage in Regular Physical Activity
• Prioritize Quality Sleep
• Avoid Substance Abuse
Frequently Consume "Brain Food"
Your diet plays a significant role in your physical health and your brain health. Your brain is no different than any other organ in your body in that it requires the proper nourishment for optimum function. The brain is best served by nutritional, healthy food, or "brain food". Popular brain food includes fish, berries, dark chocolate, nuts & seeds, eggs, coffee & tea (without the cream & sugar, of course), and vegetables like broccoli, kale, and spinach.
Participate in Brain Games Similar to your body, your brain needs to be exercised. Physical activity improves physical health and plays a major role in brain health as well. However, there is a specific way to exercise your brain that doesn't include physical activity. Participating in brain games to keep your brain active and your mind sharp is the number one way not only to keep your brain healthy but has also been shown through research to generate new brain cells.
Games like crossword puzzles, chess, checkers, and memory games are all great ways to keep your brain healthy.
Engage in Regular Physical Activity As mentioned, keeping physically active is not only beneficial for the body but for the mind and brain as well. Regular exercise is arguably the number one defense against all leading causes of death, early-onset conditions and diseases, and even mental issues like depression and anxiety. By reducing stress, improving blood flow, exercising your heart, and building muscle, you inherently improve the health of your brain and, thus, your mental health. So a great starting recommendation if you're currently a sedentary individual is to strive for 2-3 times per week of 30 minutes of exercise and build from there.
Prioritize Quality Sleep
Because sleep is such an unconscious activity as a human being, we often overlook its importance. However, there is conclusive research that suggests that getting good quality sleep (7-9 hours) improves mood, boosts cognition, and thus, improves brain health. In contrast, lack of sleep, or chronic sleep deprivation, is also a major contributor to several conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity, depression, heart failure, and stroke. Prioritize your sleep and you'll thank yourself later.
Avoid Substance Abuse Apart from all of the other major risk factors that alcohol abuse and tobacco consumption have on one's health span, they also are highly correlated with cognitive diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer's, and depression. Alcohol consumption should be done in moderation. All others, such as tobacco and illicit – mind-altering drugs, should be avoided at all costs. Prioritize your brain this new year; it'll be the best decision you've ever made for your health and longevity. Final Thoughts Your brain is so important, yet most don’t even think about improving their brain or trying to keep their brain healthy. Make this the year that you decide to do the right things to improve your brain health. It truly will make a difference in your life.
6. 5 Ways to Improve Your Financial Health
When we think of “health,” we often think about our mental and physical health. However, because we live in a financially driven society, it’s important to consider your “financial health,” as well. As is shown regularly by the example seen on social media, we as a society have become utterly consumeristic, trying to keep up with the Jones at all costs. But, unfortunately, this behavior is the wrong way to achieve financial health. Instead, it’s important to simply live within your means. It’s also good to try live just under your means, especially at the beginning of your career. Here, “your career” is used to define whatever is your means of making an income. Living just under your means will allow you to use the excess for savings, investments, emergency funds, and even charity. The following will discuss five (5) practical but effective ways to improve your financial health this holiday season.
Top 5 Ways to Improve Financial Health
With the holiday season coming up, we’re all likely a little more stressed than usual, often due to an increase in obligatory spending, ultimately setting us up for a poor start to the new year as well. Adapting some insightful ways to improve your financial health will ultimately allow better control of your money. The following are five ways to improve financial health:
• Create a Monthly Budget and Stick to it
• Buy in Bulk and Cook Your Own Meals
• Manage Your Lifestyle and Live Within Your Means
• Begin Saving Early and Invest in Your Future
• Prepare for Emergencies
Create a Monthly Budget & Stick to it Instead of viewing a budget as a limitation or restriction on your spending habits, consider it as a roadmap to financial health and literacy. By outlining your available expenditure daily, weekly, and monthly, you can get control of spending within your means and allow for excess to be saved for the future.
Buy in Bulk And Cook Your Own Meals
Speaking of health, why not combine our habits in order to live a healthier life, both financially and physically. Especially in the western world, obesity is quite prevalent, and it can be explained by processed fast food. Instead of being lured into the trap of fast food, buy some fresh healthy food in bulk and cook your own meals. You will definitely eat healthier, and you’ll save money in the long run.
Manage Your Lifestyle;
Live Within Your Means As mentioned in the preface, in order to truly become financially healthy, you must live within your means or even slightly under your means if possible. We often look to reward ourselves too often with unnecessary spending. We also spend money on things that don’t grow our income. These poor financial decisions are a detriment to your financial health. When you change habits to increase your wealth, you’ll be moving towards a future that includes having extra money. But, until you get there, live within your means.
Save Early & Often;
Invest in Your Future By creating a monthly budget and making it a priority to live within or just under your means, you allow yourself to save excess money at the end of each month. The best thing to do with the extra money is to use it to help increase your income by investing it or saving it to prepare for the future. Prepare for Emergencies You can also put some of the excess money into an emergency fund, and this couldn’t be more relevant in the face of a Pandemic and all-time high unemployment rates. An even better strategy is to implement an emergency fund within the budget in the first place. This practice is sound from a financial standpoint. Final Thoughts This New Year, make it a resolution to become more financially healthy. Using the ideas outlined, you can get an excellent start to make a positive change in your financial well-being.
7. Healthy Resolutions:
How to Set and Achieve Your Goals and Resolutions
With the holiday season on the horizon and the new year following shortly after, many are likely beginning to plan their New Year's resolutions. The most common of goals and resolutions include health, fitness, and wellness-related pursuits; however, other common goals and resolutions involve financial success, better relationships, and new advantageous habits. No matter the goal or resolution, it's important to approach it with intent. In other words, failing to thoroughly plan how you're going to achieve the goal or resolution will ultimately lead to an unsuccessful result. What follows will be a discussion of how to set and achieve goals and resolutions. More importantly, however, we'll outline the most common goal-setting mistakes and how to avoid them.
The Most Common New Year's Resolution Mistakes
While New Year's resolutions are a positive step forward to making improvements in your life and health, too often, people fail to keep their promises to themselves, ultimately resorting back to their old habits in just a few short weeks. Undoubtedly, only a small percentage of people who set New Year's resolutions actually achieve them. Even more daunting, however, is the speed at which we fail. Many actually quit on their goals within the first month. In order to combat these bad precedents, it's important to dive a little deeper into why it's so common for so many to fail in their pursuit of their New Year's resolutions. The following are the most common mistakes people make when it comes to New Year's resolutions:
- Lack of Discipline
- Failure to Clearly Define Their Goals
- Setting Goals too Grandiose or Ambitious
- Setting too Many Resolutions at Once
- Poor Planning Around a Busy Schedule
- Lack of Knowledge of the Requirements of a Specific Goal
- Pursuing without Support
- Choosing the Wrong Goal
Although the high rates of resolution failure rates are overwhelming, you don't have to become part of that statistic. The reasons that many fail to succeed and achieve their goals are actually controllable. The following tips can help you discover that sticking to your goals isn't as difficult as you think. Instead, it requires fundamental perspective shifts, helpful strategies and tactics, and of course, some self-imposed discipline.
Tips on How to Achieve Your Goals
As mentioned, achieving your goals and resolutions doesn't have to be difficult. Instead, they should be fun, engaging, and achievable. Too often, people venture to set quite lofty goals in a moment of inspiration, only to quit once the first obstacle appears. Instead, start small.
Be Specific With Your Goals
If you've never heard of SMART goals, it's an acronym defined by specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals. By getting specific with your resolutions and avoiding broad statements like "I want to lose weight" or "I want to build muscle," you provide yourself with a clearly defined roadmap to success.
Set ONE Goal at a Time As discussed earlier, we've all experienced moments of inspiration where we create a laundry list of lofty goals only to fail in a short time. Instead, choose one SMART goal relevant to your journey and put all your effort towards achieving it. Instead of overwhelming yourself with a list of goals, give yourself the power to focus on one. Then and only then should you implement the next. Seek Out a Support System A reliable and loving support system can be the missing piece you've needed to achieve your goals. If you've set a goal of any meaning or value, you're likely to experience difficult times along the way. A solid support system aids in keeping you focused when times get tough, encouraging you in times of self-doubt, and celebrating you in times of achievement.
Learn to Enjoy the Journey No goal is worth pursuing if you're not going to enjoy the process. Too often, we get caught up in the achievement itself. The problem with this is that the journey get ignored. Instead, learn to enjoy the journey, and this will make reaching the destination more successful. Not only will it make the goal worth pursuing, but it will make the achievement that much sweeter. The journey is long-lasting; the destination is fleeting.
Final Thoughts
Setting goals is necessary for becoming healthier and improving your well-being. However, failing to understand how to set a goal will only result in failure. By following the tips outlined in this article and learning from the common mistakes of others, you'll be well on your way to achieving all the goals and resolutions you'll set today and in the future. Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year! To Your Health, Doctor Loy Loy Puckett MD