Archive for the ‘diet’ Category

Bad Eating Habits

Friday, September 11th, 2009

Here is my dilemma: Do I sit down at the table and eat or do I rush out the door with my meal in my hand? When I eat on the go my food doesn’t seem to digest very easily. I’ll actually get an upset stomach that feels like someone punched me in the gut. Do you suppose if we eat on the go our body’s metabolism speeds up and is able to burn more calories and fat? I don’t have the answer to that, but I do know if we want to burn fat we need to do things that help our metabolism speed up.

I know that if we don’t eat and try and starve ourselves our metabolism actually slows down because our body thinks we are starving. It then goes into protection mode and starts to conserve energy by slowing down. So, don’t skip meals if you can help it. In fact, they say if you eat several small meals a day, your metabolism will increase. The trick is never to let yourself feel hungry. You can increase your metabolism by exercise. When you exercise your body needs more energy, which means you need to eat more healthy foods.

Obesity

Monday, September 7th, 2009

Obesity, quite simply put, is an excess of body fat. Generally speaking, anyone who is 20% over the normal weight for his or her age, build, sex and height is considered obese. The most common causes of obesity are poor eating habits, lack of exercise and lack of a healthy diet. When there is an inadequate intake of certain essential nutrients, fat is not easily burned and can accumulate in the body. Traditionally, there are three basic approaches to weight management through nutritional supplementation.

The use of lipotropic vitamins, which have the ability to reduce cholesterol and fat are highly recommended. Next, the use of diuretic nutrients and herbs to reduce water retention. And last but not least, the use of natural appetite suppressants. If you want to have permanent weight loss, you need to have a healthy lifestyle. That means drinking more water, eating healthy foods, and exercise.

The Grapefruit Diet

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

One grapefruit gives you about 60% of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C, but the antioxidant power doesn’t end there: grapefruit also contains beta-carotene and lycopene (found in the pink and red grapefruit), as well as flavonoids, all of the which may protect against pancreatic, cervical, and bladder cancers. Grapefruit contains limonene, which is the citrus oil, which has been shown to help stop the growth of tumors.

The soluble fiber in the pith, called pectin, is an excellent heart protector. So when you are eating the fruit try and leave as much of the white pith as you can. It does taste quite bitter, but I say, if it’s healthy, eat it. I will sometime put a little agave nectar on the grapefruit slices to make it a little bit sweeter. I try and stay away from white sugar since that is not at all healthy for you. Another great source of vitamin C are guavas. They provide almost 300 percent of the RDA. Like grapefruit they contain a lot of fiber as well as beta-carotene.

The Perfect Body

Monday, August 31st, 2009

I want to reach the “perfect size”. But who says what the perfect size is? Maybe my body type is never going to be 34″ 24″ 32″. I mean, I don’t even know what the perfect size is? What I do know is that as long as I feel good, it doesn’t matter what my size is. I am here to tell you that exercise is the best thing out there for a number of reasons. You will obviously lose weight, have stronger muscles, shoot, you will even begin to breathe better. I love swimming and always have. This is a great way to build stamina, build muscles and feel great overall. The nice thing about swimming is that it doesn’t put a lot of pressure on your joints.

The fluidity of swimming strokes is so beneficial. I used to jog for exercise and noticed that my knees and ankles started getting sore. Running or jogging on the hard asphalt isn’t conducive to healthy joints. So my suggestion to you is join a health club and start swimming. If you can’t afford to join a gym then go to your local lake, if you have one near you and jump in and start swimming. Maybe your neighbor has a pool. Invite yourself over, bring some water and fresh fruit and ask your friend to join you in swimming some laps, a little friendly competition is a great way to push yourself.