Choosing The Right Diet!

While the new flashy sports car that everyone is driving can be appealing to you, it may not be right for you depending on your situation. There could be the obvious obstacle that you must overcome to obtaining it, and that is its cost. Or, if you have a family of five, it’s simply not a reliable form of transportation. So why do some choose to follow “fad” diets, diets that everyone else follows?

Diets are a lifestyle choice, and as such, they should be very unique to your overall lifestyle and should not simply mimic what those around you are doing. The countless fad diets you hear being advertised on television are simply not for everybody.

To figure out the diet that is right for you, there are a few standard questions you can ask:

1. Does it match the style in which I eat?

While it may be healthy to eat several meals a day and the diet suggests this, but you know you can realistically only eat lunch and dinner – you won’t last long. Alternatively, if you travel a lot and have to eat out and can’t eat the diet’s recommended home cooked meals or spend a lot of time preparing your own dinner, you should avoid it.

2. Can truly I exercise this much?

Some diets mix in a lot of physical activity, while others keep it simple to aerobics. If you’re the kind of person who can’t stand exercise, or isn’t very active, following a diet that requires 5-6 visits a week to the gym won’t be something you can realistically follow.

3. Am I willing to deal with this forever?

When many people start a diet, they have a goal in mind to lose X amount of pounds. This is the incorrect mindset to have – a diet isn’t a temporary thing, it’s a lifestyle decision. So, if you think to yourself, “Well, I only have to deal with this for 6 months to lose 20 pounds” you’re wrong. As soon as you go off your diet, you will quickly regain those lost pounds.

To keep the weight off permanently, you need a weight loss plan that you can follow every single day for the rest of your life.

4. Are the foods practical?

There are multiple parts to this question. First, don’t pick a diet that excludes your favorite food groups or is simply not something you like, As said previously, a diet isn’t a temporary thing – you should be comfortable with following it for the rest of your life. Secondly, can you afford the food? While eating fresh fruits and vegetables all day can be rewarding to your health, fresh fruits tend to be much more expensive than other types of diet food.

5. How serious am I about this?

Do you go out to bars with your friends on weekends? Or do you want to have a little bit of birthday cake at your child’s birthday party? Diets only work because we can stick to them. The fact is, we don’t like to be chained down by them either and you need to consider that when choosing a diet. Some diets allow you some flexibility, while others make you eat nothing but cabbage soup for every meal.

Take your goals into consideration, your lifestyle, and your ability to follow a diet and you’ll be sure to select one that is right for you.

Think Water and Fiber

Another good example is grapes vs. raisins. Fill a cup with juicy, fresh grapes and snack away: the entire cup contains only 104 calories. But fill that same cup with raisins and step away from the table, because the cup of raisins contains 434 calories. Fresh fruit fills you up with fewer calories because it’s full of water and fiber, the magic formula for low energy density. Dried fruit, like the raisins, contains little water; it’s denser with calories (and, often, concentrated sugars).

Whole grains cooked in water also are low-density foods that satisfy us with fewer calories. Cooked oatmeal, brown rice and couscous are three popular grains that are considered low-density because they absorb water in the cooking. And getting our water by way of cooked whole grains (carbs! yes!) can be a lot more satisfying than merely drinking a glass with our meals.

Why is Exercise Important?

Have you ever heard the expression "use it or lose it"? It's true! If you don't use your body, you will surely lose it. Your muscles will become flabby and weak. Your heart and lungs won't function efficiently. And your joints will be stiff and easily injured. Inactivity is as much of a health risk as smoking!

Helps Prevent Diseases 
Our bodies were meant to move -- they actually crave exercise. Regular exercise is necessary for physical fitness and good health. It reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes and other diseases. It can improve your appearance and delay the aging process.

Improves Stamina 
When you exercise, your body uses energy to keep going. Aerobic exercise involves continuous and rhythmic physical motion, such as walking and bicycling. It improves your stamina by training your body to become more efficient and use less energy for the same amount of work. As your conditioning level improves, your heart rate and breathing rate return to resting levels much sooner from strenuous activity.

Strengthens and Tones 
Exercising with weights and other forms of resistance training develops your muscles, bones and ligaments for increased strength and endurance. Your posture can be improved, and your muscles become more firm and toned. You not only feel better, but you look better, too!

Enhances Flexibility 
Stretching exercises are also important for good posture. They keep your body limber so that you can bend, reach and twist. Improving your flexibility through exercise reduces the chance of injury and improves balance and coordination. If you have stiff, tense areas, such as the upper back or neck, performing specific stretches can help "loosen" those muscles, helping you feel more relaxed.

Controls Weight 
Exercise is also a key to weight control because it burns calories. If you burn off more calories than you take in, you lose weight. It's as simple as that.

Improves Quality of Life 
Once you begin to exercise regularly, you will discover many more reasons why exercise is so important to improving the quality of your life. Exercise reduces stress, lifts moods, and helps you sleep better. It can keep you looking and feeling younger throughout your entire life.

How Often Should I Exercise?

The benefits of any exercise program will diminish if it's disrupted too frequently. A "stop-start" routine is not only ineffective, but can cause injuries. Being consistent with exercise, therefore, is probably the most important factor in achieving desired results.

People often assume that more is better. Wrong! Doing too much too soon or performing intense exercises on a daily basis will have deleterious effects, such as muscle/tendon strains, loss of lean tissue, and fitness-level plateaus.

If you are a beginner, start off slower than you think you should. Three days per week is realistic, safe and effective. If you are experienced, do cardiovascular (aerobic) exercises such as walking, jogging and bicycling for no more than 200 minutes per week with no more than 60 minutes per session.

Weight training should be done no more than three times per week targeting the same muscle groups. Exercise the same muscle groups on non-consecutive days because muscles need adequate time to recover and cannot be effectively trained if they are tired or sore.

Many people forget to stretch or make the excuse that they don't have the time. Flexibility is important, so make the time! Stretching can be done every day, but stick to a minimum of three times per week in order to reap the benefits. When the body is warmed up, such as after a workout session, perform five to 10 stretches that target the major muscle groups. Hold each stretch for 10-30 seconds.

Health tip # 17

Every morning on an empty stomach make it a habit to drink 2tsp of honey with warm water and a half spoon of lemon extract...this acts universally as a best blood purifier and also a good drink to keep the cholesterol and your weight under control..