Managing Stress – Seven Helpful Tips

by Weight Loss - January 19, 2012

Managing Stress – A Few Ideas to Consider

Are you wanting to learn methods of how to manage stress better? Stress can take a toll on you and make life very hard.

Especially relevant, managing stress requires that you be aware that you are suffering from it. Therefore it is crucial that you become aware.

If you want to know how to cope, here are 7 useful tips to help you combat stress:

Make a to-do list every day. Use check marks to mark things off. Part of feeling overwhelmed with stress often comes from feeling like you’ve got too much to do in a day. Having a list
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helps you quantify what’s done and what needs to be done can help in a big way.
Do the most difficult tasks first. Stress often comes from a feeling of dread. If you’re dreading something that you have no choice but to face, it might feel too ominous to tackle. But if you don’t tackle it, you’ll spend the day dreading it. Hence, by getting rid of the most difficult tasks first, you free up your mindset to focus on other things and you will be managing stress levels in the process.
Meditation and relaxation exercises. Many methods exist to help you learn how to manage stress better. Breathing exercises, yoga, taking a walk, getting a massage.. some of these areas probably will make a big difference in how you’re feeling. Many people find that meditation helps them achieve clarity and energy that helps them overcome stress.
Ask for help. Many people also don’t realize that they’re inadvertently acting like martyrs. Therefore, if you don’t ask your spouse, your children, or your boss or co-workers for help, they might not be aware how big of a toll stress is taking on you. Tip: Try asking for help in a non-confrontational way. You might do so after taking some of the steps in #3 above.
De-clutter your environment. Stress and mess seem to go hand in hand, don’t they? Therefore, if you’re stressed, you might not have time to deal with the mess. The mess might increase your stress. Stop and take just 30 minutes to clear your area, it will give you a clear head and the ability to better cope.
Take a stress break. Take a “time out” and do something that gives you a release. Some people get a stress release from exercising. Others get it from playing a video game. Some immerse themselves in a book. Others take a hot bubble bath. Consequently try to find something that helps you.
Try not to sweat the small stuff , do not take on other peoples’ stress. While some things are out of your control and you can’t manage them. Realizing that you can only learn how to manage stress for things within your control will help you better cope with the reality that some things that are just out of your control.

Finally, managing stress requires change in your behavior. Therefore look for the way, you will find it!

Weight Loss Recipes – How to find them

by Weight Loss - January 18, 2012

Weight Loss Recipes are available from multiple sources. Finding the best ones, however requires some basic knowledge.

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How To Find Great Weight Loss Recipes

If you use the web to find weight loss recipes, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much easier it is to lose weight without feeling deprived.

One of the biggest difficulties with weight loss is not knowing what to cook. This feeling of being lost is what drives a lot of people back to their old habits. Weight Loss Recipes

If you’re someone who is overweight, there’s a good chance that your menu is pretty repetitive.

People who experiment with weight loss recipes tend to have a better success rate with long term weight loss without deprivation.

Trying out new weight loss recipes will be an adventure for your taste buds. You don’t have to eat the same things day in and day out.

There are great ideas throughout the internet that can help you effectively lose weight without the boredom of eating steamed vegetables and flavourless meat on a daily basis.

Weight loss recipes tend to use the right portion, low fat or fat free condiments, plenty of herbs and spices (so you don’t have to resort to calorie laden sauces), and whole foods rather than convenience foods. Not only will experimenting with weight loss recipes help you at night but they’ll help you with breakfast, lunch, and healthy snack ideas as well. Have a look for a variety of recipes.

Weight Loss Recipes – Tips

Look through your weekly grocery flyer for what’s on sale before looking for weight loss recipes.

If chicken breasts are on sale this week or a specific set of vegetables is in season, look for recipes that use these ingredients.

Use your crock pot. There are a lot of crock pot recipes that are figure friendly and using them will save you on time, especially during the workweek.

When you find weight loss recipes you like, make double batches and freeze some for dinner on another day.

Some recipe sites offer subscriptions. Subscribe to a weight loss recipe category, then you’ll get sent new recipes via e-mail as they become available.

Got some recipes you like that you know aren’t figure friendly? Try substituting some lower calorie items in them. 1% milk for cream, whole wheat pasta for white pasta, fat free mayo and sour cream, low fat cheese, and so on.

Look for low calorie desserts for weight loss as well. You’ll find great options that let you enjoy some treats without as much guilt.

You might want to purchase some weight loss recipe books as well as look online. There are some great books dedicated to specific diet plans as well.

You can find books that conform to the Weight Watchers point system, or that are specific to another plan, such as the South Beach or Mediterranean diet, the Atkins diet, and so on.

Weight loss can happen when you find great ways to enjoy lower fat and lower calorie foods. Experiment with weight loss recipes to keep away feelings of deprivation and keep things interesting.

Raw Food Diet Recipes for Weigh Loss

by Weight Loss - January 17, 2012

Raw Food Diet Recipes that work well

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There are some substantial benefits to a raw food diet. But, to succeed with this diet, whether temporarily or on an ongoing basis, you will need to find some great raw food diet recipes. There are some interesting and creative ways to follow a raw food diet. Recipes can increase your chances of finding satiety with this sort of diet plan. Here are a few suggestions:

Add Variety To Your Salads

Salads are probably the best part of a raw food diet. Recipes for salads are in abundance. Add variety and colour to your salad, eat a big volume of it if it’s serving as a meal, and look for salad-friendly raw protein sources, such as seeds and nuts. Shop your local farmer’s market for great variety of organic vegetable and fruit sources.

Beverages That Double As Meals

Shakes and smoothies are great for raw food enthusiasts. You’ll find ways of pureeing raw food into shakes, smoothies, and cold soups. Here are a few raw food diet recipes you may want to try, to make up a meal:

Salad Example:

Broccoli & Cranberries Salad: Mix broccoli florets with a handful of dried cranberries and slivered almonds and cashews. If desired, mix with a little dressing made of fruit juice and organic apple cider vinegar.

Shakes:

You can make a delicious and nutritious shake by juicing some juice and then mixing with a banana or two as well as your favourite fruits and blend until thick.

Cold Soup:

You can make a lot of different raw soups, such as a creamy carrot soup. Wonder how you’ll get raw carrots to taste creamy? Mix raw carrot juice and pureed avocado, and garnish with some parsley.

Dessert:

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Blend bananas, vanilla, honey, and a few almonds and it can become the consistency of banana nut pudding. You’ll be surprised when you delve into the world of raw food diet recipes just how many options there are. And there are additional sources of raw food that you might also enjoy, such as sushi. Whether you are interested in doing it for a week or transitioning to a complete raw food diet, recipes are abundantly available online and offer you a great opportunity to experiment and develop your own. Raw food diets can benefit your digestive system, your skin, and your overall health and wellness. Cooking many foods eliminates enzymes and forces your body to work harder at digestion. Even increasing your diet to include more raw food more often would be a good thing. And if you’re up for doing the radical thing and trying to go 100% raw food only, you’ll find that there is an abundance of information out there, helping you find a variety of fun and creative raw food diet recipes to try.

More Raw Food Diet Recipes can be found throughout our website. Read more now!

How To Get Rid Of Cellulite On Thighs

by Weight Loss - January 16, 2012

How To Get Rid Of Cellulite On Thighs

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If you are someone who wants to figure out how to get rid of cellulite on thighs, you’re not alone. This is a common area of concern, especially for women.

A vast majority of women (some studies say that less than 10% won’t get it) have issues with cellulite.

Whether you’re overweight, thin, or thin and formerly overweight, cellulite doesn’t seem to discriminate and it can seem difficult to get rid of.

There are several approaches for cellulite:

Exercising and Cellulite

Exercise can take effort and a lot of people want faster results but it’s important to know that exercise can help you reduce cellulite. Cardio exercises, in particular, can help you get rid of cellulite on thighs, backside, and elsewhere. Swimming is a great option for fighting cellulite, too.

Body Cleanses to Reduce Toxins

Cleansing the body and massage that stimulates cleansing of the lymphatic system (such as dry skin brushing) can help the body rid itself of cellulite.

Cellulite is, in essence, fat deposits. Many people benefit from Epsom salts soaks, too.

Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate and they can help cleanse your system.

Two cups of Epsom salts in a bath 2x a week can add up. Be sure you take about a 15-20 minute soak.

Cellulite Creams

There are some helpful creams on the market that show great results in many problem areas such as stretch marks and cellulite.

It’s smart to read product reviews for cellulite creams before investing as you can find out, through reviews, about whether or not these creams might be suited for you.

Cosmetic Treatments

How To Get Rid Of Cellulite On Thighs There are non-invasive type cosmetic treatments to reduce cellulite, such as body wraps but you can also have a more invasive type of therapy to help you, such as liposuction.

Liposuction can be expensive but it can be an effective way of how to get rid of cellulite on thighs and elsewhere.

Hydration

Drinking a lot of water can help cleanse the body of toxins, including fat.

This can be a great way of how to get rid of cellulite on thighs, stomach, and buttocks.

Diet

The food you eat can have a big impact on development of new cellulite.

Eating within a healthy calorie range with plenty of foods from all the food groups (except for junk food!) will help you.

Learning How To Get Rid Of Cellulite On Thighs and elsewhere will change your life. Do it!

Swiss Ball Exercises – A Great Overall Workout

by Weight Loss - January 12, 2012

Swiss Ball Exercises for a Great Overall Workout

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Swiss ball exercises offer great benefits for an effective workout. They help you target core muscles that are crucial for good posture and stability, particularly your abdominal muscles and lower back. Because the Swiss ball rolls, you have to continually adjust your body to maintain balance which in turn will improve your overall flexibility and balance.

To ensure you get the most out of your exercises with the Swiss ball, you must choose the correct size and determine that it is inflated properly. While ball packaging will provide guidelines according to height and weight, the best test is to sit on the ball fully inflated. If your thighs are parallel to the floor, it is the correct size for you. Proper inflation will ensure that whatever exercise you perform, whether they are for the upper body, lower body or abdominal area, will be effective and beneficial.

Examples of Upper Body and Back Exercises

Push-ups are one of the most effective Swiss ball exercises for the chest and arm muscles. Lie down horizontally with your hands on top of the ball shoulder width apart and your back and legs fully extended. Push up on the ball until your arms are extended and then slowly lower yourself back down.

Another variation of the push-up is to lie down with your thighs or feet resting on top of the ball, with your hands on the floor and legs extended. Push yourself up from the floor, extending your arms and then lower yourself back down. Repeat the move.

The alternating arm and leg extension Swiss ball move is great for your back. Lie on top of the ball on your belly and keep your balance with your hands and feet on the floor. Extend your right arm out and left leg up, hold for three seconds and then lower them. Repeat the move with alternating sides.

Examples of Lower Body and Abdominal Exercises

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One of the most popular Swiss ball exercises for the legs is the ball squat. Stoop with your back pressed into the ball, against a wall, and slowly lower yourself until your knees are at a 90 degree angle while yo

ur hands are behind your ears. Pause for a few seconds and then slow raise yourself up, while still bracing your back against the ball on the wall. Repeat the movement.

You can perform great ab workouts with the ball crunch exercise. Lie down on the Swiss ball with lower back pressed against it and your feet flat on the floor. Place your hands behind your ears and then roll your shoulder blades up until your abs engage, pause a moment and then return to your original position. Repeat the move.

There are many exercises that you can adapt into Swiss ball exercises – both with and without extra equipment like dumbbells and resistance bands. Using the ball, you can effectively target certain muscle groups to strengthen the areas that need the most work.

Anti Aging Tips – Live Better

by Weight Loss - January 12, 2012

Anti Aging Tips for a Better Life

Whether you’re in your teens or twenties or are in your 30’s, 40’s or a higher number (that need not be mentioned), it’s wise to be well-educated about anti aging tips. You want to look as young as possible for as long as possible and even more important than that, you want to feel as young as possible.. for as long as possible.

When people age well, they’re often not afraid to reveal their true age. In fact, they typically get to a point where they’re proud to reveal their real age. Here are five areas you’ll want to constantly consider in your search for knowledge with anti aging tips.

Anti Aging Tips – Food

Anti Aging Tips There are foods that contain great anti aging properties. Some foods, especially those with high antioxidant levels, are great for keeping you young and some can even reverse some damage to your body. Clean eating and maintaining your ideal weight and body mass index are all important. Here are five foods known for great anti aging properties:

• Berries
• Avocados
• Nuts
• Green tea
• Red wine

Do your best to choose foods that are known for anti aging properties and you’ll probably look and feel healthier.

Anti Aging Tips – Skincare

Anti Aging Tips - Skin Care Caring for your skin will help you slow the effects of aging. Some women go on a constant hunt for skincare products that promise the fountain of youth. Yes, there are some great products out there but the fact is that your skin is often a reflection of your inner health. Take good care of your body and your skin will often reflect this.

A good cleaning, exfoliation, and moisturizing routine will help you substantially. Reading tips about anti aging skincare will help.. particularly if you’re prone to certain problem skin areas like acne, stretch marks, eczema, and so on.

Anti Aging Tips – Vices and Lifestyle

Getting enough sleep, stopping smoking, making sure you’re drinking enough water, cutting back on drinking alcohol, and exercising regularly are all areas you’ll want to consider for helping you to age gracefully. If you’re not living a lifestyle that’s conducive to longevity now, start making changes today. Baby steps in areas of vices and lifestyle can add up quickly in helping you feel younger and you can find a lot of tips to help you with a specific area of concern.

Anti Aging Tips – Medical Care

Proactive medical care can keep you younger looking and younger feeling. Make sure that you are proactive with all areas of your health, particularly if you have a genetic predisposition to a disease or degenerative disorder. You can find many tips for reducing chances of illness and for advances in medicine that could help you stay healthier for longer. Sign up for newsletters and magazines related to living a healthy life so you can keep abreast of medical news that could affect you.

Anti Aging Tips – Attitude

There’s a saying about being as old as you feel. People in life who have a great attitude tend to be happiest. Happiness plays a big part in health and wellness. Having a strong support system around you, finding ways to minimise stress, and enjoying life all contribute to feeling healthy and youthful.

Continually seeking out health and anti aging tips will help you in every facet of your life. You may also like to read up on one of our recommended anti aging supplements: Protandim.

Low Calorie Diet – Tips for Success

by Weight Loss - January 11, 2012

Low Calorie Diet – A Good Way to reach your goal

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Lowering your calories can help you lose weight, that is absolutely certain. But be careful with a low calorie diet. Some people don’t do it carefully and put themselves at risk for health issues as well as failure..

Too low of a caloric intake and you’ll put your health at risk. You will feel faint and listless and not only is this unhealthy but this can lead to falling off the diet wagon as well as making it difficult to function. You want to lose weight but you don’t want to lose muscle mass.
Be sure you’re eating the right amount of food along with the right types of food.

Too low and you’ll slow down your metabolism. If your body thinks it’s starving it’ll start hoarding calories.

You need to be sure you’re getting a good mix of nutrients and a good ratio of carbohydrates and protein while you’re lowering your fat content. Don’t just pay attention to calorie counts. Look at nutritional value as well.

Tips for Low Calorie Diet Success

Count nutrients as well as calories. Eat healthful foods, make sure you’re getting enough protein, and track your calories to make sure you’re getting enough.

Find out what your basic calorie requirement is and compare it to what you eat on an average day. (Using a nutrition calculator can help) This can help you figure out how many calories to cut down.

Look at low calorie weight loss foods and swap some out for some of your usual staples.

Add exercise into your day. Low calorie diet foods can help you lose weight.

Eat breakfast. This will start your metabolism up and help your body burn calories as well as help regulate your appetite.

Drink plenty of water. In addition to your low calorie diet foods, drink water as it will help fill you up and doesn’t contain any calories.

Eat small and frequent meals that contain low calorie foods throughout the day.

Some people try crash dieting and go too low with their low calorie diet. This is like setting yourself up for failure. Most people should be eating at least 1200-1500 calories per day and your size and lifestyle might suggest a higher caloric intake than most.

There are plenty of low calorie diet foods out there that can help you succeed.

Be vigilant about making informed dieting choices so that you can increase your chances of success without jeopardizing your health.

How To Remove Stretch Marks

by Weight Loss - January 9, 2012

How To Remove Stretch Marks – Helpful Remedies

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There are a lot of potential causes of stretch marks and the top two are weight gain and pregnancy. There are quite a few options that can help you get rid of or, at the very least, dramatically diminish the look of stretch marks. Read on for some of the top recommendations how to remove stretch marks . You’ll find home remedies, commercial cream info, and a bit of info about cosmetic options..

Home Remedies

There are several remedies that people say bring about success in removing stretch marks. Some of those remedies include:

Exfoliation. Exfoliate with a good body scrub (or make your own with sugar and fruit, baking soda and water, or with Epsom salts and water). This will help you to slough away dead cells and reveal healthier, smoother skin.
Add vitamin C powder to a good quality skin lotion.
Coconut oil.
Vitamin E oil and / or cream.

Tip: If you’re pregnant, consider doing some of the above home remedies proactively. Many women swear by these methods as prevention of stretch marks.

Commercial Creams

There are a number of products like shea butter, cocoa butter, and vitamin E that are known for helping with stretch mark removal but you’ll also find specific commercial stretch mark creams on the market that are sold for the direct purposes of stretch marks. Many recommend daily use over a specified amount of time to help you get rid of and / or diminish the look of stretch marks. You’ll find a number of stretch mark creams available to choose from. Consider using well-reviewed options and /or options that list a guarantee.

Other Ways About How to Remove Stretch Marks

Some surgical and cosmetic methods exist as well.

Those include:

Laser Therapy – This repairs the skin. It can be quite expensive but is said, by many who have looked at multiple ways for how to remove stretch marks, to be effective.

Micro dermabrasion – This removes several of the top layers of skin in an area with a lot of stretch marks, revealing smoother skin underneath.

Tip: Find out How to Remove Stretch Marks Early!

The best approach for removing stretch marks is to work on them early. If they’re still red, they’ll be easier to remove than if they’re older and silvery in color. If you’ve got a combo of old and newer stretch marks, a multi-faceted approach of home remedies may help but you might be best off to examine one of the stretch mark creams, oils, or lotions on the market.

Check Weight Loss and other Wellness options.

Eating Healthy To Lose Weight

by Weight Loss - January 5, 2012

Eating Healthy To Lose Weight

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To begin with, eating healthier will help you lose weight. Therefore, the vast majority of people who eat healthy have healthy body mass indexes. Portion control and exercise blended with healthy eating is a very good approach to weight loss.

Here are 7 tips for eating healthy to lose weight..

1. Count The Calories

Count calories, you’ll have a better chance of weight loss. Be accountable for what you eat, you will stop and think about eating healthy.

2. Quality Instead Of Quantity

Make your calories actually count. A good way to do this is to track nutrition as well as caloric intake. Being nourished will reduce cravings and eating healthy to lose weight will often take time and effort at first but soon you’ll probably start craving the quality and realise just how much better eating healthy feels.

3. Cut The Condiments

A lot of healthy foods are less healthy by the time you’ve prepared them because they’ve been slathered in high calorie and low quality condiments. Use condiments sparingly. You don’t have to eat bland but find lower calorie and healthier ways to make sauces and dips.

4. Swap The Snacks

Crave crunch at night? Try raw veggies instead of potato chips. Reach for low fat frozen yogurt instead of ice cream. Grab a bowl of frozen grapes instead of chocolate chip cookies.

5. Try Healthy New Recipes

One of the challenges of eating healthy to lose weight is thinking up healthy foods. We often default to our old favourites because we don’t feel creative. Find some websites with healthy recipes. You can even join mailing lists and have them mailed to you. Try a healthy new recipe each week and it could be easier to eat healthy than you thought.

6. Be Prepared

Cook extra so you can reheat leftovers. Go to the grocery store with a well thought out list in hand. These things will contribute to being better able to avoid temptation. Don’t bring junk food into your pantry and it won’t be there to woo you away from healthy eating.

7. Brown Bag It

Bring healthy snacks with you. This is part of being prepared. A stash of low fat snacks at work, a snack or two stashed in the bag, and highly portable fresh fruit can all help you give the 3:pm chocolate bar a miss and / or avoid the box of donuts in the break room.

Yes, eating healthy to lose weight takes effort but the results can be overwhelmingly positive.

Upper Body Workout Routine for Beginners

by Weight Loss - January 4, 2012

Upper Body Workout Routine For Beginners

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If you have never really embarked on a fitness program before, creating a well-rounded upper body workout routine is important. Men and women may want different things out of their exercise plan but both will benefit from an effective workout for the chest, arms, shoulders and back.

Fat burning and toning or sculpting muscle in the upper body will help clothes fit better and create better posture, two elements that really boost confidence in appearances.

Things To Keep In Mind Before You Start

Resistance in the form of dumbbells will help you perform an upper body workout routine more effectively. As a beginner, it is important to choose dumbbells with just enough weight that will allow you to complete exercises as an entire set. Which is typically 10-16 repetitions of a movement.

Another thing to think about is a proper warm-up. You should never lift weights or exercise without warming up your muscles. Five to ten minutes of light cardio will warm up your muscles. When you start your fitness routine, you should perform one set of an exercise at a time before moving to the next. This is called a circuit and if you are a beginner, you may be able to complete only one circuit. As you progress, you can add more circuits.

Typical Upper Body Exercises

Push-ups are one of the most versatile exercises and should be included in your upper body workout routine. You can perform these on the floor, against a wall or stationary surface or even an exercise ball. Not only will push-ups work your upper arms and shoulders, they also engage your ab muscles.

A chest or bench press requires dumbbells and will work whether you lie on the floor, an exercise bench or even a Swiss ball. To perform this move, hold the weights over the chest with arms extended. Bend your elbows until they form the shape of a goal post, hold a moment and then extend your arms back up to complete one repetition.

Strengthening your back requires an exercise like the barbell row. You must bend your knees, tilting your torso about 45 degrees while holding the dumbbells in front of your thighs. Next, pull up the weights while keeping your arms near your body. Bring your elbows back while squeezing your shoulder blades together, and then lower them back down to complete one repetition.

There are a number of additional exercises to add to your upper body workout routine. These will thoroughly manipulate each muscle.

Bicep curls, front dumbbell raises, the overhead press, chest flies, wrist curls and kickbacks are just a few others that you can add to your fitness repertoire.