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Here are five important things you should not overlook if you want to lose weight. These are the things that most people overlook when trying to lose weight, simply because they are unaware that these factors can affect their weight.

This is merely a sampling of the most common factors which tends to affect weight loss. When you take things on a personal level, you will find that there are also probably various other factors which you should take into account.

These are also factors which can affect you without your knowledge and therefore are easily overlooked. Go through them, see if they have a place in your life, and then try to do something about it.

1. Get the proper amount of sleep
Alright, so if you only just had a baby, or have one- or two-year old baby then sleep is probably a luxury that you can only dream about. But for the rest of you who don’t have a good excuse, there is simply no reason why you can’t get a decent amount of sleep every night.

Sleep deprivation can lead some people to eat more than they normally would. This can be due to your body is crying out for some fuel to keep it awake! Losing sleep once in a while is all well and good, but if it happens on a regular basis, there is a good chance that your body will react to this in some way or other. And this, is what could affect your weight, so get a good night’s sleep, every night.

2. Ditch the stress
No matter how you look at it, stress is bad!  So, it should really come as no surprise to find out that stress can also affect your weight, and how you gain or lose it. Most of us lead quite a busy life these days, but you should try and find time for yourself in the hectic environment and do what you want. You might even find that little ball of stress which you’ve been carrying around, along with some stress-induced eating habits, melts away.

If however, finding some time for yourself is not possible in your schedule, you should really try to find other way of ditching your stress. If all fail, you might want to try relaxation tapes, or maybe even a bit of armchair meditation, to get your life back into balance and to lose the stress. It should also be noted, that stress can also lead to sleeping problems, which again can be an adverse factor for weight gain as I mentioned earlier.

3. Stay away from sugars
For those of you who are hog-tied to your sweet tooth and its sugary ways, you will be glad to hear that there are some sugars which are actually good for you and which you don’t need to cut out from your diet. But although these sugars are perfectly alright for you to have, too much of a good thing is definitely bad for you, so learn to moderate even with these types of sugars.

The sugars we’re talking about here are those sugars which occur naturally in your food. It’s not the refined and processed sugars which are to be found in most foods these days, but rather those sugars which can be found in the likes of fruits and even some vegetables.
These sugars are good for you, and as long as you don’t overdo these, you will find that it is quite easy to mollify your sweet tooth to some degree.  Alright, there is simply no proper substitute for a good bar of chocolate, but if you want to lose weight, then the very last thing that you want to do is to give in your sweet tooth and grab the nearest sugar-rich snack you can find.

You need to stay away from the added sugars in foods, especially the refined and processed varieties as far as possible. They are not good for weight loss. The solution to this problem is, instead of reaching for the nearest package of sugar-rich snack, try reaching for the nearest fresh fruit that you can find.

4. Eat more fiber-enriched foods
The problem of eating a well balanced meal when you are always on the go, or too busy to sit down and have a good meal, is the fact that you aren’t always able to have a good meal. Sometimes eating any type of meal, let alone a well balanced meal, can be a luxury, and this can make for some bad times for your waste line if you’re not careful.

However, there are ways for you to cut down and chop out some of the bad eating habits which you have accumulated throughout a lifetime, and one of these is to include lots of fiber into your meals. Fiber-filled foods are known to be part of a well balanced meal, not to mention the fact that they also act more like a slow-release nutrition system than anything else.

Fiber enriched foods help to make your blood sugar levels rise at a slower rate, which has the effect of constraining your food cravings. For example, if you have a fiber enriched meal such as oatmeal, lentils, or whole grain cereals, you will find that your cravings for snacks at odd hours between meals will lessen. This is the best way to beat hunger cravings.

Here are some more fiber-filled foods you should include in your diet:

• Pears
• Berries
• Lentils - such as lentil soup
• Whole grains
• Whole grain cereals - such as oatmeal, or muesli.

5. Do not starve yourself or otherwise skip meals
Most of us have probably at one time or other skipped a meal or two. It’s when we do this on a regular basis however, that the problems can begin. Before you go any further down the road to weight loss, you might want to take this into account along with the other four items mentioned above.

Starvation, in any form or manner, be it for one meal everyday, or eating only enough to keep a grasshopper alive, is not the way for you to lose weight. More than likely you will get side effects from your skipping or reduced meals, which you won’t even notice until it’s too late and you have unknowingly gained weight instead of losing it.

If you starve yourself or even regularly skip meals, you body might think that food is scarce, and start to store up fat reserves. You can see where this is all leading, right? Where you might have thought that you were doing the right thing to lose weight, you were really aiding and abetting your body to shore upon its fat reserves.

The same thing applies to water as well. If you don’t get enough water into your system, your body will retain water against a time that it will need it, which in turn will make you bloated.

If you simply don’t have the time to eat a good hearty breakfast before you begin your day, you might want to look at substituting a nutritious energy drink, or even taking your breakfast along with you on your rounds. The same applies to the other two main meals that you take throughout the day. If you don’t have the time to sit down and eat in an orderly fashion, don’t resort to a candy bar and a soda. Go with something healthier, like fruits.

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Tags: Weight Loss by leon
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Although most vegetarians consume a considerable amount of protein, they often do not absorb as much as they would on a nonvegetarian diet. This is because plant proteins are considerably less digestible than animal proteins, which contain amino acid chains that are closer or identical to human amino acid chains.

Consuming animal proteins might yield close to a 1:1 absorption ratio, while consuming plant proteins, such as wheat, might only yield 50% of the amino acids needed to build a “complete protein” or a protein that can readily be assimilated into the human body.

In order for vegetarians to absorb a healthy amount of protein, they must consume a variety of plant proteins to form complete amino chains. By eating vegetables, legumes, seeds, nuts, fruits, and whole grains, vegetarians can increase the amount of proteins they create by combining a number of varieties of amino acid chains.

Vegetarians must also consume more foods that contain proteins because plant proteins are generally harder to digest. While a nutritional label may suggest that pasta has 5 grams of protein per serving; you may  only be able to digest 2-3 grams of that protein, which means you must complement the pasta with other sources of protein.

In addition to natural sources of protein, vegetarians should also seek foods that are “protein-fortified” — or artificially-infused with protein.  For example, many supermarkets offer a variety of “protein-fortified” pasta and bread these days. I have seen pasta that contains as much as 12 grams of protein per serving. It’s advisable that you read the labels when you do your shopping next time.

Soy milk is also a good source of protein for vegetarians. Studies on isolated soy protein show that it can be absorbed nearly as well as animal proteins, yielding close to a 1:1 protein absorption ratio.

For non-vegan vegetarians, yogurt, milk, and eggs (which contain complete proteins) are all excellent sources of protein.

As a vegetarian you have a number of options to boost your protein intake - and you should consider taking advantage of all of them. You should diversify your food selections, drink more soy products, and eat “protein-fortified” breads and pasta.

Here is to your good health!

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Tags: Healthy Diets by leon
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Being healthy, in shape, and taking care for your own body combines to equal fitness. Which is something wonderful that people can do to enhance their lives – commit to fitness!

The Bible describes our body as being our temple, which is why it is so important to maintain it. Staying fit is a noble act.

This will take a lot of effort and action, but there will be an excellent payoff. Only those who work at it are lucky enough to have a life full of peace and happiness.

Fitness exercise is vital to any routine. Fitness exercise helps fight many diseases, some of which are serious enough to kill, like heart disease.

Unfortunately, greater numbers of people tend to pay no attention to this type of activity. This is why so many people are coming down with different ailments. So of course the hospital business is booming, even if it’s on the backs of these patients.

In fact, high school students don’t generally follow the recommended activities for fitness and health by the Council of the President on Physical Fitness and the Surgeon General nowadays. This amounts to 33% of the United States population.

More often than not, their disregard to health continues into their adulthood. Since more and more people are not staying fit, there will be even more people with weakened resistance, thus more diseases.

As discovered by the National Institute on Aging, a mere 58 % of Americans are taking part in a lifetime fitness program. More often than not, they put the program last, squeezing it into their free time. Of these people, there are only 26 % regularly participating in the fitness program, and even then it is only an average of three times per week.

Commitment to a lifetime of exercise is paramount, but sadly, far too many people often neglect it. People ignore the fact that their lives’ could be greatly enhanced.

Heart disease, stroke, injuries from accidents and mishaps, cancer, and chronic lower respiratory illnesses are common causes of deaths in the U.S., as you may be aware. The CDC reported these as the five most common causes of deaths each year.

What’s worse is that all these causes of death could be avoided all together. People should pay attention to the importance of fitness and exercise and reap the benefits of a lifetime commitment to being fit. Deaths occurring due to accidents are not included.

Physical exercise is not the only part making up a lifetime fitness program, but this program includes a diet that needs to be watched. Anyone that commits to physical fitness will defiantly live a longer healthier life. Of course, they will be happier overall as well. Life is more enjoyable and relaxing when you have a healthy mind and a healthy body.

The choice is yours – do you prefer to commit to a lifetime of fitness to live a healthy, pro-longed life, or would you rather suffer the consequences of not taking care of yourself?

Layne Stoops is an accomplished fitness enthusiast and educator, focusing on innovative and unique techniques for living a healthy life-style. For a limited time, you can claim the “Fitness: Guide to Staying Healthy” e-book absolutely free Free Fitness Guide

Tags: Wellness, Fitness and Diet by LayneStoops
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Contrary to popular belief, there is no quick fix to successful weight loss.

It all begins the same way. You look at yourself in the mirror, gasp in horror and then frantically embark on the trendiest diet - on the shelves or off the Internet - to lose all those extra pounds. But do these fad diets really work?

And if they do, are they safe? While definitions are usually subjective, most agree that fad diets are short-term programmes that make claims of easy and guaranteed weight loss. These diets usually gain popularity quickly and then fall out of favour just as fast.

Some of the better-known fad diets include the Atkins Diet, Cabbage Soup Diet, 3-Day Diet and the Grapefruit Diet.

Generally, if you come across a diet that severely restricts or advocates one food item or food group, makes large claims based on small evidence and promises rapid weight loss within a short time, then you really might want to reconsider.

As fad diets typically involve a restricted eating plan, dieters usually don’t receive enough nutrition to sustain their bodies. Those on fad diets might lose weight quickly, but in many cases, little actual fat is lost. During the diet, the body becomes lethargic and energy levels stay low. Dieters may also regain the weight quickly or even suffer from serious health risks.

So remember: There is no miracle diet, so if the diet sounds too good to be true, that’s because it probably is.

If you’re seriously looking for weight loss solution that works, is safe and have no side effects, check out: Fat Loss Secrets.

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Tags: Weight Loss by leon
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Excess Drinking Boosts Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Especially for women, heavy consumption tied to arterial stiffening, enlarged hearts

While research suggests that moderate alcohol consumption may have health benefits, heavy drinking increases blood pressure, stiffens blood vessels and causes more rigid heart muscles in men and enlarged hearts in women — all risk factors for cardiovascular disease, a new study warns.

Men who drink more than 21 units of alcohol per week and women who drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week put themselves at serious risk for hypertensive heart disease, heart failure and stroke, the researchers found.

“These shocking findings illustrate the extreme risks that heavy drinkers are exposing themselves to — some of which are particularly pronounced in women,” lead investigator Dr. Azra Mahmud, a cardiovascular lecturer and hypertension specialist at the Trinity Centre for Health Science, St. James Hospital, Dublin, Ireland, said in a prepared statement.

“We want to make sure people aren’t getting mixed messages about alcohol. The potentially fatal effects of heavy drinking may more than counteract the well-documented benefits of sensible alcohol intake,” Mahmud said.

The study included 100 women and 100 men (mean age 46, all healthy) who were divided into three groups: non-drinkers, moderate drinkers (males, less than 21 units of alcohol per week; females, less than 14 units per week) and heavy drinkers (males, more than 21 units per week; females, more than 14 units per week).

The participants underwent a number of tests including ultrasound of heart to assess arterial stiffness and pulse wave velocity to measure aortic blood pressures and wave reflections in the aorta.

The results showed that heavy drinking is associated with arterial stiffening and impaired left ventricular (LV) relaxation in males, and LV structural changes, including LV enlargement (hypertrophy), in females. Of special note, women who were heavy drinkers had an enlarged heart even without high blood pressure or stiff arteries.

“The excessive consumption of alcohol causes significant arterial and ventricular stiffening and an enlarged heart; factors associated with poor cardiovascular outcomes in hypertensive populations,” Mahmud said. “Trends in heavy drinking continue to rise, and it is high time to recognize the potential of an alcohol-induced epidemic of cardiovascular disease. Binge and heavy drinkers must consider their behavior and control their intake before it’s too late.”

The study was expected to be presented Wednesday at the American Society of Hypertension annual meeting, in New Orleans.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. About 17.5 million people die from CVD each year, and that toll could increase to almost 20 million by 2015.

More information:
The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more about heart and vascular diseases.  — Robert Preidt

SOURCE: American Society of Hypertension, news release, May 14, 2008.

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Tags: Heart Disease / Blood Pressure by leon
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How many times have you gone to sleep at night, promising to yourself that you’ll go to the gym in the morning, and then changing your mind just eight hours later because when you get up, you don’t feel like exercising?

While this can happen to the best of us, it doesn’t mean you should drop the ball altogether when it comes to staying fit. What people need to realize is that staying active and eating right are critical for long-term health and wellness. The more you know about how your body responds to your lifestyle choices, the better you can customize a nutrition and exercise plan that is right for you.

When you eat well, increase your level of physical activity, and exercise at the proper intensity, you are informing your body that you want to burn a substantial amount of fuel. This translates to burning fat more efficiently for energy. In other words, proper eating habits plus exercise equals fast metabolism, which, in turn gives you more energy throughout the day and allows you to do more physical work with less effort.

The true purpose of exercise is to send a repetitive message to the body asking for improvement in metabolism and strength. Each time you exercise, your body responds by upgrading its capabilities to burn fat throughout the day and night, Exercise doesn’t have to be intense to work for you, but it does need to be consistent.

I recommend engaging in regular cardiovascular exercise four times per week for 20 to 30 minutes per session, and resistance training four times per week for 20 to 25 minutes per session. This balanced approach provides a one-two punch, incorporating aerobic exercise to burn fat and deliver more oxygen, and resistance training to increase lean body mass and burn more calories around the block.

Once you make the commitment to exercise several times a week, don’t stop there. You should also change your diet and/or eating habits. Counting calories or calculating grams and percentages for certain nutrients is impractical. Instead, just use these easy-to-follow guidelines:

• Eat several small meals (optimally four) and a couple of small snacks throughout the day
• Make sure every meal is balanced — incorporate palm-sized proteins like lean meats, fish, egg whites and dairy products, fist-sized portions of complex carbohydrates like whole-wheat bread and pasta, wild rice, multigrain cereal and potatoes, and fist-sized portions of vegetable and fruits
• Limit your fat intake to only what’s necessary for adequate flavor
• Drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water throughout the day
• Take a multi-vitamin each day to ensure you are getting all the vitamins and minerals your body needs.

That’s all to a healthy living.  Live and enjoy healthy life, we all deserve it.

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Tags: Healthy Living by leon
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As parents with young children, we make sure they are growing at the appropriate pace, prepare healthy meals and take them for regular physical exams. As they grow older, we become more in tune with their dietary needs and watch their growth process, as well as keep track of their daily habits.

At some point children will begin to understand that as parents, we are concerned about their health, especially when they become ill. At what point do our children become interested in their own health? It’s hard to say. It depends on the child. If a child has a chronic illness, they will do whatever it takes to heal because the sadness in their parents’ eyes is too hard to bear.

Perhaps your child has a friend who is critically ill. Visiting that friend often will bring a realization to your child that people do become sick and sometimes die. They are confronted with their own mortality and begin to ask questions that often reflect a fear they will develop the same illness.

It is important, therefore, to talk to your kids about health issues. Be honest and above board (age appropriate, of course) in explaining a particular illness the child may be concerned about or heard about.

Kids who are chronically ill have an innate sense of how ill they really are. Most kids cope with illness better than adults. Their concern, more often than not, is not for themselves but for their parents. However, for those children who have never had the misfortune to become ill, it is important for them to understand that it does occur; that keeping in tune with their bodies is important in that it can alert them to any problems requiring medical attention.

This is not to say that parents have to constantly inform their kids of every illness that exists, leaving a child paranoid and afraid. A healthy conversation, especially with school-aged kids about the ramifications of smoking, drinking and drugs is important because it is part of our culture.

In addition, discussions about personal hygiene, including sex, should also be discussed and in a thoughtful and articulate manner. Children who are insecure or lack self-esteem may not care about their health. This is where parent intervention is needed. Helping a child cope with any health issue is a family matter and should be addressed with love and care.

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Tags: Children Health by leon
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It has been to people attention of having healthy food for better life, due to the busy work and rush during the day unable many of us to concern on what we eat until we get sick and sometime come to the worse case that it is too late to cure. But when the disease was cured we seem to get back to normal life again without realizing the importance of having health food and tend to continue to eat the food that has no benefit such as any kind of fast food.

According to this reason, if you want to be healthy and do not want to get any kind of disease, it’s the time to pay more attention on what you eat and if you take this very seriously, you don’t even take any kind of medication. The good food that always the best for human are vegetables and fruit that we can find in every day life such as cabbages, tomato, peanuts and so on.

Then questions come after the advice about how these things benefit to our health.

Then the answer is many of benefits that you will get from them. This due to the fiber in fruit and vegetables. Even though these fiber are not absorbent, but due to this reason, it is the most important characteristic that benefit to our health. For example, remain of these fiber in our intestine will help to move and digest the food that has no fiber and reduce the accumulate toxic in the body, which sometimes cause intestine cancer.

In the case of there are a lot of accumulated non-digest in the intestine and if those accumulations live longer, the chance of intestine cancer is greater. Therefore, it is necessary to eat fruits and vegetables which has a lot of fiber to reduce to number of those accumulation and get rid of the disease that is the cause of cancer.

Apart from fruits and vegetables, you can have rice instead of them. Because a lot of fiber can be found in rice too!. Not only a lot of fiber in rice but there is also vitamin B, which also helps to prevent you from cancer and the most important thing is that rice has very low of cholesterol, which is the common cause of heart disease. The result of the research conducted by an English researcher found that the food that contain a lot of fiber also reduce the chance of heart disease. Therefore, now you should aware of this and start to eat more fruits and vegetables in order to be healthy and stay way from diseases.

There is one way that will make it easier for you to recognize your real feelings of satisfaction. That is by concentrating on the food when you eat, chew slowly, put down knife and fork and pause and breathe in between each bite. It is best if you do this “awareness” exercise with the utmost concentration, which means: Do not do other things while you are eating - no watching TV or reading the newspaper, etc.

Jack Vallieres is the professional freelance writer. He’s also the webmaster of Ladyhappyhealthy.com/

Tags: Wellness, Fitness and Diet by JackVallieres
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