How To Choose The Best Exercise Equipment For Weight Loss

A large part of any successful fat loss plan is exercise. Choosing to exercise in the comfort and privacy of your own home is a decision that tens of thousands of people make every year.

Choosing to exercise at home, for most people, limits the amount and types of exercise equipment that you have to choose from. You will want to choose the best piece of equipment for you. That makes sense but how do you choose when there are so many different pieces of exercise equipment to choose from? Below is a list of some things to consider before making your decision.

Some things to consider before purchasing your exercise equipment are:

· What type of exercise do you enjoy (walking, biking, swimming, etc.)

· What price range can you afford

· The quality of the equipment

· Product reviews

· The amount of room you have for the equipment

· Who else will be using the equipment

· The amount of noise it makes (especially if you live in an apartment)

· Powered by electricity or manually

· The amount of calories the equipment will help you burn

· Your physical condition and impact on your joints (hips, knees, etc.)

These are some things to think about before you make your purchase. By thinking about these things prior to making your purchase, you are more likely to enjoy using the equipment which means you will continue to use it, and get the benefits that you want.

Some popular pieces of equipment for home exercise programs are:

· Treadmills

· Exercise bikes

· Elliptical trainers

· Trampolines

· Stair climbers

· Rowing machines

After you have chosen a piece of equipment that you feel will work for you, you will want to do a little more research, on that piece of equipment, before purchasing.

You will want to check out any reviews (if available) for the product. Not just the pros but read the bad reviews too. Also, try to find reviews that deal with the customer service aspect of the company that makes the product. This will tell you what to expect later on if you should have a problem with the equipment and need to contact the company about a problem.

Be sure to read about the functions of the machine. This will tell you if the resistance is adjustable or fixed and other important aspects of the equipment. If you can continue to adjust the resistance as you progress, you will continue to get benefits from the equipment. You don't want to buy something that 3 months later isn't providing enough resistance for you to continue to burn those calories.

Keep these things in mind when you go to select your next piece of exercise equipment for your home. It will help you make the best choice for your needs and give you the best chance at gaining the benefits that you desire.

For more information and to get tips, help and motivation about fat loss please visit my blog at http://www.fatlossonly.com

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Healthy Eating Means a Dinner That Does a Body Good

Dinner can be tricky. Many of us are tired at the end of the day, but this is when you need to use your will power and avoid easy options like pizza or burgers and french fries that are going to be heavy on carbs and contain very little nutritional value. Dinner is where we can include a lot more vegetables because we have access to them at. People also tend to eat more meat at night and for those wanting to practice healthy eating habits need to know when it comes to meats, the less fat the better. Fish contains omega 3 benefits that can be great for human health and they are also typically quite low in fat. Chicken, when baked or grilled instead of fried, can offer good nutrition too, but so can lean red meat. These sources of protein can offer you a great deal of benefit.

Think About How You Prepare Those Vegetables

As mentioned, vegetables can be a crucial part of your diet at dinner time. For those of us wanting to make healthy eating for a healthy life part of our overall lifestyle, learning how to cook vegetables best is definitely important. Steaming is usually going to be the best method, followed by grilling or boiling. The point is to keep your veggies as raw as possible in order to get the most benefit from them. Canned vegetables are not ideal, but if you are not much of a cook then they are certainly far better for you than skipping vegetables altogether. Just try to keep things simple and avoid butter or salt whenever you possibly can. A light virgin olive oil will usually give you the best benefits if you need to cook your veggies in oil.

Watch Out for Desserts and Make Wise Choices When You Can

The sweet tooth can be something of an enemy to those that are practicing healthy eating for a healthy life. Some sugar is obviously going to make its way into our lives, but if you can try to minimize it, your body and your teeth will thank you in the long run. Consider dark chocolate when you can because it has health benefits that milk chocolate does not, for instance. Try to use honey for a sweetener and stick to fruits for something sweet. If you do crave something baked, there are many recipes out there for making desserts that give you sweetness without so many calories. Spend some time learning about sweet treats that do not undo your full day of sensible eating.

The Midnight Snack is Not a Part of Healthy Eating for a Healthy Life

Speaking of ways to undo a day of great eating, the midnight snack is certainly one of the worst ideas for those that want to live a more healthy life. If you absolutely cannot avoid a night time craving, then stock the fridge with items that are good for you: carrot sticks, raisins, nuts, hardboiled eggs and similar items. Don't let the late night munchies end up derailing your plans because they can add a basket full of calories, sugar, fat, sodium and other things your body does not need at all - especially at that late hour. Consider drinking a full glass of water, or even two, when you feel hungry and making yourself wait a half an hour before you give in. Often, doing this can make those cravings vanish in a flash and you can return to bed without the damaging effects of 300+ fat riddled calories crammed into your body right before going back to sleep.

Gregory L. Gomez, M. Ed, has been teaching 5th grade in the LAUSD for 12 years and has now embarked on a journey to lose weight, eat healthier, and finally get in shape! Follow his progress on http://healthychoicesinlife.com as he strives to lose 60 pounds through dedicated exercise and healthy eating. Get a FREE monthly Healthy Choices Newsletter along with FREE 18 page Healthy Choices Guide athttp://healthychoicesinlife.com/how-to-count-calories-effectively.

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Can I Lose 10 Pounds In Two Weeks?

Many people who are trying to lose weight will wonder if they can lose as much as ten pounds in two weeks for a number of reasons. The answer is not really all that simple because it depends on a number of factors and should be answered with several new questions as well. The first of those questions is this: why do you want to lose these ten pounds in only two weeks?

Losing weight starts with understanding your body's metabolism. Everything that you eat or drink is meant to give you energy (calories) that your body uses for its various functions from breathing and blood pumping to exercising and everything in between. You burn a small amount of calories even while you are sleeping. The trick is to take in fewer calories each day then what you burn but not to go too low. You cannot simply stop eating and lose weight because the body will panic and will hold onto its calories instead. You actually have to eat to lose weight, that cannot be repeated often enough.

There are several weight loss plans that will tell you that you can lose as much as ten pounds in two weeks with some claiming that their weight loss results are higher or faster. You should be aware that those plans are often very restrictive, difficult to stay with and often require very intense exercise in conjunction with those lower calorie eating plans. If you are not a very disciplined person, skip these plans because you will become disappointed with yourself very quickly.

Another option is the liquid diets, the juice and tea cleanses and the master cleanse plans. These are not always very safe and often come with some very unpleasant side effects. The master cleanse in particular is very unpleasant and former users have reported gagging and even throwing up during the process. If you are planning to lose this weight for a very special event or single day, it is likely that you are not going to be thinking about the long term health risks that are involved. How happy will you be if you get to your event down ten pounds but looking sallow, wobbly on your feet and ready to throw up? And, how happy would you be if by the end of the night you find yourself picking food off of other people's plates because you are starving?

Yes, you can lose ten pounds in two weeks but it is not usually recommended for the average person to do so. Instead, you should be focusing on slower, more sensible weight loss of one to two pounds per week. That will allow you not only to lose weight but to keep it off as well.

Article Source: http://www.streetarticles.com/weight-loss/can-i-lose-10-pounds-in-two-weeks

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Breakfast Food Pyramid

                     

All and all, we have seen the importance of food pyramids in food and nutrition but breakfast food pyramid is given even more importance as breakfast is considered to be the most important meal of your entire day. Therefore, a good breakfast food pyramid contains all the essential and nutritive elements of food that make you fit and fine for hectic routines.

The most important things in a breakfast food pyramid are:

1. Dairy
2. Cereals
3. Fruits
4. Vegetables
5. Meat and Poultry
6.. Fats, Oils and Sweets; just a little bit

On the baseline of a breakfast food pyramid we see that the most essential parts of a good breakfast are the cereals and breads. They are excellent as they strengthen your metabolism and they are full in fiber. Just by having a bowl of cereal in morning you can remain energetic for hours and hours without feeling hungry soon.

After cereals and breads comes the turn of fruits and vegetables in breakfast food pyramid. Nothing can be a better source of tons of vitamins and minerals than fruits and vegetables. In breakfast food pyramid, their importance is clearly visible by giving them the second position from the baseline. They are ideal to keep your eye sight, senses and other body parts fit by fighting out any mineral or vitamin deficiency in the body. In breakfast, they are essential to take because it is the breakfast time where we are actually making ourselves get ready for the hectic daily routines and we want to feel fresh and healthy rather than being lethargic.

At the third level of breakfast food pyramid come the meat, poultry and dairy products. Dairy products are easy to take if you are fond of eating cereals. A combination of a good cereal with milk high in calcium for breakfast is just ideal for you bones and healthy digestive system. In poultry, it is highly recommended in breakfast that you eat one egg daily as it will show its impacts in the long run by giving you healthier hair and good skins. Moreover, occasionally you can also have a piece of grilled fish or chicken in breakfast.

Fats, oils and sweets are to be sparingly used in breakfast and it is best to avoid them too. Many people like to eat quick energy or granola bar as they are convenient. You can have them but make sure they are not the sources of high sweet content or fats for you as it is against the breakfast food pyramid.

Apart from all these things in breakfast, you can also have a good intake of nuts and dry fruits but don’t eat them too much as they can be a major reason for higher cholesterol level.

Lastly and most importantly, maintain a good water intake at all levels of breakfast food pyramid. In fact, before even starting off with breakfast, drink at least 1-2 glasses of water. By maintaining a good intake of water especially before breakfast, you are going to do a blessing for your body and water is important at all levels of breakfast food pyramid. It not only revitalizes your body but also keeps you healthy in every possible way.

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Achieving Your Fitness Plan

Creating An Action Plan To Achieve Fitness

Whether you want to lose weight, build muscle or increase strength, you need to create an action plan to achieve your desired fitness level. First of all, you need to accept that you have to make changes in your present eating habits and lifestyle. Once you have realized that, you have to come up with an action plan that you need to follow strictly. This action plan will be based on your personal goals of fitness. Here are a few tips that will help you in creating an effective action plan to achieve your fitness.

Being realistic while creating your plan of action

Never make the mistake of setting difficult and unreasonable goals in your action plan. Such plan will discourage you and you may end up giving up after a couple of weeks. Be realistic while creating your action plan, but this does not mean that you can make it too easy for yourself. The goals that you set should neither be too easy to attain nor too difficult to achieve. Decide how much fat or weight you want to loose, and record your measurements in upper arm, thighs, hips and waist. Check them again after 2 weeks of starting and monitor your progress. You can reward yourself with a treat after achieving every goal.

Things to consider while creating an action plan

While creating an action plan, ask yourself a few questions:

1. Will you need to spend time each day or week?
2. Which days or times are best for you?
3. Are any special equipments needed?
4. 
   

Use a PDA, planner, sticky notes or calendar to keep your goal fresh in mind. Give consideration to the obstacles that may come up, and devise a plan to overcome them too.

Break down your goals into smaller daily, weekly or monthly goals

Whenever you reach a mini daily, weekly or monthly goal, check it off make it meaningful. You can just draw a smiley on your calendar or hang out with friends to play a card game. It is also fine to modify your goals a little bit. For example, if you need to go to the library, you can modify it and act on the next day. If you failed to achieve the set goal in the first week, do not get disheartened or do not punish yourself. Try to find out where you went wrong, and try to work in that direction.

You will have to implement your lifestyle changes gradually. For example, if you want to stop eating chocolates, you cannot cut them off completely from the first day itself. Gradually decrease the number of chocolates you eat everyday, as it will prevent irresistible cravings.

Gerald Smith is a London personal trainer, presenter and writer. He has a fitness blog that offers advice on slimming, toning, outdoor and home exercise.

He offers personal training in Mayfair, Victoria & other areas of South & Central London. Visit his website for a list of personal training locations in the London area or for online personal training. http://www.slimmerfitterstronger.com/Victoria-Personal-Trainer.php

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A Perfect Food Pyramid for Women

A healthy family depends upon a healthy woman. Woman as a mother, wife, daughter and sister plays a critical and crucial role in maintaining family’s health and well being. And for all this, she must be healthy and fit. It is very imperative for a woman to be healthy and fit. And for this, a woman must follow and stick to a proper and perfect diet plan and a food pyramid. By following a perfect food pyramid and balance diet, a woman can get the right amount of calories, vitamins, nutrients and minerals and also live a healthy and active life style and after all get full nutrition.

A Perfect Food Pyramid For women:

A perfect food pyramid for women helps them to control their weight, intakes of essential nutrition, dietary fats, minerals and vitamins . So, by sticking on a perfect and daily food pyramid and a balance diet, women become more healthy, fit and nutritionally well.

The new food pyramid for women is base on six beautiful and bright colors:

• The orange for grains
• Green for vegetables
• Red for fruits
• Yellow for essential fats and oils
• Blue for milk
• Purple for meat and beans

Each stripe starts out with the same size but ends differently. Each stripe of the food pyramid suggests how much food or nutrition a woman should choose from each group. The new food pyramid also has a band of stairs, running up the side of the pyramid, which shows the importance of physical activity but remember the number of servings from each  stripe differ from individual to individual, according to weight, gender, physical activity level and age.

• The orange stripe is for grains. As compare to a male, women need more carbohydrates to boost up their energy. The best source of carbohydrates and nutrition are whole grains such as oatmeal, whole wheat bread and brown rice. To be healthy and to get adequate nutrition, a woman must use these sources of carbohydrates.

• The green and red stripes are for vegetables and fruits. A woman diet must have fruits and vegetables in it. Vegetables and fruits not only decrease the chance of heart attack or stroke but also protect you against cancer, lower blood pressure, cataract and macular degeneration.

• Yellow is for essential oils and healthy fats, which are after all very important for a woman to be healthy and to get full nutrition. You can get healthy unsaturated fats from olive, canola, soya, and corn peanut. Sun flower and other vegetable oils. Nuts, seeds, avocado and fatty fish also provide you healthy fats, which not only improve cholesterol level but can also protect your heart from sudden and deadly problems.

• Blue stripe is for milk. Milk is very essential for women of all age. Milk and dairy products are the main source of calcium, which is very vital for building bones and keeping them strong. To get calcium and full nutrition, a woman must take three glasses of whole milk daily.

• Purple stripe is for meat. You should take processed meats as guided or instruction by the new food pyramid. Processed meats such as bacon, hot dogs, beef meat and white meat are very high in added sodium. White meat can improve cholesterol level and has tremendous benefits for heart and over all body.

That’s all from the new food pyramid. Now stick to it and have a healthy and fit life style.

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Healthy Food Tips: Top 5 Best Muscle Building Foods for Fitness Enthusiasts

A diet rich in protein and complex carbohydrates is essential for building lean muscle and losing excess fat. Proper nutrition requires some basic knowledge, discipline, and consistency. When you work out, the stress of weight lifting damages muscle fibers. In order for your body to recover, you need to consume quality foods that contain amino acids and carbs. The foods you eat on a daily basis are responsible for helping you recover from your workout sessions.

Here are top five best muscle building foods for fitness enthusiasts:

Chicken

Chicken is a preferred choice among bodybuilders and athletes worldwide. This food is cheap and easy to cook. One chicken breast has approximately 25 grams of protein and less than 130 calories. For a rich flavor, you can marinate chicken in seasoned fruit juice. Use bold seasonings like minced hot peppers, infused vinegar, and curry.

Lean Ground Beef

If you want to put on some muscle, include beef into your diet. This type of meat is an excellent source of zinc and iron, two essential muscle building nutrients. Beef also contains two grams of creatine for every 16 ounces. Red meat is packed with protein, vitamins, and minerals. Each cut has a different amount of fat, protein, and calories. Beef doesn't contain any carbohydrates.

Almonds

Almonds are one of the best sources of vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that helps the body fight against free radical damage after strenuous physical activity. Recent studies have shown that men who eat almonds on a regular basis have a 67 percent lower risk of Alzheimer's disease. Almonds also contain protean and healthy fats. They are the perfect snack for satisfying late-morning hunger.

Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower seeds provide 25 grams of protein per 100 grams. Available both shelled and unshelled, they can be eaten roasted or row. Sunflower foods are rich in fiber, which helps improve digestion. In addition to protein and fiber, they contain vitamin E, linoleic acid, selenium, and vitamin B2. These essential nutrients support lean muscle growth, boost energy levels, and promote healthy adrenal glands.

Brown Rice

Brown rich is loaded with complex carbohydrates and fiber, providing a sustained release of energy throughout the day. The American Dietetics Association recommends active individuals to have a diet rich in complex carbohydrates from quinoa, whole wheat pasta, oats, brown rice, and sweet potatoes. Whether you want to lose fat and get ripped before a fitness competition, or you are trying to build muscle, brown rice should be on your list.

Whether you want to build muscle, lose weight, or have more energy, search for healthy food tips before starting a new diet. Proper nutrition should be a priority for those who want to stay healthy and maintain their body weight. At DSM Food, you can learn how to prepare tasty meals and choose the right foods for your diet.

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