Aquasize To A Flatter Stomach!

Swimming is great exercise however and whenever you do it. But as well as using the water for fun and relaxation you can use your time in the pool to help you in that search for a flatter stomach. 

More so than air, water provides great natural resistance. Moving through it takes effort and can exercise your muscles more fully but more safely than many other types of exercise. It offers a low-impact way of exercising making it better for your joints and the exercise of choice for many age groups.

Try this exercise the next time you are in the pool and see what we mean. Remember to

consult a medical professional before starting any new exercise routine, and make sure that you do warm up properly.

The Dig and Jump

This involves two movements, one targeted at your lower body and the other at the upper.

Begin by standing in water of a depth above your navel and your chest. Then place your feet at least shoulder width apart and jump so that your knees come to the pool's surface then force them back down again and repeat the moves (picture a frog jumping while you are doing it and you'll get the idea). This is great for exercising the lower body and this includes the abdominal muscles.

The second part is to work the upper body. To start make a separate scoop with each hand.

Place your hands low in the water then bring them to the surface and out to one side. Start by doing one hand first for three minutes then the other. Work alternate sides to maintain a

balanced workout. Once you are comfortable with it do both hands at the same time to exercise the entire stomach region at once.

Set realistic targets as you work towards your health and fitness goals. Don't over exert yourself leading to injury. Start slow, know your limitations and build on them incrementally. As you increase endurance and strength you can vary the speed and length of the workout, and even add water gloves to increase resistance. It is important however not to compromise on the style of movement in order to increase reps or speed. It's better to do something well rather than quickly.

A few additional tips for exercising your midriff

• First, a balanced diet is essential to any fitness regime. It's no use working hard only to undo all of the great work with a poor diet.

• Secondly, stay hydrated not only when exercising but in your general daily life. A good rule of thumb is to take your body weight in pounds, divide it by 2 and aim to drink that number of Ounces of water per day. This will maintain a healthy balance.

• Third, get enough rest. Get plenty of sleep but also the right kind of sleep. Sleeping on your stomach for example may make it difficult to do certain types of stomach exercise. Try to sleep in a number of positions.

Also, it may sound strange to say so but take adequate rest from

exercise. Be sure to schedule in rest days to any training schedule. Your body needs to

recover so your muscles can rebuild.

By following this you will already be on the way to a toned, flat stomach.

Goals? What Goals?

Wonder why some people Never seem to become what they dream of becoming? Blame it on pure dreaming and lack of setting goals for achieving their dreams.

Setting goals is a huge part of success. People who set goals literally create a map of their dreams for their lives, marking where they should begin, where to pause, where to detour, and where and when to stop. Once this map is created, it allows the map drawer to check her progress and whether or not he is making achievements that will take him closer to his goals.

Why is Setting Goals so Important for Weight Loss?

 

Setting goals will allow to track their progress in your weight loss journey. It will help you become more confident in yourselves and more motivated to achieve your plans.  With a clear goal in mind you will know exactly what you want, how to get it and how close you are.

Goal setting means you are proactive in dealing with challenges that may affect your plans as well (Hello Birthday cake! lol). Being proactive means one is able to outline possible difficulties that may occur as well as the solutions to these difficulties. By doing this, you will not feel defeated when challenges (Cookies!) occur because you have already prepared for them. You will have strategies to get back on track.

How to Make Successful Goals

 

To be successful in goal setting, the goals that you set for yourself should be realistic and based on your own capabilities. Being too ambitious in setting up goals can make the goals unrealistic and difficult to achieve. However, do not also set goals that are too low because this will be discouraging when you don't see any weight loss!

It is also necessary to include a time frame within which the weight loss goal will be achieved. This way, you are able to determine if you need to fast track your strategies or to slow down a bit.

Break your goals down into little steps, and once you have achieved something, even a little of what you hoped to achieve, then you reward yourself to keep you motivated (Just NOT with food!  Get a massage, buy a new nail polish or spend the afternoon reading a book-don't undo all your hard work by using fatty or sugary foods as your reward) Also, celebrate your milestones, but don't complacent with any little achievement, as this may cause you to backslide.

These goal guides can be used in any aspect of your life - from personal or family life, to career and finances.  When setting goals, it is always important to set standards that would suit your present situation, your capabilities, and other factors that may influence the achievement of your goal.

10 Things To Should Know About Stretching

If you are not taking the time to add stretching to your workout-why the heck not?? :)  Here are 10 things you should know about this important fitness step:

1.  When to stretch? Stretch before and after workout minimum to increase your flexibility and to avoid injuries.  Stretching before workout prevents injuries during the exercises, and stretching after workout, when muscles are still warm, can increase flexibility.  To really gain flexibility, do some light stretches in between workout sets.

2.  Hold your stretching position for more than 60 seconds to increase flexibility.  Holding your position for 20 seconds is enough for warm ups, but hold each position for at least 60 seconds when aiming for more flexibility.

3.  Do not go into a stretching position then immediately return to the relaxed position, and do it repeatedly.  This is more appropriately termed as bouncing while in a position.  When stretching, hold that position for the 20 - 60 seconds, and then slowly relax.   Bouncing or forcing yourself into a position during stretching can strain or damage some joints or muscles.

4.  Work slowly in increments instead of immediately proceeding to doing the hardest exercise or position.  **Good advice for any exercise**

5.  Make sure that you have stretched or warmed up all muscle groups. The most neglected group: neck muscles.  Stretching the neck muscles can be as simple as placing the palm of one's hand against the front of the head and pushing it.  Then, do the same to the sides and the back of the head.

6.  Stretch regularly to continually increase your range of movements and your level of flexibility and strength.  Every workout, every time.

7.  Workout considering only your capabilities and not of others.  Do not force yourself to do exercises that you are not yet capable of just because there are people who can do it.  Increase your limits slowly.  Listen to your body.  There are days when your body may be too tired that you may have to consider reducing your range of motion.

8.  Learn to rest.  Rest in between sets and stations to make sure that the body has enough time to recover its energy.  Also, it is advisable that you don't work the same muscle groups consecutively for two days.  The muscles grow during the period when you rest and not when you are working out.

9.  Do aerobic exercises.  These exercises help pump fuel (blood) to the muscles, and help clear out toxins-the things that lead to sore muscles.

10.  Music may help you when you want to train for longer periods or to increase your intensity.  You can use mp3 players, CD players or lightweight am radio receivers for this.  Choose a relaxing tempo song when stretching to encourage you to hold the stretch longer.

Apart from preventing injuries and increasing one's limit, it is also said that stretching is good for a tired body and also for a stressed mind and spirit.  Its a great way to ease into a work out, and to calm down afterwards.

The 100 Workout...

 A friend sent this to me and I love it!  Thanks Juan <3

10 Foods you MUST have in your kitchen :)

Some foods should be thrown out the minute you decide to lose weight (hello Cheetos and Little Debbies-I'm looking at you!).  Other foods should have a permanent place of honor in any health conscious pantry or fridge. 

Here is my list of the 10 best foods to have on hand when trying to shed pounds:

10. Popcorn.  The un-salted, un-buttered variety please.  Very filling and low-calorie

9. Apples.  An apple a day may not keep the Doctor away-but it will help you lose weight, improve your complexion and do tons of other great things to your body :)

8. Avocados. I am not a fish person-I don't do any kind of seafood.  When getting my dose of heart-healthy fats for the day I rely on produce to get me there :)  Avocados are a great source of heart healthy fats.  They also taste great and keep me full for hours.

7. Olive Oil. (See above about heart healthy fats)  Many cooking oils have the evil trans fat (or partially hydrogenated oils-horrible for you!)  Use olive oil instead.  Also great on salads and bread (skip the butter!)  Extra virgin is best, but anything is better than margarine :)

6. Nuts!.  Almonds, pecans and walnuts top my list, but almost any nut is great in moderation.  Add them to oatmeal or yogurt instead of sugary granola or sprinkle on fresh fruit to add texture and protein.

5. Chicken.  Grilled or in a broth, its a great source of lower fat protein (Skip the ground beef and instead go for ground chicken in any recipe.)

4. Whole grain low Calorie bread.  Sometimes you just want bread!  Make sure its healthy and low calorie (many whole grain breads aren't so be sure and read the label!)

3. Melba Toast.  My go to when craving chip-type junk food.  Satisfies my craving and much better calorie and fat-wise than potato chips

2. Baby Carrots. Another great snack food-super low calories :)

1. Spinach.  Great raw in salads or cooked in almost anything-its a great "sneak in" item.  Puree it and add it to marinara sauce, omelets or vegetable soup.  This is my go-to all time favorite health food!

So get moving!  Toss out any food that isn't helping you reach your weight loss or fitness goals (better to go to waste than to your waist!)

Staying Fit and Healthy Aging

The aging process starts from the day we are born. You may not realize it but we need to work on staying fit and healthy everyday. In the end, you’ll feel and look younger all during the aging progression.

I will try to give you lots of ideas on how to stay fit and "turn back" the aging clock here. Your diet, however, is probable the most important thing affecting your aging and health. Make sure your diet contains the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients you need to stay healthy.

Get yourself into some kind of exercise program. Walking is a great program to get involved. Start out walking gradually and work your way up to 12 to 15 miles by walking two or 3 times a week. Walking brings up the heart rate making it do its work. You can loosen the tight and stiffness in your legs and besides loosing weight with diet it will help to tone your muscles. Combined weight lifting with your walk agenda but don’t over work yourself because it will make your muscles sore. Along with your new walking and weightlifting program trim down your diet and take supplements to make up for the vitamins you are cutting out. Exercising will burn up some of your vitamins too so make sure you take enough but not too much of the supplements. If you are not sure about the amount to take, consult you physician.

As you build new activities, you will be meeting people and that always gives you something new to talk about to help keep the depression away. You will need encouragement and support throughout your goal to stay healthy. Seek support from family, friends, or people with the same goals.

As we grow older high cholesterol becomes a health issue with most of us. Your new walking program is a good start to lowering your levels.  2 miles a day, 3 times a week will help you to lower your cholesterol by helping you lose the excess weight you’ve put on in the last couple of years. If walking doesn’t seem to be helping to level out your cholesterol, try eating seven nuts. The combination of both will sometimes bring it to a balance. Be sure your doctor knows what your doing as these things continue. Fat is good in nuts, avocados and olive oil etc. (non-trans fats please!!) to help lower the blood pressure and blood sugar as well. Try changing your diet and eat more whole grain foods while you cut back on the meat you love so much. Instead of using, spreadable fats use olive oil and canola margarine. As a snack…sneak in those nuts:

Has your blood pressure gone up in your older years? Try adding three servings of low-fat dairy products to you diet. Calcium, magnesium and potassium are good to help lower that blood pressure.

Cancer, as many of you know, is something extremely personal to me, and is always a threat to us young or old so we need to start early on trying to help prevent it. Vitamin D is vital-make sure you are getting it from sunshine (not too much-melanoma!) and from your food and milk. Watching your diet and taking vitamins, helps reduce the risks of getting colon, breast, or ovarian cancer. 

Ovarian cancer for women is very common, yet women have the power to lower their risks. Green and black tea 2 times a day or even eating an apple or grapefruit will help.  Anything that is high in antioxidants is good. 

Mixing your foods to cover everything daily is a good idea so you don’t get bored eating the same things all the time. Mixing up what you eat in a recipe or on your plate the nuts, maybe some black-eyed peas, whole grain wheat bread or cereal and add a little peanut butter on that bread.

Changing your foods that you eat may not stop you from getting cancer but it is known to lower the risk and help prevent it.


Most importantly make sure you are seeing your doctor regularly-and stay with the same doctor if possible as he will know you and your history and be better able to compare your health over the long-run.

Overdid it this weekend...

Sooo.....  Might have overdid it this weekend.  No that's not really true-I definitely overdid it.  +10 lbs.  in three days.  I know, I know.  Ouch.  That's a huge gain for one weekend.

How did it happen?  Start with a long road trip, little sleep the week before and the weekend.  Add in starchy food, meat overload, sugary pop and alcohol (a lot of alcohol!) and you have a diet bomb of immense proportions!

Now I could spend the next few hours beating myself up.  Getting mad over my massive diet fail and concentrating on all of the things I shouldn't have done.

That's not going to happen though!!!

What's 10 lbs. really?  Sure it will take a few weeks of healthy eating and working out to lose the weight again.  And it will be hard work.  But 10 years from now I guarantee you I will have no idea what I weighed this weekend-or even this month.

The party though-that's another story.  I will never forget the memories I made this weekend :)  The cake all over my honorary niece's face while she enjoyed her birthday cake, the gossip shared over a big plate of pork and noodles, the warmth in the kitchen while we all enjoyed a big bowl of Posole, or the dancing that followed a Saturday night of toasting the birthday girl (repeatedly!)

10 lbs isn't a bad price to pay for an incredible weekend :)  So, How was yours?

Staying Fit and Healthy Aging

The aging process starts from the day we are born. A person may not realize it but we need to work on staying fit and healthy everyday. In the end, you’ll feel and look younger all during the aging progression.

There are many things you can do to stay healthy and feel good. Watch your diet and continue activities throughout the course of your life. Your diet has a lot to do with aging and health. Your diet contains vitamins, minerals and other nutrients you need to stay healthy.

If your over weight try getting yourself into an exercise program. Walking is a great program to get involved. Start out walking gradually and work your way up to 12 to 15 miles by walking two or 3 times a week. Walking brings up the heart rate making it do its work. You can loosen the tight and stiffness in your legs and besides loosing weight with diet it will help to tone your muscles. Combined weight lifting with your walk agenda but don’t over work, yourself because it will make your muscles sore. Along with your new walking and weightlifting program trim down your diet and take supplements to make up for the vitamins you are cutting out. Exercising will burn up some of your vitamins too so make sure you take enough but not too much of the supplements. If you are not sure about the amount to take, consult you physician.

As you build new activities, you will be meeting people and that always gives you something new to talk about to help keep the depression away. You will need encouragement and support throughout your goal to stay healthy. Seek support from family, friends, or people with the same goals.

As we grow older high cholesterol becomes a health issue with most of us. Your new walking program is a good start to lowering your levels.  2 miles a day, 3 times a week will help you to lower your cholesterol by helping you lose the excess weight you’ve put on in the last couple of years. If walking doesn’t seem to be helping to level out your cholesterol, try eating seven nuts. The combination of both will sometimes bring it to a balance. Be sure your doctor knows what your doing as these things continue. Grease is good in nuts and olive oil to help lower the blood pressure and blood sugar as well. Try changing your diet and eat more whole grain foods while you cut back on the meat you love so much. Instead of using, spreadable fats use olive oil and canola margarine. As a snack…sneak in those nuts:

Has your blood pressure gone up in your older years? Try adding three servings of low-fat dairy products to you diet. Calcium, magnesium and potassium are good to help lower that blood pressure.

Cancer is always a threat to us young or old so we need to start early on trying to help prevent it. Vitamin D is a good vitamin to take along with getting 10-15 minutes a week of sun with no sunscreen on. Watching your diet and taking vitamins, helps reduce the risks of getting colon, breast, or ovarian cancer. 

Ovarian cancer for women is very common, yet women have the power to lower their risks. Green and black tea 2 times a day or even eating an apple or grapefruit will help.  Anything that is high in antioxidants is good. 

Mixing your foods to cover everything daily is a good idea so you don’t get bored eating the same things all the time. Mixing up what you eat in a recipe or on your plate the nuts, maybe some black-eyed peas, whole grain wheat bread or cereal and add a little peanut butter on that bread.

Changing your foods that you eat may not stop you from getting cancer but it is known to lower the risk and help prevent it. Remember your not a doctor so be sure to have regular check ups.

Weight Loss Plateau - Change It Up

You think you have hit a weight loss plateau. All this time you have been literally working your butt off and eating right. You thought, wow, this is really gonna happen this time and the scale has shown quite a bit of change. Until now. The scale hasn't budged for a week. What the heck has happened and how do you fix it?

This is called a weight loss plateau and it happens to everyone. Your body gets so used to what you are doing and what you are putting into it for fuel that it doesn't see any way to reduce any more weight without some sort of change.

Ah ha! That is exactly what you need to do to get things rolling again. Change up your workout routine and introduce some new or different foods to jump start things again. There are a few pointers I would like to give you for overcoming a weight loss plateau.

For starters take another look at your long term goal. Is it possible that you are happy with the weight you are at right now or do you want to go ahead and get to that original goal weight? If you want to continue to that original goal weight then make sure you haven't become a little relaxed about how much you are eating in relation to how much you are exercising. Sometimes you do have to reward yourself but if you have let those rewards get out of hand then you need to take stock of things and adjust them to restart your weight loss.

You could reassess you diet and cut out more calories. Cut out 200 calories per day if you can afford it. If you are already eating a 1200 calorie diet you probably do not have much wiggle room. You do not want to go below 1200 calories a day because you will not get all the nutrition you need from your diet and you will feel hungry all the time. If you feel hungry all the time you increase your chances of blowing it and all your effort will be wasted.

Another possibility is to workout longer and/or with more intensity. Changing the things you do when working out basically keeps your body guessing. This is called muscle confusion and if you work out for longer periods doing different moves then your body will burn more fat and calories because your body doesn't know what you will do next.

Are you still taking the elevator instead of the stairs? Shame on you. Take those stairs up to your office or when you go to lunch. You could get quite the work out and burn those extra calories every time you go from floor to floor while you are at work. This should be a 'no brainer people'. Doing things out of the ordinary will help you lose the weight you want to lose and will also help you overcome that weight loss plateau!

Prescription Weight Loss Medications - Appetite Suppressant

Do you need appetite suppressants?

The only way to get prescription weight loss medications is to talk to your doctor. After a complete physical you and your doctor will be able to come up with a reasonable weight loss program that will help you become successful in your weight loss effort. A good appetite suppressant should help kick start your weight loss so you see results right away to help keep you motivated.

When used correctly, appetite suppressants help people who need to lose weight keep their hunger under control as they learn new ways to eat and incorporate an exercise program to lose excess weight.

When you start your weight loss program, do yourself a favor and keep a food journal. This will help you see, in black and white, just exactly what it is that you are putting in your mouth on a daily basis. Also, figure out how much water you should be drinking everyday. The formula is easy, take what you weigh and divide that number in half. This is the amount of water, in ounces, you should be drinking every single day. This number may seem daunting because, depending on what you weigh, could be as much as a gallon of water a day.

Remember one thing though, the more you drink the more your body wants so sooner or later you will wonder why you thought it was so hard to drink that much in the beginning.

When your doctor prescribes one of the few prescription weight loss medications available make sure you follow the dosing recommendations closely. Do not take more than your doctor prescribes. This could be very dangerous. Make sure your doctor explains any and all side effects you should watch for and get clear instructions on what to do if you experience any of them. Some more common side effects are nausea, blurred vision, and having trouble sleeping. All of which may lessen or even disappear with continued use.

Do not take the medication your doctor prescribes for a longer period of time than your doctor advises. These medications are intended to be taken only for a certain amount of time and then discontinued. One reason for this is that your body will build up a resistance to the medication and/or addiction to the medication is possible. So be as careful as you can while taking the medication and keep yourself hydrated. The water you drink each day will help keep your body in good working order and keep the medication from building up in your system.

If you have tried every diet under the sun and have still been unable to lose the weight and you are afraid that your health is beginning to suffer because of it, then a medication prescribed by your doctor may be in order. Sometimes diet and exercise just are not enough, do not get discouraged, your doctor can help. The advantages of taking an appetite suppressant and losing all those unwanted pounds far outweighs the risk of experiencing side effects from the prescription weight loss medications prescribed by your doctor.

Water And Weight Loss - Go Together

Here is what you need to know about water and weight loss. Whether you are drinking it, walking in it, swimming in it, or bathing in it, water is good for you. Three of these four can help you lose weight and the other one will help you keep your friends.

If you want to lose weight by drinking water, there is a cold water diet that you can follow that prescribes to the notion that if you drink cold water your body has to work harder to heat it up and to keep your body warm, too. Makes sense, I guess and if nothing else has worked for you up to this point, why not give this a try, too. Couldn't hurt and what do you have to lose besides the weight?

We all know that drinking water is important and can also be one of the most mundane things we have ever done. It is just water, there is nothing special about it. Well then, make it special and start putting a slice of lemon or lime in it before you drink it. Two things, one, the lemon and lime will give your water some flavor and, two, the lemon and lime will act as a natural diuretic to help get rid of excess fluid in your system. Water and weight loss go hand in hand. 

Just remember to expect a few more trips to the bathroom during your day. This can also be of some benefit if you have to climb the stairs everytime you go to the bathroom. Make it a mini workout each time, either take each step one at a time or take each step two at a time and do it more than once either before you go or after you are done. You could make it a game and do it before you go to see how many times you can run the stairs before you pee your pants but I wouldn't recommend it because then you would have to call in the carpet cleaners.

Walking in the water (I said in, not on) can help with sore joints and keep you from injuring yourself while you are first starting out losing the weight. I am currently doing this myself due to a herniated disk in my back. It does help a lot and pretty soon I am going to start building up my strength by swimming some laps. For right now, though, baby steps because I have not worked out for a long time and have put on a significant amount of weight over the past twenty years.

Like I said, swimming is a good thing and I am working up to it. Swimming is hard work though, and you will also need to work up to swimming laps. Right at first you will not be able to do more than a couple without having to stop and catch your breath. If you keep at it you should be able to add one or more every few days to a week until you can swim how many laps you want to without stopping. You swim laps in the water and weight loss will happen in very short order.

Natural Weight Loss - Keep It Off Permanently

Some people say that natural weight loss is the best way to lose excess pounds. Losing weight naturally does take dedication and persistence and usually means you can keep the weight off permanently.

The way you start is to change the way you look at food. Start by keeping a food diary for several weeks before you start your lifestyle change. This way you can see where the most change is needed. Maybe you eat too much sugar or maybe it's processed food that is your major downfall. Whatever the problem, you need to figure it out first so it can be changed.

There are so many fad diets out there that it is hard to get your head around comprehending losing weight and being able to keep it off takes time. You need to make a firm commitment to yourself that the changes you have to make will be permanent. Once you make them and become successful you cannot go back to the way you behaved in relation to food before you started.

Natural weight loss will not happen overnight. I know because, as silly as this sounds, I have wished that I could be thin when I wake up in the morning many, many times. Funny thing, it never seems to work. I also did myself another major disservice when I  was well on my way to losing a significant amount of weight and had already lost 60 pounds when I suddenly lost all motivation. Guess what happened next? I gained it all back plus some.

I am so sick of the never ending yo-yo that I now believe I am in the right place and can lose all the weight I need to lose to be healthy.

I bought a new water bottle so I can be sure to get the water I need to drink everyday, have quit drinking pop, and have dedicated myself to only putting healthy food into my body.

The next thing I have determined to do is to just get up and move. Doing something is better than doing nothing. Doing nothing will only keep me where I am and I want more!  I will be running a 3k Spartan race in August for Cancer research (My grandpa was just diagnosed with stage 3)-how is that for motivation?

The main thing to remember when losing weight is-you didn't put it all on overnight-its not going to come off that way either.  Do yourself a favor and stay motivated and enjoy the ride!

Do You Have A Slow Metabolism - Help Speed Up Your Metabolism

It sounds to good to be true doesn't it?  Foods that can actually speed up your metabolism!  It is true though and these foods are readily available at your local supermarket.  In fact, there is a good chance that you might already be eating some of these foods.  If you are trying to lose weight then a slow metabolism will only hold you back, if you can get your metabolism running at a high speed then you will notice significant weight loss.  These 'superfoods' are great for speeding up your metabolic rate and help you achieve your weight loss goal.

Some great metabolism boosting foods are seafood such as salmon, tuna and sardines.  These are a great source of Omega-3 fatty acids which help to lower the levels of leptin in your body.  Leptin is a hormone and it has been shown that if your leptin levels are low it is much easier to lose weight and keep it off.  Fish also have great heart health benefits and cancer fighting benefits.

Foods that are high in protein will also give your metabolism a boost, these foods include eggs, beans and lean meats.  Protein is vital in keeping your metabolism moving and protein also has other benefits for losing weight.  Protein foods produce ketonic cells which are a natural appetite suppressant and they are also lower in kilojoules than other food groups. 

Do you like to eat hot and spicy foods?  If so, then you are in luck because hot peppers like cayenne, habanero and jalapeno are great in giving your metabolism a huge boost and speeds it up for about three hours.  The act of digesting these foods will speed up your metabolism.  So if you love these hot and spicy peppers then eat them as often as you like.

Some whole grain foods, like oatmeal re slow to digest which boosts the metabolism.  These foods work by keeping you feeling full for longer and they also keep blood sugars on an even level.  By keeping blood sugars at a good level, there isn't an excess of insulin in your bloodstream and as a result your body doesn't go into fat-storing overdrive.  If you have high levels of insulin in your bloodstream you can have high blood pressure, obesity and belly fat.  So whole grains have these amazing benefits as well as speeding up your metabolism.

One last food to give your metabolism a boost is olive oil.  Olive oil has loads of Omega-3 acids and is a fantastic source of good monounsaturated fat and this is the good fats that your body needs.

Remember that adding some exercise into your daily routine will also boost your metabolic rate along with helping to burn of calories, exercise is important for any weight loss attempt.  Whatever diet you choose to lose weight, never starve yourself as eating in itself is what keeps your metabolism working.  If you skip meals and don't eat enough your metabolism will slow right down and although you might lose weight at first that weight loss will plateau and you will struggle to lose any more.  So forget the diets that starve you, instead add some exercise to your day, eat lots of these foods that speed up your metabolism and drink lots of water.

Lastly, although not a food, Dietary Supplements can be a great way to give slow metabolism a boost. Apple cider Vinegar (Click here) and Green Tea (here) are both super foods that can be a little easier to swallow in supplemental form.

All You Need To Know About BMI - Body Fat And Health

BMI is one of the most popular tools that people use to determine whether they are in a healthy weight range.  Because body fat and lean muscle tissue don't figure into the equation at all, many experts believe that BMI is not at all accurate for some people.  In this article we will take a look at exactly what BMI is and why it isn't always accurate for some people.

BMI is short for Body Mass Index and was created by Adolphe Quetelt in the early 1800s.  Basically, BMI compares a persons weight to their height and with this information will determine whether they are in the correct weight range for their height.  BMI measurement has remained popular for all these years and still remains one of the most popular weight measurements.

Body fat, bone and frame size, muscle and body type are not included in the formula for working out BMI.  The formula for working out BMI is to take your height in meters squared and divide your weight in kilograms by that number.  Let's do an example:  If you are 1.7 meters tall you would do 1.7 times 1.7 which equals 2.89.  If you weigh 65 kilograms you would divide 65 by 2.89 which equals 22.49 as your BMI.  This is in the normal weight range which is from 18.5 to 24.9.  If you have a BMI below 18.5 then you are considered underweight and if you are over 24.9 then you are considered overweight.  If your BMI is over 30 then you are considered obese.

Generally you can get an idea of whether you are in a healthy weight range by how much body fat you have and also by your general health.  BMI can be a little trickier however than working out your healthy weight range using body fat.

The reason that BMI is not always accurate is because if you have a lot of muscle then your BMI might not be right.  Muscles weighs a lot more than fat but will take up less space than fat so some people can have a lot of muscle but they don't look all that big.  BMI doesn't take this muscle weight into account.  If an athlete, football player, body builder, wrestler or anyone that gains a lot of muscle through their exercise routine, will actually calculate a BMI that puts them in the overweight or obese range. 

So BMI isn't accurate for people who have a lot of weight in muscle, but what about everyone else?  Well the accuracy will vary between people with different situations.  Children don't get an accurate BMI and also very tall people might not get an accurate BMI either due to the weight of their longer bones.  So generally, if you are extremely tall, a child or have a lot of muscle then BMI isn't a good way to measure your weight range.

The other inaccuracy with BMI is that it uses the same formula for both men and women, however women will generally carry more body fat than men so for that reason you would think the formula would be a little different to give accurate results.

Is The 12 Day Grapefruit Diet The Answer?

There has been a diet plan that has been around since the 1930s. That makes it anything but a fad diet. What we are talking about is the 12 day grapefruit diet. Grapefruit has a lot of benefits for dieters. It's fat free, low calorie, high in fiber and is packed with vitamin C.

The grapefruit diet itself is incredibly simple to follow. All you do is eat one-half of a grapefruit before each meal. There also appears to be enzymes in the fruit that keeps your appetite in check, meaning you will eat fewer calories overall. Grapefruit is also believed to speed up metabolism which helps to burn more calories. So, not only will you take in fewer calories, but you will also burn more off. Both of these things are key to losing weight. In fact, some tests have shown that it's possible to lose ten pounds in two weeks by changing to the 12 day grapefruit diet.

So what's the catch? Even though it has been a round for as long as it has, the 12 day grapefruit diet is still classified along with fad diets. That's because it relies on making only one change and doesn't incorporate other necessary elements of weight loss.

You can do the diet, but that doesn't give you a free pass to stuff your face with all kinds of junk food. You still need to watch what you eat, trying to eat a variety of healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein and whole grains. If you really want to shed pounds, you also need to exercise. That doesn't mean you have to jog 10 miles a day, or hit the gym for 3 hours. Instead, find activities you enjoy and try to get moving for 20 to 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week.

At the same time, you should be changing your habits. Changing how you prepare food can have a big impact. Opt for grilling, steaming and baking instead of frying food. Eat 5 or 6 smaller meals throughout the day instead of 3 larger meals. Another good rule of thumb is to eat food in as close to its natural state as possible.

But does all of this mean the 12 day grapefruit diet is bad? Not at all. While you should still make all of the changes we just discussed, the grapefruit diet can help you lose weight quickly. It isn't practical to think you could stick to such a diet, but it could give you a great start. Losing a few pounds in a week or two can be very motivating and will give you a better chance of weight loss success.

Finally, combining all of these things is the way to drop those extra pounds. Do the 12 day grapefruit diet, exercise, eat right, and make other habit changes and you will lose all the weight you need, lose it for good, and you won't drive yourself crazy in the process.