Want To Lose Weight? What Are The Best Diet Foods?

It can be a challenging task choosing the best diet foods to eat when you are trying to lose weight and knowing what foods to never eat. Research has found that the body feels it is full by the volume of food consumed and not the amount of calories contained within that food. This is why the best diet foods are those that have a high water content. In some cases these are known as negative calorie foods which means that they take more calories to digest than what is actually contained in the food itself.
Foods that have a high water content also have a high fibre content. The good news is that they are low in calories so you can eat them without having to worry about the effects on your waistline! When you eat water-rich foods before or during your meal, you will feel fuller, and therefore you'll eat fewer high-calorie foods and ultimately eat less calories during that meal. So what are the foods with a high water content that can fill you up quickly?
Fruits and Vegetables.
Vegetables and fruits with high levels of water content and nutrients include cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, spinach, broccoli, watermelon, apples and berries.
Dairy Products That Are Low-fat or Fat-free.
You can still enjoy dairy products like milk, cottage cheese and Greek yogurt but make sure that they are the low-fat or fat-free variety. Also there are some good low fat and low calorie dairy alternatives, such as milks made from soy, almond and rice.
Soups And Broths.
Vegetable or tomato based soups or soups made with chicken or beef broth all contain lots of water and not many calories. Avoid from cream-based soups. For example a cup of mushroom bisque can have over 400 calories while the same amount of minestrone soup has only 112 calories.
Best Diet Food Plan.
To eat fewer calories during your main course, start your meal with an appetizer made from one of the above foods. A bowl of broth-based soup or a green salad, without the cheese or croutons, make great appetizers that partially fill you up so you eat less of the high-calorie main meal.
Keep your vegetables healthy when you cook by steaming them. Don't fry or cook vegetables with creams or butter. Steaming keeps most of the nutrients that would be normally be lost in many of the other cooking methods that use high heat. You can increase the flavour by adding in spices when you steam your veggies.
Don't spoil a nice low-calorie meal with a high-calorie drink. The best option is drink plain water, flavoured with lemon if you like, sparkling water, or unsweetened ice tea. Avoid drinking high-calorie laden sports drinks, alcohol or fruit juices. If you like to drink milk with your meal, make sure it is skimmed or one of the milk alternatives.

Are you confused about healthy eating? Do you want to know the best workout techniques to get the results you want? For nutritional tips, the best exercise programs, fitness motivation and the whole recipe for fat loss with safe, natural and proven methods please visit http://howtogetflatabsfast.org/

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Fitting Into Those 501's

I was emotionally ignorant! Everything was foreign! Nothing was the same! In some regards, this was good, but it still was unfamiliar and frightening. Mindless eating and lack of exercise created another problem. It was December. The snow was falling and the outdoors was calling, so I took out my favorite 501 blue jeans. They were snug. I squeezed my chubby butt into them, but they were tight. Yuck! Mortified, I decided to do something about it. Disgusted by my appearance and unable to purchase a new pair of 501s, I decided to commit to change. This would be nothing new. Change, that is. I was flexible. I had to be. My life had always required I be. So instead of taking a walk, I wrote a pledge of commitment to myself.
Promises:

• I will start my exercise routine today.
• I will follow it faithfully every day.
• I will drink eight or more glasses of water daily.
• I will not listen to anyone who tells me that I do not have to improve.
• I refuse to be a fool and degrade myself.
• I will be the best possible me I can be.
• Each day I will make sure my hair is shampooed, my nails are clean and manicured, and my skin is clean, soft, and clear.
• I will strive each day to improve myself.
• I will not dwell on being overweight; instead, I will do something about it.
• I will become the best I can be for those who I love and who have faith in me.
• I will become better each day.
• I will prove to others that I can be much more than what they realize.
• After I lose my weight, I will continue to follow my habits.
• I will feel better about myself.
• I will prove to others that I have faith in myself.
• I will prove to others that I am what I believe I can be.
• I will begin being the person I want to be starting now.
• I will not make excuses to eat fattening foods. I will just say, "No, thank you," and walk away.
• I will take this one day at a time.
• I begin now ...

Nearly thirty years later, a friend handed me a book that included some of her personal commitment rules regarding weight loss. The similarities are uncanny.
Shannon's Personal Commitment:

• Increase self-esteem.
• Fit into my clothes.
• Get a better outward appearance.
• Feel sexier.
• Improve health.
• Prove to myself, "I can do it!"
• To show others, "I can do it."
• To live a longer life.

As you can see, we were both striving to fill voids.
Exercise: Write your own promises or commitments.
Stay in present tense and begin each sentence with I will or I am. The first two are done for you.
I will ...
I am ...

http://www.losethebaggage-losetheweight.com

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Just Starting Out Exercising?

Have you just decided that it's time to start exercising and working out? Fantastic! Even though the thought of getting into shape may feel like an overwhelming task, know that even the most out of shape person has the potential to make an improvement and develop a healthy life.

I was in the same situation about 2 years ago. Thanks to a trip to my doctor, I found out I weighed a whopping 294 pounds which was a clear signal to me that it was time to get off the couch, put the soda down, and start exercising.

A note of caution, be sure to check with your doctor first and inform him/her of your exercise plan. Safety is of utmost concern so take the slow and careful approach when beginning to work out.

At the onset, it may be extremely difficult to motivate yourself to get moving again. Your mind may think of numerous excuses in an attempt to convince yourself to stay glued to where you are. These are the thoughts and notions you must ignore.

When you develop the habit of exercising regularly, you will understand the fact that working out is not something you do just for a few weeks then stop altogether. You will come to realize that exercise is simply part of living a healthy life. This is why when you truly develop the habit of exercising, you will look forward to working out 3-5 times per week.

Remember, sitting on the sofa, eating excessively, and not exercising are likely the culprits that helped get you into the condition you are today. It's finally time to change that all around and start working out.

Just so you know, two years ago I never exercised. These days I'm playing tennis twice a week, running with my dog three times a week before work, and I'm even going to a local Bootcamp class twice per week. The best part about all this is that I really enjoy my exercise time. I actually look forward to my workouts now.

But that was not always the case.

When I first started, I would get tired walking around a few blocks and had trouble doing 3 simple push ups. It took a firm commitment, even when I was feeling lazy and lethargic to stick with my plan.

Slowly but surely I went from walking a mile, to two miles, then 3, and 4. After that I started jogging for 15 minutes at first, then 30, 45, then an hour. I also worked on my upper body doing push ups, situps, light weights for my arms, shoulders, and back.

After a few months of this since I was getting into better shape and my endurance was improving, I began changing up the activities. That's when the fun really began and why I am able to do many more activities now thanks to taking the time to start out exercising slowly but consistently.

Point of the matter is, starting out exercising is a process. Getting into shape is not something that will happen overnight or even after a few weeks. However, if you stick with a specific exercise plan, slowly over time you will see changes happening. After 3-5 months of your consistent dedication you will be astonished at the new skills you'll have acquired in addition to the new physique you've developed.

Gregory L. Gomez, a LAUSD teacher who's also on journey to develop a healthy life in an effort to lose weight and get in shape. Follow his progress on http://gripdownload.com/110004 as he strives to lose nearly 100 pounds by eating healthy and maintaining a consistent exercise routine. Get a FREE monthly Healthy Choices Newsletter along with a Healthy Eating Ebook just for stopping by at http://flamefile.com/110003.

Your Are Never Too Old to Exercise

A lot of people when they get into their middle-aged years if they are out of shape may be inclined to think that getting fit is a lost cause. They imagine in order to get into shape again requires many hours a week on the treadmill or long distance running. Actually, nothing could be farther from the truth. First of all it is never too late for anyone to start a fitness routine. And secondly the most effective training methods shouldn't take a person more than a few minutes a week to complete.

Exercise at a high intensity level interspersed with periods of moderate rest is known as high intensity interval training (HIIT). If you are middle-aged and out of shape you might think that this type of intense activity will be too much for you to handle. Certainly you must take the approach that you can only give your body as much as it can handle, but normally your body will tell you when it's had enough. Letting your doctor know that you are about to undertake an intense training program should put your mind at ease as your body's abilities to handle it.

Test after test have shown that exercise after 40 will provide multiple benefits. Lowering your existing heart rate and maximizing oxygen uptake are only a couple of ways that exercise can help people at middle-age. But the one wonderful benefit I would like to address here is how intense exercise will help naturally boost human growth hormone levels. This is vital for healthy aging and maintaining the vigorous lifestyle well into old age.

And what makes this hormone so important? The growth hormone, also known as Somatotropin is beneficial not only for bodybuilders, as we've heard so much about, but for everyone as they get into their middle years and over. These hormones act as a liaison as they pass messages to various endocrine glands using the blood as a carrier. The signals they send are the main way that new tissue growth is built. As we age, old tissue is constantly lost, and if it is not replaced by new tissue we gradually deteriorate through old age.

Increasing the growth hormone gives other medical benefits. To name a few they lower bad cholesterol levels and raise good cholesterol levels, reduce fat tissue, make it possible to increase lean muscle mass and give us more energy to exercise longer. Anything we can do to increase these levels should be a high priority.

The necessity of getting into intense training begins shortly after we start the aging process. We probably aren't aware of this, but when we reach our mid-20s to 30 years old we begin a process called somatopause. This is where our production of human growth hormone begins to decrease quite dramatically, and this is where the aging process begins. Maintaining your HGH levels take on a great importance as it addresses the issues of muscle loss and a trophy. But tests have shown that just because you miss this early window doesn't mean you can't make up for it in your midlife or even elderly years. Never assume that you're too old, as it's been well documented that you're never too old to begin intense exercising.

Endorphins are an important regulator of pain, but also pleasure.  Most people produce them through exercise, but certain foods, especially chocolate can produce a similar effect.  Read more about it on our website.  Rich Carroll is a writer and health advocate now living in Chicago.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rich_Carroll

Learn How To Build Muscle - Bodybuilding Tips

Bodybuilding Tips - What are the Best Ways to Build Muscle?

Muscle growth, otherwise known as hypertrophy, is a highly discussed topic. Many of us work out to change the way our bodies look, but many people struggle with finding the right formula to build muscle fast. Building muscle fast takes the right weight lifting program coupled with the right cardio program, the right diet, and ample rest to achieve top notch results. Without the right combination, it can take much longer to see the changes you want. Before we get into the best exercises for muscle growth, let's talk a little bit about what actually happens as your muscle are growing.

What is Hypertrophy?

"Muscle hypertrophy is an increase in muscle fiber size, observed as a muscle achieves a larger diameter or cross-sectional area" (Kravitz). In other words, new muscle fibers are not created, rather the contractile proteins in muscle grow in size. Muscle growth can also occur with an increase in fluid interspersed in the muscle. This is known as sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. There is a lot more to bodybuilding and the science of muscle growth than this, but this is a simple explanation of what's happening to the muscles on a cellular level. Now that you have a basic understanding of hypertrophy, let's move on the top 3 bodybuilding tips!

My Top 3 Bodybuilding Tips:

1. Muscle growth, or hypertrophy, relies on three factors - mechanical tension, muscle damage, and metabolic stress. Mechanical tension is the intensity of the exercise. Muscle damage leads to soreness of the muscles, which leads to repair by satellite cells, which leads to hypertrophy (Kravitz). Metabolic stress (that nasty burn in the muscle) triggers hormonal influences which lead to muscle growth. To tie this in to bodybuilding tips, your workout should consist of exercises that yield these three factors. While each person's body is different, to optimize muscle growth, you need to find exercises that trigger all three of these events.

2. Maximal growth occurs between 80%-95% of 1RM. If you want to build muscle quickly, get rid of the 5 pound dumbbells and start lifting heavy. While drop sets or burnouts can be an effective part of your overall routine, you have to incorporate heavy lifts to stimulate muscle growth (mechanical tension).

3. Get enough rest and fuel. This is technically two tips, but I'll give you a bonus bodybuilding tip! Rest is seriously underestimated in the fitness world. By rest, I don't mean time between sets (although that is an important aspect of weight lifting). Muscle growth occurs outside the gym. Every time we exercise all we're doing is tearing our body down. If you don't get adequate (7-8 hours) sleep, you will stop seeing results. Hypertrophy can't happen if your body doesn't have time to repair. The same goes for days in between lifts. You should never work the same muscle groups two days in a row. If you want to exercise every day, set up a split program. For example, work the chest, triceps and abs on day 1, back, biceps and legs on day 2 and rest on day 3. Nutrient timing is also crucial to maximizing muscle growth. If you get in a badass workout and then wait 4 hours to replenish your body, you're missing out on critical growth times. It is absolutely imperative that you consume carbs and protein within the 45 minutes after your workout to see the best results. Muscle growth is a common goal for many people who exercise, however, few actually achieve the results they really want. As a trainer, I hear every day about how peoples' bodies have always been a certain way, or they just don't have the right metabolism to get good muscle definition, or a plethora of other excuses. While some of these may factor in to how easy or difficult it is to change their bodies, it's usually a lack of effort or know-how that leads them to failure. With the right workout routine in place, a proper diet, and ample rest, just about everyone can achieve the body they want with a little hard work and dedication.

So What is the Best Bodybuilding Workout?

The best bodybuilding tips I can give are great bodybuilding exercises. The best bodybuilding workouts utilize multi-joint exercises. Multi-joint exercises stimulate hormonal changes that increase muscle growth more than single joint exercises. For some examples, check out my article about the best full body exercises. Another good bodybuilding tip for your exercise program is to incorporate a lot of your larger muscle groups. If you really want to put on a lot of muscle quickly, target some of the biggest muscles like the chest, triceps, and lats. For example, the bicep is a much smaller muscle compared to the tricep, so if you want your arms to look bigger, be sure to hit your triceps!

For more AWESOME tips about nutrition, fast weight loss and how to maximize your workouts, check out my blog at http://fileunlckr.com/110006!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ryan_M_York

Best Core Exercises For Men

As men when we think of 6 pack abs we think of 100 crunches a day or 100 reverse crunches a day (insert crazy exercise regime here). But is this really the best way for us to train our core muscles to develop a 6 pack without getting annoying niggles in our backs?

Here are my top 5 exercises to build a 6 pack FAST

Best Core Exercise For Men. 1. - Hollow Hold

Muscles Worked - Lower Abdominals

What Makes This So Good?

The lower abs are notoriously the trickiest part of the 6 pack to develop. Whilst this has a lot to do with diet, too much focus on the '6 pack muscle' called the rectus abdominal through crunches and planks and not enough focus on the lower abs leads to many men having weak and under developed lower abs. Done correctly this exercise burns a lot!

How To Do It

Lie on your back with your legs bent, feet flat on the floor.
From this position suck your belly button in towards your spine and squeeze your glutes to flatten your back against the floor.
Slowly raise your legs off the floor to create a 90 degree angle at your hips.
Focusing on keeping your back flat kick your legs out until you start to feel the back leave the floor.
Hold this position for as long as possible.
GOAL - hold this position for 3 sets of 60 seconds with just 30 seconds rest between rounds.

Best Core Exercise For Men. 2. - Inchworm

Muscles Worked

Lower Abs, Obliques, '6 pack muscle' rectus abdominus, shoulders, chest, arms

What Makes This Exercise So Good?

I'd call this exercise a big bang exercise. It pretty much works your whole body and has a high metabolic demand (it burns a lot of calories!). Not only does it train your core through a movement that has you work hard to prevent flexion and extension, two of the most damaging movements for your spine. It also works your shoulders, chest and arms.

How To Do It

1. Set yourself up in a press up position. Torso as long as possible, belly button sucked in towards your spine and glutes tight.

2. From this position slowly walk your legs in towards your body, keeping your legs straight and pressing the heels down in to the floor.

3. Once you cannot walk up any further walk out with your hands so that they are just an inch or two in front of your shoulders. Be careful with how far you walk out as this places a lot of stress on your back as you fight hard to prevent extension of your lower back.

GOAL - to complete 15-20 reps with your hands 6 inches in front of your shoulders.

Best Core Exercise For Men. 3. - Reverse Crunch

Muscles Worked

Lower Abdominals, Obliques

What Makes This Exercise So Good?

Like the hollow hold this exercise works the lower abdominals hard. As a core muscle that is commonly forgotten about this is a great exercise for not only developing 6 pack abs but also helping bulletproof your back and preventing annoying niggles.

How To Do It

1. Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor, the further your heels are away from your glutes the harder the exercise.

2. Suck your belly button in towards your spine and squeeze your glutes to push your back down against the floor.

3. Maintaining a flat back against the floor raise your feet off the floor and bring your knees in towards your chest.

4. Holding this position slowly lower your legs towards the floor, as soon as you feel your back start to arch, stop and bring your legs back up towards your chest.

GOAL - to be able to complete 15 reps with straight legs all the way down to the floor without your back arching.

Best Core Exercise For Men. 4. - Side Plank With Full Rotation

Muscles Worked

Obliques, shoulders, chest

Why Is It So Good

This exercise is not only great for the larger Oblique muscle, your external oblique but the rotation in to and out of a front plank also hits your smaller internal oblique HARD. Don't forget to factor in the rotational element teaching you to rotate from the hips not the lower back and you have an exercise that can really help you develop 6 pack abs and bulletproof back.

How To Do It

1. Set yourself up in a good side plank, body as long as possible, belly button sucked in, glutes tight and top hand reaching up towards the sky.

2. From this position, under control slowly rotate round in to a front plank, ensuring your hips don't drop and your head doesn't droop as you come down in to this position.

3. From the front plank reverse the movement to return to your side plank.

GOAL - to be able to complete this exercise for 15 reps with perfect form.

The Best Core Exercise For Men. 5. - Ab Wheel Rollout From Knees

Muscles Worked

lower abs, obliques, '6 pack muscle' rectus abdominus, shoulders, chest

Why Is It So Good?

This is a hugely beneficial exercise. Not only does it work your core and your upper torso it also integrates synchronised movement with your hips and arms. Add to this the fact that you are fighting the extension forces pushing down on your back and you have a core exercise that will develop your abs FAST!

How To Do It

1. Set yourself up so that your knees are directly under your hips, hands and ab wheel directly under your shoulders.

2. Suck your belly button in towards your spine, squeeze your glutes and pick your chest up.

3. Holding this posture slowly push your hips and arms forward until you start to feel your back arch.

4. Reverse the movement to return to the start position.

Andy Perkins is a strength and conditioning coach from Guernsey, Channel Islands whose clients include three time world touring car champion Andy Priaulx, the national Guernsey cricket team and the Guernsey Rugby team.

He specializes in core training to develop strong, powerful, fast athletes with a very low injury rate of under 10%.

To download your free copy of Andy's top 9 core training programs please visit:

http://fileunlckr.com/110001



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8589612