eZone Slim World: Get Motivated for Weight Loss

Forehead Lines Exercise

2011-05-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

Can Exercise Help Get Rid of Forehead Lines?

The very first appearance of wrinkles on the face makes us wonder where time has gone. Most of us have a fear attached with wrinkles; it shows that we are getting old. But there is nothing to be disheartened about, as managing your wrinkles is very simple. Taking a few corrective measures can easily get rid of forehead lines, crow feet and laugh lines.

Regular exercise and healthy diet are keys to a healthy body and consequently help in fighting age related problems. These include the problem of wrinkles such as forehead lines. However, most of us have a misconception that exercise only includes parts of body falling below the neck. Very few of us know that face can be exercised too, which can greatly help you get rid of forehead lines and other signs of aging.

Facial exercises promote circulation of blood through the face, thus helping in skin rejuvenation. As we age, the elasticity and the ability of the skin to go back to its original state is reduced. This shows prominently in the form of wrinkles when we laugh or frown. Facial exercise involves stimulating the facial muscles, thus providing a natural method of keeping wrinkles at bay. Facial exercises provide a great solution to get rid of forehead lines, giving you a smooth, supple, younger looking skin.

Apart from this, massaging the face is also a form of facial exercise. Massaging the areas which are prone to wrinkles, such as the forehead can definitely help you get rid of forehead lines. This massage is generally done in slow circular motion. You can either massage your face once in 2-3 days or get it done at a salon. Massaging also helps ease the tension in the facial muscles, which is one of the reasons behind wrinkles.

Wrinkles are an unavoidable part of the aging process; however, a few steps taken now can help you avoid their formation at an early age. Today's life is already full of stress, where a lot is attached with how you look. By taking small and simple steps you can greatly reduce the stress attached with the aging process. A little time spent in exercising your face can help you get rid of forehead lines, making you look younger for a long time to come.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Maricha_Jordan

Aerobics Choreography

2011-04-17T07:16:00.000-07:00

This is very Great Video:

Aerobic Video for Cardio Workout

2011-04-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

View Video Fast Fat Burn, High Intensity Cardio Workout:

Weight Loss Food Recipe

2011-04-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

The path to weight loss is not easy. This is a known fact. However, there are simple solutions to weight problems, which work much better than synthetic weight loss products that often have serious side effects. A weight loss food recipe is one answer to all your weight woes. Designed to make you eat less, a weight loss food recipe serves to jumpstart your weight loss regime and achieve that ideal body you have always wanted.

Cut down on calories

A weight loss food recipe varies, depending on who is promoting it. Nevertheless, a weight loss food recipe is designed to make you lose weight but cutting down on your caloric intake.

Below is a typical weight loss food recipe:

Chicken Burger with Salad

Ingredients:

4 oz chicken breast

1 whole wheat hamburger bun

1 sliced tomato

1 small red onion sliced

2-3 leaves lettuce

1 tbsp ketchup

Cooking Method:

1. Broil chicken on both sides for 4-5 minutes each side.

2. Split the bun, lightly toast and top with cooked chicken, ketchup and salad.

Sounds delicious right? There are tons of recipes that provide healthy and fat free foods that are very low in calorie count. However, there are also recipes out there that sell the not-so tasty alternative.

Options

Different recipes are available over the internet. These recipes vary. Others promote a strictly vegetarian diet, supposedly aiding in detoxifying your body and ridding it of fat at the same time. Others promote a juice diet, taking in different fruit juices plus 8+ glasses of water each day to 'cleanse' the body.

Healthy

Hundreds of recipes are available and it is very important to know which ones are effective and which ones are fraudulent. The best way is to take a sample recipe obtained through the internet, take it to a doctor, and have it evaluated. That way, you can know whether that weight loss food recipe is okay for you to follow and whether it is safe.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Phillip_England

How Apples Can Help You To Lose Weight

2011-04-15T14:46:00.000-07:00

Apples are excellent fruits. They contain almost all vitamins and mineral stuffs you need. Apples contain pectin and folic acid as well.

Apple diet can solve metabolism problems and helps with excess weight problems. But you must know that it is not a panacea. Apple diet can not make you slim and graceful forever. This diet will help you to get rid of some excess weight. But you can gain this weight again if after the diet you return to nutrition that already led you to excess weight.

Apples diet is good as any other mono diet (kefir, rice, curd, vegetable, fish) as an addition to your main health and weight loss program. It is better to have apple fasting day especially after holidays or if you broke your diet plan.

To have weight loss you need 1-2 apples fasting days a week having balanced nutrition at the same time.

To strengthen achieved results in weight loss program and not to gain excess weight again you must have 2-3 apples fasting days a month.

Moreover apple diet is very helpful for atherosclerosis prophylaxis and therefore for hypertension treatment.

There are variants of apples diet.

1. Fresh apples. You may eat them as many as you want. You must drink not less than 1-1,5 litre (~2-3 pints) of liquid.

2. Baked apples. You may bake them in oven, make apple sauce but without sugar. It is recommended in case of bowels problems. Baked apples are better assimilated than fresh ones.

3. Kefir (yoghurt)/apples. This day when you eat 1 apple you drink half a glass of kefir (yoghurt). It is easy to calculate that having 6-7 apples you drink 3-3.5 glasses of kefir (yoghurt).

Choose the suitable for you variant and success will wait you. You may combine the variants. In any case please consult with your dietitian before.

Some helpful advices.

If you quitted smoking it can lead to excess weight gaining or to slow down your weight loss program results. Have 2-3 apple fasting days without a break one time in 10 days. You will have 8-12 apple fasting days during month. It will help you to avoid weight gaining for sure.

People with alimentary canal problems must eat apples every day. Moreover scientists discovered that apples contain substances that oppress malignant cells stimulating oncological problems.

It is important to know what sorts of apples suit you. Sour sorts of apples are counter-indicative for people with stomach ulcer for example. Only sweet sorts suit in this case. From the other hand sure sorts of apples are more preferable for people with decreased acidity. Remember that grated apples are assimilated better. Apple seeds contain plenty of iodine that is good for thyroid gland.

Important.

People succeed in weight loss not from apples but from low calorie way of nutrition. You may have weight loss eating potatoes as well. The main thing is not what you eat but how much. That is the formula of success.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nataly_Orlova

5 Weight Loss Motivational Tips

2011-04-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

Motivation is one of the most important things if you are on the quest of losing some weight off. Without motivation you will be having a hard time achieving your goals, in this case, losing weight. Anyway, staying motivated is not an easy thing, even more nowadays that everyone wants to lose weight right now, by using a "magic pill" or something similar.

Without proper motivation, anyone will eventually fail at accomplish their goals, because they will not have what it takes to achieve what they have set before. It has happened even to me, and I consider myself a very disciplined man. Every so often doubts will creep in, and you will need some motivation. That's why I will give you 5 free tips on weight loss motivation, so that next time you have some troubles losing weight you will know what to do.

5 Weight Loss Motivation Tips

Tip No. 1: Do Not Care About What Anyone Says About You. If your friends and family think that you can't do it, you do it anyway. Usually when you take big and important decisions, people tend resist at first. That's because people don't like change at all. It's like that. Mediocrity is just around the corner. Avoid it at all cost. Remember: you are not mediocre, and you can achieve anything you set up to. Losing weight is up to you and no one will care if you don't do it. Repeat that until is internalized in your to head.

Tip No. 2: Watch Movies And Listen To Music That Motivates You. If the movie "Pumping Iron" motivates you to do some weights, then watch it every week or so. If "Rocky" motivates you, then do the same as I said before. That can be applied to any movie that motivates you. Also, if you like to hear your own music every time you go out to exercise, then put some motivational music to your Ipod (or whatever device you use). Some people like exercising listening to techno, some others like to hear some rock n' roll. See what kind of music puts you in a good mood, and use it every single time you exercise so that will make you wanna exercise often.

Tip No. 3: Get A Partner. If you want to lose some weight, then get someone to share your goal. Maybe a friend, or a relative. That way you will have fun while you exercise!

Tip No. 4: Innovate! Try new things every so often. Go to a new gym, buy some supplements, buy some books, or just buy new clothes. You will have some fun doing it, and it will motivate you a lot.

Tip No. 5: Compare Yourself By Taking Before And After Pictures. It's a VERY important thing to do. If you feel like giving up, watching your old pictures will make you wanna continue with your goal.

I hope this has been helpful to you.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ivan_Kreimer

Face Exercise AEIOU

2011-04-15T03:01:00.000-07:00

The fastest and easiest facial exercise is by just saying A-E-I-O-U every early in the morning. In front of your Bath Mirror, just say A-E-I-O-U and repeat them 3times distinctly.

Make it as your routine. It will give you a tone cheeks for just 2 weeks. To make it more effective, just spend 1-2 minutes evertime you went off to the bathroom, or probably while driving alone. This also can improve your speech.

Dumbbell Exercises How to Get Optimal Results

2011-04-15T01:49:00.000-07:00

Would you like to find out how you can get the best results from your dumbbell exercises? This article shows you new exercises that you have missed so far, shows how you can gain more confidence in your training schedule, and teaches you some basic rules about exercising with the dumbbell. It also shows you how to execute your workouts without danger.

Basic Rules

The key to getting the body and health you desire through dumbbell workouts, is understanding five basic principles. Sticking to these principles will both help you gain the results you want, but also help you to train safely.

Rule #1 - Start Light

When first doing a workout, start with a light weight. The point is that your body must take its time to learn how to do the exercise in the right way, just like when you learn how to swim.

Rule #2 - Keep Changing

Changing your dumbbell exercises once or twice a month will ensure that your training schedule remains fresh, effective and fun.

Rule #3 - Form over Weight

It's important to realize that the form is more important than the amount of resistance you use. On the long term, this will give much better results. People who just start out are sometimes too enthusiastic and think too highly of their strength levels. Let's use an example. When you do a biceps curl, you should only bend your arm at the elbow and not move it in any other way. If you use too much weight, it can cause the arching of your back or your elbows to move forward.

Rule #4 - Don't Use Too Much of a Good Thing

You know the saying, too much of a good thing can be bad? This goes for dumbbell workouts too. They can be very efficient at reshaping your body. That's why some people start to believe that if three sets create results, then doing another three will even bring them further.

In reality, however, your body can only adapt to your exercises so much - it doesn't matter if it's about burning calories, burning fat, or strengthening muscles.

Rule #5 - The Tortoise Wins

If it's only one thing that I can get across to you, then please make it the idea that doing a set of exercises consistently over a long period of time gives much better results than how much you do in a single exercise.

Doing dumbbell exercises for two hours, one or two times a week, will give much less results than doing a twenty minute workout consistently for three times a week. The tortoise beats the hare.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Vogt

What is the Best Exercise For Weight Loss?

2011-04-15T01:18:00.000-07:00

It is a common misconception that aerobic exercise tones and firms muscles. Actually it accomplishes very little toning and firming. Resistance exercise (weight training) is where real toning and firming of muscles occurs.

Doing both aerobics and weight training is the optimal way to lose more fat and gain more muscle. If you are trying to lose weight, studies show that weight loss increases by 56 percent with aerobic and strength exercises combined.

Muscle may weigh more, but when you increase your muscle composition, the body is able to burn more fat, even when you are resting, because your metabolism is higher. A pound of muscle will use 350 to 500 calories per week to survive, while a pound of fat only needs about 14 calories per week. New studies have shown that building muscle helps your body fight disease better, too.

Strength training benefits everyone, no matter what age or sex, and is becoming recognized as an important component of fitness. Research is indicating that the muscle loss found in elderly people doesn't come from age, but lack of activity. Even a young person who doesn't get enough exercise can lose muscle mass and strength. Strength training, such as lifting weights or performing weight-resistance exercises, as little as twice a week can help maintain or increase muscle mass.

Strength training involving several sets of multiple repetitions using moderate weights will not result in huge muscles. Instead it builds bone mass and increases the metabolism, as well as toning and firming the muscles, giving a leaner look.

It is very important to do both aerobics and strength exercises. The aerobic exercises help your heart and lungs get stronger and help your body utilize oxygen more efficiently, which in turn helps with strength training and overall fitness. The strength exercise helps develop muscle, reduce body fat and maintain bone mass.

Aerobic Exercise is a type of exercise that elevates the heart rate and breathing for a continuous sustained period. This overloads the heart and lungs and causes them to work harder than at rest.

There are many options to choose from today. Bicycling, aerobic dance, swimming, walking, and stepping are all examples of aerobic exercise. Which ones to chose depends on your physical condition, your history, your interests and your goals. Many experts believe it is better to alternate between 2 or more types, to get a better workout.

There are two main types of aerobics- high impact and low impact. It is better to alternate between high impact aerobics (which are harder on the body and may cause more damage) and low impact aerobics, such as walking and swimming. This is called cross-training, and helps reduce the chance or injury and overuse of certain muscles.

You will want to perform aerobic exercises at least 20 minutes a day for at least 3 to 4 days a week. If you are trying to lose body fat, or your physical condition is very good, then you may want to work longer at it. Try exercising up to 40 to 60 minutes 5 to 6 days a week.

Remember there is no real need to go overboard. Moderate intensity is almost always better, and is more enjoyable. Low to moderate intensity is an especially good idea when starting out after a layoff or recovery from illness or injury, or if you are significantly overweight.

Warm-up and cool down is important to reduce discomfort and the chance of injury. Warm up by starting slow and gradually build up to your top speed. Then slow down again at the end of your workout.

The whole idea behind aerobic exercise is to get up and get moving! Find something you enjoy doing that keeps your heart rate elevated for a continuous time period and get moving to a healthier life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dianne_Ronnow

Get Motivated

2011-04-15T01:03:00.000-07:00

4 steps to get motivated to finally lose that weight

Motivation Tips #1

In order to get motivated, you must first set clear goal, both unrealistic and realistic goals. When setting the unrealistic goals try to make them as unrealistic as possible! SHOCKING! I know right?

But there is a reason to the madness. The key to getting motivated is to learn how to truly inspire your own mind and psyche. The way we do this is by asking the simple question WHY. This is why it is so important to dream big and first start with a very unrealistic goal. Be sure to make this goal as clear as possible. Let your mind wander and dream for a minute. Picture yourself living that accomplished goal down to each and every detail. Close your eyes and picture the very clothes you would wear, what you would drive, smells you would smell, energy you would feel, job you would have, place you would live, people you would associate with... Everything. This inspires our inner self. Then do the same with a more realistic and obtainable goal. By setting the realistic goal it allows the brain to believe the goal is achievable.

Motivation Tips #2

Ask yourself what the reason is you want to lose weight in the first place. Whatever your specific reason is, it can be broken down into 2 major categories.

For Myself or For Someone/Something Else

You may have multiple reasons but each one will fit into one of the two categories. The goal here is to have more reasons in first category than the second. As long as you are trying to do something just for someone else you will inevitably struggle with motivation and have a much higher chance of failing. If your reasons are primarily for someone else I would highly recommend you stop and take a step back and reevaluate what the underlying reason is for you. In order to increase motivation you need to do it for you!

Once you've reevaluated what motivates you, then and only then you should add more reasons to the "For Myself" category. This is only time when it is OK to be selfish. Sometimes all it takes is just a simple rewording of a statement. For instance you may only want to lose weight because your spouse told you to. This reason would fall into the "For Someone Else" category. Now if you simply re-word this you can say, "I want to lose weight because it would ultimately make ME happy. My spouse will be happier and that will make ME happy." See how you can make anything about you. Go through and make as many reasons about you as possible.

Motivation Tips #3

As an additional motivator make a list of everything you are trying to move away from and avoid. Write out all the negative health effects, relationship effects, emotional effects that will be caused if you don't change and lose the weight. Be sure to make this as worst case and scary as possible. Pretty scary huh? This is an important exercise because it helps you put a face on your fear, and fear is a powerful motivator. Keep this list and refer to it regularly to remind yourself of what you want avoid and move away from.

Motivation Tips #4

In the first tip I had you make both and unrealistic goal and then refine to a realistic goal. This is the last step to this continual process. This is the HOW phase. Take your realistic goal, and now refine it again and again. Each time making it closer and closer and clearer and clearer, until you have a goal set for the very next meal or workout session you will take part in. What this means is break down your goal by time frame and overall weight lose. Take the amount of weight you want to lose and divide it by the number of months you want to lose it in, divided by the number of days in a month 30. Now you have your goal for weight loss per day. Knowing this number you can now make a goal for your next meal or next workout based on knowing that the average male needs approximately 2000 calories a day to sustain body weight and the average woman need roughly 1600, and knowing that every 2000 calories additional is a pound of weight gained and every 2000 calories less is a roughly the loss of a pound of weight. Knowing this you can calculate your necessary meal intake and exercise workout plan to achieve your goals. See how little change is actually necessary? See, you can achieve your goals!

And remember this quote that my High School coach used to tell us all the time: If you always do what you've always done, You'll always be who you've always been. In other words, if you never change anything then you will be exactly who you are forever.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Radke

Slimming Tea For Weight Loss

2011-03-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

Everybody wants to be in good shape. Few don't care about their weight or looks until after getting unpleasant comments. This is when they search for the miracles to reduce their weight overnight. They try their luck with teas, pills and anti-oxidants available in the market for weight reduction. Let us see how slimming teas help in weight reduction.

Drinking a cup of tea is not going to help you shed all your excess pounds overnight. However maintaining a healthy lifestyle, balanced diet and regular exercise along with the slimming tea helps you shed that extra inches.

How do slimming teas help in weight loss?

Tea has antioxidants, anti cancer causing agents and poly phenol compounds which helps in building a good metabolism and strengthens immune systems. It is also a natural diuretic and laxative agent that helps in maintaining the water level and clean up the bowel movement to avoid constipation. Tea has less caffeine which will not keep you awake at nights. It is calorie-free so will not gain any pounds unless some sweetener or flavouring agent is added. Generally drinking tea will suppress the appetite preventing excess calorie intake. It helps reversing signs of aging and clarifying skin. It reduces Low-density Lipoprotein (LDL - bad cholesterol) level and plague as the tannins and fluoride content helps preventing tooth decay.

Various types of teas like Oolong, Per'uh and Feiyan are available in the market

Oolong helps in preventing our body from absorbing Dextrose

Pe'ur tea commonly known as 'Medicinal tea' helps reducing blood cholesterol

Feiyan tea has a pleasant taste and it has all the properties of a weight loss tea. It has less caffeine content, a natural diuretic and laxative, improve metabolism and control appetite.

Senna, an important ingredient in all diet teas is a laxative and appetite controller which helps in preventing excess calorie intake resulting in shedding lots of pounds.

Can drinking slimming tea alone help in weight loss?

It can make wonders as long as a healthy diet and a balanced lifestyle are followed. Keep your body hydrated and eat lots of fruits and vegetables to compensate on the minerals and vitamins essential to the body.

Tips to remember while using teas for weight loss

Keep a track of any body changes, be it weight loss or other reaction in the body.

Pregnant women and patients under medication need to consult doctor before taking weight loss tea.

Tea has some amount of caffeine hence is not recommended for people allergic to caffeine.

Never skip your regular food for tea. Tea is not a compensation for your daily food intake.

Never drink any weight loss tea in excess expecting instant weight loss. Follow the directions properly or consult the doctor.

Include a slimming tea for weight loss in your regular diet and lead a healthy life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sangeetha_A

Face Exercises Chubby Cheeks

2011-02-02T02:54:00.000-08:00

You do not have to pay anything! You will be much younger. Above all, it is effective. If you do facial workouts daily, it can tone up the muscles under your skin. It should work, just as sit-ups firm up abdomen and walking tones up legs. Why wouldn't we consider strengthening our facial muscles to firm and tone up eyes, cheeks, forehead, jaws, and neck? The benefit of facial workouts is that it does not ask for costly creams or surgeries.

Facial Workouts - How to Start

Apply a regular face cream prior to the facial workouts so that the skin remains moisturized and does not give way to more wrinkles when you repeat extreme facial expressions. You can avoid this step if you want.

Sit in a comfortable chair. Keep your back straight. Perform some soft neck rolls. (You must consult your physician prior to performing neck rolls.) To warm up the facial muscles: open your mouth as wide as possible, hold for a second, and then relax. Repeat 10 times. You may do more or less repetitions as it suits you. In Hatha yoga, this workout is called the Lion's Pose.

The Major Face Workouts

1. To prevent or reduce wrinkles between eyes: Relax your face. Keep your fingers on the eyebrows. Push those fingers outward. (Not up.) Hold the position for some seconds, and then return to a resting position. Repeat 10 to 20 times.

2. To tone cheeks and prevent sagging: Put your fingers on your cheeks. Using the cheek muscles, push your fingers up and down. Hold for a few seconds. Repeat 10 to 20 times.

3. For your neck - Lie flat on your bed. Raise and lower your head 20 times, while holding the rest of the body still and keeping the neck tight.

4. Whatever gentle movements you do to tighten and relax each muscle on the face can tone up your face. Hence, you can also come up with your own workouts.

Your Face workout Schedule

First of all, you must make sure that there will be no side effects.

Then, make a daily regime and stick to it. A lot of women combine facial exercises with their regular workouts. Some others do them while they watch TV. It will not take much time. The secret lies in doing consistently.

Therefore, prior to going for costly creams or surgeries, try facial workouts. You will be achieving a smoother and younger face.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mohd_Aizat_Hassan

Slimming Pills and Slimming Tablets: Are They Effective?

2010-07-15T00:25:00.000-07:00

Slimming pills and slimming tablets are effective in initiating weight-loss; but often they come with various side effects and temporary results. So, consult a doctor and choose carefully.

The growing popularity of slimming pills is a direct outcome of the drive among people to look great and stay fit. But are these slimming tablets effective? Do they really work?
To put it in a word, the answer is 'yes.' But although they can be very efficient in helping you lose those extra pounds, the effect is not long lasting. You must choose wisely and make sure that you consult with your physician before you begin your weight-loss regimen. Often, they bring in side effects in various forms while helping you get rid of your flab. Your slimming products must be accompanied with a healthy and balanced diet to maintain your figure.

Now, let us take a look at how the slimming tablets work. First of all, they suppress your appetite. Since they make you feel less hungry, you tend to eat less. Your calorie intake is restricted to almost 150 calories per serving of food. As a result, your weight loss is initiated almost immediately. Secondly, they boost your metabolic system. As a result, your calories are burnt fast. Thus, this combination of low intake of calories and prompt burning down of existing calories lets you get the sleek figure you dream of. Additionally, clinical examinations have proved that slimming pills reduce your fat consumption by almost 28% and reduce the level of cholesterol in your blood.

Obesity is an age-old problem. So, the desire to look slender has spurred the demand of slimming pills to a great extent. Researches and experiments are being conducted every day to cope up with the demand-based supply of the same. Recently, it has been found out that the herbal slimming pills provide all the benefits of regular weight-loss pills, and at the same time, save the consumer from the harmful side effects. Some of the disastrous side effects of non-herbal slimming products are kidney malfunction and liver failure.

Ephedrine is a common ingredient in slimming products; but it is notorious for causing diabetes and high blood pressure. Your motive behind going for slimming tablets is maintaining a healthy body and healthy lifestyle. It will be very unwise if you cause harm to your body while wanting to do good. So, deciding on natural products is always safer. But, these herbal pills do not work instantaneously. You have to be patient when you opt for the herbal procedure.

Effectiveness of a product always depends upon whether you choose it right or not. So, while you select your slimming capsules, keep the following points in your mind:

- Look out for approval by some reputed organization on drugs and supplements, like the FDA. See the label carefully.

- Reading the list of constituents always helps. See if any harmful or banned ingredient has been used. It is always judicious to stay away from them.

- Research the track record of the company you want to finalize.

- Consult a doctor before buying slimming tablets.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_Billmore

Exercise Over 40 - Why Women Who Exercise Over 40 Should Consider Weight Training

2010-07-07T02:08:00.000-07:00

I have taken a new interest in exercise over 40 since I hit this decade a couple of years ago. As it turns out, exercise is more than just a way of looking good when we reach the 4th decade. It is important in controlling many things from menopause to bone health to self image.

This article shares with you what my 18 years in health care have taught me about not only the importance of exercise over 40 but more specifically the importance of weight training for women over the age of forty.

As we move past our 30's our muscles start to slowly lose their mass IF we don't work them against resistance, i.e. lift weights.

This is significant for many reasons, one of them being our ability to maintain a healthy weight. Muscle is very important for fat burning. In fact, ever pound of muscle you have on your body burns 50 calories per day. Now let's consider what happens if you don't workout and you lose 1/2 pound of muscle a year from age 40 to age 50. That means you have to eat 250 calories less at age 50 just to maintain your current weight!

Another top concern for women (or at least it should be) is bone health, our bones become dense when they are put under weight bearing. If your only exercise is walking you will not put your bones under enough stress to maintain your bone density. Even though walking is considered a weight bearing exercise and is good for you, it is not nearly as beneficial to your bones as weight lifting.

I mentioned menopause at the beginning of this article so let me elaborate. Studies show that if we become active in our 40's that we are much more likely to stay active after menopause and the symptoms of menopause and their intensity greatly diminish with strength training.

Many of my female clients are not sure about starting to exercise over 40 with weights, especially if this is new to them. I recommend they make it as easy as possible to get started yet set themselves up correctly with a good home gym.

The most convenient, cost-effective and sensible option for weight training is to create a home gym and this really only requires one piece of equipment. I recommend you get a set of adjustable dumbbells. They will allow you to do every type of exercise and because one pair of these innovative dumbbells adjusts to different weights it is like having 15 sets of free weights in one. Truly everything you need to exercise with weights for the rest of your life.

Exercise over 40 with weights is vital for all of the reasons mentioned above, if you see how weight training can benefit you then I recommend you invest in a set of adjustable dumbbells such as the ones put out by Bowflex they have served my clients very well.

Working out at home makes sense.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Becky_Gillaspy

Slimming Down

2008-04-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

Slimming is not as hard as you think it is. In fact, slimming is not hard at all, even if you are very, very fat. Slimming can be accomplished in just eight easy steps. These steps can be taken by anyone whether the person is a baby or an adult, old or young, female or a male. Slimming, as described in these steps, neither requires you to go to the gym nor exercise vigorously nor spend any money whatsoever. If you follow this simple slimming guide, you will be able to slim down in about two weeks flat. This slimming guide has been prepared with a lot of thought. On reading it, you will understand that it has not been written with any ulterior, commercial motive in mind. It has been written in layman's language so that you can follow it without any difficulty. It has been crafted to help you and people like you who worry about slimming, who spend their precious money in consulting dietitians and doctors and in visiting gymnasiums, who think slimming can only be achieved through extensive and tiresome workouts, by running twenty miles every day, by cutting out on delicious foods, tasty meals, sweets and chocolates.

The purpose of this article is two-fold. The first part of this document informs you about certain myths and falsehoods and scaring facts related to slimming so that you don't fall prey to any of them and so that you can steer clear from them. It tells you that slimming is actually a cheerful business and something that is easily attainable. It also informs you that slimming does not require you to sacrifice anything. The second part of this document tells you the various steps you have to follow in order to slim down effectively.

Part 1: Myths about Slimming

Stop Feeling Guilty for Hogging: You Have Not Broken Any Law

First and foremost, you must remember that if you are overweight, fat, obese and look ugly, you should never feel guilty. Eating is one of the best hobbies that you can have. Those who laugh at your bloated figure are cruel, mean and foolish. Remember, those who are lean and thin are almost always bad tempered as they are constantly missing out on one of the greatest joys of life. You must never ever feel guilty about being fat, you must never chide yourself for it. You love to eat. That is not a crime. The first criterion of slimming down is that you must be free from guilt and that you must be bold enough to say to yourself that you have not done anything wrong by eating your favorite foodstuff. I do not know how many dietitians you have visited or how many doctors you have seen, but I am sure that none of them have told you that 'eating is an extremely pleasurable pastime and that you must not feel guilty for being a foodie'.

You Want to Slim Down. Surely You Don't Want to Die?

Yes, doctors and dietitians are like that. They tend to scare the hell out of you. Some may have prescribed slimming pills. I hope you have not taken any of them. Never take pills for slimming, no matter who has prescribed them. They cause cancer. Lots of people take them thinking that medicines will help them to slim down easily, without necessitating them to cut down on their diet or their intake of fatty food. They think that slimming tablets will make them thin as rakes while they continue to binge on chocolates, spaghetti, ice cream and other forbidden and junk foods. The slimming pills will make them thin no doubt, but then within a couple of years, they won't know whether they have become skinny due to the pills or due to the cancer that the pills have caused in their bodies.

Over Exercise is Bad

Another point that doctors and dietitians keep drumming in is exercise. Now understand this carefully: exercise beyond a certain limit is BAD for the health. If you think that by spending hours and money at the gym, you'll get the enviable figure that you desire, think again. If you spend that many hours at the gym, whether you'll slim down or not is a moot point, but you'll definitely get a heart attack. Over, rigorous and vigorous exercise damages the heart. Some of the best and slimmest actors of the world are heart patients precisely because of over exercise at the gym.

Exercise Wisely and Normally

There is absolutely no need for you to destroy your beauty sleep to get up in the wee hours of the morning to run around the neighborhood or to go for a jog up to a certain landmark or to do yoga. Sleep is very vital for the body. So please sleep tight. Get up when it is time or else you shall get late for office or college or school. Please try to understand: slimming does not require you to take any steps that are unnatural or that go against your grain or that you don't enjoy. Slimming should be integrated with your normal body processes and habits. Every morning, you have to wake up and go to your office or university or school or workplace. This requires some exercise. In your workplace or school, you have to walk about as per your needs. This demands some natural exercise on your part. If hours or periods are specially allocated for exercises, when large groups of people routinely exercise together, so much the better. Even if there are no such hours allotted, never mind. Remember that your body performs exercises throughout the day when you go to your workplace from home; when you come home from the workplace; when you shop at the supermarket; when you go to a friend's; when you go to the library to return a book; when you take a bath; when you mow the lawn; when you use the rake and the shovel in your garden and in your driveway; when you cycle to a nearby spot. This is the beauty of natural exercise. Most of it occurs while you are unconscious, while you are doing the things you normally do. Natural exercise does not require any strict regimen and does not require you to expend money. You do not feel any mental or physical strain when you do it. Natural exercise is hence extremely advantageous and beneficial.

Don't Stop Eating. Just Control It.

Moreover, a slim figure cannot be achieved through exercise alone. The main ingredient to procuring a slim figure is diet control. If you only exercise and do not regulate your diet, you shall remain as plump as ever. Diet control, of course, does not mean starvation.

Don't Cut Flesh to Cut Flab

Surgery for slimming is not recommended at all. If you are horribly obese, that might be the only way out, though. All the same, surgery to remove adipose layers is not at all desirable. People who try and try and cannot slim down go for surgery. But the main thing is that they can avoid surgery if they try to slim down in the right way, if they read this article in order to slim down. Surgery is an invasion on the body and can cause a number of complications. Doctors and surgeons always say that surgery is the best way out for corpulent people. That is not true. Doctors and surgeons have a lot to gain from operating on you in the form of doctor's fees, surgeon's fees, etc. That is probably why they will talk of surgery straightaway. They will describe the surgical process as simple, as not taking more than 45 minutes. In reality, surgeries performed on fat people or on anyone, for that matter, can get pretty scaring. If anything goes wrong, the patient might die, it can get that dangerous. And if all goes well, you will still have to go through the routine post-operative pain, trauma and difficulties. So, before you sign on the document handed over to you by the hospital and agree to slimming down through surgery, please think a while. If you know the ropes of slimming down, you will not have to get into the Operation Theater. If you read this article, you will not have to have a surgeon run a scalpel through your flesh.

Spice Up Slimming by Eating Your Favorite Foods

Now, let us discuss food. Yes, you can have your favorite dishes while slimming. Never ever think of giving up on pasta, chocolates, creamy soups, ice creams, steaks, bacon, salami, sausages, butter, jam, cheese, mutton, biryani, or whatever your favorite dish is. If you deny yourself the stuff that you find most mouthwatering, you will feel deprived and sick in the mind. Not eating your favorite dishes for days will make you feel depressed and then you shall have to consult other doctors to ward off your depression. No, that is not the way. Depriving and denying is not the way. It will not get you anywhere. If you deprive yourself for two weeks, you will feel like gorging on those very foodstuffs that you have denied yourself in the next two weeks. The net result: you will soon put on the two kilos or pounds that you had managed to shed. So, what do you do? Please eat your fill every single day but your favorite dishes only during the weekends. Eat cereals, lentils, lean meat and fruits during the weekdays and the fatty food only during the weekends. Observe this discipline while eating and you shall see that it will work miracles for you! For more details on food and diet, look up Part 2.

Don't Let Your Mind Get Depressed If You Want Your Body to Get Depressed

Finally, do not feel depressed. Slimming is a cinch. Those who say that it is difficult no nothing of slimming. Or they have gone about it in the wrong way.

There are two primary reasons why most people slim down. One is to look good. The second is to remain healthy. Because most of the organs including the heart and the kidneys go bust if you are too fat. Also, obesity causes diabetes, hypertension and other health problems. Those who feel depressed because they are fat fall into the category of people who are obsessed with their looks. Looks are something external. I mean if your health is at imminent danger due to obesity, if being beefy poses a serious health hazard, it is understandable. But to be upset because you don't look slim and hip! That is ridiculous. Looks aren't everything! Don't misunderstand me. I am not trying to tell you that you must look ugly. What I am endeavoring to say is that: never feel bad because you are fat. Never let jeers and jokes directed at your pot belly get the better of you. You love to eat. That's great. It shows that you have a healthy appetite and hence a healthy mind. YOU WILL NOT FEEL GUILTY BECAUSE YOU LOVE TO EAT. YOU WILL BE BOLD AND TELL EVERYONE WHO LAUGHS AT YOU: YES, I AM FAT BECAUSE I LOVE TO EAT. I CAN SLIM DOWN TOO AND LOOK LIKE A KNOCKOUT. And that's completely true. You can continue eating what you adore and yet look slim, only if you read and follow this slimming guide.

Part 2: Slimming Down: 8 Easy Steps

Before you embark on a 'slimming' journey, consider if your thyroid is normal. You could be suffering from hypothyroidism, a disease, which makes a person put on weight abnormally. If you are diagnosed with hypothyroidism, you need not read this article. It will not be relevant for you. The medicines for controlling thyroid that you will be prescribed by your doctor will help you to reduce weight automatically.

If you do not suffer from hypothyroidism, then you need to read this article and follow the steps mentioned therein for controlling your weight.

Step 1: Diet

Never eat less. Always eat your fill. Only don't eat too much of fatty food or food that contains trans fatty acids.

• Breakfast: Eat the croissants and the toasts but not the butter. Eat fruits and drink fruit juice with or without sugar. That amount of sugar will do you no harm unless you are a diabetic. Eat one boiled egg. Try not to have an omelet or fried eggs. You may eat two rashers of bacon. You can have six pieces of sausages, if they are chicken sausages and two, if they are pork. Try to skip out on jam, marmalade and cheese. If the bread tastes too dull sans butter and jam, dip it into sweetened tea or coffee or milk in order to have it. Do not have cornflakes. It is useless as it does not fill up the stomach. You may have porridge if you wish. If you prefer an Asian breakfast, you can gorge on idlis and dal. Idlis and dal are always welcome as they are practically fatless. But if you have an Asian breakfast, stick to an Asian breakfast. Don't try mixing Asian and European breakfasts. You shall end up overeating and getting chubby.

• Breakfast Preferable: Must have lots of bread with tea or coffee to fill up your stomach or else you shall start feeling hungry immediately after breakfast. One boiled egg is a must. Fruits and fruit juice are essential.

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• Breakfast Preferable: Must have lots of bread with tea or coffee to fill up your stomach or else you shall start feeling hungry immediately after breakfast. One boiled egg is a must. A few idlis and some dal would be good. Fruits and fruit juice are essential.

• Lunch: Stick to one main dish. Whether it is steak and vegetables or fish fries and vegetables or some chicken preparation and vegetables. Do NOT have thick, creamy soup. Always have consommés and light soups with bread or breadsticks. Do NOT have dessert. For lunch and dinner, it is always preferable to have Asian meals. European meals are too full of fat. An Asian lunch would typically consist of rice, lentil soup, a vegetable preparation, some chicken curry and some sour curd. Do NOT eat sweetmeats or sweet yogurt at the end of the meal.

• Lunch Preferable: Rice, lentil soup, a vegetable preparation, some chicken curry and some sour curd. Please eat as much of this lunch as you want so that you are not hungry after lunch. This lunch is almost fatless while being extremely nutritious and will really help you to slim down.

• Tea: Some tea or coffee and some soft white bread. No tea cakes please.

• Tea Preferable: It is better to skip tea completely. If you have a hearty lunch like the lunch described under 'Lunch Preferable', you will not need to have anything for tea.

• Dinner: Stick to one main dish. You may have sizzlers, steaks, cutlets, or fries, but none of them are desirable. There is no need to have soup more than once a day. An Asian dinner would be the best for slimming down. So, let us go to 'Dinner Preferable' right away. If you've had rice for lunch, try not to have it for dinner and vice versa.

• Dinner Preferable: Roti (unleavened bread). 4-5 pieces if you are big built. 2-3 pieces if you are short. Dal or lentil soup is a must. A vegetable preparation and some chicken stew with 2 whole potatoes. Some cucumbers, tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce, and onions as salad. NO CREAM OR HAM IN SALAD. If you still feel hungry, have more dal and salad. But do not have more than your fixed quota of roti or vegetable or chicken preparation. NO DESSERTS. NO CURD.

Important: You must not touch alcohol as alcohol is very fattening. If you crave for hard drinks, drink some orange juice or lemonade or some other fruit juice instead. You can have cold drinks in order to stem your urge for hard drinks but cold drinks are fattening too though not as much as alcohol (hard drinks). And never have the 'Diet' brands or versions of cold drinks. They cause cancer and other diseases.

The above diet has been set down after much deliberation and from actual experience. It is very good for the health as it is substantial as well as nutritious. It is a perfectly balanced diet and provides the human body with all necessary nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, minerals, iron, calcium, phosphorous, carbohydrates, energy and fat. The human body requires a small amount of fat to survive and to be resistant to infectious diseases. A diet that is totally devoid of fat is perilous for the body. The diet prescribed above takes into account this fact. It has been delineated in a way so that you are able to take that minimum quantity of fat that is essential for you. It has also been approved by doctors, experts and dietitians. It will help you to remain slim as well as extremely fit. Dieting with the prescribed diet can be carried on for long periods of time as the prescribed diet i.e. the items mentioned under the 'Preferable section', will do no damage to the heart, will help you to remain slim and healthy. The prescribed diet will also help to keep triglycerides, cholesterols and sugar, low, and the good cholesterol, high, to a certain extent. However, this prescribed diet is not specifically for people who suffer from cardiac problems, hypertension and diabetes.

Step 2: Indulgence

Eat the diet as prescribed above through all the weekdays. When Saturday and Sunday arrive, you can have ONE of your favorite dishes each day. If your favorite dishes comprise chocolate and steak, you can have a bar of chocolate on Saturday and a steak on Sunday. If your favorite dishes constitute ice cream and biryani, you can have ice cream on Saturday and a plate of biryani on Sunday.

Step 3: No Crash Dieting

NEVER GO FOR CRASH DIETING. Crash dieting is very harmful for the body. If you suddenly stop eating over a few days or just eat your breakfast and skip lunch and dinner for some consecutive days, you shall be in for a whole lot of trouble. Crash dieting lowers the strength of the immune system of the body and makes you prone to viral and bacterial infections that are contagious and that are airborne such as influenza, tuberculosis, common cold and cough and even swine flu. Crash dieting may even cause you to faint.

Step 4: No Tough Slimming

NEVER TRY TOUGH SLIMMING. THE CONSEQUENCES CAN BE FATAL. 'Tough slimming' is getting tough with your body and subjecting your body to torture by prolonged starvation. Remember, the diet structure prescribed in steps 1. and 2. CAN be executed over a long stretch of time, as it is good for your body and mind. The prescribed diet structure helps to promote health and enables you to diminish flab and a rotund paunch. It can make you slim, look good as well as healthy and fit. The prescribed diet is good for the heart and will also help sugar levels to be kept under control. IT IS NOT TOUGH SLIMMING.

Tough slimming is being overly harsh with your body. Models have often practiced it. In tough slimming, people starve themselves for days, and try to survive only on liquids such as tea and soups. This can be disastrous for the body. It can cause anorexia bulimia, a frightening eating disorder that can make you morbid and that will ultimately kill you. Surviving on fluids only over a prolonged period of time can lead to massive heart attacks and untimely deaths. Several models and supermodels have died of anorexia bulimia and heart attacks, when they have practiced 'tough slimming' in order to look skinny.

And anyway, you'd like to look good, not emaciated like a skeleton, I'm sure? So what's the point in tormenting your body by being so tough with it?

Step 5: No Giving Long Gaps

NEVER GIVE LONG GAPS BETWEEN MEALS. You can skip tea but don't ever think of skipping breakfast, lunch or dinner. These three meals are all crucial meals. If you think that you'll get slim by just having two meals a day, think again. Giving long gaps between meals and having one or two main meals a day is sure to cause gastric ulcer in your stomach. Gastric ulcers burn a lot, they can cause serious bleeding in your stomach. And ulcers can turn malignant and become cancerous. And cancer can take your life. Even if gastric ulcers don't turn cancerous, the treatment that you'll have to undergo so that your ulcer does not turn cancerous can be a bothersome nuisance. Patients suffering from gastric ulcer are advised not to give gaps, to eat lots of food, to drink lots of milk. Patients suffering from gastric ulcer are hence often fat as dietary restrictions cannot be imposed on them! So, it would do you a fat lot of good if you contracted gastric ulcer by giving gaps!

Step 6: Exercise Naturally

Natural exercise is recommended. For more information on natural exercise, refer to Part 1: Exercise Wisely and Normally. Regarding exercising, I suggest that you do only ONE thing to make natural exercising possible. It is the ONLY restriction I impose. Don't take your car to office. Take the public transport instead. Traveling by the public transport is very good for your health. PLEASE USE THE ELEVATOR. Walking up several floors can really damage your heart. Even if your office is on the second floor, I advise you to use the elevator. Many people have the habit of running or walking up the stairs of a building to enter their office. They think that in this way, they will be able to lose a lot of weight. But this is not a good method of losing weight as climbing up floors can even adversely affect the hearts of people who have no heart problems.

Hence, where exercising is concerned remember the following salient points:
• No need to get up early
• No need to do yoga
• No need to run miles
• No need to jog
• No need to do the treadmill
• No need to lift weights
• No need to go to the gym
• No need to run up stairs
• No need to pant about in sweat suits
• Quit using your car. Use the public transport instead.
• Don't exercise for the sake of exercising. Be natural.

Step 7: Trust Your Eyesight

Weight depends on height. If you surf the Internet or visit a dietitian or a doctor, you may easily be able to obtain 'Height-Weight' charts that display what a person's weight should be according to his or her height. While you can follow these charts when slimming down, I have to tell you that it is better to use these charts as documents of reference only and not as strict codes of conduct. After all, your eyes are the best judge of whether you appear chubby, plump, porky, flabby, beefy, bulky, fat, corpulent or obese. A height-weight chart can serve as a guide only. The real determinant is your own eyes. So, if you do not think yourself to be fat when you stand in front of the mirror, believe yourself. Even if you are fat according to the data and statistics of a 'height-weight' chart. Always trust your eyes. Your own eyes, mind you. Do not go by other people's eyes and opinions. People who don't like you might just say you are fat when you are only slightly chubby just to make you feel down. Therefore, you yourself are the best judge of whether or not you need to reduce.

Step 8: Be Patient

Finally, relax and take it easy. Life is a very big affair. So, don't let something minor like being fat get the better of you. Be patient with yourself while slimming down.

If you read this article and follow what it says, you will become slim in a month's time if you are overweight, slim in a couple of months if you are pudgy and plump, slim within four to six months, if you are fat and slim by definitely a year, if you are obese. Don't panic. Be patient. Results will come!

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