Before Starting the HCG Detox

By Amelia Handley

I hope you've been enjoying my string of articles detailing my progress in researching and preparing for my own personal HCG Detox Diet. I had a hard time limiting myself to 2 additional products when I accessed the full product line offered by HCG Diet Direct. The homeopathic HCG weight loss formula is a vital purchase, but I picked to more products to use in addition to the formula. I chose the cookbook and the B-Total Sublingual. They seemed like the best options for me.

But all the other products were great, as well! So I've been doing a quick rundown of their benefits for you so you can make your own choice when the time comes. In my previous article I told you all about the Metabolizer and Energy supplement that a lot of dieters incorporate. There were dieters who claimed it was what got them through the diet. Others claimed it was beneficial both before during and after the diet.

HCG Diet Direct also offers Remote Doctor Consultations. The remote doctor consultation is purchased online. The buyer receives an email requesting a time to set up a phone conference time to discuss questions and concerns. The live question and answer session is helpful to many dieters.

HCG Diet Direct urges dieters who are going to take advantage of the phone consultation to write down their questions prior to the scheduled phone conference so they are able to get all the answers they are looking for within the doctor's schedule. If the doctor requires time to research any of your questions he/she will call or email you back with the answer in a reasonable amount of time at no additional cost.

While many avoid the hcg diet clinics and weight loss specialists due to the cost of in office visits...some really appreciate the opportunity to get a doctor's opinion. They can ask the questions that are on their mind and know they have a qualified medical professional on hand to provide them with the exact answers they need.

This option seems like a good choice if you are unsure about any specific situations and the possibility that they could be effected by the HCG diet program. Whether your questions have to do with medications required for personal medical situations, family history, or the effect of limiting your foods while on the diet...the Remote Doctor Consultation seems the perfect way to go. It will provide you with accurate answers specific to your situation in the most economical, convenient way. So while I didn't choose to make it a part of my HCG detox plan if you have any desire to hear a doctor's opinion about your plan to engage in the HCG detox...I'd suggest you give it a try. - 17273

About the Author:

Amelia Handley majored in exercise science in college with a minor in Nutrition. Yet she still found herself veering from diet to diet in order to control her weight. With HCG Diet Direct she's found a program that allows her to combine her desire to control her own body weight with her education and not feel off balance.

Tips and Strategies For a Good Night's Sleep

By Dr. Robert A. Simmons

Whenever you have trouble sleeping, you probably blame it on your hectic lifestyle and with good reason. You may go to sleep but your body won't be resting especially when your mind is full of troubling issues. The words sleep and rest are not synonyms when it comes bedtime. Sleep is generally seen as that total time in hours spent in bed. Rest is what you get when you "go to sleep" and let your body revitalize itself.

You know that there are two forms of sleep: REM and non-REM. REM stands for rapid eye movement and this sleep is the dreaming state. When you're in REM sleep, you're dreaming (whether or not you remember it) and people will know if you're in REM sleep by the swift eye movements. This sleep helps your body restore its mental capabilities. The non-REM sleep stage is when you go into a deep slumber; this allows your immune system and other vital processes to restore themselves.

You may not realize it but what you do every day can hinder your chances of getting a restful night's sleep. Studies were done on how electronics affected a person's sleep. The results were that televisions, video games, computers, etc. interfered with how well a person slept. Electronics keep your brain active so it's vitally important to set aside some quiet time to unwind before you go to sleep.

Be mindful of what you drink and eat before bed. Any drinks or foods that are caffeinated must be avoided. This means you'll need to avoid sports drinks, coffee, soda and chocolate. If you enjoy tea before bed, read labels to ensure that it is not caffeinated. If you find that it is, consider switching to decaffeinated.

A common cause of poor sleep is living a sedentary lifestyle. A regular exercise program has been show to improve sleep. Exercise programs improve your overall quality of life. If you are not familiar with exercising it is a good idea to hire a personal trainer. Think of it as taking some golf lessons. Utilizing their experience will save you from wasting time doing the wrong things.

One great idea is to take inventory of your bedroom. What is it's purpose? Is your bedroom a media room? The bedroom should not be used for reading, watching television or using computers. Keep it an area designated for low stress and rest.

When a person uses their bedroom as another "living room", their body associates this room with that concept. If a person were to remove these items, they could retrain their minds to think of it as a bedroom. While a person may really like their bedroom to be an entertainment center, it's one of the worst things they can do for themselves.

It's important to identify how much stress you're under since this is a culprit in the lack of sleep a person gets. Stress can eventually lead you to depression, which will also interfere with your ability to get a good sleep. Determine what makes your mind run wild and find ways to slow it down.

Here are some tips to getting good nights sleep. In addition to repurposing your bedroom, develop a "nite-nite" ritual. Do the same tasks every night before going to bed. Give yourself the gift of a half hour wind down. This will signal your brain and body that you are ending the day and preparing for bed.

Some things that a person can do is read in bed, drink decaffeinated tea such as peppermint tea. Rather than using the overhead light or lamp, a person should use candlelight; a lavender candle helps to relax the body.

Everything in life is a challenge and changing your sleep patterns is one of them. While it's difficult to do, you can change them so that you get a good sleep. Remember to put together a nighttime routine to help you wind down your day and relax your mind; within no time, you'll be fast asleep. - 17273

About the Author:

Author: Dr. Robert Simmons is a charlotte chiropractor using applied kinesiology technique. Come to one of our free charlotte chiropractic nutrition seminars or workshops.

Don't Ignore Your Legs When Strength Training

By Ted Marion

Many personal trainers and weight lifting experts will tell you that every single muscle group is just as important as the other. Cutting one out of your rotation could definitely limit your overall muscle growth.

Many people spend more time on their chests than on their back muscles, and their body ends up looking out of whack as a result. Others may put too much emphasis on their shoulders, and shirts will fit them awkwardly.

While people know this mantra to be true, they still have a hard time bringing themselves to work their legs into their weight training rotation. For some reason, people see the leg workout as an unpleasant task.

I'm going to go into a number of different reasons that the legs must be tended to. On the most basic level, those who don't work out their legs end up looking very awkward. Their upper bodies will be larger than the lower halves of their bodies. Despite anything they think, people won't find this attractive, even if the upper body looks great.

Aside from the drawbacks of neglecting your legs in the gym, there are many benefits to working them out too. Most notably, leg workouts fuel the production of endorphins. These are natural hormones responsible for feelings of happiness and energy.

If you've ever felt a buzz after a good workout or a long run, it's most likely endorphins at work. The best way to activate these endorphins is through working out your legs at the gym.

There are some great benefits to leg training if you play sports. You'll be faster, you'll have more endurance, and your legs will be stronger. Stronger legs also happen to contribute to upper body strength, so don't be fooled if your intended sport doesn't involve much running.

For the reasons listed above, and a number of others, you'll definitely benefit from paying attention to your legs at the gym. Give it a try and you'll be glad you did. - 17273

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Using An Exercise Program To Burn That Fat

By Ricardo d Argence

When you want to seriously lose weight there's basically one way to get to your goal weight...control you caloric intake and burn, burn, burn those calories that are built up in your body.

Cutting about 20% of your calorie intake will lead to losing weight slowly and consistently. If you eat more calories than you burn, weight will not come off. It is as simple as that. This is true no matter what type of exercise program you devise.

A solid workout designed to drop weight must always contain a mix of aerobics, weight-lifting and isometric exercises to enhance the metabolism, grow your muscles and increase your strength all for the purpose of burning fat.

To include muscle building in an exercise program can be helpful for future plans to lose weight. While lean muscle may weigh more, the compositions is healthier than fat and it takes up less mass on the body. Additionally, those muscles contribute to the burning of more calories when you perform the proper work. It is important to also point out that lean muscle mass consumes fat in order to maintain its size and shape.

Weight loss programs are most effective when done in repetitive format while using manageable equipments. The bane of most people who are overweight is their belly, their gut, their paunch... it is the caretaker of those last, stubborn 3 to 6 pounds.

And to eliminate it, strengthening the core muscles is a fantastic way to reduce the waistline; whether it's Pilates, an aggressive Ab routine or a trainer-designed callisthenic series of moves and positions, the goal is stay moving as much as possible for the continued sweat.

Burning off excess weight will always require a powerful cardio exercise program. This means 20 minutes of hard cardio performed every other day will certainly aid in boosting your metabolism. Increasing your workout pace to a healthy heart rate designed to burn off excess weight.

It is necessary to remember that when performing workouts to lose weight, you must determine your optimal heart rate is (which is based on your weight and age) and attempt to maintain an optimal heart rate for about 30 minutes 4 to 6 days a week while performing intense interval cardio work for roughly 20 minutes after a weight-lifting session will significantly enhance calorie burning and fat loss.

Heavy exercise is not really need to drop weight but this will certainly help develop muscle mass which is known for its ability to burn fat quicker. This will eventually lead to a muscled but slim physique. When you do take the time to lift weights, it would be best to perform high reps with lighter weights which will this increase the amount of calories you burn.

So, if you're doing Squats, you might want to do 25 or 35% off your maximum weight, but do 15 to 20 reps for 4 or 5 sets. You will feel the exercise do its job as some of the excess weight will melt off on the following days.

Granted, the results that you experience will never be as quick as they would be if you took a supplement of a questionable nature. However, if you employ the proper methods of weight training and cardio vascular conditioning, you will discover your body developing into a sleek and supple one. And all of this can be achieved with a relatively simple workout program. - 17273

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Vitamin D In Diets In Youngsters Is Shockingly Low

By Kirsten Whittaker

The results of the latest nationwide report on vitamin D level brings more evidence that children as well as adults are lacking this significant nutrient with vitamin D intake at a scarily low level.

The numbers of adults without enough vitamin D made news last year, but experts like Dr. Michal L. Melamed of the Albert Einstein University of Medicine believe the slide has been going on for more than 20 years.

So it's not that researchers are shocked by the amount of vitamin D deficiency in our children, it is the sheer magnitude of the problem that is the worrying piece of new|s.

Where once in this country bone diseases like rickets, a result of not enough vitamin D, were nearly extinct, consultants have diagnosed over 150 new occurrences of the disease in Philadelphia in 2008, up from 0 only three years before.

The researchers believe the explanations for the low levels of vitamin D in youngsters are unsatisfactory diet and lack of time spent outside in the sun, which appears sensible if you consider the way of life of most youngsters today.

Still this nutrient is crucial for helping the body to metabolize calcium, as well as being concerned with immune function, cell expansion, heart health, even offering protection against diseases like diabetes and cancers like colon, breast and ovarian.

The research involved researching over six thousand subjects, ages 1 to twenty-one who had supplied information to the nutrition examination Survey 2001-2004.

The team found that 9% ( 7.6 million kids countrywide ) were vitamin D deficient. Another 61% ( 50.8 million across the U.S. ) were vitamin D insufficient. Low levels were found in girls, African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, fat kids or people who drank milk less than one time a week.

Youngsters who expended over four hours a day watching television, using a PC or playing computer games were also much more likely to lack vitamin D.

The problem is advanced by the fact that vitamin D isn't normally a part of many foods. Fish like salmon, tuna, sardines and mackerel as well as cod liver oils are some of the best sources - though hardly popular.

Meat, liver, cheese and egg yolks have a touch, as do some mushrooms. Fortified foods give us most of the vitamin D we need. Milk, ready for eating breakfast cereals, some makes of orange juice, yogurt or margarine are products permitted to add vitamin D.

Recommendations introduced in 2008 by the North American Academy of Pediatrics call for children, youngsters and teens to take in 400 IU of vitamin D every day in a supplement form.

There are many professionals who suggest both children and adults get at least one thousand IU each day. In the study, youngsters who took a vitamin D supplement were less likely to be deficient, but only a tiny % ( 4% ) of the total study participators were using supplements at the time.

The good news for those of us who want to get additional vitamin D is that our own bodies make this vitamin naturally. All you've got to do is spend time in the sun, though this capability varies widely depending on your skin color ( lighter skin processes vitamin D more efficiently ) and where you're found on the globe ( northerly latitudes aren't as good for vitamin making ).

As we get older our bodies are not able to make vitamin D from sunlight as well as they used to, so older folks are as certain to need supplements as the young.

And while concern over carcinoma of the skin is warranted, and should keep you out of the sun, insecure, during top hours ; you can still get natural sunlight safely.

Enjoy daylight in the early morning hours, or later in the afternoon. Consider that covering your skin in sun lotion blocks UVB rays, the exact rays the body uses to switch a type of cholesterol in your skin into vitamin D.

If you are nervous about your child's ( or your own ) vitamin D levels, there are tests that may be done to screen for a special form of the vitamin known as 25-hydroxy vitamin D so that you know where you stand.

Getting children to spend some more time outside in the unpolluted air and sunshine is a referral of the analysis that might just help increase vitamin D intake the natural way. - 17273

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Muscle Building Supplements : Using Them Effectively

By Mark Walters

Those of us who love to build up our muscles tend to have an unfortunate attitude of wanting to achieve too much, too soon, and our progress, and even our overall health, can suffer as a consequence. This is not a good approach to take if you want to achieve solid, long lasting results.

The primary purpose of muscle building supplements is to provide the body with the correct balance of nutrients that may be lacking, thus correcting any biochemical imbalances. It's simply a mistake to think that a supplement or combination of supplements is going to turn an incorrect diet or regime into the right one.

Still, sometimes your body can do with a little assistance, and there are some worthwhile muscle building supplements. It is just a case of finding a diet and regime that is working well for you first. Once you have that established, then adding muscle building supplements into the mix can significantly improve the progress that you make.

So, lets look at the important components, from a dietary aspect, of a muscle builders regime...

Water - No, there is no mistake, and I'm not losing my mind, water definitely tops my list as the number one essential to a proper workout regime. Just think, water comprises almost 3/4 of the total muscle tissue. In other words, it is what muscle is mainly made of.

Powdered Proteins - Protein powder is cost-effective while being a super convenient way to add much needed protein and calories to your current dietary program. All you need to do is mix the powder with a little milk or water, et voila, you're ready to go! If you're one of those extremely lucky individuals who don't naturally put on weight, but you want more muscle mass, protein powders are just what you need. The most popular being Whey protein, derived from milk whey.

Minerals & Vitamins - Whilst there are still people who claim that the benefits if multi-mineral or multi-vitamin tablets and supplements are negligible, no-one can claim that they will do you any harm. There are enough supporters of them to give them credibility, and you have nothing to lose by using them, particularly so if you're following a limited dietary program.

Creatine Monohydrate - This is the most commonly used muscle building supplement. Why is that? Well, put simply, it works! By all means try out other supplements, but always use them as an addition to creatine, not as a replacement for it. The fact that so many fanatical muscle builders use it is evidence enough of its worth. - 17273

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Visit this product review website to read more about finding the best bodybuilding supplements for your need.

New Hair Loss Treatments And Their Success

By Bob Mackeray

The time that several commonly useful new hair loss treatments are made, is the time that someone will become very well-off. And that day will arrive.

It's astounding, the amount of money being put into hair loss studies -- until an easy cure is found and our society puts such importance upon appearance, the studies will be ongoing.

People will have to take a trial and error approach until that day comes, testing various remedies with varying degrees of success and failure from person to person. There is no universal cure as each human body is unique, with its own unique levels of hormones and enzymes. While not everyone who uses the product will see the same results, many will notice a reduction in hair loss while experiencing solid hair regrowth.

For those who experience less than desired results from the variety of lotions, pills, herbs and hair products available, there are currently surgical "cures", if they have the financial wherewithal to pursue them. These involve a variety of transplant techniques and can be tedious and a bit painful. Such cures are available for both men and women.

Transplants: In transplants, a hair strip is taken from a donor area of the scalp, usually the back, because pattern baldness in both men and women usually does not affect the back of the head. From these strips, individual follicles are extracted and then implanted into the bald area of the scalp.

The "art" of this procedure is to get the follicle in so that the slant of the hair is correct for that part of the head. There are usually 1-5 hairs in each follicle, so you can imagine how many transplants have to occur if someone wants a full thick head of hair to replace a completely bald spot.

The average cost of transplant, per follicle is $4 - $6. The average cost of pattern baldness transplants is about $10,000 - a hefty bill for most of us. For women who have overall balding events, the cost can be greater still.

If you do not have $10,000 to spend at the moment and you must wait until new hair loss treatments improve, you may have to be content with less preferable but effective methods like using Provillus. There have been great advances in hair pieces for men, and wigs are as much a fashion accessory as jewelry for women.

If you select this route, buy one of these hair loss products and go to a professional who is widely experienced in developing unique hair pieces for individual needs. Generally, you get what you pay for.

Fit and ability to have confidence that wind and lots of movement will not move your hair piece are extremely important. While not the permanent cure you really want, the embarrassment of societal reaction to your baldness is eliminated.

Keep informed of investigation in the subject of new hair loss treatments, since scientists are close, and the remedy may arrive any day. In the meantime, do what makes you feel comfortable and positive, and use any of the new hair loss treatments that helps you lower the speed of your current hair loss. Stress and concern over this condition will only make it worse. - 17273

About the Author:

If hair loss is ruining your life, then why don't you buy Provillus? This natural hair loss treatment has helped thousands of men and women with their hair loss issues. You can also read a superb Provillus review here.

HCG Diet Drops A Great Alternative To Supplement Diets

By Joshua McNeill

Believe it or not, there is a way to lose thirty pounds in thirty days. Does it sound unbelievable? It shouldn't, but it's real. The secret behind such incredible results is the HCG hormone and HCG diet drops.

HCG is a hormone found naturally in both men and women. The hormone is most common in pregnant women and is actually used as a fertility drug to increase sperm count or to help women ovulate. However, it can also be used as a miracle dietary aid. Make no mistake, HCG works, and it works quickly.

When HCG was first introduced as a dietary supplement, it was often used in the form of injections. While these were very effective, the patient had to go see the doctor and have them administered. Instead of going through that very expensive treatment, they can now have the same results by merely putting a few drops under their tongue.

The HCG diet drop is a pre-mixed homeopathic solution which is produced by extracting small amounts of full strength HCG and diluting it into a sublingual solution. This is a gentler form of HCG treatment and the dieter need not worry about toxicity or addiction. This offers all the benefits of HCG injection dieting without assuming any of the risks.

When looking at the approach to the diet, it is exactly the same as when taking the other forms of HCG. It is a low calorie diet that is packed with proteins and fibers. This diet gives the body the nutrition it needs and keeps the fat content very low so that the HCG can work its magic and burn excessive fat during the cycle.

One cycle will usually last around 30 days. With most people seeing anywhere from 20-30 pounds of weight loss in that time, that is usually enough for them to have met their goals. If not, it is recommended that a regular diet of about 2,000 calories a day be used for another month before going through the cycle again.

When someone is looking to get weight off over a very short period of time, there is no better method than the HCG diet, particularly the HCG diet drops. No pills and no injections, just a few drops that are easily absorbed under the tongue and that will immediately go to work. After a month, be prepared to see an incredible and new you looking back in the mirror. - 17273

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The Best Way To Lose The Weight You Want To Be Healthy

By Christopher Rom

Creating a diet, First you need to determine what your ideal calorie level is. You need to calculate your approximate base metabolic rate using the calculator below. This is the number of calories you would burn if you were asleep 24 hours a day.

Personal Deficit

Part 1: It's recommend to recalculate for every 5 lbs you lose. At lower body weight you will require fewer calories for fat loss and also a lower deficit. Lesser aggressive deficits are used as your body's fat % goes down as it's more difficult to keep your lean mass as you get leaner. You want to avoid lean mass loss as much as possible.

Part 2: Allow yourself a treat once a week , or one day to take in higher amount of carbohydrates. Eating at your maintenance calories on this day is recommended. This will help keep your metabolic rate up, and help stave off cravings.

Gauging Your Progress

Measure once every week or two to gauge your progress. Measure when you wake up after using the washroom. If you are female, not measuring when you are on your cycle as you will be retaining water as this will give you a false measurement. Some or all of the following measurements will change.

Customization

You estimated above for your maintenance calories this will be an approximation. Which may need to be adjusted due to how many calories you eat based on results. IF no results are seen in how your clothes fit, or with the measuring tape then lower your daily calories by 300. Wait 2 weeks and re-evaluate every 2 weeks.

DO NOT consume less than the number you calculated. IF no progress and you have lowered your calories to the estimated BMR, Read the article on repairing a damaged metabolism: Venuto - How to repair a damaged metabolism

Designing a Diet

* Get rid of junk foods from your home if possible - ie. chips, ice cream, pizza. They bring in a lot of extra calories. They also sacrifice your health. Save junk foods for the once per week "treat" with a maximum of 500 extra calories. * Meals that are based around a protein, a carbohydrate (fruit, vegetable or grain), and a fat. Is complete meal.

* Eat something before morning exercise and don't skip breakfast. You could end up burning muscle tissue.

* Water, water, water. If you don't drink enough water you may get more hungry when you are thirsty. Approximately 1 gallon a day, more if you are very active. Increase water intake slowly though, such as over the period of a week with an extra 16 oz per day.

* Store meals in tupperware containers and cook in advance. It can be frozen for later in the week. This prevents the "there was nothing ready to eat" excuse.

* Get a digital food scale and measure out your servings. No need to measure broccoli, you can guesstimate it and similar vegetables (ie. things with 20 or fewer calories per serving). * Intake at least 1 gram of protein per pound of goal weight (ie. if you would like to weigh 120 lbs, eat at least 120g of protein per day).

Advance Planning of Meals

A nutrition diary will help you plan meals based on your desired caloric and macro-nutrient intake. You can either add the meals the day before, or you can use a word processor or spreadsheet program to write up week long meal plans in advance. Planning in advance helps with staying compliant to the meal plan as there are no "last minute" decisions to be made, and you can precook and store in tupperware in advance. Most meats last at most 4 days in the refrigerator, so advance cooking requires cooking twice per week or freezing of some meals.

Some Meal Examples/Ideas

1. 100 grams of cooked chicken breast, 2/3 cup cooked brown rice, 6 walnut halves, 1 cup strawberries.

2. 4 oz cooked measure sirloin steak, 1 cup broccoli, 200 grams sweet potato.

3. 0.5 cups 2% fat cottage cheese, 1 cup cubed cantaloupe

4. 3 oz shaved home cooked turkey breast, 2 slices 100% whole wheat bread, mustard or light mayo, 1 oz light cheddar sliced. Calorie Counting and Tracking Macro-nutrients

Three of the macro-nutrients are protein, carbohydrates and fats. Protein has 4 calories per gram, carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram, and fats have 9 calories per gram. Fiber contains between 0 and 2 calories per gram but we don't explicitly take this into account when doing ratios (just use total carbs, it will be close enough). Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram. Macro-nutrient Ratios

Macro-nutrient ratio's give the percent of calories coming from carbohydrates, protein or fat.

Strictness with a particular ratio could hurt your outcome, so the one you favor will be dependent on you. There is also no need to switch ratios when switching from cutting to bulking (although, you may wish to make changes for increased satiety when cutting, or decreased fullness when bulking). A macro-nutrient ratio gives you the percent of calories from each nutrient in your diet. Here are a few suggestions (again, no need to be strict):

Be sure that you are getting at least 1g of protein per pound of "goal" body weight. For fat loss, goal body weight is where you would like to end up. For muscle gain, use the body weight you expect to be in 6 months. So if you would like to weigh 120 lbs, then you would want at least 120 g of protein. As well, for dieting, 20% fat intake could put your fat intake very low, I suggest for most women to intake at least 40g of fat per day. Example

If you need 2000 calories, and you are using a 40% carbohydrates, 40% protein, and 20% fat ratio (often written 40c/40p/20f), then you calculate the grams of each by the following calculation: You will be aiming for 200 grams of carbohydrates, 200 grams of protein, and 44 grams of fat per day. Assuming you are aiming for 5 meals a day, the easiest way to determine approximately what to intake per meal, is by dividing these numbers by 5.

The simple way to count calories and track macro-nutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fat) is through the use of free calorie tracking software such as Nutridiary. You simply add the foods in that you ate that day or, preferably, plan in advance by skipping ahead to the next day(s), and entering ahead of time.

People prefer Nutridiary for the ability to design meals that you can easily tweak to get desired nutritional amounts. Another website that is helpful is NutritionData. NutritionData is good for quick searching of nutrition info, and for calculating calories from recipes. I do hope that this will help you in your quest towards a healthier body, body weight and life! - 17273

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The Secret Key to Making an Abs Program Get You Ripped Abs

By Chuck Brady

If you have been searching for the right abs program, there is a good chance that you have been searching for a while. Probably you didn't imagine that it would take as long as it has. What's even worse is that you most likely haven't even found anything that works yet! Why is it so hard to obtain six pack abs? Because of all of the assumptions that have been made about how to achieve them.

What do you think an abs program should convey? Do you believe that you should have to literally exert all of your energy for the entire day just to have a toned midsection? Surely it has got to be easier than that. Just look at the models and the movie stars, do you think they spend hours and hours doing crunches? There is no way. One day is filled with loads of responsibilities, so it is no wonder that most people have a difficult time sticking to other abs training programs that require them to give and give and still never see any results.

Something you have probably also noticed about the average abs program is that it requires you to eat less of the food you love. It's only common sense to cut out certain foods, but cutting down on food groups that you actually need is not healthy. The human body needs continuous nourishment in order to thrive and keep up an active metabolism. Programs that state otherwise are nothing but pure bull and hype.

Do you know what it is that you want in an abs program? If you're willing to do numerous amount of crunches per day and eat next to nothing, then more power to you, but you're very likely to become discouraged. Want to know a secret? It's impossible get a six pack by doing a lot of crunches. The reason is because you are supposed to treat your abdominal muscles like every other muscle group in your body.

A good abs training program shouldn't involve hours of heavy training and a strict diet regimen. Again, that may work, but who is going to stick to something like that? Those types of programs are the exact reason why so many other abs programs have such a bad reputation. Have you ever seen those ab machine and crunch devices? Pretty pathetic, right? You've probably owned a couple yourself. The people on television make them look so effective, but when you receive them in the mail, they're really a piece of crap. Not to mention, most are very complicated to use and when you finally do go to perform a movement, you can't even feel it! Why? Because they really don't work. You don't need any fancy equipment to look good. Those ab devices are just other people's ways of making a quick buck because they know that millions of people want a quick and easy way to get six pack abs, so they lie to you to get you to buy their cheap and ineffective equipment.

That just goes to show you how desperate people are to purchase just any old abs program. A lot of it is a result of haste. You should never be in a hurry to purchase an abs training product. Make sure that you thoroughly read the advertisements, and maybe even do a little bit of research. Know what it is that you are looking for and you should be able to find it quickly and easily. - 17273

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The most effective flat abs fitness program stimulates you both physically and mentally, and really gets that six pack you want! Learn more about the successful abs program that is gaining great popularity because it works!

About The Jump Manual

By Lindsay Barnes

Jumping high is not a skill that very many people have. For the most part, it is athletes who have the capacity to do so, whether or not they need it for the sport they play or not. But if you want to be able to jump high, you have to find the right kind of exercise program that will help you be able to do so. There are many different types of workouts you can do on your own that can get you jumping as high as you aim to, from squats to jumping exercises to plyometrics. Of course, it's not always easy to follow your own workout plans, especially if you don't have a trainer or coach to work with; you're going to need quite a lot of discipline for that.

So why not try an established jump workout program that you can easily follow? One of the best, tried-and-tested program is the Jump Manual. Judging from its name alone, the Jump Manual is geared towards helping you increase the height of your jump. The program was developed by Jacob Hiller, who has been involved in vertical jump training for more than eight years already. Advocates of the Jump Manual program have already reported incredible results in the height of their jump, and credits it with helping them jump higher in a short amount of time.

The Jump Manual doesn't recommend only one type of workout, but makes sure that you undergo a wide variety of workouts that not only transforms you into a high jumper, but also makes sure that your body is properly conditioned, making you stronger and more capable of pulling off explosive movements.

Expect to see the complete package in the Jump Manual. This isn't a mere collection of workouts, but also contains stretching exercises, a nutritional guide, and a training schedule to follow. Of course, you're not just supposed to do everything all on your own. The best athletes develop their skills and strengths because they have the help of a skilled trainer, and you have one too in the person of Jacob Hiller. Along with your Jump Manual, you have the choice to undergo one-on-one coaching with Jacob to make your workouts much more effective.

Using the Jump Manual definitely takes a lot of dedication and work, so you have to be seriously determined to improve your vertical jump and increase your leg power if you will undergo the program. Every aspect of the manual is crucial, so make sure you go through it step by step and not just skip ahead to the workouts. - 17273

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Avoiding the Flu

By Dr. Jason Fowler

Since mid-Fall TV commercials have been trumpeting the horrors of the "flu season". "It's never too soon to begin fighting this year's bug" they blare. Public health announcements urge us to get our "yearly flu shot", as if this is something we've got permanently scheduled in our Blackberries. All the leading over-the-counter pain medications offer special seasonal "flu" mixtures, and their ads deluge daytime and prime-time broadcasting.

For the health consumer, namely us, it seems as if this annual "war on the flu" is received wisdom. We are just defenseless human beings at the mercy of the all-powerful flu virus.

What is wrong with this picture?

What is never mentioned in the "flu warning" marketing is the versatility and adaptability of our remarkable immune system. We're the lucky owners of a built-in state-of-the-art biowarfare system, on-the-job 24/7 to combat microscopic foreign invaders of our health and well-being. Once our immune system has detected a foreign protein it mounts an immediate defense, attacking and destroying the alien molecules. And, the memory of that particular invader is permanent, enabling a future immune response to be swift and effective.1

The big issue with influenza is that new strains appear each year. We've never encountered these germs before. But, the whole basis and strength of our immune system is flexibility. It is specially designed to respond quickly to new attackers. And, for the most part, it does this very, very well.

Of course, no one wants their dinner companion to sneeze in their plate of pasta, as Elaine did on an infamous episode of "Seinfeld". Through a typical cascade of unfortunate events, Jerry's and George's comedy pilot was almost scuttled because the network executive was Elaine's date, and he got violently ill by being on the receiving end of her blast of micro-bugs.

In the real world, our immune systems can be weakened due to life habits, circumstances, and stress. Stress is a notorious compromiser of immune defenses.2 And, of course, being human, there is plenty of stress from dawn to dusk. If worry and anxiety pile on top of not-enough-sleep or sub-optimal nutrition, getting sick is a pretty likely outcome. So, developing and maintaining healthy habits of living and successful strategies for managing stress is really the key.3

If you do the simple things that keep you healthy and well, in the winter months you can pretty much "let the flu go around you". You can be confident, knowing you've done the work to fight off the latest flu threat. Someone else's germs are their germs, not yours. If your immune system is on the job, you are far less likely to "catch" something.

And, even if you do succumb, you've got a much better chance of getting well again quickly.

1Sompayrac L: How the Immune System Works, 2nd ed. Blackwell, 2002. 2Wein H:Stress and disease - new perspectives. NIH Word on Health, October 2000. 3The Truth About Your Immune System - What You Need To Know. Harvard Health Publications, 2007. - 17273

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For more information on health please contactDr. Jason FowlerDr. Jason Fowler