Oct 15
Good and Bad Cholesterols: What Are They?
Posted by Lemuel Asibal in Diet, Nutrition on 10 15th, 2009| icon3No Comments »

There are two kinds of cholesterols that are naturally present in our body system and are known as good and bad cholesterol.

Bad cholesterol, which is known as LDL or low density lipids, is the common culprit of heart diseases or fatal heart attacks. High cholesterol concentration in our body is sometimes genetic and so, proper care for your overall health condition is the only combating tool to prevent health disruptions from happening.

The only way to fight health risks is to have better understanding about cholesterol, its functions and effects on the body.

Good cholesterol is also known as HDL or high density lipids. Unlike LDL which may get stocked on the walls of your blood vessels because of its density, HDL easily floats along with the blood cells and plasma. As a result, it promotes better blood circulation and nutrient distribution throughout the body, lessening blockages in heart arteries.

When LDL levels get higher, you will start feeling pain that takes place within the heart cavity. This is due to the spasm of artery which results to the abnormal functioning of the heart. The worse thing that can happen is when the heart will stop working. When the arteries fail to function, this can cause death eventually. Imagine how fatal LDL cholesterol is; it directly strikes the heart (which is considered as the main switch of human life) and damages the arteries around so that they will stop working.

Sep 9

The kettlebells have been the training tool of the Russian elite forces for a very long time already. These exercise equipment are shaped like the cannonballs with a handle on top of it. By using it with an exercise, muscles as well as muscle groups are being worked at. Unlike dumbbells, kettlebells are compensated by various exercises. As your strength increases and your body is already more conditioned, the more difficult exercises are deployed. This means you will be practicing on right weight of kettlebells at the beginning of the workout but increases as you become more at familiar with the routine.

Here are some of the basic steps in doing the kettlebell exercise:

• The Swing
• The Press
• The Clean
• The Front Squat
• The Kettlebell Deadlift

The kettlebell exercises are great for working out legs, core, hips, and back. Make sure that you take the proper posture while doing the stances and observe the proper breathing pattern. It is recommended that you take the warm up for ten minutes by doing some bodyweight exercises, pushups, squats, and ab crunches. After doing so, you are ready to take the kettlebell action.

Here are some of the benefits that the kettlebell exercise brings:

• Increase in body strength
• Provides strong bones and joints
• Improves endurance and stamina
• Fat Loss
• Regulates muscle balance and function

This kind of exercise provides a more intense body workout. It can also allow superior strength gain without adding your muscle size. Aside from improving your appearance, it will also add to your mental toughness. The kettlebell exercise can be the most effective daily regimen for your total body conditioning.

Sep 4

There is no such thing as the fastest way to build muscle. Most said on the web or in the news are all lies and cruel promise to lure people from buying their stuff or enrolling in their health club. But muscles should not be hurried, or else it would result to no good. Muscles needed to be fed, train hard and rest. The same us you eating, exercising then relax. You may not notice it at first but you’re muscles are growing, slowly growing. The workout routines matters really but it doesn’t have to be done scientifically. If you want to be like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Dave Draper you have to know first the basic bodybuilding workout routines.

First is to train yourself for at least 3-4 days a week if you are really serious in achieving your goal. Hit each muscle group for not less than twice a week. Have a consistent pace and unhurried sets of exercises. It is important to maintain this order of training. And keep your training simple and basic.

Your goal is many sided, and includes improving your internal chemistry, your cardio fitness health, your conditioning, your training knowledge and understanding, your muscle weight, your muscle mass, shape and size and skin tone and your character and dedication on the lifestyle you are in. Each and every individual has his or her own philosophy when it comes to finding the best workout routine. And each human being has different body different to different routines. Thus it is advised that you try this basic routine and check how your body responds to it.

Aug 7
Secrets to Slimming Down
Posted by admin in Diet, Weight Loss on 08 7th, 2009| icon3No Comments »

Losing weight and slimming down is not so hard at all- this is what Jillian Michaels reveal in one of her books, Master your Metabolism, The Biggest Loser’s. The author shares the 10 simple ways to stay in good shape and at a desired weight.

1. Sleep at least seven hours a night.

A full night’s sleep is not a luxury- it’s a necessity for healthy hormone balance. Once you dip below seven hours a night, you are at much greater risk of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke, depression and many, many, more pounds.

2. Absolutely no carbs before bed.

Your level of the hunger hormone ghrelin needs to be high in order to slip into stage 3 or 4 sleep. Carbs depress ghrelin faster than any other nutrient, so eating anything, especially carbs, before bed can delay your entry into deeper sleep for several hours. The release of growth hormone is possible only when the body is in a semi-fasting state, so the insulin spike that comes after carbs will automatically interfere with growth-hormone release. I’m fanatical about restricting carbs before bed—why would you knowingly eat something that interferes with restorative sleep and blocks one of the most beneficial hormone releases of the day? Don’t do it!

3. Get 4 to 5 hours of exercise a week

Forget that “walk across parking lots” and “take the stairs” fitness advice. You can’t lose weight in 10-minute bursts of exercise. No, you need to get to the gym, work your ass off when you’re there and get the job done. You’ll burn way more calories in less time and enjoy more hormonal benefits.

4. When you work out, go big!

I want you sweating, stretching, and pushing yourself. You should be reaching for 85 percent of your maximum heart rate (220 - your age = your maximum heart rate, or MHR). Intense exercise increases your body’s release of endorphins and growth hormone.

5. Base your workout on strength training.

Women who lift moderate to heavy weights produce more active growth hormone after their workouts—and for a longer time—than women who do other kinds of exercise. The greater your muscle mass, the higher your metabolism and the more sensitive to insulin your muscles become.

6. Detox your circle of friends.

We have specific neurons in our brains that make us automatically reflect the emotions of the people around us. Ask yourself: Who makes me feel bad about myself when I hang out with them? Who leaves me feeling drained? Take steps to minimize any time you spend with that person.

7. Identify your sources of stress.

When I lie awake at night with thoughts swimming around my head, I get up and write them all down. I identify what is bothering me, and I create a game plan to fix it.

8. Take your vacations.

Working more than 40 hours a week doubles women’s risk of depression and increases men’s risk by 33 percent. But even with all this overtime, one out of every three of us doesn’t take our allotted vacation time. Don’t make yourself a sitting duck for a heart attack. You earned that vacation—take it.

9. Hit the gym, even if you hate it. I do!

Just as you work to pay the mortgage or your car loan, you do the work in the gym to protect your most important asset: a healthy body. Once you’re on a steady path with exercise, you’ll automatically feel less stress.

10. Get a weekly massage.

In a study of teenage girls with body-image issues, those who’d received a massage had lower levels of anxiety, depression and cortisol and higher levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that enhances mood. Massage also elevates serotonin, the same action produced by many antidepressant medications.

Jul 14

Achieving a desired body weight and shape is not really easy. It demands hard work, regular exercise and strict compliance to diet requirements. Exercising alone will not guarantee bikini body results. Good thing there are other ways to further intensify your fitness routine and have that sexy body you’ve always dreamed of. Here’s how:

  1. Maximize your moves. Incorporate smaller synergy muscle groups when doing exercises for large muscle groups of the body. This compound exercise elevates your heart rate and expends more calories. An example of this is squatting with a shoulder press on.
  2. Add twists in your exercises. Perform exercises that help you develop balance while working out. For example, you can do lunges with just one hand and pretend to be picking up something from the floor. This exercise is referred to as functional training and is considered to be a multi-planar, multi-joint and multi-dimensional type of workout. Exercises such as this help you prepare for daily activities and prevent injuries.
  3. Add variety. Doing similar exercises each day can develop motor improvement in the body. While this may be good, it is so much better to mix up your workout routine every so often. This will increase and tone down intensity while adding more volume and/or more weight to your exercise. For example, you can include jumping rope activity while doing your fitness workouts. This will boost calorie burn and help strengthen the most important muscle of the body, the heart.
  4. Rev your rate. Give your cardio respiratory system a variety for proper progression. For example, if you perform moderate intervals at 65-75% of your maximum heart rate in five minutes, shift to a higher intensity such as 80-86% of your heart rate for one minute. Repeat this for at least 30 minutes.

With these exercise tips, you’ll get closer to achieving that bikini body for summer.

Jun 25

Losing weight is not as easy as getting rid of excess baggage. However, with the willingness to undergo a proper weight loss plan, you can be successful at shedding the pounds even with your first attempt. There are plenty of fad diets these days, which claim that they can help you lose those unwanted body fats in no time. With so much misinformation about weight loss and diet programs, many go after them without the proper orientation of what works and what doesn’t. This is a dangerous trail to trek, mind you. A lack of understanding about the proper diet can cause more harm than good. And in a worse case scenario, it can actually give a person irreversible long-term health problems.

So before you saddle up consumerist weight loss fads, here are some things you might want to consider in order to effectively loose those unwanted bulges in your body.

  • Drink plenty of water. Follow the daily requirement of water intake. This will help in eliminating those unwanted fat and water weight in your body.
  • As much as your body needs water, that also holds true for sleep and rest. Get the necessary good night sleep for 8 hours if possible.
  • Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. As much as possible, reduce your calorie intake and increase protein in your diet.
  • Include a daily exercise regimen. Whatever diet programs you are into, exercise is always a part of it. Start with those that you can keep up with depending on your pace and have a lot of fun while doing it.
  • Stay focus on your weight loss goal. Whenever you feel like giving up, remind yourself about the motivating factors and never set high standards as this is what usually brings about disappointment.

These are just some of the natural and healthy means of losing weight. If you really want to get into a diet program that gives quick results, first consult your doctor or any professional in this field. It does not necessarily mean that if a certain diet program worked for your friend, it will also do the same for you.

Jun 16

walkingJust about anyone and anywhere can promote from walking for exercise. You may see in the news that people are getting bigger and bigger, and most of these people are so obese that they cannot exercise in the traditional way even walking across the neighborhood and of course let us also consider that most of them lived in a sedentary lifestyle. No matter what the reason behind this problem, there is always a solution.

Although some people like to go with surgery to lose weight, but the thing is, this kind of trend is way too expensive, risky and life threatening. They may feel hopeless, but there is help much closer than they could have imagined. Walking for exercise is so simple that anyone can do it. Even if you have problems walking from your house to your mailbox, you can still lose some weight. You simply start out by walking to your mailbox and back. The next day, you go a few steps more. As the days go by, you add a little more to your walk, this pace is called Desensitization.

Soon you’ll find out that walking for exercise is something that you should have been doing for a long time ago. You don’t need to buy expensive equipment to do it, and you can do it any time you can find the free time or you can go to your nearest affordable health club gyms. I strongly suggest walking for exercise for everyone. If you have children, then you should start walking with them or if you have a pet dog at home start it by walking early in the morning. We simply take our walks to spend time together and see the neighborhood. When you move you burn calories.

Is walking as an exercise effective for weight loss? Sure it is! Consider that you are using your legs for this exercise and your legs hold some of the largest muscles in your body. They are going to work and burn calories to help you drop pounds. Sitting around all day in your lazy form of couched is not good for your heart. It is a muscle, and it can get weak just like other muscles in your body. Walking for exercise will keep that muscle strong and help lessen the risk of muscle atrophy, heart attack and stroke. In addition to the understandable reimbursement to the heart and weight loss arena, there are plenty of other health bonuses to walking for exercise such as lowering your bad cholesterol and decrease in blood pressure.

May 25
Anorexia: Symptoms and Treatment
Posted by admin in Diet, Disorder on 05 25th, 2009| icon3No Comments »

anorexia1Are you obsessed on losing weight? I guess I would hear “YES” among teenage girls and fashion models. These people are really conscious with their body image for this will make them attractive and pleasing. However, most of them are suffering anorexia and this is a serious illness that needs to be treated right away. Eating disorder will give badly effect not only the physical parts of the body but the mental aspect of a person as well.

Eating disorders will usually start in adolescent years and other issues from family and friends may also cause anorexia. Affiliations that involves into gymnastics or ballet are prone to anorexia for they have to keep and maintain their physical feature and weight. It can also happen caused by sudden traumatic events like getting a divorce or losing of a loved one.

At these times, people misinterpreted eating disorder and consider this as a normal sickness. Instead of giving advices that minimizes abnormal eating habits, they disregard anyone who suffers such illness and which is incorrect. Generally, anorexic patients are preoccupied in dieting. They really do anything just to get off much weight or fats from their body. Even if they are already sick, some are still continuing to not to eat in a typical way and exercise more.

Symptoms of anorexia are feeling dead beat, drained, faints and feels cold at all times. A person with a pale skin color on arms and legs are also the signs of anorexia; this will slow the heartbeat, easily broken nails, unhealthy hair and low blood pressure.

Eating disorder treatment in Los Angeles suggests that anorexia should be treated immediately. If you are worried about yourself or your loved one, seek for a professional help from eating disorder treatment centers. This is the best solution and remedy of eating disorders.

May 19
Eating Slowly Can Aid Your Diet
Posted by admin in Diet on 05 19th, 2009| icon3No Comments »

There are many little ways you can do to help yourself lose weight. Have you recently recognized the effects of eating slowly in your diet? It seems that the more time you spend chewing your food, the faster your hunger gets satisfied, thus making you eat less than you actually need. Here are some tips that can help you break the habit of eating quickly and stop you from eating too much. First of all, wait until you are finished swallowing before having another bite of food. You can put down your fork and spoon while chewing. This sounds so simple but it’s very effective in controlling your diet. The second technique is also very easy. Chewing your food a little bit longer before swallowing helps your stomach digest it better and allow you to feel full quickly. As a result, you eat less food because of the additional time you spend in chewing slowly.

These simple techniques will help you eliminate the tendency to consume food at a fast pace and over eat. Most of the people in this country eat as fast as they can. While in other countries, they dine more leisurely and treasure each moment. The French are known for their healthy eating patterns. They only eat a small portion of food and they’re not in a rush to empty their plates. This practice helps them look slim and beautiful. It’s only a matter of time before you get used to the habit of eating slowly. Then you will discover how much more pleasurable it is to eat at a slow speed so you can focus on how delicious your food tastes.