Tollie-Beware of Junk Foods Being Promoted As Health Food-HFCS is Not Healthy

Tollie-Beware of Junk Foods Being Promoted As Health Food - HFCS is Not Healthy

Also, we are in the process of a complete overhaul of some of our sites into one hub. A Dream-Infused world. Here is one piece of the new site, let me know what you think! Take a look.

You may have seen a whole new slew of advertisements online and on television trying to revamp the poor image of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). They are basically trying to promote this junk food additive as “healthy”.

The advertising campaigns don’t come right out and make the claim that high fructose corn syrup is “health food”, but they do try to get clever and fool people into thinking that it’s not bad for your health. In fact, they make these misleading claims:

“It’s all natural”

“It’s no worse for you than table sugar”

“It’s made from corn”

“It has the same calories as table sugar”

As you can see, these ads are trying to deceive us into thinking that HFCS isn’t so bad after all… I mean, they do say that it’s “all natural” and “made from corn”. These ads are pure sleaze!

In my opinion, these ads are highly immoral. For one, as if our nation, and the world for that matter, wasn’t already suffering an obesity epidemic, as well as skyrocketing degenerative diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Now, they’re trying to make matters worse by fooling innocent people into thinking that high fructose corn syrup is somehow healthy. Meanwhile, as society and our kids get fatter and more unhealthy, they’re lining their pockets with massive profits since HFCS is in the majority of processed food.

As for their claim that HFCS is “no worse for you than sugar”… I’m not even going to discusss any of the science about how HFCS affects the leptin and insulin process in your body, your blood sugar process, appetite levels, etc. Instead, I want to make a more important point:

Who cares if HFCS is “no worse for you than sugar”… because sugar is one of the worst things you can ingest in your body anyway, so it is not even a valid argument!

The point you need to understand is that if you want to be lean and healthy for life, you should be minimizing, or even eliminating all sugar and high fructose corn syrup. In fact, most processed food should be eliminated altogether if you want to be serious about getting lean.

As for their claim that HFCS is “all-natural”… don’t even get me started! It’s just a ridiculous statement to begin with. I don’t care if you call it “natural” or artificial, the bottom line is that it’s a highly processed, refined substance that makes you fat!

So the next time you’re thinking about drinking that can of soda, or eating that candy bar or cupcakes, just think about how that is only going directly against your efforts to lose body fat and can even lead to other health problems in excess.

Tollie…

“Empowering Greatness For A Dream-Infused Life!”

Tollie’s Personal Website: www.TollieSchmidt.com

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ChaLean Extreme Workout

So since my television is broken, I have decided that even though I can’t  do the Chalean Extreme workout right now, I can at least tell everyone one what the ChaLean Extreme workout is supposed to do.  Let’s first just go over the basics.  ChaLean Extreme is a 90 day workout, but you have the option of going 120 days. There are three main phases, the first phase is the Burn phase.  In this phase you will lift weights so you can speed up your metabolism and break down any fat reserves.  There are upper body and lower body workouts and most the time your are working them out at the same time.  The second phase is called the Push Phase.  There are different workouts and still weight lifting, but this time with heavier weights.  Where in the burn phase you do a weight where you can get 10-12 reps, in the Push phase you use weights where you can only do 6-8 reps.  It gets tougher, but you are still gaining muscle to burn away that fat.  The third phase is called the Lean Phase.  This is where you will really start to see the results, all that weight lifting and work you did in the first two months, lead you up to this point.  You will do new workouts and exercises that will help melt those fat reserves right off your body.  After this phase you can be done, but there is also another phase that you can chose to do called the Lean for life phase, it is an extra thirty days for anybody who really wants to push themselves.  It is there as an option, so you can make the decision after the 90 days is over.

The great part about the Chalean Extreme workout and even the P90x workout, is that they both focus on beating the workout plateau.  The workout Plateau is when a person stops seeing results from their workout routine, your muscles adapt to your routine and even though you might be working harder, you still do not see results.  But Chalean extreme addresses the problem, by continually switching up the routine every 30 days.  The Chalean Extreme program also comes with a fitness guide and a nutrition guide, because eating is a huge part of the workout if you are going to see results or not.  There are recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and I am pretty sure there are some recipes for snacks.  Chalean Extreme comes with a sculpting band and a body fat monitor, and if you get the deluxe version it comes with weighted gloves.

All this to say, the main goal is to build muscle so you can burn fat.  Do not worry about bulking up though, because this program is designed for building lean muscle, not huge bulky muscles.  The Chalean extreme program has a lot to live up to, because it says you can burn up to 60% of your body fat in three months….I guess they are right no matter what, because it do not promise 60% fat loss, but “up to” 60%.  Anyways I am sure that if someone really took it seriously and did it by the book, then they can see great results from it and that is what I am going to try to do.  My challenge is to see if this thing actually does work, so I will be sticking to a diet of my own and pushing myself to muscle failure.  Let’s see how it goes.

You can check out all my progress on my new site www.myworkoutreviews.com, just click this link to go there….Chalean Extreme Review. This also has all of my P90x reviews on it, so you can also check those out if you want.

toast

I am down one more pound! This is good! But already am going crazy because I want toast. I haven’t had a piece of bread for a few days now and I can taste it. Toast: with butter and honey. Toast: with peanutbutter and jelly. Toast: with cinnamon and sugar. Toast: English muffin with cream cheese and prune chutney; which I haven’t had in years, but I can imagine just how delicious it is. It is messing with my mind, I tell you. And I can hear the song of the whale crackers in the fridge. They say that the humpback whale is the “singing whale” but they need to add cheddar whales to that classification. I hear their song and it is lovely; makes me want to join in…

Kae’s Basic Steps For Successful Weight Loss

 

Kae’s Basic Steps For Successful Weight Loss

                    

Make Exercise A Standing Appointment on Your Schedule. Treat your exercise activity just as if it were a fixed appointment on your schedule.  Block off the time and don’t allow people or things to circumvent that appointment.  Many people want to see the quick weight loss without any work on their parts.  Exercise helps build muscle, kicks up your metabolism, and does wonders for the mind.  Exercise comes in so many different forms – from working in the yard, to playing with your kids, to spending 25 minutes on the elliptical machine.  

Never Allow Someone Else to Set Your Weight Loss Expectations. When you decide to go on a diet, it is critical that the expectations you set are yours and yours alone.  When you allow others to define what your optimal body image is or how much weight you should lose, you will always fail to meet their expectations. It’s a personal decision and you have to be happy with your image when you look in the mirror.

Be Realistic With Your Desired Weight Loss. If you’re really trying to lose weight at a healthy rate, sources say that you should lose no more than 1 to 3 pounds per week (depending on your starting weight).  Any weight loss that is faster than that almost always ends up being recouped after you go off the diet….and then some.

Focus On Healthy Living – Not Quick Weight Loss. Losing weight is a lifestyle change.  That means that you have to begin eating healthier foods.  You cannot go through the process eating only fruits and veggies to lose weight…only to eat a slab of bacon after you’ve lost 20 lbs.  That almost always causes people to revert back to their old unhealthy way of eating.  You have to focus on healthy living – and you have to eat to live…don’t live to eat.

Drink At Least Eight Glasses of Water Per Day. Water is probably one of the most accessible hidden weapons for successful weight loss.  Water not only clears up your skin, but it flushes out the impurities from our body that slow up our weight loss progress.  Believe it or not, our muscles can suffer from dehydration and fatigue when we don’t drink enough liquids.  As a result, our muscle tone suffers and our bodies just don’t perform to its optimal capacity. Eight glasses per day is the recommended limit for water consumption.  More water may be needed in extreme heat situations and if you are well above your recommended weight level. 

Don’t Allow Eating Out to “Bust Up” Your Diet Plans. Eating out should not translate into our inability to monitor calories or uncontrollable weight gain.  Most of the times, you have no idea that you are consuming as much as you do when you go out because there is no nutrition information on the menu.  For instance, many people have NO idea that when you consume a Ruby Tuesday veggie burger, you also consume 1,007 calories and 53 grams of fat…just in that one burger. Request nutrition information from the servers, choose restaurants that provide healthier dining choices, ask the chef to modify standing menu items (i.e., no cheese on the side salad, remove the top bun from the sandwich, request the sauce or dressing on the side, look at restaurant menus online before leaving and pick your entrée in advance, limit alcohol intake, drink a glass of water before you eat dinner, etc.).

Have Goals And Look At Them Everyday. The most successful weight loss stories that I’ve seen involved people who set goals, wrote them down, kept journals of eating habits, and documented their progress, setbacks and triumphs.  Placing your exercise goals on a piece of paper…or on a computer screen encourages you to stay disciplined and not get off course.  When you fail to plan with your weight management, you might as well plan to fail at managing your weight.

Don’t Beat Up Yourself When You Have A Minor (Or Major) Setback.  One of the realities of the world is that we are bound to have setbacks…but we are also fighters and can bounce back and get right back on track if we don’t stay in a slump and beat ourselves up over that brownie that we ate that was not apart of the diet plan.  Setbacks should serve as lessons on your weight management journey…not as discouragement.  As a famous singer Aaliyah said in a popular song, “If at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try again.”

Always Monitor Your Progress. At the end of the week when you weigh yourself, spend some time assessing how you did for the week, what you could have done differently, how you will do better the next week, and what your weaknesses are.  If you don’t monitor your progress, you never know how to raise the bar for yourself on our weight management journey.

 

*kae*

 

Day 24 Hawaiian juice Feast/Fast

Yesterday I had a   2 hour period of what seemed like creative lucid dreaming.  I was aware of the synergy of everything coming together in my life, to create endless opportunities.   

The other experience i am becoming aware of is a sense of lightness to the body and consciousness that appears to give one the feeling of the consciousness expanding beyond the confines of their physical body.  This comes and goes varying degrees of clarity.  This usually becomes deeper as one continues to purify and detoxify their body.  When doing longer fasts one can tell that this would culminate in a sense of weightlessness.   This experience was related by Theresa Mitchell in My Road to Health and Happiness.  She relates after many months of cleansing she relates the following story.  She was walking home from work one day and composing a poem in her mind, when she realised that she had just ascended a  40 degree hill and was hardly breathing!  This would be analogous to the nadis being purified.  When the nadis become purified one can hold the breath for extremely long periods with little strain.  That’s about it for today.

peace

Dr. George

Your 4th free video – eat right for fitness and fat loss.

The LGNAAA Newsletter, featuring

the best in fitness and success tips.

________________________________________________

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Here’s your 4th free video in the ten part series – how to eat

right for fitness and fat loss. This is an approach to good

nutrition that you can live with day to day and not feel

deprived.

In an upcoming video I’ll give you some secret tips and

techniques that you won’t use all the time, but can really

help you kick start your fat loss for special situations. We’ll

go into a little more detail concerning the insulin/cortisol

connection and how it affects you weight.

Since I started this 10 part series, I’ve had a lot of requests

for specific information about both upper body and lower

body strength, so I’ve altered my original plan a bit to give

you exactly that. The next video will focus on some great

ways to develop upper body strength with no equipment.

Be sure to check the blog every day for each new video.

Enjoy!

Make it a great day.

Robert Martin

The contents of this newsletter is not to be considered as

medical advice. Always consult a physician before

beginning or changing any fitness program. Any use of the

techniques, ideas, and suggestions in this document is at the

reader’s sole discretion and risk.

This newsletter is protected by copyright, 2009, Robert

Martin. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of

this newsletter is strictly prohibited without the express

written consent of Robert Martin.

Zylotrim, Is this a Scam ? Or does it Work as Advertized?

                                                                                   

Here lately I have been seeing these Zylotrim commericals all over TV, and I started to wonder is this true, or a scam. To be honest, I knew it had to be a scam, after all they really gave you no information about the ingredients and all the claims seemed like hype. Now, I am going to give you the straight up answer, it does in fact help reduce body weight, 200% more weight loss than diet and exercise alone, it is backed by multiple clinical studies, being 100% natural, this depends on your definition of natural. If it is a natural occurring substance in the body, yes. Is it from a fruit or vegetable, I don’t know. So there it is, oh and by the way, if you want to run out and buy this at their costs, that maybe a mistake. If you looked a little bit you could find this in other cheaper diet aids, like dexatrim for instance. One more thing before you run out and buy this product, in the clinical study regarding weight-loss, the group that got the active ingredient along with diet and exercise lost just under 7 lbs in eight weeks where as the control group lost a little over 2 lbs. That averages out to less than a pound a week with diet and exercise, I am losing right about  1 and 1/2 lbs a week without it. 

If you are still reading this, you must want a little more information than my say-so,so here it is. The active ingredient in Zylotrim is 3-Acetyl-7-oxo-dehydroepiandrosterone, and is often listed as 7 Keto dehydroepiandrosterone. Not to be confused with DHEA, 7-keto DHEA is a slightly different form of the DHEA molecule. Both are produced in the human body and researchers refer to 7-keto DHEA as a metabolite of DHEA, meaning 7-keto DHEA is produced during the natural breakdown of DHEA in the body.

The double blind study was conducted by Kalman D.S., which resulted in the rates of weight and fat lost, by the Cat. Inist. Just click on the link above to review the study. In my research this was the only study that I could find on the subject of weight loss. However, there were several other clinical studies for safety and that were submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Self-Image in the Modern Female

Okay, in an earlier post I did to some extent describe some of the issues I see in high school girls today. Namely, they feel animosity towards “pretty” females, and they can’t feel for one second that they are pretty. Either their hair is messed up, their shoes are too big, their hips stick out awkwardly, their ankles are too big, or whatever. There’s always something girls feel is standing in the way of their personal physical perfection, but whenever they “fix” it (if they can) another problem always arises. Saying that a shirt makes one look pretty good or okay (saying this about oneself, anyway) is for all intensive purposes a taboo and a sin. You become, if you reach that point of self-confidence, the girl who thinks she’s perfect. Now, instead of you pointing out your “flaws” and other people denying them, they point them out too.

I think cosmetics and weight loss are probably the biggest sellers to try to convince young girls that there’s something intrinsically wrong with them. Now, if a person needs to lose weight for medical or health reasons (or even just the want of fitness), that I understand. And makeup is great in moderation. But these girls spend an hour or more a day on their appearance. That borders on the absurd. Some ways to protest this outrage of “beauty” after the jump.

The way to convince others that they don’t have to buy anything or change anything about themselves to be beautiful starts with your own self-image. The best way, I find, to do this is to map out what you like about yourself. You can do this about once a week, and after the first time you can just build onto your original list.

1. Take a sheet of paper and a pencil or pen. Title the page any way you want: from something fantastical (like Iridescent Rainbow?) or something plain, or not at all.
2. Write a list of the physical parts of your body that you like or think are beautiful, strong, well-shaped, or whatever. The key here is to be totally positive. If you find yourself saying “But this and this aren’t,” then don’t write it down. I either start with my elbows or the backs of my heels, but start with whatever part of you that you like most. Keep writing them down. Maybe even just five a week. Just make sure you’re judging what you like by your own standards. If you’re trying to conform to how the world wants you to be you will never see yourself as good enough, and seeing yourself as good enough and better is the whole point!
3. Throughout the week, try to see your favorites in action. Think of how they serve your needs, and their purpose, and how they meet it so well. The important thing is not to take yourself for granted. Do you like holding your lover’s hand? Think about how well you can hold their hand with yours. Do you like hiking? Think of how well your feet, legs, and knees work together to get you going on the trail.
4. The next week (you really don’t have to wait a week, but whenever you feel like it…once a week minimum, I’d say), come back to your list, look over it, and remember the times you thought about each part. Now, add to the list. Think of other things you enjoy doing and what part of you allows you to do it. Or what limbs or digits or what have you that you just like the look of. It doesn’t matter why you like it, as long as you like it.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you like all of you.

The great thing about doing this is that you realize after some point that you were beautiful and powerful and wonderful all along. And with that comes the knowledge that there’s nothing wrong with you. You have no need to get that little bit of skin cream to get rid of that lone blotch on your leg or the stretch marks on your thighs. We are taught that these things are abnormal and that they detract from our beauty, but they don’t. They are a part of our beauty as human beings, and I for one don’t want to get rid of that.

Another thing–if you don’t really want to make a written list, you can just think or talk about it in the car or some other time when you’re not super-busy. I personally like whispering my list in the shower to the tune of Bob Dylan’s “Obviously 5 Believers.” Ciao!

Lost motivation to get in shape? I know the feeling..

I’ve always been a gym user, ever since my dad use to take me along with him when I was younger. I’m one of those strange people that gets a buzz from exercise and can get a little grouchy when I don’t have the time to make it to the gym.  I’ve been to lots of gyms - LA Fitness, Fitness First, David Lloyd and a few privately owned ones, they all have their pros and cons but my favourite has been David Lloyd but it comes with a high monthly fee.

I’m lucky enough to have a gym just around the corner from my work so I can escape at lunch to work out, or more recently I’ve been heading in at 7am so I get a bit more time before work starts. Recently thought, I’ve been getting a little demotivated. My fitness level feels good but the last stubborn bit of weight is getting hard to shift and with summer approaching i’d like lots of confidence to get my white, wobbly bits out.

Sometimes I tend to over-do it and go to the gym 5 times a week, I think I feel better if I cut this down to 3 times and do some cardio on the other days. It really does help to give your muscles a rest but you don’t have to cut out exercise all together, it’s just important to vary the muscles used. So this is what i’m going to try..

Day 1: Chest & Back

Day 2: Biceps & Triceps

Day 3: Legs, Traps, Shoulders

I’m going to attempt the following exercises:

Chest & Back

Cross trainer - 20 minutes.  Bench press - 2 sets, 15 reps. Bench press Inclinded - 2 sets, 9 reps. Chest flys - 1 set, 9 reps. Upright row - 2 sets, 9 reps.  Abs: crunches and bicycle kicks.

Biceps & Triceps

Cross trainer - 25 minutes. Wrist curls - 2 sets. Dumbbell curl - 2 sets, 15 reps. Hammer curl - 2 sets, 20 reps. Tricep pushdown rope - 2 sets, 10 reps. Tricep dips - 2 sets, 20 reps.  Abs: reverse crunchies and dumbbell side bend.

Legs, Traps, Shoulders

Cross trainer - 20 minutes. Side lateral raise - 2 sets, 8 reps. Shoulder press - 2 sets, 10 reps. Squats - 2 sets, 10 reps. Abs: crunches

Lets hope it all goes to plan!

Healthy Diets = Tight Tummys

A lot of men and women strive to have the six-pack in their abs.  But they don’t know how to get abs like those they see in the gym or in the magazines.  They try out different exercises then give up when they don’t see any results.  This gets them frustrated and loses interest in exercising all together.

But if you really want well-toned abs, you really need to commit to an exercise program.  And you need to eat a healthy diet as well.  You need the combination of both to see the results in your body.  And there is no magic pill, diet or exercise that will do it.  It is a series of ab exercises, conditioning exercises and good diet.

How to loose weight

Get A Permanent Weight Loss Solution

Are You Overweight? Whether You Could

Stand To Lose 10 Lbs or 100, You Need To Listen Up…

The vast majority of people are overweight because they eat the wrong foods, take in the wrong types of calories per meal and consume their meals in incorrect patterns. (dieting)

The truth is, when it comes to losing weight, food is much more powerful than most people realize…

it’s more powerful than fat loss supplements or even exercise.

The trouble is, there is so much conflicting information on dieting that it can be very hard to know which plan makes the most sense for you… which plan will help you lose the weight you’d like without costing a fortune or being so hard to stick with that you are virtually guaranteed to fail even before you begin.

Here’s some information about the most common types of diet regimens and why they just don’t work…

Following the “Fat Loss 4 Idiots” program is far easier than the dieting plans mentioned above and the best thing is… you can enjoy your life while losing the weight you’d like. The plan won’t leave you feeling hungry or fatigued and it won’t cost you a fortune to maintain your fabulous new figure.

Another great thing about the “Fat Loss 4 Idiots” program is that there is no risk! The program is backed by a 60-Day Money Back Guarantee and there’s no ‘fine print’ either…….if this diet doesn’t melt off the pounds quickly and easily you’ll get back 100% of EVERY PENNY SPENT!

I am sick of daylight savings

Sheesh, it is 7:12am as I write and it is STILL dark out there. Who the hell is the genuis who decided our state would have extended daylight savings time????????? Some smart arse politician  who no doubt does not have to go out and deliver junk mail at 6 am, that is for sure.

To add insult to injury, it poured rain the whole time I walked. Now, that is GOOD, because we need rain very badly, due to the never ending drought, BUT, damn, I wish it had held off for 48 minutes while I got the rest of the delivery finished.

I am in a bad head space, again. I do not feel well, still and I am getting sick and tired of feeling sick and tired and now I am soaking wet as well.

Hehehehehe, I aint in a good mood, am I? lol lol

Hopefully my mood will improve as the day goes on…. ;0)

While I am busy complaining, I may as well mention my glasses broke on Sunday.  Not my reading glasses (thank you God) but my distance glasses which I need to do everything else besides read.  You know, stuff like drive the car and walk around without tripping over.

I needed a new prescription anyway because my sight has deteriorated in the past year, so, I made an appointment at a local Optical place so I can get my eyes tested and get new glasses (this time I will get multi focals, so I am not constantly having to  change glasses) and I could not get an appointment until April 1st (a week from now) and then I guess I will have to wait a week or two after that, until my new glasses are ready.  So it is gonna be a long couple of weeks wait for me.  I am grateful it was my distance glasses that broke though, because I wear my reading glasses constantly so I can do my card making and cross stitching.  If I was unable to do that, well, that would really bother me.

As it is, I am mildly bothered that my distance glasses are broken, but, truly grateful I can still read and do close work.

Ok, enough ranting………….  I need to drop my contracts off at my bosses house, so, I better get  moving…..

Reasons to Use Walking During a TKR Recuperation

Walking is an all-around great exercise that can be used in a variety of ways to help during a total knee replacement recuperation. Here are some reasons:

Cost. It’s cheap and economical. There are no added costs to enjoy walking. All you need are good walking shoes.

Pace. Walking can be done at your own pace. You can walk as slow or fast as you want. I was walking so slow after my tkr, a turtle could have beat me in a race. No complaints, just facts. I didn’t care, though. I was glad to be able to walk without the excruciating pain like I had before my tkr.

Leg straightening. Walking correctly helps straighten your leg. By walking heel to toe, your gait will start to swing. This helps loosen up the hamstring, which in turn will assist in straightening your leg. Walking was a miracle for me during my tkr reecuperation. I loved feeling my leg swing and my hamstring “open up”. Sometimes, though, there was pain prior to this happy feeling. All part of recuperation, in my opinion.

Cardio. Walking can provide you with a good aerobic workout. It’s amazing how little needs to be done after a tkr that will produce a sweat. In my case, anyways.

Socializing. If you walk on community trails where dogs are allowed, you can meet a variety of dogs and talk with their owners. Or, you can walk with a companion and enjoy a nice conversation. Either way, it’s fun.

Weight loss. Regular walking can be a benefit to either weight loss or maintaining your weight level. That applies unless you choose to finish off that cheesecake after returning from your walk.

Easy. This is if you are over the hump of a tkr surgery. Once that hurdle is over, walking is easy to do. Actually, this time period didn’t come until about three months after my total knee replacement surgery. My knee surgery recuperation takes longer than your average bear due to it being caused by trauma 30 years ago.

Rest. A good walk, in my case, results in a restful night’s sleep. That is until the pain of the tkr kicks in.

I swear by walking as one of the best exercises for a total knee replacement recuperation.

For more technical information, here is an article from the AARP (American Association of Retired People). Enjoy! Retrieved from: http://www.aarp.org/health/fitness/walking/a2004-06-17-walking-numerousbenefits.html

The Numerous Benefits of Walking

If a daily fitness walk could be put in a pill, it would be one of the most popular prescriptions in the world. It has so many health benefits. Walking can reduce the risk of many diseases — from heart attack and stroke to hip fracture and glaucoma. These may sound like claims on a bottle of snake oil, but they’re backed by major research. Walking requires no prescription, the risk of side effects is very low, and the benefits are numerous:

Managing your weight. Combined with healthy eating, physical activity is key to any plan for long-lasting weight control. Keeping your weight within healthy limits can lower your risks of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, sleep apnea, and osteoarthritis.

Controlling your blood pressure. Physical activity strengthens the heart so it can pump more blood with less effort and with less pressure on the arteries. Staying fit is just as effective as some medications in keeping down blood pressure levels.

Decreasing your risk of heart attack. Exercise such as brisk walking for three hours a week — or just half an hour a day — is associated with a 30% to 40% lower risk of heart disease in women. (Based on the 20-year Nurses’ Health Study of 72,000 female nurses.)

Boosting “good” cholesterol – the level of high-density lipoproteins (HDL). Physical activity helps reduce low-density lipoproteins (LDL or “bad” cholesterol) in the blood, which can cause plaque buildup along the artery walls — a major cause of heart attacks.

Lowering your risk of stroke. Regular, moderate exercise equivalent to brisk walking for an hour a day, five days a week, can cut the risk of stroke in half, according to a Harvard study of more than 11,000 men.

Reducing your risk of breast cancer and type 2 diabetes. The Nurses’ Health Study also links regular activity to risk reductions for both these diseases. In another study, people at high risk of diabetes cut their risk in half by combining consistent exercise like walking with lower fat intake and a 5% to 7% weight loss.

Avoiding your need for gallstone surgery. Regular walking or other physical activity lowers the risk of needing gallstone surgery by 20% to 31%, found a Harvard study of more than 60,000 women ages 40 to 65.

Protecting against hip fracture. Consistent activity diminishes the risk of hip fracture, concludes a study of more than 30,000 men and women ages 20 to 93.

The list goes on and on. Many other studies indicate a daily brisk walk also can help:

* Prevent depression, colon cancer, constipation, osteoporosis, and impotence

* Lengthen lifespan

* Lower stress levels

* Relieve arthritis and back pain

* Strengthen muscles, bones, and joints

* Improve sleep

* Elevate overall mood and sense of well-being.

Keep it Steady

A steady routine is the most important factor in getting the most out of your exercise program. Walking for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 or more days a week is recommended.

Use these tips to keep you on track:

* During your walks, you should be able to maintain a conversation. If you’re breathing too lightly, increase your pace. If you can’t catch your breath, slow it down.

* Walk around the local area after lunch or dedicate 15 minutes to walking up and down stairs. Climbing is an excellent way to strengthen your heart.

* At night, trade a half hour of TV for a brisk stroll around the block. Take a friend with you for company or get the whole family involved.

The Best Medicine

Any amount of walking is good, but for the best health results, set a brisk pace and walk for 30 minutes at least 5 times a week. Be sure to check with your doctor on the level of exercise that’s best for you.

Newsletter - Surveys, tips and nutrition info

Myth of the Month

In order to lose weight, you need to give up all sweets.

Fact: Including a reasonable amount of sweets in a weight loss plan may help ensure that a diet will succeed. The key to losing weight and keeping it off is to adopt healthy eating and exercise habits that you can stick to for a lifetime. So don’t deprive yourself, as it is unreasonable to think you can for your entire life, just don’t do it to often and control your portion sizes.                                                                      

4 things to help you live longer

O        Set a three drink limit – researchers determined that downing more than 3 alcoholic drinks in a 24 hour period increases your risk of atrial fibrillation, a condition that may boost your odds of a stroke fivefold during that time.

O        Eat fruit and vegetables at every meal – If you consume more than 5 servings of fruit and veg per day, you have a 26% lower risk of stroke than people who eat less then 3 per day, according to a recent study.

O        Exercise – Scientist found that Men who completed 3 total body workouts a week for 2 months lowered their diastolic blood pressure by an average of 8 points. That’s enough to reduce the risk of a stroke by 40% and heart attack by 15%. 

O        Think positive – Scientist discovered that constant worrying shortens your lifespan by 16 years.

6 Barriers to fitness

Ø    Lack of Time, too busy

Ø    Lack of facilities or access to it

Ø    Boredom, lack of enjoyment

Ø    Psychological, emotional barriers

Ø    Lack of Money

Ø    Better things to do!

 

Did you know…… you can increase the size of the left ventricular chamber of your heart by 20%, by running regularly?

 

Set yourself a goal – There is nothing more motivating than having a goal you have set yourself. To achieve goals you must be passionate about them. You will be passionate about goals if they have a meaning for you. Set goals in all areas of your life: Career, Health and Personal etc

Make them SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.

www.fittoyou.co.uk

http://www.linkedin.com/in/fittoyou

232: Blessings in disguise.

“If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting (which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments) and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally), and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared – most of all – to face (and forgive) some very difficult realities about yourself….then truth will not be withheld from you.” ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

A week ago I was very upset about having this job… to be honest. I resented the fact that I had to take something out of my field again, that I had to work 8-4 answering phones and making piles of paperwork. But I soon began to realize what I blessing in disguise this is. The above quote rattled through my head… “if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher” truth will not be withheld from you.

It is obvious that I have fallen pretty hard in the last month. Really hard. Rock bottom? You know, I don’t know… because every time I think I’m there I fall a little further. Regardless, I was feeling extremely hopeless and empty. A lot of self hatred brewing within. Beating myself down for being down, all those lovely things. So what did the universe do? It gave me a job at a company with extremely positive people. It gave me financial support in a poor economy and most of all it set me up for success. Yesterday my boss announced that a lovely member of the company had gifted her  very expensive 12-week program as a token of appreciation… and she would gladly share it with us.

What is this program about? Self image, acceptance and love… along with losing weight.

Yeah. Exactly what I need. So I am giving it a go with the hopes that I can learn to love myself again as well as focus on myself. It really is the hardest thing for me to learn. Who cares if the boyfriend is moody, the house is noisy or I can’t get a hold of a friend. I have me and I have lots of things that I can do. Things I WANT to do but complain I have no time for! Like reading  =)  Reading is an excellent way to forget troubles.

Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!

Develop Your Abdominal Muscles While Losing Weight

Do you get up every morning and begin working out in hopes to develop washboard abs? Yet no matter how many people tend to work out everyday only very few people actually have washboard abs. Even though it seems hard we want you to know that if you learn the right way on how to begin to develop them you can do it.

We all would love to have washboard abs; after all who does not like to see someone walking around without their shirt on and their stomach and body looks rock hard. Heck if I could have that body; is most likely what is running through your mind. Well the thing is that you can have that body; the only difference between you and that person is that they spent the time working out and eating the right types of foods.

If you are looking to develop rock hard abs and trying to sculpt your body then you know that it is not going to happen overnight. However with your discipline and persistence it will become a reality.

We all know that in order to develop your body; then you have to learn how to eat right and exercise on a daily basis. Okay so if diet is and exercise is the key; how do you know what kind of diet and what kind of exercises should I begin doing? After all it may seem as though right now you are doing all kinds of things like; running, swimming, power walking and whatever else you are doing and nothing seems to be working.

In the past I started working on my abs and did not know what type of exercises to begin doing so I had this workout take that consisted of dancing. I used that as my form of cardio; because you must understand that if you want to develop your washboard abs then you have to begin working on your cardio which is going to help your body turn into a fat burning machine.

When you begin working out you may or may not know that you should have a heart monitor to ensure that your heart rate reaches the aerobic zone. This is the zone that your body begins to burn fat and calories.

If you have no idea on what steps to take to begin burning fat and increasing your muscle; then visit our site below. You will get all the valuable information that will not only turn your stomach into washboard abs but you will also notice a change in all aspects of your body. Not only will your confidence level rise; but the opposite sex is going to find you much more attractive.

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Day 2: Dieting and Mental Energy

Down 2lbs as of this morning. Will weigh myself again on Sunday.

No matter what anyone says, ANY sort of dieting or “lifestyle change” as (those who are on a diet but want to sound cute would say) requires energy. Not just the physical energy you will need to exercise. In fact I would say that may be the easiest part. I mean the energy it takes to wake up every day and decide that you will do what it takes stick to whatever it is you’re doing. And that’s just the energy you need in the morning.

Then you have the energy you need throughout the day. When you’re fantasizing about what you would look like when you’re at your goal. When you’re ignoring the fact that you smell somebody’s wonderful lunch and you wish like hell you could have it. When you’re fantasizing about foods you didn’t even eat when you weren’t on a diet. When you’re reminding yourself nearly every 10 minutes that you have a plan that you need to stick to. When you weigh yourself after 7 days and see drastically different resuls than what you imagined and you’re discouraged but you keep going anyway. ALL of that takes energy. ALL of it. And you’re exhausted at the end of the day. Tired because this is all going on in your head on top of all of the other shit you have to deal with; work, school, family, friends, life…..

Day 2. So far so good. Have to pee a lot. Not fun.

Some Weight Loss Plans!

Everybody knows that excess weight and obesity is an open invitation to a number of diseases and health problems. Even though we know about the risks, the percentage of persons opting for losing weight and remaining fit is very small compared to the percentage of overweight persons. We should therefore immediately take steps to lose weight for remaining healthy and fit.

Since excess weight puts you at risk for many health problems, you may need to set some weight loss plans to help avoid those risks and prevent disease.

But what should be your long-term goal? And what short-term goals should you set to help you get there? You have a better chance of attaining your goals if you make sure that the weight loss plans that you will use are sensible and reasonable right at the beginning.

Here are some guidelines from the experts in choosing weight loss plans and goals.

1. Be realistic

Most people’s long-term weight loss plans are more ambitious than they have to be.

For example, if you weigh 170 pounds and your long-term plan is to weigh 120, even if you have not weighed 120 since you were 16 and now you are 45, that is not a realistic weight loss goal.

Your body mass index or BMI is a good indicator of whether or not you need to shed of pounds. The ideal BMI range, according to the national Institutes of Health, is between 19 and 24.9. If your BMI is between 25 and 29.9, you are considered overweight. Any number above 30 is in the obesity range.

From this point of view, you will need a sensible weight loss plan that will correspond to the required BMI based on your height, because this is the primary factor that will affect your BMI.

2. Set appropriate objectives

Using a weight loss plan just for vanity’s sake is psychologically less helpful than losing weight to improve health.

You have made a big step forward if you decide to undergo a weight loss plan that includes exercise and eating right so that you will feel better and have more energy to do something positive in your life.

3. Focus on doing, not losing

Rather than saying that you are going to lose a pound this week, say how much you are going to exercise this week. This would definitely make up of a sensible weight loss plan.

Keep in mind that your weight within a span of a week is not completely in your control, but your behavior is.

4. Build bit by bit

Short-term weight loss plans should not be “pie-in-the-sky.” This means that when you have never exercised at all, your best weight loss plan for this week should be based on finding three different one-mile routes that you can walk next week.

5. Keep up the self-encouragement

An all-or-nothing attitude only sets you up to fail. Learn to evaluate your efforts fairly and objectively. If you fall short of some goals, just look ahead to next week. You do not need to have a perfect record.

After all, self-encouragement should definitely be a part of your weight loss plans. Otherwise, you will just fail in the end.

6. Use measurable measures

Saying that you are going to be more positive this week or that you are going to really get serious this week is not a goal that you can measure and should not be a part of your weight loss plan.

This is another reason why you should incorporate exercise on your weight loss plan and focus on it. You should be able to count up the minutes of exercise in order to be successful in your plan.

The bottom line is, people should make weight loss plans that will only remain as it is, just a plan. They have to put it into action by incorporating goals that will motivate them to succeed….Read more. Go to Weight-Watch-Blog

Read about simple cooking for losing weight. Go to Dietspan.com

Remain fit for 24hrs. Go to Fitness 24 Hours.

Read how to remain fit and beautiful. Go to Fitness with Beauty Blog

Facebook page for daily updates

I want to send text messages to this blog but can’t figure out how.  So I created a facebook page.  Look for “Zohar Teegarden” on facebook and send a friend request if you want to see the workout/weight updates during the day/week.  As I feel inspired, I’ll look at the facebook page and write a longer update here on this blog.

If anyone knows how to update my wordpress.com blog through sending a text message please let me know.

Thanks!

Zoe

'The Truth About Six Pack Abs' Reviews

The Truth About Six Pack Abs For Men and Women

‘The Truth About Six Pack Abs’ includes an ebook detailing the exercises. You also get a video everyday explaining one aspect of the program in detail. You get a step-by-step plan that you are expected to closely follow along taking motivation from the structured program.

Read more about The Truth About Six Pack Abs.

Read a review of the program and post your comments if you have been using it. I am keeping in touch with a person who has just started the program and you will be able to see the success or otherwise of The Truth About Six Pack Abs on the review blog.

You can also read this six pack abs squidoo review.

Whether you go to squidoo or hub pages you will see a number of posts about this ‘truth about six pack abs‘ program and you can see that the program has customers from 100 countries in the world.

To get an idea of the whole program you should go directly to The Truth About Six Pack Abs.  Do not forget to post your comments. You can start right after you receive the first video.

Diet Like A Hollywood Celebrity Without Starving To Death!

Have you ever wondered how Hollywood celebrities manage to look stick thin? Which diet do they follow? If you look closely, you can also see that a lot of these celebrities look ill. Starving themselves might give them skinny bodies but it deprives the body of necessary nutrients, leads to tiredness and side effects such as headaches and bad breath and constant hunger pangs are nobody’s idea of a good time.

You see it in all the tabloids, this person lost 100 pounds again, this one gained 100 pounds, and then lost 150 pounds. Some are not as dramatic; this one lost 40 pounds and is a television spokesperson, because the previous celebrity diet spokesperson gained the weight back. The fact is they may be starving themselves to lose weight, fasting like they are going through a famine.

Sure losing a great amount of weight in short periods of time may be somewhat the norm for some who are overly obese, since they are carrying large amounts of stored fat along with them. However, for those who are just a few pounds overweight, losing 40 pounds in a month is terribly unhealthy. It can lead to more serious problems for some individuals. The first thing to know about successful dieting is that it does take time. All those extra pounds did not show up overnight or even within just a few days. Our bodies fluctuate daily.

Without a maintenance diet program, to keep your weight stabilized after a large weight loss, you will put the weight back on. Dieting involves self-discipline and willpower in addition to knowing what foods to eat and when. Many of the celebrity diets are actually starvation type diets that are not healthy or worth risking other side effects.

Hollywood diet juice involves restricting various types of essential foods and water, since you can only drink the product along for a few days. The weight may come off because you are starving your body. However, once you stop with the juice, you gain that extra weight right back. We cannot merely drink only a diet drink and nothing else. It makes no real good sense at all.

Just like many of the popular diets in Hollywood, when your body considers that you are actually starving yourself to death, it will rebel. It rebels by putting a stop to the process of losing that extra weight, just to keep you alive! A long term alternative is called for when dieting properly. The Hollywood hottest diets are no long term answer to weight loss and maintaining your target weight.

Celebrities do not have secrets about dieting. They are normal people like the rest of us but, unlike most of us, they have people working for them such as diet advisors and personal trainers.

The secrets of celebrity diets involve dedication and commitment similar to that that we ourselves struggle with. The very best celebrity diets involves sticking to a practical well thought out intake of foods and fluids and enough sense to know when to stop. Have you been to the Fat Loss 4 Idiots yet?

About the Author:

Christine G. Shannon can help you have an ideal body shape fast with the Ultimate Healthy Dieting Program that she uses and lost 22 lbs in 29 days. Get her free Fat-Fighter newsletter and the Fast Fat Loss Secret. You are welcome to reprint this article - but get your own unique content version here.

The period between work and rest.

The trick to kicking ass is to look like this at the end

The beginning of a training program is always the hardest part of any life changing journey. Remember those first workouts where you do so little, yet it provides enough of a stimulus to make you sore for the next 5 days?

This hits home even harder for those who off been sidelined for a while due to injury, personal events, lazy,etc. We all know what it feels like to be fit as an ox, no matter how little we exercise, because there has been a time in our lives where we have been active for quite a while.And in that constant schedule of activity and healthy habits, we become focused,driven, fit. Then when you come back a week,a month,a year later to the beginning of that very same regimen you once started, it’s as if you have never even done something like that before. It sucks but you know that if you can get through the training for 2 weeks, you’ll be back to your former self.

That’s what i’m feeling like right now. It feels good to be back into the swing of things, but there is one area where i need to brush up on: The Work/Rest cycle. In crossfit, their are task-oriented WODS and Timed WODS. Your performance depends on your intensity and technique. And the directly relates to your work/rest cycles. If you work for 1 minute, and rest 1 minute, that’s an example of 1 cycle. The longer the rest, the more time you kill and the slower your pr’s get. Now that i am working out by myself, and especially since i train upon waking, i find that my work/rest cycles are lopsided. I would work for a few repititions, and it would take me double the time to rest. While i do manage to get rocked in the wod, i know that i could better and rest less because i still have more left in the tank.

My main goal is to workout hard enough so that my work/rest cycles imrpove. Which means more work, less rest. If i can accomplish that, then it means i’m that much closer to breathing the all-important fire.

When it comes down it,however, it’s mainly a mental game. Just like weight loss. Many times, we get tempted to take a break, or eat a bite of cheesecake, or even to compromise who we are just to feel more comfortable with ourselves. But in the life, improvement takes courage. Fitness means enduring the discomfort and fighting the urge to give up. Weight loss means having to sacrifice smartly for the greater good.

BEING WHO YOU WANT TO BE REQUIRES HAVING BALLS!(Or girl balls if that tickles your fancy)

Doing what you have to do is something i’m learning this year. I’m not taking my body or my studies lightly anymore. Because if i do, i’ll just end up being the same guy who f’ed up life last year. And now i know that i am much better than that.

So work to get better at decreasing your periods of rest/comfort.Your body/mind will thank you for it.

GET STRONG LIKE BULL!

Do you have Serotonin Deficiency Syndrome?

If  you’ve wondered whether an emotional behavior may be rooted more in chemistry than physiology, you may be right.  Serotonin has a powerful effect on our feelings and physical behavior. When serotonin levels are high we feel safe, happy, content, satiated, and have great impulse control.  Serotonin deficiency syndrome is when levels are low enough to cause or exacerbate the following:

• Migraines
• Insomnia
• Fibromyalgia
• Tinnitus
• Panic attacks
• Anorexia/bulimia
• Low sex drive
• ADD/ADHD
• Depression
• Chronic fatigue
• Alcoholism
• PMS
• Social anxiety
• Low self esteem
• Teeth grinding or TMJ
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Violent or aggressive behavior
• Compulsive behavior or OCD
• Over-eating (particularly carbohydrates)

These behaviors and emotional states are not necessarily produced by a physical dysfunction in the brain. Instead, it may be based on a biochemical condition that can be traced back to the brain’s serotonin neural circuits which are hampered due to inadequate amounts of serotonin in the nerve pathways. A serotonin precursor called l-tryptophan (or tryptophan) can restoring these biochemical transmissions to the serotonin neural receptors. L-Tryptophan supplementation is a safe and natural way of increasing low serotonin levels.

WHAT IS SEROTONIN?

Serotonin is a chemical known as a neurotransmitter in the brain which performs multiple functions, including regulating emotions and mood.  We have four primary neurotransmitters which are serotonin, endorphin, catecholamines and GABA.

Ninety percent of serotonin is produced in the intestinal tract while a small amount is produced in the brain by an essential amino acid called l-tryptophan.  There are a total of 22 amino acids, out of which 8 are essential meaning that our bodies don’t produce them so they must be ingested.  Of the 22 amino acids, l-tryptophan is the least plentiful. 

GETTING MORE TRYPTOPHAN

Tryptophan synthesizes proteins in the body. An average diet only provides about 1-1.5 grams of tryptophan daily. Foods containing tryptophan included high protein sources like chicken, eggs, turkey, pork, salmon, dairy, soy, nuts, seeds banana, pumpkin and yeast. If B vitamins are in short supply tryptophan absorption is further diminished. Lack of sufficient B3 and B6 will reduce the amount of tryptophan which makes it to the brain from the foods we eat to less than 1%.

Some amino acids make it through the “blood brain barrier“.  This barrier prevents toxins and excessive amounts of nutrients from diminishing brain function. When ingested tryptophan can pass through the blood brain barrier but serotonin cannot.

Five other amino acids, tyrosine phenylalanine, valine, leucine and isoleucine compete for transport with tryptophan for the molecular rides that pass through the blood brain barrier. Strangely enough, eating more protein in an attempt to increase the amount of tryptophan absorbed actually reduces it due to the increased competition with the other amino acids trying to enter the blood brain barrier. Calcium, magnesium, vitamin D and B vitamins all facilitate serotonin production.

TRYPTOPHAN SAFETY

In New Mexico of 1989 a tainted batch of tryptophan from a disreputable manufacturer named Showa Denko, affected 1500 people. A FDA ban was placed from 1989-2006 on imported tryptophan with the exception of one called Tryptopure®. Tryptopure® is the world’s leading supplier of l-tryptophan.

CRAVINGS AND TRYPTOPHAN

Food cravings, particularly for carbohydrates, can be triggered by serotonin deficiency because increased insulin levels inhibits the five other amino acids allowing increased tryptophan absorption. Unfortunately indulging in “comfort food” like cake, ice cream, chips and pizza when we are depressed helps increase tryptophan absorption, but it comes at the cost of excessive fat conversion and storage.

TRYPTOPHAN VS 5-HTP SUPPLEMENTS

Tryptophan triggers the production of 5-HTP (oxitriptan) and serotonin.  Supplementing with 5-HTP should be done with some caution because large amounts of 5-HTP can cause nausea, vomiting, cramps, diarrhea and other intestinal distress.  L-Tryptophan does not cause intestinal discomfort. 

TRYPTOPHAN AND SEROTONIN INHIBITORS

Caffeine, aspartame and alcohol deplete tryptophan and serotonin in the body. Diets low in protein, lack of exercise and sunshine, high amounts of stress and genetic dispositions can also inhibit serotonin levels.

The best way to increase serotonin is to increase tryptophan through supplementation.  Total daily consumption of l-tryptophan should be 1-3 grams, so supplemental amounts of just 500-1500 mg would be about ideal. Consuming large daily amounts (6-9 grams) triggers a liver enzyme which actually destroys tryptophan.

IMPROVING SLEEP

Melatonin is produced in the pineal gland from serotonin and is often used as a naturally encourage sleep.  However, supplementing with melatonin alone is not as effective if serotonin is already low.  Stubborn sleep problems may improve by combining 0.5 mg to 1 mg of melatonin with 500-1500 mg of l-tryptophan and taken at night on an empty stomach.

Serotonin deficiency syndrome should improve when supplementing with tryptophan in 500-1500 mg daily. Another synergistic combination would be adding 33-100 mg of 5-HTP and 0.5-1 mg of melatonin daily.

DANGERS OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

Many people are under the impression that anti-depressants like Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and others raises levels of serotonin in the brain.  That is not the case.  Those drugs concentrate existing amounts of serotonin in the brain keeping a relay going between the nerves. Some studies raise the disturbing question as to whether long term use of anti-depressants actually reduces serotonin levels. Never exceed prescribed amounts of anti-depressants or combine them with with serotonin precursors like l-tryptophan. Excessive  serotonin can be life threatening. Unlike these powerful pharmaceuticals and prescription sleep aides, l-tryptophan can be taken with no impairment to motor skills, vision, cognitive, or memory performance.

THE BEST L-TRYPTOPHAN

If you are looking for a gentle, natural and safe way to increase your serotonin levels, l-tryptophan is a terrific place to start. It is much easier to absorb nutrients in an isotonic state and increases the bioavailability by up to 95%. Isotonix L-Tryptophan is an isotonic formula,  manufactured in GMP production facilities by the Isotonix company for Market America and is made from safe and patented Tryptopure®.

Isotonix L-Tryptophan

Isotonix B-complex

Isotonix Calcium Plus

Isotonix D plus K2

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