When we were younger, our bodies produced hormones: estrogen in women, testosterone in men. These hormones helped regulate the “flow” of fat, spreading it to our arms, legs, and hips. As we age, those hormones are no longer being produced, and fat starts to accumulate more deeply inside our bodies, most notably around our middles.

The purpose of body fat is that it helps to regulate our body’s temperature and it also provides shock absorption for our bones and organs, and if we were forced to fast for a long period of time, it would supply food to maintain our bodily functions. The layer of fat closest to our skin is called subcutaneous fat. It poses no health threat, unless we are obese.

The fat that resides deeper in our bodies is called visceral fat, and it can harm us. This visceral fat, later in life, tends to collect around our tummies, and creates the spare tire effect. It can interfere with liver function, and the processing of cholesterol and insulin, and is associated with an increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, and even some forms of cancer.

Holly St. Lifer, a health and fitness writer, wrote an article titled “How to Lose Your Spare Tire,” which appeared in the July/August 2007 edition of the AARP magazine. She gives us some useful suggestions about how to better keep our youthful figures, and especially how to prevent the build-up of excessive belly fat.

It’s no surprise that we need to first eliminate what Ms St. Lifer calls the “five C’s: candy, cookies, cake, cola, and chips.” She also suggests limiting fried foods to once a month, and warns against heavy indulgence of any snack foods like chips, crackers and processed breads.

That’s the easy part of how to avoid a spare tire. The going gets rougher from there. Regular, at least moderate, exercise needs to play a big role in our daily schedules. Strength training and aerobic exercise are especially effective to stem the growth of belly fat.

Strength training can work all your major muscle groups: arms, shoulders, chest, abs, back and legs. Researchers found that it reduced belly fat by 10 to 15 percent in two groups of 50 to 70 year olds, even when there was no weight loss. Increase the length of your workout slowly. If you increase the weight you are working with more than 5 to 10 percent every couple of weeks you will risk undue strain on your muscles, tendons and ligaments.

If you are trying to not only lose weight, but to also lose more fat than you would through just through dieting, aerobic exercise can be the solution. St. Lifer’s article stated that “research from the University of Arkansas found that study participants who did 90 minutes of moderate exercise, five days a week, lost twice the amount of visceral fat as those who just dieted.” A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2003 found that participants who moderately exercised 90 minutes a day, five days a week lost 3 to 6 percent of their belly fat, while those who only dieted lost just half that amount.

Exercise works, and the more you exercise, the more it works. You might start at 30 minutes a day, or 30 minutes at least several times a week. Work up until you can comfortably exercise for an hour, three to five times a week. If all that is too much for you, start by walking a half hour a day, every day. Remember, we have to start somewhere and you are only in competition with yourself.
www.healthnews.com

The merits of exercise — from preventing chronic health conditions to boosting confidence and self-esteem — are hard to ignore. And the benefits are yours for the taking, regardless of age, sex or physical ability. Need more convincing? Check out seven specific ways exercise can improve your life.

1. Exercise improves your mood.

Need to blow off some steam after a stressful day? A workout at the gym or a brisk 30-minute walk can help you calm down.

Exercise stimulates various brain chemicals, which may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out. You’ll also look better and feel better when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem. Exercise even reduces feelings of depression and anxiety.

2. Exercise combats chronic diseases.

Worried about heart disease? Hoping to prevent osteoporosis? Regular exercise might be the ticket.

Regular exercise can help you prevent — or manage — high blood pressure. Your cholesterol will benefit, too. Regular exercise boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol while decreasing low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad,” cholesterol. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly by lowering the buildup of plaques in your arteries.

And there’s more. Regular exercise can help you prevent type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and certain types of cancer.

3. Exercise helps you manage your weight.

Want to drop those excess pounds? Trade some couch time for walking or other physical activities.

This one’s a no-brainer. When you exercise, you burn calories. The more intensely you exercise, the more calories you burn — and the easier it is to keep your weight under control. You don’t even need to set aside major chunks of time for working out. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk during your lunch break. Do jumping jacks during commercials. Better yet, turn off the TV and take a brisk walk. Dedicated workouts are great, but activity you accumulate throughout the day helps you burn calories, too.

4. Exercise strengthens your heart and lungs.

Winded by grocery shopping or household chores? Don’t throw in the towel. Regular exercise can leave you breathing easier.

Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. In fact, regular exercise helps your entire cardiovascular system — the circulation of blood through your heart and blood vessels — work more efficiently. Big deal? You bet! When your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you’ll have more energy to do the things you enjoy.

5. Exercise promotes better sleep.

Struggling to fall asleep? Or stay asleep? It might help to boost your physical activity during the day.

A good night’s sleep can improve your concentration, productivity and mood. And, you guessed it, exercise is sometimes the key to better sleep. Regular exercise can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. The timing is up to you — but if you’re having trouble sleeping, you might want to try late afternoon workouts. The natural dip in body temperature five to six hours after you exercise might help you fall asleep.

6. Exercise can put the spark back into your sex life.

Are you too tired to have sex? Or feeling too out of shape to enjoy physical intimacy? Exercise to the rescue.

Regular exercise can leave you feeling energized and looking better, which may have a positive effect on your sex life. But there’s more to it than that. Exercise improves your circulation, which can lead to more satisfying sex. And men who exercise regularly are less likely to have problems with erectile dysfunction than are men who don’t exercise, especially as they get older.

7. Exercise can be — gasp — fun!

Wondering what to do on a Saturday afternoon? Looking for an activity that suits the entire family? Get physical!

Exercise doesn’t have to be drudgery. Take a ballroom dancing class. Check out a local climbing wall or hiking trail. Push your kids on the swings or climb with them on the jungle gym. Plan a neighborhood kickball or touch football game. Find an activity you enjoy, and go for it. If you get bored, try something new. If you’re moving, it counts!

Are you convinced? Good. Start reaping the benefits of physical activity today!

via

What’s with that? Isn’t working out the sure-fire way to lose extra pounds?

Not if you’re making the same exercise mistakes that many do in the gym.

“The lifestyle that is involved with maintaining a healthy body weight involves more than what you put in your mouth,” says James A. Peterson, PhD, FACSM, the author of more than 80 books on health, nutrition, and exercise. “Many people think that if you go into the gym and bump up against a weight machine, you’re going to lose weight.”

Peterson, who oversaw the exercise program at West Point for nearly 20 years, says that misconceptions abound when it comes to maximizing weight loss through working out. One such example is confusing sweating with burning calories.

“Sweating just means you have a hyperactive internal system,” he says. “It doesn’t have a single thing to do with losing weight, or with burning calories, which is how much work you do. Also, sweating is all water weight — which is all replaced once you take in liquid again. It doesn’t mean anything.”

A far bigger problem with weight control, however, is that many people simply don’t know how to exercise properly.

“They don’t know how to use the machines. They don’t know how to design and follow a proper exercise regimen, so they get in there and go through the motions, and don’t achieve a lot,” Peterson says. “Then, when they get discouraged, they go back to the lifestyle factors that caused the weight increase in the first place.”

So what else might you be doing wrong during your workout? Check out these frequent faux pas.

Exercise Mistake #1: Too much socializing, not enough exercising.

“I see a lot of individuals talking with each other in the gym,” says Scott Lucett, director of education for the National Academy of Sports Medicine and a certified personal trainer for more than 15 years. “Next thing they know, an hour has passed and the amount of time they have actually spent exercising is relatively low.” So focus on your workout — and save the chit-chat for the juice bar.

Exercise Mistake #2: Lack of intensity.

Do you see your gym time as the perfect way to catch up on your reading? Are you leaning on the machines? Lots of people are just going through the motions, even though they may look like they’re working out. “They think that as long as they’re moving, they’re going to lose weight,” Lucett says. “But if the intensity is not at the level that it needs to be at, it’s almost a waste of time.”

In addition to increasing your intensity levels, Peterson also recommends working out for longer periods of time, increasing weights and distance, cross-training, working out on an incline, and maximizing your body weight while working out, by using a weighted vest or ankle weights, for example.

Exercise Mistake #3: Always training in the ‘fat burning’ heart rate zone.

You’ve seen those charts on the cardiovascular machines that list “zones.” But in the so-called “fat-burning zone,” your training intensity isn’t very high — usually 65%-70% of your heart rate. Research, however, has shown that the higher the intensity, the more calories you burn — not only while exercising, but after you leave the gym, when your body benefits from an “after-burn” mode.

“It’s as if you turn off your car engine, but the hood is still warm,” Lucett says. “The same thing happens with the body. You need to make sure that your intensity is higher than that chart.” Unable to work out that hard? Work your way up.

Exercise Mistake #4: Overestimating caloric expenditure.

Don’t let the number on the screen of your cardio machine fool you, either. “That’s a very general number and there are a lot of variables that play into that,” Lucett says. “The machine may say that you’ve expended 500 calories, but you could only be burning 250.”

This can be especially true when you do things to “trick” the machine, like leaning on the bars. Unbeknownst to that computer, which relies on speed and revolutions to calculate calories, you’re offsetting your weight, which means you are significantly decreasing the amount of work you’re doing.

Exercise Mistake #5: Not progressing/changing your program.

When you do the same workout over and over again, the body has no reason to change. “You’ll see an initial loss, but eventually you’ll get to a point of diminishing returns,” Lucett says.

Another challenge, Peterson says, is getting away from the machines and routines that you feel most comfortable with.

“You like the feeling of aerobic exercise, so you don’t do what it takes to maintain your muscle mass, which is the body tissue that burns calories — the furnace,” he says. “Or you do only strength training, which maintains muscle mass, but you don’t lose weight.” Those little string-bean guys who run marathons? They often don’t do anything to ensure the success of the process by, say, engaging in strength training. You have to have a mix.

Exercise Mistake #6: Spot reduction training.

Those articles that guarantee you can lose fat from your abs or glutes? Forget ‘em, say the experts. “People need to understand that genetics is the primary factor in determining where that body fat comes from,” Lucett says. “Your body is going to take fat from anywhere it wants.” The answer? Just focus on burning calories through a well-balanced training program. You’ll eventually lose the weight from all areas of your body.

Exercise Mistake #7: Improper exercise technique.

When you don’t know how to use a machine or perform an exercise properly, you can easily confuse mechanical inefficiency with caloric burn, Peterson says. Doing an exercise wrong can also lead to injury. “If you get injured, you can’t work out,” Lucett says. “And, if you can’t work out, you won’t be burning calories in the gym.”

The challenge, of course, is knowing when you’re doing something wrong — especially if you’re relying on techniques from “back in the day.” Exercise science has evolved tremendously in the past few decades, and so have weight machines. So get an experienced gym employee to do the rounds with you, or consider hiring a personal trainer for a session or two (see tip #9).

Exercise Mistake #8:Doing too much too soon.

In addition to injuring yourself, if you jump into an exercise program too soon, you can become overly sore. Being sore isn’t bad; it’s actually your body’s way of telling you that it’s building muscle. But working out too hard, especially early on, can have a detrimental effect on your motivation.

Another symptom of overtraining is fatigue, which will impact the amount of activity you do the rest of the day. “You’re not burning a lot of calories in the gym. Most of your calories are expended throughout the other 23 hours,” he says. “It’s vital to make sure that what you’re doing during that hour translates into increased caloric expenditure the rest of the day.” The solution? Make sure you get a personalized program to help with your workout. Many gyms now have a computer that will do just this. If not, someone on staff will be able to help. Many people don’t realize it, but periodic one-on-one sessions are often included with those membership fees. Be sure to ask.

Exercise Mistake #9: Not working with a professional who is certified by an accredited organization.

A professional will also make sure that you don’t fall prey to any of these traps. “A personal trainer is your insurance policy to make sure you get the maximum efficiency out of your efforts,” Peterson says.

So whether it’s a certified personal trainer or an experienced gym employee, consider working with someone to customize your training regimen. He or she will take the guesswork out of the equation, create a personalized plan tailored to your specific needs, make sure you’re doing your workout correctly and even give you tips on proper diet – an even bigger piece of the weight loss puzzle. If you stick with it, you’ll finally start to see those pounds disappear.
webmd.com

Overall Health

The following foods are just so good for you that they should be a part of your diet to help you stay healthy.

1. Flax seed. This little seed is a great supplement for a woman’s diet. Flax seeds are high in omega-3 EFAs and lignans, an important type of fiber for women.

2. Kale. This much-overlooked green is full of the B vitamin, folate, as well as calcium, and vitamins A and C.
3. Pumpkin. Not just for pies, the beta-carotene in pumpkin reduces the risk of breast cancer and helps your body repair its skin.
4. Butternut squash. Cook this baked, stuffed, or mashed or throw in a soup for a delicious vegetable high in beta-carotene.
5. Sweet potatoes. Don’t just eat these jewels at Thanksgiving. Sweet potatoes are full of vitamins A and C as well as calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and iron.
6. Dark meat. Lean red meat and dark meat from poultry are high in iron, which is a necessity for women of childbearing age.
7. Broccoli. Your mama always said to eat your broccoli. It’s high in calcium, potassium, and B vitamins.
8. Salmon. This super food is high in omega-3 EFAs and protein, low in cholesterol and contains quite a few B vitamins, calcium, zinc, iron and magnesium.
9. Mangos. Mangos are high in vitamin A and C and help guard against cervical cancer.
10. Figs. Discover the flavor and benefits of figs, which are high in fiber, B vitamins, iron, potassium, and calcium.
11. Kiwi. These tasty little fruits pack a punch with more vitamin C than an orange.

Skin Health

From high concentrations of vitamins E and A to anti-inflammatory properties, these foods are all great for keeping your skin healthy and young-looking.

12. Avocados. Delicious and nutritious, avocados have lots of B-complex vitamins and are an anti-inflammatory, which is great for the skin.
13. Green tea. Technically a drink, green tea has polyphenols which are an anti-inflammatory.
14. Carrots. Carrots are full of vitamin A, which helps your skin repair itself.
15. Spinach. This vegetable is absolutely loaded with vitamins and minerals with especially high concentrations of vitamins K and A and manganese and folate. It also helps prevent against osteoporosis, heart disease, colon cancer, ovarian cancer, and arthritis.
16. Cantaloupe. This great fruit has plenty of vitamins A and C–two vitamins your skin needs to keep healthy.
17. Citrus fruit. Oranges and grapefruit are full of vitamin C, which helps keep wrinkles at bay.
18. Bananas. Bananas have the B vitamin biotin, which builds healthy skin, hair and nails and helps prevent skin irritations such as dermatitis.
19. Tomatoes. Like bananas, tomatoes have biotin and also lycopene, which helps prevent cancer.
20. Sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds have lots of vitamin E, which is well-known for its healthy skin properties. Taken both topically and eaten, the benefits of vitamin E for your skin are enormous.
21. Hazelnuts. Another great source of vitamin E are hazelnuts, which also offer protection against cancer and heart disease.
22. Olives. Olives provide both vitamin E and anti-inflammatory properties which help promote healthy skin. They are also very high in iron.
23. Brazil nuts. Brazil nuts are high in selenium, which can reduce the chance of sunburn on the skin, slow down the aging process, and aid in the treatment of skin cancer.
24. Cottage cheese. Eat cottage cheese to get lots of calcium and selenium for your skin. Use in place of ricotta in your recipes.
25. Walnuts. These nuts are packed with omega-3 and omega-6 EFAs which promote skin repair and elasticity.

Healthy Cardiovascular System

To prevent against heart disease and stroke, eat these foods to strengthen your cardiovascular system.

26. Canola oil. Replace the oil in your salad dressing with canola oil for a healthy alternative.
27. Skinless poultry. Leaving off the skin will greatly reduce the fat in poultry, making for a more heart-healthy diet.
28. Egg substitutes. Reducing the fat from eggs will help your heart. If you don’t like egg substitutes, just eliminate the yolk and eat the egg white.
29. Cabbage. This vegetable is a great food for a healthy cardiovascular system. Eaten raw is best.
30. Onions. Another good vegetable for your heart is onions.
31. Grapes. Easy to get and loved by most, this fruit is also a great choice for a healthy heart.
32. Raspberries. High in antioxidants, this fruit offers benefits to your cardiovascular system.

Reduce Cholesterol

Getting your cholesterol to a healthy level is a combination of reducing the bad cholesterol (LDL) and raising the good (HDL) cholesterol. The following foods all play a part in either reducing the bad, raising the good, or both.

33. Whole wheat bread. Get rid of the white bread and switch to whole wheat, which lowers bad cholesterol.
34. Oatmeal. A great food for reducing cholesterol, oatmeal also has lots of vitamins E and C, potassium, and omega-3 EFAs.
35. Soy. Soy has been shown to not only significantly lower bad cholesterol, but to also raise good cholesterol. Use soy milk, tofu, or edamame for the best results.
36. Almonds. With lots of polyunsaturated fatty acids, almonds will help reduce the bad cholesterol in your body.
37. Fish. Find fish rich in omega-3 EFAs such as mackerel, salmon, tuna, and trout.
38. Extra-virgin olive oil. This variety of olive oil, which is less processed, will help lower your bad cholesterol and is high in antioxidants.
39. Unsaturated fats. Replace saturated fats in your diet with unsaturated fats to reduce your cholesterol. Try replacing cooking oils with canola, corn, safflower, or soybean oils.
40. Garlic. Raw garlic (and lots of it) will help reduce your cholesterol. You might want to make sure your partner is sharing the garlic with you, though.
41. Cranberry-grape juice. Cranberries raise the good cholesterol while grapes slow the bad cholesterol’s oxidation.
42. Pomegranate juice. According to a National Academy of Sciences study, this juice reduces cholesterol plaque build-up and reduces plaque in your arteries.

Bone Health

Women who work to create healthy bones experience fewer problems with osteoporosis in their later years. These foods are rich in potassium, magnesium, calcium, and other nutrients essential for bone health.

43. Leafy greens. The calcium in leafy greens absorbs much better in the body than calcium in dairy products.
44. Sesame seeds. High in calcium to prevent bone loss and have copper, which can reduce the swelling and pain associated with arthritis, and zinc, which also helps keep bones healthy, these tiny seeds are a big source of nutrition for bone health.
45. Beans. Beans are low in fat, high in fiber, inexpensive, and have a high amount of non-animal protein that helps prevent calcium loss.
46. Lowfat yogurt. Yogurt is high in calcium and is easier to digest than most other dairy products. It also contains lots of vitamin A and protein.
47. Tofu. Also high in protein and a great source of nutrition for your bone health, tofu is versatile and delicious.
48. Eggs. Not only are eggs loaded with protein, they are also full of vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium more efficiently.

Weight Loss

Losing weight seems to be a national pastime. Rather than jumping on a fad diet, change your menu to include these foods and see the difference it makes in your life.

49. Tortillas. Low in fat, tortillas make a good substitute for bread. Find whole wheat to really get the best for your body.
50. Water. This should be your drink of choice. It keeps you hydrated, suppresses your appetite, and helps metabolize fat.
51. Fruit smoothie. Add bananas, blueberries, apple juice, and wheat germ or protein powder for an excellent food to keep you healthy and encourage weight loss.
52. Whole wheat bagel. Filled with nutritious whole grains and low in sugar, bagels work for breakfast or as the bread for your sandwich at lunch.
53. Romaine lettuce. Give up iceberg lettuce, which has barely any nutritional value and use romaine for your salads and sandwiches.
54. Veggie burger. Filled with soy and other vegetables, this alternative to beef is significantly lower in calories and healthy too.
55. Dried papayas. Full of iron and vitamins C and A, dried papaya is good for you and the sweetness is a great substitute for a candy bar.
56. Spaghetti squash. Cook this healthy vegetable and replace the strands of it for the pasta in your spaghetti recipe for a delicious meal without the carbs.
57. Watermelon. Sweet and full of hydrating water, this fruit is a great food to fill you up without filling you out.

Nuts, Beans, and Grains

These foods provide lots of protein and are a great substitute for red meat. Find out how to add these healthy foods in to your diet.

58. Lentils. These little powerhouses are super high in iron, protein, and fiber. They also have lots of potassium, calcium, iron, B vitamins, phosphorus and copper. Also, lentils have absolutely no fat.
59. Quinoa. Quinoa is a fun substitute for rice and is a great source of iron, which women need in their diet.
60. Barley. Another grain not frequently used outside of beer, it is full of protein, fiber, potassium, phosphorus and iron.
61. Brown rice. Replace your white rice with brown rice to get tons of health benefits including a reduced risk for diabetes, colon cancer, heart disease, and lower cholesterol.
62. Peanut butter. Not just for sandwiches, dip apples or celery in peanut butter for food high in protein and fiber–and a good replacement for red meat.
63. Bulgur. Similar to cracked wheat, but requiring less cooking time, bulgur is a whole grain full of fiber, calcium, and protein.
64. Chickpeas. Throw these in a salad or make some simple hummus with these legumes full of protein, fiber, and folate.

Antioxidants

Foods that are high in antioxidants help reverse the damaging effects of oxygen on the cells in your body. The benefits of antioxidants include anti-aging as well as prevention for heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s.

65. Kidney beans. With these inexpensive beans you get protein, fiber, folate, magnesium, and iron. Try substituting kidney beans for meat in your next meal.
66. Blueberries. Full of vitamin C and potassium, these little berries are full of nutrition and reportedly are one of the foods highest in antioxidants.
67. Plums. Available almost year round, these fruits have plenty of vitamins A, B, C, fiber, and potassium.
68. Strawberries. For a fruit that can protect your heart, guard against cancer, provide anti-inflammatory properties, and help prevent age-related macular degeneration, strawberries are the way to go.
69. Artichokes. Get magnesium, folic acid, fiber, and vitamins A and C with artichokes, which can help with a whole host of medical problems.
70. Blackberries. These plumb little tasties are full of vitamins B, C, and K as well as fiber and manganese.
71. Pecans. Full of vitamin E and great for lowering cholesterol, these nuts are great on their own or baked in a pie, cookies, or brownies.
72. Cherries. Rich red cherries are not only delicious, but are high in fiber and vitamins C and A. They are reported to help with arthritis, heart health, and sleep problems.
73. Honey. Chock full of antioxidants, this sweet treat also has antibacterial properties and works well for sore throats and coughs.
74. Apples. Long associated with healthy nutrition, an apple a day can provide heart and brain health benefits.

Super Foods

Some foods are so incredibly packed with important nutrients that they have become known as super foods. Read about these super foods and you may discover a new favorite food that is great for your body.

75. Acai. Known as one of the most nutritious berries in the world, use this juice in a smoothie or drink on its own.
76. Goji berries. Give this latest super food a try. One of these little Himalayan berries has more vitamin C than an orange and more beta carotene than carrots.
77. Cacao nibs. The heart of the cocoa bean, this little bit of raw chocolate is full of antioxidants as well as flavonoids that help your heart and have been reported to significantly elevate your mood. Try some covered in chocolate for a combination of the raw and finished product.
78. Buckwheat. Full of protein and high in amino acid, buckwheat also helps stabilize blood sugar and reduce hypertension. Japanese soba noodles and buckwheat pancakes are two delicious ways to eat this food.
79. Chili peppers. Packed with vitamin C, these hot little numbers also contain antioxidants and help burn fat.
80. Sprouts. For protein and vitamin C, sprinkle some sprouts on your salad or use in your sandwich along with your leafy green lettuce.
81. Rhubarb. High in potassium, vitamin C, and fiber, rhubarb also helps reduce hot flashes in menopausal women.
82. Pumpkin seeds. These seeds are loaded with phytosterols, which help lower cholesterol, as well as omega-3 and omega-6 EFAs and minerals such as phosphorus, magnesium, zinc and iron.
83. Cinnamon. Containing polyphenols, the same agent in green tea, cinnamon has been shown to reduce blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes.
84. Shallots. Replace or use in addition to garlic and onion to get the benefits of this vegetable that helps promote the good bacteria in your digestive tract and help eliminate toxins from your liver.
85. Turmeric. A popular spice used in Indian dishes, it has been used for hundreds of years to treat arthritis. Use it with chicken or in Indian curry to help reduce inflammation due to arthritis or any other cause.

Healthy Snacks

Making it between meals can sometimes be hard without a snack. Instead of reaching for a bag of potato chips or driving through to pick up fries, try these snacks instead.

86. Energy bar. Some energy bars are specifically designed for women such as Luna Bars, which are organic and have plenty of calcium, folate, iron and antioxidants.
87. Granola bar. Make your own or buy some with natural sweeteners for a healthy between-meal snack.
88. Pretzels. This crunchy snack is high in fiber and protein.
89. Multigrain crackers. Eat these by themselves or put some healthy treats on top for a delicious snack full of whole grains and fiber.
90. Rice cakes. Low in fat and calories and full of the nutritional benefits of rice, rice cakes enjoy a long history in Asia as a healthy snack.
91. Graham crackers. Not just for kids, these treats are sweet and healthy at the same time.
92. Soy crisps. These healthy snacks are full of protein, iron, and calcium.
93. Veggie chips. Toss out your potato chips and opt for some type of veggie chips instead. Made with real vegetables and made with non-hydrogenated oils, these are the chips to eat.
94. Pistachios. This delicious snack is full of potassium and healthy fats.
95. Popcorn. Skip the butter and try any number of healthy touches sprinkled on top such as chili powder, a light sprinkling of flavored sea salts, or Italian seasoning.

Healthy Desserts

Finishing off your healthy meal with a giant piece of pie covered in ice cream may be okay every now and then, but for healthier desserts, chose something from this list.

96. Frozen yogurt. Replace your ice cream with a healthy alternative that provides calcium as well as curbs that sweet tooth.
97. Frozen fruit bar. Look for a bar with no added sugar, just pure fruit goodness, for a nutritious dessert.
98. Fresh melon salad. Mix cantaloupe and honeydew with some fresh mint leaves and honey for a delicious dessert that is very healthy.
99. No-sugar hot chocolate. Mix unsweetened cocoa with stevia and sprinkle cinnamon on top for a healthy after-dinner drink.
100. Dark chocolate. Get dark chocolate with 60% cocoa or greater for a delicious snack that can reduce blood pressure and is full of antioxidants. Better yet, try an all natural version like Innocent Chocolate made with organic, raw, and unprocessed ingredients and sweetened with agave instead of sugar.

www.nursingdegree.net

Pressed for time? Combine two moves into one. For instance, do a squat with an overhead shoulder press, or a reverse lunge with a bicep curl. This is great for a more intense workout or if you’re really crunched for time.
Don’t do the same old thing week after week. Cut your chances of boredom and improve results with these six strategies.

Health Tips 2
If you exercise or engage in any activity that makes you sweat, you need to drink extra water to compensate for the fluid loss. Drink an extra 400 to 600 milliliters of water for short bouts of exercise. During long bouts of intense exercise, it’s best to use a sports drink that contains sodium, as this will help replace sodium lost in sweat. Continue to replace fluids after you’re finished exercising!
Read up on why you shouldn’t use thirst as a guide for how often you should be drinking water.

Health Tips  3
Log off to get a better night’s rest. The brightness of your computer screen stimulates the brain. Plus, it’s difficult for your mind to stop fretting about your digital to-do list, even once you’ve logged off. Avoid late-night surfing and shut down your computer. Give yourself time to wind down without any electronics.
An estimated 65% of Americans said they encounter sleep problems a few nights each week — keep reading for more tips on getting the most out of your beauty rest.

Health Tips 4
Slim and tone your thighs with the Power Plié: Start with your feet a little wider than shoulder width apart and plié into a seated position, pulsing down 30 to 60 times. Next, take your arms above your head, shimmying your hips side to side, pressing down hard into your heel. Then put your hands on your hips and continue pulsing, staying down low while lifting your right heel and then your left.

Health Tips 5
Can stress make you fat? The link has been tough to prove, but after a recent study at Emory University involving the eating habits of female rhesus monkeys, Mark Wilson, Ph.D., concluded that chronic stress could wreak havoc on appetite-control systems, either by dampening levels of leptin, the satiety hormone, or upping levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone.

Health Tips 6
Take a rest from Facebook-stalking your ex, and try your hand at Bejeweled 2 instead: A recent survey by PopCap Games found that 90 percent of female gamers considered puzzles and online word games a stress-reliever.

Health Tips 7
Brown grain products aren’t necessarily whole grain products. Brown dyes and additives can give foods the deceiving appearance of whole grain. Read labels to be sure a food is whole grain, and try to get three-ounce equivalents of whole grains per day to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.

Health Tips 8
Strength-train before doing any cardiovascular work, says Ken Fitzgerald, owner of Lift Gym in New York. Why? It takes the body about 15 minutes to warm up and start burning fat. So, a 30-minute bike ride is really only burning fat for the last 15 minutes of your workout. But, if you lift weights first, your body is warmed up by the time you hit the bike, and you’ll burn fat throughout the entire ride.

Health Tips 9
Marty Munson shows us how to build up to 20 “real” push-ups fast: Get into the plank position and lower yourself to the floor (keep head in line with spine). If you can’t push back up, stay an inch off the floor for as long as you can. Drop, get into plank again, and repeat eight times (three times a week). Once you can do one full push-up, add another every week.

Health Tips 10
Research has shown that people who eat nut butters often weigh less than those who shun them. It’s likely that the combination of protein, fat, and fiber keeps you full, so you’ll eat less overall. Whole nuts are effective, too: Purdue University researchers found that people who added peanuts to their diet for 19 weeks boosted the amount of calories they burned at rest by 11 percent. Why? The unsaturated fat in peanuts and nut butters burns faster than other fats.
The ideal amount of nut butters in your diet and how to incorporate them in your meals.

Health Tips 11
The rower isn’t a wimpy workout if you know how to use it right. Maximize the least-used machine at the gym and get sculpted arms, abs, and back muscles. The trick: After you pull the handle toward you, straighten your arms before you bend your knees.

Health Tips 12
“Vitamins, color, herbs, protein, and all the other additions to water — those are a marketing ploy,” says Marion Nestle, Ph.D., professor of nutrition studies at New York University. Enhanced waters usually contain sugars and artificial flavorings to sweeten the deal and can pack more calories than diet soda. When it comes to providing fluoride, tap water usually wins, though that element is increasingly being added to bottled waters.

Health Tips 13
After the age of 30, your metabolic rate slows down and you lose bone density. This exercise can help reverse the effects of aging: Lay your forearm down on a countertop or other flat surface, and bring one leg up behind you, squeezing in your abdominals. Do 30 leg lifts to the side, and then 30 to the back.

Health Tips 14
Make the most of your workout: Have about 100 calories at least 15 minutes before your workout (try a banana or half of an energy bar). Then have a good breakfast afterward, making sure you get protein, carbs, and fat. (Good combos: fruit and cottage cheese; toast and peanut butter; protein-rich cereal with milk.) The key is not to eat more than usual, but to redistribute more calories to the early part of the day.

Health Tips 15
Aim for 4 to 6 ounces (about the size of your fist) of lean protein, such as chicken, fish, or egg whites, at every meal, says trainer David Kirsch. (He’s the one who whipped Heidi Klum back into shape within eight weeks of giving birth.) In one study, people who got 30 percent of their day’s calories from protein ate 441 fewer calories than people who ate a 15 percent protein diet.

Health Tips 16
If you can stand the outfit changes, divide exercise into two sessions: cardio in the morning and weights in the evening (or vice versa). You’re elevating your metabolism twice, which means you’re burning more calories than if you’d done both in the same session.

Health Tips 17
Pro athletes are using cherry juice to reduce muscle soreness and recovery time after exercise (it won’t get you into a steroid scandal, either). They’re swilling stuff from cherrypharm.com (132 calories per serving) that was found to be surprisingly effective in a 2006 study by Declan Connolly, Ph.D., at the University of Vermont.

Health Tips 18
A wobbly surface like a stability ball makes you recruit more muscle, so you get more from your crunches. With your back on the ball, keep feet flat on the floor, knees bent. Place your hands behind your head. Contract your abs, lifting your shoulder blades and upper back off the ball. DO: Two sets of 20 repetitions, two to three times a week.

Health Tips 19
Bacon won’t ever win any health prizes — in fact, nutritionists consider it a fat (and not a healthy fat!), as opposed to a meat. But it’s not as bad as you might think. One slice, about 1 1/2 tablespoons crumbled, has about the same amount of fat as two tablespoons of feta or shredded cheese or one tablespoon of sunflower seeds.

Health Tips 20
“Your body can interpret excessive exercise as stress, causing you to retain fluid and become constipated,” says Diana Taylor, R.N., Ph.D., at the University of California-San Francisco Center for Reproductive Health. But moderate exercise, such as yoga or walking, can speed things through your system and help nix the problem.

Health Tips 21
People who wear casual shoes burn more calories in a day than people who dress up, according to a recent study by the American Council on Exercise. Wearing comfortable shoes daily could burn an extra 6500 calories a year, thanks to the extra walking you’ll do, says study author Katie Zahour, M.S., a clinical exercise psychologist at the Southwest Florida Heart Group.

Health Tips 22
A heart-rate monitor eliminates “junk workouts,” as heart-rate guru Sally Edwards calls them. Once you know your own personal maximum heart rate (everyone’s is different; see “How Do I Use This Thing?”), you can give a purpose to every workout. Some workouts will be about teaching your body to burn fat (essential if you’re doing endurance events); others will be about teaching it to sustain a high heart rate for a few minutes (helpful for breaking away from the pack or running from a dog or bee in your neighborhood).

Health Tips 23
To firm up the muscles beneath your love handles — known as the external obliques — try the Pilates “100s.” This exercise was found to challenge more overall muscle in one shot (specifically, the muscles spanning the waist) than traditional crunches. To do the 100s, sit on a mat and make a V with your body (your butt forms the bottom of the V). Reach your hands past your knees, arms parallel to the floor. Pump your arms up and down 100 times, inhaling and exhaling every five counts.

Health Tips 24
Colorful, all-vegetable salads offer good-for-you phytonutrients that aren’t available in greens. For instance, powerful antioxidants (anthocyanins) in purplish vegetables such as eggplant help reduce heart-disease risk and improve brain function. Radishes offer cancer-fighting indoles; red tomatoes are the ultimate in lycopene, linked to lower risk of heart disease and cancer.

Health Tips 25
For strong biceps and a beautiful back, try this: Grab a pair of 5- or 8-pound weights. Start by standing with feet shoulder-width apart and your abs pulled in. Start bringing the weights up to your shoulder and then slowly lower them down. Do these biceps curls for 30 to 60 seconds, until you feel an intense burn. Then stand with feet a little wider apart than hips, bend your knees, and bring your torso down toward the floor about 45 degrees. Bring weights all the way to your rib cage, and then extend forward, for 30 to 60 reps.

Health Tips 26
Abs need rest and recovery: It’s only during rest that your muscles build. “Three to five days a week of consistent, dedicated abdominal training should get you strong, sleek abs,” says Kathy Kaehler, trainer and author of Kathy Kaehler’s Celebrity Workouts.

Health Tips 27
Slow down at dinner — the longer you take to eat, the sooner you’ll feel full. And focus on whole grains. It takes more white rice than brown to make you feel just as satisfied. That’s because white rice contains no fiber, a food component that helps you feel full.

Health Tips 28
On its own, your body is naturally conservative when you ask it to do something. If you lift a weight, your body recruits just enough muscle to do it safely, but not necessarily heroically. So when you want to outperform yourself, “you have to fool the body into recruiting more muscle,” says Bobby McGee, a sports psychologist and running coach, which you can do with your mind. If you think you can’t run a seven-minute mile, for instance, your body begins to switch off muscle, leaving you weak and fatigued. But if you think positively, your body will recruit more muscle to do it.

Health Tips 29
Get enough z’s: Too little sleep is bad for your health and your image; it can make you ineffective (it impairs performance, judgment, and the ability to pay attention), sick (it weakens your immune system), and overweight. In fact, women who slept five hours or less a night were a third more likely to gain 33 pounds or more over 16 years than women who slept seven hours, according to a Harvard Nurses’ Health Study.

Health Tips 30
All lettuce is not created equal. Arugula and watercress are superstars, loaded with cancer-fighting compounds. Spinach is another hero because of its cache of lutein, thought to protect against cancer and blindness. And baby versions of kale, mustard greens, and turnip greens are less sharp, tough, and bitter than the grown-ups but are outfitted with the same cancer-fighters. Dark-leaf, mild-tasting greens, including romaine, red-leaf lettuce, and many mesclun mixes, don’t have a wealth of phytonutrients but have respectable levels of beta-carotene. Light greens, like iceberg and endive, are pretty much nutrition duds.

Health Tips 31
To take yourself from 20 or 30 minutes on the treadmill to the finish line of a charity 5K (3.1 miles), follow this plan from running coach Jason Karp: Instead of running two miles three times a week, run different distances each day. Go two miles on Monday, one on Wednesday, and three on Friday. Each week, increase each run by five to 10 minutes (so a 2/1/3 pattern becomes 2.5/1.5/3.5 the next week, 3/2/4 the following week, etc.). Try to get your longer run up to at least five miles.

Health Tips 32
Drink less to eat less. People who quaff sugar-free soft drinks are 41 percent more likely to gain weight than people who drink regular sodas, according to a University of Texas study. Experts speculate the body isn’t fooled by zero-calorie sweets and that it actually searches for sugary foods to make up for calories it expected to get from a faux-sugar beverage.

Health Tips 33
Increase your flexibility faster: Hold your usual stretch for 15 seconds. Release it a bit and contract the muscle you’re working on for six seconds. Stretch for 15 seconds again. Activating the muscle before stretching short-circuits your body’s “not moving any farther” reflex and lets you go deeper. Flexibility is often overlooked, but it’s important to take time for a good stretch.

Health Tips 34
It may be the social lubricant of choice for awkward family or work events, but alcohol is rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Skip sweet cocktails and go for champagne, dry wine, or drinks straight up.

Health Tips 35
Sleep keeps important weight-loss hormones in balance (without it, ghrelin rises, so you’re hungrier, and leptin is suppressed, so you’re not as satisfied by what you do eat). If you don’t have enough time to sleep at night, try to schedule at least a short power nap during the day. If anxiety is keeping you up, practice relaxation techniques before bed: Organize a to-do list for the next day so you know you have everything covered. And don’t stay up watching back-to-back episodes of Entourage. Try getting calm by reading instead.

Health Tips 36
Both skinny and obese people have higher risks of premature death than people who are considered “overweight,” according to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “Overweight,” according to this study, means a body-mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9: For a 5’6″ woman, that’s between 155 and 185 pounds.

Health Tips 37
Stick your butt out on the elliptical machine. This shifts the focus to your butt, hamstrings, outer thighs, and quadriceps. (If you stand up too straight — a common mistake — you work only your quads.)

Health Tips 38
Foods with natural fat-burning properties, such as cayenne, ginger, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon, green tea, hot peppers, citrus fruits (especially lemon), and apple cider vinegar, can really help take — and keep — those pounds off when eaten on a regular daily basis.

Health Tips 39
Get your digestive system going before you even start eating by giving your earlobes a quick 30-second rub. It will stimulate the brain, relieve stress, and lower your appetite, all while sitting at the table!

Health Tips 40
Looking for a full-body workout in one move? Try the curtsy: Start by standing with your feet together in a small V position, and then put one leg behind. Staying on the ball of your back foot, bend both knees, and take your hands and lace them behind your back. Then pulse both legs and pull your abs in. Do 30 to 60 repetitions on each leg.

Health Tips 41
For sexy, strong abs, try the Marine Crunch. Lie on your back with your legs raised straight above your hips and your arms reaching to the ceiling. Simultaneously reach your fingertips toward your toes and press your feet toward the ceiling to lift your tailbone off the floor. Beginner tip: Instead of lifting your feet and hands together, alternate between lifting the upper body and the hips.

Health Tips 42
Want Jennifer Aniston’s bod? Celeb trainer Kathy Kaehler says:
1. Eat! Severely cutting calories slows your metabolism and makes you feel deprived.
2. But, eat slowly. After each bite, put down your fork and count to 10. This allows your brain to tell your stomach, “Enough.”
3. Try this must-do move to target your thighs: Place 10 playing cards on the floor. Squat, pick up one card, and shuffle four paces to the right. Squat; put the card down. Shuffle back to the pile, pick another card, and repeat until all 10 cards have been moved to the right.

Health Tips 43
Want slimmer legs and a trimmer waist? Do the Rockette: Start by laying on your back with your hands laced behind your head and your legs straight up, perpendicular to your waist. Pull your abs down toward the floor and lift your head and shoulders up toward the ceiling. Then lower one leg down and bring your opposite shoulder toward that thigh. Alternate for 20 to 40 reps and you’ll slip right into your skinny jeans!

Health Tips 44
Want Jennifer Lopez’s hot body? Quit quick-stepping on the stairclimber! This works fewer muscles and burns fewer calories than long, deep steps. Also, sit still for no more than three minutes between weight-lifting sets. Waiting longer allows your muscles to cool down, weakening the benefits of the exercise.

Health Tips 45
You’ll get the body you want faster by doing 10 slow repetitions of crunches instead of 20 fast ones. Moving slowly — two counts up and two counts down — allows you to use more precise form, which can stimulate your muscles better and make them stronger, says Rodney Corn of the National Academy of Sports Medicine. (The faster you go, the more likely you are to use momentum instead of your abs.) Your muscles should feel tired in 15 reps.
marieclaire.com

The excuses

The pressures of home and family life can also mean it feels as if there’s little time left to fit in exercise. It’s certainly tough to get started.

So, it’s worth thinking about what you gain from regular exercise and making even a partial improvement to your fitness.

• Physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease – in other words, if you don’t exercise you dramatically increase your risk of dying from a heart attack

• Conversely, exercise means a healthier heart because it reduces several cardiovascular risks, including high blood pressure

• Being physically active can bolster good mental health and help you to manage stress, anxiety and even depression

• Regular exercise can help you achieve and maintain an ideal weight, which can be important in managing many health conditions, or may just make you feel happier about your appearance

• All exercise helps strengthen bones and muscles to some degree, but weight-bearing exercise, such as running, is especially good in promoting bone density and protecting against osteoporosis, which affects men as well as women

• Different exercises help with all sorts of health niggles, such as digestion, poor posture and sleeplessness, and physical activity can be beneficial for a range of medical conditions, from diabetes to lower back pain

Don’t be a statistic

There are lots of positive reasons for getting fitter, including meeting new people, discovering new interests and generally feeling better, but if you need to be scared into doing more exercise, consider the following:

• On current trends a third of men will be obese by 2010, according to a 2006 Department of Health report

• Between 2003 and 2006, obesity in adults rose by nearly 40 per cent

• The picture is just as worrying for youngsters – by 2010, it’s predicted 22 per cent of girls and 19 per cent of boys between the ages of two and 15 will be obese, with girls under 11 at particular risk

• Obesity is responsible for 9,000 premature deaths a year in this country, and is a major contributory factor to heart disease

• Coronary heart disease (CHD) is still the leading cause of death in the UK, accounting for about a fifth of all deaths, according to the Office for National Statistics

• About a third of deaths caused by CHD are among people aged under 75

Keep mobile

Almost half of adults in the UK will be aged over 50 by 2020. We tend to assume the benefits and pleasures of sport, exercise and fitness are only for younger people, but think again. The rewards of improved fitness later in life can be great – both for your health and social life.

Statistics show activity levels decline steadily with age, and by their mid-50s few people take regular exercise.

But regular activity is especially important as you age because it has beneficial effects on conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and helps you maintain mobility and mental well-being and, consequently, your independence.

There’s no reason you should give up the sport you love just because you’re getting older. There are plenty of exceptions to the statistical trend of decreased activity as we get older – at clubs up and down the country, for example, there are runners in their 50s, 60s and beyond whose fitness puts people 20 or 30 years their junior to shame.

And even if you weren’t especially active or sporty at a younger age, it’s never too late to start. Male or female, single or with a partner, there’s lots you can do, and enjoy.

Some of the health benefits you’ll get are the same as younger people, but there are things that are of particular benefit as you get older:

• More energy – exercise makes you feel more energetic, while sitting around not doing much makes you feel sluggish and unable to do anything

• Improved sleep – your body and mind feel as though they’ve done something and are ready for rest at night

• Stable weight – regular exercise helps to keep you at a healthy weight

• Improved circulation and lower blood pressure

• Delayed ageing – keeping active strengthens your muscles, joints and bones as well as helping with mobility and balance, important as it helps to prevent falls, which are the leading cause of injury and death for the over-75s

On top of the health benefits, exercise can be an excellent way to meet new people, whether it’s at a gym, a rambling or running club, or just people you meet while walking the dog.

2. Cut Fat
Avoid the obvious such as fried foods, burgers and other fatty meats (i.e. pork, bacon, ham, salami, ribs and sausage). Dairy products such as cheese, cottage cheese, milk and cream should be eaten in low fat versions. Nuts and sandwich meats, mayonnaise, margarine, butter and sauces should be eaten in limited amounts. Most are available in lower fat versions such as substitute butter, fat free cheeses and mayonnaise. Thought for the day: Lean, mean, fat-burning machine…. Then be one!

3. Quit Smoking
The jury is definitely in on this verdict. Ever since 1960 when the Surgeon General announced that smoking was harmful to your health, Americans have been reducing their use of tobacco products that kill. Just recently, we’ve seen a surge in smoking in adolescents and teens. Could it be the Hollywood influence? It seems the stars in every movie of late smoke cigarettes. Beware. Warn your children of the false romance or ‘tough guy’ stance of Hollywood smokers. Thought for the day: Give up just one cigarette…. the next one.

4. Reduce Stress
Easier said than done, stress busters come in many forms. Some techniques recommended by experts are to think positive thoughts. Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you like. (i.e.,Soak in a hot tub; walk on the beach or in a park; read a good book; visit a friend; play with your dog; listen to soothing music; watch a funny movie. Get a massage, a facial or a haircut. Meditate. Count to ten before losing your temper or getting aggravated. Avoid difficult people when possible. Thought for the day: When seeing red, think pink clouds….then float on them.

5. Protect Yourself from Pollution
If you can’t live in a smog-free environment, at least avoid smoke-filled rooms, high traffic areas, breathing in highway fumes and exercising near busy thoroughfares. Exercise outside when the smog rating is low. Exercise indoors in air conditioning when air quality is good. Plant lots of shrubbery in your yard. It’s a good pollution and dirt from the street deterrent. Thought for the day: ‘Smoke gets in your eyes’…and your mouth, and your nose and your lungs as do pollutants….hum the tune daily.

6. Wear Your Seat Belt
Statistics show that seat belts add to longevity and help alleviate potential injuries in car crashes. Thought for the day: Buckle down and buckle up.

7. Floss Your Teeth
Recent studies make a direct connection between longevity and teeth flossing. Nobody knows exactly why. Perhaps it’s because people who floss tend to be more health conscious than people who don’t? Thought for the day: Floss and be your body’s boss.

8. Avoid Excessive Drinking
While recent studies show a glass of wine or one drink a day (two for men) can help protect against heart disease, more than that can cause other health problems such as liver and kidney disease and cancer. Thought for the day: A jug of wine should last a long time.

9. Keep a Positive Mental Outlook
There’s a definitive connection between living well and healthfully and having a cheerful outlook on life. Thought for the day: You can’t be unhappy when you’re smiling or singing.

10. Choose Your Parents Well
The link between genetics and health is a powerful one. But just because one or both of your parents died young in ill health doesn’t mean you cannot counteract the genetic pool handed you. Thought for the day: Follow these basic tips for healthy living and you can better control your own destiny.

Research repeatedly shows that fitness is a strong measure of health. In a study of more than 25,000 volunteers, researchers at the Cooper Institute found that a person’s fitness level was more important than body weight. Men in the study who were overweight or obese but who were physically fit had a lower risk of death than men who were a healthy weight but were not physically fit.1

Being fit improves your overall health and reduces your risk of disease.

Short-term benefits include:2

* A healthier heart. Physical activity makes demands on your heart that make it stronger and better able to function.
* Healthy muscles, bones, and joints. Resistance training such as weight lifting improves muscular strength and endurance and increases bone density, which is especially important for older adults to prevent falls and injuries.3
* Increased burning of calories. Physical activity burns calories and helps you achieve a healthy balance between the calories you take in from food and those you expend. (To find out how many calories are burned during different activities, use this Interactive Tool: How Many Calories Did You Burn?) When you exercise regularly, your body burns more calories, both during activity and at rest. Being fit may also lower your percentage of body fat and increase muscle strength and tone. Your percentage of body fat depends on genetics, lifestyle, and physical activities.

No matter what your size or shape, physical activity has important health benefits. These may include:

* Improved ability to fall asleep and sleep well.
* Increased energy.
* Increased mental acuity-sharper and faster thinking.
* Better mental health and ability to cope with stress. People who are fit may have less anxiety and depression than people who aren’t active.4 And regular exercise is one of the best ways to manage stress.

Long-term benefits include reduced risk of:2, 5

* Dying early.
* Developing coronary artery disease.
* Developing high blood pressure. Regular physical activity can also lower blood pressure in those who have high blood pressure.6
* Developing type 2 diabetes. Physical activity may prevent type 2 diabetes through its effect on insulin, how the body processes sugar, and maintenance of body weight.
* Getting some cancers.
* Becoming obese.

Note: Moderate exercise is safe for most people, but it’s always a good idea to talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program. If you are at risk for or have coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, or other chronic conditions, your doctor may want to help you build a plan matched to your needs. He or she may want to do tests before you start a plan or want you to be more careful and watch for injuries or other problems.
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webmd.com

Experts on the moderate-low intensity cardio/aerobic workouts suggest that in these instances the body uses more fat than carbohydrates as a fuel for the workout. This means that these types of cardio workouts will be beneficial to those who want to lose weight fast. Those who are proponents of high intensity cardio workouts suggest that once the body is made to go through such a workout it will have a higher expenditure of energy and as such the weight loss will be greater. This really needs consideration; what type of workout is more effective?

[ad#co-1]To do this best, we can compare various case studies. Let ‘s first consider a man who is between the ages of 30-39 and has a weight of 85Kg. Let ‘s also assume that the man has aerobic capacity in the range of 40ml/kg/minute. In this case study we will compare the two training methods both of which will burn up the same number of calories i.e. 500kCal. For the low intensity cardio workout the rate will be set at 65 percent of the maximum heart rate. This is the rate that has been categorized as optimum for fat loss
. As for the high intensity workout the rate will be set at 85 percent of the maximum heart rate. This is the rate that has been preferred when you want to improve the personal aerobic capacity. The 85% rate mostly makes use of carbohydrates as the fuel source.

Moderate rate of 65%: At this rate the person in question will require 55 minutes to burn up the 500 calories. By using a gas analyzer it has been shown that at this rate the fuel contribution is 37% fat and the carbohydrate use is 63%. One gram of fat yields approximately 9kCal. As such the person will have used 79g carbohydrate and 20g fat.

High intensity of 85%: At this rate the 500 calories are burnt up faster i.e. 42 minutes. When we analyze the fuel contribution using the gas analyzer it is observed that 17% is fat while 83% is carbohydrate. This translates into 104g carbohydrate and 9g fat.

By using this case study we can make some inferences about both types of workout. The moderate workout uses more fat for same amount of calorie burnt, more fats are used in similar time, and that the training is less demanding. On the other hand the training benefits are less significant, it is easy to cancel out the benefits acquired depending on your food intake and the amount of fat used is quite insignificant.

For the high intensity workout more energy is used in the same time limit and the training results in greater benefit. The training is harder to perform and fewer fats are burnt off.

These observations should help you make a choice of the regimen that will suit you. Whatever the choice it is prudent to be active and eat healthy.

About the Author
Dane Fletcher is the world-wide authority on bodybuilding and steroids. He has coached countless athletes all over the world. To read more of his work, please visit either http://www.BodybuildingToday.com or http://www.SteroidsToday.com[ad#co-1]

This is true whether you’re in the throes of sleep-deprivation with a newborn or stay busy driving your children from school to soccer practice, tennis matches, and piano lessons. Even people who had a strong commitment to exercise before having children will struggle to find consistent time to stay fit once they become parents.

Being a parent “wreaks havoc with your schedule,” says Betsy Keller, PhD, professor of exercise and sports sciences at Ithaca College.

Indeed, a recent study from the University of Pittsburgh confirmed that new parents really are more sedentary than singles or married couples without children. The study tracked physical activity levels of more than 800 young adults for more than two years. It found that while physical activity declined among all participants during that span, it took the biggest hit among new parents.

That’s despite the fact that new parents often feel like they are always on the go, says researcher Ethan E. Hull, MEd, an exercise physiologist candidate at the University of Pittsburgh.

“The priorities of a family just change,” says Hull. “The focus isn’t with your friends, it isn’t with yourself, it isn’t with your spouse; it’s with that child. Your own physical activity just isn’t as important as the attention you’re giving that child.”

But when it comes to abandoning physical activity, you’re not just hurting yourself, say experts.

“Now that you have kids, you want to be around for the kids,” says Jon Chipko, a certified strength and conditioning coach from Montclair, N.J. “You want to be healthy, to be able to play with them, to be around when they get older.”

Time constraints, lack of sleep, and selflessness are all perfectly valid excuses for the short term, says Hull. But, he warns, be careful how much time you let go by.

“It’s easy to sit on the couch,” Hull says. “It’s not easy to get out and exercise. [But] down the road, if parents have lost all this physical activity for years, they’re not going to snap back.”

Whether you are a mom or a dad, a parent of a newborn or a teenager, here are some effective ways to incorporate exercise back into your life and fight the tendency to become more sedentary.

Exercise Tip for Parents No. 1: Be Active All Day

You don’t have to be athletic to be physically active, says Keller.

Move around, walk to your neighbor’s house instead of calling, take the stairs, park farther away from your destination. All these things help burn calories and keep you moving — and they all add up.

“You are tied to the child. You can’t leave them, but you can get up and move around,” Keller says.

“There are lots of ways parents can incorporate physical activity into their day, or just as importantly, as a family activity,” says Hull. “It may take more preparation for parents, but physical activity can and should be balanced back in.”

Exercise Tip for Parents No. 2: Defy the Myth of Time

Granted, children take up a lot of time you previously had for yourself.

But here’s the great part, says Brad Schoenfeld, a fitness trainer in Scarsdale, N.Y.: “It does not take a lot of time to achieve a basic level of fitness.

“People tend to think they need to spend hours on end at the gym. It’s the quality, not the quantity. With a 15- to 20-minute weight workout, you can achieve great benefits.”

Schoenfeld, author of two fitness books, says that even the advanced athletes he trains complete their workouts in about 3 to 3 1/2 hours a week.

“You don’t need 30 to 45 minutes of exercise a day in one continuous bout,” says Hull. Shoot for 10 to 15 minutes a couple times throughout the day, he recommends.

Exercising in small chunks will help you avoid burnout and may also keep you motivated, experts say.

Exercise Tip for Parents No. 3: Define Your Priorities

Many athletes, celebrities, and those who just exercise for fitness and health have kids, says Chipko.

“It’s a matter of priorities,” he says. “I have a 44-year-old mother of four who still finds time to exercise five days a week for 45 minutes.”

When you’re stretched for time or crave a little time to yourself, Chipko says, it’s easy to go for the quick fix, like going shopping, stopping for a latte, or watching TV.

“Somewhere along the line you’re substituting a long-term goal for something short term,” says Chipko. “In the long run, quick fixes are not going to benefit you.”

Exercise Tip for Parents No. 4: Cultivate Social Support

Having a parent, a friend, or a neighbor to whom you can entrust the care of your children will pay dividends.

“A lot [of what happens with an exercise routine] depends on the opportunity [a parent] has to leave the child and do exercise outside the home,” says Keller.

If you don’t have family nearby, says Hull, “establish a network of friends that you trust and can trade off child care with.”

Exercise Tip for Parents No. 5: Establish Family Fitness

If you want your children to know the value of fitness, exercise with them.

With infants and toddlers, go for brisk walks with the baby in the stroller, says Chipko. While they nap during the day, fit in some fitness — doing basic lunges, squats, push-ups, and crunches.

“These are all things that don’t require any equipment or space and don’t take a lot of time,” Schoenfeld says.

With preschool to school-aged children, strive for family fitness. Go to the park, ride bikes, hike, and swim while the weather’s nice. In the winter, ice-skate, snowshoe, cross-country ski, or go sledding.

“Physical activity time also provides a great opportunity to talk with your kids,” adds Keller. “But sometimes, just doing something with them is worth more than we realize.”

Bottom line?

“Your desire to be physically active with your child will usually force a creative solution to do so,” says Keller. “You may be the only parent who is jogging around your kid’s soccer practice field, but your kid will get used to it.”

Exercise Tip for Parents No. 6: Set Goals

The very first step to staying fit or regaining fitness is to want it, say experts.

“Motivation comes from within,” says Schoenfeld. “I can’t motivate someone if they don’t have a reason to do something.”

Set short-term goals, says Schoenfeld, so as not to overwhelm yourself. If it’s four sizes you need to lose, start with one. If it’s 20 pounds, set a more manageable goal of 1-2 pounds per week.

Most people go too far and say, ‘I want to run a marathon,’” says Chipko. “That’s too big.”

Goals have to be realistic, says Chipko: “If your goal is to look like Kelly Ripa or Angelina Jolie, your determination is going to be crushed if you work out and eat yogurt for a week and you don’t look like them.”
Exercise Tip for Parents No. 7: Put In the Effort

Don’t expect to get fit overnight, warns Chipko. “It’s a matter of putting time in. Anything worth having is hard. There is work involved.”

But, you say, fitting in work and everything needed to run a household is hard enough. Who needs the added pressure of squeezing in a workout?

The truth, Keller says, is that exercise will actually give you more energy to tackle the tasks always hanging over your head.

And somewhere along the line, says Chipko, exercise will become a habit.

“People always ask me how long it’s going to take,” he says. “Everybody wants that quick fix.”

It may take a month, it may take a year, he says, but when you reach a goal you set on your own, it’s much more rewarding.

Exercise Tip for Parents No. 8: Be a Role Model

Whether they admit it or not, kids look to their parents as role models.

“What you do has a huge effect on what they do,” says Chipko, who works with youth from 9 to 18.

If you’re a couch potato, you may pass that trait on to your children. On the other hand, if kids grow up in a family where they walk the dog, hike, or go for bike rides, they will emulate that behavior, says Keller.

“When trying to teach kids discipline,” says Chipko, “you as a parent should have some as well.”

WebMD