Health Magazine

The Superset Advantage

admin — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:00:00 +0000

Supersets give you the most bang for the buck. They give you more muscle in less time, and don’t bore you from how long it takes to actually do the exercises.

If you’re into body building at all, you’ll know the basics of what a Superset is. It’s when you switch between different exercises with a little rest between them, instead of doing all your sets for one exercise before going to the next one on the list.

Now let’s figure out a superset to build bigger muscles.

There are 2 kinds of muscle fibers. The smaller ones are “slow-twitch” fibers wich are mostly used for endurance. The bigger ” fast-twitch ” fibers are mostly used when strenght is required. But both of these can get bigger, so if you want the biggest muscles possible, you’ll have to work both. Here’s what you’ll do:

- Do 10 reps of one exercise
- Do 20 reps of a different exercise for the same muscle without rest.
- Rest 1 min.
- Repeat 2-3 times.

Here’s how one would go about using supersets to build strength and power. But you have to know some things first. Strenght and power, aren’t the same thing. Strenght is the amount of weight you can move, at any speed. Power, is your ability to move an inanimate object. Or the speed at wich you can lift a certain amount of weight, if you will. Both are important, especially if you play sports. Here’s how you train for strength/power.

- Do 5 reps of a heavy-duty strenght exercise
- Doe 10 reps of a power exercise ( something where you can move your body as fast as possible with a lighter weight. )

You can also use supersets for fat-loss purposes of course. Supersets help this even more than normal body building because it requires much more energy, spending all those extra calories. Here’s the plan:

- Do 10 reps of one exercise for your lower body
- Without resting, do 10 reps of upper body exercise.
- Make sure both exercises target the largest muscle groups possible.
- Rest 60 secs.
- Repeat 4 times.

With supersets, you’ll be in and out of the gym before you know it and more pumped up than ever.

http://www.thebestmanyoucanbe.com

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Six Simple Strategies to Turn Your Walks into Workouts

admin — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:00:00 +0000

If You are already fitness walking several times a week ? great! Now its time to step it up a bit. Here are 6 ways to turn your walks into workouts. They involve adding a little creativity but with these few simple techniques you can maximize the benefits of your walk and get more of an overall body workout.

Swing it!

Have you ever made fun of the walkers who swing their arms? Well they know something you don’t. This is the best way to increase the effectiveness of your workout. Bend your arms at your elbow 90 degrees as you walk. Swinging your arms will quicken your pace, raise your heart rate and help you to burn 5 to 10 percent more calories. Continue walking at a quick pace with your arms swinging naturally by your side. As you walk gradually bend them into the 90 degree angle. Keep a natural rhythm to your swing. Walking with bent arms will help with your gait, balance, and propulsion.”

Interval walking

Breaking up your walk into slow and fast segments is a great way to increase your stamina, build muscle and burn more calories. “Vary the pace of your walk so that you have a phase of working hard (up to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate) followed by a recovery phase where you stroll slowly bringing your heart rate down,” Head for the hills

Rough it!

If you normally walk circuit on sidewalks or paved road shoulders, it might be time to find a trail. “Walking on a rough but level track requires 50 percent more energy than walking on a paved road,” Find a local park that has hiking trails or maybe there is a hiking club in your area that you can join. Look in the phone book or on the internet under volksmarching.

Circuit walking

A combination of walking and strength training. This may seem a little foreign at first but give it a try and you’ll find that time go by quickly and you’ll become stronger for it. Walk for a while then stop and do an exercise like sit ups or push ups on a park bench or even jumping jacks, just some exercise other than walking. This will shock your body into a new level of fitness.

Enter an event

Sign up for a 5K or 10K walking event or even walk for a cause, Breast Cancer or pregnancy center. Set a goal and train for that goal like an athlete. This will keep you motivated and push you towards the next level of fitness walking.

Reward yourself with a good pair of walking shoes.

Tina Seay is the author and webdesigner of http://www.LearnSomethingToday.com Her goal is to help others achieve their goals and live a quality life. Her other website include http://www.YourWeddingStory.net and http://www.ForTheCatLover.com

This article can be printed as web-content or in a newsletter or ezine with the author’s bio-SIG included.

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Side Effects of Fish Oil

admin — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:00:00 +0000

Fish oil is oil derived from the tissues of fatty acids. Fish oil is recommended as source of Omega 3 fatty acids. Fish oil products are becoming increasingly popular due to the many health benefits. However, there are some side effects of fish oil. If you take large doses of supplements which contain high level of vitamins (especially vitamin D) in addition to Omega 3 fatty acids, the risk is possibility of vitamin poisoning. Vitamin poisoning is a condition wcan lead to toxic symptoms. For this reason, you should take fish body oil instead of fish liver based oil.

Another side effect of fish oil is heavy metal poisoning. Many fish contain heavy metal (mercury,lead, nickel, arsenic and cadmium) and other contaminants (PCB’s, furans, dioxins). If you eat fish, avoid fish species which contain toxin mercury and contaminants, including Largemouth Bass, Sturgeon, and others such as Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, and Tilefish.

Now you may ask: should I give up fish oil? All the side effects of fish oil are avoidable. If you are concern about the side effects, you should take fish oil supplements as your source of Omega 3 fatty acids. In fact, only fish oil contains the form of DHA that can be used by your body. In addition, fish oil helps to protect you against wide spectrum of diseases and promote overall health. Specifically, fish oil is beneficial to:

Cardiovascular health
Skin health and skin disorder, like eczema, psoriasis and rosaceah
Visual function
Brain function
Neurological health
Immune system
Diabetes
Gout and arthritis

So, how to avoid the side effects of fish oil? The best source of Omega 3 fatty acids is fish oil supplements. These tips would help you to choose pure and quality fish oil supplements, to ensure you are safe from the above mentioned side effects:

1.Choose supplements that are manufacture under strict GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) compliance.

2.Choose the supplements that contain high potency of DHA.

3.The fish oil should be in ester form. Ester’s fish oil has good bioavailability that allow your body to absorb the essential nutrients.

4.The fish oil should be free from contaminants.

5.Choose the supplements that are processed with molecular distillation. This technology enables manufacturers to filter out contaminants and pollutants from the products.

Yi Lai is editor of http://www.health-supplements101.com : How to choose the most potent supplements for your health.

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Why You Should Eat Lentil Soup at Least Once a Week

admin — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:00:00 +0000

If you’re looking for a power-packed entr�e or soup to spice up your life, look no further than the lowly lentil. Perhaps there was a reason why that lentil pottage was so tempting in the biblical story of Jacob and Esau. Esau knew that lentil soup would give him strength and put meat on his bones.

Meet Mr. Lentil

In case you are something less than a lentil aficionado, here’s the skinny on these small, disk-shaped legumes. Lentils come in dozens of varieties and almost as many colors. Dishes based around lentils are especially popular in the Middle East and India.

Lentils make delightful soups, croquettes and patties. They can also be used in casseroles, salads and stews. Lentils are fast and simple to prepare, and make a nourishing, hearty and inexpensive meal when eaten with brown rice.

Be sure to pick through and then wash lentils before cooking. Also, avoid overcooking, unless your goal is to create a lentil mush.

Health Benefits of the Lowly Lentil

Lentils have been shown to be an excellent source of some vitamins and minerals such as Iron, Potassium and Folate. Lentils are also considered to be a good source of Niacin.

In terms of actual diseases, the consumption of legumes (such as lentils) have been shown to:

? reduce the risk of coronary heart disease

? lower cholesterol levels

? provide a source of beneficial high fiber for persons with diabetes

? help in reducing triglycerides

Looking for Lentils?

If you don’t have time to cook, look no further than your grocery isle for a can of Progresso Lentil Soup. While Progresso is pretty good, many canned soup products do contain a high degree of salt. You may be able to find low-salt lentil soups at your local health food store.

Lentils are not really that hard to cook, so another option would be to simply pick-up a few bags and get started yourself. There are many lentil-related recipes online. Following is one that should whet your appetite (notice the alphabet-shaped noodles-if you can’t locate these in your store, I’m sure traditional elbows will work just the same):

Lentil Soup Mix Recipe

2-1/2 c. green split peas (16 oz. pkg.)
2-1/2 c. lentils (16 oz. pkg.)
2-1/2 c. pearl barley (16 oz. pkg.)
2 c. alphabet macaroni (8 oz. pkg.)–I use brown rice instead
1 c. dried onion flakes (2 3/8-oz. pkgs.)
1/2 c. celery flakes (1 3/8-oz. pkg.)
1/2 c. parsley flakes (1 1/4-oz. pkg.)
(Optional: 1-1/2 t. thyme; 1-1/2 t. white pepper)

Mix all ingredients together. Store in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Stir before using. Makes 10 c. of mix.

TO COOK: Combine 1 c. of soup mix with 4 c. of water or seasoned stock in large pan. Add 1 c. of cooked chopped meat, if desired. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover pan. Simmer gently for 45 to 60 minutes, or until peas are tender. Add 1/2 t. salt if desired.

Speaking of Mixes

If you want the taste experience of a home-cooked meal but don’t have time to make your own mix, there are a number of lentil soup mixes available online. The Mediterranean Lentil Soup mentioned in the resource box below is one of my favorites, and the red lentils it features make a colorful contribution to any meal.

So if you’re getting tired of burgers, fries, or whatever else you’ve been eating, may I recommend the lowly lentil as a healthy food option? Now that McDonalds and other fast food chains appear to be getting more health conscious, perhaps we should start a letter-writing campaign for some lentil-related options. But until that day comes, you can find lentils in your health food store, many grocery stores, and certainly online.

Cari Haus is webmaster for http://www.thevegetarianexpress.com/, a website offering vegan food mixes and seasonings-including a mix for Mediterranean Lentil Soup. This article is not intended to give any health advice, and should not be construed as such

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Teas From Plants Around You and Their Benefits

admin — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:00:00 +0000

All teas unless specified are brewed with 1 teaspoon dry material or 2 teaspoons fresh material to 1 cup of water. Always steep. This means pouring hot water over material and letting set for 5 - 15 minutes. Always dry leaves and roots out of the sun, in dark airy places. Then store in airtight containers.

Persimmon Tea: The leaves when dried and crushed make a fine strong tea. Can be used all year round. Rich in vitamin C. Used as a healthful tonic.

Sassafras Tea: Boil fresh roots after washing, until water turns reddish brown. Can be sliced and dried for later use. Claimed by some to be a blood thinner, a blood purifier, to help bronchitis, a stimulating spring tonic. Mostly it is used for pure enjoyment.

Birch Tea (Wintergreen): Black, yellow and white birch. Dried leaves can be used year round. A large handful of fresh leaves steeped in hot water was drunk 1 to 2 cups a day for rheumatism and headaches. Said to reduce pain of passing kidney stones, and a fever reducer. Cold it was used as a mouthwash.

Blackberry/Raspberry Tea: The dried mature leaves of these brambles make a good tea. Used to help control diarrhea, as a blood purifier and tonic. Use all year round.

Blueberry Tea: The dried mature leaves are steeped until cool and drunk 1 to 2 cups per day as a blood purifier and tonic. Also used to help inflamed kidneys and increase the flow of urine. Somewhat bitter. Use all year round.

Alfalfa Tea: The dried and powdered leaves and flower heads make a very nutritious tea, but it is somewhat bland. We suggest mixing them with normal teas to stretch them and add nutrition. Its vitamin content was the reason it was used. Used all year round.

Wild Strawberry Tea: Use dried leaves normally. Pour several cups boiling water over a handful of fresh leaves in the evening. Cover and let steep overnight. Strain water and reheat in the morning. Believed to help with a multitude of things, from stomach troubles, eczema, diarrhea, etc. According to experts, it is much more healthful than purchased coffee or teas. Use all year round.

Wild Rose-Hip Tea: A handful of these steeped for 10 minutes, then strained, make a healthful tea. Can be used dried or fresh in season. Instead of boiling, place a handful in cool water overnight, then stain and reheat in the morning. Use all year round. Strong Vitamin C content. Helps with Colds and the flu. Also for sore throat.

Sweet Goldenrod Tea (Anise): Can use dried or fresh leaves or flowers. Makes a very flavorful tea. Pure enjoyment only!! Used all year round.

Soldier’s Herb Tea: This common yard weed with green leaves and two seedie spikes was used by the colonials and Indians alike. One teaspoon of seeds per cup of boiling water steeped for 1/2 hour was used for dropsy and jaundice. A tea from fresh leaves (chopped fine), one heaping teaspoon per cup of boiling water steeped for 1/2 hour. For dried powdered leaves, use one level teaspoon and reduce time to 15 minutes. Drunk 4 to 5 times a day until relief was obtained. Used for gout, to help clean out nasal passages and to slow menstruation. Also used to expel worms. A tea cooled made from rainwater was used as an eyewash.

Grab more free recipes at http://recipe-directory.net

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Mediterranean Diet - Lose Weight Quickly, Easily & Safely

admin — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:00:00 +0000

If you are looking for a way to lose fifty pounds in two weeks, a high protein diet, a low carb diet, a fruit diet, a no fat diet, a blood type diet, a juice fast, a diet named after a place in Miami, a grapefruit diet, a cactus diet, a coffee and cigarette diet, a diet that includes sweets, a diet based on your body type, a diet based on an ancient religion or a diet based on your hair color, then this article is NOT for you.

Fad and crash diets, such as the ones described above are not only unhealthy but they also cause rebound weight gain. Also most diets, even though diet gurus write them, cause an initial weight loss but the ultimate result is that you gain all of the weight back the minute you go off the plan. If you don’t gain it back within a couple of diets, you are likely to gain it all back plus a bit more within a year.

Crash diets dehydrate you, low calorie diets put your body into starvation mode so you plateau so you can’t lose one more pound and high protein diets stress your kidneys and clog your arteries.

So how does one lose weight?

There is only one answer to this question.

You need to expend more calories than you are taking in. Restricting certain foods, eating so-called fat burning foods, or dehydrating yourself with special pills or teas does not do it. It is simple math. The only way is to eat a little less and exercise a little more. Here is the equation below:

Eating Less + Exercising More = Weight Loss.

This is not a magical formula, it is just logic. It is also not a fast way to lose weight. As I have mentioned before, this is not an article about how to lose ten pounds in three days or 30 pounds in a month. It is about safe, healthy weight loss.

In order to lose weight safely and without putting yourself at risk for such health hazards as dehydration, kidney failure, malnutrition, exhaustion, nervous dysfunction, tooth loss, dull hair, wrinkles, cellulite, sudden heart failure or stroke and lose the weight so that it stays off, you should lose no more than approximately two pounds a week!

Although that might not sound like a large amount of weight to lose it actually is! If you lose 2 pounds a week that means you can achieve a weight loss of ten pounds a month! If you only have twenty pounds to lose then your weight loss is not only quite rapid, but you have the extra guarantee that it will stay off because you have followed a sensible exercise plan that did not involve starving, exhausting or depriving yourself. If you are willing to drop your impatience and desire for immediate gratification and stick to an exercise plan and healthy eating habits, then a Mediterranean Diet is for you. Remember being slim is only good if you are able to enjoy it!

Do You Need to Lose Weight?

Fascination with Fat

If you want to lose weight, you first need to assess whether you need to actually lose weight or are simply a fashion victim. Unfortunately this society is fascinated with fat - who has it and who doesn’t. As we are persuaded by so many images in the media that persuade us to believe that you can never be too thin, many of us are bad judges of our actual body weight.

If you are under the age of eighteen and reading this book, the first thing you need to do is consult with your parent about your plans to lose weight. Have her make an appointment with a physician so that he can indicate to you whether or not you are a candidate for weight loss.

If you are an adult, it is possible that you may not be overweight and are just trying to be, as Bridget Jones put it in Bridget Jones Diary “a stick insect with eyelashes.” It is also very possible that you know you need to lose weight but have no idea where to start.

If you are obese and you know it, then you have to check with a physician first to see how your health is before you embark on any exercise program or plan. The same is also true if you have any kind of medical condition but especially a thyroid condition or heart condition. Some physicians may not recommend a weight loss program for those who are over 40 as due to genetics and hormonal changes some people naturally just round out or gain weight in a way that simply cannot be changed. If your doctor tells you your spreading hips are due to menopause or genetics, believe him! It is not clever to fool with Mother Nature.

Publisher & author: Roy Barker. Roy has an indepth and long established background with the vitamins, minerals and health industry and has researched and experimented with many diets over a thirty year period. Roy is also the author of Safe and Easy Weightloss, a downloadable e-book based on the famous Mediterranean Diet and often used by those with heart conditions and those who seek an effective and safe way to shed weight and more importantly, keep it off. It can be viewed at http://www.safe-and-easy-weightloss.com More articles and related site can be viewed at http://www.weightloss-diet-health-vitamins.com

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Thirty Hints & Tips to Achievable Weight Loss

admin — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:00:00 +0000

Here are some everyday, helpful hints to get you started, keep you going, and help you stick to your diet.

1. Never leave home “starving.” Always have a light snack before eating dinner in a restaurant, such as a piece of fruit, a glass of juice or a carrot.

2. Don’t go food shopping on an empty stomach! You’ll be tempted to buy everything in sight.

3. Don’t be tempted by treats. Store them out of view, off counter-tops and as out-of-reach as possible.

4. Don’t eat in front of the TV. Watching the boob tube — instead of watching your plate — lulls you into overeating. Also avoid being tempted by food and snack commercials.

5. Make it a rule in your house to confine your meals to the dining room or kitchen table! Never eat standing up! This leads to mindless snacking.

6. Think before you drink. Alcohol adds lots of calories, but no nutrients. Also, it weakens your willpower to avoid the wrong food choices. Hangovers can cause wicked cravings for fatty or high carbohydrate foods that can sabotage any attempt at weight loss.

7. Fill up on soup first. Begin every meal with non-cream hot soup; it forces you to eat slowly and fills you up so you won’t overeat.

8. Take time to taste your food. Don’t gobble food down! Rushing through your meals doesn’t give your brain the time that it needs to signal your body that you are full.

9. When dining out, request sauces and low-calorie dressings on the side.

10. There is no law that requires you to finish everything on your plate.

11. Prepare a shopping list (with menu ideas in mind) and stick to the list. Avoid being tempted by bargains that grocery stores place on the outer aisles and at the back and the front of the store. The healthiest foods are usually in the long narrow aisles.

12. Use non-stick pans to reduce the need for cooking with fat.

13. If you must use oil, try a flavorful one like olive or sesame oil. Now remember, a little goes a long way! Make just a spritz of oil go even further by buying a Misto. A Misto is an aerosol can that you can fill with a good fat such as olive or canola oil.

14. A pinch of grated cheese or blue cheese will provide a flavorful kick without adding a lot of calories to a salad or grain dish.

15. If you cook in large quantities for your family, store leftovers in individual serving size containers. This is a way to practice portion control for yourself so you don’t eat too much at one sitting.

16. Nibbling off someone else’s plate may seem harmless — but those calories do add up!

17. Drink six to eight glasses of water a day. A beverage before mealtime will also help you feel full faster and longer. Water also helps your body digest food, which is especially important now that you’re eating a fiber rich diet.

18. Store really tempting treats in opaque containers or silver foil — and stick them in the back of the refrigerator. Out of sight out of mind!

19. Are you stuffing yourself? If you have to loosen your belt a few notches after meals you’re definitely eating too much!

20. Mashed bananas, prunes and apple sauce are great baking substitutes for fat, especially in bread, brownie and cake mixes.

21. When you choose to eat “fast food,” choose wisely: skip fried foods; avoid large portions; and opt for a small hamburger.

22. Saut� foods, if possible, in chicken stock, low-sodium soy sauce or water, instead of fat.

23. When cooking, broil, bake, roast, boil or stir-fry and let the fat drain. A George Foreman grill is an excellent investment for those who want to eat meat and avoid eating the fat drippings too!

24. Sauces and soups can be thickened with a puree of potatoes instead of cream.

25. Instead of eating any product directly out of the box, pour a reasonable portion onto a plate or bowl, and put the box away. This also prevents mindless snacking.

26. If a recipe calls for � a cup of oil, cut that amount in half, your taste buds won’t know the difference — but your waistline will.

27. Add spice to your life instead of fat; fresh herbs will perk up any dish without adding calories. Experiment with different ethnic foods and seasonings; they’re full of flavor — not fat.

28. Freeze leftovers immediately so you can’t raid the refrigerator later.

29. Watch portion size by dishing out meals and bringing plates to the table. Don’t set “bottomless” bowls and platters where they’ll tempt you to reach for more, unless it’s a salad or a bowl of vegetables. You can never get enough of those greens.

30. Start saving for that new outfit now! When you reach your goal weight, you can buy yourself some fashionable new clothes!

Publisher & author: Roy Barker. Roy has an indepth and long established background with the vitamins, minerals and health industry and has researched and experimented with many diets over a thirty year period. Roy is also the author of Safe and Easy Weightloss, a downloadable e-book based on the famous Mediterranean Diet and often used by those with heart conditions and those who seek an effective and safe way to shed weight and more importantly, keep it off. It can be viewed at http://www.safe-and-easy-weightloss.com More articles and related sites can be viewed at http://www.weightloss-diet-health-vitamins.com

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Fight Cancer With Broccoli Sprouts

admin — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:00:00 +0000

Mom was right to insist on us eating our vegetables. She knew they built health and gave us the minerals we need. Now scientists have found that we can eat foods to help us both prevent cancer and fight cancer.

Take Broccoli sprouts. Broccoli sprouts are rich in a compound that provides significant protection against breast cancer and colon cancer. The compound is called sulforaphane glucosinalate.

Sprouts grown from certain types of broccoli seeds contain up to 50 times more of this compound than mature broccoli to help you fight cancer.

My research shows that a brand of sprouts developed at John Hopkins University is guaranteed to have 20 more times the SGS compound than the mature broccoli. This one is called BroccoSprouts. You can purchase broccoli sprouts at your local health food store or grocery store.

It is possible that Broccoli sprouts could carry the bacteria that make you sick - salmonella and e.coli, so you may want to take them out of the container when you get them home and soak in a bowl of water with a few drops of grapefruit seed extract for three or four minutes.

Don’t put the sprouts back in the same container unless you soak that as well. After draining them for a few minutes store them in the refrigerator.

With Breast cancer and Colon cancer so common these days, be sure to add in this protective food, assisting your body to fight off illness and cancer.

Article written by Jeannie Crabtree C.Ac. For Alternative Health Care and high quality Nutritional Supplement visit http://www.health-doc.com

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Diet Preparaton — The Impact of Sleep and Stress

admin — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:00:00 +0000

When you have started a diet in the past, how much sincere and attentive focus did you give to preparing for your diet? Isn’t it true that usually you are getting the food together a particular diet requires, buying yet another tread mill (or hauling out the old one covered in dust from the last diet), getting another gym membership, planning that last big blowout gluttonous meal you’re going to eat because you are going to have to starve for the next eight weeks.

The above really isn’t an exaggeration. People spend a lot of time preparing everything else for their new diet program except the body!
If you are to succeed in keeping weight off, you must take seriously the preparation of the whole person–body, mind, and soul, right? Of course you do!

In the next few articles, I will focus on two very important and related components of preparing your body for weight loss programs: sleep and stress.

Think about these two questions. Question 1: “What are your chances of actually losing the weight you want to lose? Question 2: What are the chances you’ll keep that weight off for at least five years? If you have been on the fad diet band wagon even once in your life, you already look at those two questions warily and with some doubt about your success. I would venture a guess and say that most of us have tried more than one diet that promised fast results with very little if any hunger and no exercise, right?

Take a look at most fad diets or weight loss programs, and you will find missing two very important components. These fad diets and online diet programs fail to give enough, if any, importance to an important key that could more than double your chances of losing weight and keeping it off.

What am I talking about? How getting a good night’s sleep can make all the difference in your weight loss success.

Actually, we can place stress alongside sleep as the two are so very important to each other. If you are under a lot stress, most likely you aren’t getting enough sleep. Lack of sleep can lead to more stress. Now try to take seriously any diet program when you have that kind of stress/sleeplessness cycle, and you are asking for failure.
Evaluating and, perhaps, changing our sleep patterns or lack thereof is not a short term fad diet fix. Remember: It’s not about a diet; it’s about a way of life. If you are going to lose the weight you want to lose and keep it off, you must stop thinking in terms of another “diet,” and start thinking in terms of a way of life. You need to establish a pattern of life where YOU are in control instead of being at the mercy of what goes on at your office or what is going on in your family.

Having counseled countless couples, singles, married, divorced and you name it people during nearly 20 years as a spiritual leader and guide, I am not suggesting that we don’t have to deal with life’s issues and challenges. Quite the contrary. I am suggesting that you deal with those issues by taking the necessary steps to take control of your daily patterns and habits which will lead to a healthy psychological and physical wellbeing.

In other words, if you are eating right, exercising regularly, and getting a good night’s sleep each night, you will be better equipped emotionally and physcally to take on stress. Here are some thoughts on why sleep and stress are so important.

If you consistently deprive yourself of sleep it can lead to a state of sleep deprivation. Typically, everyone goes through periods of sleep deprivation in their life. Remember staying up all night, maybe more than one, when you were in finals week in college? Or if you have a child, you definitely have experienced, or are experiencing now, periods where you deprive your body of sleep.

But there is a great difference in intermittent times of going without sleep because we choose to and patterns of sleep deprivation brought on by illness or, most common, stress.

Be sure to look for my next article in this series which deals with what happens to the body when it doesn’t get enough sleep. These articles will lead to a thourough understanding of why the body needs rest and relief from stress and I will show you concrete steps you can take to make sure you are getting the best night’s sleep possible.

For more information on diet preparations and other aspects of how to make your diet the most health and productive, visit Diet Preparation

Cheers to your weight loss success!

Mark A. Fuqua
Chief Editor and Consultant
Diet Basics

With 3 earned degrees and more than 16 years of experience as spiritual leader, pastor, director of marketing and investment banker, Mark Fuqua brings to the discussion table a breadth and depth of unique experience coupled with academic acumen. He is Consultant and Chief Editor of Diet Basics, a website dedicated to healthy weight loss success.

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Seafood - the Healthy Alternative

admin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:00:00 +0000

Most red and white meats are very fatty and are not a healthy way to eat. Seafood on the other hand offers you a great tasting alternative. When cooked correctly you couldn’t ask for a better tasting meal.

Seafood can be purchased either fresh or frozen. By freezing the seafood fresh it can be shipped all over the world so everyone can have the opportunity to enjoy fresh seafood that they may not otherwise be able to enjoy.

Seafood that has not been kept at or below 39 degrees may not be safe to eat, so if you’re not sure if it’s good or not, throw it away. It is not worth the risk of getting sick. When choosing to purchase fresh seafood be sure and check it out thoroughly to make sure it is fresh. One thing to look for is to make sure the eyes are not bulging, but clear instead. Don’t accept fish where the gills are pink, they should always be red. A very important fact to remember is that even though it is seafood, it should not have a fishy smell to it. If you notice any of these things wrong, do not purchase the seafood.

The best and safest way to cook frozen seafood is while it is still frozen. You can cook it by baking the seafood in an oven, or cooking it in a frying pan. The most popular way to cook seafood is wrapped in foil, and placed on a barbeque grill. This seems to give you the best flavor possible. You can thaw out the seafood before cooking it, but if you do this, make sure you cook it as quick as you can. If you do not cook all seafood that has been thawed, make sure you throw away any that is left. Seafood can never be refrozen.

Because eating seafood can actually treat some illness and prevent certain diseases, it can be considered a very healthily diet. Some fish contain the omega-3 oils which help stop certain disease, and help in the aid of curing some illness. Most all seafood is high in protein and low in fat, with the exception of a few, such as the eel.

Seafood has been linked in helping the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, and to aid in the prevention of breast cancer. Women in countries that eat more seafood than red meat have a lower tendency of contracting breast cancer. Using fish oil has also been linked to preventing some diseases.

There are a lot of healthy benefits from eating a seafood diet. Scallops and mussels add zinc and iron to your body. Seafood also contains iodine, which is good for your thyroids. Having a seafood diet is just a smart and healthy thing to do.

Coleen Panetti runs the famous seafood information website http://happyseafood.com

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