Top 10 fitness mistakes

Nearly every guy or gal who’s tried dieting or fitness has dropped out of a program at least once. Such is life. Work and social events tend to get in the way, lack of adequate emotional support saps the willpower and boredom sets in. Eating the same kind of foods every day is boring. Suiting up at the gym only to go through the same motions is also boring. But this kind of mood can be avoided with a bit of planning and a positive attitude. Here’s a list of the most common mistakes people do when trying to get fit.

The number one mistake has to be the failure to plan ahead. Going to the gym with a vague target in mind is the best way to fail. If your target is unclear, how can you know if you’ve reached it or not? If you’re a little vague on the details, maybe you need help. Ask a doctor what’s your ideal weight and make that your goal. Or focus on the number of inches you want to drop off your stomach, bottom and thighs. That works great, too.

Coming up with excuses to avoid going to the gym is second on this list. Yes, life tends to get in the way, but that can be arranged with some more planning. Don’t quit the program just because something came up at the last moment. Reschedule your gym session and make sure you don’t get lazy.

Don’t work out too little. This may seem too obvious to belong here, but a lot of people lift two dumbbells a couple of times and think they’re done for the day. Sit down at the table for half an hour and come up with a sound training program. If you don’t know enough to make your own program ask a gym trainer or a veteran bodybuilder to help you. People are usually quite happy to show off their knowledge.

Too much fitness is also bad. Muscles need time to grow and the body needs time to burn fat. Some people think that the body only burns up fat during exercises, but this is not true. The more muscles mass you have, the faster calories get burnt because muscles need energy for maintenance all the time. Even when you’re resting. Overtraining will simply make you tired without any additional benefits.

Never compare yourself to others. We are all unique individuals with unique genetic make-ups governing our weight gain, weight loss and response to training. You shouldn’t rate your performance according to the achievements of others, but stick to your own pace and your own goal. If you’re trying too hard too soon, you’re simply asking to fail.

Don’t do the same things over and over. There’s no better way to lose motivation that doing the same exercises in the same order over and over again. Learn to juggle around with the exercises that form your routine and replace them with new ones every now and then. Find variations on a classic exercise and try them out. Make things interesting for yourself

Don’t stroll into the pub straight from the gym and keep alcohol consumption on a tight leash. Alcohol has extra calories that you don’t want and is also metabolized as fat and very fast. Pumping iron in the gym for 45 minutes and then throwing the entire effort away with a couple of beers is not a good way to move forward. 

Keep a close eye on your meals. Drop the fast food and snacks from your daily eating plan and forget about soft drinks. At the same time avoid starving yourself. This is a huge mistake and a lot of people do it. Never assume that you can tank your way through a fitness program while starving yourself because you’ll only end up in a hospital. Muscles need nourishing meals in order to grow and starvation is a bad way to diet anyway.

And, lastly, never look for a magic fix that can save you all the trouble. You can’t lose weight sitting around and moping in front of the TV or computer. It just doesn’t happen. So get out and go to that gym because it’s good for you. And no excuses!

Top 10 Tips To Lose Weight For Your Honeymoon

Everyone wants their wedding and honeymoon to be wonderful life experiences, with the bride and groom looking and feeling their absolute best. While some may set their weight loss goals with only their wedding day in mind, others will be completely focused on dropping the weight for the honeymoon. Honeymoon weight loss is most likely a more intimate type of weight loss expectation, as the goal is usually to have your body appear a certain way for your spouse. Some may simply want to look as sexy as possible, or almost picture perfect. While you should always set realistic weight loss goals, these top 10 tips can help you to lose the weight:

1. Make night time eating a \"no-no\". When you eat late at night, you are taking in calories, but not doing anything to burn them off. This is not good, as frequently eating late is a big contributor to obesity.

2. Make eating breakfast a necessity. Starting your day with a healthy breakfast of lean protein, low-fat carbohydrates, and fruit or vegetables is a key to daily weight loss success. Eating breakfast helps your brain to work better so that you are more productive, helps your body to metabolize your food more efficiently which allows for more calories to be burned, and gives you more energy to do more throughout your day.

3. Don\'t stop eating carbohydrates. Whole grains are an essential part of a healthy diet and are the much needed carbohydrates that our bodies convert into energy. Instead of high fat, low fiber choices such as white bread and fat-laden cakes, select healthier low-fat carbohydrates such as fortified cereals.

4. Don\'t leave off exercise. Exercise is a \"must do\" to achieve weight loss success. When you exercise, your body burns the fat from the foods that you eat more efficiently and also helps in so many other ways, including with your heart and brain. Exercise also has the added benefit of allowing for more targeted workouts to tone and sculpt those problem areas that you want to work on before your wedding and honeymoon.

5. Don\'t spend a lot of time around food. Unless you work in the food industry, limit the amount of time that you spend looking at or around food. Part of any successful honeymoon weight loss plan is to stay focused on your goal. Being around lots of food can offset you and cause you more anguish and uncertainty about your ability to lose the weight.

6. Enjoy more healthy snacks. Many of us think of weight loss as something that will deprive us of good munchies. This is not true. In fact, the opposite is true. When you eat more healthy snacks, more frequently, in smaller portions, your body will actually work better by speeding up your metabolism and causing you to burn more calories more quickly.

7. Stay hydrated. Dehydration can cause you to want to eat more and drink lots of high calorie beverages. Drink low-calorie, replenishing drinks that can help your body stay refreshed and well-hydrated.

8. Get a nutritional makeover. Make over your mind about the purpose and use of food, and get a better understand of its use in our lives. Eat for health, look for vitamins and nutrients in your food, and don\'t deprive yourself of things that you like. Balance it all out and you will enjoy a healthier way of eating for years to come.

9. Lose for the long-term. Don\'t get too caught up in taking off the weight just for one night. That is sure to leave you feeling empty once that night is over, and may cause you to quickly abandon your new healthier lifestyle. This will actually cause you to gain weight faster.

10. Stay positive. Believe that you can lose the weight. You have to make up in your mind that you are 100% capable of making your honeymoon weight loss goal a reality. Ignore anything to the contrary.

Weddings are wonderful things. Honeymoons can be even more phenomenal. The way that you approach your special day and night will make the all the difference in the world. Being confident in who you are and making the most of this precious time can give you a satisfaction that can last a lifetime.

Top 10 Weight Loss Tips

If you add the below mentioned weight loss tips in your day-to-day lifestyle, you will not only feel better, but also look better. Avoid trying to do all these weight loss tips at once, since they do not work well with everybody.

Pick one, and practice it for a week, see if you are comfortable, if not choose another one. If you really want to reduce your weight, then have patience since you may have to wait at least three months to witness the positive outcomes of your weight loss programs.

A few Effective Weight loss Tips:

Below cited are some of the weight loss tips that will help you to cut down the additional pounds that you gained due to an improper diet plan.

1. This is the most vital and natural weight loss tips according to many dieticians. It is advisable to take fruits and vegetables, since they contain beneficial vitamins, fibers and antioxidants.

2. Eating ample of fresh fruits is one of the most effective weight loss tips. This is especially of great use when you eat these fruits between mealtimes. Since, this helps to regulate your sugar level and cravings.

3. Have fresh vegetables with everyday lunch and evening mealtime. Avoid mixing of proteins with starch.

4. Maintain meat consumption to less than 4 to 5 servings a week, which means you need to take vegetarian dishes too.

5. Replace meat with legumes, but begin gradually. You can make use of lentils, peas, and dry beans.

6. Avoid drinking liquids during mealtime. If you feel thirsty, try to drink a bottle of water after 10 minutes.

7. If you take less amount of meal, it may help to balance your intake of calorie level. Beside this, it keeps your sugar level well balanced. Instead of having three big meals a day, it is advisable and beneficial to have 5 to 6 light and small meals all through the day.

8. Pop, cream, juices and sugar in your tea or coffee can add up your weight. Instead, drink at least eight glasses of water each day, since it provides hydration to your body and helps to feel full.

9. Most dieticians also suggest 30 to 60 minutes of physical exercise daily to remain healthy and to cut down those extra pounds.

10. If you really want to cut down your weight, you need to avoid alcohol. Since, these substances are rich in calorie and add additional weight on your body.

Top Five Diets Explained

There are many diet plans proposed and/or promoted by different people. There is the 5-Factor Diet, South Beach Diet, Bob Greene\'s Best Life Diet, Atkins Diet, Cabbage Soup Diet, Detox Diet, Anne Collin’s diet, Carbohydrate Addict\'s Diet, and now you have Size Zero Diet, DASH diet and Fat Smash Diet and …. it goes on! We shall try to explain the top five diets that are very much in news.

Cabbage soup diet

This diet caught the fancy of many when it was proposed due to its utter simplicity. Proponents of Cabbage soup diet claim that by consuming low-calorie cabbage soup for a period of seven days you can lose 10 lbs of weight. It is only a short term program for weight loss.

In the opinion of nutritional experts it is not possible for body to lose 10 lbs of fat in a week; what you will lose by following this plan is body water, and it will be highly detrimental to health. This diet is considered a fad diet. However, there are many who believe in it and there are many variants of this plan still in circulation.

Fat Smash Diet 

The Fat Smash Diet of Dr. Smith is an approach to weight loss not as a quick fix solution but as a lifestyle approach. It gained prominence because of the Celebrity Fit Club TV program on which people could see it being put in practice. It focuses on healthful diet, filling foods, and lot of exercise as a necessary accompaniment. This plan focuses on low calorie content of the diet which is easy to follow. This plan does not make tempting claims of fast weight loss; it can be followed whether you are looking for a small or a heavy weight loss. 

This is a 4 phase plan; first three phases extending to about 8 weeks and the fourth phase being a lifetime phase. This plan lays as much stress on regular exercises as on proper diet control.

Atkins   Diet

Dr. Atkins diet is based on the premise that the main cause of obesity is eating refined carbohydrates, particularly sugar, flour, and high-fructose corn syrups; and secondly, that the fats from hydrogenated oils and not the saturated fats are a problem. Atkins diet plans were based on very low carbohydrates.

Medical opinion however has been vehemently critical of this approach condemning it as “the most dangerous to the public if followed for any length of time.\" Atkins diet now is looked at more as a fad diet.           

South Beach Diet

South Beach diet plan was initially evolved by Dr. Agatston for his heart patients and its launch for weight loss was only as a spin-off. This plan emphasizes the consumption of \"good carbohydrates\" and \"good fats\". \"Good carbohydrates\" are high in fiber and they are digested and absorbed slowly. \"Good fats\" are polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, especially those with omega-3 fatty acids. Saturated and trans fats are bad fats.

This diet has generally been perceived as a successful weight loss diet.

DASH Diet

This diet is primarily proposed for patients suffering from high blood pressure. It consists in following a diet which is low in saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol, and is rich in low-fat dairy products, fruits and vegetables.  The plan is rich in magnesium, potassium, and calcium, as well as protein and fiber. Since it uses the same concepts in choice of diet as are used in case of weight loss diets, it is successful for weight loss also. This diet is supported by many health organisations such as NHLBI, etc.

Does your waist size pose any direct danger to your health?

A fact-based revelation…

Introduction

Waist size has been linked in the past with heart disease and diabetes. But few studies have looked at the link between waist circumference and risk of death from any cause across different categories of BMI or for the huge waistlines that are becoming increasingly common. It appears a big waist nearly doubles a person's risk of an early death from many causes, such as cancer, heart disease, and respiratory illness and the risk is increased even among people who aren't overweight. In other words, by packing on only a few extra pounds, you could significantly increase your risk of premature death.

In fact, for women, the association between a plus-size waist and greater risk of early death was strongest in those with a normal body mass index, or BMI, according to a study involving more than 100,000 people.

It should be noted that waist circumference is strongly related to the amount of fat tissue deep in the abdomen which is a particularly bad place to have fat. This deep layer of fat, called visceral fat, wraps around internal organs in the abdomen. It's considered far more "pathogenic," or more likely to cause disease than subcutaneous fat (fat just beneath the skin that a person can pinch). Some researchers say visceral fat is so metabolically active, it should be considered an organ unto itself. Visceral fat is linked with higher circulating levels of cholesterol, insulin and substances that cause inflammation.

This pattern of increasing risk with increasing waist size seems to be true in every category of weight, including normal weight, overweight and obese. Even if your weight is considered normal for your height, and you haven't noticed a big weight gain, if your waist size is starting to increase; if you're having to move into a bigger pant size;  that's an important sign that it's time to start eating better and exercising more.

The waist-to-hip measurement

According to researchers, the best way to predict heart attack risk and other obesity-related diseases is a measurement that divides the circumference of your waist by your hips. If you’re a woman, the waist-to-hip ratio should come out as no more than 0.8. Men have a little more wiggle room: a healthy waist-to-hip ratio for them is 0.95.

This means, if your belly has bulged out enough to catch up to the size of your hips, you should start worrying about your heart, experts say. In other words, fat on a woman’s hips doesn’t seem to increase risk, whereas a beer belly does. This fat stored in the belly is the most dangerous type of fat in our bodies.

The waist-to-hip measurement is likely to catch people at risk for fat-related diseases who might otherwise think they were at a healthy weight, based on their BMI scores. It’s quite possible to have an acceptable BMI and still have some belly paunch.

Therefore, you can be thin and still have too much fat!

Act now before it’s too late!

Want Abs

Training the abdominal muscles has recently been the subject of more misinformation and mythology than any other part of the human anatomy. Gizmos and gadgets allege that they'll give you those coveted "six-pack" abs. But here's how you can rationally train your abs to their absolute maximum limit of development using everyday gym equipment. There is nothing unique about abdominal muscles as far as their training and response to training is concerned. The principles that apply to biceps and triceps apply equally to abs. So the three critical elements of your abs workouts are:

1- High-intensity of muscular overload

2- Progressive intensity from workout to workout

3- Proper spacing of workouts to avoid overtraining or under training

Most people do sit-ups or crunches as an ab exercise. While these are basically good exercises that can satisfy point 1 above, how many people use them in a way that satisfies point 2? Muscles will only develop in response to overload that is above normal. So if you do 20 crunches every day for a year, why would your ab muscles develop beyond that capacity? They won't.

To force new development, you need to increase the intensity. You could add a few crunches every day, but that really just increases duration; there is a better way to get fast results.

Abs exercises proven to work

1- Weighted crunches

2- Weighted incline sit-ups

3- Weighted sit-ups

The best way to do weighted crunches is to lie on the floor with your head close to the low pulley weight stack. Using the rope handle attachment, grasp the ends and pull the cable until it is tight and your hands are resting at the side of your head near your ears. Now contract your ab muscles in a crunch that lifts your shoulders off the floor and draws the weight stack up an inch or two. Choose a weight that is so heavy, you can only do 8 to 12 reps.

 If you don't have access to a low pulley, there is a good alternative. You can use the high pulley that is normally used for lat pull downs. Kneel on the floor or sit in the seat directly under the rope handles that you attach to the high pulley. Lock your legs under the hold down. Pull the handles into position next to your ears, then contract your ab muscles into a crunch that raises the weight stack an inch or two. Again, choose a weight that is so heavy, you can only do 8 to 12 reps.

As a further alternative, you can lie on the floor and do a sit-up or crunch while holding a barbell plate against your chest. The limitation of this exercise is that, as you progress in strength, it will not be possible to hold enough plates on your chest safely. But that's a good problem to have.

On each successive workout, shoot for a 5-15% increase in the weight you use. If you can't get a 5% increase, it's time to add more days off between your workouts.

Natural Health Degrees: Programs of Study

Find Natural Health Degrees іn thе United States аnd Canada. Currently, there аre countless educational programs thаt offer natural health degrees to ambitious students. For starters, interested individuals ѕhоuld examine curriculum requirements prior tо applying tо аnу courѕе lіkе acupuncture or chiropractic thаt result in natural health degrees.

Depending on thе program of study уоu choose to pursue, achieving natural health degrees requires a fair amount of commitment, dedication and time. In addition, іf уоu'd lіkе tо earn one of numerous natural health degrees it іѕ important thаt уou complete аnу recommended subjects of study like anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and chemistry, biology, аnd оther natural sciences іn а traditional school or college. This will оnlу help уou to better understand subject matter and give you thе confidence neсеssаry tо complete your selected program оf study.

Natural health degrees range frоm Associate degrees tо Ph.D.s. If уоu would lіkе tо earn уour Bachelor of Natural Health Sciences Degree, you сan achieve thіs аs well aѕ yоur Master of Arts in Body/Mind Integrative Studies degree. Furthermore, therе аrе оthеr programs thаt offer natural health degrees suсh аѕ Doctor оf Philosophy іn Natural Health, in addition to Doctor оf Natural Integrated Medicine fоr health professionals.

To earn natural health degrees lіke a Bachelor оf Natural Health Sciences, уou muѕt fіrѕt hаve completed prerequisite courses іn mathematics, social/behavioral sciences, communications, and laboratory sciences. Students enrolled іn this partiсular program wіll encounter аn in-depth curriculum in human anatomy and physiology, clinical biochemistry, elemental chemistry, clinical nutrition, iridology, sclerology, homeopathy, toxicology, colon therapy, whоlе nutrition, аnd case studies.

Earning natural health degrees like thе Master оf Arts in Body/Mind Integrative Studies sоmеtimеs requires a thesis prior tо enrollment. Students whо hаvе а strong desire to help individuals wіth natural therapeutics find that thіѕ courѕe оf study teaches thеm fundamentals аbout kinesiology, communications, somatics, imagery, body/mind energetics, and more.

If naturopathy appeals tо the diehard naturalist, natural health degrees in naturopathic medicine* can bе achieved аs well. Students in thіs program of study wіll acquire first-hand knowledge and skills in human histology, pathology, homeopathy, naturopathy, microbiology, nutritional assessment аnd counseling, botanical medicine, herbal studies, physiotherapy, iridology, color therapy, Ayurveda, body/mind integrative studies, detoxification, Bach Flower remedies, and a wide array of оthеr asѕоciаtеd subject matter. (*Check fоr соurѕе prerequisites.)