Deciding Which Exercise Is Right for You

Deciding Which Exercise Is Right for You

Written By: Linda Bond

What you enjoy doing will help you decide if a walking program is right for you.  Paying membership fees, buying exercise equipment are things most people do not enjoy doing, so these types of things should be factored in to your decision, as well.

Make a list of what you enjoy doing and what you don’t like doing.  Do you like to dance but don’t like to jog?  Do you like to be outdoors more than you like being inside? Do the temperatures outside effect you? 

These are all things to take into consideration. For example; if you choose walking but don’t like to walk in the cool weather, is it really something you are going to stick with every day? If not, try to pick something you can stick with every day and if nothing comes to mind, choose walking and then find an alternative on days when the weather is not nice.

Walking is a good form of exercise as it is something we all do every day.  Anyone can start a walking program at any time; it's usually the intensity and duration that differs.  Walking with a friend or partner is a great way to get out and catch up with your friend and to have someone that will motivate you and vice versa. Walking with a partner will also make time go by faster.

No matter what exercise you choose, you should start at a low level of intensity and build it up over a period of weeks, which will help keep you motivated to continue.  If you start off taking long walks, you could end up with an injury which will hinder your exercise and weight loss efforts.

If you are out of shape, you should start off even slower at about 10 minutes per day.  Slowly increase your pace to an extra 5 minutes every 7 – 10 days.  To make things more exciting, you can try walking a different course every few days.  You can also ask different friends to walk with on certain days of the week.

If walking isn't for you, then you may want to try a fitness center.  They have a wide variety of machines and classes and normally have trainers on hand to answer any questions you may have.  When you choose a fitness center, make sure that they have a good rating and have a clean facility. You also want to see how many people are actually using the facility before you commit to any membership fees. Do your homework; ask around to get other people’s opinions, check to see if the classes they offer work around your schedule, etc.

If the fitness center is not willing to treat you well before you join, then they certainly won't after you join.  You should also make sure that the equipment they use is well taken care of.  It's easy to find out, as all you have to do is listen to the machines.  If they squeak a lot or make noise, then chances are they aren't being taken care of.

If you still aren't sure what you should do, then you can look into golf or tennis.  Both are activities that allow you to get out and socialize and meet new people.  Tennis is great for fitness although it may not be if you are just starting out.  If you haven't exercised in a long time, then golf may be the best activity for you, as it is slow paced and does not require a lot of running around.  Whichever exercise you choose, make sure you have a plan and a fitness goal and stick to it 3-5 days a week. 

For more information about dieting, weight loss and exercising, please visit: http://www.weightlossmadeeazy.com

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How to Read Food Labels to Help with Weight Loss

You cannot measure every morsel that passes your lips, but it is a good idea to measure most foods and beverages until you get a feel for portion sizes. It is a supersized world out there, and most people are surprised to find that their idea of a single serving is actually two or three.

If you are into bells and whistles, there are food scales that are preprogrammed with nutritional information, as well as scales that will keep a running total of your daily food and nutrient intake for you. The only tools you really need, however, are a simple and inexpensive gram scale, dry and liquid measuring cups, and idea on reading food labels.

Among all of the mentioned tools, reading food labels seem to be the most effective way of determining the right kind of food to be bought in the supermarket. It lets you make sensible food selections. Through the “Nutrition Facts” section in a particular item in the grocery, you can identify the amount of serving sizes provided in that product.

With food labels, you can clearly understand the amount and kinds of nutrients that are provided in the item. Usually, it contains the information on saturated fat, sodium, total fat, fiber, and cholesterol amount “per serving.”

However, understanding and reading these food labels can be very perplexing. A typical consumer would definitely ask what those numbers mean and how it will affect her diet intake if ever she will religiously follow the serving guide as stipulated on the food label.

To further have a clear and more comprehensive understanding of the items stated in the food label, here is a list of things that you need to know:

1. Serving size

This is the primary item you will see in a food label.

The amount of servings stated in the food label refers to the quantity of food people usually consume. However, this does not necessarily mean that it reflects your very own amount of food intake.

Moreover, serving size determines the amount of nutrients that enters the body. This means that if you will follow strictly what the serving size is, you will obtain the same amount of nutrients according to the serving size that was given in the label.

For instance, if the serving size says one serving size is equal to 54 grams, that would mean you have to measure 54 grams and eat that and you have just eaten one serving. So to speak, the amount of nutrients stated in the food label is the same amount that has entered your body considering the fact that you have just eaten 54 grams.

However, if you have eaten everything, and the food label says that each pack is equivalent to 4 servings, you have to calculate the amount of nutrients that have entered your body. This means that if the food label says 250 calories per serving that means you have to multiply it to four to get the total amount of calories you have taken.

2. Nutrients

This refers to the list of available nutrients in a particular item. It is also where the nutritional claims of the product based on the recommended daily dietary allowance are stated. Usually, the nutritional amounts are based on both the 2,500-calorie diets and the 2,000 recommended dietary allowances.

In order to understand the numeric value of each item, you should know that the “% daily value” that the foods label indicates is actually based on how a particular food corresponds to the recommended daily dietary allowance for a 2,000 calorie.

If in the event that you have purchased an item that has a dietary allowance different from the 2,000-calorie diet, you just have to divide the stipulated amount by 2,000 and you will be able to identify the “%daily value” for the nutrients.

3. Ingredients

This refers to the list of the ingredients that were used to manufacture the product. The listing is usually arranged from the main ingredients that have the greater amount by weight up to the smallest quantity. This simply means that the actual quantity of the food includes the biggest quantity of the main ingredient or the first item and the minimum amount of the very last ingredient.

4. Label claim

This refers to the kinds of nutritional claims of a particular food item. For instance, if an item says it is sodium-free, it has less than 5 milligrams per serving or a low fat item actually contains 3 grams of fat or less.

Indeed, reading food labels can be very tedious and confusing. Nevertheless, once you get the hang of it, it would be easier for you to watch your diet because you can already control the amount of food that you take.

The Effects Alcohol has on Exercising

On Friday afternoon after you leave work, you probably think about going out and having a few drinks with friends to relax and wind down.  Even though you may think you deserve to go out and have a few drinks, there are some things that you should certainly keep in mind.

Like any other day, tomorrow is going to be a day for exercise, and since you are exercising on a regular basis, a few drinks of alcohol won't really hurt anything, right?  Before you decide to rush out to the local bar, there are a few things below that you should think about before you make your choice about going out to drink some alcohol.

Research has proven that even a small amount of alcohol will increase muscular endurance and the output of strength, although these types of benefits are very short lived.  After 20 minutes or so, the problems will begin to surface.  All of the negative side effects associated with alcohol will easily outweigh any possible benefits that it can have.  No matter how you look at it, alcohol is a poison that can really harm your body if you aren't careful.

The negative side of alcohol can reduce your strength, endurance, aerobic capability, recovery time, ability to metabolize fat, and even your muscle growth as well.  Alcohol will also have an effect on your nervous system and brain.  If you use it long term, you can cause severe deterioration of your central nervous system.   Even with short term use, nerve muscle interaction can be reduced which will result in a loss of strength.

Once alcohol reaches the blood cells, it can and probably will damage them.  With alcohol users, inflammation of the muscle cells is a very common thing.  Over periods of time, some of these cells that have been damaged can die which will result in less functional muscle contractions.  Drinking alcohol will also leave you with more soreness of your muscles after you exercise, which means that it will take you a lot longer to recuperate.

Alcohol will also have many different effects on your heart and circulatory system as well.  When you drink any type of alcohol, you may begin to see a reduction in your endurance capabilities. Anytime you drink, your heat loss will increase, due to the alcohol simulating your blood vessels to dilate.  The loss in heat can cause your muscles to become quite cold, therefore become slower and weaker during your muscle contractions.

Drinking alcohol can also lead to digestive and nutrition problems as well.  Alcohol cause a release of insulin that will increase the metabolism of glycogen, which spares fat and makes the loss of fat very hard.  Due to alcohol interfering with the absorption of several key nutrients, you can also become anemic and deficient with B type vitamins. 

Because your liver is the organ that detoxifies alcohol, the more you drink, the harder your liver has to work.  The extra stress alcohol places on your liver can cause serious damage and even destroy some of your liver cells.

Since alcohol is diuretic, drinking large amounts can put a lot of stress on your kidneys as well. During diuretic action, the hormones are secreted. This can lead to heightened water retention and no one who exercises will want this to happen.

If you must drink alcohol, you should do it in moderation and never drink before you exercise, as this will impair your balance, coordination, and also your judgment.  Think about your health and how you exercise - and you may begin to look at things from a whole new prospective.

Getting the Daily Exercise Your Body Needs

Getting the Daily Exercise Your Body Needs

A lot of us live our lives like penned animals. Built to move, too often we put ourselves in a cage. We have bodies designed for racing across the savannas, but we live a lifestyle designed for migrating from the bed to the breakfast table; to the car seat; to the office chair; to the restaurant booth; to the living room couch and back to the bed.

It was not always this way. Not long ago in the United States, a man who worked on a farm did the equivalent of 15 miles of jogging every day; and his wife did the equivalent of 7 miles of jogging.

Today, our daily obligations of work and home keep us tied to our chairs, and if we want exercise, we have to seek it out.

In fact, health experts insist that obesity problem is probably caused at least as much by lack of physical activity as by eating too much. Hence, it is important that people need to move around.

However, that does not mean that a lap or two around the old high school track will offset a daily dose of donuts. Exercise alone is not very efficient, experts say. They contend that if you just exercise and do not change your diet, you may be able to prevent weight gain or even lose a few pounds for a while.

Nevertheless, it is not something that you are likely to sustain unless exercise is part of an overall program. The more regularly you exercise, the easier it is to maintain your weight. Here is what to do every day to make sure that you get the exercise you need.

Get quality Zzzs.

Make sure that you get adequate sleep. Good sleep habits are conducive to exercise, experts point out. If you feel worn out during the day, you are less likely to get much physical activity during the day.

In addition, there is evidence that people who are tired tend to eat more, using food as a substance for the rest they need.

Walk the walk.

It is probably the easiest exercise program of all. In fact, it may be all you ever have to do, according to some professional advices of some health experts.

Gradually build up to at least 30 minutes of brisk walking five times a week. Brisk walks themselves have health and psychological benefits that are well worth the while.

Walk the treadmill

When the weather is bad, you might not feel like going outdoors. But if you have a treadmill in the television room, you can catch up on your favorite shows while you are doing your daily good turn for your weight-maintenance plan.

Most of us watch television anyway, and indoor exercise equipment enables anyone to turn a sedentary activity into a healthy walk.

Seize the time.

Excuses aside, lack of time is certainly a limiting factor in most lifestyles. That is why health experts suggest a basic guideline for incorporating exercise into your schedule.

Get as much exercise as you can that feels good without letting it interfere with your work or family life. If you need to, remind yourself that you are preventing many health problems when you prevent weight gain; and keeping your health is a gift to your family as well as yourself.

Chocolate Strawberry Oatmeal

An easy way to get high protein and high fiber in your breakfast.


Ingredients
1/3 cup regular oatmeal (not instant)
1 cup water
1 scoop chocolate protein powder
3 large strawberries (or 5 small) cut in half or in quarters

Directions
Cook 1/3 cup dry oatmeal in 1 cup of water. Mix 1 scoop of protein powder with just a little bit of water, in a separate bowl, until it becomes thick. Add the powder and water mixture to the oatmeal. Top with cut strawberries and enjoy!

For more delicious and healthy recipes, visit The Diet Solution Program