Author: Michael Ingles

You can  melt away belly fat  with three proven techniques for weight loss: cardio training, healthy eating and muscle building exercises. Belly fat is just like any fat that is stored on the body and it comes off in the same way. Hiding it is one option but we all know that that only works to a certain extent. When you have extra fat on your tummy, all you want is to know how to get rid of it.

Here are 3 strategies that will help you melt away belly fat:

1- Step Up the Fat Burning

One of the best ways to melt away belly fat is by stepping up your heart rate and stoking your body’s fat burning furnace. It is true that any kind of sustained exercise burns extra calories but when you exercise to increase your heart rate, you burn even more calories as your body taps into your fat stores even more quickly. This is accomplished with cardiovascular exercise.

It does not matter which type of exercise you do as long as you are sustaining your workout at a rapid rate. First, you need to determine your target heart rate range, and then you should work out at the top of that range. Anything above can be dangerous and anything below will not be as effective. Whether you choose to power walk, swim, dance or bike, you can burn extra calories and melt away belly fat in just a few weeks with regular exercise.

2- Eat Smart

Cardiovascular exercise will not do much if you are taking in more fat and calories than you are burning.  It is equally important to follow a healthy diet plan to achieve the maximum benefits of exercise. Cut out all fats and sugars from your diet and increase lean protein and complex carbohydrates.

3- Build that Muscle

Strength training tones the muscles all over the body and can firm up your belly area, too. With strength training, the more muscle you build, the more fat you will burn.

If you really want to  melt away belly fat , use all three of these methods and you will see fantastic results in just a few weeks!

Author: Avy Barnes

Listen, I understand that getting six pack abs isn’t a simple task….well, at least for majority of us. However, if you follow a simple plan and stay 100% consistent, results will come. Take a couple of minutes out of your busy day and read this article here to learn how to lose belly fat fast…

Step #1 : Proper Nutrition -  This, my friend, is the granddaddy of them all! Nutrition is the backbone of any diet. If done improperly, results will be minimal to none. You have to eat the proper foods, and eat the right amount of meals daily in order to lose stubborn belly fat. You could have the perfect set of abdominal muscles waiting to be revealed, but if they are covered with a layer of belly fat, they’re going to stay hidden! Eat 5-6 small healthy meals daily containing protein, complex carbs (whole grains), healthy fats (monounsaturated), fiber, and foods rich in vitamins and minerals.

Step #2 : Fitness – A good fitness plan would consist of cardio, weight training, and core exercises (ab exercises). Make sure you place your primary emphasis on weight training since having lean muscle will burn off more calories…even while you rest. I recommend for you to workout 3-4 times a week. Another tip is to make sure you get complex carbs (banana) before your workout, and plenty of protein (protein shake) after your workout. This will assure your muscle tissue grows and grow properly.

Yes, you’re going to have to stay 100% consistent, but imagine the feeling you’ll get when you look in the mirror and so those ripped abs!

Author: Chuck Arnone

We all need to start somewhere with vitamins as our soils that grow our foods have been depleted of their nutrients over a period of decades! Liquid vitamins are better for a few reasons. They are easier for the body to digest and absorb than hard pills.Liquid vitamins are formulated at or near the concentration of body fluids and by virtue of being liquid, are not as concentrated as pills and tablets therefore loading capacity is less likely to be exceeded.

These vitamins are better than pills because they have better absorption and faster assimilation rate than pills. It is a lot better for your digestive system and is the same vitamins that you find in any supermarket or health store, but are suspended in a liquid vitamin mixture. This new method of taking liquid nutritional supplements is becoming extraordinarily popular in today’s progressive healthcare marketplace. These vitamins are available in the form of multi-vitamins as well. The liquid multi-vitamins offer a whole host of health benefits, both at physiological and psychological levels.

Liquid vitamins are the wave of the future and liquids work 9 times faster than pills. They bypass the digestive tract and are absorbed into the bloodstream, not to mention what it would also do for our city sewers, since pills are not efficiently absorbed into your bloodstream. Minerals do not always readily absorb in the body because they attach to larger molecules. A liquid vitamin supplement that uses amino acids is the best to enable mineral molecules to absorb. The benefit can be derived from every essential ingredient.

When starting your regimen with a multi-vitamin, results are not instant and require time to clean out and bring your body back to a healthy state. The first days to weeks you start your program with liquid vitamins, your body will go through a cleansing. These products are so effective that they will get into your tissues and push out the toxins that are stored in the cells. Additionally, the AMA (American Medical Association) is now recommending that everyone take a multi-vitamin to supplement their diet.

Supplements will not compensate for fatty fried foods, high intake of carbohydrates and imbalanced nutrition. It can on the other hand, compliment your nutrition, reinforce your immune system and top off the missing nutrients in your diet. Multivitamins vary in quality and not everyone will be able to do the same regimen. Supplementing your body with colloidal minerals and vitamin nutrients can help create the optimal environment in the body for maximal life expectancy by replenishing nutritional deficiencies. There are some Eastern cultures that have people routinely living to ages in the range of 120 to 140 years old (ex: the Hunzas). Supplements must be taken on your off days from training just as well as when you are working out. It is on your off days that your body is recovering from strenuous workouts and needs the proper nutrition to support muscle growth.

Get started on a daily vitamin regimen with the health supplements of high quality. In fact, they help you with more than vitamins and minerals not in your diet. In one daily dose you will get nutritional items proven to improve your digestive system, bones and joints, your immune system, your energy level, your heart and blood circulation and your mood and memory and ability to combat stress! Studies have shown that vitamins, especially liquid vitamins can boost your health and vitality!

Antioxidant vitamins have been said to be extremely helpful in preventing the oxidation of LDL, and consequently the accumulation of fat clogged arteries. However recent research is indicating that there is no link between antioxidant vitamins and prevention of coronary disease. Antioxidants have just started becoming talked about and mainstream. Even a few years ago, not many people could tell you what they are or the foods you can get them from.

Let’s look at this in an easy to understand way of improving your health as quickly as possible without harming yourself! Today’s lifestyles are hurry up and rush around, not to mention the smog in our cities and day to day stress of life. All of us including our children need to be on a daily routine of vitamins. The difference in staying healthy and living a long productive life.

Author: Grace Soong

You can carve a firm, sexier body by doing nothing. That’s because  relaxation and recovery are just as important as your workout sessions.  When you exercise, you tear down muscle fibers.  As the fibers regenerate, they become bigger and stronger. It’s during this recuperation that your body transforms.  While  personal training in Rochester , NY I always remind my clients to rest, stretch and listen to their bodies…

Get enough sleep

Your body reconstructs itself best when you’re asleep.  Sleep deprivation also disturbs  your normal hormone levels therby depleting you of needed energy to get you ready for a good workout.  Not only will you  get an ineffective workout but you will also crave for sugar as an alternate  energy source.   In a recent study of 1,000 volunteers at Stanford University, subjects who did not get enough sleep per night had a higher body fat content compared to their constituents who enjoyed at least seven or eight hours of sleep.  

Take days off from your workouts

Give yourself a minimum of 24 hours between workouts.  Take at least one day off every week. You can still get great results from  strength training  twice a week.  Don’t strength train more than five times a week because all your hard work won’t get you anywhere if your don’t let your body recover.

Do not ignore aches and pains

Ignoring muscle soreness or tightness just presents you with larger issues. If you feel any pain while exercising, stop your workout completely. If you feel tightness, pause to stretch.  Better yet, stretch after your warm-up and at the end of your workout to keep your body functioning at its finest.

Avoid anti-infammatory drugs and pain killers

Delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS as it is called by exercise physiologists, is characterized by sometimes muscle tenderness, muscles weakness and a decrease in range of motion.  It usually peaks about 24 to 72 hours after an extreme  cardio-vascular  or strength exercise event.  Although anti-inflammatory drugs do appear to reduce muscle soreness during DOMS, studies show that they may slow down the muscles’ ability to repair the damage.

Eat appropriately

According to a study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, subjects who snacked with a 4-to-1 ratio of carbs to protein within 30 minutes of their workout offset muscle damage the most. That’s because after a  workout your body is damaged  and depleted of energy.  It requires immediate attention.  You’ll also get the most immediate bounce-back if you drink your snack in liqiud form because your body absorbs liquid faster than solid foods. You can purchase ready to drink protein shakes at most grocery stores.  Keep fat and sugar to under 2 grams per serving.  Have your shake with an apple, small banana or ½ cup of berries.

Author: Grace Soong

Estimates show that up to 60 percent of our society is  overweight .  Americans, on average, gain about five pounds a year once they hit that 30-year mark. We all know that the best way to avoid getting fat is to not let excess calories cross those lips in the first place. However, what can we do to help us balance exercise and food consumption?  Here are 5 simple and easy ways to do that:

1. Cardiovascular Exercise

Doctors and fitness gurus have praised cardio-vascular or aerobics exercise as key to effectively burn fat.  To achieve weight loss you must participate in at least three weekly cardio-vascular workouts. This can be interpreted into 20 to 30 minutes of intense physical activity that gets your heart to beat at an average rate of 60 to 90 percent of its maximum.  As a rule of thumb, you can calculate your maximum heart rate by deducting your age from 225.  For example, if you are 45 years old, your maximum heart rate is 180 beats per minute; 60 to 90 percent of this would be 108-162 beats per minute.  The type of exercise isn’t as important as its influence on your heart and breathing rates. Cardiovascular exercise involves working the major muscles of your body in a continuous, flowing fashion. Choose activities you enjoy such as jogging, brisk walking with your dog, biking and dance-fitness classes such as  Jazzercise .

2. Strength training

There is a lot of confusion regarding  strength training , even among people who train on a regular basis. When you lift weights you challenge your body against a controllable form of resistance. If done correctly your muscles will adjust and grow stronger as it anticipates a more difficult workout.   This muscle growth will take the form of a sculpted and more toned figure.  Depending on your age and gender, it will usually not turn into big, bulky muscles. Unfortunately you may not see results right away because of that layer of fat that floats over every inch of your sculpted body.  However, an increase in lean muscle, no matter how little, will result in an increased basal metabolic rate.  Basal metabolic rate is the number of calories you’d burn even if you stayed in bed all day.   Almost 90% of the calorie burning take place inside muscle tissue, it’s logical to assume the more muscle you have — the more fat you’ll burn just to exist. Therefore, when accompanied by a steady decrease in food supply and a 24-hour-a-day increase in demand for fuel this will result in major fat loss.

3. Flexibility Training

Flexibility training such as yoga or Pilates increases the productiveness of the rest of your fitness routine. One, it minimizes injury and recovery time.  Two, it reduces next day soreness. Three, it improves balance and speed of movement.  This allows you to carry out more work in less time.   Inserting stretching exercises into your strength training routine will keep you moving between sets.  This will mean an increased calorie consumption of your workout. Many fitness enthusiasts and body builders, who at one time wouldn’t be caught dead in a “plank” pose, now find themselves attending regular yoga or Pilates classes — and still remain lean and fit as ever.

4. Sleep and Rest

You’ll be surprised at how lack of sleep (or rest) is the cause behind many failed weight loss efforts. Remember, too much of a good thing is also not commendable. When you put together a fitness and weight loss plan, make sure that you get back to normal between workouts. Wait  at least 48 hours between full body strength training sessions and cut back cardio-vascular exercises to no more than 3-6 hours per week. Do not over-train. Your body will break down, you’ll lose lean muscle mass (which you’ve been working so hard to gain) and eventually get fatter.  Go to bed earlier, wear earplugs or do anything to get a good night’s sleep.  The body’s recovery processes goes into high gear during sleep.  Get at least 7 or 8 hours of thorough, restful sleep every night.

5. Stress Reduction and Meditation

Meditation has been known to decrease the body’s reaction to stress.  It alleviates several stress-related health problems. Few people recognize that it can raise the body’s DHEA level, an anti-aging hormone. DHEA is a predecessor of testosterone, which is necessary for muscle growth. Unfortunately, DHEA and testosterone levels decline with age. Independent tests conducted on people who meditated daily revealed that DHEA levels were restored to more youthful levels.

On the flip side, stress has also been found to generate high levels of the naturally occurring hormone cortisol.  This hormone is produced by the adrenal glands. When cortisol is secreted, it causes a failure and malfunction of muscle protein.  This leads to the release of amino acids into the bloodstream, and raising blood sugar levels.

Any form of stress reduction can balance this hormonal imbalance. Try to visualize how you’d like to look, or imagine yourself pursuing activities you once delighted in. This visualization technique has been discovered to relieve stress and increase your odds of achieving goals you’ve set.   I

f your fitness goal is to lose fat, take these five simple suggestions and combine them with a sensible eating program.  You’ll be on the road to a lean, healthy and contented fitness routine that you’ll be able to maintain for a lifetime.

Author: Grace Soong

Numerous misconceptions and general questions revolve around fitness and training. Below are a five of the most common questions my clients ask of me and the answers I give them:

1. Can I spot train certain parts of my body?  If you are talking about spot training to get rid of the fat (reducing the size of that body part), that will never happen.  No exercise can do that.  When you spot train, you are working the muscle underneath the fat.  To  reduce fat  in certain areas of the body, you must do two things: first, reduce overall body fat through a change in your diet, and second, increase muscle tone through strength training.  Without a doubt, you can spot train to INCREASE the size of a certain area…but never the other way around.

2. Will I bulk-up if I workout?  A lot depends on the type of workout that you do and the principles behind your workout. Genetics, gender, age, diet and the quantity of testosterone your body naturally produces will determine if you’ll have a propensity to bulk up.  Generally, if you are female over 30 years old, it would be difficult to bulk up without the aid of testosterone supplements no matter how heavy you lift.

3. How often and for how long should I workout?  Suggestions by fitness organizations such ACSM, AHA and ACE keep changing as new studies and research are provided. The general agreement, however, is 3-5 days a week for about 20-60 minutes each session. A lot also depends on your goal:  lose weight , maintain your current level of fitness, gain weight or train for a competition or sport. Check with your  personal trainer  for his/her recommendation before you start because too little or too much could hinder your development.

4. What causes muscle soreness after exercise?  Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness is caused by a larger than normal burden on a muscle. Originally, it was believed that a build up of lactic acid caused the soreness.  However, research confirms that the soreness is caused by micro tears in the muscle. A release of enzymes from the muscle fibers and the muscle’s response to the larger than normal burden (placed on it) causes the irritation. As the muscles adjust to the weights, the soreness will diminish.

5. What are the best equipment to use?  In general, machines are better for the beginner. They provide more stability than free weights (dumbbells and barbells). They help you maintain form until you can master the moves.  However, machines are two-dimensional exercises (movements are limited to forward and back, or up and down) whereas your muscles are multi-dimensional (they move forward, back, diagonally and sideways). With free-weights and cable pulley machines you activate several muscle fibers at once.  However, they require more skill and control on your part.

Author: Grace Soong

Got results? You’ve been exercising on a regular basis for awhile. So, how’s it working for you? Are you noticing a change in your body? Or have you reached a  plateau ?

Monotonous weight routines. If you’ve been doing the exact same  weight-training  routine or watching 1980s aerobics videos on your old VHS player, then it’s time to mix it up! Your muscles adapt to any given exercise, which is why it’s important to consistently change your weight-training routine. Increase your weight size, add more reps, or try new exercises altogether to break through your muscle-building plateau.

Over-crunching. You do 500 sit-ups every night, and you wonder why your abs still aren’t flat. It’s probably because crunches strictly tend to work your rectus abdominus, just one of your abdominal muscles. In order to truly trim your waistline, you also need to work your external and internal obliques, and your transverse abdominus. Try a variety of abdominal exercises, including Pilates-based moves, to help whittle away your middle.

Cardio queen.  aerobic exercise  is important. You need it to burn calories and maximize heart health. But, cardio is just one part of a well-rounded fitness routine. You also need strength training and stretching. And don’t forget that good nutrition is a big part of your overall health too.

Rushing. When you race through your weight-training reps, you’re allowing momentum to take over, instead of using actual muscle. If you want to see more definition in your muscles, then you must stress the muscles to the point of fatigue. Focus on lifting and lowering your weights with steady control. Take your time, and think about the muscle behind every movement that you perform.

Relying on your workout only. If you are sedentary all day long, and rely solely on your workout to burn calories, then you are missing a wealth of opportunities to improve your overall fitness and well-being. Make just a couple of small changes to incorporate fitness all day long. Park in the farthest parking space when going to the grocery store. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. You’ll burn more overall calories throughout the day.

Author: Albert Lee

Obesity today is so common that young people are also suffering from this kind of disease. Normally, obesity is diagnosed during middle age. However today, you will normally hear that young people in their 20’s are now suffering from this kind of disease.

The main cause of obesity is overeating. However, not many people know the causes of overeating. And, the answer to this question is stress. Many people today, especially young people, are now living a hectic and stressful lifestyle. Because they live this kind of life, they tend to eat comfort foods to get rid of stress.

Stress can make you feel hungry even though you just ate. Because of this reason, you will tend to eat more portions and fast food chains are serving food portions that are high in fat, sugar and salt 700 percent larger than what is recommended by dietitians and nutritionists.

Over the past two decades, stress has increased in an alarming rate. Studies also found that along with the increase of stress, obesity also followed closely. Try and ask yourself about being stressed. After eating a hearty breakfast, you set off for work. On your way to work, you experience being stuck in a traffic jam. You will see that it will stress you out and it will also make you hungry an crave for food even though you just ate a big breakfast just less than an hour ago.

As you can see, stress is a large contributor to obesity. Because of this, it is very important for you to live a stress free lifestyle as much as you can. You can consider exercising as it can reduce stress or you can also try to meditate.

There is so much you have to change in your life today in order to avoid experiencing stress and at the same time, avoid gaining weight until you become obese. Through exercise and by eating only when you need to, you will decrease stress plus it can also decrease your risk on becoming obese.

Remember this and you will live a happier and healthier life. Defeat obesity by first defeating stress.

Author: Linda Hampton

Much of our holiday stress is self induced. We all love the holidays and want to them to be a truly enjoyable and rewarding experience. We tend to spend a great deal of time and effort engaging in various activities trying to make the time period extra special. Our desire to have the best holidays possible often delivers an ironic just like O’Henry’s Gift of the Magi. Instead of enjoying the holiday season, we spend our holiday season stressed and worried about how to make our holidays perfect.

One of the chief causes of holiday stress is that gnawing feeling that the things you must do are going to outstrip your available time. Shopping, cooking, packing, wrapping and decorating suddenly fill what used to be your free time.

There are a few basic steps you can take to make your to-do list seem more manageable and to reduce your stress level.

1. Adjust Your Expectations

An often overlooked way to deal with holiday stress is simply readjusting your expectations of the holidays. The media and advertising industries lead us to believe that any holiday celebration that doesn’t end up resembling a Norman Rockwell print is a failure. This of course, is not the case. It’s fine to strive for a wonderful holiday season, but it’s not necessary to create the Perfect Holiday nor is it possible. Instead of concerning yourself with every detail, you can reduce your stress level by focusing on the parts of the holidays that are most meaningful and important to you and placing less emphasis on other aspects of the season.

2. Start Early

Here’s a rule about holiday stress we shouldn’t break – start early. We often laugh at the fact Christmas decorations tend to go up in shopping malls right after Halloween decorations disappear. Although we don’t necessarily need to take the not-so-subtle message of holiday commercialization to heart, we can learn quite bit from the early decoration trend. By starting our holiday preparations early, you can reduce the amount of pressure and stress you experience during the season.

3. Follow Santa’s Lead

Santa Claus, the song tells us, makes a list and checks it twice. If he left delivery of millions of toys up to his memory, he would probably be the North Pole’s most stressed resident. You can learn an important lesson from Santa Claus and can create your own organized list of holiday tasks and chores. By carefully assessing your holiday needs and expectations, starting early on the holidays and keeping an organized to-do list, you can make your holidays a pleasure!

Author: Cedars Sinai Medical Center

Los Angeles, CA (Dec. 21, 2008) – The holiday season may bring visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads, but trouble can ensue when pies, cakes, cookies and other fatty holiday treats start dancing on our plates.

With careful planning and smart choices, you can have your fill of holiday cheer without filling your plate with calorie-rich foods, said Netty Levine, RD, CDE, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator, at  Cedars- Sinai Medical Center.

“You can enjoy your favorite traditional holiday foods in moderation without dragging extra pounds into the New Year,” Levine said. “Make smart choices at parties and in buffet lines, and on days you’re not celebrating make sure you’re eating healthy, well-balanced meals.”

Fitting in exercise, drinking plenty of water and maintaining a healthy diet will not only be good for your waist line, but can also ensure you have enough energy for the season’s many celebrations, Levine said.

She offers these suggestions for sensible eating during the holidays:

1.  Vow to maintain, not gain. If you’re on a long-term weight loss plan, make every effort to maintain your weight. Maintaining weight despite the season’s many temptations should be considered a reasonable goal.

2.  When going to  a holiday potluck, bring along a healthy dish or treat you enjoy. Find ways to lighten up traditional recipes, or bring along a vegetable or fruit tray. Presentation and creativity count!

3.  Never go to a party hungry. Eat a small healthy meal or snack to ward off cravings, which can help make temptation easier to resist.

4.  Drink water. Avoiding high-calorie beverages will make those holiday splurges easier on your waistline.

5.  When dining buffet-style, choose a smaller plate and pile it high with fruits, vegetables and green salads. Load up on lean roasted meats, and choose small portions of your holiday favorites

6.  Dodge the pre-dinner cocktail. Alcohol makes you hungrier, and lower inhibitions can lead to poor food choices. Opt instead for a drink with your meal. When ordering cocktails, reach for those made with a low- or no-calorie mixer.

7.  Don’t be too busy for breakfast. Starting the day with a healthy meal will help control cravings later.

8 . Be picky about dessert. Indulge only in your very favorites, and when presented with several dessert options, choose just one. Check in with yourself when eating. Do you want the whole portion of a rich treat, or do you feel satisfied after a few bites?

9.  Make time for exercise – be active when you can. Even short bits of exercise can add up.

10.  Focus on friends and family, not the food. Make the company of loved ones the center of your gathering – not the tasty treats.

To arrange interviews, please contact Nicole White, media specialist, at nicole.white@cshs.org or at (310) 423- 5215.  # # #