Thursday, November 29, 2007

Anti Aging Skin Care Products For A Younger Looking You

We all dread old age due to the loss of beauty that is associated with it. Not only does the skin lose its beauty, it starts developing ugly ‘wrinkles’- little depressions on the skin. This is why all of us yearn to preserve our youthful looks forever.

It is necessary to understand the reason wrinkles appear before we get talking about anti aging skin care products. This happens because of the reduction in the production of two types of protein, namely, ‘Collagen’ and ‘Elastin.’ With advancing age, the texture of our skin also worsens.

Though, old age cannot be eliminated from a person’s life cycle, however we surely can reduce wrinkles to a great extent. This is where the anti aging skin care products come into picture. These products delay the process of aging and thus restore the beauty of our facial skin to a great extent.

With the advancement in the science of dermatology, significant improvements have been made in the cosmetics industry. Now, there is no dearth of anti aging skin care products which claim to work wonders on our skin. These products are comparatively cheaper than those expensive “Botox” treatments and other cosmetic surgeries.

The wide range of anti-aging lotions, creams and face-wash released into the market by reputed brands not only keep their promise, but are also safe to use, being clinically tested for side-effects.

The skin type and texture vary from person to person; hence it would be wise to consult a skin specialist to find out which product would suit you the best, irrespective of what some very impressed users tell you about products they used.

Despite all this, remember to eat right, maintain a disciplined life-style and always protect yourself from the harmful ‘UVA’ and ‘UVB’ rays of the sun. Remembering these points will definitely help you make heads turn.

Geoff Hopkins has worked in the eye wrinkle cream industry for years. He maintains websites about anti aging cream and anti aging wrinkle creams.

Source : http://www.copypastearticles.com/article/10318/anti-aging-skin-care-products-for-a-younger-looking-you/

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

15 Tips to Restart the Exercise Habit

Once you have an exercise habit, it becomes automatic. You just go to the gym, there is no force involved. But after a month, two months or possibly a year off, it can be hard to get started again. Here are some tips to climb back on that treadmill after you’ve fallen off.

  1. Don’t Break the Habit - The easiest way to keep things going is simply not to stop. Avoid long breaks in exercising or rebuilding the habit will take some effort. This may be advice a little too late for some people. But if you have an exercise habit going, don’t drop it at the first sign of trouble.
  2. Reward Showing Up - Woody Allen once said that, “Half of life is showing up.” I’d argue that 90% of making a habit is just making the effort to get there. You can worry about your weight, amount of laps you run or the amount you can bench press later.
  3. Commit for Thirty Days - Make a commitment to go every day (even just for 20 minutes) for one month. This will solidify the exercise habit. By making a commitment you also take pressure off yourself in the first weeks back of deciding whether to go.
  4. Make it Fun - If you don’t enjoy yourself at the gym, it is going to be hard to keep it a habit. There are thousands of ways you can move your body and exercise, so don’t give up if you’ve decided lifting weights or doing crunches isn’t for you. Many large fitness centers will offer a range of programs that can suit your tastes.
  5. Schedule During Quiet Hours - Don’t put exercise time in a place where it will easily be pushed aside by something more important. Right after work or first thing in the morning are often good places to put it. Lunch-hour workouts might be too easy to skip if work demands start mounting.
  6. Get a Buddy - Grab a friend to join you. Having a social aspect to exercising can boost your commitment to the exercise habit.
  7. X Your Calendar - One person I know has the habit of drawing a red “X” through any day on the calendar he goes to the gym. The benefit of this is it quickly shows how long it has been since you’ve gone to the gym. Keeping a steady amount of X’s on your calendar is an easy way to motivate yourself.
  8. Enjoyment Before Effort - After you finish any work out, ask yourself what parts you enjoyed and what parts you did not. As a rule, the enjoyable aspects of your workout will get done and the rest will be avoided. By focusing on how you can make workouts more enjoyable, you can make sure you want to keep going to the gym.
  9. Create a Ritual - Your workout routine should become so ingrained that it becomes a ritual. This means that the time of day, place or cue automatically starts you towards grabbing your bag and heading out. If your workout times are completely random, it will be harder to benefit from the momentum of a ritual.
  10. Stress Relief - What do you do when your stressed? Chances are it isn’t running. But exercise can be a great way to relieve stress, releasing endorphin which will improve your mood. The next time you feel stressed or tired, try doing an exercise you enjoy. When stress relief is linked to exercise, it is easy to regain the habit even after a leave of absence.
  11. Measure Fitness - Weight isn’t always the best number to track. Increase in muscle can offset decreases in fat so the scale doesn’t change even if your body is. But fitness improvements are a great way to stay motivated. Recording simple numbers such as the number of push-ups, sit-ups or speed you can run can help you see that the exercise is making you stronger and faster.
  12. Habits First, Equipment Later - Fancy equipment doesn’t create a habit for exercise. Despite this, some people still believe that buying a thousand dollar machine will make up for their inactivity. It won’t. Start building the exercise habit first, only afterwards should you worry about having a personal gym.
  13. Isolate Your Weakness - If falling off the exercise wagon is a common occurrence for you, find out why. Do you not enjoy exercising? Is it a lack of time? Is it feeling self-conscious at the gym? Is it a lack of fitness know-how? As soon as you can isolate your weakness, you can make steps to improve the situation.
  14. Start Small - Trying to run fifteen miles your first workout isn’t a good way to build a habit. Work below your capacity for the first few weeks to build the habit. Otherwise you might scare yourself off after a brutal workout.
  15. Go for Yourself, Not to Impress - Going to the gym with the only goal of looking great is like starting a business with only the goal to make money. The effort can’t justify the results. But if you go to the gym to push yourself, gain energy and have a good time, then you can keep going even when results are slow.

Scott Young is a university student who writes about productivity, habits and self-improvement. Scott has been featured on the Be Happy Dammit! Show.

Source : http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/15-tips-to-restart-the-exercise-habit-and-how-to-keep-it.html


Friday, November 2, 2007

How The Power Of Your Mind Can Help You Become Healthy And Fit

Wouldn't it be great if we could attain the body of our dreams just by thinking about it? What if I told you that your mind actually plays the most important role in your success in getting fit ? Sounds crazy, but it's true...

Our subconscious mind has one all-important job, and it succeeds every time. What is this job? To prove that your beliefs are true. Note the wording here: To prove that YOUR BELIEFS are true. Not to point out what is actually true. In fact, your mind can’t distinguish between whether an event is really happening or not. Visualization is a powerful tool. There have been studies done with athletes. The athlete is told to visualize his/her event in their mind and talk themselves through the event. After the event has happened, their coach played a video tape of their actual event and in many cases, the actual event was identical to the athlete’s prior description of the event before the event happened.

Your beliefs are the truth for your life. Whether or not these beliefs are in fact true doesn’t matter. If you believe something to be true, then your subconscious mind will perceive the universe around you in such a way that makes this belief true.

So how does this relate to your fitness level ?

If you have the belief that getting in shape is hard, that eating healthy is boring, or that weight loss is elusive then you will find getting in shape to be very difficult. If you think of yourself as a fat person, or an out-of-shape person, or just an average person then your subconscious mind will do everything in its power to keep you that way.

Take a minute to let that sink in.

The great thing about our subconscious mind is that we can train it to work for us instead of against us. All we have to do is change our belief.

I’m sure you have heard the term “Believe and Achieve” - many schools have this painted on their walls and it is even printed on T-shirts. Well, the concept is absolutely true and when applied can bring success to your door faster than you thought possible.

It won’t help if you simply think that it ‘isn’t impossible’ or that ‘it could happen someday.’ These aren’t true beliefs.

In order to have your desired result you need to truly believe with every fiber of your being that you will achieve this goal. If you are overweight then close your eyes and picture yourself fit. If you have fifty pounds to lose then think of yourself as fifty pounds lighter.

Machelle Lee owns and operates The Invisible Gym in Santa Cruz, CA. Her mission is to inspire people to become physically active and enjoy the benefits of a balanced, healthy lifestyle. For more information and questions you can visit her website. http://www.the-invisible-gym.com/

By Machelle Lee
http://www.copypastearticles.com/article/6780/how-the-power-of-your-mind-can-help-you-become-healthy-and-fit/

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Exercising for healthy joints

Healthy joints allow you to maintain the active lifestyle that you’ve grown accustomed to and allow you to continue to be active as you age. While your joints may wear down from activity and the passing of the years, protecting them with joint supplements will allow you to stay on your feet and ready for anything that comes your way.

The best exercises for maintaining healthy joints are weight-bearing exercises, such as running. Recent studies have found that healthy joints (those that haven´t been previously injured) show no evidence of damage by long-distance running.

But, be sure to stretch first, because it is critical in the prevention of muscles tightening and causing tendon problems.

If running is difficult for you, the walking strides are also healthful for joints and a good place to start.

Try the following:

* Stretch frequently. Even during rest breaks, gently flex or stretch your joints occasionally or change your position slightly to prevent stiffness.


* Massage your joints. Massage can help soothe a painful area, and you'll be moving other joints as you do so.


* If you'll be travelling by airplane, bus, or train or if you'll be sitting at a sporting event, concert, or movie, try to get an aisle seat. This will give you more room to stretch your legs frequently while seated. It will also make it easier for you to get up and move around once in a while.


* During long car trips, take advantage of rest stops to stretch and move around. If you're the passenger, do range-of-motion exercises for your fingers, lower legs, and neck while on the road.


* Avoid clenching objects for extended periods. If holding a pen is painful, try a computer or typewriter. Instead of holding a newspaper or book in your hands while reading, try laying it flat on a table or using a book stand. Instead of carrying a purse or briefcase with a handle, choose one with a shoulder strap.


Source : http://health.howstuffworks.com/how-to-treat-arthritis-pain-with-exercise1.htm

Monday, October 1, 2007

Liquid Diets - Healthy diet or Not ?

A liquid diet involves substituting a number of meals and snacks with a nutritionally balanced shake made from sugar, skimmed milk powder, fiber, vitamins, minerals and sweetener. Some plans offer candy-like bars as an alternative.

WHAT YOU EAT AND DRINK:

Typically, you replace two meals and one snack per day with one shake. Each shake contains about 200 calories. Your third meal is a nutrient-rich meal of about 600 calories. Thus your total daily intake adds up to about 1200 calories.

ADVANTAGES:

. The diet is nutritionally balanced and very convenient. All you have to do is open a can, grab a glass, and add milk. In addition to being very sweet, these shakes/bars are good news for anyone with a sweet tooth.

. The liquid diet benefits certain types of procedures, both pre- and post-op. In pre-operative cases, a clear liquid diet flushes the bowels while decreasing strain on the digestive system. Before beginning this type of liquid diet, a physician will provide a detailed fact sheet on how to proceed and for how long.

. Liquid diets are also used following bariatric surgeries.

DRAWBACKS:

. Due to the low calorie content, too little fiber, and lack of important nutrition found in fruit, vegetables, and whole grains, these liquid diets are unsafe unless medically prescribed and supervised. They should also only be used for short periods of time.

. Studies have shown that weight loss achieved while following a low calorie liquid diet plan is rarely sustained. Dieters can expect to regain as much as 75% of weight lost, within 3 years.

. The biggest drawback concerns the issue of eating habits. Meal-replacement diets can help you to lose weight in the short term but they cannot help you to acquire the sort of sensible eating habits that are essential for long-term weight loss.

In addition, liquid diets that are not medically supervised may not supply the body with enough nutrients to function properly and are associated with problems including sensitivity to cold, brittle nails, diarrhea or constipation, and heart problems. Weight loss by means of liquid diets can also cause gallbladder problems.

VERDICT:

This is a reasonably good (and healthy) SHORT-TERM option for disciplined dieters who are under medical supervision. However, make sure your daily solid meal is healthy and your snacks include plenty of fruit and vegetables.

Any fad diet that uses short-term weight loss methods is not recommended for permanent weight control. Remember, permanent fat loss is achieved by following a sensible, nutritious eating plan that includes regular aerobic exercise and behavior modifications.

CHOOSE A HEALTHY WAY TO EAT:

Beware of Any Diet That...

*Provides fewer than 1000 calories per day.

*Boasts unusually fast weight loss.

*Uses the words "miracle" or "fat-burning" to describe itself!

*Has an unbalanced eating plan: i.e. which omits any of the major food groups.

*Has unrestricted amounts of high fat food, like red meat, full fat dairy products or oils.

*Requires you to take expensive supplements.

*Fails to recommend long term changes in your eating habits.

Americans spend billions of dollars a year on diet products. A large percentage of those who purchase them, purchase fraudulent or completely useless products. Do not be one of them!

By: Chris Chenoweth

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
Source : http://diets-and-health.blogspot.com/2007_06_01_archive.html