Wow, was that a quick year. Why does life go by faster and faster? It's time for a change. This next year I'm going to lose 15-20 lbs. The question will be how fast can I accomplish this goal and continue doing so in a healthy manner. This is my first time trying to lose weight. I'm not overweight, but I feel to be a top trainer I need to be at my best.
I'm looking forward to playing sports more often. Basketball and racquetball are my sports of choice at the moment. This will help burn more calories. I have always had an issue with cardio. If its not fun, its tough for me to do it. I encourage others go with the same philosophy. Find something you like to do. This will help with your motivation and success. Happy Holidays!

I'm not sure many people really know all the benefits of fiber. If you ask 10 people, how many could name 3 high sources of fiber? The more I learn about nutrition, I more I want to share the importance of a healthy diet.
Here are a just a few of the benefits of fiber.

• Reduces the production of cholesterol in the body.
• May protect against some coronary heart diseases.
• Helps to control diabetes.
• Helps to control weight.
• Can be used to treat certain intestinal disorders.
• Protects against cancers of the colon.

Best sources of fiber are fruits, vegetables, wholegrain breads, and cereals. Some recommend a dosage of 20-60g per day is ideal. Be careful though, a diet very high in fiber can cut down the absorption of important trace minerals during digestion.

One things that helps me get my fiber would be a Cliff bar. Most of the bars I eat have 5g of fiber. Whatever foods you choose to eat they should be foods you like and enjoy eating.

Nutrition is so important to everyones diet. It's exciting learning more about nutrition and the positive effects certain foods have on our bodies.
I have had Acid Reflux Disease since I was in my early 20's. If anyone has every had heartburn, you know the pain it can cause. The benefits of apples have helped me with this disease. When I have heartburn, if I eat an apple it goes away. Apples have been a blessing. I did some additional research on apples and these are a few of the benefits...

• Cleans teeth and strengths gums
• Lowers cholesterol
• Antiviral action
• Neutralizes indigestion
• Prevents constipation

Other uses

• Eat raw apples regularly as a detoxificant, for gout and rheumatism
• For heartburn and digestive disorders, eat an apple with every meal
• Two apples a day can reduce cholesterol by 10%

The more we learn about nutrition, the better off our bodies will function. It's worth it to me, how about you?

What fruits or vegetables have helped you?

Which is more effective for weight loss...a low carb or low calorie diet? That's a good question and one that prompts animated debate in the weight loss world!
Some people swear by the low carb approach, others prefer a low calorie weight loss plan. So which works best? If only it were that easy!
The debate rages in respected scientific journals, all over the internet on websites, in weight loss forums, in blogs, offline in magazines and books ...So what's the answer?
Put two dieticians in a room and you'll get two different opinions! The accepted wisdom for years has been that if you burn more calories than you eat, you'll lose weight. Just eat fewer calories, eat a healthy, balanced diet made up of all the main food groups and do some exercise.
The low calorie approach to dieting is simple...and then along came the low carbers and turned the accepted wisdom on its head! Or did they?
Low calorie diets are founded on a few basic principles. The central principle is to eat less fat. Fat has twice as many calories gram for gram as carbs so by eating less fat in your diet you'll eat fewer calories. Makes sense, right?
This is followed by another key principle -- fill up on starchy carbs like bread, rice and pasta, preferably of the wholegrain variety. They've got fewer calories than fatty foods and all that fiber will fill you up so you'll eat less.
Then along came the good Dr Atkins. His theory was that your body digested carbs - sugars and starches - quickly and all that sugar was dumped in your bloodstream. Your body produced insulin to balance your blood sugar levels and ferried the excess sugar off to be converted to fat and stored in your fat tissue.
As a result, he banned carbs from your diet and replaced them with lots of protein and fat. This forced your body to dip into its fat stores as there were no carbs to burn.
The protein was difficult to digest so your body had to work harder and use more calories to metabolise it. The dietary protein also helped prevent your body from canibalising its muscle tissue for energy.
The result? Rapid and significant weight loss.
Ok, that's simplified the arguments somewhat, but you get the idea! So who's right?
Hmm, good question. The truth is that to varying degrees both are. There's study after study that demonstrates that low calorie, low fat, low protein, high carb diets are effective for weight loss.
Populations that eat such a diet are seen to have lower BMIs and obesity levels than people who consume the typical high fat Western diet. There is as yet nothing like the body of evidence to support a low carb diet.
But let's just take a step back. Sure, the Atkins Diet, which is held up as the archetypal low carb diet breaks all the rules when it comes to a healthy, balanced diet.
But there are plenty of low carb diets around nowadays that look suspiciously like a set of Government healthy eating guidelines! Well, give or take a few grams of protein and carbs here and there.
Moderate amounts of healthy wholegrains, plenty of fruit and veg, some lean protein. Ok, healthy eating guidelines suggest that you get around 50-60% of your calories from carbs, 20-30% of your calories from fat and 15-20% from protein. The typical low carb diet is now around 40% carbs, 30% fat and 30% protein.
Largely gone are the bacon, eggs and butter. Instead, lean chicken and heart healthy unsaturated oils are in. Forget the ban on fruit and veg, most low carb diets are now comparatively generous when compared to the Atkins when it comes to these nutritionally dense foods.
So, which approach is right? Common sense would indicate to me that if you're fairly inactive, you should eat fewer carbs - you just don't need all the energy. If you plan on exercising regularly, carbs are less of a problem.
As far as protein goes, it fills you up - try eating a whole chicken or a couple of tins of tuna - so it makes sense to me to eat a little more lean protein.
Fat has twice as many calories as protein and carbs, so if you're trying to lose weight it would make sense to eat a little less of it to save calories and to make the fat you do eat the healthy, unsaturated variety.
Fiber fills you up too, so eating some wholegrains and plenty of fiber-rich fruit and veg would seems a good idea. As you're eating fewer calories, eating nutrient-dense food would also be smart - another argument for eating some fruit and veg.
Now is that low carb or low calorie dieting?
The bottom line is that low carb and low calorie dieting need not be mutually exclusive. In fact, once you cut down on the carbs a low carb diet is actually quite low in calories. One of the reasons they work - surprise, surprise!
My advice? Use some common sense. Eat foods from all the main food groups each day, eat a little bit less and do some exercise. Adopt a healthy weight loss plan comprising a wide variety of foods and you'll feel better - and lighter - for it!
Marcus Warnes is a health promotion specialist with nearly 20 years experience in health care and wellness. If you'd like more information and advice on effective and fad-free weight loss, healthy weight loss plans, optimum fitness and reviews of the best diets, then why not check out our website www.weight-loss-for-busy-people.com? You've nothing to lose...except a few extra pounds, that is!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marcus_Warnes

I think one of the biggest obstacles for people trying to start an exercise program would be the association that exercise is not fun and hard to do. The object of any exercise program is to incorporate some fun. Whether it be the exercises themselves or working out with someone you like, try different activities until you find the ones you like. For me, cardio is not one of favorite activities to do. Jogging on treadmill or riding a stationary is boring to me.
What is fun for me? Recently I starting playing racquetball and love it. The competition and vigorous exercise is great. From what I found on the Internet, I burn close to 700 calories a hour. Wow, how awesome. Something I enjoy doing, plus I burn a large number of calories. I have also started doing group exercises classes. I mainly go the studio where I work and take those classes. These classes are lead by a certified personal trainer and focus on functional exercises, resistance training, cardio, and core. Working out with others in a group setting makes you accountable. You can't leave early and feel obligated to finish the session.
So whatever it is that you enjoy most about exercise, try to focus on those activities. This is your health and its 100% your responsibility to take care of it.
What physical activities do you like?

As most people who have tried it know well, losing weight and keeping it off is terribly hard work, especially for those who are not genetically gifted.

When you're talking about childbirth, menopause, bad breakups and the requisite ice cream binges - weight management can be a frustrating challenge. Exactly what does it take for the average woman to control her weight?

The women of the world need to know this information, it's an injustice to be on TV and in the movies and dancing around in your little tiny size 2 butt and then not tell the girls of the world what it takes to look like that. Women are hurting themselves trying to figure it out.

And yet there is no one answer.

We live in a world where we are bombarded by this idea of a magic bullet. People think, "`If I just run, I'll look like these girls, or if I don't eat carbs..." The truth is there is no magic bullet.

The average woman needs to get on the fitness spectrum somewhere. Women need to say: `I'm not eating 1,500 calories a day and working out two hours. That is never never going to happen in my life; and let that size 4 butt go and walk away.

A huge part of staying thin is to be realistic.

Get a realistic number of calories burned.. Remember health club machines are set up for the 175-pound male. The machines therefore may falsely inflate the calories burned, giving you a false high.

As for Holiday eating: try NOT to go into a holiday meal starving. Choose your options carefully, bulking up on the lower-fat veggie dishes, and the rest of the food in moderation.

Don't eliminate any one food group. Eat lots of fruits and veggies, and the rest in moderation. And, find time to move your body in any way - just move!

Walk every day, use the treadmill, weights and any aerobic moves you can think of (with the TV or sometimes a DVD).

Eat small meals throughout the day, just enough to keep fueled. Avoid eating at night if possible.

Eating a lot of fruit and vegetables is definitely the route to go. Two-thirds of your plate should be fruits arid veggies, which are high in fiber and water volume which means they fill you up and keep you full longer

Eat moderately throughout the week so you can indulge more on weekends. Improvise substitutions (low fat cocoa added to coffee makes cafe mocha for only 25 additional calories).

Avoid buffets (large quantities and mediocre food waste calories).

Stay within a five-pound range. When eating out, order soup (not cream) or salad and an appetizer in place of an entree. If it's a catered affair, call ahead to see if you can substitute a healthier option.



What has helped you lose weight?

I have been a personal trainer for more than a decade and everyday I try to learn something new in my field. It has been a great help that the new studio I work at is open to new ideas. We all like sharing our new exercises and workout ideas. It seems everyone is coming up with combination movements. These are movements were you may have 2 or 3 exercises in sequence, ex. standing row with a squat. Now this is not only stimulating to the client, but the trainer can have some fun as well. It's fun to watch your clients being challenged. We all get in a rut sometimes and we do the same exercises over and over with our clients. I know my clients want and need a changing workout on a consistent basis. It's boring for both of us otherwise.
I see that I need to be around more like minded people. This helps me stay fresh and on top of my game. Talking and brainstorming is essential to me becoming better trainer. Please let me know what you think. What's new exercises do you know?