Back To The Fitness Routine

By Jessica | August 23, 2008 – 54 views

I’m back from a long break and I’m ready to fight for a better body. Are you with me?! :) I’m more confidence now than ever that I can do this. I break my bad habit of constantly yo-yo dieting. Overeating problem is slowly fading away and I’m on my way to build up my strength. Everything seem to just fall into places, and I can ”smell” my future!

My main goal is to get active everyday. I graph both the weight and the activities I do everyday and then average out on 5 days to see where I’m heading. What I’ve learned is that fitness routine doesn’t have to be long, hard and boring. That’s why I love 10 minutes fitness segment. As I’m in better shape I can do more segments without feeling it’s too tough. It’s the best way to ease back into the fitness routine I think. At Amazon, there are 10-minute solution workout DVDs and also beach body which is always fun, Tony Horton’s 10 minute trainer. Or you can put together your own 10-minutes move. Don’t forget to add the warm up and cool down though.

The issue is not about weight loss anymore but about building a better body. The end goal is the same but building a better body sounds more exciting than lose weight. If you ask yourself, how can I build a better body? You’ll probably get tons of answers, for example eat greens, fruits, protein, fish, and healthy nutritient dense food. Build up your strength. Lots of things you need to do that will urge you to take action. But if you ask yourself: how can you lose weight? What comes up?
- eat less
- exercise more
- train hard
- follow your schedule
- no junk food
- no cake
- no sugar
- a lot of NO and a lot of HAVE TO

Asking the right question you’ll get more specific answers and you’ll take action accordingly.

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Omega 3’s - Top 5 Sources to Lower Cholesterol

By Jessica | July 11, 2008 – 188 views

This is a guest post by Lisa Nelson, RD, LN

If you have been following along, you know from the article “Get a Grip on Fatty Acids” that the right ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids promotes lower cholesterol.

The goal is not to cut omega 6 fatty acids (such as corn oil, beef, and chicken) completely from the diet, but to achieve a ratio of 4:1 or 1:1 omega 6 to omega 3. In order to attain this ratio you need to increase your omega 3 intake.

Your options for doing this:

1. Eat fish at least twice a week.

If you like fish, this would be my first choice. Fish contains DHA. Research is starting to indicate health benefits linked to DHA alone. Be aware of mercury content of fish, especially if you are pregnant.

2. Take a fish oil supplement.

Start with the smallest bottle you can find and make sure you do not have the unpleasant side effect of burping with a fishy aftertaste. Not everyone has this problem, so you may be fine. To decrease likelihood of this problem I recommend taking the supplement and then eating. That way, something is “on top” of the fish oil. Fish oil has a tendency to go rancid, so keep supplement refrigerated, especially if you buy a bottle of 250 or more.

3. Flaxseed.

You can buy flaxseed two different ways - whole seed or ground. In order for the body to utilize the omega-3 fatty acids, flaxseed must be ground. If the flaxseed is not ground it passes straight through the body without being absorbed. Flaxseed is high in fiber, so by ingesting whole flaxseed you have increased your fiber intake, which is beneficial, but if you grind your flaxseed you will have the added benefit of increasing your omega-3 fatty acid intake and lowering cholesterol.

Using a coffee grinder is a simple way to grind your flaxseeds. Another option is to purchase flaxseed already ground. Flaxseed has a tendency to go rancid, for this reason keep ground seeds refrigerated. You can increase your intake by adding flaxseed to foods during preparation, such as spaghetti sauce, meatloaf, chili, hot cereal, muffins, pancakes, and yogurt.

4. Flaxseed oil supplement.

Provides the omega 3 fatty acid ALA in a simple supplement. Now, ALA is not as effective as DHA and EPA at lowering cholesterol, but still results in an improved ratio of omega 3 to omega 6. Again, may go rancid so refrigerate.

5. Add omega 3 nut and seed sources to your daily intake.

Especially walnuts, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, and sesame seeds. Nuts are high calorie, so watch your intake. If you gain weight, you are not doing your heart any favors!

Now, if you would like some one-on-one help to lower cholesterol, check out Lower Cholesterol Levels 2.0, offered by Lisa Nelson, registered dietitian.

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Moving Forward

By Jessica | June 30, 2008 – 197 views

I’ve slowed down posting a bit because I was too stressed out. It has been one step forward and two steps back. All along I’ve been too obsess with my weight. If I don’t lose any pounds over two weeks I feel bad. One of the 9 tips I wrote for lose weight successfully was graphing the progress. The main point is to see the big picture and not to worry so much about the small gain. But right now the big picture doesn’t look good, so I need to adjust it.

I found a better graph that will urge me to take actions now and I don’t have to wait for weeks or months to know where I’m heading. I’m getting direct input of how I’m doing now base on a 5 day average. The graph has 2 lines, one for the daily weigh in and one for the 5 days average. You can downloaded it from Jeremy’s blog. It’s a spreadsheet.

In term of habits, I take a lot of actions but never think of it as changing the attitude. One of the difficult thing to do is to love myself even though I’m fat. Have you ever read an article where they suggest that you should send lovely thought to yourself, telling yourself that you’re gorgeous or hunky? Come on, being overly positive won’t help me lose weight! One thing I agree with, is that the voice inside you can help you or prevent you from losing weight. By asking the right question your brain will align with your desire to determine your actions and the outcome.

If you look into a mirror telling yourself you’re fat and ugly. How can you have any energy left to deal with the weight loss? You end up feeling bad and your brain will suggest to eat something so you’ll feel better. If you tell yourself for example, “I look good/OK, but I know I can look better. How can I improve it?” Your brain will suggest something else, taking actions rather than eating more food.

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The Most Important Thing For Anti-Aging?

By Jessica | June 19, 2008 – 265 views

A guest post from anti-aging straight talk

So many people are getting on board with the ideas I express in my Report - it’s fantastic that others are making the changes they need to feel younger and live a longer, healthier life. After all, what fun is it to live a long life if you’re uncomfortable and unhealthy?!

One of the biggest things you can do to reverse the effects of aging isn’t to pick the right face cream or go to the right plastic surgeon! Quite simply, it’s to eat the right things. Of course, it’s more complex than that - and you can get into as much detail as you want when reading my findings - but one of the most basic and healthy things to do is to look at what you’re eating. The bloggers over at BeautyEditorPost have this to say:

“Fruits, veggies, green tea along with foods that are loaded with anti-oxidants are a good bet. It has been suggested that eating small amounts 3 to 5 times a day is the best way to go.

Foods rich in anti-oxidants … neutralize the free radicals that are responsible age related troubles, such as memory loss, heart disease, cancer, and help win the battle against oxidative stress (too many free radicals) that are responsible for these conditions. ”

And keep in mind that your body needs 1 gram of protein for each kilogram of body weight, and if you exercise - which you should be! - you may need to increase the amount of protein.

Additionally, drink lots of water each day. A good guide for this is to remember your body needs half your body weight in ounces of water each day. And no, these numbers don’t take into account the water in your coffee or tea!

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Dietdebate UK - Diet Website Review

By Jessica | June 17, 2008 – 283 views

If you’re looking for weight loss diet review, dietdebate UK is a good place to start. The website offer free and unbiased diet reviews, the benefits and disadvantes of each diet. It has also polls which allow visitors to rate the effectiveness of each diet. As for now, dietdebate UK has 18 diet reviews but that’s good enought to get you started.

You do want to do some reaserch before venture out on any diet. I used to be one of people who don’t. Just because other succeed with certain diet, it doesn’t mean it’ll suit you too. Take atkins diet for example. I know some people have great success with it, especially guys. But from my experience, it’s difficult to sustain and I needed to drink massive amount of water. If not careful, your health may be on the danger even before you’ve completed the diet program. Please, choose the plan wisely.

Do you want to see yourself slimmer? There is such a service listed on Dietdebate UK website. It’s a great motivational tool if you’ve never been thin in your whole life. You send in a picture of yourself and they’ll make you look slimmer! Dietdebate UK will be launching a diet forum soon. A meeting place where you can find support, help, and inspirations!

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