The Gabriel Method - Does Drinking Water Help You Lose Weight?

According to Jon Gabriel, author of The Gabriel Method, 70% to 80% of the population is in a state of chronic dehydration. People are actually starving for water. The problem is that dehydration often causes hunger, not thirst. Very often, people make the mistake of eating when they are actually thirsty.

This is due to the fact that our bodies were designed to survive the conditions of a natural environment and there was a time when nearly all of our food contained water. This makes it of paramount importance to learn to differentiate thirst from hunger.

Our bodies are ideally composed of 70% water, but due to dysfunctional eating and drinking habits this is not the case for many of the people in first world countries. All too often, we simply do not get enough water in our diet.

According to the information in The Gabriel Method book, many of the refreshments and beverages we drink contain sugars, artificial flavours and colours, which, far from quenching your thirst, do not satisfy what your body is really looking for in the first place. So you get thirsty again and you drink the wrong things again. This vicious cycle continues on and on.

You fall into what Jon Gabriel refers to as the FAT Trap. This is when your body starts to store fat, because by eating and drinking the wrong things, you have given it the false notion that you are undergoing famine, so your body responds by storing fat to keep you safe - or so it thinks.

One way to turn off your FAT Switch and ultimately start losing weight, instead of gaining it, is to drink more water in its most natural state. This will also start to reduce your cravings for high calorie, low to no nutrition beverages. Mineral water is best, but filtered water is also a good idea. The chlorine in tap water kills the friendly bacteria and microorganisms found in the body to help with digestion. Dietary experts recommend drinking a minimum of 8 glasses of water a day.

Drinking water before meals is an effective way to reduce your appetite. Try drinking a couple of glasses of water before your meals and you might notice you end up eating less. Try drinking water instead of snacking to see if your body is actually thirsty and not hungry.

Find out more about The Gabriel Method along with my personal review of the book and how easily it can help you lose weight at: [http://1scm.com/reviews/2599-the-gabriel-method-reviewed.html]

Article by Simon Freedman - health and wellness researcher.

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Paleo Diet Weight Loss - A Healthy Method of Losing Weight

Paleo Diet weight loss is an effective way for anyone to lose weight and keep it off. The diet is based on what people for millions of years consumed. It's a low carbohydrate diet, but is based on what people historically ate before all the heavily processed foods we eat today were ever invented. The diet relies less on processed carbohydrates, refined sugar, starches, breads, and grains, and more heavily on protein. Most of the diseases and problems with excess weight are the cause of our diet.

The Paleo Diet weight loss program is sometimes referred to as the healthiest diet in the world, or the Caveman Diet. The diet is based on meat, fish, poultry, leaves, roots, and fruits of plants. The foods that are recommended for the Paleo Diet are meat, fish, and poultry. According to some people who have been on the diet, 65 percent of all the foods that are on the diet should be made up of meats and fish. Eggs may also be eaten on the diet. The remaining 35 percent of food on the diet should be made up of fruits and certain vegetables.

While on the Paleo Diet weight loss regimen, you may eat root vegetables including turnips, carrots, and beets, but potatoes and yams are strictly out. When choosing fruits on the diet, all types of berries may be included in the diet. Some people don't eat fruit from trees since they have a problem with the natural sugar contained in these fruits. Lectins are contained in fruits which is why some people won't eat them. However, some people still eat bananas, melons, peaches, plums, apples, and other fruits on the diet.

The Paleo Diet weight loss program also allows you to eat most types of nuts, with the exception of peanuts and cashews, which are beans. Most people who go on the Paleo Diet eat all kinds of tree nuts including macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, pecans, walnuts, and pine nuts. The reason the diet seems to work so well for so many people, is that they eat what our ancestors ate, but without consuming foods that are harder to digest like potatoes, legumes, grains, and processed foods. It's common for many people on the diet to eat 3 or 4 times a day, but some divide the food they eat over the course of the day into 5 or 6 smaller meals.

Kristen Michele is a writer that specializes in health, fitness and weight loss. For more tips and information on the Paleo Diet visit her website at www.easypaleorecipes.co If you'd like more information on how the Paleo Diet can aid with weight loss, click here.

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Extreme Weight Loss Methods You Should Avoid - Weight Loss Tips

There are many ways to lose weight. Everybody seems to have their own approach to success. As with any type of way towards success, there are some less ideal approaches. Extreme weight loss methods are methods that focus on often dangerous techniques to drop weight fast. These methods are definitely not recommended. This guide will share with you the methods to avoid. Extreme weight loss methods give you quick weight loss but the loss usually isn't healthy nor is it very helpful if you are trying to get in shape and healthy. The reasons are many for this, however, take my word for it...extreme methods aren't good.

To start, the weight that you lose quickly with extreme weight loss methods is usually not fat. It's usually a combination of water and muscle loss. Extreme starvation, dieting, etc do make you lose lots of water weight often. You can lose a lot of water weight in short periods of time. Our bodies are made of water! The problem is that as soon as you go back to a normal diet, all the weight is usually gained back. And more is actually gained back often.

Gaining More Weight Long Term

The reason more weight is often gained back is because our bodies do not like being starved. When we starve our body, what happens is our body then goes to the fat reserves. It ends up clinging to the fat it has to save it for more starving. So, we end up holding onto our fat while getting rid of water and muscle. In addition, as soon as we start eating a normal amount again, our body saves even more fat to prepare for the next starving time in the possible future. If you want to keep low levels of fat, make your body get good amounts of food on a usual basis so it has no need to store fat.

What are Some Extreme Weight Loss Methods?

There are many types of extreme methods out there. Many are borderline eating disorders! Two such eating disorders that are extreme weight loss methods are bulimia and anorexia. Both rely on very out of normal techniques to lose weight. Starving yourself and throwing up meals only leads to serious problems in the long run.

Other methods less seen as crazy are fasting. Fasting is basically starving yourself but it goes under a different more "friendly" name. Since fasting is seen as a religious and health thing as well, many use this as the excuse for their anorexia. Be weary of these methods. They often lead to serious eating disorders. It's better to lose weight in a healthy and natural way.

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Is It Safe to Eat Raw Eggs?

Eggs are nutritious and a good source of protein. Is eating raw eggs good or bad?

Many people believe the raw food is healthier than cooked food. They contain essential nutrients for the brain, nerves, glands and hormones. The sulphur amino acids help to keep you young, raw eggs also contain an abundance of other vital substances including protein, essential fatty acids along with niacin, riboflavin, biotin, choline, vitamins A, D and E, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, iron, iodine, copper, zinc and sulphur. Egg yolks are one of the few foods that contain vitamin D.

A great deal of controversy surrounds the issue of whether it's safe to eat raw eggs. The main issue regarding eating raw eggs is contamination with the Salmonella bacterium with the secondary issue involving the availability of the B-vitamin, biotin.

Raw eggs could contain a bacteria known as Salmonella enteritidis which is known to cause food poisoning. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Salmonella contamination may be a problem with about 1 in every 30,000 eggs, but there's no way to tell by looking at it whether you have a "bad egg". However, even a very small risk is not worth taking in this situation -and there is no way to avoid taking a very small risk when eating a raw egg. Since bacteria enter the ovaries of healthy looking hens even before the shells are formed, you cannot tell from looking at eggs whether they are contaminated.

This is why it's important to properly handle and cook eggs to eliminate the risk of Salmonella infection. People who have weakened immune systems, children, the elderly, and pregnant women run a higher risk than normal ones so the best way is not eating raw eggs.

On the other hand, eating raw eggs could carry an eventual risk of biotin deficiency. The egg yolk is a rich source of biotin, but the white contains avidin which bonds with biotin, preventing biotin's absorption into the body. Avidin is inactivated when cooked, which allows the biotin in the yolk to be absorbed by the body.

Here are some tips you can take to eat eggs safely:

- Be sure to purchase eggs from a refrigerated case and place them in your refrigerator as soon as you get home. It is best to use eggs within three to four weeks of purchase.

- Cooking eggs destroys the Salmonella; however, they must be cooked to a temperature of at least 160°F (71°C). Sunny-side up and over-easy eggs often do not reach this temperature.

- For recipes that contain raw eggs such as Caesar salads, mousse, or homemade ice cream, it is best to use pasteurized eggs that have been heated to a high enough temperature to ensure that the Salmonella has been destroyed.

- If you eat many eggs for a long stretch of time, you may need a biotin supplement (supported within a B-complex intake). Biotin rich foods include swiss chard, tomatoes, carrots, and liver. You many want to include these foods in your diet when you eat raw eggs, or just eat the raw yolks alone and cook the whites later.

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Top Weight Loss Methods

A lot of people are finding the right weight loss solutions by which they will be able to shed a couple of the excess fats that they have. The thing with these diet methods is that they are often very simple and straight-forward that it is very easy for people to forget about them even when they are really trying to lose weight. Because of these, the really effective and simple solutions to losing weight will be discussed and elaborate further hereafter.

The first on the list of the different solutions that people can take is to always have breakfast every single day. This is considered as one of the most effective weight loss solutions out there simply because of the fact that ensuring that one's body is fired up at the start of the day can really help in burning all of the stored fats. Simply put, eating breakfast every morning can really help people to have a faster metabolism that not only burns fat, but also helps them to be active for the rest of the day.

Another really important thing that people should remember when they are currently in the process of losing weight is to always have a snack nearby so that they could eat in between meals. This is probably one of the most popular misconceptions when it comes to losing weight - to not snack often. However, the reason why it is among the most important weight loss solutions is because just like breakfast, it also boosts the metabolism of a person. Snacking in between meals is not wrong, it is what one snacks on that matters; this means that it is not wrong for someone to eat in between meals just as long as what he/she is eating is healthy. For instance, it would really be advisable for a person to snack on fruits, nuts, pretzels and even cheese.

People should also know that one of the most efficient among all of the weight loss solutions available is to eat foods that have high fibre content. For instance, it would really be a good idea for people to concentrate on consuming foods like vegetables, fruits and whole-grain breads. The reason why fibre-rich foods are very advisable to consume most especially when trying to lose weight is because this is the only type of food that would not make anyone feel guilty about eating due to the low content of carbohydrates in them.

With all these solutions when it comes to losing weight, people should remember that they would eventually succeed as long as they become really committed in doing some of the solutions suggested in this article.

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3 Essential Wellness Tips to Age Without Chronic Illness

Decide to overhaul your attitude. Can you use your present attitude to take you to a higher more powerful place? Attitude is usually developed by innate beliefs and systems that were put in place as you matured. To focus on staying well for the rest of your life, the first thing you must do is to become aware of the habits, thought and belief you are bringing to this new desire.

If you have a lackadaisical attitude about eating this is the time to revive your spirit about choices in food that can keep you well, with your blood pressure in tack and with the correct blood sugar level. Can you envision no colds in the winter, not a single aching bone or chronic Arthritis, no clogged sinuses and a feeling of contentment?

I believe this is possible with the right attitude and a health preserving diet.

Let's look at attitude, Instead of I am old enough to eat what I want - consider your eating paradox - You are aging, a good indication that your body will not tolerate an unbalanced diet with the eating style of a younger person. One of the first indications of this is a diagnosis that you have arthritis, or a disease like diabetes, both of which are associated with excessive simple sugar and a compulsion to overeat on one food group simple carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are found in white bread, juice drinks with more than 40 grams of sugar per serving, excessive starchy food like white potatoes cooked in its many forms, white bread usually served with burgers and hot dogs. These are the foods of youth and adolescence and would be quite dangerous for you to use as a stable for your mature life.

Second, it would be wise to change your internal chatter to, 'I can eat to meet the needs of my desire to be well and happy at any age'. Or do you expect to age with illness?

Become a 'control freak' when it comes to your diet and eating. This will enable you to become more conscious of your health as you age. For instance, plan to eat out. Find out more about the restaurants and food preparation and make a list of places you determine that prepare high quality meals, and have superior cuisine skills with regards to food content and preparation. For instance are they serving wild salmon or farmed salmon - there will be a difference in the fat and nutrient content of these animals. It is recommend eating wild salmon from cold waters for essential health benefits...

Third, you should drop the 'going on a diet' paradigm. Switch to another favorite TV station when a DIET commercial starts to play, or take a water break. Whatever you do try and not get sucked into their idea of making money with manufactured food. Think about it, if this is your choice for keeping a healthy weight you would have to do it for the rest of your life. Even if you have a quick weight loss mindset do you want to eat like this for the rest of your life? You must have a strategy, such as regular visits to a farmers market for fresh food, to put in place after you experience the quick weight loss, if not - well you envision it...
Guidance from a good cookbook with healthy recipes and tips would also be extremely helpful.

The fact is everything about your diet and you life can change for you now, with the right information an attitude.

Celia Westberry, Wellness Mentor and Cooking Coach counsels people to become aware of the connection between their eating lifestyle and the impact it has on their bodies to nurture, restore or be detrimental. Her clients learn to open their awareness to the awesome power of food to heal, promote health and restore wellbeing. They achieve energetic balance in their bodies, and also feel empowered to succeed with their health challenges and life intentions. Celia's experiences include doing scientific research in cancer and lecturing at the college level in cell and molecular biology. She is the CEO of Westberry Wellness Programs LLC and the author of the award winning book - Eat Yourself Younger Effortlessly, the easy way to slow aging, feel great and look good.

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Extreme Weight Loss Methods For Events

You can use extreme weight loss methods to shed the bulk hanging from your waist, hips and chin to look smarter and prettier. The loss of weight is a gradual process which requires consistency. Some people are too desperate and impatient to lose weight, hence they seek short cuts. Extreme weight loss methods are meant for such people. These people are usually keener to lose weight for special occasions such as weddings, parties, prom nights and dates.

The most popular form of losing weight on a short notice is starvation, which is employed by some of the most famous fashion models and celebrities. Dieters can be more interested in finding the easier way of shedding their calories rather progressing slowly with the traditional method of eating healthily and exercising regularly.

There are some people who wish to reduce weight but they cannot seem to do so despite the extreme weight loss methods that they have applied on themselves. One of these methods, however, works well for them and that method is liposuction. The fatty tissue under skin is removed using a tube. This is more like surgery that a diet which is done under local or general anesthesia. For the general public, action such as this does not guarantee a definitive weight loss. Chances are that those who undergo this process need to go through several surgeries before their skin evens out and looks smooth. This may cost a lot to the person and also may leave him unsatisfied.

Some people also take excessive drugs for losing weight. This is a very unnatural way to reduce body mass since it may also have side effects which can lead to severe internal problems and diseases. Many vital organs of your body cease to work and you may also have mental and physical disability if you do not understand the gravity of taking too many drugs. Extreme weight loss methods which cause such severe problems and damage your own body are not advised on the whole to put into practice. You may never realize the damage these drugs are having on your body because the symptoms will start to appear gradually. There could be times when you would lose so much weight that you will start feeling weak and nauseated. This is not at all normal in any circumstance.

There is another method often introduced to people who have digestive issues. This method is known as the detox diet. The dieter is given a liquid or juice in the form of syrup which he takes for a limited time period in order to clear the digestive system. You will stop feeling hungry because of the nutrients present in the liquid which replace the hunger of the dieter. However, once the problem is solved and you resume back to eating a solid diet, the weight is likely to start to be regained. This should therefore be used as a very temporary method.

Some people also take injections as one of the extreme diet methods. This might seem to be a very tempting method but it is not approved by the FDA. Hence it is better to opt for a traditional way of losing weight than these short cuts.

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7 Tips for Healthy Eating at Office

Our workplace is where we spend most of our waking hours. For many it is like a second home as we spend a good part of our day there. To lead a healthy life style, you need to eat healthy whether you are at home or in office. When you work more than eight hours a day, it becomes difficult to eat healthy if you do not plan ahead. Here are a few tips that you can implement straight away to start eating healthy at work.

Healthy Eating Style at the Office

1. Sleep well at night - 

This may seem a bit out of place in this article. If you are not well rested, you will not eat well and will feel sluggish. Not only that if you have not slept well, you are likely to reach out for numerous cups of coffee to keep your energy levels up.

2. Never ever Skip your Breakfast. 

After fasting for 8 hours the body requires the energy to function the whole day. Therefore, eat some breakfast. Go for protein like egg rather than the carbs such as cereals. Protein will fill your stomach therefore less cravings later in the day. If you're in a hurry, have a healthy milk shake of protein powder, banana slices, water or milk and a handful of berries.

3. Carry food with you. 

It goes without saying that homemade food is always better than the store-bought lunches in terms of taste and cost. Even a sandwich and a salad carried from home is healthier than the ones bought from a deli. A simple lunch of natural yoghurt, fruits and nuts is healthier than the greasy food bought from the fast food joints.

4. Cut down on your drinks. 

Consumption of beverages such as coke, tea or coffee along with cookies or cakes is bad for your health. The best solution is cut back on the tea and coffee consumption. Drink plenty of water. Fruit juices are good provided they are fresh and without sugar. Sipping green tea is not only healthy but also relieves stress.

5. Don't stray away from your diet plans.

  This is easier said than done. You can always say no to the donut that is being passed around, if you are carrying your healthy snack. Stop buying sugary junk. This is one way to avoid eating them. If your work involves frequent meetings, carry with you a fruit or some nuts and a bottle of water. This way you can avoid the unhealthy snacks such as biscuits, cakes or other high-calorie goodies.

6. Be prepared for late nights. 

If your work type is such that you may not reach home before 8pm most of the days be prepared. Remember, by the time you get home you're tired and worn out all that you want to do is eating anything and stretch your self. Either wake up early in the morning or make some extra food the previous night. Take the food with you and leave it in the office refrigerator to consume it in evening. This way you need not starve in the evenings.

7. Eat slowly .

 Consider using the dining room instead of sitting in front of the computer. The brain and the stomach will sync with each other when you eat your meals slowly.

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Top Four Weight Loss Methods

If you go through print and digital media you will come across thousands of weight loss methods. Do all these methods work? This is a big question. Obesity is a big problem these days. In developed countries every third person is obese another one third are considered overweight as they have strong tendencies to move to the obese group.

People have realized that obesity is a curse that deteriorates social, family and professional life of a person. Over the last few years we have noted that the ratio of obese people is not increasing as fast as it increased in the last decade. People are looking for different weight loss methods and implementing them in their lives to improve the life standards.

After thorough research the European Weight loss Society has come up with top four methods that can be of great help in reducing body weight. These weight loss methods are guaranteed to work. You will notice that most of these methods emphasize diet as compared to exercise. Similar recommendations were issued by American Society of Nutritionists.

1. Decreasing the total quantity of food intake:

You do not have to be very specific about which foods you should avoid. On the general basis if you are reducing your food intake by 50 percent you will get rid of almost 50 percent of total calories. So, the type of food does not really matter.

2. Changing your food without decreasing the total quantity of food:

Not every person can stand fasting. Hunger cramps stop thousands of people from following a strict weight loss plan. This method is suitable for those guys who want to eat as much as they want and still lose body weight. You just have to stop cooking your food in oil and butter and eliminate fats and excessive carbohydrates from your diet.

3. Increase fiber intake:

Fibers not only fill you up but also help in improving your digestion. Extra time is taken in chewing fibrous diet that leads to early satisfaction during a meal and excessive secretion of enzymes in the gut.

4. Doing mild exercises but for a longer period of time:

Exercises and workout have an important role in any weight loss plan. Workouts are only suited for those guys who want to turn body weight into muscles without decreasing total body weight. Mild exercises like cycling, walking, running or stair climbing are ideal to achieve long term goals.

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Fitness For Older People - Because Fitness Transcends Beyond Age

Age does not matter in fitness. Fitness is actually a matter of concern that people should pay attention to, even after reaching their mature age. These days, we can hear from the news or read from online articles that there are indeed old people whose ages are 70 and beyond, yet are still able to do well in their fitness-related activities. This simply shows us that fitness for old people may be pursued successfully and safely.

The usual concerns for old people are health problems associate with their ripe age. Their bodies are also not that robust as they used to be while they were still younger. However, just as a younger person needs to take caution in pursuing his/her fitness goals, aged people only need to be well-informed about how they can safely workout in order to remain fit.

Consultation With The Doctor First

Before performing any exercise, it will be best to consult first with the doctor if an elderly person can safely do it or not. Through a consultation with a health care provider, one may also know what physical activities are okay to be performed and how intense these activities can be.

Ideal Activities For Elders

Muscle-strengthening and aerobic exercises are the two ideal activities that people aged 65 and above must perform on a weekly basis in order to improve health or stay healthy.

Moderately Intense Exercises

If a person has no condition that limits his/her mobility, daily performance of moderately intense aerobic activities may be done like fast walking or cycling for two and a half hours weekly. Water aerobics, dancing (line and ballroom), pushing the lawn mower, volleyball and canoeing are also other activities of reasonable intensity.

These activities let you work hard enough so the heart rate may increase so you can produce sweat. One way to know if an activity is moderate is if you can still talk while performing it, yet, you cannot actually sing the exact lyrics of a song.

Vigorously Intense Exercises

Running or playing single tennis can be considered vigorously intense activities and should be performed for 75 minutes each week. Fast swimming, biking fast or on an elevated ground, football, uphill hiking, dancing and martial arts are also considered vigorous activities. They let you breathe fast and hard, making your heart rate considerably faster. While doing vigorous activities, you need first to pause and breathe before you can sing lyrics of a song.

Muscle-Strengthening Activities

These are exercises that must be performed with counting in repetitions and in sets. Repetition refers to a full movement of any activity like sit ups or weight lifting. Set is one group of many repetitions. An elderly individual needs 8-12 repetitions in a set of each activity. Up to three sets can be beneficial.

Other Beneficial Activities

Elders have high risks of falling due to weakened legs, medical conditions and poor balance. To compensate for these, exercises or activities that can help improve coordination and balance should be performed; such as tai chi, dancing and yoga.

Fit Over 40 offers true stories of people who successfully maintained their fitness and vitality, despite their old age. Turbulence Training is a related training system using the latest discoveries in science.

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The Way to a Longer and Healthier Life

We all want to get fit and feel that we are enjoying a fulfilling life. However we are not all starting out from the same point. This will mean that it may take longer for some of us to reach that level of health with which we are satisfied.

Where ever your starting point is we all know that we need the right amount of nutrition and exercise for our lifestyle. The distance between your starting point and your goal fitness is measureable. The simplest, and in many cases the most significant, is the ratio between your body mass and your fat mass. Often referred to as your BMI, or Body Mass Index.

Just enter your height and weight into any of the free BMI tables on the internet and you can readily see if you need to lose weight.

Next, check your cholesterol level and you blood pressure. With these three results, exclusive to you, you can see the size (sic) of the problem.

Like most of us you may have noticed that every year, it becomes even more difficult to eat whatever you want and still stay slim.You may also have learnt that your Basal Metabolic Rate decreases as you get older. Depriving yourself of food in the hope of losing weight also decreases your BMR, foiling your best intentions. However, a regular routine of cardiovascular exercise can increase your BMR, improving your health and fitness when your body's ability to burn energy gradually slows down.

Having ascertained the goal that you wish to reach, if you are serious about a long and healthy life, you can now take action.

All three of these areas can be improved by changing your dietary habits and daily exercise regime.

Your diet will now have to exclude convenience foods. Many of these, when combined with an indolent lifestyle, will increase the amount of free radicals in the body. Free radicals can be very harmful and are especially linked to a reduction in longevity.

Decreasing the free radicals in your system is accomplished by the intake of antioxidants. Whilst antioxidants are of great value, those taken as supplements can be counter-productive. In the event that you take too many supplements, particularly those high in vitamins A and E, the surplus is unused and is stored in the liver. This initially causes the liver functions to become impaired and in severe cases can cause harm. Some antioxidant supplements are claimed to become carcinogenic in the body.

Antioxidants are best taken in the form of fresh fruit and vegetables. They will need to be included in your daily diet. Include as wide a variety as possible but not tinned or cooked. Cooking vegetables or fruit not only spoils the taste; it destroys all most all the health giving properties.

Just by simply increasing your raw fruit and vegetable intake whilst reducing your reliance on convenience foods will dramatically reduce your cholesterol level.

You may find that for the first few weeks of changing your exercise and dietary habits that you feel tired. Don't worry about this as you will be sleeping more deeply and in a few days you will awake feeling more invigorated than you have for years.

If we have dealt, at least in part, with diet, nutrition and vitamin supplements, we must turn our attention to exercise.

There is no need to groan at this point, I am not going to force you into life-long gym membership or turn you into a galley slave. The point about exercise in this case is its purpose to help in improving or attaining a good BMI, cholesterol level and blood pressure.

It is most likely that you need more exercise or, in many cases, some exercise.

Whilst it is true that some is better than none, never the less we don't want to embark on an exercise routine that can cause harm.

Start slowly, build gradually.

The most useful piece of equipment that I have come across for general health improvement is the elliptical machine. It does more than the old treadmill in that it also allows you to work your upper body.

The primary reason for my recommending an elliptical machine is that it gives a low impact level. If you are to start physical activity after any period of inactivity we shall need to be gentle. It is a safe assumption that you are overweight and to subject your joints to doing anything more that carrying you from the dining table to the sofa must be done gradually.

In addition to being more up to date than the old treadmills the elliptical trainers now include a LED or LCD display. This gives instant feedback and monitoring of your progress. There are usually recommendations of workout programs that you can follow.

There are many makes and models available and I would suggest that you take your time and try them out at your local store or stores. Do be sure that you select a model that has those heart or pulse rate monitors, always useful when starting out. Your initial enthusiasm may outweigh your early abilities.

Talking of your local stores, there is an important consideration when buying any type of gym equipment. Since safety is of prime importance with these pieces of equipment they will of necessity be robust and substantial. Therefore they will usually be of considerable size and weight.

Once having selected the make and model of your choice you may search the internet for a supplier. Before you dismiss your local store do take into consideration the delivery cost. Your local store will frequently deliver free which may make him a better purchase than what at first appears an internet bargain.

Once you find your general level of health and fitness being restored you may wish to move on to a higher level of health.

Whether this includes weight training or any of the other activities than can be considered extreme I would urge that you only undertake them with some professional guidance.

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Asian Weight Loss Methods - Tips and Tricks

Asian weight loss methods are such an advantage in the battle for a hot sexy body that it's surprising more people aren't aware of them. Asian women have been able to lose weight quickly for generations without having to kill themselves working out or going hungry for days, even just after giving birth! Today we're going to look at a secret Asian weight loss method you can use to win the battle of the bulge!

Asian Weight Loss Methods - Tips and Tricks

This goes without saying, but it's worth mentioning briefly: Asian women don't find their size-2 figures in a bottle of pills, or in a potentially dangerous medical procedure, or by going on a "cleanse" diet where we're drinking lemon water for two weeks!

Stay away from any of these "hot new trends", as 99% of the time it's a nonsense scam designed to take your money and potentially cause you health problems down the road.

You don't need these shortcuts, it's easy to get the body you want just by following a few routines Asian women do as a part of their normal routine.

Here's one of my favorites:

The Magic Mushroom Fungus - Cordyceps Sinensis

My Chinese Mother used to feed my sisters and I this strange thing she called a mushroom when we were kids, and I had no clue why until many years later when she told me it was actually a trick to keep us healthy and thin!

Now I understand why after reading the scientific research papers on the mushroom, which is officially called "cordyceps sinensis", as the results it provides are impressive in terms of weight loss and health.

Cordyseps sinensis is a "superfood", which means it does many positive things within the body from one serving. It's not naturally present in North America or Europe, which is likely why few Americans have heard of it prior to the past few years. Now it's available from organic health food stores and even in capsules for anyone to enjoy and benefit from.

To sum up the main Asian weight loss methods behind eating cordyceps sinensis revolves around what happens when people consume it. In independent tests, people who had 10g of the mushroom at every meal (a little over a tablespoon) ate 35% fewer calories than the same-age group that wasn't given the mushroom.

More amazing, the test group that ate the mushroom experienced a body fat reduction of 5%, even though they were on the same basic non-exercise routine as the group not eating it! This translates into approximately 5-10 pounds of pure fat lost per person, just by sprinkling some of the extract on their meals...impressive isn't it?

No wonder my Mom made us eat it, haha.

Luckily cordyceps sinensis is widely available now, if there isn't any at your local food stores try the internet for ordering, just make sure it has "organic" on the label and that it is also "100% natural cordycepts sienensis" on the label.

The Real Way to Easy Permanent Weight Loss

Unfortunately you're not going to discover true permanent weight loss from just a quick article on my favorite mushroom. In order to really understand how Asian women are able to get their incredibly skinny bodies while eating as much as they want requires a detailed look at all of their secret techniques and methods.

Let me teach you some secret tricks Asian women have been using for years to quickly drop 20 pounds off your belly and thighs in less than a month without any sweating. These simple methods are so easy that you can actually do many of them while in the bathtub or relaxing on the couch watching TV!

Click here to learn Asian weight loss methods and get the body you've always dreamed of NOW.

Love and good health always,

Catherine Cheng - Founder, The Skinny Asian Diet

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Catherine_Cheng

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Secrets to Building Good Concrete Footings

Building good concrete footings is really no secret and requires some basic rules that are easy to follow but are also easy to ignore. No matter what the structure is that is going to sit on your footings be it a house, a shed or a deck, if the footing is weak or sits on unstable soils the footing is useless. Almost all good construction drawings will have some details as to the size of the footings required, strength of the concrete the architect requires and so on. Using 2000 pound concrete where 4000 pound is required, is a sure bet the footing will fail. Cheating on the footing size or making it ten inches deep instead of the required twelve inches, means the building is sitting on a weak footing. Weak footings mean cracked foundation walls at least and failure at the worst. If you are having the work done for you take the time to measure the forms before the contractor pours the concrete. Ask to see the concrete delivery ticket to assure the proper strength concrete was used. Better yet, check the ticket before they pour. Truck drivers are used to having their tickets checked by testing agencies.

Many contractors will use a two by ten inch plank as a footing form. Footings are commonly called out as either ten or twelve inches thick. If a twelve inch footing is needed, they hold the forms up off the ground and nail a piece of scrap plywood to the two by ten plank. Problem is if they nail it to the inside of the plank and are using three quarter inch thick plywood, they just made your footing an inch and half smaller than it should be. If they use plywood fillers, they must get nailed on the outside.

The same problem occurs if they lap the forms end to end. If they start the forms at twenty four inches (two feet) apart and then place (lap) the next forms inside those, you really only have twenty one inches (21) of concrete after deducting the form thickness's. This is often overlooked as by lapping the boards in and out, the end product looks correct but in fact has narrowed sections making the footing less than what was designed.

The use of the incorrect strength concrete is an obvious cause of structural failure. Concrete is available in standard strengths of 2500, 3000, 3500, 4000, 4500, and 5000 pound strengths from most suppliers. Higher strengths of 6000 and 8000 pounds are used on highway projects and high rise pre-stressed concrete buildings. If the engineer or architect has determined the concentrated load of the structure on the footings requires 4000 pound concrete, that is what must be used. We have all read about building failures where a contractor cheated and used cheaper concrete or steel and the result was a disaster.

Almost all footings have some type of reinforcing bars required by design. Again these bars will be called out on the plans and must be followed. Typically two number five bars continuous means that two bars five eighths of an inch thick will run continuously through all footings. Bars will be lapped over each other at the ends by 32 diameters and tied tightly together with wire.

Reinforcing bars are typically shown to be placed in the bottom three inches of a footing. Again this is a design criteria for strength so pushing the bars into the wet concrete a few inches deep later will not fly with most building inspectors. The bars should be hung by cross braces and wire and separated with short pieces of rebar or dowels to assure they do not move when the concrete is poured. No part of the rebar or dowels should touch the forms themselves as after form removal the exposed ends of the rebar will rust and wick water inside the footing thereby weakening it.

All tops of footing forms must be level. Whether the foundation walls are to be concrete or masonry units, leveling the forms or laying the base course of CMU is next to impossible. The better the forms are, the straighter and more level the walls will be.

Lastly, soil bearing is critical to good footings. The drawings will clearly state what the soil bearing capacity must be for the footings. For most homes, 3000 pounds is required but each and every home or structure is different. If your building inspector has any doubt about what they are seeing for soil conditions under the forms they will require a soil bearing test be performed by an engineer. If the test fails the engineer must either redesign the footings for that soil type or perhaps redesign the foundation walls. I have seen many cases where the footing has been over-excavated and the contractor attempted to put loose soil or rock back into the void. This is never allowed. Future settlement will surely cause a footing failure. The loose material must be removed and the footing thickened at that point or the footing may be dropped and a higher foundation wall installed. Either way all footings must sit on virgin earth or solid rock.

If you follow these rules, the building inspectors will pass your work every time and you will have a good end product.

Pete Ackerson
Your Friendly Building Inspector
http://www.Wagsys.com
BICES-Building Inspection & Code Enforcement System software

Pete is a 30+ year building inspector with experience in both public and private construction industries. From schools to treatment plants, from private homes and condo projects, to large residential landscaping projects, he has worked both in the building design areas and field construction in the Eastern US. In 2006 he formed along with two other building inspectors, Wagsys LLC which produced software for municipal agencies in the fields of building departments, planning boards and Zoning Boards of Appeals.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Ackerson

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