10 Foods for Fabulous ABS

 1 — Yogurt is magic for the tum. Nutritionist Rania Batayneh recommends yogurt, “The probiotic bacteria in most yogurts help keep your digestive system healthy, which translates into a lower incidence of gas, bloating, and constipation, which can keep your tummy looking flat." Ideally go for the plain-flavoured yogurts, that don’t contain added sugars.

Easy Weight Loss

Weight - Loss The Easy Way -
By: David Chandler
With weight loss comes a lot of dedication and change of lifestyle. We can start with exercise, which is vital to all weight loss programs. A healthy body is the result of proper nutrition combined with a regular pattern of physical exercise. You weight loss will depend on how you intend to make it happen. It does not have to be difficult and you do not have to take weight loss supplements or pills.

Quick Weight Loss - Tips

- Quick Weight Loss Tips -
By Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, Ph.D, ND, DACBN

There are thousands of diet book and diet gurus offering a myriad of ideas for quick weight loss. Although some of these plans may provide short-term results, gimmicks and gadgets do not add up to a permanent weight loss solution. The quickest way to lose weight is to have patience, eat healthy, use a weight management supplement such as Slimirex, and incorporate a exercise plan into your daily activities.

Eat Healthy -

The body needs over forty different vitamins and minerals each day in order to function properly and maintain overall good health. Eating healthy not only allows you to control your portions and lose weight, but it also helps ensure that you get the nutrients your body needs to stay strong. Many people think that eating healthy means skipping meals and eating mostly bland, tasteless foods. But this is not true. Healthy eating simply means following two basic steps: variety and moderation.

Variety -

A healthy diet is a well-balanced one, and one that supplies ample amounts of raw fruits, vegetables, whole grains and protein. Eating a variety of foods ensures that you get a good dose of the many different nutrients your body needs, and it keeps your diet interesting and easier to follow. There are so many wonderful foods to choose from that it seems silly for dieters to limit themselves to low-fat cottage cheese and broccoli. Try to range from different fruits, veggies, beans, grains, range fed organic poultry, seafood, and range fed organic meats, to make your diet delicious and nutritious.

Moderation -

Moderating the foods you eat every day is a critical step to weight loss. It does not mean you should starve yourself or even go hungry. But it does mean that you should control the size of the portions you choose to eat. Eating several smaller meals throughout the day (breakfast, mid morning snack ,lunch, mid afternoon snack and dinner)will help your stomach feel fuller with less food and it will ensure that you are never hungry. It's also important to remember that there are no particularly bad foods, but there are foods that you should eat or drink in smaller amounts than others.

Increase Metabolism -

Eating raw fruit only for breakfast is the best way to fuel your body and increase your metabolism. Skipping breakfast or eating breakfast later in the morning will force your metabolism to slow down until the system receives some fuel. You can also increase your metabolism by eating four to six smaller meals throughout the day to keep the body going. Don't try to starve yourself or ignore your hunger, as this will slow down your metabolism in a hurry. If you feel hungry, your body is trying to tell you that it needs food to recharge. Energy foods such as whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables stimulate the metabolism faster than high fat or high protein foods. Also, incorporate exercise into your day to rev up your metabolism. In addition to a simple workout routine, you can park further away from your office or the grocery store, and walk the distance. Take your dog for a walk when you get home. Use the stairs instead of the elevator whenever possible, and do more activities around the house to burn calories and increase your metabolism. Also, be sure to chew every bite of food at least 25 times before swallowing.

Exercise -

Daily exercise is an essential component in achieving quick weight loss results. Exercise stimulates the metabolism and helps to burn calories. Long-term studies have shown that people who have lost weight and kept it off for the long-term, have found a way to incorporate exercise into their daily activities. Different exercises are better for different people, and some burn more calories than others. Here's a look at some common exercise routines and the calories they burn per hour. Choose an exercise routine that works best for you and try a few different exercises each week for the quickest weight loss results.

Bicycling (6mph) 240
Bicycling (12mph) 410
Running (5.5mph) 740
Running (7mph) 920
Jumping Rope 500
Swimming (25yds/minute) 275
Swimming (50yds/minute) 500
Tennis 400
Walking (2mph) 240
Walking (3mph) 320

Quick Weight Loss Tips -

• Don't focus on pounds as much as you focus on eating sensibly. Weigh yourself once a week to keep track of your progress, but don't go overboard.
• Don't allow your weight loss program to become stressful. Stress causes you to lose hope and overeat as compensation.
• Keep your plan simple so that you will be sure to achieve quick and permanent weight loss results.
• Remember, we all have good days and bad days. Sometimes, we may even have a string of bad days where temptation and stress get the best of us. The important thing is to remember not to panic or feel guilty. Just get yourself back on track as soon as possible. [Circulated by Article Emporium]

Back Pain Exercise

Most of us sit in a single position for the whole day in the office, and in the morning or evening drive all the way to our places. As a result at night, while going to bed, many of us experience a slight pain in the back.

Don't ignore it at all... this may lead to many further diseases and disabilities as well.
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Before beginning any exercise program, you should discuss the program with your doctor and follow the doctor's advice. It is important to exercise regularly, every other day. Before exercising you should warm up with slow, rhythmic exercises; if you haven't exercised in some time, you can warm up by walking.

Inhale deeply before each repetition of an exercise and exhale when performing each repetition. Exercises to strengthen your muscles.

A typical response to experiencing back pain is to take it easy - either staying in bed or at least stopping any activity that is at all strenuous. While this approach is understandable and may even be recommended in the short term, when done for more than a day or two it can actually undermine healing. Instead, active forms of exercise are almost always necessary to rehabilitate the spine and help alleviate back pain.

Practical Point -

For most back conditions, active exercise and stretching - not rest - is typically necessary to help reduce pain and encourage healing. To be effective, a patient’s back pain exercise program should be comprehensive, working the whole body even if it targets the back. A balanced workout should include a combination of stretching, strengthening, and low impact aerobic conditioning.

Stretching as part of a back pain exercise routine -

Almost everyone can benefit from stretching the soft tissues - the muscles, ligaments and tendons - in the back and around the spine. The spinal column and its contiguous muscles, ligaments and tendons are all designed to move, and reduced motion can accentuate back pain. Stretching different muscles and ligaments is essential for gaining and maintaining mobility and flexibility. Patients with chronic back pain may find it takes weeks or months of stretching to mobilize the spine and soft tissues, but will find that meaningful and sustained relief of low back pain typically follows the increase in motion.

The most important muscles to target are -

• Hamstrings, in the back of the leg, to aid correct posture while sitting and standing, and support the gluteus muscles in the buttocks and the hip flexors and minimize stress on the low back.
• Piriformis, which run from the back of the femur (thigh bone) to the sacrum (the base of the spine). When tight, this muscle can cause sciatica-like pain, and has been linked to sacroiliac joint dysfunction.
• Psoas Major which is attached to the front portion of the lower spine and can greatly limit low back mobility if tight, making it hard to stand for extended periods or kneel on both knees.
• Gluteus muscles of the buttocks which support hip flexibility as well as the pelvis.

Stretching should be done daily, perhaps several times a day, to ensure flexibility. See also Stretching for back pain relief.

Strengthening exercises to build muscle support -

Developing strong core muscles in the abdomen, lower back and gluteus is critical to decreasing the stress placed upon the lower back. Many different exercises can contribute to overall strengthening of these core muscles, and two types of exercise programs are often ecommended for back pain patients are:

• Dynamic lumbar stabilization. This back exercise is designed to help patients find their "neutral" spine, which is the position that allows the patient to feel the least discomfort. The back muscles are then exercised to teach the spine how to stay in this position and help the patient be aware of the position.
  
• McKenzie extension exercises. These back exercises focus on extending the spine to reduce the pressure on, and the pain generated from, a herniated or degenerating disc. Pain relief can be felt in both the back and the leg, and when the pain is very acute the exercises may be done several times a day.
  
• Both of these types of exercises are best learned working with a trained physical therapist, although with practice patients can do the exercises by themselves. See also Strengthening and back pain exercises.

Low impact aerobic exercise -

Engaging in a low-impact cardio exercise program will aid rehabilitation and maintain everyday functionality. While some back pain patients can engage in running and other types of cardio exercise, for many with serious back pain it is more realistic and comfortable to engage in low impact cardio conditioning that is easy on the joints and gentle on the back.
There are several types of aerobic exercise that are gentle on the back and, when done on a regular basis, highly effective in providing conditioning:

• Walking. In general, walking is very gentle on the back, and walking two to three miles three times per week is very helpful for patients.
  
• Biking or cross-training. Bicycling or using an elliptical cross-trainer are also effective ways to exercise without putting stress on the back.
  
• Water therapy. Exercising in the water provides weightless conditioning, which minimizes stress on the back and joints throughout the body.

Most physicians recommend at least 20 to 30 minutes of cardio exercise every other day to keep in shape. Patients could alternate days of cardio and strength conditioning to get a daily dose of exercise and allow muscle groups time to rest. See also Low impact aerobic exercise.
[By Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., MD ]

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Don't panic, just do the following exercise for min 10 minutes every morning and shoot off the back pain.

Enjoy a healthy living.

Workout Tips

10 Basic Workout Tips for Men to get & gain muscle quickly -

Don't be surprised if you feel more like Mr. Magoo than Mr. Universe the first time you pick up a dumbbell. Learning proper technique can be somewhat involved, considering that each exercise movement has its own set of quirks.

Having said that, don't mistake "somewhat involved" for rocket science. Just as you can trade stocks profitably without a broker if you're willing to educate yourself beforehand (a lengthy education, mind you), you can learn how to correctly perform exercises from any number of sources, including a knowledgeable training partner, a group seminar or a reputable media source-like, ahem, Whole Fitness. (Hell, even most machines in the gym come with written instructions that Magoo himself couldn't bungle.)

Well-designed training programs that arrange those exercises into a coherent, comprehensive system are equally accessible. But whether you decide to do it yourself or to enlist the services of a certified personal trainer, the following tips apply to virtually everyone, neophytes and grizzled veterans alike.

The Tips -

1. Don't be a workoutaholic. Many beginners train feverishly under the assumption that more is better, especially when results first appear. However, you're much better off easing into the process. "At first, your muscles aren't ready to do a lot more than they were doing before--they're ready to do a little more," says Richard Cotton, M.A., chief exercise physiologist with First Fitness Inc. in Salt Lake City and a spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise. "You increase your chances of success by moderating your activity a little bit. The morning after a workout, you want to feel like you trained, but you don't want to have to crawl to the bathroom."
2. The best rep range for gaining size is eight to 20. "The optimum results for muscle growth come from lifting a weight that's between 60 percent and 80 percent of what you could lift for one, and only one, rep," says Tudor Bompa, Ph.D., professor of theories of training at York University in Toronto. "At 80 percent, the average person can do eight to 10 reps; at 60 percent, he can do 15 to 20. Most people say anywhere from six to 12 reps is best for muscle growth, but six would be more than 80 percent."
3. The two most important times to eat are when you wake up and after you train. You need fuel in your tank to train hard, and if you don't fill 'er up at breakfast, you'll be running on fumes later. "Make sure the majority of your breakfast consists of carbs, with some protein, maybe in the form of egg whites, thrown in for good measure," says Jacqueline R. Berning, Ph.D., R.D., an assistant professor at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. "Low-fat yogurt, or milk and cereal, would also fit the bill." It's equally critical to refuel immediately after you train, when your body's cells are most receptive to replenishing the energy they just spent. A premade drink containing both carbs and protein will satisfy immediate postworkout needs in the short run. A more substantial meal, however, consisting of complex carbs and complete protein (chicken breast contains a better amino-acid profile than egg whites, for example) should be consumed within 90 minutes of a workout.
4. Difficult exercises are good for you, so resist the temptation to avoid them. Most exercises can be classified as either single-joint or multijoint movements. The former includes the barbell curl, in which only your elbow joints move. Along with the deadlift and the bench press, the latter includes the squat, during which your ankles, knees and hips are all being extended and flexed, while your upper body works hard to keep the load stable. Multijoint movements are the more difficult of the two types to master, but it's well worth the effort to learn their proper execution, since they result in maximum muscle growth of more complex muscle groups like the chest or the legs. "People often get too specific in their exercise selection," says Thomas M. McLaughlin, Ph.D., ceo of Biomechanics Inc. in Marietta, Ga. "At some point, you really need to do big multijoint exercises that involve large amounts of muscle mass."
5. Unless it is the primary focus of your training, do cardio after, not before, you lift weights. Or do it during another part of the day, or better still, on a separate day. "If you perform aerobic-type exercise first, you'll be fatigued for your weight training," says Cotton. "As a general rule, strength training has less of an impact on cardio than cardio has on strength training."
6. Stretch before you train, and warm up before you stretch. Don't jump right into your weight-training session. First, do about 10 minutes of low-intensity exercise on a stationary bike or a treadmill. "To decrease the chance of injury, you need to elevate your body temperature before you do anything more intense," says Michael J. Alter, M.S., author of Sports Stretch. Once your tissues are warm, stretch them for another five to 10 minutes, focusing your effort on those body parts you plan to train. Alter also recommends stretching the body part, or parts, being worked for 15 to 20 seconds after every set. And don't jump right out of your training mode. Follow with a brief cool-down in which you basically just keep moving for five minutes or so, with another five to 10 minutes of stretching.
7. Recovery is just as important as training. When you lift weights, you're actually tearing down muscle fibers. It's only after you've completed your workout that your muscle tissues begin the rebuilding process. To allow that process to unfold properly, give your body adequate downtime in between workouts. As a beginner, don't lift more than three or four times a week, never work the same muscle group on consecutive days, and never train a muscle group that's still sore from a prior workout. For optimal results, you also need to maintain a proper nutrition program, which calls for five or six nutrient-packed small meals a day (four, at minimum). Finally, you need to get enough shut-eye--at least eight hours of it. Adequate sleep keeps you mentally and physically sharp for your workouts, and the act of slumber itself accommodates the release of growth-inducing hormones.
8. Don't do the same workout over and over. Your body only changes when you force it to, and it's remarkably quick to adapt to new stimuli. If you repeat the same workout every training session even for a month, your body can probably handle it without producing an adaptive response. If you feel like your progress has reached a plateau, that's probably what's happening. The best way to avoid plateaus is by periodizing your training, which simply means arranging it according to discrete phases designed to achieve different, albeit related, goals, including muscle growth, strength and definition. That's also the best way to avoid overtraining.
9. Most guys need to consume an additional 2,500 to 3,500 calories a week to gain one pound of muscle each week. You can pump iron until you're blue in the face, but if you don't augment your training efforts with enough food and fluid, the laws of human biology and simple mathematics dictate that you won't get any bigger. "When it comes to gaining muscle, the most important thing is eating enough calories to fuel both your exercise and the metabolic processes needed to build muscle," says Susan M. Kleiner, Ph.D., R.D., author of Power Eating. "Most guys who have trouble gaining weight and strength simply aren't eating enough."
10. Women seem to dig men who work out. Sports psychologists could speak on this topic at length, and relevant studies doubtless have been performed, but we know this statement is true because Karen McDougal tells us it is. "Being in shape definitely gives men that extra sex appeal," says Playboy's 1998 Playmate of the Year. "It's the confidence you show that actually leads to the sex appeal, I think. If you're not confident and you don't feel good about yourself, why would someone else be attracted to you? Working out leads to self-confidence, which leads to sex appeal."