"Keep it Going"

smartpassiveincome.com

It could happen to the best of us. The holidays arrive, the parties begin. And before you know it, your priorities start to shift. Suddenly, it seems so much more important to meet up with your girlfriends for an indulgent lunch than to haul your butt to the gym. Or better yet, it’s bang in the middle of the year with no reasons for celebrations whatsoever. You have been through a plethora of different kinds of exercises since the year began. Yet, after just two weeks of that hip-hop aerobics class, you literally find yourself making any excuse not to make it (my desk needs to be re-arranged??!).


News Flash! Working out only works when you make it a permanent part of your life. Don’t freak out. I am not saying you need to live in your gym clothes and exercise eight hours a day. What I am saying if you are looking to stop being a workout quitter (start,stop,start,stop – you get the picture), you need to find a way to make exercise a part of your normal life.



Cut out the pity fest - First things first, you need to stop playing the victim. “I’m already so fat, so what’s the point?” “I’ll never be skinny like those salad-eating waifs, so let me just drown my anger in a bowl of ice-cream instead! If you want things to change, you can’t keep waiting around for some miracle. It’s up to you to make it happen. So get your hand out of that bag of chips, get off the sofa, and do something about it.



Wake up to reality - Figure out what will really work for you. Which means take a look at your life, your job, your schedule, and think about what kind of work out would truly suit your current life. That way, you can find a way to incorporate your workout times into your life, rather than trying to change your entire life around to make some 6pm class on the other end of town!



Enjoy what you do – Personally, i think this is the golden ticket girls and boys. Discover what you love. Trust me, it’s out there. Something that makes your blood pump, your heart race, and always puts a big, fat smile on your face.



Make it stick – Once you have found that special something (think running, swimming, yoga, cycling, kickboxing, dancing, basketball, soccer, the list is endless!) hold onto it with your life. Realize that this is something that adds to the quality of your life. And stay with it. The rest is easy... :)

"The Power of Three"

blog.kir.com

Find your perfect blend of diet, exercise, and lifestyle!

Managing your weight in a healthy way is more complicated than it looks. It comprises of a balanced mix of three elements: diet, exercise, and lifestyle choices. And while some people like to pick just one of these elements and focus on it to get healthy, that never really works. Just focusing on diet without doing any exercise or resting may well give you results when it comes to weight loss, but this is rarely sustainable. More often than not, the minute the diet is over, the weight comes back.


Then there are those who like to concentrate on just intense working out. While that may result in burning calories and building some muscle, it’s really a waste of time if those gymaholics are chomping down cheeseburgers and pizzas right after their workouts. Even those who try to live a clean lifestyle cutting out the alcohol and late nights are not really gaining any health benefits if they are leading a sedentary lifestyle with no restrictions on diet at all.

When it comes to getting it right it is vitally important to remember that it’s the whole package that matters. That means you need to think about all three aspects of your life when you want to get the best results. For instance eating right is not simply about going on a binge diet every few months during which time you starve yourself in order to fit into that killer dress. Instead, one needs to evaluate the way we make our food choices on a daily basis. Homemade meals versus those meals eaten out, the kind of preparation we use to cook our foods (frying, steaming, raw), and even the mix of grains, meats, fruits, vegetables, and sugars we consume. Looking at food through this multi-angled lens then allows you to be more aware of what and how you are eating.

In the same way, as long as exercise is a “chore” or something you dread, it will never be a permanent part of your life. For that to happen, you need to figure out some physical activity that you truly enjoy doing. Dancing, swimming, running, yoga, soccer, weights, pilates, kickboxing, squash, the list of choices is limitless. Just find what you love, and do it. The calorie burning, muscle power, and strengthening will all follow naturally.

Finally, the pyramid of three gets perfected once you are able to balance your lifestyle choices to complement the exercise and diet you like.

"Take a Break"

 

tropicalvation.com

Picture this. You are sitting at your desk at 3pm. Phones are ringing. Fax machines are beeping. Blackberrys are beeping. People are racing up and down the halls with animal speed and everyone looks like there are on a life-or-death mission. Everyone but you that is. You, for some reason, just can’t to keep your eyes open. Maybe it was the rice at lunch time. Or maybe it was the late night party. Somehow you are finding it supremely difficult to stay propped up. Not to worry girls and boys, it happens to the best of us. Call it a wintertime slow-down of the body, or call it lack of energy, sometimes what you need is a pick me up to get you through the rest of your day with your job intact!

So here are a couple of quick ways to reenergize your systems during that mid-day/morning slump.

Stretch: Stand up with your feet together. Raise your arms up, above your head. Now taking a deep breath in, bend backwards. Maintain this position a couple of seconds, and then slowly bringing your arms with you, bend forward, essentially attempting to touch your toes. Yogic backward bends are one of the most effective ways to energize the entire body and get you going again!

Breathe:  the easiest, safest, and probably one of the best ways to refresh your systems and leave you feeling relaxed. Just close you eyes and take 10 slow, deep breaths in and out through your nose.

Take a walk: Sometimes all you really need is a little fresh air. Trust me, it works to clear your mind, and gives you the pick-me-up needed to continue with the tasks at hand. Even if you can’t leave the office, just take a short walk around there. Or maybe climb a few flights up and down the stairs. And remember, the idea is not to tire yourself out, or walk somewhere, but rather to enjoy the walk.

Get some shut-eye: This is a really simple one. So simple, it’s hard to believe it works. All those hours spent staring at the computer screen, typing frantic emails, even sending funny text messages, can really take a toll on your poor eyes. So take a few minutes to rest them. Just sit at your desk and close your eyes. While doing so, try to consciously focus on your breath, essentially withdrawing your senses from the hectic world around you. Trust me you will love the results – a feeling of peace and quiet in your mind that allows you to have a more productive day ahead.

So just go ahead and take that break. You deserve it.

"The Truth about Exercise: Fact versus Fiction"

fitsugar.com

Exercise right - Know your facts!

Running on the treadmill is safer on the knees than road running: the truth is any form of running is going to have an impact on your knees. Experts say the best way to avoid chronic pain and keep your running injury-free is to combine it with other activities. So if you are running on the treadmill thrice a week, use the alternate days to work on the elliptical or the cycling machines, which tend to have a lower impact on the knee joints. Bottom line: watch yourself. If you find you are beginning to have a chronic pain which isn’t going away, switch to another activity.


Working out on an empty stomach will help you lose more weight: the theory that less is more in this case just doesn’t work. In order to have a good workout in which you burn enough calories, you need to have some food in your stomach to fuel the workout. Understandably, this is not for everyone and there are those who like to exercise on an empty stomach, however the idea that weight loss will be faster doing this is simply not the case. Usually, you end up feeling ravenous post work out in this case, and eat enough to make up for being on an empty stomach pre-workout. My advice? Try and get a little something to eat before you hit the gym: a granola bar, an apple or banana, even a protein shake all do great to give you a strong workout.


No sweat means nothing happened: Sweating is a sign that your body needs to cool down. It’s a way the body naturally controls its temperature. This does not mean that without sweating buckets its impossible to lose weight. In fact, some activities like walking or yoga may burn several calories without you even breaking a sweat.


Yoga can relieve all back problems: While it is true that a regular practice of yoga can strengthen the spine as well as increase flexibility, its not always advisable as a solution to all back problems In fact, in some circumstances, practicing deep backbends can lead to further pain for someone who is suffering from backaches. The best thing to do is to identify the kind of back problem one has and then ask your doctor if practicing yoga (or even modified yoga) will help to alleviate the discomfort.


Doing crunches will make you lose your belly fat: I am sorry to break your bubble boys and girls but doing just crunches alone are not enough to rid you of that unwanted flab on your tummy. Although crunches will strengthen the muscles of your abdomen, for these to show (ie to get a flat stomach) you need to combine crunches with other forms of cardiovascular and weight-training activities. This encourages weight loss for the entire body, including the core area, which in turn will look trimmer through the muscle toning achieved through crunches.

"Party Smart"

embridge.gov.uk

The festive season. Diwali, Christmas, and New Years Eve. The best friends wedding. Your brothers birthday. Not to mention so-and-sos anniversary. And of course their sons 1st birthday! The list goes on and on and on…..and so does the eating, the drinking, the merriment, and the mayhem.


And after a few short weeks you start to notice the not-so-small things. Those jeans that don’t zip up as easily. That dress that now fills out in all the wrong places. The suit that fits a little too snugly. Welcome to the festive season - in which you mourn the loss of your waistline, your 6-pack, and that oh-so-toned butt! So whats a party animal to do?

Not to worry, I am here to help :) Its time to take control ladies and gentlemen. Here are a few simple tricks to surviving this party season with your waistline (and party reputation!) intact



Pre-Dinner Dinner! Want to know where the worst damage from this season of celebration comes from? Steaming hot, usually fried, superloaded with sugar, ghee, cream, snacks aka dinner party meals that are served during this time of the year. Think about it. If you are planning a party inviting 50 odd people who you want to impress, the last thing you are going to offer them is a plate of steamed veggies and salad right?! That’s exactly why you tend to see an assortment of chips, pakoras, parathas, kebabs, and other heavy dishes served at these events. Now, I am not saying be a saint and don’t touch the stuff. Instead,I would suggest, grab a little something light and healthy to eat at home before you head out to the party. Call it a mini-meal, maybe a bowl of sabzi with a little dal. This way you kill 2 birds with one stone: the first being that you don’t attack the buffet the minute you see it (which is usually past ten at most parties) since you are already full from your earlier meal. And when you do decide you indulge a little (and hey we all should since the season only comes around once a year!) you can keep things under control (just one pakora and not 4).Secondly, your stomach is well lined before you begin to drink up.


Liquid Diets – Which brings me to tip number two. If eating out is the cause of your greatest downfall in this season, then drinking is the sneakiest, most stealthy adversary out there. To tell the truth, most of us would never have guessed that even if you are balanced with your eating, and carefully watch what you fill your plate with at parties, you can often get more calories from a couple of drinks than from all that stuff on your plate. Shocking, but sadly, true girls and boys. Hard alcohol, particularly whiskey, vodka, and rum, can all set you back a couple of hundred calories per drink. In contrast, beer and wine are lower in caloric count. So beware of any cocktails that sound like they belong in a travel catalogue “Sunset in Paradise” or have multiple alcohols “Long Island Iced Teas”.while they may look like the prettiest and taste more like dessert than drinks, they are most often loaded with sugars and syrups, and usually the culprit for getting a little “too happy”.

An Active Social Life – I like to think of the famous quote “work hard, party harder” and tweak it slightly to make it “party hard, work out harder” :) this ones a no brainer people. In order to stay in somewhat decent shape through the season of overindulgent, utterly decadent, over the top parties, you need to literally put your back into it! So get yourself into those walking shoes and get your morning jog, power yoga class, gym hour, kickboxing going in high gear and combat those killer calories coming your way!

"Stuck in a Rut?"

rlv.zcache.com

Treadmill. Weights. Treadmill. Weights. Treadmill…..Stuck in a rut? Is your workout the same old repetition of cardio and weights which makes you feel like a robot just going through the motions and not really getting that adrenaline rush or even enjoying it? Sure, it was fun when you started, but now, 3 months later, its just sooooooooooooooo borring!


What you need is a c-h-a-n-g-e!

If you are looking for a challenge and want to try something which pushes your body to perform at its peak, then Yoga is your answer. Surprised? Let me guess, you are on of those people who thinks yoga is for old people who don’t really want to break a sweat and all that “breathe in, relax, breathe out”looks too easy breezy for you! It’s a common misconception many people have. Let me repeat: MISCONCEPTION ( also called a delusion!).

Having practiced yoga for almost a decade now, I have personally seen and experienced the amazing benefits one gets from taking up this form of physical exercise on a regular basis. According to yoga, it is through the practice of asanas (postures) that one is able to strengthen the physical body. And let me put it this way, it makes you WORK.

Yoga encapsulates strengthening every, single, part of your body, from the inside out. And there are a myriad of reasons why you should try it. Here are just a few: increased strength, improved digestion, increased metabolic rate, better blood circulation (clear skin and rosy cheeks!), increased lung power, stamina boosting, improved immune function, greater flexibility, the list goes on and on and on :)

The beauty of this form of exercise is that you can make it as tough, or as easy, as you need it to be! Join a power yoga class and burn those calories through repetitions of suryanamaskars. Or take a beginners class and work on static poses which invigorate the body and challenge the core. Add three classes on simple, traditional yoga into your weekly workout plan. Give it a month and watch your body say a BIG thank you!

"The Secret"

oralchelation.com

The two biggest excuses, ahem, I mean reasons, people use to justify the fact that they are not regularly doing some kind of exercise are as follows:


“Dude, I have soo much work. I chase clients all day, go up the wall meeting deadline, and have to my deal with my permanently pissed-off boss. Come home at ten at night, just DON’T HAVE THE TIME to work out!”

“Hello??? I wake up at the crack of dawn to commute to my godforsaken office which happens to be conveniently located at the ends of the earth. By the time I fight traffic from hell to get home, its close to mid-night and I AM WAY TOO TIRED to move an inch!”

Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to inform you of a little known truth. But believe you me, its HUGE.

Fact: The best way to deal with fatigue is to exercise.



Just a little movement goes a long way. And there are actually ways to work out proven to give you that little pick-me-up you need and restore energy levels to the body.

This concept is based on the theory that there are 2 kinds of energy. Type A which is what you could call “tense energy” – something a lot of us, particularly those who work is high-pressure, demanding, time-consuming jobs, tend to have. This is the energy gained when people work out with a high-intensity (think an hour running on the treadmill, 45 mins of kick-boxing) and although it does rid the body of stress, it also tends to leave you more agitated and tired than anything. On, the other hand there is another like of energy, called “calm energy”. This is the stuff which leaves you with longer lasting energy that actually allows you to get through the rest of your crazy day.

And how do you unleash this zen energy?? With the right kind of exercise, specifically, activities which lower in physical intensity, but work on a high levels of physical and mental energy. Here are the magic words: Yoga, Pilates, Tai-chi, Dance classes (salsa, bollywood, ballroom), short durations of (10-15 mins) of power walking. Even if you don’t have the time to leave work, just get that butt out of your chair and walk around your office for 10 minutes! To get that extra boost, grab some fruit (an apply or banana would be perfect!) before you begin. And remember, dehydration is a major cause for fatigue so drink, drink, and drink some more water pre, mid, and post exercise to reduce fatigue and supply oxygen to blood and muscles.