Fast Easter Workout

A Healthier, Fitter and Happier 2015!

It's 2015 and you're probably feeling settled into what January has brought with it...
However, are you finding it tricky to keep up with a strict new diet regime?
Are you struggling to keep your weight in check but are desperate to get fit this year?

Don't stress. Becoming a healthier person doesn't mean you have to rush or feel guilty.
It just means you have to think differently about your body and how you treat it.

Food is Fuel
Yep, it definitely is. It's what we need to survive, gain nutrients from and ultimately allow to us to go about our daily lives. As long as you start seeing food as energy which fuels you, it changes howyou view the things which you are putting into your body.
A lazy day at home? Less fuel needed.
Rushing around the shops? Top ups needed throughout the day.

What you eat depends on how much you're going to burn off and therefore how much fuel is required.

Keep checking back for updates on how to make this your healthiest year so far!

Speedy 10 minute Workout

Christmas is a hectic time and getting enough exercise can be difficult..

Why not try this quick 10 minute workout to get your pulse racing and keep your metabolism at it's peak?

Quick and Easy 5 Minute Workout

Exercise doesn't have be all time consuming..

Do this 5 minute workout once a day and you'll definitely be able to lose weight and get healthier faster!

Tips for a flatter stomach!

Summer's here and so are the holidays, tan lines and bikinis..

But is your body confidence holding you back from wearing that dream swimsuit you've been saving all winter?

Check out the vid below for some fool proof tips on toning that tummy..

World Cup Fever - Quick Football Drills!

World Cup getting you in the football spirit but don't know where to start? 

Maybe trying to get the kids to go outside more but don't know how to persuade them?

These easy and fast football drills may be the answer, great for burning calories, improving agility and getting you moving without breaking too much of a sweat!

Top 10 Best Fat Burning Exercises!

Don’t feel like going to the gym? With these fat burning exercises, you don’t even need a gym membership – or even any equipment, for that matter.

The best workouts are always going to be those that consist of moves that engage multiple large muscle groups. You can easily take a simple, conventional toning move and turn it into a something more efficient that gives you the most bang for your buck for every moment that you spend on your workout.

For example, consider the bicep curl. It is an extremely effective basic strength training or toning movement, however, 3 sets of them is not exactly going to crank up your calorie burning furnace or cancel out that cheeseburger and microbrew you had for dinner last night. Instead of isolating just the bicep, you could combine the move with a lunge to significantly boost the caloric burn, and simultaneously tone your lower body.

Apply the above concept to the exercises that make up your routines and they become dynamic, fat burning workouts. Here are the best examples that put this principle to work.


Top 10 Best Fat Burning Exercises 

1 Burpees - This at home cardio move tones your core, upper body and legs all at once- it’s a triple threat exercise that everyone tends to dread for good reason; they are hard! But they also work.

2 Jumping Lunges - Lunges are a fantastic thigh toning exercise; add in the momentum required to jump up in between lunges and the move turns into an incredible calorie burner.

3 Pilates Leg Pulls - Tone your core, glutes, and thighs with this one simple Pilates move. Because all of the large muscle groups involved, you burn a high number of calories while you are toning.

4 Jackknife Crunches - Jackknife Crunches are an advanced abdominal move that engage both the upper and lower abs for maximal toning in the least amount of time. They are especially beneficial because lower abs can be hard to target without equipment.

5 Lunges with Reverse Leg Raise - This tones the glutes, thighs, obliques, and lower back, all while building coordination and balance.

6 Jumping Squats - Do this exercise for a minute or two straight and you wont have any doubts about how challenging it is. This plyometric is also great for building explosive speed.

7 Push Ups - Push ups are a total body exercise that are easily modified and can be made to be very challenging, even for the most avid exerciser. If a regular push up feels too easy for you, try the Single Leg Push Up.

8 Side Planks with Leg Raises - While this most specifically targets the outer thighs, obliques, and deltoids, it requires the strength and coordination of the entire body to hold up the base Pilates side plank.

9 Mountain Climbers - Mountain Climbers can feel like a punishment, but they truly are one of the best overall toning and fat burning moves out there that don't require a bit of equipment.

10 Jumping Jacks - This simple at home cardio essential is an excellent way to get your heart rate up quickly. Add it in between strength training sets to keep your caloric burn high.




http://www.fitnessblender.com/v/article-detail/Top-10-Best-Fat-Burning-Exercises-Fat-Burning-Workouts-at-Home/8o/

Countdown to Christmas: Get killer abs fast!

Get that perfect physique in time for the festive season, starting with this video to help you on your way!

Nutrition and Health Live 2013

Health Fixes

Find out more here.

Why Gwyneth Paltrow's no-carb diet for children makes perfect sense

Gwyneth Paltrow has provoked the wrath of the dietetic establishment by saying that she avoids feeding her children bread, rice and pasta, because she believes that these carbohydrate foods aren't good for them. Paltrow was writing in her new low-carb, gluten-free cookbook, It's All Good, which is out in April, and whose recipes are said by her publisher to "form the basis of the diet Gwyneth goes back to when she's been overindulging, when she needs to rebuild, or lose weight."

Casting Paltrow in the role of the neurotic celeb, selfishly inflicting her own faddy and dangerous eating habits on her poor starved offspring, has undeniable appeal, especially for those of us who aren't rich or pretty and who struggle daily with our own excess weight. TheNew York Post says: "The book reads like the manifesto to some sort of creepy healthy-girl sorority." But Paltrow has a point: no one, not even a child, actually "needs" to eat carbs.Dieticians who subscribe uncritically to government nutritional guidelines have been wheeled out to testify to how 'vital' carbohydrate is in the diet, and warn in the bleakest terms of the dangers of restricting it. Paltrow is putting her children, aged eight and six, "at risk of nutrient deficiencies", warns one. Her children "won't be able to think straight as their brain won't be functioning", says another. In the same Daily Mail piece, it is even observed that Paltrow's children are thin – shock horror! – as if this was automatically cause for concern. So accustomed are we to the sight of overweight children, thin ones are beginning to look unusual.

Now, this may sound counterintuitive. That familiar notion of "[basing] your meals on starchy foods" is currently acentral plank of public health advice. But this orthodoxy is under attack from influential researchers and nutritionists. The fact of the matter is that there are no nutrients (vitamins, minerals, micronutrients) in starchy carbohydrate foods that we can't get elsewhere, and often in a superior form.

Of course, the processed food industry works ceaselessly to convince us that we must eat highly refined starchy foods, such as breakfast cereals and white bread, trumpeting that they give us energy. But all food gives us energy. Contrary to what we have been led to believe, there is no dietary "need" to eat starchy carbohydrates at all.

Now if Paltrow was to starve her children of protein, then social workers could quite legitimately come knocking at her door. We are made of protein. Our bodies require it to build and repair muscles and tissue. But we have no absolute requirement for carbohydrate.

It is only in recent times that starchy foods have been presented as health foods. For much longer, they have been seen as fattening foods. Why do farmers feed their livestock on grains? To plump them up for market.

For half a century we have been told to avoid saturated fat, even though there is no good evidence that fat is inherently fattening. By diligently avoiding it, we have ended up replacing whole, unprocessed foods, such as red meat and butter, with starchy carbs of the highly refined and processed sort, often containing added sugar. Net result? We're getting fatter.

The problem with sugar, and starchy refined carbs, is that the surge of energy they give you is shortlived. Like newspaper ignited with a match, refined carbs burn up quickly, producing a sharp spike in blood sugar level that encourages our bodies to produce insulin, the fat storage hormone, so encouraging weight gain. Unlike protein and fat, which give a longer, slower, steadier release of energy, when our blood sugar level crashes after eating carbs, our appetite is unsatisfied and we crave more food.

This is probably what Paltrow means when she writes in her book: "Sometimes when my family is not eating pasta, bread or processed grains … we're left with that specific hunger that comes with avoiding carbs".

Fruit and vegetables are, of course, carbohydrates, and do contain natural sugar. However, they also contain micronutrients, notably fibre, that slow down the rate at which sugar is released in the blood. The same applies to whole, unrefined carbohydrates, such as brown rice. What's more, the general effort required to chew fruit, vegetables and whole grains puts a natural brake on how much we can eat. But it's easy to overeat refined carbs, the kind Paltrow avoids.

If the daily diet in the Paltrow household includes protein (fish/meat/eggs/pulses), unprocessed fats (butter/olive oil), plenty of vegetables and some fruit, then it is healthy, nutrient-rich and lacking in nothing. If that's what the Paltrow kids eat, she's doing them a favour.

Yes, children do have slightly different nutritional requirements from adults: they need more fat and protein. But filling their plates with empty calories in the form of white pasta, bread and rice is no nutritional kindness.

Boost Your Metabolism!

When you're hypothyroid, fatigue, difficulty losing weight, or continued weight gain may all be related to the drop in the metabolism that frequently accompanies hypothyroidism. Even after your hypothyroidism is properly treated with thyroid hormone replacement, you may find that your metabolism has not bounced back to where it was before. This sluggishness in your metabolism can leave you feeling exhausted, and finding that you can't lose weight, despite a healthy low-calorie diet.

Here are some ways you can help revive and boost your metabolism.

Make sure you eat breakfast.

If you don't eat breakfast, you slow down your metabolism and send the body into "hoard mode," thinking it's starving because you're going a long period of time frequently 8 to 10 hours or more, without food. 

Eat the majority of your food earlier in the day. 

Dinner should be your lightest meal, and some experts recommend you don't anything after 8 p.m., or any later than 3 to 4 hours before bedtime. This helps your body process and burn the food when you're aware and moving around and burning more calories per hour. 

Don't starve. 

Dropping your calorie intake below 1,000 calories a day will signal to your body that you are in starvation mode, and will slow down your metabolism. 

Minimize snacking.

Contrary to popular opinion, for thyroid patients, it may be better to eat three scheduled meals, and avoid snacks. This allows the body to go into fat-burning mode. 

Get enough aerobic exercise.

As much as you can is really a help for your metabolism, and if you do it in the morning, you'll raise your metabolism all day. 

Build muscle with weight training or resistance exercise.

At least two to three times a week, you should add weight training or progressive resistance exercise that builds muscle. Muscle burns more calories than fat, and the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even at rest! 

Water, water, water!!

You've heard it before, but drink those 8 8-ounce glasses of water every day. The energy burning process of metabolism needs water to work effectively.

Get enough B vitamins.

Among supplements, if you are suffering from flagging energy, you need to make sure that you are getting enough B vitamins. Vitamin B-12 in particular is one that is essential for energy. To ensure you're getting enough B vitamins, consider taking a B complex, plus a separate sublingual B-12. 

Try a supplement for fatigue.

Another type of supplement useful for fatigue is in the area of substances that the body naturally produces for energy production. Supplements in this category include: 

• Co-enzyme Q10, also known as CoQ10, which supplies energy to muscles
• NADH (Nicotinamide Adenine Finucleotide) which helps cells convert food into energy
• Green Tea extract

Try Chinese Herbs

In terms of herbal remedies, while you should avoid ephedra and ma huang stimulants, you can ask your practitioner about schizandra--a Chinese herb that is used for fatigue. Ginseng is also popular for energy. Before trying any herbs, supplements, or vitamins, you should of course consult with your practitioner to ensure they are safe for you. Ginseng, for example, is not recommended for someone with high blood pressure and many herbs and supplements are not recommended during pregnancy. 

Try mate tea

In the process of writing my book, Living Well With Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You...That You Need to Know, I had the opportunity to interview herbal and aromatherapy expert Mindy Green of the Herbal Research Foundation. I asked her what, as a person with hypothyroidism, I should reach for when I'm just completely out of steam, and am ready for a giant double espresso in order to make it through the day. Mindy, said, unquestionably, mate tea. Mate, pronounced, "mah-tay," is an herbal tea native to South America. Mate is considered far more nutritious than black tea or coffee, and though it also has some caffeine, its effects are energizing, rather than making people jittery. 

Consider Energy Work 

Energy and bodywork , such as yoga, tai chi, qigong (pronounced chee-gung), and Reiki, can all help in adding and balancing energy. In qigong, tai chi, and yoga, gentle movements are used to move energy along the energy pathways of the body. In Reiki, a practitioner helps open up energy channels. 

(Remember to always check with your practitioner before starting any herbs or supplements.)



http://thyroid.about.com/cs/dietweightloss/a/12ways.htm

Ten Tips to a Healthy Lifestyle!

These keys will enable you to become motivated and focused, as well as condition yourself to live a healthy and fit lifestyle. Notice that I did not say "ways to diet". These are ways to realising a healthy lifestyle.

The first key to keep in mind is making sure you have a daily plan. If you have your daily plan written down with all of the details of your day, including the snacks you will carry with you and your meals for the day, you will be much more inclined to avoid the unhealthy foods and actions that may throw you off track.

If you can plan the activities, the errands and all the tasks you will be doing each day - from the time you get up until the time you go to bed - you will be keeping yourself busy accomplishing what’s on your daily planner, rather than spending time worrying about your weight or other things that may reduce productivity.

This can be one of the most powerful steps to living a healthy lifestyle because you’ll be constantly looking at what you want to get done, instead of what you didn’t do in the past.

The second key is to have written goals. These may be the dreams you have, the things you want to do in life that you may have forgotten about. Many people have resigned to just living the same monotonous daily routine.

Start by writing down your goals; no matter how outrageous they may seem, write them down. You need goals and dreams that could take you a lifetime to accomplish. Make sure they are meaningful so that when you read them and ponder their reality, you feel the motivation to get there. When you can get to that point, you have created significant goals and dreams for yourself.

The third key is to be sure your daily plan includes at least one action that moves you closer to your long-term goals. If you don’t add to your current activities you will comtuine to stay as you are.

It’s time to broaden your horizons by moving outside of your current comfort zone and doing something new, something different. By the end of the week, you should feel that you have moved a little closer to your dreams.

It may not seem like much in the beginning, but if you just focus on doing a little each day, then in only one year, you will feel more and more compelled to see your dreams become a reality. So be sure you are writing down and doing at least one task each day toward that reality.

The fourth key Don’t look back at where you’ve been, only where you want to go! This complements having a daily plan. There’s no time to look back at any tragedies, mishaps or unhappy times. There’s only time to create new memories, new experiences and happy times. With your plan, you are creating those things and not leaving yourself time to ponder the "what ifs" of the past.

Instead of asking, "How can I improve my job? How can I be a better spouse? How can I reach my goals? How can I achieve world peace?" just ask yourself, "How can I?" Look at what contributions you can make for yourself and for others, today and tomorrow. In this way, you will keep looking ahead. Remember, no matter how tarnished your past, your future is spotless.

The fifth key is to leave excuses behind. There are many reasons we have for not having what we want in life. It’s not hard to find someone who can talk about the tough times, how rough things are or how difficult the boss is, but guess what? Everyone has hurdles to overcome.

These hurdles can be the excuses that hold you back or the obstacle that you have to overcome to become stronger and more prepared for the next one. This goes along with leaving the past behind you, where it will always stay. Excuses are nothing more than seeing the difficulty ahead, instead of seeing beyond it to where you would rather be. The hurdle has to be there for you to gain a sense of fulfillment, for having overcome it to reach your goal.

The sixth key to a healthy lifestyle is to take full responsibility. When it comes down to it, ultimately, you are the only one who can make things happen for you. That means you are the one who has to make the plan; you are the one who needs to perform the exercises each day; and you are the one who will overcome the hurdles to reach your goals.

Many people will be a cheerleader or a coach, to try and steer you in the right direction and cheer you on, but it is your game. If you’re not playing the game, you may just be in the stands watching others as they try to achieve their goals. If you find yourself always looking to others who have what you want, you may be living in the stands. Start taking responsibility by taking action toward achieving those things you want.

The seventh key is to be aware of people or things that can divert your focus from your goals. Does this mean ignore others and the help they may need? Certainly not, but realise that very often someone may approach you or want you to do something that is not really in the best interest of your health and your goals.

Sometimes when we say no, we are really just saying yes to "sticking to" what’s good and healthy. You not only will be empowering yourself to make the right decision, but also letting others know that your focus on living a healthy lifestyle is in their best interest, too, and maybe it will rub off on them.

Say no to the so-called "water-cooler" conversations at work that don’t provide any productive outcome, just harm to those participating. Say no to the box of doughnuts that seem to show up at work in the morning, for what seems to be harmless socialising and eating with co-workers. Ask yourself if it’s taking your attention away from building a healthy lifestyle or making a contribution to such lifestyle.

Be like the race horses with blinkers on that can only see ahead and choose only to see what’s healthy - healthy for you, for your family or for your company. It may seem like you are alienating yourself, and you are, from what’s not healthy. It’s not easy taking the high road, but you’ll be much happier in the long run.

Key number eight: Decide where you would like to be 20 years from now. Are you doing what you are doing now, only older? Can you see from the goals and dreams you have written that you are carving out a new person who has had many new experiences?

If you can visualise what your life will be in 20 years - where you will live, the places you will have visited, the people you have come to know, the knowledge that you have gained, the positive changes that you have made for yourself and others - you will really begin to see the potential that the years ahead can bring.

Now, I’m not suggesting that everything will be exactly as you may envision, but it will give you a sense of what you truly are capable of and what you can look forward to. Both things will motivate you to keep moving in the right direction.

Key number nine: Surround yourself with other positive people. It’s great to belong to a support group for weight loss as long as you’re not around the people who only want to talk about how hard it is. You want positive energy on your side, and the more you have, and the more positive energy you give, the stronger you will be.

You see, being around someone who shares the same desire to live healthy does not increase the amount of good twofold; it increases it tenfold. You will feed off of each other’s similar goals and desires and share things that have helped each of you. My husband used to compete in triathlons - where they swim a few hundred yards, then ride their bikes several miles, then run a few miles. Some people actually find this pleasurable.

I asked him how he managed to complete such an event. His response was, "If it wasn’t for all those other people pushing to get to the finish line, I may not have." If we are around people who push to reach their long-term goals, then we are more apt to reach ours. Find those people and stick with them.

The 10th key is to learn to love exercise and all physical activities. There are so many forms of exercise and physical activity and so many ways to enjoy them that you should not have any reason not to do so.

How many different places are there to enjoy taking a walk? The park, a museum, downtown, window-shopping, in your neighbourhood and many more. How about the different types of exercise besides walking? There’s riding a bike, playing tennis, football, lifting weights, jogging, kickboxing, aerobics, yoga, jazzercising, dancing, gardening, cutting the grass and painting the fence.

If you have trouble exercising, try riding a stationary bike if you can. It’s the easiest piece of equipment that you can use. Try different activities and exercises and find what you can really enjoy. Remember, these are the things that you want to be doing for the rest of your life.

Finally, the BONUS key to a healthy and fit lifestyle - Don’t ever stop believing that you are capable of more than what and who you are now! Your potential is limitless. With this attitude, you will constantly be able to improve upon your health in some way. If your mind can perceive it, and you can truly believe it in your heart, then you can achieve whatever you set out to accomplish.

http://www.guardianeatright.co.uk/news/article.cfm?code=27139&article_id=1563

Run for charity or for yourself?

It's spring marathon buildup time, and, like tens of thousands of others, I'm clocking up the miles, getting the long runs in, and thinking about pacing. Friends and colleagues notice, and soon enough, I'm asked: "So, Jon, who are you running for?"

There's a slight pause. The answer, in my case, is either a) Phoenix AC(my club) or b) no one, or maybe, if I'm honest, c) me. That's to say, I'm not running for a charity, I'm not raising money for a good cause, there's no personal tragic story to tell. I'm training hard, and I'm going for a time (one that starts with a two). And I'm troubled, both by these possible answers, but also by the question itself.

Don't get me wrong: I've run for and raised money for charities in the past, and I applaud those who do. And it's not a matter of compassion fatigue; I'm just putting a bit of space between my running and my wider moral obligations; and fulfilling those obligations in different ways, not through my running.

The worry about the question is that it seems to assume that running itself, and in particular, training for a marathon, is a futile, pointless or self-indulgent exercise. Because it's pointless and self-indulgent, it needs justification. And this, I think, is wrong – and a little unfair. Suppose the conversation at work on a Friday turns to what people are doing at the weekend. Fred says: "Oh I'm playing football for my Sunday league team." Clare says: "Oh, I'm practising the cello for an upcoming concert." Mary says: "Oh, I'm planning to curl up in front of the fire, with a good book." Jon says: "Oh, I'm running in my local half marathon." In the normal course of events, only one of these replies will invite the further question: "Who are you raising money for?" But does running – racing, even – really need any more justification than any of those other activities?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2013/feb/27/not-running-for-charity

5 steps to protect your heart

http://www.guardianeatright.co.uk/news/article.cfm?code=27000&article_id=1349

 If you have been working on losing weight, those extra lumps and bumps are really nothing more than a stored form of energy known to most of us as fat. What we affectionately call fat is really just a friendly term for what scientists call triglycerides.

Besides being stored as body fat, triglycerides can also be found floating freely in our blood stream. As you might expect, triglycerides can wreak havoc with your health if blood levels become too high.

Controlling triglycerides is an important part of protecting yourself from heart or other circulatory diseases. For people with diabetes, high triglycerides are even more risky since heart disease is 2 to 4 times more likely to occur when diabetes is present.

Although prescription medications are available, the first line of treatment for high triglycerides should be a lifestyle change. Often, changes in diet and exercise can lower triglyceride levels significantly and therefore reduce one’s risk of heart disease.

1. Cut calories
   
   One of the easiest ways to make an impact on your triglycerides is to reduce your calorie intake. By following a reduced-calorie diet you reduce not only your body fat, but also your blood fats.


2. Lower your blood glucose
   
   If blood glucose levels are high, extra glucose in the blood may eventually convert into fat, therefore raising triglyceride levels. If you have been experiencing high blood glucose levels, the best way to lower your triglycerides is to get your diabetes under control.


3. Exercise
   
   Fat is a source of fuel which is burned during exercise. Regular exercise will not only help your weight-loss efforts, but lower triglyceride levels. Even those who are not overweight can see the tremendous benefits exercise can have on lowering blood triglycerides.


4. Eat moderate amounts of the right kind of carbs
   
   Although it may seem ironic, lowering fat intake is not the most effective way to lower triglycerides. Dietary carbohydrates have a much stronger impact on triglyceride levels. High carbohydrate diets have been shown to worsen triglyceride levels, especially when the carbohydrates consumed are sugary or refined.
   
   Moderate amounts of slower-digesting carbohydrates such as porridge, beans, vegetables, yoghurt and most fruits have been shown to lower triglycerides when compared to equal amounts of rapidly digested carbohydrates from fizzy drinks, sugary cereal, or other highly processed starches. With regard to triglycerides, attention should be placed on choosing good quality carbohydrates in moderate portions.


5. Consume fish and fish oil
   
   The benefits of consuming two to three oily fish meals each week from salmon, rainbow trout, sardines, mackerel or herring are clearly beneficial for promoting a healthy heart. Oily fish contain a type of fat rarely found in other foods called omega-3 fatty acids.
   
   Omega-3s are the primary reason why fish is so good for us. Higher intakes of omega-3 fatty acids in the form of fish oil supplements have been clinically proven to lower the risk for heart disease and lower triglyceride levels. Try to include 2 portions of oily fish in your diet each week or if you don’t like fish, you can buy omega-3 supplements from any health food store.
   
   You have the power to reduce your risk of heart disease. Start today by asking your doctor about your triglyceride levels. Often, with effort and persistence, triglycerides can be lowered naturally.

How To Lose Body Fat in One Week!

Top Exercise Tips For 2013!

There is something magical about the night of 31st December; no matter how tiring the year has been, no matter your emotional struggles and even if you did not achieve a single health goal or resolution, by 12noon of the 1st of January, you will feel totally refreshed and energized. You are ready to take on the New Year and turn it into your best ever. If you have been too busy to ever notice this phenomenon, this is your chance to cease this once a year opportunity.
This crusade about adopting a healthy lifestyle does not mean one is immune to diseases, NO! but your quality of life is much better than it would have been if you did nothing. Inspite of my background as a medical doctor and being certified as a specialist in exercise therapy and fitness nutrition, I have health challenges but I am much better off adopting a healthy lifestyle and I pray you do the same even if you are struggling with your health.
The more active you are the more likely you are to live longer, have a more youthful brain, enjoy better mental health, have a reduced risk for diabetes and other lifestyle diseases, a better recovery from heart failure and stroke and you perform better academically, socially and professionally – and that is only the tip of the iceberg! 
I have heard people do hundreds of abdominal crunches daily and this is for one reason – to tame that bulge around the midsection. There is no shortcut to permanent fat loss! You can’t isolate fat loss to one part of the body so get ready for a total body overhaul. Many people do strength and toning exercises in an effort to trim fat from areas such as the arms, thighs, hips or “stomach” but that is as far from the truth as the Earth is from Pluto. These exercises including abdominal crunches can help firm muscles. If the targeted area still carries an extra layer of fat, it won’t look much different. We all craze for a six-pack abdomen but are we prepared to pay the price? For the majority of us, a firmer “one-pack” still calls for celebration.
The winning formula is simple but not easy. Watch what you eat and drink, indulge in cardiovascular exercises and strength or weight training. Cardiovascular exercises such as walking and jogging will burn calories and resistance training is a must if you want to burn fat. Our ladies should not avoid this. The marginal increase in muscle mass that comes with resistance training increases your metabolism and the great news is that you burn calories ALL the time even when you are relaxing at home.
I am not certain how many of us want to live to be a hundred years old but it appears you could improve your chances if you get some additional sleep, improve your diet and social connections, exercise and increase spiritual activity. In 2013, do not just exercise but do it RIGHT!

BEWARE OF THESE
1. Wrong Posture
a. The right posture is life-saving and will reduce your hospital visits. Ensure the right posture when you sit, lift and even walk. Keep your body straight as you walk, fight the urge to bend. I often see people crouch over a treadmill – you are harming your back.
2. Wrong Shoes
a. If you have to go walking or jogging even on a treadmill, wearing the right shoes is very important. The wrong shoes could lead to severe pounding of your joints and many people have ended up with osteoarthritis the “wear and tear disease”, inflammed tendons and inflammation of the soles of the feet (plantar fasciitis); I believe you have experienced that agonizing pain when you get out of bed after a long rest.
3. Using Weight Belts
a. Some of us are obsessed with using weight belts and this may not be the best for our core muscles. If you have a back problem or are carrying very heavy weights then it will be necessary to fall on the belt for support but reaching out for the belt when lifting a feather in the gym may be an over kill.
MY FAVOURITE EXERCISES
Remember to always work large muscle groups first. Do not abuse your muscles, there is no point exercising the same muscle groups everyday. Your muscles need rest periods for repair and growth.
1. Squats
a. Squats and lunges are both great. They all work large groups of muscles and are very effective but I will stick my neck out for Squats because they are slightly easier to perform. Squats target the thigh muscles and buttocks.
b. Keep your feet shoulder width apart and back straight (standing posture), bend knees and lower rear till thighs are horizontal then return to the standing position. Repeat. If you have difficulty start with a chair behind you and with your back straight try to sit on it but do not let your buttocks touch the seat. 
2. Push-Ups
a. This is great for the chest, shoulders, triceps and core muscles. It is probably the most popular strength training exercise of all time. You may vary it by putting your toes on an incline etc.
3. Bent-Over Row
a. A recent addition to my favourites. It works muscles of the upper back as well as biceps. Your feet should be shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent. Flex forwards at the hip. Hold the weights beneath the shoulders, then flex elbows and lift both hands towards the sides of the body. Now slowly lower hands to starting position.
4. Abdominal Crunches
a. To avoid injuring your neck make sure you keep it in-line with your spine. To make life easier you could keep looking at the ceiling while you crunch. If at any point the ceiling (or sky) is out of view then your technique is wrong.
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)

written by Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Moms’ Health Club

Best ways to boost metabolism!

By Sam Murphy

Muscle up

The single most important factor in determining your resting metabolic rate (the amount of energy you utilise at rest) is how much lean muscle tissue you have. Your muscle tissue uses 16-22% of your daily calories just to exist. (Your liver uses 21% and your brain 20%, but you can't do much about beefing them up.) "Increasing metabolic rate through the development of more muscle tissue is the key to lasting weight loss," says Pete Williams, founder of London health club Health Dept. Resting muscle uses five times as many calories a kilogram a day as fat does. In an 18-week study from the University of Limburg in Holland, average daily metabolic rate increased by 9.5% and energy expenditure by 10% as a result of twice-weekly strength training. "But make sure your training is sufficiently challenging to increase muscle mass, by using weights that are heavy enough, and by training progressively and consistently," advises Williams.

Drink iced water

Here's a bit of maths to stoke your metabolism. It takes one calorie to raise the temperature of one litre of water by 1 degree. The body needs to heat water to body temperature (36.8C). The difference between the temperature of iced water and body temperature means you'll burn 36.8 calories "warming up" a litre of iced water. Supping two litres, therefore, is enough to burn off half a KitKat. At least, that's the theory. But don't go drinking gallons of icy water to help negate that piece of chocolate gateau you scoffed - there is such a thing as too much water.

Frontload your day

Metabolic rate is shaped like an ice-cream cone - highest in the morning, declining gradually through the day. Most of us, however, eat lightly in the morning and scoff larger meals as the day wears on, failing to take advantage of this daily peak. A study in the American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition revealed that starting the day with a meal boosted resting metabolic rate by 10%, while other research showed that people who skipped breakfast or lunch and ate most of their calories in their evening meal had lower metabolisms than "frontloaders."

Eat more protein

Ten per cent of the calories we consume each day are used up in digesting what we've eaten. It's called the thermic effect of food. "Contrary to popular belief, though, this doesn't mean that frequent small meals are more advantageous than one large meal," says Symonds. But meal content might increase your metabolism- because not all nutrients have the same thermic effect. Around 25-30% of the calories derived from protein are used up in its metabolism," says Symonds. Compare that to 6-8 of every 100 calories of carbohydrate and just 2-3 of every 100 fat calories, and ensure you have a serving of good quality protein at every meal.

Fidget

A recent study at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota found that one of the biggest determinants of who is overweight and who is skinny was their level of non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), better known as fidgeting or pottering. Obese subjects burned 350 calories a day fewer than leaner ones simply because they were more inert. While the leaner folk wiggled, stood, walked and constantly changed position, the overweight subjects sat more and fidgeted less.

Exercise more often

"Metabolic rate can increase as much as 15-fold during strenuous exercise," says Symonds. "And it doesn't return to normal the second you stop. In fact, the post-exercise elevation in metabolic rate (known as the afterburn) can make a significant contribution to overall daily energy expenditure." The more frequently you exercise the greater the afterburn effect - even if the overall volume is the same.

Want Toned, Lean Arms?

8 Minutes to Get Rid of Your Upper Body Wobbly Bits

Whether it's the little black dress in winter or, for men, stripping down to your shorts in summer, those wobbly bits around the upper arms, chest and back can easily spoil the look. Here's our 8 minute body toning workout to banish the wobbly bits.

Equipment Needed

Any exercise aimed at toning your body needs something to provide resistance for your muscles to work against. Most of the exercises below use hand-held weights to provide resistance: these can be as simple as water bottles (or even tins of food) you can grip comfortably, or dumbbells in the range of 1lb-5lb/0.5-2kg.

Timing and Repetitions

10 reps of each exercise should take about 8 minutes. As with all exercise you should warm-up first. Marching or jogging on the spot for a few minutes interspersed with some gentle stretches will do the trick.

Caution

Body toning exercise can be a pretty painful experience if muscles have lain dormant for a while. The problem is, it's not until 24-48hrs after your workout that you'll realise you've overdone it! Body toning exercise should not be painful while you are doing it - if it is you're using too much weight.

If you've not been exercising your muscles recently it's best to start with a weight that feels "very easy" and build up gradually from there.

The Workout

Exercise 1 - Chest and Shoulders

Lie on your back and grasp your weights with the palms of your hands facing up, and your arms outstretched to the sides. With your elbows slightly bent, lift your arms above your chest until your hands are almost touching. Return to starting position and repeat.

Exercise 2 - Chest and Shoulders

Lie on your back and grasp your weights with the palms of your hands facing up, and your arms outstretched above your head. Grip your weights and bring them over your head and down to your hips, by your sides - a semi-circular motion. Lift back to starting position and repeat.

Exercise 3 - Chest and Back

Sitting with your back straight (preferably supported) and legs straight out in front of you, hold your weights in at your chest with your elbows out to the side (parallel to the floor). Push your arms out straight in front of you then pull them back in. Repeat.

Exercise 4 - Back and Shoulders

Stand with feet shoulder width apart and arms by your sides, gripping the weights with palms facing outwards. Making sure your movements are slow and concentrated, tense your shoulder and upper back muscles, then slowly "shrug" them up and down.

Exercise 5 - Shoulders and Upper Arms

Stand with feet shoulder width apart and arms raised straight up above your head, grip your weights with your palms facing behind you. Slowly bring your arms forward and down, without bending at the elbow, until level with your shoulders. Lift back to starting position and repeat.

Exercise 6 - Upper Arms, Shoulders and Back

Standing with feet slightly apart, grasp your weights and bend at the waist until your torso is parallel to the floor. Extend your arms towards the floor with palms facing outwards. Lift your arms out to the side, keeping them straight, until parallel to the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat.

Exercise 7 - Upper Arms, Shoulders and Back

Standing with feet slightly apart, position your arms straight down in front of you almost against your body - with your weights almost touching. Bend your elbows and lift your weights towards your chin, bringing your elbows out to the side, in line with your shoulders. Return to the starting position and repeat.

Exercise 8 - Arms and Chest

The classic push up. With your hands shoulder width apart place your palms on the floor. Stretch out your body with either your knees on the floor, or if you're feeling ambitious, your toes - so you are supporting your body weight. Keeping your back straight and using your arms lower yourself gently toward the floor until you are hovering just over it. Push yourself slowly back to your starting position and repeat. Remember - don't lower yourself to the point where you come into contact with the floor, it'll be much harder to push back up.

Exercise 9 - Arms

In a sitting position with your back straight, relax your arms in line with your body. Grip your weights with your palms facing upwards and curl them up towards your shoulders, then back down again. Repeat. Keep your torso still and back straight, let your arms do the work.

Exercise 10 - Forearms

Holding your weight with your arm outstretched in front of you, tilt your wrist up and down repeatedly. Try doing this with both an overhand and underhand grip on your weight. Do one arm at a time.

From Weight Loss Resources