So I noticed that my heart needs to work a bit harder now than it ever used to… to do simple things such as… walk me up a flight of stairs, digest a meal after OverEating!, drinking more than one glass of alcohol, dancing…etc.  This is not good.  This is a sign that I must get shaking and moving.  I must do cardio respiratory exercise much much MUCH more often.  What happened? I got out of rhythm.  I had a schedule that allowed me to work out regularly with at minimum 30 minutes of cardio activity 4 days per week for many years and I felt amazing! and now, I’ve let it all go.  NOT ACCEPTABLE.  My heart won’t take that.  I notice it. In everyday activity.  I hate it. I must not be lazy. I must make amends with my body. I must take action. I must force myself to get back into rhythm.  If I do not, my heart will just work too hard and then clonk out when I least expect it…or should I say expect it, because I do realize that I should expect it and I don’t want to expect it, so I will make change….I will make change…. I will prioritize around my health.. how can I not? How could I allow myself to not prioritize around my health. How could anyone? Are we that dumb? Man, I mean… the human species.  I suppose we are, for the most part.  We take advantage of almost any situation we think we could ‘get away with’ because we tend to take things for granted until they fall back in our face and smack us around.  We of all species should be more intelligent..we have the capacity to understand and change our behavior…WHY IS IT SO HARD? I don’t know. But I do know that if I don’t take action right away, tomorrow will not wait and tomorrow may be too late.  
 

Moderation, moderation, moderation…. Balance, balance, balance. 

It can be done. It will be done.
 

For years now it's been the same routine- get up; go to work; drive straight to the gym and follow simple, mundane weight lifting instructions on a notepad. This was up until about a year ago, when I discovered that this habitual practice was demoralizing and ultimately making me miserable. Sure, life can be routine, but it's in that routine that we can exercise our creativity to conjure up new ways to make fitness exciting.

For some people, this could mean simple tweaks in their written/routine free-weight exercises, starting with chest and ending the week with arms. For others, it's about hopping on that bike and/or treadmill and running that extra five miles a day. It's my strong recommendation that you immerse yourself in a solid mix of cardio and free weight exercises as not to create boredom, or lack of will. BUT, don't make your schedule the same each week; spontaneity is key! Sure, there are those who say they've come to learn to love what they do, charming the same weight-lifting regimen weekly while avoiding anything irregular as not to "tarnish" their workout. Learning to love however, is different from naturally engaging in something that's enjoyable.

Routines can be easy, and not very strenuous; but after all, they are just routines. So it's with my dear advice that as practitioners of exercise and fitness we teach ourselves new things, while also teaching our body the same. This is inherently true with things like dance. More specifically, Zumba is an excellent example of something different, fun, and unique. The ability to genuinely enhance cardiovascular function and endurance, while practicing muscle memory routines effectively exercises the whole body. And simply put, it's fun.

The most practical and enjoyable way to stay in shape undoubtedly is by playing sports. Joining a soccer league on Sundays or perhaps playing something as simple as intramural dodge ball or kickball can successfully burn thousands of calories in just one day. The sheer competitive nature of these athletic activities drives the body further and beyond, and although strenuous at times, people crave the struggle and willingness to become better. There comes a certain rush that comes with fast paced activities, which brings me to my next point.

These could include anything from dance to karate and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). Again, most of these practices are very difficult to mimic at an ordinary Gym.  You can certainly find out more from top trainers/classes at pristine establishments like <a href="http://www.mmaindustries.com ">MMA Industries</a>.

Things like mountain climbing, biking, quad-racing, fishing, golfing, etc… – These are all great ways to actively stay in shape, and they're quite enjoyable as well! A sudden increase in endorphins will surely make anybody's day brighter. Also, almost all of these activities take place outdoors, which captures much needed vitamins from the sun, further enhancing the overall experience. Keep in mind however, it is important to get your heart rate up every now and then, so switching on and off amongst these and cardiovascular exercises (i.e. – treadmills) will keep your body guessing while enhancing overall fitness.

Sports and Dance are both a leisurely and/or competitive practice, but can also be the most effective way to exercise. <a href="http://www.gymsource.com/treadmills">Treadmills</a> and <a href="http://www.gymsource.com/ellipticals">Ellipticals</a> will shed weight and enhance muscle strength/endurance, but will never capture the soul and rhythm that dance makes so enjoyable. Meanwhile, the competitive nature and drive that comes with playing sports will always be an important part of everybody's lives.  But again, it's important to diversify your fitness, and be able to incorporate pleasure and strain. Attempt to pull one's self away from everyday fitness equipment and home gyms; pick up a class of zumba and/or sign up for an intramural softball league and you'll be on your way to a healthier, more enjoyable lifestyle.

This was a guest posting by Jim Rollince, whom is a representative from the web relations department of Gym Source. He currently oversees all creative writing efforts and is an expert in home gym equipment<"http://www.gymsource.com/">.

The rules are simple.  Changing your behavior is not.  Accept that.  It is natural that you may ‘fall off the wagon’ sometimes.  That’s normal and expected.  Just make sure that you commit yourself to getting back on the wagon, before you fall off.   Believe that you can ride the bicycle and you will ride it.  If you don’t believe you can ride the bike, then you’ll always fall and probably decide that you’re not going to try again since you’ve already made up your mind that you don’t believe you can ride the bike.  I’ll tell you a trick to believing in anything…feelings.  Feel that you are already riding.  If you feel it, you believe it. Following below are what I call the HEALTHY WEIGHT RULES.  If you abide by these rules, you will: 
•    lose weight if you are too heavy
•    maintain your weight if and when you are in healthy range
•    gain weight if you are too skinny
RULE #1.  The amount of calories you consume must equal the amount of calories your body burns.
These are based upon normal body mechanics.  In basic terms, metabolism, is a series of process by which food is converted into energy and products needed to sustain life.  When the body converts food into energy, we call it digestion.  The body creates heat during this conversion process. In laymen’s terms we say the body is burning calories.

During your quest for good health, you may have heard about calories, more specifically counting calories, but perhaps have not taken the time to understand exactly what a calorie is or the reason why all this attention is given to calories.  A calorie is a unit of energy-producing potential in food.  The potential of energy production from food, otherwise known as its calories, have been measured and that information is readily available and usually found right on the packaging. 

Perhaps you have learned about it, but haven’t been able to stay true to a diet because it’s too difficult to be practical about how to count calories in everyday life.  Well, I’m here to slap you in the face.  Guess what.  In order to make a change in your lifestyle habits, you must make a change in your lifestyle habit.  This does not have to be difficult.  It just has to be something you really, I mean really, want to do.  But it’s SIMPLE!  Initially, you will need some tools:
•    small notebook (so you can write down what you eat)
•    a small calorie counter pocketbook (the source from which you’ll write down your consumption into your notebook)
•    a kitchen scale, in grams preferably (to measure your food-in order to look up a food in a calorie book, you need to know how much of the food you have.)
•    measuring cups and measuring spoons

RULE #2.  Eat mostly unprocessed foods.  The more raw foods, the more organic foods you consume the more nutrition you give your body.  The more nutrition you give your body, the better the body functions.  Nutrition is the nourishment that we obtain from food.  Since food that is processed or grown with chemicals or in depleted soil or poisoned by toxic substances or infused with artificial ingredients, the nutritious elements become reduced or even non existent.  The more food (calories) that we consume that are without nutritious value (empty), the less positive energy is created within the body.  This leads to disease.

RULE #3. Exercise.  The human body is meant to move.  It is made for the purpose of being active.  If you do not activate its muscles regularly in a fashion to keep them limber and strong, then they will lose their purpose.  It’s best if you start with small increments that you can incorporate into your everyday routine.  View (daily exercise tips) for some examples.

RULE #4. Eat in proper portions. Listen to your body as to when to eat, which will in most cases be about 6 meals per day.  Please pay attention to what is meant by the word meals.  Meals are simply a serving of food.  This could be classified as a snack, dinner, breakfast, lunch; it can be a liquid or solid.

THE GOLDEN RULE: The more you practice the first four rules, the more you will find that it gets easier to accommodate this way of living. They become natural habits.  You’ll start to feel more energy each day you’ll notice an increase in lean muscle mass while you’re shedding off excess fat mass.  In fact, as you become more attuned to your body, you’ll notice that if you don’t practice these rules regularly, you’ll be more sensitive to feeling ill at ease.  Your body will be telling you what it needs and this time you’ll be listening!!

Now let’s do a mind exercise.   Imagine yourself exactly as you would be in your ideal universe.  If you could transform your body to exactly what you want it to be, what would you envision it to look like?  Your body, your vision of your body.  Not some celebrity’s body, because that’s not your body, that’s theirs.  Envision your body.  Go ahead, close your eyes. 

Open your eyes. Print these pages and GET STARTED!!!!   Right now.

The energy or calories in the food we eat comes from three macronutrients: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Macro means large, and these nutrients are needed in large quantities to sustain our growth, metabolism, and other bodily functions.

In order to truly understand the food you’re consuming you should be aware of the caloric expenditure of the food. One gram of Carbohydrate equals 4 calories, one gram of Protein equals 4 calories, one gram of Fat equals 9 calories.

One pound of body fat equals about 3500 calories. So, there is a logic of if you can create a deficit of 3500 calories, you will lose 1 pound of body weight. This is a flawed logic though since our bodies don’t operate in a vacuum.  That logic works on paper, but doesn’t take into account that our bodies are working with many a various systems and we are not linear. Be careful when losing weight thought, because when you lose weight, you are also losing lean body mass. That’s when exercise comes in. Exercise will enable you to retain and gain lean muscle mass.  You cannot just reduce caloric intake and expect to lose weight.  Caloric modification has to be done in a way that will work together with your metabolism and not against it.  If you just reduced calories without regard, you may end up slowing your metabolism, keeping weight on, and doing more harm than good.  It’s best to pay attention to how and when you consume your calories, and increase ways to burn the calories (energy).   Some ways to do this is by eating small portions more frequently.  Many times when embarked on properly, a fat reduction plan, which will include exercise, will require more calories instead of less.  This is so because as you exercise, you build lean muscle mass and reduce fat mass.  Lean muscle mass requires more energy (calories).  The more you move (exercise), the more you burn.
 
Over the years, many a various diet has been suggested and tried. The human body has and continues to be studied to understand it’s process of energy, which mainly comes from the ingestion of food. After all that’s said and done, it is widely agreed that the most effective healthful diet is a 40% carbohydrate-30% Protein-30% Fat diet. This practice is endorsed by The American Dietetic Association and has been followed by Europeans as the Mediterranean Diet.

Here are some steps for eating in proper proportions:

1. Study the labels on food products. They are mandated by law in the United States, many countries in Europe, as well as many other countries of the world. Use them to make wise judgements on the portions of what to ingest with each meal. If you take the time to learn about the foods you eat, what they are made of, you will understand how to gain control of your energy, your weight, your body fat, your metabolism, your sugar levels, your thinking power, your efficiency, your overall wellness!

2. In the beginning, don’t change your diet. Just take the time to write down the items you eat and in the portions you eat them. From the food labels, write down the carbs, protein, fat (and what type of fat!), and calories. I know it’s a pain, but make a chart and keep this food log for a minimum of 2 weeks.

3. Study your food log and then decide what items you can change around, minimize, maximize, replace, allow every now and then…etc. All things in moderation. MODERATION!

4. Since every body is different, there is no one exact caloric consumption level you can set to lose weight.  For the most part, you can forget counting the calories.  Yes, that’s right, forget counting.  Instead, pay attention to the balance of the food choices and the quality of the foods.  Pay attention to when your body is hungry.  Pay attention to the cravings you get (these tell you the types of foods you may be over or underconsuming…see ‘what do these food cravings mean?’

5. For the most part, eat whole foods.  Eat foods that have been minimally processed.  Generally, the more the food is to its original natural state, the more nutritious and healthy it is. Remember this at the supermarket.

A general rule is the “neck up” check. Symptoms above the neck, such as runny nose and stuffy sinuses are usually are symptoms of a cold and working out should be alright. As long as you’re drinking a lot of water, the sweating flushes out the system. It is not uncommon to actually feel a little better after exercising with a cold.

If the symptoms are below the neck, body aches, chills and deep coughs can signify a flu and rest is recommended.

But probably the most important rule is "how do you feel?" If the answer is "like working out", then it is probably not going to do you much harm, just don’t over exert and pay special attention to what your body tells you.  This is a good time to break from your normal workout routine and perhaps try some moves from home, so you don’t get everyone at the gym sick too. How about speeding up a recovery with a nice and long stretching session! Pliable muscles enable smooth blood flow which eliminates toxins and delivers nutrients more efficiently.  

Remember, YOU’RE THE BOSS!
 

The old school thinking was to work out in a sweat-filled gym for hours a day. No pain, no gain. Well, that still works if implemented properly, however for many people time and motivation is a factor, but fortunately you can do many things in your everyday daily routine that will get you in better health.

1.    Walking even just 10 Minutes a Day will Increase Your Fitness Level  Studies show that even short bouts of activity can increase your fitness level, especially if you're new at working out.  
     a) Park and Walk. Whenever you have an errand, park your car as far away as you can from the entrance and then walk to the store.  At the mall, park at the farthest end and walk the length of the mall. Use every opportunity to walk. It all adds up to better fitness.
b) Take the dog out for yes, another walk! Maybe even make time to play catch with him in the back yard or park, your heart will get going if you pretend to run away with his toy!

2.    Take the stairs. Use every opportunity to take the stairs as you can.  Well if you can only make it to the fourth floor and have to go to the eighth, walk from ground to to the fourth and
take the elevator from the fourth floor and don’t forget to walk down from the eighth because walking down is less strenuous than climbing up so you’ll last longer.  (People with knee problems can try walking up or down sideways and alternate sides each flight)

3.    Seated leg lifts. These are practiced while you’re sitting on a chair at the office or sofa at home watching TV.  Ideally, you’ll want to be seated upright..so get your back off the chair! First, tilt your pelvis backward…meaning tuck your tailbone forward bringing your belly button inward toward the spine.  Second, lift one leg up at a time, maintaining the pelvic tilt all the while, holding the leg up for 3 seconds, then switching legs.  Repeat for 10 lifts per leg for one SET.  Do 3 SETS.

CATEGORY                 GCI RATING

PASTA

Fettucine, 6 oz                                              45

Linguine, 6 oz.                                              52

Macaroni, 5 oz.                                            47

Ravioli, meat, 4 large                                   39

Spaghetti, wheat, 1 cup                                 37

Spaghetti, white, 1 cup                                 44

Spiral, durum, 1 cup                                     43

Tortellini, cheese, 8 oz.                                50

Vermicelli, 6 oz.                                           35

Lasagna, beef                                                47

SNACKS, DESSERTS, and MISCELLANEOUS

Vanilla wafers, 7cookies                              77

Sponge cake, plain, 1 slice                           46
Snickers candy bar                                       55

Pretzels, 1 oz.                                               83

Potato chips, 14 pieces                                 54

Popcorn, 2 cups                                            72

Pop tarts, chocolate, 1 tart                            70

M&Ms peanut chocolate candy                    33

Granola Bar, chewy, 1 oz.                            61

Graham crackers, 4 squares                          74

Doritos Corn chips, 1 oz.                              72

Oatmeal cookie, 1                                         55

Continue reading GLYCEMIC INDEX CHART

Last Year, Americans spent more than $40 BILLION on diets and weight loss products! According to the Nutrition Business Journal, the supplement industry reached an all time high of $16.1 billion in sales. 1,000 different manufacturers produce about 20,000 different products, which are consumed by 100 million people! With all this money at stake, these weight loss companies will tell you anything to get you to buy their products. They’ll even lie to you face! The Methods That Most People Use To Lose Weight DO NOT WORK!! Only About 5% Of All People Whom Lost Weight Gain It All Back.
Continue reading THE $40 BILLION DOLLAR LIE

1. The BICYCLE exercise is the best move to target the rectus abdominis (the 'six pack') and the obliques (the waist), according to a study done by the American Council on Exercise. To do this exercise correctly:

• Lie on your back on the floor and bring your hands behind your head.
• Bring the knees in towards the chest and lift the shoulder blades off the ground without pulling on the neck.
• Straighten the left leg out while simultaneously turning the upper body to the right, bringing the left elbow towards the right knee.
• Switch sides, bringing the right elbow towards the left knee.
• Continue alternating sides in a 'pedaling' motion for 12-25 reps.
• Repeat up to 3 sets.

Continue reading TOP MOST EFFECTIVE ABDOMINAL EXERCISES