Archive for August, 2008

Aug 31 2008

If Diets and Weight Loss Programs Leave You Cold - Start Your Own!

Published by robert under Uncategorized

Anything that I write on the subject of weight loss has GOT to include facts. Not supposition. Not opinion. Not argument. Not pie-in-the sky. None of that. I said “facts”, and I am talking about proven facts on the subject of diets and weight loss.

Fact #1: Diets are not a permanent weight loss solution.

Fact #2: Even a “good” diet is usually mis-handled. (Okay, one opinion.)

Fact #3: You won’t get there without exercise.

Fact #4: In place of a “diet” you need to substitute good nutrition.

Fact #5: Almost everything else is a helper or a hindrance.

Fact #6: You need your own weight loss program, not somebody else’s.

A DIET IS NOT A PERMANENT WEIGHT LOSS SOLUTION

It is well documented that dieting, that is removing certain things from you normal list of foods you eat or eating only certain foods, does not work as a permanent weight loss solution. The explanation of this could be the subject of a book itself, but to make it short, you get bored, it’s hard to stay on the diet, dieting produces changes in your body that encourage weight gain, you lose energy, it just isn’t fun and so on. Pick any diet you want. Are you prepared to spend the rest of your life eating that way? Probably not. The only real solution to a lifetime problem is a change in lifestyle and behavior.

DIETS ARE COMMONLY MISUNDERSTOOD AND MISHANDLED

Here’s a classic example: The Atkins diet! Ask almost anybody you know what the Atkins diet is, and they will say it’s a diet that lets you eat lots of things like steak, bacon…you know, the fun stuff, without worrying about those nasty old veggies and carbohydrates. That’s why it’s called “low carbohydrate”, right? Shows how far most people read. A few pages into the Atkins diet plan, you learn that eating like that is only supposed to be done for about the first two weeks, to shift your body into the proper mode for the next three phases. In each of those phases, Dr. Atkins actually instructed people to begin adding certain foods, including carbohydrates, back in because it is not healthy to remain on a straight diet of chicken-fried steak or whatever for the rest of your life.

Just to drive the point home, I have a friend who went on the Atkins diet over two years ago. After a couple of years, he was still eating the from the list of foods that were recommended for the first two weeks! He lost weight at first, he’s gaining it back now, and then some, and has no idea why the Atkins diet doesn’t work any more.

It’s interesting to note that the Atkins diet, and almost any other weight loss program, diet drink, diet pill, fitness coach, you name it, includes exercise as being important to their product being effective.

YOU HAVE GOT TO EXERCISE FOR WEIGHT LOSS

In fact, many people could lose most of the weight they need to lose just by getting into the right exercise program and staying with it! That’s half the problem. Our bodies are designed by Mother Nature to DO THINGS! Clicking the remote doesn’t count. Again, this topic is broader than the scope of this article, but the facts are that if you want to improve your overall health, defeat or at least delay dozens of mental and physical conditions, get more enjoyment out of life, live longer, live better, AND lose weight, you need to exercise.

The basic rule of weight loss and weight gain is that if you eat more calories than you burn you gain weight. If you burn more calories than you burn, you lose weight. That simple.

For most people it really seems simple. If they eat less, they will lose weight!

IN PLACE OF A DIET YOU NEED TO SUBSTITUTE GOOD NUTRITION

As pointed out above, simply cutting foods out of your diet is not the answer. However, the solution is simple - just eat sensibly. Nobody ever said you can’t eat chocolate cake, just that you shouldn’t eat two or three pieces a day, and the piece you DO eat should be a normal size. We all have at least a vague idea of what foods we SHOULD be eating, and we have a good idea of what we shouldn’t be eating, or at least eating a lot of. This is an active process. Most people drive up to the window and say, “Give me your 99 cent greaseburger and a cup of water with sugar.” When asked if they want to “supersize” it, they agree. Even the good restaurants serve a lot more food than it is healthy to eat, but most people go ahead and eat it anyway because they have no idea of how much they should be eating, because it tastes so good, or because they were taught to clean their plates.

DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE FRILLS

You see a lot of diet and weight loss products that claim that they have found THE SOLUTION to your weight loss problem. Hardly anybody gets overfat (Arnold Schwarzenegger is “overweight”) because of one single thing. Mostly, it will occur over a period of time because of a combination of factors. While nutrition and exercise are two of the absolute MOST important factors, simply changing one without the other doesn’t work as well as putting both into action. Little things like an electric exercise belt, a pill made out of grapefruit, or a secret drink from Tahiti might help your weight loss program, but if you aren’t already doing the two most important things, don’t expect to see much in the way of results. That’s why so many of these diet and weight loss products have a remark on the label that says something like “…when used in conjunction with a proper diet and regular exercise.”

There is good scientific evidence that things like cortisol and caffeine can influence weight gain and weight loss, for example, but if you were to try to control your weight over a lifetime by controlling these factors, you probably would not notice any real results. If, however, you were to begin eating sensibly and getting more exercise, taking cortisol blockers or cutting caffeine out of your diet MIGHT contribute a few extra pounds of weight loss, but it is weight you will probably lose eventually if you stay on your weight loss program.

YOUR WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM, THAT’S THE GOAL

You are not your brother, your sister, or your mother no matter how closely you are tied to them genetically. What works for one of them might not be what you need. While there is scientific fact to back up the exercise equations outlined above each person is going to react in their own unique way. You need to exercise, but maybe not as much as your friend. You need to eat less chocolate ice cream, but maybe you can’t eat as much as your friend does. You need to make any weight loss program work for you by designing it around you. Do the exercises you like to do, just make sure you are doing enough. What’s enough? Well, you will have to experiment and see. Eat the foods you like, just eat them in sensible quantities and eat primarily foods that have a lot of real nutrition in them. What foods? Again, you will have to find your way, probably by trial and error, although there are many excellent books to give you guidance.

Speaking of goals, your goal is to be healthy and happy. Wanting to weigh a given weight because somebody else weighs that amount is senseless. You shouldn’t even be trying to weigh what you weighed in high school, because, physically speaking, that was a different person. He or she was someone with a different metabolism, lifestyle, and tastes. Concentrate on getting your exercise and eating properly and let your body figure out how much it needs to weigh.

Trying to tailor a weight loss program on someone else’s results is just asking for trouble as far as weight loss is concerned. They may be able to run faster than you. They may have a higher metabolic rate than you. They may have a different bone structure. They may have fewer obstacles than you. Let’s face it, somebody like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie can have the best equipment, the finest personal trainer, and can make the opportunity to sculpt a beautiful body. Plus they have the incentive of knowing that their multimillion dollar salaries depend on their maintaining the basic equipment their genetic makeup endowed them with. You and I have an old set of barbells, a cracked sidewalk, sneakers that are falling apart, live paycheck to paycheck, and the kids are going to be home in two hours. You and I are not going to look like Brad, Angelina, or Arnold. Just do the best you can with what you’ve got, and you will not regret the outcome, trust me.

Donovan Baldwin is a Dallas area writer. A graduate of the University Of West Florida (1973) with a BA in accounting, he is a member of Mensa and has held several managerial positions. After retiring from the U. S. Army in 1995, he became interested in internet marketing and developed various online businesses. He has been writing poetry, articles, and essays for over 40 years, and now frequently publishes articles on his own websites and for use by other webmasters. He has a blog on the subjects of health, fitness, diet, and weight loss at http://nodiet4me.com/ and a website on the subject of weight loss at http://nodiet4me.com

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Aug 29 2008

Muscle Builders Tips For Building Muscles Fast

Published by robert under Uncategorized

Truly, nowadays, the concepts of bodybuilding or exercises in accordance with it are highly admired and are therefore having a great hype. The admiration is such that people, irrespective of ages, like teens, middle-aged persons and unemployed youth are set in building muscles fast. Well, indeed, apart from these there are many like professional body builders and athletes who are also engaged in the process of building muscles fast. However, they are not doing anything as a part of infatuation but of the profession.

You can also do the same provided you have the desire of building muscles fast. But be aware of the fact that it is not easy and there is the need of apposite approaches or the outcome may be lamentable on the part of your health. From the very beginning, therefore, you have to define you own objective.

They should be realistic, measurable and have to be dealt with an active and professional mindset. It is good to aim high but at the same time you must be pragmatic. For instance, as a newcomer you cannot expect to reach the stage of Arnold Schwarzenegger at a single stroke and for that you shall have to work hard. Bear in mind that creating unattainable goals is not the mark of saneness. If you fail even for once to achieve this, you can be bored stiff, disenchanted and may leave the exercises for building muscles fast. For this reason always try to set short term and attainable goals before you. Hence never expend insensibly on new equipments of exercise if you are not sure of your objectives and also perseverance.

It is necessary for you to lift weights for building muscles fast. For this always be careful to warm yourself up before doing so. It simply doesn’t matter whether you are doing high reps with light weights or low reps with heavy weights. But at each time there is the need of a good and effective warm up of your muscles. Again before each time try to have 40% of the weight along with a couple sets of 10 - 12 reps. Never fail to concentrate on your diets. It is important for building muscles fast.

A good nutrition is highly necessary and it acts as an effectual supplement. The best will be to communicate with a licensed dietitian and take the necessary advices from him/her. You can also go through the Internet or television where seminars or discourses on necessary diets and nutrition do happen. Nevertheless, there are still many who think that they can eat any kind of food. To them, since they are engaged in building muscles fast only, there is no need of any discipline. Never follow these examples since at the end of the day it will grow fat instead of muscles. Always stick to foods that are rich in protein, which includes meat and egg. Also try to have foods rich in vitamins. Be attentive to your workouts since they play the central role in building muscles fast. Never try to do the same workout twice in a row and take adequate care of your muscles. Also make an effort to keep the routine unchanged for a month at least or else regular changes of routine can create all the difference.

If you are under the auspices of a professional trainer try to utilize different exercises along with set and rep patterns. To conclude make it a point that you get adequate sleep and rest.

Do you need a step-by-step guide for building muscles that won’t fail? Are you tired of trying to build muscle mass without success? Stop looking and read more about how to build muscles, the right and easy way.

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Aug 15 2008

Get Ripped Fast - Build Muscle Mass Quickly By Using Creatine

Published by robert under Uncategorized

Introduction

Bodybuilding is a sport that involves building muscles. It is also a great learning experience. The thing I find interesting about bodybuilding is the combination of components and discipline. Bodybuilding is the act of putting on muscle by working out and shaping one’s diet to put on more muscle mass. As you gain in confidence and experience you will achieve greater muscle mass and have no trouble in burning off body fat. Bodybuilding is not a project that you work hard on for a set amount of time, finish, and then sit back and admire. It is an ongoing, lifelong process filled with ups and downs, triumphs and setbacks, peaks and recessions. There are many programs available to help you build muscle mass quickly but first let us look at what bodybuilding involves and what you need to know before you get ripped fast.

What Is Muscle Made Of ?

Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. Muscles grow when muscle fibres are damaged and repair themselves following a workout. Muscles will only grow in size when they have fully recovered from the gym workout, then, and only then will muscle growth happen. Muscles need time to heal, once a week for directly hitting a muscle is fine. Muscular development can only happen in the presence of ample amino acids and the only source for amino acids is dietary protein. Protein is not just meat and there are many sources of protein but carbohydrates give the body energy to deal with the rigors of training and recovery. Creatine itself is found in meat products. When taken as a supplement it helps to aid recovery time and also build up the muscle mass.

How Much Training Will I Need To Do ?

Training at a high intensity too frequently also stimulates the central nervous system (CNS) and can result in a hyper-adrenergic state that interferes with sleep patterns. Training three or four time a week is more than enough. Training does not only include strength training, but also, a healthy diet must also be observed. Training is a key concept, but it is almost useless without proper nutrition and adequate rest. Training only occasionally will not involve any muscle improvement. give the body energy to deal with the rigors of training and recovery. To avoid over training, intense frequent training must be met with at least an equal amount of purposeful recovery.

How Do Famous Bodybuilders Build Muscle Mass So Quickly?

Bodybuilders such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lee Priest and Jay Cutler all started competing when they were teenagers. Bodybuilders seek out low-glycemic polysaccharides and other slowly-digesting carbohydrates, which release energy in a more stable fashion than high-glycemic sugars and starches. Bodybuilders exist on a diet of protein to develop muscle, and have a skinny supermodel’s aversion to fat. Bodybuilders split their food intake for the day into 5 to 7 meals of roughly equal nutritional content and attempt to eat at regular intervals (normally between 2 and 3 hours). Aspiring bodybuilders therefore should design their training programs to allow time for recovery and growth. Bodybuilders perform a lot of isolation movements, or exercises that work only one muscle or group of muscles at a time.

Get Ripped Fast At Home Or In The Gym?

The great thing about bodybuilding is that you can do it with very basic equipment while training only a few hours each week. Natural bodybuilding without drugs is all about achieving your body’s maximum potential without using steroids or other growth enhancing drugs. Stick to supplements which are safe such as protein and whey powder and also creatine which is now regarded as one of the safest things you can take. As I’ve mentioned before, the thing I find interesting about bodybuilding is the combination of components and discipline. You can see the link below to give you fast results in getting ripped fast.

Robert Locke is an expert specializing in Health and Fitness. For Health Tips, visit: http://thewellnessbible.blogspot.com

If you want to build muscle mass quickly use a SAFE product from one of the most trusted online suppliers: http://www.usfreeads.com/1126930-cls.html

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Aug 10 2008

Muscle Building Tips For Him

Published by robert under Uncategorized

Attractive body has always been the centre attraction everywhere. The body building craze has once again formed among the youths all over the world. People take all sorts of pain to make their body look good and attractive. This craze was highly in demand worldwide trend in the late 50s. However it got vanished in the 60s and 70s under the surge of the Neo-Lefts. But from the late 80s, once again a change was noticed and in this first decade of the twenty-first century the saga of muscle building is in full momentum.

As a youngster of the 21st century, do you also wish to cherish the same dream? Do you dream to have a body like Arnold Schwarzenegger? Then you must have a life of tremendous discipline in every aspect of life. The first thing you should be warned to not to take any steroids for strengthening the muscles in your life. As these are very strong chemicals which my lay some negative effect to your life. So say ‘no\’ to any form of drug in the one and always here.

The first and the foremost thing you will have to do is at attend the workout classes. These workout classes really help you to lose the extra quantity of fat in your body. These exercises should be done in the presence and supervision of the expert trainers as they are the skilled persons to look after all the eventualities. The exercises like the Bench Press, Squatting, Dead lift and Hang Clean & Push Press are some very useful exercises for you in the gym. So do these workouts in very regular manner to get the effect reflected though you and through your personally. The more exercises like Chin up; Parallel Bar Dip and push up can be extremely for you.

These exercises are very useful for anybody who wishes to get a dream figure. These set of exercises not only tone up the muscles but also prevent the production of fats in the body. The man or the boy, who desires to get the dream figure of a perfect body builder, can get enormous from these exercises. But remember one thing that you should do exercises not more than five times in the initial phase and then increase the number simultaneously.

The second important aspect of your program will to provide your body with the required fuel and vigor. As told already, proper and adequate amount of nutrition plays a enormous role in productive muscle building. Don\’t expect it ever that any shortcut may suit the purpose and there is a need of a solid foundation of at least 5 food groups, which should be maintained strictly till the course, continues. Your food stuff may include anything ranging from fish, fruits, quality vegetables, seeds and nuts nut that are important. One thing you should strictly remember is that you should always remain in constant touch with the dietician and the physical trainer so that you could their help as and when you need them.

Would you like to get your hands on a great step-by-step guide to build muscles that won’t fail you? Click here to find out more about.

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Aug 05 2008

Green Machines - Biofuels And Hybrid Cars To Clean Up The Streets In 2008

Published by robert under Uncategorized

In January it seems there are two things on almost everybody’s minds: New Year’s resolutions and shopping. These may seem hard to reconcile, but with the growing market of ‘green’ and ethical consumer products, it may actually be possible to combine the two and put your money where your mouth is in terms of those good intentions. Some of the most exciting developments for environmentally aware consumers in 2008 will surely come from a surprising source: motoring and car companies.

If you’re tiring of your current car - but you’re not ready to go totally green and trade it in for walking, then public transport or a bike (cycling, incidentally, is a great way to shift some of the ‘festive plumpness’ that’s often another top January concern) - it’s worth looking into the environmental impacts of various vehicles’ production and manufacture. Find out about the fuel economy and emissions levels of cars before you buy, and you could be doing a big favour to the planet, human health and your bank balance too: obviously, smaller engines with greater efficiency mean you’ll spend less on fuel while producing less harmful CO2.

Climate change has been the hot topic of the year, from dinner tables to boardrooms and from muddy campsites to Westminster and Washington. Even California’s Governor, one Arnold Schwarzenegger, previously seen saving the world from killer robots and Harrier-surfing terrorists, has added his distinctive voice to the lobby for cleaner, greener transport by setting ground-breaking goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the state. He plans to increase the number of hydrogen fueling stations in California (currently 25) to 200 and create a ‘hydrogen highway’ there by 2010, making it a Mecca for owners of carbon-neutral vehicles like his very own, wildly inefficient and expensive but still hydrogen-powered, ‘green Hummer’.

Good news for green consumerism, then, which is big news on this side of the pond too - several hybrid and electric cars are already available here and there’s a fast-growing network of ‘biodiesel’ fueling stations across the UK, with a mix of 5% biofuel to regular diesel already common thanks to the RTFO plan. The ‘half-way house’ in the shorter term is represented by small, efficient vehicles like the new diesel Mini and the funky Smart range from Mercedes-Benz, which both also happen to be pretty fantastic in terms of looks.

Another thing to bear in mind whether you’re looking for a new vehicle or just to cut the costs of your driving is car insurance - it’s vital to ensure this is up to date each year, as the law is quite clear that you can’t drive without it. The car you choose will affect your premium, as will many other factors like your driving history, whether the car is kept in a garage, and even having a tracking device installed (often included with satellite navigation systems) can mean a big saving. You can also often save by taking out car and home insurance from the same provider, or simply through a loyalty discount once you’ve found the company that’s right for you.

Elisha Burberry is an online, freelance journalist and keen traveller and wate sports enthusiast. Originally from Scotland, she now resides in London.

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