Archive for March, 2009

Getting Fit After 40 And Taking A Healthy Energy Drink

by Julieanne van Zyl

Simply put, cardiovascular fitness means the capacity of the body to give oxygen and blood flow to the muscular areas. “Can I enhance cardiovascular fitness over 40?” is the question some people ask. The answer is, “yes, you can.” Over 40 cardiovascular fitness can be achieved by, insistence, patience, dedication and tough work.

Although, it need not be real hard work because a healthy energy drink like Verve can help a lot. It will give you energy to make it easier to exercise and keep you healthy by improving your immune system and reducing any inflammation around joints that you may get from new exercise.

One must boost their physical activity enough to get their heart pumping and boost their respirations to obtain an enhanced cardiovascular system. This is not hard to do, but it is work, which many of us are not particularly keen on. This can be carried out through consistent efforts of exercise and a quality supplement like the Vemma mangosteen juice could assist you when your physical activity is increased.

Over the age of 40, people are taking more of an interest in their health. This could be out of fear, for health reasons, or the reason is they just want to look and feel better. Whatever the cause may be this is a very attainable expectation.

In their attempt to boost their cardiac fitness most individuals are also looking to decrease their weight as well. If this is the case, you will need to boost your cardio by exercising about 3 to 5 times a week for 20 to 40 minutes straight. You should begin slowly when first trying this, beginning with the least requirement of 3 times a week for 20 minutes. This should slowly be increased, as you are able to tolerate, working up to 5 times a week for 40 minutes at a time.

You really do not need to attempt any cardiovascular fitness exercises if you are trying to put on weight, which I believe is the rare case. However, it will not affect your weight if you do just a mild workout of 20 minutes time at 2xs per week.

If you are just wanting to maintain your weight and improve your cardio and you neither want to lose or gain weight, you can exercise for 20 to 40 minutes aboutthree times a week. This should be sufficient for this purpose.

For optimal cardiovascular fitness reasons heart rate has to be checked. For maximum weight loss you would want to aim for a goal and include a high-intensity workout in your plan.

In your cardio fitness workout you may include weight training for even more success, but this should not be attempted until proficient in the basic cardio fitness regime. When this becomes less difficult to you then you can advance on to weight training.

You should always ask your medical practitioner regarding any precautions or limitations that you should follow as with any exercise regime. Over 40 is not only highly possibly, but definitely an achievable goal in your health plan to enhance cardiovascular fitness.

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Source: Nutrition

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End Emotional Eating

Emotional eating is a term used to describe the process of eating when you’re not really hungry. When you’re eating from emotions, you usually are drawn to sweet, fatty foods, or crunchy, salty ones. Emotional eating usually happens when you’re upset, angry,

sad, bored, lonely or depressed. If you think of it another way, emotional eating occurs anytime you eat due to a feeling, rather than true hunger.

Sweet, fatty goods are comforting- and it makes sense that you’d want to eat more of these when you are feeling sad, lonely or depressed. Crunchy, salty foods tend to be selected when you are feeling stress, because the act of chewing these actually reduces tension in your face and neck.

The problem with emotional eating is that most of us go through a range of feelings each day, and if we ate each time something upset us, or made us happy, we’d be eating most of the day- which is much too frequent, if you want to manage your weight. And this creates a vicious cycle, as you eat when you’re upset, and then you get anxious or depressed because you’re gaining weight, and, in this way, overeating is linked to anxiety and mood problems.

You can know if you’re an emotional eater by your initial reaction when you receive bad or upsetting news. If you automatically reach for cookies, candy, cake, or chips, you are likely to be an emotional overeater. This is not the only choice, of course, as you could reach out for social support (such as calling a friend- zero calories) or you could go for a walk (which would burn calories, and could help you feel better faster, because exercise reduces stress, and can release endorphins.) Exercise is one of the best and most effective ways to manage your negative feelings.

Emotional eating can also occur at certain times in the day, such as in the mid-afternoon, where your energy starts to lag and you feel tired. It’s advisable to eat snacks during the day, in order to keep your energy high, but be careful of immediately reaching for “bad for you” foods when you’re already feeling badly.

It will be harder to feel good when your body feels overfull or bloated from too much food. Find other ways to deal with your negative feelings, rather than eating. Write a letter, go for a walk- do anything you can think of to distract yourself. Select activities with no calories.

If you must eat, choose healthier foods. Crunchy foods like celery or carrot sticks will work, and you can feed your sweet tooth with low sugar options.

The better you can cope with your negative feelings, the less likely you will need to eat. And that, truly, is the only way to stop emotional eating. If you want to manage your weight for the long term, you need to reduce emotional overeating to create a mindset for weight loss success.

Source: rapid weight loss

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Chinese Green Tea for Weight Loss

For most people, the Chinese green tea is a stuff of legends. Chinese green tea has been known to be very beneficial to human health. For thousands of years, Chinese green tea has been talked about and written about because of its countless positive effects.

According to legend, the first person to ever taste Chinese green tea was the Emperor Shen Nung in 2737 B.C. It was said that while boiling some water for drinking, some leaves fell into his pot from a tree nearby. Chinese green tea leaves when boiled smelled and tasted so wonderful that Shen Nung even urged his people to drink it. The fame of the Chinese green tea did not stay at one place for long. It is believed that in A.D. 800, Chinese green tea was brought to Japan by monks who studied Buddhism in China.

What makes Chinese green tea different from all other teas?

Chinese green tea is produced from Camellia sinensis, the same plant where the oolong and black tea are derived. Yet, even though they all come from the same herb, the Chinese green tea truly stands out as an exceptional health drink. So what makes Chinese green tea different?

The difference lies in the method by which Chinese green tea is produced. Oolong and black tea leaves are traditionally oxidized and then dried while the Chinese green tea leaves are steamed and then dried. This method of producing Chinese green tea actually preserves most of the beneficial antioxidants present in it.

Chinese Green Tea for Health

While it is already common knowledge that Chinese green tea has several health benefits, modern scientists were able to provide several concrete proofs of the positive effects of Chinese green tea. Chinese green tea antioxidants are said to be the ones responsible for making the Chinese green tea very beneficial.

Recent findings show that the antioxidants in Chinese green tea can reduce cholesterol levels in a person; can improve how blood vessels function; and can reduce blood lipids. It was also discovered that Chinese green tea can have an anti-inflammatory effects and may provide protection against cardiovascular diseases.

Chinese Green Tea for Weight Loss

Significant findings were made that pointed to the benefits of Chinese green tea in weight loss. According to the researchers of the University of Geneva, Chinese green tea has thermogenic properties which aid much in weight loss. In their study, they investigated the weight loss benefits of Chinese green tea by observing the interaction between the caffeine in Chinese green tea and a compound called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). When these two substances in Chinese green tea react, thermogenesis of the body increases by four percent. The tendency of Chinese green tea to enhance metabolic rates has given people reason to believe that Chinese green tea has weight loss benefits as well.

Another study concerning the weight loss benefits of Chinese green tea was also conducted. The results of the research showed that Chinese green tea drinkers have a better propensity for weight loss. Drinking Chinese green tea allows the body to burn an additional 70 calories a day, a feat that weight loss enthusiasts would relish.

Today, Chinese green tea is widely available as a beverage and as an ingredient for weight loss products.

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Source: green tea

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Dangers of Using Laxatives For Weight Loss

One popular weight loss supplements available in the market today take the form of tea. Stores all over sell slimming tea, dieter’s tea and others but all of them are actually the same. They may appear to be effective, but what is not seen may actually harm you.

One of the effects of drinking dieter’s tea is frequent bowel movement. This gives people the feeling of body cleansing. These people may get toxins out of their body but it isn’t exactly the only thing that slimming tea actually does to the body. Slimming tea contains herbs which are natural laxatives. These include aloe, senna, rhubarb root, cascara, buckthorn and castor oil. These are products which are derived from plants and are used since the ancient times because of their potency in treating constipation and to inducing bowel movement.

Cascara, castor oil and senna are substances which are recognized as laxatives available over the counter and are also regulated as drugs. Scientific studies show that diarrhea induced by laxatives does not absorb significant amounts of calories taken in the body.  Uncover the Rapid Weight Loss Program.

The reason for this is that laxatives do not act on the small intesines where most of the calories are absorbed. Instead, they work on the large intestines. If taken in large amounts for prolonged periods, it can affect fat absorption of the body. This may lead to greasy diarrhea and loss of weight. Abuse of laxatives is common practice among people who suffer from bulimia and anorexia nervosa.

While weight loss can be guaranteed by overdosing on laxatives, it may also cause permanent damage to the gastrointesitinal tract and the weakening and softening of the bones, a condition known as osteomalacia. Drinkers of slimming teas may actually patronize the product because they are less axpensive and taste better than other laxatives sold in the market. Other people, such as those with eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia nervosa drink dieter’s tea because they work fast and produce watery stool and having loose consistency.

Women may even be more susceptible to the effects of slimming teas. Although they may are not known to interfer directly with the woman’s menstrual cycle and fertility, they should watch out if drinking them causes them to rapidly shed off weight. It is also not safe for pregnant women to be taking in laxatives of any kind. Wise and reponsible herbalists also discourage the use of senna and other herbal products with laxative properties for pregnant women and women who are trying to conceive.

One should be wary about these findings because the labeling of slimming teas in the market today can be absolutely misleading. For instance, they commonly refer to the laxative qualities as “natural bowel cleansing properties” and not specifically use the word “laxative”.Some even use the term “low-calorie” on their labelling. These products in fact, contain essentially no calories nor nutrients whatsoever; unless of course, if they are sweetened.  Uncover the Rapid Weight Loss Program.

Adverse effects of misusing laxatives in the form of slimming tea generally occur when taken in more than or longer than recommended. These include nausea, stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, fainting, rectal bleeding,electrolyte disorder and dehydration as well as injury and worse, death. It was also reported that excess use of stimulant laxatives cause severe constipation and pain for long periods (as much as for decades) due to the colon losing its function. It eventually led to surgery removing the colon altogether.

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Source: quick weight loss program

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The Truth About Carbohydrates & Weight Loss

A common myth or misconception about low carb diets is that you’re supposed to cut out all your carbs in order to lose weight. And while that certainly is a method taught by at least one low carb program I’ve come across, it is not the norm. In fact, it’s almost impossible to cut out all carbs from your diet on a regular long term basis.

I think the mis-understanding comes from a lack of knowledge though. You see, with a general American diet that follows the FDA approved food pyramid, you’ll consume approximately 300 grams of carbohydrates every day. And for some people: That is way too much.

The key phrase here is “some people” though. Each of us has a different body makeup. Each of us has different lifestyles, and each of us has different genetic inheritances too. And to top it all off: Two people may consume the exact same amount of carbohydrates in completely different ways.

One person for instance, may eat 300 grams of carbs a day in the form of low glycemic, slow acting complex carbs. The kind you get from vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Another person however, may consume 300 grams of carbs that are primarily made up of simple fast acting sugars and starches. Eating pasta, rice, white bread and sugared treats for instance.

The person who eats low glycemic complex carbs is more likely to lose weight by simply moderating or reducing their carb intake a bit. Dropping the total daily consumption to 150 grams for instance, is likely to create great results for that person. The one who eats simple, fast acting carbs though, may still gain weight even if they reduced their daily carb intake to 150 grams. They may even struggle to see results by dropping their daily carb intake to as low as 50 grams a day.

And that brings me to another important point: Because our bodies and genetic make ups are so different: Often two people can eat the exact same foods in the exact same portions, and you’d still see one having success with losing weight while another is struggling with their weight loss.

Now, if you want to lose weight quickly, a few of the most popular low carb diets work quite well for most people. The top two however, require you to reduce your daily carb intake to 20 or 30 grams of carbs. For some people that is just too restrictive. If this is a problem for you, then try going backwards instead with these steps:

1. Reduce or eliminate the simple, fast acting carbs from your daily eating. This includes table sugar, white bread, pasta, candy, pastries and similar items. Maintain this eating style for 1-2 weeks and gauge your progress. If you’re losing weight at a rate you’re happy with, then simply maintain this change in your daily eating habits. If you’re not losing weight though – or not losing as fast as you’d like to – try step two:

2. Reduce your overall daily carb intake to 150 grams. Do not eat 150 grams of simple sugars and carbs each day though. Fill this allotment out with fresh veggies, fruits and a limited amount of whole grains.

3. If that still doesn’t produce the weight loss results you’re looking for, try dropping your daily carb intake to 75-100 grams. Again, be sure you’re choosing healthy, low glycemic, complex carbs.

4. From this point, if you’re still not happy with your weight loss progress, you can take one of two approaches: First try dropping your daily carb intake by 10 grams each week. Do this until you reach a point of weight loss that you’re happy with but is still safe for you. Second: Drop all the way down to the 20 or 30 grams that popular low carb diets start you with.

Done sensibly, low carb diets can work quite well. Just remember there is no need to try eliminating all carbohydrates from your diet, and there are good carbs too.

Source: Weight Loss

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