Category: EXERCISE
Health Benefits of Spinach
Comprehensive Weight Loss Plan Tips
Maintaining a healthy weight can be tough, especially during this time of buffets and giant-portion-sized meals. A lot of people, who have tried and failed with their weight loss plans, don’t believe diets work for them. They are probably right in a sense. Traditional diets don’t work in the long term. There’s a need to have a weight loss plan that incorporates a diet plan as well as a good exercise routine. It is one way to avoid the common dieting drawbacks and get a more lasting weight loss success
In order to control your weight, you just need to do some balancing in your life. If you consume a lot of calories than you burn, then, you will gain weight. If you eat fewer calories than, the amount you burn then you reduce weight
Around 3,500 calories is equivalent to a pound of fat. A comprehensive weight loss plan calls for a low-calorie, low-fat diet. Decreasing the consumption of calories by 500 from the daily diet will allow a person to lose one pound per week. It looks simple on paper but hard to implement in the daily lives.
Most people make the mistake of going into extreme diets that will leave them starving and cranky. They also make unhealthy lifestyle choices that go against their dieting efforts. The good news is that there’s a better way to lose weight without having to feel miserable. A comprehensive weight loss plan will allow you to make the right choices each day and develop new eating habits. A healthy lifestyle will let you win the battle of the bulge.
There is no single solution that will work for everyone. A weight loss plan must be made specifically for the person. It involves a lifestyle change and not just a short term, crash diet. You must be committed to make permanent changes in food choices and lifestyle in order to keep the weight from coming back.
When trying to lose weight, it is best to lose a pound or two a week to maintain a healthy weight loss. When the weight loss is too fast, the mind and body will suffer. The person will be sluggish, sick and drained the whole day. Fast weight loss involves losing muscles and water instead of fat.
Diet Plan
For a low-calorie, low-fat diet plan, you don’t need to starve yourself. You can fill yourself up as long as you choose the right foods. The secret to a healthy weight loss program is fibre. High fibre foods take a longer time to digest that makes them more filling. Some examples of high fibre foods include fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains.
A comprehensive weight loss plan involves enjoying lots of vegetables and fruits. They are generally safer to eat as many as you like. There’s no need to count calories or measure the portions. They have high fibre and water content that will make it hard for you to overeat. You’ll be full before you go over your required calorie count.
Vegetables should be eaten steamed or raw. They should not be breaded or fried. You can dress them with spices and herbs for flavour. You can add cheese and nuts to salads. You should use low-fat salad dressings, such as vinaigrette made of olive oil. From breakfast, pour less cereal to make room for strawberries, sliced bananas, or blueberries.
Workout Routine
A comprehensive weight loss plan should also incorporate a simple workout routine. Exercise is one of the important elements of the diet plan. It not only burns calories but also improve the body’s resting metabolism. Studies suggested that three ten-minute exercises a day are as good as one thirty minute workout session.
You don’t need to go to the gym in order to go your workouts. Some of the best fat burning exercises that should be part of your routine include burpees, jumping lunges, jack-knife crunches, push ups, side planks with leg raises, jumping jacks and lateral jumps to name a few.
The workout routine of the weight loss plan must engage multiple muscle groups at the same time. This is vital especially if you don’t have a lot of spare time for exercise each day. High-intensity interval training workouts are seen to be effective in losing weight.
Keeping Fit with Football
Have you been getting absorbed by the talent on display in the World Cup in Rio? Have you considered playing football yourself?
If you are struggling with your summer diet or your fitness regime has slipped recently, football could be your route back to optimum health. In fact, now is the best time to be thinking about getting involved in the beautiful game as many clubs will be preparing for pre-season training in July and August. Even if you have no aspirations about securing a place in the team, training itself provides a structured way to gain strength and burn calories.
Whether you do join a club or decide to hone your fitness at the local park first, it is important to warm up beforehand. There’s nothing worse for your fitness aspirations than picking up an injury and being unable to work out at all. There are various warm up routines you could follow, but a mixture of running and static and dynamic stretches should be included, making sure every area of your body, from neck to toes, are involved.
Football involves a lot of running, at various paces, which is great for slimming. Regularly running for 90 minutes (the length of a football match), with periods of sprinting, combined with nutritional calorie control is a great way to achieve lasting health. It is particularly suited to those of us who are motivated by attaining a goal at the end of our training – literally! Indoor football can be especially effective and is usually more loosely organised than a standard football team. The ball doesn’t really go out of play in an indoor match which means an hour or more of non-stop running, great for burning up those calories. Finally, football is also a great way to improve your flexibility, agility, balance and co-ordination as you improve your skills with the ball.
As always, the best summer diet, in terms of health and calorie control, is one that involves regular, cardio-vascular exercise, some weight-bearing activity and a healthy, balanced food intake. Although diet supplements should never be used as a replacement for food, you may also find it useful to consider some diet supplements as part of your summer diet plan.
To get in touch with a local football team, search online and contact your local league’s secretary. Blow the whistle on your failed fitness drives and kick off your summer diet anew!
Spring Diet Tips
Make dieting easier with helpful tips from our blog. WellBeing Pro…. Weight Loss and More
Spring is well and truly here. The sunshine seems to provide extra motivation to get in shape fro the summer. Here you will find a few tips to make the most out of the season and achieve the results you are after.
Turn off the TV and head outdoors. There simply are no excuses to be stuck indoors watching TV and eating junk food. Go for a walk or even better, a run. Don’t forget the water bottle. The warm weather will make it taste so much more refreshing.
Invest in a BBQ grill. Flame grilled food is not only healthier than fried, but it will also taste better without adding calorie rich sauces. Barbecues are also great for socialising. Just remember to minimise or cut out completely the alcohol consumption.
Stick to seasonal fruit and vegetables. Visit local markets for fresh produce which is healthy and full of goodness. Research has shown that “fresh” fruit and veg from abroad loses most of its nutrients by the time it has reached the shelves. Local produce on the other hand will not have this issue and should also be cheaper.
Eat more lean meats and fish. Lean meats such as chicken and turkey are rich in protein and low in fat making them perfect for most diets. Fish is also rich in protein as well as Omega-3 fatty acids which lower your risk of heart disease mainly by lowering triglycerides and countering inflammation. Focus on oily fish such as mackerel, trout and salmon for the highest Omega-3 content.
Stay away from the kitchen after dinner. As the days get longer, temptation gets greater to have a snack after dinner. Try to avoid this by reading a book, going for a walk or socialising. Ideally no food should be consumed later than 2 hours before going to bed.
Drink plenty of water. With the weather getting warmer there is a greater risk of dehydration. Top up the fluid intake regularly during the day. We recommend having a glass of water immediately after waking up, before each meal, before and during a workout and before bed. This will boost the metabolism as well as keep you refreshed and help with detox.
Power training or light exercise?
Find out which training method better suits what you are trying to achieve. Explore our blog….
It all depends on what you are trying to achieve. Power training is designed to increase muscle mass and generally individuals doing this will gain some weight in muscle, fat or a combination of both. Light exercise is mainly used to maintain weight as well as add muscle definition.
Important points when engaging in power training:
Eat well. Several high protein meals must be consumed throughout the day. It is also important to have a meal 2-3 hours before training to allow time for the food to be properly digested and energy needed to be released. A typical pre workout meal would consist of a high protein meat such as chicken or turkey and complex carbohydrates such as vegetables and potato.
Heavy weights and low reps. In order to build muscle in a reasonably short period of time, it is essential that heavy weight sets and short breaks are applied. Typically sets of 10-12 on maximum resistance coupled with breaks of 30-60 seconds.
Allow time to repair. Training sessions must be alternated between different muscle groups to allow time for muscles to repair. Power training will result in muscles being literally ripped and a couple of days are needed for the repair to take effect. A good protein supplement coupled with creatine and BCAAs will help speed up the recovery process.
Light exercise points:
Persistence is key. Although generally low intensity, light exercise sessions typically last a lot longer than power training. In order for maximum results to be achieved, regular sessions of over 1 hour are needed.
Cardio is king. Cardio sessions up the heart rate and increase temperature thus burning more calories and fat. They are particularly effective for problem areas such as around the stomach and thighs.
Eat healthy. All the exercise in the world will not get you anywhere if you have a poor diet. Try eating more lean meats and vegetables and cut down on breads, pasta, sweets, ready meals and desserts.
Health benefits of running
Running is not only a great way to get in shape but it will also strengthen many parts of the body as well as lifting the mood thus boosting happiness. Just 5 sessions of 30 minutes a week can make a huge difference. Below are just a few of the ways running can help you lead a healthier life.
LOSE WEIGHT
Running will increase body temperature which causes hundreds of extra calories to be burned more effectively. Studies have shown that calories continue burning even after stopping. Covering big distances at a relatively fast pace will help shift fat from stubborn areas such as stomach and thighs making abs and glutes seem more defined.
IMPROVE OVERALL HEALTH
Running can have tremendous benefits on health. It can boost the immune system, lower the risk of blood clots, improve lung and heart performance, lower cholesterol, etc. Contrary to some inaccurate reports, running will actually strengthen joints and improve knee health. In addition to this, running increases bone mass helping avoid fractures and osteoporosis.
BE HAPPIER
Whenever you feel down, anxious or stressed out, put on some running shoes and you will notice that just after a few minutes you will feel better. This is also known as a “runner’s high” and is caused by the release of endorphins from running. It is known to create a feeling of euphoria and well being.
REDUCE THE RISK OF DISEASE
Several studies have shown that running can help prevent certain cancers and several diseases such as multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Running can also dramatically reduce the risk of having a stroke or a heart attack.
LIVE LONGER
As with other physical activities, running can add several years to one’s life. A recent study showed that individuals added an average of 3.5 years to their lives. Running can also improve brain function and helps defeat age-related mental decline. It was also shown to prevent or slow down the progress of Alzheimer’s and dementia.
The importance of water in daily diets
Explore our blog for useful advice on dieting, weight loss and training plans. Find out about the best food and drinks to go alongside our natural supplements…
Around 60% of the human body is made of water. Just a 1% decrease will cause mental and physical coordination to be impaired. Sharp drops below this level, or dehydration, can have adverse effects on health such as dry mouth, dizziness, palpitations, confusion, sluggishness and even fainting.
Regular hydration will help detox by removing harmful toxins resulting in a healthy youthful appearance. Surprisingly, water will also help flush out any excess fluids in the body making it a perfect slimming aid.
Drinking water regularly during the day will help avoid any high calorie coffees or soft drinks. Several studies have shown that drinking water before a meal will decrease the amount of food consumed resulting in fewer calories being consumed thus assisting weight loss.
Replace alcoholic drinks with water. Alcohol is a diuretic and caused dehydration, that’s why we always feel thirsty after a drink. When you take into account the massive calorie content of alcoholic beverages, it is easy to see why they should be kept to a bare minimum.
Cold water will speed up metabolism as well as start a natural thermogenesis. This is caused by the body’s effort to maintain the temperature. Drinking cold water in the morning on an empty stomach will cause the body to burn fat to provide energy to stabilise the drop in temperature from the water.
For complete well being, water should be on top of every diet list whether you are trying to lose weight, detox, or just want to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Getting Fit for Summer
If you’re not 100 per cent confident about your body weight or shape, and the sight of someone coming towards you in a T-shirt or shorts makes you feel anxious about the thought of revealing your body, then it’s time to start working on your summer diet. And although many people just want to look good for that short period of time when the sunshine arrives, there is no better time than to make the healthy living choices that will lead to long-term well being.
It’s more than vanity
Sometimes we dismiss our ideas of slimming for a beach-fit body as vanity, but it is more than that. The reason why a well-sculpted body in a swimsuit looks so appealing is because it is a picture of health, and evolution has resulted in us being attracted to signs of health. Looking good in public also allows us to cast off our inhibitions and become more of the people we want to be. This makes us happier and improves everything from our intimate relationships, our role model as a parent and our working and social lives.
Three steps to fitness
There is, and probably never will be, no one diet that suits everyone. Instead there are two main principles and one extra helping hand that together will inevitably lead to improved health and fitness.
Depending on your circumstances, weight loss might be high on your agenda, so you’ll be pleased to learn that safe weight loss is purely a matter of sensible calorie control and moderate exercise. A healthy diet that is conducive to weight loss will do two things: reduce the conversion of calories to fat and ensure we have enough nutrients to keep us in good health. Reducing the overall number of calories we consume is, of course, the key behind calorie control, but there are also ways we can make our bodies less prone to storing calories as fat, while promoting the use of fat as a fuel source.
Foods high in Omega-3 fatty acids (including avocados, walnuts and kidney beans) help to inhibit the storage of glucose in fat cells, while calcium binds with bile cells to help us excrete more fat; calcium is found in milk, broccoli and cheese. Foods containing the carotenoid astaxanthin (prawns, langoustines, lobster, etc.) have a thermogenic effect, raising the body’s temperature and ensuring more fat is burnt. Catechin in green tea is also thought to have this effect on the body, as are diet supplements containing spices, chilli or caffeine.
The second element of a healthy lifestyle is moderate exercise, including running, swimming and cycling. Either of these activities, combined with a light weight-bearing element, will help you to convert fat into muscle. A pound of muscle burns up to an extra 50 calories a day compared with the same weight of fat – and looks a whole lot nicer too.
The third element to achieving a healthy lifestyle is the careful use of diet supplements. As the word ‘supplement’ suggests, these should be used as part of a healthy diet to boost results; after all, summer is getting very close.
How Can Raspberry Ketones Help with Weight Loss?
The cutting edge of weight loss is an exciting place to be with obesity such a problem and people desperately looking for a slimming solution that doesn’t need drastic measures or a surgical procedure….
Safe weight loss is of paramount importance to a healthy society and there have been countless health and weight loss claims put forward by people providing evidence of diet success by taking food supplements.
If you are preparing your summer diet, you should avail yourself of all the information possible before making a purchase decision.
Raspberry ketones are phenolic compounds, a class of natural substances found in plants. They are part of what gives raspberries their delicious aroma and, as a result, are used in small amounts as flavourings (in such things as carbonated drinks, ice-cream and cosmetics) and perfumes.
The link with raspberry ketones and burning calories started about 15 years ago with strong evidence that these compounds had a powerful effect on lipolysis (fat metabolism).
In 2005, in Japan, experiments on mice on a high-fat diet found that those given raspberry ketones metabolised fat more quickly, reducing their fat levels. A later Korean study on fat in test-tubes provided more evidence that the phenolic compounds sped up fat metabolism. There have also been tests on rats and rabbits but still the well being industry waits for conclusive answers.
The most famous of all is a feature on the Dr. Oz show where raspberry ketones were shown to break down fat molecules thus assisting weight loss. Dr. Oz called raspberry ketone supplements a “miracle in a bottle”.
While most well being experts would probably agree that it is likely that raspberry ketone diet supplements would affect fat metabolism in humans, there is naturally a healthy caution about the correct dosage for safe weight loss. This is thought to be 500-600mg per day. Some fruit extracts containing raspberry ketones have a history of significant use within the EU, prompting the UK’s FSA to update its previous blanket advice on the ‘novel food’ classification of the compounds.
Healthy living is not always a clear cut issue, and we must always work together to balance the needs for calorie control and overall well being. Of course, any supplements should only ever be used as part of a healthy diet.