Eat Great, Lose Weight. No Gym.

If you are anything like millions of other men and women, you are always looking for a reason to postpone or outright avoid starting a weight loss program. Perhaps you do not want to pay the gym membership fees until the New Year, or maybe you just cannot stomach the thought of donning grubby workout gear in view of others.

Fortunately, there are many things you can do to kick-start your weight loss efforts — none of which require even a single visit to the gym.

First and foremost, consuming water is the easiest and cheapest way to get on the right track. Think of all the money you’ll save by ditching sodas and canned drinks from the vending machines at work and school, not to mention the cash you’ll hang onto by avoiding your local coffee bar.

 If you find the taste of tap water more repulsive than the idea of being fat, invest a few dollars in a filter. You can purchase one that fits into your kitchen sink, or you might opt for a water pitcher with a built-in filter. Another option is to buy a water bottle with a filter. Altogether, most of these alternatives will set you back less than $50.

Who can resist the temptation of Taco Bell and other greasy fast food denizens of the night? Simple: healthy people. It’s not just the usual suspects, either; any food, if eaten late in the evening or at night, has the potential to cause you to pack on the pounds and experience setbacks in your pursuit of a healthier lifestyle.

 If you are experiencing uncontrollable hunger so late in the day, it is time to reassess your eating habits in the morning, afternoon and early evening. Does your diet include enough fiber? (Fiber helps you to feel fuller throughout the day).

Are you loading up on empty calories and sugary snacks that lack any nutritional value whatsoever? Once you identify potentially problematic eating habits, you can address these unwarranted feelings of extreme hunger. In doing so, you are promoting healthier behaviors and will find it easier to drop those last few pounds.

If you regularly dine out in restaurants or visit the drive-thru at your local fast food joint, you are doing your body and your wallet serious injustice! Not only are these meals expensive (especially over the course of a few months), but they are often served with blatant disregard for the recommended portion size.

It is estimated that the average sit-down restaurant serves two to three times the appropriate 
amount of food; the exception, of course, is when steamed or similarly prepared vegetable sides are concerned, in which case portions tend to be undersized. Go figure!

If you think these guidelines seem overly simplistic, you are probably right. The truth is, however, that the simplest and most obvious solutions are often the most effective and sustainable options. Adopting healthier eating habits is certainly no exception.

So before you invest in so-called “miracle” supplements and fitness equipment, why not first consider what has been proven to work time and time again? Use the recommendations from this article and save your money (and your sanity) as you shed excess weight and burn through those calories.

How To Count Calories

differently for men and women due to usual body differences. The rate is calculated for men by adding 66 with 6.23 multiplied by body weight.

This figure is added to 12.7 multiplied by height in inches. Six point eight multiplied by age i.
Weight loss not only means an exercise program, and meal planning, but also calorie counting.

Counting calories can seem daunting at first, especially when understanding that everything from coffee creamers, sugars, salad dressing and other condiments, to full course meals, and snacks are all part of the calorie equation.

It isn’t, however, just a matter of counting calories. Different people need different caloric amounts, and it depends greatly on factors such as how much weight an individual desires to lose, along with the basal metabolic rate.

The basal metabolic rate is the amount of calories the body needs during rest to continue to function. There are some differences in BMR when it comes to gender.

The rate is determined s subtracted from the previous figure. The sum is the BMR for men. For women 655 is added to 4.35 multiplied by weight. That figure is added to 4.7 multiplied by height in inches.

Four point seven multiplied by age is subtracted from previous sum, and that is the resulting BMR for a female.

The BMR sum is then calculated on a scale of activity. For instance, The BMR is multiplied by 1.2 for a sedentary lifestyle, 1.375 for light active, 1.55 for moderate active, 1.725 very active, and 1.9 for extra active.

This resulting figure gives individuals the total caloric intake and the amount the body needs to maintain the current weight.

Once individuals know the total caloric intake, and the amount needed to maintain weight, they can begin making adjustments to meals and reducing caloric intake for weight loss.
Keep in mind it takes a 3,500 calorie reduction to lose one pound.

For those who want to lose one pound a week they would need to give up 500 calories a day. Dieting alone often means a much slower means of weight loss than dieting and exercise combined.

Exercise will result in more calories burned per day, and the more intense the workout the more weight loss is achieved.

A few things to consider during weight loss is to avoid restricting too many calories. Not more than 1,000 calories a day should be cut.

Starvation diets often reduce metabolic rates, and the body goes into starvation mode and begins storing fat.

 Excessive weight loss is also dangerous, and can result in poor health. Don’t attempt to lose more than two pounds a week.

When on a diet and exercise plan its best to pace oneself and to realize even positive changes take time.

Weight loss is a day by day process, and means not just losing weight to fit in the summer bathing suit, but a more realistic goal is to see it as a lifestyle change.

Learning better eating habits, and implementing a healthy lifestyle will naturally result in permanent weight loss.

How To Make Your Eyes Look Bigger

Everyone wants big, vibrant and beautiful eyes. Anyone can make their eyes appear bigger regardless of their actual size.

 The items you will need are a pair of false eyelashes, eyeshadow, mascara, white eyeliner and black or midnight blue eyeliner.

 The tools you will need to have on hand are an eye shadow brush, cotton balls, q-tips, a small spray bottle of water and an all purpose make up brush.

Before you begin, make sure your hands are clean. The first step is to cut your lashes in half and keep the outer lashes. Using tweezers to hold the lashes, apply a few small dots of eyelash adhesive and place them on the outer corners of each eye. Press them onto your lid for several seconds to make sure they are secure.

Next apply an eye shadow color of your choice as a base over your entire eye lid to prevent creasing and to help additional shadow adhere to your eyes. Choose a color that is complementary to your eye color.

 Start out with a light application beginning in the center of the lid and build up with each layer. This will open up the eye. Use a contour brush and apply the shadow directly under the lower lash line starting in the middle.

Use an all purpose make up brush to whisk away eye shadow that has fallen onto your face.

Start with your eye liner brush and spritz a small amount of water on the brush, then dip it into a black or midnight blue cream liner. A dark color works well to enhance the eye because it contrasts against the whites of your eyes.

 While looking downward use the brush to fill in the underside roots of the upper lashes. Wiggle the brush slightly to fill in and color the lashes that have separated. This will create a seamless look between your lashes and the fake lashes.

 Do the same thing on the top side of the upper lashes. For your lower lashes start in the middle below your lash line when applying the liner. Make sure to apply to the middle and go a little to the left and right, but do not apply to the entire lower lash line.

That will close in your eye and make them appear smaller. Use the contour brush to blend in the liner on the top and bottom lashes.

The final step is the mascara and a touch of white eye liner. This is the crowning touch for your new doe eyed look. Instead of using the whole mascara wand, using just the tip separates your lashes. Apply a couple coats of mascara to the upper and bottom lashes.

Wiggling the mascara brush will create a fuller and more evenly coated look to your lashes. Finally, apply white eye liner to the inner lash line on the bottom of your eyes. This will take away redness, further opens your eyes and makes the eyes appear brighter and bigger.

Crispy Chicken Recipe

Who said chicken has to be fried to be crispy? Oven fried chicken is just as crispy and delicious as pan fried chicken and contains less fat.

This oven fried chicken recipe is so simple, delicious and crisp, that it will have you rethinking the way you make chicken.

 Try this savory recipe for your next picnic, a delicious weeknight meal or movie night.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of chicken, skin on
• 2 cups plain Panko crumbs
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 3 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp pepper
• 3 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp sage
• 1/2 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp basil
• 1 tsp tarragon
• 1 tbsp marjoram
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup milk
• Cooking spray
• 
  

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. In a bowl, add the Panko crumbs. Next, add the cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, sage, oregano, basil, tarragon and marjoram.

 Using your hands, or a fork, thoroughly mix the dry ingredients together. Set the dry ingredients aside.

3. In a separate bowl, add the eggs. Now, add the milk. Whisk the eggs and milk together until well incorporated. Season the egg and milk mixture with salt and pepper, if you’d like.

4. Dip a piece of the chicken into the egg wash. Be sure to coat the entire piece of chicken in the egg mixture. Dredge the coated chicken into the Panko crumbs, coating it well, so that no skin is showing. Shake off the excess Panko crumbs.

5. Dip the Panko coated chicken back into the egg mixture a second time. Lastly, dip the chicken back into the Panko crumbs. Shake off the excess Panko crumbs. Set the coated chicken on a raised rack on top of a cookie sheet.

 Continue this process with each piece of chicken until each piece is thoroughly coated in the egg mixture and Panko crumbs.

6. Once each piece of chicken is thoroughly coated, 
place them in an even layer on top of the raised rack. Spray the top of the breaded chicken with cooking spray. This will help the chicken crisp up in the oven.

7. Place the raised rack on top of the cookie sheet, into the oven. Bake the chicken for about 40-50 minutes or until each piece is gold and crispy. Remove the chicken from the oven. Let the chicken stand for about 5-10 minutes. Serve.

Serve this crispy, oven fried chicken alone or with honey mustard, ranch, barbeque sauce, or your favorite condiment. Serve with a side of mashed potatoes and corn, or your favorite sides, for a complete meal.

For an even healthier version of this recipe, simply substitute the chicken with the skin for boneless, skinless chicken breasts. For a kid-friendly version, try this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins

How To Keep Weight Off

Most individuals are looking for a way to lose the weight that they wish to get rid of rather quickly, which is why many of us turn to what is termed the fad diet.

 Although this sort of diet will generally allow you to quickly drop the pounds that you want to lose, the issue most people find is being able to keep the weight off after it is lost with these methods.

The reason that these diets are termed “fads” is that they are generally used by individuals for a short period of time in order to drop the pounds, but are not successful nor healthy to utilize for a long term time frame.

 Thus, you may be wondering how to keep the weight off if you lose it on a fad diet, and this is a good question.

An expert who is a registered dietitian specifically deals with issues of weight and healthy living on a daily basis.

You will learn tips and suggestions in order to help you keep the weight off that you have worked hard to drop.

Experts suggest that losing weight in a healthy manner and then trying to keep it off is not an easy process. Again, this is why many individuals will turn to these quick fixes or fad diets in order to get results at a faster pace. 

When one starts to lose the weight the body begins to re-adjust itself and so is going to need less and less calories in order to sustain itself properly.

 Over time, one is going to have to either decrease calories once again or increase the amount of exercise that you are engaging in.

Another issue whe

n trying to lose the weight that you want is something that is called a plateau.

 A plateau essentially refers to a period where you body is not budging in terms of weight loss and you seem to be stuck at a certain number for a period of time.

 Most individuals see this as a negative effect, however, experts suggest that this is actually a positive that should be noted.

It is positive in that it shows you that your body has actually begun to find a new set point or number that is it comfortable in functioning at.

This means that progress is being made and you are headed in the right direction to where you ultimately want to be in terms of weight loss goals.

Overall, it is possible to keep the weight off that you lose when engaging in a fad diet. One must simply continue to choose healthy living tips and strategies and not become frustrated when the body chooses to plateau and re-adjust to the changes made.

Again, an adjustment in caloric intake or simply an increase in exercise can also be helpful in maintaining the weight that you wish to keep.

There are various ways to continue to see positive effects of your hard work and all you need to do is keep all of them in mind.

How To Change A Poor Diet

When people think of diet they think of food. We must first clarify what a diet is all about so that you understand how diets differ from one person to another. Every person needs a certain amount of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to survive.

 Not every person needs the same amount of these elements to survive. The basis for a diet depends on your age, metabolism, activities, and nutritional needs.

A poor diet usually translates, over time, to poor health.

 A younger person can overcome the deficiencies of a poor diet and still function normally compared to an older adult.

What Causes a Poor Diet?

Poor diets are generally the result of bad habits. In a fast-paced, fast food world, we become accustomed to eating quickly and eating processed foods. As this routine becomes part of our daily routine, the end result is a poor diet.

Your body has the remarkable resilience to still function adequately, even though it has to work harder to process junk food and the likes. But, there comes a time when your body, as regenerative as it is, starts to fail.

Unfortunately, most people don’t wake up to the fact that their diet needs changing until it reaches this point. Fortunately, you are about to find out how to change a poor diet right now.

Small Changes Equal Big Results

As mentioned, poor diets are usually the result of bad habits. Eating fast, eating on the run, eating late at night, all these habits perpetuate eating foods that are not good for you – mainly fast foods.

To change bad habits you must first identify those habits. You may not be able to change your daily routine, but there is always a small change you can make. It could be 10 minutes here or there; this is where you start. You must start from where you’re at and work from there.

Breakfast is an important meal. Focusing on a good breakfast makes the rest of your day good. Breakfast doesn’t have to be complicated, it only has to be digestible and somewhat nutritious. What do we mean by digestible? Pancakes with heavy syrup and bacon and ham is hard to digest in the morning.

It takes more energy, and instead of feeling energized you will feel sluggish. This is not the way to start your day. Oatmeal with honey and berries is much better and simpler to make.

What you must keep in mind with any meal is: the heavier the meal the more time it takes to digest. There’s also a similar correlation with processed, junk foods – it takes more energy to process these foods than the benefits derived from them. These are all things that contribute to a poor diet.

Changing a poor diet should be done by changing poor habits one at a time. It may start with simply taking an extra 10 minutes at dinner to relax and enjoy the meal. From there you can replace poor quality foods with better, nutritious foods.

Trying to change too many things at once usually ends up in frustration, and you’ll revert back to your old, bad habits.

Tips for buying a strength station

Fitness tips for the purchase of a power station

As fitness becomes more and more important, many sports enthusiasts are looking for a cheap gym from a fitness shop.

 With a good power station, you save yourself the transition to a gym & can train at any time in its own four walls at its own power station. 

Power Stations as "Mini" - Gym:

Good, but also cheap power stations are fitness studios in "mini format". A proper power station includes all training options to get your body in the best shape.

With a good, often cheap, power station, you can train your upper body and your legs optimally. A high-quality weight station often includes a chest press, an abdominal trainer, a rowing machine and a leg press. Average power station should definitely include a cable, butterfly, pull rod & leg curl.

What should I look for when buying a power station:

Firstly, looking for a suitable place or place for his new multi-gym. Often it makes sense to transport the new power station to the cellar. There, however, the new power station quickly falls into oblivion.

You have to think carefully about where you want to set up the power station to get the optimal place for your strength training. Furthermore, you should look at the maximum weight before buying a power station. 

Depending on how much weight is trained, the maximum weight of the new power station is quickly exceeded. It should also be checked if the strength station is stable and you can optimize your strength training.

 The to-be-acquired power station should also have various adjustment options, such as the seat so that even larger athletes can complete their strength training without restrictions. 

Other highlights of a high-quality power station are sheathed steel cables as a cable pull or a power station with ergonomically shaped handles. 

 writer. martha Wilson

follow me:trekbikereviews.com

No Sugar Drumbeat Gets Iouder

 No Sugar’ drumbeat gets louder

Well, if you wanted to call me a Gary Taubes fanboy before, I guess you’ve got one more reason to now as here’s one more post about his writings.

Back in October 2010, I authored a post entitled Sugar – Public Enemy Number One. The main takeaway I intended for the article was to argue that if all the diet books and nutrition gurus in all the world would just agree on this *one* thing: elimination of refined sugars from the diet (including fruit juices, by the way) that would be the single most important contribution they could all make to our public health. 

This would result in vastly healthier people and dramatically lower health care costs.

Back in January when Gary took his show on the road to Seattle, he mentioned he was working on this big article for the New York Times about sugar.

 The summary was he was taking a look into the claims of Dr. Robert Lustig of UCSF who came out and said fructose was a toxin – in the concentrations consumed in the SAD . 

Now that Gary is a left coaster, he’s gotta make nice with the neighbors (he even got his new BFF Michael Pollan to say nice things about his new book – nice going :)

The net of all this is a ‘little’ piece in the New York Times called Is Sugar Toxic?. Of course, Gary doesn’t do ‘little’ so don’t expect a reader’s digest version, but you should expect a thorough and well-reasoned article.

Of course, I want you to read it, but the summary is he thinks there’s something to the idea that sugar should be considered a toxin. One small step for man 

Health Citizen

When I began this blog in January 2009, the focus was exclusively on providing my personal perspective on individual wellness.

After years of following a different path than the mainstream, I found I was spending a fair amount of time sharing my viewpoints with people who were struggling with various health-related issues. I decided I’d begin to put all my thoughts on these matters in one place.

As the white-hot conflagration of issues related to health system reform raged in the US in 2009, I acquired an almost insatiable appetite for learning more about the complex issues facing US health care.

For my regular readers, it may not be a surprise to you that I forged a point of view that might be considered a league apart.

Not that I found no merit in the various points of view being expressed, but that I found each perspective having fairly major flaws that seemed obvious to me.

For example, those who hew to the idea that ‘free market’ mechanisms are the optimal way through which we obtain the best value out of our healthcare system don’t seem to notice that ours is the most profit-oriented system in the entire industrialized world and we spend more per capita (by a long shot) than anyone else.

Wouldn’t those in law enforcement consider this a clue? To dismiss the variance by touting the ‘additional costs’ of world-leading medical breakthroughs in medical devices and pharmaceuticals begs the question ‘To what end?’ – given the well-documented paltry outcomes (overall morbidity, infant mortality, life expectancy, etc.)

Also, while you could make a theoretical argument that pharmaceutical company, medical device, and hospital profits lead to better care (by enabling investment in better approaches to care – I am not convinced), I have yet to see a single remotely defensible argument that links insurance company profits to improved health outcomes.

Still waiting.

Conversely, those who tout ‘single-payer’ as a cure-all do so, it seems to me, as a matter of faith, not reason. Setting aside the political and economic obstacles in the way of instituting a ‘single-payer’ system in the US, I’ve yet to see a cogent explanation as to how single-payer in and of itself transforms healthcare.

Yes, it would certainly increase access to medical care, but it is no solution at all to ensuring that said access is sustainable for the long term. 

My other problem with ‘single-payer’ is more ethereal. I just have an aversion to monoculture. It seems to me that we need an approach that is not just functional for now, but also sustainable and adaptable over the long term.

 A diversity of approaches is needed in order to achieve that end. I’m not convinced a single approach to funding the entire system would give us that adaptability. We will still need to innovate as time moves forward and the best way to enable innovation is to have a diversity of ideas that would not be fostered by a single-payer approach.

So, over the course of many months, I mulled whether I would begin to use these pages as a vehicle to express my thoughts on broader health policy issues in addition to the health/wellness topics I started off with.

 Finally, in January 2010, I made some initial, tepid steps. But it still lacked coherence. Am I touting myself as a health policy wonk type? (a mini-Uwe) Am I advocating on behalf of a specific, well-established point of view? (well, I guess not, if I’m saying that all of the major entrenched positions have significant flaws).

 It finally occurred to me the role I was taking on was that of a ‘health citizen.’ Citizen in the most active and broadest sense of the word which encompasses being an informed and active participant in the political, economic and social life of your society not as a self-appointed ‘expert,’ but as a private citizen very focused on pushing us to deliver value out of every element of the system.

So, what does it mean to me to be a ‘health citizen?’

• While this is readily obvious, it seems to continually get lost in the debate: health care and medical care are not interchangeable. In fact, if we were to assign a percentage impact of medical care on the overall health of society, it would constitute no more than 15% of the total.

• What is more important are the social determiners of health: clean water, sanitation, protection from toxins, good education, nurturing human interactions. The extent to which we lay the burden of health care on those who deliver medical care we feed into the monster that has become the medical-industrial complex. A health citizen understands this distinction and acts accordingly.

• Each of us needs to take personal responsibility to use medical care resources thoughtfully and judiciously. We must begin to think of our medical care resources in a similar way to our natural resources. These services have now become part of the ‘commons’ we all share.

•  Consuming an inordinate amount of these resources out of fear or simple entitlement furthers the ‘tragedy of the commons’ to which citizens will not contribute. It has also been well demonstrated that more medical care is not necessarily better medical care. A health citizen uses only what he or she needs even to the point of questioning the need for things that their care provider recommends.

• In a direct tie-in to the wellness thrust of this blog, to the extent we can improve our own health, the easier it becomes to be an asset to the health of our society as opposed to a liability. It seems very odd to have to point this out given that one would think the primary incentive for making healthy choices is to, well, be healthy. It is apparent, however, that many millions of us continue to make choices we all know to be detrimental to our health. 
• 
  
• This is exacerbated by the bankruptcy of the conventional dietary (low-fat/high-carb) and exercise (chronic cardio) wisdom that is detrimental to many millions more who are acting on this disastrous advice and believe they are doing the right thing for their health. A health citizen takes part in bringing forth the new conventional wisdom.

• Engaging with others is obviously a central part of being human. A health citizen participates actively in a community that supports each other in pursuing better personal wellness in addition to pursuing better health for the broader society.