4 Excellent Reasons To Get Fit
4 Excellent Reasons To Get Fit
People have a hundred and one reasons why they don’t start working on get fitter today – most of which are not valid, including not having enough time, a common excuse.
Everyone can find the time to exercise and eat right. It is just the motivation to get moving has to be greater than the excuses not to.
If the not enough time issue is holding you back just start out with some form of exercise and tell yourself you will do it for 5 minutes. That 5 minutes will progress to 10 minutes, 30 minutes and so on as you begin to feel and see the benefits of your exercise plan.
Your long term goal should be to exercise for 30-45 minutes at least three times per week including some cardio getting your heart rate up to 70 percent of maximum predicted.
Your maximum predicted heart rate is calculated by subtracting your age from 220, then multiplying by 0.70
So for someone 50 years of age, the maximum predicted heart rate would be 220-50= 170 x 0.70= 119
A typical scenario is a visit to the doctor reveals some health related issue that triggers something in your brain to get your act together and start doing what it takes to get fit and live a longer healthier life.
You will also experience the following benefits from your get fit program:
Lose weight
To lose one pound of weight in a week, you have to burn 3,500 more calories than you eat in that week. Most people get in trouble with their weight because they are eating far too many calories for the number of calories they burn.
Excess calories are stored as fat.
If you break that 3,500 calories per week down into a daily amount – 500 calories – it is more manageable. Eat 250 fewer calories per day and burn off 250 more calories by doing some exercise. Skip the latte in the morning or the can of pop loaded with sugar and you probably reduced your calorie count by at least 250.
Walk at 3.5 mph for an hour and you burn 298 calories. There is your 500 + calorie deficit with just those two small changes.
Following the above diet and fitness plan will help you lose a pound a week, but you will also have more energy, get toned and boost your self esteem.
Strengthen your bones
As you age, you start to lose bone density at the rate of 10% by age 50 and if sedentary, another 10% each 10 years thereafter. By including some weight training into your exercise program, you can help slow bone loss as you grow older. Weight bearing activities help in the remodeling of bone. Consider having your vitamin D level checked and taking supplemental vitamin D and calcium.
Women should be taking 1000-1500 milligrams of supplemental calcium per day.
If your bone density test reveals the development of osteopenia (thinning) or osteoporosis your doctor may recommend you take medication to help your bone harden.
Tone up muscles
With toned muscles, not only will you look better, but your balance will be better and you’ll maintain flexibility in your joints. Weight training can help build muscle which will then help you burn more calories even at rest. And if you burn more calories, you’ll have an easier time maintaining your weight.
Stronger muscles will help stabilize your joints and decrease your risk of falling especially as you age.
Reduce your risk for certain diseases
Your risk to develop heart disease, Type II diabetes and some types of cancers, including colon and breast, increases significantly if you are overweight and out of shape.
As your Body Mass Index increases, so does your risk of a heart attack or stroke due to narrowed or blocked arteries.
Narrowing of the arteries in your heart causes the heart to work harder and over time may weaken your heart muscle. The weakening of your heart can lead to congestive heart failure with fluid backing up into your lungs.
If your heart has to work harder to pump blood through narrowed passages, it increases your blood pressure, which will increase your risk of stroke, eye disease and kidney problems.
If you already have Type II diabetes and you are overweight, the effects of diabetes will diminish (or in many cases go away entirely) if you lose weight. At the very least you’ll have to take less medication and possibly get off medication all together.
Start taking action to get fit, today. Putting it off until you feel up to it or motivated may be too late.
The Therapeutic Power of Honey
When you visit the supermarket, you probably notice a whole rack or a number of racks dedicated to various types of honey. When we’re discussing honey as a healing cure, though, it’s important that raw honey is used. Raw honey has not been “sterilized” with high heat, and it has not had anything put into it.
Raw honey varies a lot, too. There’s wildflower honey, tupelo honey, organic honey, and clover honey. A good middle road is raw wildflower honey. It has a tendency to contain the healing attributes of a number of wildflowers, and whenever you’re attempting to kill germs, the more germ-fighting constituents, the better.
How Is Honey Used?
One of the great things about honey is just how good is tastes. Children (over 1 year of age) respond well to honey as a treatment solution. Here are some of honey’s healing purposes.
* Burns – Honey has been shown in various scientific studies to be an incredibly useful burn treatment. It has a variety of anti-bacterial ingredients that have yet to result in bacterial resistance, and its moist nature assists in keeping burned skin supple and minimizes moisture loss. If you use honey to treat minor burns, just spread honey over the burn and cover lightly with gauze. Honey doesn’t need to be chilled, but it feels good on a burn when it is cooled.
* Coughs and colds – Studies have shown that frequently eating raw honey aids in preventing colds. It also helps soothe coughs and sore throats. Its sticky consistency coats the throat, and has a cough-suppressing benefit. Its anti-bacterial properties help fight throat infections and upper respiratory infections. By gently heating raw honey and mixing in therapeutic herbs such as sliced ginger, steeping for a couple of hours, and straining out the herbs, you can create a healing cough syrup.
* Makeup – Honey is wonderful for dry skin due to its high moisture content, and its anti-bacterial qualities can help with skin infections like acne breakouts. Plain yogurt combined with honey makes a soothing cleanser or facial mask. Sugar mixed with raw honey and sweet almond oil makes a moisturizing exfoliator.
* Allergies – Interestingly enough, routinely consuming raw honey can prevent allergic symptoms, specifically those of hay fever. Because raw honey contains residual plant pollen and various other plant elements, the concept is that the lower levels of exposure – just like occurs with allergy injections – might minimize sensitivity to standard allergens.
* Wound treatment – Some fascinating studies have shown that honey is a wonderful wound healer, especially for diabetics who may have problems with minor injuries developing into ulcers. It could even minimize scarring damage and tends to be much less painful than conventional antiseptics.
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The Healing Power of Everyday Foods
Have you ever heard the ancient saying, “Let your medicine be your food, and food be your medicine”? It’s a wise saying by Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician, from whom originates the Hippocratic Oath taken by doctors. Oddly, while modern day physicians recognize Hippocrates’ contribution to medicine by way of the Oath, the idea that our meals might be our medicine is generally not included in the practice of modern medicine.
Fortunately, foods are still “medicines,” and you can now affect your health favorably with the foods you eat. If you’d like to incorporate more healing herbs and foods to your diet, here are some tips that will help.
Herbs
The therapeutic capability of different herbs has become more and more recognized and approved. Here are some of the more readily available herbs you can include in your foods to boost their healing power.
* Ginger is an effective anti-nausea remedy and has significant antibacterial properties. The fresh root, sliced or diced, can be added to stir-fries, and can be candied and eaten out of hand.
* Oregano, a delicious herb when included with pizza, spaghetti, and so on, is considered an antioxidant. Antioxidants help clean up “free radicals” within the body, which are by-products of the body’s metabolic processes. Free radicals are suggested as a factor in the progression of arthritis and other inflammatory ailments. So sprinkle this herb on regular meals that are Italian or Greek in flavor.
* Rosemary is another antioxidant herb, and may help enhance memory and prevent cataracts. It could even help stop the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Rosemary is very good when included in meat marinades and sprinkled on dishes like pizza, focaccia, or pasta.
* Turmeric is commonly found in Indian curries. It has a yellowish color and earthy flavor, and is said to help reduce the pain and inflammation of arthritis. Turmeric can be put into soups and stews, curries, stir-fries, and other meals.
Foods
The meals you eat – not only the herbs and spices you use – might help heal, too. Here are some recommendations.
* Garlic is a powerful preventer of the common cold and flu, and possesses anti-fungal and antimicrobial properties. You could make garlic sauce for pasta, add it to a pot of soup, and base many meals around this basic food.
* Onions are similar to garlic in their healthful properties. They are maybe even more adaptable; they are often made into a meal on their own or combined with other ingredients.
* Berries are renowned for their antioxidant potential. Add berries to salads or munch on them out of hand. You can even freeze them and blend them into smoothies.
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Natural Remedies for Acne
Acne breakouts are the kind of dilemma that can strike at almost any age, it seems. While we tend to connect it with teenagers, it can flare at several other times in your life. Hormones play a key role in the development of acne, as does nutrition and other variables.
You may be trying to find natural options for acne. After all, the “chemical” acne remedies sold over-the-counter might seem severe and/or inadequate. Here are some tips for natural remedies for acne, regardless of what age you are.
Take a Good quality Multi-vitamin
Lots of people are lacking in crucial vitamins and minerals. Among those nutrients most important for the treatment and protection against acne are Vitamin A, zinc, Vitamin E, selenium, and chromium. If you can’t locate a supplement with all of these nutrients, you can take a few of these individually, or increase your dietary intake of these important vitamins and minerals.
Diet
The role of the diet is somewhat questionable with regard to managing acne breakouts. For example, the great chocolate dilemma – does eating it trigger acne? – has never really been resolved. Nevertheless, given the role that vitamins and minerals play in preventing and curing acne, it seems sensible that a nutritious diet is important in managing this problem. To illustrate:
* Specialists advise reducing dairy products, particularly milk, as the hormones and trans-fatty acids it contains could worsen acne.
* Processed sugar has been said to exacerbate acne. Sources point to sugar’s effect on the body’s insulin manufacturing, and the link between effective sugar metabolism and skin health. Studies have shown an improvement in acne when individuals were given insulin injections. Because most people can’t inject ourselves with insulin – nor is this advisable for non-diabetics – it makes better sense to eliminate refined sugar and the increased need for insulin that it leads to.
* Fresh, healthy foods are implicated in the management of acne. Processed foods often contain artificial dyes and preservatives, which have been revealed to affect hormone levels in the human body. Given the role of hormones in acne, it makes sense to avoid such artificial substances.
Natural and/or Homemade Skin cleansers
Helping your acne get better includes applying treatments to your face. Sulfur-containing soap and cleansers may help a great deal, and are available at several natural health stores for less than $10. Here are some homemade options too:
* Combine 2 tablespoons of plain Greek yogurt with 1 teaspoon of raw honey. Put this on your face as a cleanser or to clean skin and rub softly. Leave it on your face for as long as possible, as much as 15 minutes. Then rinse off with warm water. Yogurt and honey both assist in balancing bacterial activity on the skin.
* Mash rolled oats in your blender until they are a fine powder. Blend the oatmeal with sufficient water to make a paste and put it on the problem areas. Leave on for a bit, then rinse. Alternatively, you can blend the oatmeal flour with plain yogurt.
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