Thursday, August 18, 2011

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Make A Few Changes To Your Lifestyle To Reduce Your Weight

When you are planning to lose your excess weight, you should understand that without improving your metabolism, you can not achieve full-fledged success for your efforts. The simple arithmetic is that when you consume more calories than you require, your weight increases and if you spend more calories than what you consume, you lose weight. So, you should take all possible steps to boost your metabolism.

- The most effective way to boost your metabolism is to split your large meals and eat only smaller meals several times a day. By adopting this strategy, even if you consume more calories than what you eat through your large meals, you will be able to spend all the calories of these smaller meals. This is because you are improving your metabolism by eating like this.

- The second idea is to assess your physical activities and consume your calories accordingly.

- You should never skip your breakfast. Some people have a wrong notion that by skipping their breakfast, they are reducing their intake of calories and this will help them reduce their weight. But, the fact is that they will consume more calories during their next meal. Further, by skipping breakfast, their energy level will be at its lowest ebb throughout the day and therefore, their performance will be much below par. Their efficiency will also come down. Likewise, skipping meals should also be avoided. This will also make you overeat during your next meal.

- Researchers have found that dieting without doing regular exercises will impact your metabolism adversely. The British Journal of Nutrition has brought out a report that states that restricted diet will affect your metabolism and reduce it up to 20%. By crash dieting, you will be losing not only your fat but your muscle also. It is a known fact that muscles have more capabilities to burn calories than fat. This is because muscles need more calories to maintain themselves. So, when you lose your muscles, you lose your capacity to burn calories also. Thus, your efforts to reduce weight will not bear fruits if you restrict your food intake. Instead, you should switch to a diet routine that consists of more frequent and smaller meals of healthy and nutritious food.

- Your exercises regimen should consist of both cardiovascular and strength-training exercises. Cardiovascular exercises will help you to reduce your fat. But, unfortunately, you will lose your muscles also. As said earlier, you need muscles to burn your calories round the clock. So, you are advised to do strength-training exercises also for having a good muscle mass. This will help you to reduce your weight.

- In addition to the above steps, you can make subtle changes to your lifestyle. Instead of using lifts and elevators, you can take the steps to climb up and down the floors. If you are involved in a desk job, you can adopt the 20-20-20 rule according to which you should get up once every twenty minutes to walk twenty steps and so on. Further, you can have a walk in the nearby garden or park during lunch hours, avoid using your vehicle to visit the nearby shopping malls, park your vehicle a few blocks away and walk to the office and so on. In other words, you must have as much physical activity as possible if you want to lose your weight.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Exercise Wisely, Keep Away Health Risks And Stay Fit

There is a lot of confusion as to how much exercises we should do for keeping ourselves fit. This is because there are as many suggestions and ideas as there are experts. Day in and day out, we are flooded with new ideas and this adds to the confusion instead of giving us a clear picture. You may also be one among these confused lot and therefore, an attempt is being made here to give some general tips so that you can keep yourself fit.

The general rule of thumb is that you can should moderate exercises for about 45 minutes to one hour, three to four times a week. But, if you face a time-constraint, you can do high-intensity exercises for about 20 minutes daily. The overall duration can be around 150 minutes of exercises of normal intensity per week.

Cardiovascular exercises should necessarily form a part of your exercises regimen. Brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, running, etc. will immensely keep your heart and other respiratory organs fit. These exercises will improve your blood circulation and with improved blood circulation, you can have a fit and alert brain also.

There are many people who do weight-lifting or strength-training exercises and who think that these are enough for keeping their heart and lungs fit. They can not be more wrong. These strength-training exercises can not take care of the fitness of your heart and other respiratory organs. Even certain yogic exercises do not focus on the fitness of heart and lungs. So, those who do strength-training exercises or yoga should necessarily do cardiovascular exercises also for having a healthy heart and respiratory system.

Another point to remember is that those who do cardiovascular exercises alone will not have a good muscle mass. A good muscle mass is very much essential if your aim is to reduce your excess weight. This is because a good muscle mass needs more calories for maintaining itself. So, your body will be burning more calories. In fact, a good muscle mass will be in need of calories even when you are sleeping. So, it will be easy for you to reduce your excess weight. Therefore, it is better to do strength-training exercises and have a good muscle mass if you wish to reduce your excess weight.

Those who are interested in doing yogic exercises should not do strength-training exercises. This is because the aim of yogic exercises is to keep your muscles loose and relaxed and supply a good amount of blood to all the parts of the body including the inner parts. But, in strength-training exercises, the muscle mass becomes hard and this is quite contrary to the aim of yogic exercises. So, yoga and strength-training exercises do not go together.

Conclusively, it should be a combination of either yoga and cardiovascular exercises or strength-training and cardiovascular exercise. The overall duration can be around 150 minutes a week. Beginners should start with short sessions and increase the duration and intensity gradually. But, you must not forget the fact that whatever exercises you do, if you sit still for longer durations, you face a health risk. So, you are advised to get up once in twenty minutes and do a few stretching exercises or have a stroll and so on.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Seniors Can Be Fit And Healthy As Long As They Live

You may come across many seniors daily but among them, one may be fit and the others may have an aged appearance with old looks. You may think that it is due to genetics that one is fit and the others are not so fit. But, in reality, this is not the reason. Researches have proved that the aged looks are due to lack of exercises and not because of their calendar age. This proves that if seniors continue to do their exercises, they can be fit and can also defy aging.



Especially, strength training can improve bone density even in women who have already had their menopause. In addition to these exercises, they should take sufficient doses of calcium citrate supplement for improving their bone density.



It has also been proved that regular exercises heal skin problems in these seniors. In general, skin problems do not heal easily for aged people. But, if they have a good fitness regimen, with the the help of appropriate medications, they can accelerate the healing.



Stress is a major cause that deteriorates memory in seniors. But, if they do their regular exercises, they can surmount this problem and preserve their memory. In addition to that, with the help of these exercises, they can experience a sense of well-being which will improve their overall general health and immunity.



Nowadays, most of the seniors are affected by Alzheimer’s but by doing certain cardiovascular exercises, they can prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Cardiovascular exercises improve blood circulation and so, this benefits their brains also. It is better they start doing exercises like brisk walking, jogging, running, cycling, swimming, etc. from their middle age itself so that they can keep themselves free from the fear of these problems. Further, they can live independently if they keep themselves fit and free from these problems.



If seniors ensure to have a healthy and nutritious diet along with these exercises, they can prevent teeth loss also. Mainly, they can prevent periodontal disease which is the main reason for loss of teeth.



It is a known fact that seniors lose their muscles quite fast. But, if they are into a good fitness regimen, they can safely reverse sarcopenia or muscle loss. Their fitness regimen should necessarily consist of strength training exercises. Sarcopenia starts affecting people from the age of around 45 and hence, people should start doing strength training exercises from their forties.



Another study says that if seniors do their exercises regularly, their longevity also increases. This is especially important for those who are already affected by blood pressure, diabetes or heart problems.



From the foregoing, it is quite evident that elders should have a good fitness regimen and combine it with a healthy diet regimen for leading a healthy and long life.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Physical Fitness and Mental and Emotional Health

A lot of research has gone into establishing the link between physical well-being and mental and emotional health. These experts have proved beyond doubt that if we do not maintain physical fitness, it will have a negative effect on our mental and emotional health. So, our daily lives get affected and this may tilt the scales against us in our career or profession also.

Cardiovascular exercises and strength training exercises improve the functioning of our brain also in addition to helping us to maintain our physical fitness. When we do our cardiovascular exercises, the efficiency of our heart and lungs improves and so, more oxygen is carried by our blood to all the parts of our body including our brain. This improves our capacity to think more clearly. So, we make the right decisions even at crucial junctures, thus improving our overall life. Likewise, muscle-building exercises also help the brain to think in the right perspective because of the increased blood flow.

When more oxygen is supplied to all our body parts including our brain, our memory system improves. Further, a few hormones are secreted due to such an increased blood flow and these hormones are capable of helping us to manage our stress levels. That is the reason experts advise us to hit the gym or do our work-outs when we face anxiety, depression or stress. A work-out for about thirty minutes will be able to relieve us of our tension and we will be able to think more clearly. This may give even unusual and unique solutions for our problems.

Experts also say that work-outs are a very good antidote for negative emotions. If negative emotions are thus removed from our mind, it can be life-changing. It is a known fact that negative thinking is like a cobweb that can hamper our growth. So, by doing our daily exercises, we can get rid of this negative attitude and supplant positive emotions in our mind. This becomes possible because certain natural chemicals are produced when we do our work-outs and they calm our mind. We greatly benefit from these chemicals because they can regulate our thinking process in addition to improving our energy levels.

When there is an improved blood circulation, the creative powers of our brain are also triggered. It is a known fact that the right hemisphere of our brain governs creativity, imagination and lateral thinking. So, creative people and those who use their right brains more often are advised to do their regular work-outs. Famous and world-class Chess players are said to do their daily exercises without fail because this helps them not only to keep them fit but to give them the required creative power for playing their games more successfully. If you emulate them and do your daily exercises religiously, you can come out with innovative and novel ideas and this will help you to climb up your career ladder or to succeed phenomenally in your profession.

Improve Your Physical Fitness To Accomplish Great Things In Life

Improve Your Physical Fitness To Accomplish Great Things In Life

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Keep Fit And Lead A Healthy Life

It is a proven fact that those who live a passive lifestyle are prone to be affected by health problems. Especially, serious ailments like heart diseases, diabetes, blood-pressure related diseases and so on will be waiting in the wings to affect those living a docile life. A survey shows that in UK alone, more than 70% of the adult population have heart ailments and about a quarter of them admit that they are terribly lazy. If you look at the scenario in Australia, 33% of the adult population are found to live a passive lifestyle and their health conditions are far from satisfactory.

The above facts amply prove that being fit is highly important and it can keep a person in the pink of health. Even dreadful diseases like cancer will not affect physically fit people. Since your High Density Lipoprotein will be maintained at the right levels, you need not have fears of cholesterol-related problems. Another great advantage in being physically fit is that it gives a sense of well-being to the individual. The neurons of the brain are also found to work faster and more efficiently in people who take utmost care of their fitness. This will naturally boost their self-confidence and enthusiasm.

Even in stressful situations, you are advised to hit the gym and do light exercises. This will not only divert your mind from the stress-causing problems but will help you to fight your anxiety also.

This is not to suggest that you should not immediately enroll yourself in a gym and start your work-outs. It is not good also. You are advised to make small beginnings and increase the fitness activities gradually. Your body should get conditioned to physical activity because all along, you have been living a sluggish pace of life. Shaking off your laziness suddenly may lead to trouble. It should be a slow process and you should adopt patience. You can start with walking, which is called "the queen of exercises". Once you get used to it, you can graduate to the next level of brisk walking, jogging, cycling, swimming and other cardiovascular exercises. But, these cardiovascular exercises should be followed by weight-training exercises and you should consult a competent physical trainer and do only those exercises that may suit your physique. However, these weight-training exercises come at a later stage when your body gets conditioned to full-fledged physical exercises.

You should change the foods you eat also accordingly. If you are fond of spicy and junk foods, you should immediately reduce eating them. These foods cause laziness. You should immediately switch to eating more of fiber foods like fresh fruits and leafy vegetables, wholesome grains, beans, etc. These fiber foods are also called fat-burning diets and they do not contribute to increase in your calories. They will also supply a good amount of nutrition to your system and this will help you in surmounting your problem of laziness.

By following the above tips, you can improve your fitness and lead a happy and healthy life.

Why We Should Do Exercises And Keep Ourselves Fit

Though all of us are aware that physical fitness is very important for leading a healthy life, not many take the required steps towards achieving it. This is because most of us do not understand clearly what benefits we can derive out of it. Also, some of us have a few old-fashioned ideas about exercises and physical fitness. Though many traditional ideas are good, a few of them are not backed by any reasoning. For example, there is a myth that exercises need to be done the hard and strenuous way to get results. In reality, it need not be the case. Even simple but useful exercises will get excellent results for being physically fit. Therefore, it becomes highly imperative for us to understand the benefits of exercises and being physically fit before we take the required steps.

We all should understand the fact that if we are not fit and healthy, we are susceptible to be affected by many ailments, including cardiovascular problems. It will also affect our general well-being and our energy levels. There is a possibility of mood swings also.

The foremost benefit from being physically fit is that it improves the way our whole body carries out the required functions because more oxygen is supplied to our body parts. Our metabolism gets a great boost and hence, the calories we consume are burned quickly. Due to a good supply of oxygen and increased blood flow, our energy levels go up and we will be able to work more efficiently. Therefore, we can have a healthy lifestyle.

When more blood is supplied to the brain, we will be able to think in the right perspective and therefore, our problem of mood swings can also be tackled easily. So, the negative energy will be replaced by a positive attitude and this will release Endorphins in our body. Endorphins will help us to feel better and this will give us a sense of well-being. Our confidence levels will go up and we can outshine others in whatever work we undertake.

If we do regular exercises and keep ourselves fit, we can have a good sleep during nights. Even if we have sleep disorders, we can get over them easily. The quality of our sleep will also improve.

When we feel the sense of well-being and if our energy levels are up, our immunity will also become strong. So, we will not be affected by illnesses or ailments easily. For getting a good supply of oxygen, we need to do cardiovascular exercises. But, these are not enough because they will burn our muscles also. So, we need to re-build our muscles for which we should do muscle-building exercises. The main benefit of having a good muscle mass is that our muscles require more calories for maintaining themselves and therefore, even during sleep, we will be spending calories.

It is therefore absolutely necessary that we should do regular exercises and keep ourselves fit.

Physical Fitness Will Lead To Mental Alertness

Most of us know that regular exercises and eating nutritious food are the secrets for physical fitness. But, we may not know that these are good for mental fitness also. Especially, today's leaders and managers need to be mentally alert to face the stiff competition that is rampant in every field. That is the reason these people are advised to eat well, that too, on time and exercise regularly. Since their services are highly needed in their chosen fields, they can not afford to lag behind because if they are mentally not alert, they will be easily surpassed by their competitors.



Experts have done extensive research and found out that regular exercises promote physical, mental and emotional well-being and so, the performance of these leaders and managers will become more efficient if they do regular exercises. Another important point is that doing these regular exercises should be an ongoing process and the minimum duration of exercises for these people as advised by experts is one hour per day.



If these people fail to follow this routine, they may fall ill more quickly than other normal people because they face more tension and stress than them. The problem is if they fall ill, they may be forced to take rest for more number of days, which will prove to be very costly for them. Instead of facing such a situation, they can better do their exercises and keep themselves fit and healthy.



The fitness regimen advised for these managers and leaders should consist of those exercises that use all the three systems of the body namely, the cardiovascular system, the muscular and skeletal system and the venous system. This will help them to combat stress and tension and they can also be mentally alert. Cardiovascular exercises help them to have a good blood circulation, exercises using muscles and bones will improve their endurance levels and strength-training and agility exercises will improve their flexibility. They will be less prone to injuries and they can have a fast healing from injuries, even if they sustain any.



In addition to doing exercises regularly, they should take care of the foods they eat. They should switch to foods that contain unsaturated carbohydrates, fresh fruits, vegetables and fish instead of junk foods, processed foods and oily and spicy foods.



If these people follow this advice, their mental and physical fitness will improve phenomenally. This will happen secretly and in a subtle manner. Experts say that the mitochondria of these people will increase and this will help them in being alert both physically and mentally.