Monday, April 30, 2012

salutary gravidity - A salutary Baby & Mum

Pregnancy is a time for excitement and joy for a mother-to-be. It is also the time of uncertainty. The key, to evade all pregnancy connected problems and complications, is to stay wholesome and fit. A wholesome pregnancy is attained by constant care and effort. It is foremost to result a regime consisting of wholesome and nutritious diet, enough sleep, exercise, and following extra precautions.

Healthy Diet

Health

Diet is the most foremost aspect of a wholesome pregnancy. The growing fetus draws the nourishment from mother's body for growth and development. A pregnant woman needs all vital nutrients like proteins, iron, calcium, folic acid, etc. For the wholesome growth of the baby.

The need for total amount of fat needed by the body also increases. An expecting woman needs up to 300 more fat per day than her usual requirement. She must consume a balanced diet consisting of foods which are high in nutritional value. She must not gain excess weight as that can make delivery difficult along with foremost to obesity in a few years from pregnancy. The tendency of the baby being overweight also increases, if the mom is too. Include lots of fluids in your diet in the form of pure water, hot and cold drinks, fruits, etc.

Foods To Be Avoided

There are some foods which should be avoided in excess or as a whole during pregnancy. The foods which can cause infection of the abdomen or diarrhea should be strictly avoided.

Some of these foods are:

o Non-pasteurized milk and cheese
o Fruit juices as these are in effect contaminated
o Salads and poultry products may be contaminated as well
o Raw sprouts
o Too much of white tuna
o determined fish such as shark, mackerel, swordfish, etc. Due to their high mercury content.

Safety & Hygiene

A pregnant woman is 'carrying' the baby, so she has to be very careful. She has to be right with her posture and avoid squatting, dancing, etc. during early pregnancy. Traveling long distances can exhaust her. Jerks and bumpy rides must be avoided at all costs.

You must take extra caution to avoid any kind of illness during pregnancy. As it is not recommended to take medicines, following good protection and hygiene habits is the best way to evade food borne illnesses. Fruits and vegetables must be washed completely before eating or cooking. Store cooked food in chillers and handle food hygienically. Wash and clean the cooking utensils with soap and hot water.

Oral Hygiene

Underlying tooth and gum problems generally covering during pregnancy. Hormonal changes regularly cause these troubles. Maintaining a quarterly dental hygiene can evade such problems. Gum disease is often connected with low birth weight so it is advisable to avoid that. However, if the need arises you can receive rehabilitation for dental problems during pregnancy.

In order to have a wholesome pregnancy, a woman needs to make a amount of changes in her daily disposition and lifestyle. She would be glad she made those changes when she welcomes her itsybitsy bundle of joy in her world.

salutary gravidity - A salutary Baby & Mum

Saturday, April 28, 2012

health Facts Of Avocado

Avocados or ordinarily known as "Butter Pear" because of its high fat content, is essentially high in monounsaturated fats which contradicts the old beliefs that the fruit contains lots of bad cholesterol. Avocado is one of the best fruit to eat with its many known health benefits.

Avocado fruit is a proven effective regimen in lowering blood cholesterol which derived from various scientific researches across the United States and was only discovered in the early decade of 2000 after the suspicion that it was bad for health. Additional studies also revealed that it can also effectively lower triglycerides, which is a big factor in many heart diseases.

Health

This wonderful fruits are also rich in beta-sitosterol, someone else substance that helps lower bad cholesterol. Together with this benefits, there is also good sign of level increase in high-density lipo protein (Hdl) or ordinarily known as good fats.

Below are some health benefits of eating avocados.

* Prostate cancer prevention

* Oral cancer prevention

* prevent breast cancer

* Protects the eyes

* Lowers blood cholesterol

* Heart friendly

* Avoid stroke

* Good source of glutathione

* Improved nutrient absorption

* Best source of vitamin E

If you haven't try avocado, you can do distinct variety of servings to enjoy this fruit. You can have it as a juice or use it as your usual spread in a bagel or bread. You can practically do anything with this fruit to better enjoy its health benefits.

So go to your local store now and look for avocados. You will not only like its taste but you will also make your body healthy and fit.

health Facts Of Avocado

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Best Honda Fit Features

Small fuel effective vehicles are slowly becoming one of the most beloved choices among American auto buyers today, and for good calculate too. When considering the emissions produced by larger cars and the unclear future of gas prices, selecting a smaller car seems to be a no brainer. In order to please the high standards and demands of automotive buyers the Honda Motor company started producing the Honda Fit model. The Fit is a highly successful car, so we are going to take a look at some of the cars best features that have made it a huge success.

The best highlight which de facto defines the fit is its small size and high fuel efficiency. The car gets on average 33 miles per gallon when driving on the freeway and 27 miles per gallon when driving nearby the city. These numbers are very high in comparison to other cars currently for sale in the United States. The high fuel efficiency will help owners save money on gas and lower the emissions they produce when driving nearby town.

Fitness

Another great highlight of the car is its impressively low starting price at ,100. This is expected when you consider the fact that most other fuel effective cars seem to have a large excellent attached to the symbol price because of their efficiency. Honda has managed to make their effective model at a low price that is spicy to everyone along with first time car buyers. You no longer have to pay a higher price just for efficiency. Honda has a great reputation for ability so you can rest assured that this is a top notch car as well.

Best Honda Fit Features

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

You Can Diminish the Damage Caused by Years of Smoking

Many population hesitate to quit smoking because they think the damage is already done to their body. Tobacco smoke does damage every body system, but it is never too late to reap the benefits of quitting.

Tobacco smoke contains a deadly compound of chemicals. We will look at just three of them. Most of the publicity is aimed at the addictive powers of nicotine. Nicotine is what causes the strong retirement symptoms for the first few days of stopping smoking. It also raises your blood pressure and your heart rate, putting you at increased risk for heart charge and stroke.

Health

Tar is a compound of chemicals that forms a sticky coating on the lining of your lungs. It also builds up in the lining of the throat and mouth. Tar is the main cancer-causing chemical in cigarette smoke. This explains why smokers are frequently diagnosed with lung, throat, and oral cancers.

Carbon monoxide is absorbed from your lungs, directly into the bloodstream. It blocks the oxygen carrying capacity of your red blood cells. That means less oxygen gets to your brain, your heart, and all your muscles. As the carbon monoxide diminishes the ready oxygen to your heart, the nicotine is manufacture it work harder by increasing the rate. This is the theorize that smoking is responsible for 25% of all fatal heart attacks.

Once the addiction to smoking is overcome, the health benefits of quitting smoking begin approximately immediately. Only 20 minutes after your last cigarette, your blood pressure and heart rate return to normal, and the circulation to your fingers and toes improves. Eight hours later, the carbon monoxide is gone from your body, and your oxygen level returns to normal. One day after your last cigarette, your opening of having a heart charge begins to decrease. Two days after quitting your sense of smell and taste begin to improve.

Over the next few weeks you'll find that walking becomes easier, coughing and shortness of breathe decreases, and your potential to fight off infection increases. You will also start to see the benefits in your skin, as wrinkles will be less descriptive due to the increased circulation and oxygen in your body. Your risk for developing gum disease is also decreasing.

One year after smoking, your risk of developing heart disease is one-half of when you were a smoker.

Five years after quitting your chances of developing mouth, throat and esophageal cancer are one-half of when you were a smoker.

All of these changes are the body's natural medical response. Here are a few uncomplicated things you can do to help your body's natural regeneration. You can begin a daily walking program. It doesn't have to be anyone strenuous, just adding any extra steps to your day will help. This will growth your circulation and help your body arrange of toxins that built up while you were a smoker. You can growth the number of pure water and fresh vegetable juice you consume. This will aid your own natural detoxification processes. growth the number of fresh vegetables like broccoli, spinach and sweet potatoes that you consume. These will supply your body with needed vitamins and fiber to rebuild and restore your cells. If you are in good physical shape, you might want to reconsider some of the accelerated toxin elimination methods. Taste your health expert to see what methods are convenient and safe for you.

Your body has an breathtaking potential to restore and rejuvenate itself, even after years of neglect and abuse. It is never too late to reap the benefits of quitting smoking.

You Can Diminish the Damage Caused by Years of Smoking

Sunday, April 22, 2012

When Does Your Pet Need general Pet condition Supplement?

Choosing to give your pet this general pet health supplement you can growth its immunity, as such resisting strongly in front of the diseases and its health can be improved and sustained in natural way. Throughout this description you will be introduced to the significance of giving your pet the nutritional supplements.

There are many holistic veterinarians to combat the trust that dieting and vaccination are good for the pet's wide health. They will affirm that these measures instead of bringing their healing effect can as well growth the risks of getting persisting sicknesses.

Health

In case you want to improve the pet's health there are two things that you need to do:

1. Change the pet's diet. Switch for instance to a pet food stylish by Aafco and belonging to a well known manufacturer. The certification means that the stock contains colse to 40 components required in order for the pet to have a salutary diet.

Avoid pet food that has fillers, preservatives or synthetic ingredients, all the elements that can have a negative impact on the pet's health. These sorts of synthetic ingredients have determined many veterinarians to reach to alternative solutions to insert holistic methods to allow your pet to stay healthy.

2. You can begin start giving your pet a general pet health supplement. In case there is a high capability supplements the pet's immunity can be boosted, the toxins can be flushed cleansing the pet's ideas as well as expanding the energy levels. More than this, the supplements can improve the functioning of the vital organs, all in one the wide health of your popular pet.

Experts in this field say that natural supplements are good options than the supplements containing animal products, and other substances that can create side effects. The general pet health supplements are the best when they have 100% natural herbal ingredients. These herbs can be Echinacea, Huang Qi, Mistletoe known to boost the immunity of the pet's system.

Now that all these have been said, and you have gathered abundance of knowledge in this regard, you can go for enhancing your pet's health feeding it with Aafco food of high quality. Then promenade into administering a small dose of general pet health supplement per day. In this way you make sure that your pet will stay salutary and will be again active for a long period of time.

When Does Your Pet Need general Pet condition Supplement?

Friday, April 20, 2012

Daily Exercise Workout, How to Maximize It

You're going for a daily exercise workout routine?

Daily instead of 3-4 or 4-5 times per week?

Exercise

Note: We shall refer the 3-4 or 4-5 times per week of exercise routine as the regular routine

"What? The regular procedure is already a "tall" order for me to get by ....The daily routine? Forget it! " You wail.

By the way, you aren't alone in this. There are lots of them like you who find it hard to exercise regularly.

Well, what I'm suggesting here is that if you can't seem to stay put in your current workouts with the regular routine either because you don't see results; push yourself too hard; get complacent after you've achieved your goals or you're simply impatient, then hitting it might solve your daily woes ...

How does this work?

Enactually boils down to the fact that this habit of a regular routine, you try to install is not conditioned deep enough to cause you to switch your behavior to be on "autopilot" mood. You need stronger reinforcement.

What if you exercise daily? Well, your mind would have patterned this behavior and because you do it everyday, you repeatedly condition this pattern until you become fully automatic. In this way, you find it easier to stick to the exercise habit.

So, if you find it tough to form the habit of doing regular exercise, why not try exercising daily instead? It could work for you-you could actually stick to this daily exercise habit.

One thing is that if you opt for the daily workout routine, you only need to do a 30-minute session of exercise (instead of the60-minute session if you were to workout regularly per week), to meet the exercise threshold of say 3-3.5 hours per week.

I want to say that if you seldom exercise or haven't been exercising at all, switching to a daily routine could be tough for you in the beginning.

The best way is don't try to do everything at once and to switch over to it gradually.

Here are 3 ways to help you out:

Reduce your exercise time from a 60-minute session to a 30-minute session and build this into your life Start on an easier peace and progress up gradually. Try to balance things up-not too easy that you feel that you aren't getting the results or too hard that you give up out of frustration "Find the right challenge level. Please don't go for inclines or hills if youhaven't been on the treadmill before or you haven't been exercising on it for a long time. Go flat first and once you've built up your strength, then only go for the more challenging levels

To get all round training for your muscles in terms of cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and definition, you could apportion and spread your exercises over the weekend like this:

Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays-30 minutes cardio exercise Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays-20-30 minutes weight training

Then on the following week, you just switch your cardio to Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays; weight training to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The idea is that you exercise the different muscle groups, not doing one, two or three particular musclesconsecutively without giving them rest.

Your muscles need rest in between to recover from the stress of exercise, to repair and rebuild the tissue.

Daily Exercise Workout, How to Maximize It

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Fitness Club - seeing the Good One

It's all the time a good idea to bind to a Fitness club since it's an effective motivator, problem is there are so many colse to that choosing one becomes difficult. First thing is to decree your priorities, needs, and goal. Then go out there, visit as many facilities as you can and consider these matters:

1. Location
The location is one of the most foremost factor to consider when looking for a fitness club. It has to be close to your home therefore not giving you any excuse not to attend it!

Fitness

2. The Instructors and Staff
Most of the fitness clubs offer a free session prior to taking a membership. This is a great way to see how you feel in the place and to check on the staff and instructors. Do you feel welcome, get a big smile and 'hello' from the staff when you set foot in the club? To feel unwelcome is quite a 'downer' and is sufficient to make you quit just after a few sessions.
Do you feel at ease with the instructors?
Have you checked on their certification and contact level?
Do they ask you the reasons behind your wanting to join the club?
Do they rate your corporal condition?
Do they look concerned in helping you reach your goal? Are they able to furnish permissible answers to questions you might ask?
Do they stick by your side whenever you need assistance?

3. Provided Services
Look at the programs, classes and services offered in the place. Are the programs adapted to your needs and requirements?
Do you like the group classes they offer?
Do they have a dietitian, a corporal therapist or other professionals to aid you?

4. Tool and Facilities
Is the gym Tool modern and in good condition?
Do they have a sufficient whole of similar machines so you will not have to wait in line to use the one you need?
Is the factory open at times you are most likely to attend?
Is the whole factory clean and well maintained?
Are the showers clean and private?
Do you feel accumulate leaving your personal belongings in lockers?

5. Communal Interaction
A fitness club is a great place to make new friends. Do you feel good surrounded by other members?

6. Class program
Are the classes you are concerned in available at the time you desire?

7. Cost
This is a very foremost factor to consider.
Can you afford the monthly membership fee and what does it cover?
Be aware of hidden fees. Make sure that programs, classes and other desired services you might be concerned in are covered in the monthly fee.

8. Longevity and endurance
How long has the club been in business?
Is it crowded at the time you attend? An empty place does not give a good impression on the lastingness of the place.

Get some feedback from other members. Most of all, don't pressure yourself. Take your time to decree which gym is most approved to your needs. Once you have made your choice, enjoy and make the most out of it.

Fitness Club - seeing the Good One

Monday, April 16, 2012

Fashionable Dog Jackets - Beat the Winter Chill

A snuggle and a cuddle will by all means; of course keep your miniature dog all warm, but they still need some comfortable dog clothes to wear just in case they resolve to play in the snow or prance in the rain.

Fortunately, there is fullness of dog apparel excellent for the winter months or colder weather that will add the words "glam" and "fashion" to your pooch's vocabulary. For the finest and the most remarkable pieces, take a look at the following list:

Fitness

1. Be a show stopper with a dress coat. The dress coat doesn't only cover a big portion of the dog's body, but will also make him fit for any type of runway, even if it's just a walk in the park. A lot of these dresses have faux fur collar to keep the neck and the face of the dog warm at all times.

2. Get into the mood of Christmas with a miniature Santa costume. Let the season be a lot merrier especially for your miniature one, as you let him sport that cute miniature Santa costume. To end the look, add some colorful red ribbons and great Christmas cheers.

3. Go checkered with plaid jackets. Plaid jackets are excellent for the more modern and cosmopolitan small dogs. They are stylish, yet classy and sophisticated. What's more, you can pick from the current season's fashion collection. They are made of much thicker materials in order to combat the sudden chills brought about by autumn and winter winds.

4. Have fun outdoors with waterproof jackets. A more developed and innovative type of dog jacket will be the waterproof coat. It prevents water from getting inside the jacket and into the fur of your small dog, allowing him to be warm at all types. It also usually comes with Lycra panels, so you can fit the jacket perfectly into the size of your small dog. Lastly, the insulation permits the body heat from being trapped into the belly and chest of your miniature pup.

5. Be very hip with hoodies and detachable caps. Dog hoodies are comfortable when out in the running field, and will also keep the cold away. What's more, they come in various designs and prints, allowing your dog to make his own fashion statement. To make them even more versatile, you can pick pieces with detachable hoods - two outfits in one!

6. Groove with the corduroy jackets. Bring back the vintage 70s with dog jackets made of corduroy. They are very soft to touch, comfortable to wear, and fits snuggly into the body of your small dog. What more can your miniature pup ask for?

Fashionable Dog Jackets - Beat the Winter Chill

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

A Penis Enlargement Exercise-What is it and Why Does it Work?

If like me you are one of those guys looking to increase the size of their penis you will know there is absolutely no shortage of options out there (I'm talking about pompous, pills, structures). Unfortunately, the fact is that these methods are designed to take your money first and enlarge your penis last.

Some of these methods even offer a 14 day money back guarantee. What use is that when we're talking about enlarging our little fella. Obviously this will take longer than 14 days.

Exercise

The reason some of these methods fail is because they are a quick fix. Most men are more than happy to believe that a magical appeal will new gadgets will result in her "superhuman" penis. Naturally, these same men are the ones that end up disappointed after a couple of weeks. The simplefact is that if you want something done right you have to do it yourself and put the effort in.

For a more permanent solution we have to look at methods that manipulate their resale is of the penis. The method that will encourage growth naturally. Penis exercises are a great example but to understand it fully one needs to understand the basic workings of the penis.

When a man becomes sexually aroused the three chambers of the penis pill with blood. When the chambers are full penis would have reached its maximum size. Therefore it makes sense to enlarge the same chambers in order to obtain bigger penis.

One of the main reasons many methods fail is because they only do one of two things:

--They only increase the blood flow to the penis.

--Or they only focus onaltering the tissue in one direction (this is what stretches and extenders do). This often results in skinny penis syndrome.

Penis enlargement exercises work by altering (gently) the very tissue is within. They do this using traction applied by your own hands. I have done this myself believe me it is totally painless ". After a few weeks I found that my penis was able to store more blood which in turn resulted in a larger more impressive erection.

It only took six weeks for me to gain almost 2 inches in length.

A Penis Enlargement Exercise-What is it and Why Does it Work?

Monday, April 9, 2012

vigor Training For Children

Although, adults and adolescents can perform needful improvements with force training, the idea of force training for children has been questioned. The consulation that led to the false trust that children couldn't advantage from training was based on two assumptions. First, it was thought about that sublime changes in muscular force and durability couldn't occur prior to puberty, due to lower levels of androgens. The other trust is that lifting weights can injure the epiphyte or the cartilaginous ends of the long bones because they are not fused together. The concern for musculoskeletal injury and epiphyseal fracture may seem reasonable; a child's skeleton is maturing and damage to the bones and epiphyses, or increase plates, is potentially serious. These fractures have been reported in children but supplementary contributing factors such as, improper technique, lack of supervision, immoderate loading, unsafe ballistic movements, steroid abuse and repetitive abuse have been to blame more often than not.

However, a growing body of scientific evidence in support of children's force training has risen in the past 15 years. The studies provide strong documentation that both male and female preadolescents can enhance force significantly, with well-designed resistance training programs. Muscle hypertrophy, or an increase in the cross-sectional area of the muscle, is not usually detected in children as a follow of training. Since muscle size is correlated with muscle strength, studies indicating no increase in muscle hypertrophy implied that force training was ineffective in younger participants. Gains from force training for preadolescents are generally attributed to neural adaptations and motor studying that consist of increased frequency of motor-unit firing, improvements to a motor-unit activation and synchronization and the reduction of inhibitory signals on motor units from the central nervous system. That's cool! When I was a kid they told me weights would stunt your growth, give you hemorrhoids and turn a woman into a man.

Fitness

It is now recommended that children can exercise with the minimum dosage of training that produces beneficial improvements in force and health without undue risk. Intensity should be moderate, almost 10-15 repetitions and that preadolescents avoid maximal lifts. A child can begin a program with one set of small or no weight and concentrate on studying the proper form. Once they execute the movement with proper form, a resistance can be premium that allows almost 10 repetitions to be performed. The amount of reps is then increased until 15 repetitions can be completed. As the child advances, 1-3 sets can be added as tolerated.

Basic Guidelines for Resistance exercise Progression in Children

Age (years)
Considerations

7 or younger

Introduce child to basic exercises with small or no weight; organize the conception of a training session; teach exercise techniques; progress from body weight calisthenics, partner exercises, and lightly resisted exercises; keep volume low.

8-10

Gradually increase the amount of exercises; convention exercise technique in all lifts; start gradual progressive loading of exercises; keep exercises simple; moderately increase training volume; thought about monitor toleration to the exercise stress.

11-13
Teach all basic exercise techniques; continue progressive loading of each exercise; emphasize exercise techniques; introduce more industrialized exercises with small or no resistance.

14-15
Progress to more industrialized youth programs in resistance exercise; add sport-specific components; emphasize techniques; increase volume.

16 or older
Move child to entry-level adult programs after all background knowledge has been mastered and a basic level of training touch has been gained

Graph taken from Wilmore/Costill Physiology of Sport and Exercise, Copyright 1999 by Human Kinetics

The significance of force training for children and adolescents is ultimately receiving more attention. Children and adolescents are experiencing the benefits of force training, contrary to the original trust that it is perilous and could prematurely stop the increase process. In fact, it is not dangerous. Resistance training can offer security against injury. Actually, most children perform some type of resistance training every day such as climbing, hopping, skipping, or jumping.

Children that are participating in organized sports or activities, such as soccer, small league baseball, basketball, gymnastics, or just playing at a park are ready for some type of force training. Did you know that while sports or activities children may encounter forces up to three times their body weight or more?

The goal of youth force training is ultimately to enhance muscular force at the same time programs should be effective, safe, and fun. Remember, force training is only one part of a well-rounded program that should also consist of agility, flexibility, and endurance. In expanding to expanding muscular strength, properly designed youth force training programs may also enhance motor skills, sport performance, and promote weight loss.

Strength gains in prepubescent children are mostly due to neurological factors, with small or no convert in the muscle size because children lack adequate levels of muscle construction hormones (growth hormone and testosterone). The likely determinants of force gains are improved motor skill coordination, increased motor unit activation, and other neurological adaptations.

A collection of training programs and equipment such as, weights, tubing, rehabilitation balls, body weight, and mini trampolines are safe and efficient for youth. Using distinct types of equipment allows programs to be fun, exciting, and prevents boredom.

So far, there is not a lot of investigate on the exact recommendations for sets and reps for children and adolescents, typically muscular durability rep ranges are used. Emphasis should be placed on proper technique and security not the amount of weight that can be lifted. (Review table)

A properly designed and supervised program will ensure a safe, efficient and fun training environment for children and adolescents.

vigor Training For Children

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Bigger Penis-How To Drastically Increase Your Penis Size In Only Weeks

A bigger penis is definitely something you can achieve. But you have to choose the right method for enlargement. You want to get a bigger penis by doing something that is safe, effective, and relatively inexpensive.

Based on the above criteria, we can automatically rule out pills, pumps, and surgery. Pills simply don't work like they are advertised to and pumps are too risky with only little gains.

Exercise

Surgery is too expensive and there is also a risk factor involved as well.

So that leaves us another option: exercises to get a bigger penis.

Is it possible?

Exercises to increase penis size are possible if you follow a good routine and are consistent with doing the exercises.

Here's how to exercise your penis for much larger size.

(While thereare different exercises, this one is the most effective.)
You take your thumb and forefinger of one hand and wrap it around the base of your penis (your penis should be partially erect and well lubricated). Next you gently stroke upwards to the head in one slow and controlled motion. Some guys prefer saying "boom" after each rep to get a good rhythm going. Each stroke should take about 2-3 seconds. Now you repeat the same with the other hand and continue alternating hands for a certain amount of sets and reps depending on which program you are following.

How long does it take and how big do I get?

The results take several weeks, but you could be looking at an added inch after 3-5 days. Most guys continue on to get larger, but an added inch is indeed a drastic gain insize and could easily put you into that "above average" category.

The exercises are The key to consistency, patience and following a good routine which has been proven effective.

Bigger Penis-How To Drastically Increase Your Penis Size In Only Weeks

Thursday, April 5, 2012

What the Heck is " Fitness " Anyways? -And How to Tell If You Are Getting Good Advice

To paraphrase the great satirist Mark Twain, "Get your facts right first, then you can distort the truth if you want." Such a funny yet so true statement-... especially when it comes to fitness, nutrition, exercise, and health information.

If you are reading this article, there is no doubt you have read many other articles concerning health and fitness, each claiming to know the "best" way to do gain muscle, or the smartest way to lose weight, or the best time to do "cardio", or which brand of whey protein is the most effective. Some of it is ok, some of it is garbage, but all of it is irrelevant until ...

Exercise

YOU DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT ...YOU DECIDE WHAT "FITNESS" OR "BEING HEALTHY" MEANS TO YOU!

Other people's opinions, especially doctors, trainers,coaches, online "experts", gym owners, your best friend, your family, or the government do not matter unless you make them matter.

You must decide and determine what a healthy and fit life looks like to you how far you want to go with it, be flexible to change as you learn more or change your desires, and then commit to the process of getting there. It really is that simple. But most people don't do this. And the problem is that ...

Advertisers for the food, fitness, and diet industries are very good at what they do ... they are good marketers and sales people and are trained to convince you that "their program" or "their product" is what you will need to be healthy or fit.

I know the diet industry is now a billion dollar industry, and the only thing fatter than theirbottom lines are American waistlines. And the health industry spends more money per person than any country in the world, and Americans are not even in the top 20 countries in the world healthy!

Once you determine what fitness means to you, then, and then only then, are you ready to figure out how to make it work.

AND THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU NEED TO DO IS ...ASK YOURSELF HOW TO DO IT! It almost makes me want to say, duh! But most adults don't do it ... they usually are asking questions (often internally) like:

Why do diets never work for me? Why can't I ever tone up my triceps? How come she can eat chocolate and stay trim, but whenever I do it goes straight to my hips? Why do my knees hurt all the time whenever I squat?

You see, if you ask the wrongquestions, you will set yourself up to get the wrong answers ... But the great thing is, if you ask yourself the right questions, you will get the RIGHT answers! Now check out these questions:

What can I do to make this new diet work for me? What am I willing to learn and do to ensure I am able to tone up my triceps? How can I eat chocolate and stay fit while enjoying the process? How can I find a similar person who has had knee problems and can now squat pain free?

Did you notice that changing what and how you ask questions makes all the difference in the world? One set of question presupposes certain things to be true that are not true and assumes that's the way it will always be ...The second set of questions changes your perspective and opens you up to new possibilities ofwhat can be.

How can you start to apply the art of question asking to your current health and fitness goals and pass on what you learn to another person?

How to Find Good Advice

1. Find someone who has done what you want to do, and had to go through several difficult challenges to get it accomplished.

If your goal is to lose weight and have a lot of energy, find someone who struggled with their weight for a long time, finally lost the weight, and has kept it off consistently. Do not talk to virgin sex counselors! In other words, there are plenty of attractive women in gyms who are into running or aerobics, etcetera ... but the reason they run or do aerobics is because they are thin to start with-it is easier to run when you weigh less. If your goal is to gain moremuscle, don't just assume the hulking dude at the bench press machine is the guy in the know. There is a good chance he got interested in weight training because he was naturally a big guy.

2. A person's advice should be simple and actually make common sense. Make sure they take a "whole body approach", rather than solve one problem while causing 5 other problems.

How many times do you see a commercial on television for some new drug to treat high cholesterol, or heart disease, or a liver ailment and at the end of the commercial they list a dozen or so "side effects" or potential problems with the drug?

In the same way, many people try to exercise their body by training each muscle with a different exercise, supposedly isolating the muscle to strengthen it more. Yet ourbodies are hard-wired to work interdependently, our emotions can control much of our physiology, and even what we eat and excrete (or don't) impacts our energy levels.

If a doctor or trainer, or coach seems only to be treating your symptoms, then this is bad advice-many times the symptom is actually your body repairing itself! One of the worse cases of this is when someone gets a fever and they are told to take medication to control or suppress the fever. The fever is your body's mechanism of raising your body temperature to speed up the flight of white blood cells to fight off the intruder! You keep the fever in check by supplying your body with liquid nutrition, not stopping the mechanism that is actually helping you!

What the Heck is " Fitness " Anyways? -And How to Tell If You Are Getting Good Advice

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

My Big Fat Greek Miracle-A Family Physician Steps on the Scales and Takes a Swing at Weight Loss

After a long day of seeing patients at the community health clinic, Dr. Nick Yphantides (who's Greek name is pronounced Eee-fahn-tee-dees) liked to reward himself by driving through his favorite fast-food joint, In-N-Out Burger, and ordering a 4 by 4, large fries, and a Coke.

The "4 by 4"--four hamburgers and four slices of American cheese stacked in a hamburger bun with all the sauce and trimmings, plus the deep-fried fries and 16-ounce Coke-self-contained 1.400 calories and 100 grams of fat, but that didn't bother Dr. Nick to twit. In his mind, the drive-through forays were just a snack, something to eat before dinner.

Health Care

He was hungry--and fat. Dr. Nick had been gaining weight ever since mounds of medical school when he fortified his late-night study sessions withDing-Dongs and heaping bowls of Rocky Road ice cream. During interminable forty-hour shifts as an intern, he kept up his energy by raiding the hospital canteen, where someone had set out a plate of sweets to be shared by the attending staff.

When he entered the public health arena as a family physician, he could be best described as "corpulent". He couldn't tell you how much he weighed, though, because he had stopped weighing himself. His expanding girth actually turned into an occupational blessing: his patients viewed Nick as a larger-than-life advocate for the poor, the big man with a big heart who cared for his community in a big way.

Overweight patients loved Dr. Nick because they knew they would receive tea and sympathy from someone who also shopped at Mr. Big and Tall.From a doctor's perspective, he was always gracious with people who struggled with their weight. More than a few times, he looked a heavyset woman or fat fellow in the eye and said with a smile, "Do as I say, not as I do."

Jolly St. Nick

Shortly after he turned 30 years of age, however, Dr. Nick began experiencing declining health and a host of unusual symptoms that led him to a doctor's examination room. A week later, he learned the bad news: he had testicular cancer.

The surgical excision of the right testes and aggressive radiation over 12 weeks saved his life--and caused some soul-searching. The way Nick saw it, he had dodged the bullet cancer, but there was another round in the chamber: his gargantuan weight had to be causing incredible amounts of stress on hisorgans-heart, lung and liver, as well as his skeletal frame. He wondered how much stress he was putting on his knees, which were bearing such a severe load.

One day, Nick stood on two scales--one for each foot. Each needle came to rest on "233 1/2." A fourth-grader could do the math Dr. Yphantides, Nick jolly the doc with the Santa Claus-like image, weighed in at a hefty 467 pounds. Nick was scared. His cancer had forced him to face his mortality, and now he was sure that each bite of an In-N-Out 4 x 4 one swallow brought him closer to the grave.

Something needed to be done. Nick was tired of dressing in XXXXL t-shirts and tent-sized gym pants, tired of booking uncrowded red-eye flights so that he wouldn't have to buy a second seat, tired of staring at his monstrous gawkersmidsection in restaurants. Ahead of him was a future filled with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and debilitating diabetes--unless he made a radical lifestyle change and lost a ton of weight. Well, maybe not a ton, but 200 pounds would be a good start, he figured.

In April 2000, Nick gave a one-year notice that he would be stepping down and leaving the Escondido Community Health Center. Then he began formulating a game plan. Since he wasn't going to work, he needed something to do--a diversion to keep his mind off being so hungry. That's it! Nick loved baseball (or was it those ballpark franks?), so he decided to drive around the country and visit all 30 major league ballparks and watch baseball games. He calculated that he had been consuming 5.600 calories a day to maintainhis weight. To lose weight slowly but surely, he would embark on a liquid fast--drinking a protein supplement offering just 800 calories a day.

On April 1, 2001, Nick sailed off in a used RV--a vehicle he christened the USS Spirit of Reduction--with the intention of becoming half the man he used to be. His father rode shotgun. Going cold turkey from food gave Nick the shakes, just like any junkie coming down off a high. "I was so hungry that I would have eaten a cigarette butt dipped in mustard," he said.

Two cities known for their gastronomical delights were particularly painful to visit: Kansas City, for its butter-fried steaks; and New Orleans, for its Cajun-style fish and shrimp. At times the only thing that kept him going, he said, was knowing that hundreds of peopleback home had pledged varying amounts of money for every pound he lost--money that would go to the Escondido Community Health Center and the California Center for the Arts. That unique accountability contributed toward helping Nick accomplish the goal he set out for.

Battling His Lowest Point

At first, the pounds melted off Dr. Nick like a snowman standing in the Sahara desert--seventeen pounds in the first week. After that initial surge of encouragement, his weight loss went from a gusher to a steady drip-drip as he continued to drink protein shakes flavored with diet root beers and diet Orange Crush soft drinks. In Seattle on July 2, he had his weekly weigh-ins under a doctor's supervision. That day, he learned that he had lost 103 pounds in three months, or an average of1.1 pounds per day.
While that was a lot of weight, it didn't feel like much to him. When he looked in a mirror, he couldn't even detect a difference in his appearance. He was still wearing the same "Dr. Nick" t-shirts that he wore Opening Day at Dodger Stadium. He had to admit they were a bit looser, but all he saw in the mirror was the same old mound of human flesh. Nick fell into a funk.
On July 4, he found himself in Sitka, Alaska, where he had planned a daylong fishing trip with his brother John and two friends. He woke up at 4:30 am feeling sorry for himself. He resented skinny people. Why were they thin and he was fat? What had he done to deserve his fate? Why did he feel such despair?

With a dark cloud following him, Nick and his brothers "boarded a fishing boat atdawn to fish for salmon and halibut. After catching their limits of salmon inside the bay, the boat we motored into deeper waters to catch the really big fish--Alaskan halibut. Leaving the safety of the bay, Nick thought that day, was a metaphor for what he was going through with his weight-loss odyssey. His weight had become such a monumental dilemma in his life that he had to leave the comfort of the bay and drive toward deep, choppy waters to seek the big catch of a healthy existence.

No one caught a big one until late in the afternoon, when ... Nick had a strike! His rod bounced off the railing, but he held on tight. He yanked with all his strength and cranked the reel as fast as he could. For the next forty-five minutes, he kept dipping the rod and reeling, dipping andreeling.

Finally, the captain gaffed the monster halibut and helped Nick pull it onto the boat. Nick, his last reserves of energy spent, leaned against the rail, wowed by the excitement of catching a fish that size.

The captain weighed the fish, which was nearly as tall as Nick- -59 inches. "It's 103 pounds," he announced.

Nick was stunned. "What did you say?"

"One hundred and three pounds."

The weight of that Alaskan halibut- -103 pounds--exactly matched the weight Dr. Nick had lost since April 1. Everything came together for him at that moment because something unspeakable had occurred. To Nick, it was a confirmation that he was on the right track, that he was right where he needed to be in his weight-loss journey.

As pictures were snapped, he feltthe same sense of awe that he felt when he stood in front of Michelangelo's David and the Sistine Chapel on a trip to Italy. He couldn't even articulate what was going through his mind, but it was a jumble of bewilderment, love, confirmation and validation. He knew he had been lifted from the depths of despair. This experience became the deciding moment of his trip, but more than that, the defining moment of his life.

Gobble, Gobble

When Nick returned home in time for Thanksgiving, his mother was shocked by his appearance. Some of his nieces and nephews didn't even recognize him. Nick, now weighing 269 pounds, had shed nearly 200 pounds. He ate his first solid food in nearly eight months on Thanksgiving Day: some vegetables and a baked potato.

He continued to lose weightas he returned to solid food and his medical practice. Nick reached his low-water mark the following summer, when he weighed a svelte 197. The end of his long weight-loss trip was just a beginning, Nick learned. Now he would have to work at keeping the pounds off.

Today, Nick weighs 220 pounds, and he has remained steady at that weight for three years. Everywhere he goes to tell his story, people clamor for advice how they can lose weight as well.

In response, Dr. Nick developed the following bedrock principles:

Dr. Nick's Seven Pillars of Weight Loss

I. Change the way you see before you change the way you look.

Fundamental to addressing one's health issues is addressing the causes. Permanent weight loss is impossible without a permanent lifestylechange.

II. Slash your calories by eating for the right reasons.

Why we eat and how we eat are more important than what we eat. Learning why and when to eat and how to stop eating at the right time is key.

III. Fill your tank with the right amount of the right foods.

Diets do not work. Eating the right foods the right way does.

IV. Burn calories like never before.

Weight reduction and maintenance are impossible without sustained and vigorous physical exertion. The muscles of your body are designed to be used.

V. Plan a radical sabbatical suggestions.

There is magic in combining doing something you love with something that is great for your health. Dr. Nick calls it the "distraction from deprivation."

VI. don't travel alone.

The path to ahealthy life cannot be accomplished alone. Being accountable to others and putting it on the line with others are essential.

VII. Realize that your weight-loss journey is for a lifetime.

Losing the weight is not the real issue. Keeping it off and never finding it again.

"What happened to me was a big fat Greek miracle," Nick says. "It was as though I'd been born again and given back my life. There's no other way to explain it, except to say that what happened to me happened by the grace of God.

"Please consider your future. Do something before it's too late. Don't wait until tomorrow, because you can change the way you see so you can change the way you look. "

My Big Fat Greek Miracle-A Family Physician Steps on the Scales and Takes a Swing at Weight Loss

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Now You Too Can Have the Look You Want with Cheap Roman Blinds

If you are seeing for cheap roman blinds or shades, there nothing else but are great bargains out there you just need to know where to find them. You may have thought you would have to pay a fortune to get this great look, but to the diligent shopper goes the spoils, great seeing windows for limited money.

Roman shades and blinds are the in thing these days, and since they are so beautiful, it definitely is not hard to see why. So, if you are seeing for a great deal on your roman blinds and shades, here are a few ideas.

Fitness

Cheap institution Made Roman Shades.

While you could make your roman shades on your own, lets face it, who today has the time or patience to make our own. Why not let your finger do the clicking and find a great buy on institution made roman shades on line. It's a lot more fun and user friendly than making your own.

Custom made roman shades are a great idea because they are institution made to fit any window in your home. And the best part is they are guaranteed to fit. Their not to big or too little, you don't need to compromise your idea of fit. They fit.

Great Choices of Colors and Fabrics.

When you have cheap roman shades institution made for your home, you have many options to select from. There are many great choices of colors and fabrics, and you are sure to find the fabric and color options that will look great in your home. Stripes, prints and solids in every color imaginable, just waiting to bring the best out in your windows.

The Results of Using Cheap Roman Shades.

Once you get your new roman shades installed so the whole world can see you are going to have friends and family making over your gorgeous new shades. Your family will want to request all their friends over to show off the gorgeous new shades.

More than likely they will think you spent big money, and you can just smile to yourself knowing what a great deal that you got on them.

Just think of all the things you can do with that money you saved. Maybe invest in a manicure, buy that new dress you'you've been eying for weeks, or even put the money in your savings catalogue for next years' vacation. No doubt your spouse will also be thrilled at how much money you saved as well.

So, as you can see, you don't have to spend a fortune to get the roman shades and blinds you want. You can have gorgeous cheap roman blinds, and you won't have to stretch your budget to get them.

Now You Too Can Have the Look You Want with Cheap Roman Blinds