The Great Fortune: July 2008

Sunday

Walking For Weight Loss: How many calories does it burn?

by: Ray Kelly

People who walk daily have a lesser incidence of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other killer diseases. Not only does walking make you healthier but it also burns calories, creates psychological well being, increases metabolism, strengthens muscles, increases flexibility, improves respiratory function and helps concentration and memory.

This should give you plenty of reasons to try and walk a little each and every day. Besides that, simple physical inactivity is one of the leading causes of ill health.

Walking not only benefits you but it also benefits the Earth. By learning to walk rather than driving a car you are doing your part to help the environment by not releasing toxins into the air, which hurts the long-term stability of the planet. A short four-mile trip you take walking keeps about fifteen pounds of pollutants out of the air we breathe.

Walking also saves you money on gas and other expenses associated with your vehicle. Every time you start your car it costs you about five cents considering current gas prices. Needless to say driving anywhere adds to this enormously. Yet, most people still use their vehicles to make short trips, which could easily be made by walking. If you can even make the simple choice to walk once a week when you would normally drive you will go a long way toward making a difference both in your pocket book as well as in your life.

Walking is also a stress reducer. Stress has been proven to contribute more than any other factor to the reduction of longetivity. Walking can help reduce that stress and increase your longetivity.

One of the primary reasons people decide to walk is to lose pounds.

There are some simple formulas you can use to determine how many calories are being burned according to your weight and how fast you are walking.

3.0 miles/hour (20-minute mile): Burns .027 calories/pound/minute.

3.5 miles/hour (17 minute mile): Burns .033 calories/pound/minute.

4.0 miles/hour (15 minute mile): Burns .042 calories/pound/minute.

4.5 miles/hour (13 minute mile): Burns .047 calories/pound/minute.

Take the number of calories/pound/minute you burn and multiply it by your weight and then by the number of minutes you walk.

For example, if you weigh 150 pounds and walk a 20-minute mile for 60 minutes, you multiply 150 by .027, then multiple the result (4.5) by 60. You burn 270 calories.

It is important that when you do walk that you walk at a moderate pace. Walking will do you no good if it is so leisurely that you exert no effort. A good walk should leave you moderately perspired. This ensures that you are working at an ideal intensity.

Walking is a habit like anything else. If you can create a habit of walking everyday it will contribute to a new and healthy you in the long term.

About the author:
Ray Kelly is an Exercise Scientist with 15 years experience in the health and fitness industry. Sign up for his free 7 Day Weight Loss Course at or

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Thursday

Weight-Loss Made Simple

by: Sheri Graber

To lose weight and keep it off you need an easy to follow no fuss plan. You need a plan that is simple and sensible. You need a plan that you can use everyday to get slim and healthy.

You need a plan that builds on your success day-by-day. A plan that keeps you inspired and motivated by seeing results. Fast! If you don’t see and feel results fast it’s far to easy to be tempted by the next fast food drive- thru or vending machine.

You need a plan that works for you, a plan that blends into your lifestyle. A plan that you can live with, forever. A plan that is so easy to follow that it easily becomes your automatic daily routine without fuss or stress. That’s the real secret to permanent weight-loss, you know, having an automatic daily routine. No thinking required.

Most people go on train wreck diets. They follow the latest fad. They start a diet, lose some weight, then go off it and the scale starts creeping back up. Sometimes they gain even more. Yo-yo- dieting, up and down and back up again is a nightmare. You don’t want to do that, it’s bad for your health.

Permanent weight loss requires changes in your lifestyle, changes in your behaviors. You can’t expect to lose weight by doing the same things like overeating, sitting around watching hours and hours of television and not exercising. The secret is to lose weight the same way you plan on keeping it off. In other words simply get on the train of healthy lifestyle behaviors and stay with it. Don’t crash. Stop looking for magic pills and quick
fixes.

You can’t expect to lose weight and keep it off by ignoring good nutrition and eating foods that are bad for you. Junk food leads to a junked and tired body that ages fast. Diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, stroke and arthritis are just a few of the health problems associated with obesity.

When I say “junk food” I don’t mean just fast food, donuts, or candy, I mean all the foods that don’t seem so bad but are full of sugar, starches and fats. Foods like fruit juice are full of sugar. You’re better off to eat the fruit and drink some water. Foods like pasta, rice and french fries are full of empty calories that cause the release of insulin and puts your body into fat storage mode.

Permanent weight loss requires you to be informed about what foods have good nutritional value and what ones don’t. You don’t need to take a college nutrition course but you do need to know some basic “nutrition 101” principles.

To be successful with your weight loss and lifetime management you need to know the difference between proteins, fats and carbohydrates. You need to know how much protein you should be eating, how many carbohydrates and what kinds of fats. You can easily reach your weight-loss goals by just knowing what, when and how much to eat. People get confused about dieting and weight-loss. They make it way too complicated and stressful. Who needs more stress when you’re trying to lose weight?

It doesn’t have to be that way. You just need some sound nutrition principles, a list of the right foods that you like, an organized and efficient way to shop and cook meals, and an
automatic daily routine that includes exercise.

Here’s a life changing tip; instead of being a creature of bad habits just decide to become a creature of good habits. Don’t waste your time trying to break bad habits just put a good one over the top of the bad one. One-by-one, step-by-step. I call that the replacement behavior trick. I’ve developed many strategies like this for my own weight loss battle.

Look, the goal is to lose weight, right? Not stress and complicate things. Make weight loss simple by developing an automatic daily routine. It really can be as simple as that.

Copyright © 2005 Sheri Graber. All rights reserved.

This article may be freely distributed electronically or in print as long as the author’s bio and links are included.

About the author:
Sheri Graber understands the pain and frustration of being overweight. After struggling for years with the emotional stress of having a weight problem she lost 87 pounds in 6 months following a simple plan and has kept it off for 4 years. She writes and speaks about obesity and weight loss to help others experience their own weight loss success. She is the author of Automatic Weight-Loss Plan: Program Yourself Slim the Simple Simon Way.

Tuesday

Weight Loss Motivation Tips and Strategies!

by: Jeff Smith

How do you maintain your weight loss motivation beyond the
first 5 or 10 pounds?

We've all been there, you make incredible progress in your
weight loss program, only to fall "off the wagon" a few
days later because you lose that initial weight loss
motivation.

It's true, your mental attitude is 90% of the battle in
achieving rapid weight loss.

Here are 6 weight loss motivation tips you can use next
time you hit the wall in your weight loss program:

Weight Loss Motivation Tip #1: Set realistic goals. By
planning to lose 10 pounds each week, you are setting
yourself up for a letdown.

Weight Loss Motivation Tip #2: Set flexible goals.
Understand that you will lose more weight in the first
2-weeks of your weight loss program than you will after.

Weight Loss Motivation Tip #3: Have a support system
in place. If you can set goals with a friend or support
group, you will have more motivation to succeed.

Weight Loss Motivation Tip #4: Make sure your weight
loss program includes exercise. Exercise results in
positive chemicals being released in your brain which helps
with staying positive and achieving maintaining weight loss
motivation.

Weight Loss Motivation Tip #5: Have a strategy to combat
stress. Stress is the #1 cause of uncontrollable activity
in our lives. Practice meditation as part of your
weight loss program.

Weight Loss Motivation Tip #6: Set goals beyond losing
weight. Set goals linked with happiness, feeling better,
looking better, having more energy - less focus on pounds
lost to overall health will give you more motivation.

Learn to deal with weight loss motivation as part of your
rapid weight loss program, you will substantially increase
your chance of long-term success.

About the author:
Discover Rapid Weight Loss Tips, Techniques and Strategies
Toward Looking Better, Feeling Great and Finally Realizing
Your Weight Loss Goals - Click Here:

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Sunday

Weight Loss Motivation Tips and Strategies!

by: Jeff Smith

Saturday

Don’t Worry Be Happy!

by: Lisa Branigan

Being stressed is not part of a healthy lifestyle. Not only is stress damaging to us physically, it can also cause us to eat more and exercise less. Stress can be a huge obstacle that gets in the way of our healthy lifestyle goals. What can you do to effectively manage your stress? The following six steps will help you to make changes to have less stress and more happiness in your life.

1. Be aware of what stresses you and how you react to stress.
Learn to understand what situations; events, circumstances and people cause you to feel negative stress. Think about what message your brain is telling you about why you feel stressed. Notice the physical reactions you have, a racing heart, and shortness of breath, tight muscles or feeling angry and upset.

2. Think about the changes you can make.
Is there a way you can set up a structure to reduce or eliminate the stress by being more organised or managing you time better. Can you avoid or eliminate any of the things that cause you negative stress? Can you reduce your exposure to stress by taking a break away from the situation?

3. Better manage your emotional reaction to stress.
Different things cause different people stress. You may find public speaking extremely stressful but others thrive on this type of challenge. Having too many deadlines may leave you tearing your hair out but may make someone else feel completely organised and less stressed. We feel stressed because of how we personally perceive the situation. Are you stressed because you view things are critical or urgent when that may not be the case? Are you feeling pressure because you are a perfectionist? Try and be more moderate in your view and put the situation into perspective. Get someone else’s perspective on the situation and compare with your own. Are you being over dramatic?

4. Better manage your physical reaction to stress.
Learn relaxation and deep breathing techniques that will slow down your racing heart, improve your breathing and relax those tense muscles. Learn to smile and laugh more. It’s hard to be angry and stressed while you’re laughing.

5. Look after your emotional needs.
Don’t live up to other expectations, as these will not be in alignment with your own needs and values. Hang around upbuilding and supportive friends or co-workers. Find someone to share your concerns with. Also learn to ask for and accept help.

6. Look after your physical health.
Being in good physical shape in itself reduces stress. Be physically active everyday. Eat well, don’t smoke or drink excessively. Get enough sleep and regularly take time out to do things you enjoy.

This week look at what is causing you stress and then work at applying the appropriate steps in this article. Be realistic and make changes slowly. Above all, don’t worry be happy!

About the author:
"Lisa Branigan is a certified Life Coach helping successful women create a less pressured, more enjoyable lifestyle" She is a speaker, writer, regular radio guest and contributor to magazines and newspapers.
Email: lisa@quantumcoaching.comau
Website:

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Thursday

Beat stress and be healthy!

by: Peter Sachford

Everyone knows that stress isn't good - that it can get on top of us and effect our wellbeing. What most people don't realise is that stress can effect much more than just our mood or mental state. Stress has been shown to have a detrimental effect on many parts of our body and indeed peoples health in general.

Stress is one of the most widespread afflictions in modern life - everyone suffers from it in their day to day lives.
Its because of this that most people don't recognise stress for what it is until it is effecting their mental and physical health in a negative way. Most people don't realise they are stressed until it becomes a major issue for them.

Of course some of the effects that stress has effect us on a mental level but it can have an effect all over the body.
High blood pressure and heart rate have both been linked to stress so if you find your blood pressure is too high a lot of the time then you should act to reduce the amount of stress you have in your life. This can reduce your health problems and leave you happier and more content.

There is no such thing as a safe level of stress, obviously we will all have stress in our lives but decreasing the stress you experience every day will always have positive effects in your life. Considering the health implications of prolonged stress it is better to actively act to cut down the stress that you experience in your life.

Reducing your stress is not difficult, a little time spent planning how to change your life can make a huge difference.
A small effort will go a long way to making you feel better about yourself and others.

The first thing that you should do is to sit down and make a list of all the things that are causing you to be stressed out. It doesn't matter whether or not you think something should be stressful - write down anything that genuinely is stressful to you. Then, go through the list again and see which things you can eliminate from your life.

Of course you won't be able to eliminate everything that causes you stress - you will probably still have to go work, and deal with people you find difficult. The important thing is that there will be several items on your list that you can take steps to avoid and eventually eliminate from your life or at least cope better with.

One of the key ways to reduce stress is also one of the simplest - relax! Relaxation time is extremely important in your day - a time to unwind and forget all the stress of your day. You should schedule your relaxation time and let nothing interrupt it, it is as important to your health as exercise in avoiding the negative effects of stress.

Exercise is another excellent way to defeat stress. Exercise will clear your head, make you feel better, and more confident. It is also excellent for your general health so make exercise a part of your day also.

If you start working on stress reduction, you should start seeing improvements in your health right away. Also, even if you are not noticing that your health is improving right away, you should still feel confident that it is - the more relaxed you are, the better you should feel. Start working on stress reduction today, and have a healthier life tomorrow!

About the author:
Peter Sachford is the owner and operator of FP Health which is a popular and extensive resource for health information.
For more information, go to:

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Wednesday

A Simple Tip For When You're Stressed

by: Jane Thurnell-Read

This is a fantastic tip from Touch For Health to help you when you're stressed, angry, anxious or upset. Try holding your frontal eminences. These are bumps on your forehead that many people hold instinctively when they're upset.

For those of you who don't do this naturally, let me help you locate them. Feel up from the middle of your eyebrows going towards your hairline. Your forehead comes outwards before it curves back in towards the hairline. Hold your forehead at the points where it is furthest out - about 3cms (1.25 inches) above the middle of each eyebrow.

While you hold these points think about the stressful event. It can be something that has already happened, something that is about to happen, or something you fear may never happen! Gradually you should find that the stress lessens.

You can use it for small things, but you can also use it for more traumatic events too. If the thoughts/images are too overwhelming initially, imagine you are watching it on a TV - you can always switch it off if becomes too stressful - you're the one in charge. You can watch it in black and white if that feels easier too. Use it to defuse anything that you feel anxious, stressed, angry or fearful about.

You may want to do it several times covering different aspects of the problem. You can do them one after the other, or at different times, whichever feels best for you.

As you hold the points and think about/imagine the event, you will probably start to feel calmer - you may even find that you start to feel a little bored thinking about this scenario that previously stressed or angered you so much.

Why does it work?

These particular points on the forehead, known as frontal eminences, are reflex points with connections to the central meridian (involved with the brain), the stomach meridian (and your stomach often churns when you're anxious or angry), and the bladder meridian (trips to the loo/bathroom are often necessary when we're apprehensive).

I recently explained this self-help technique to a business colleague - a keen mountain biker who'd had a serious bike accident at 30 miles an hour and had broken his skull and collar bone. His bones had mended, but he was now sometimes fearful of the sport he loved.

This is what he wrote to me later:

"I don't know how to thank you enough for the technique you described to me over the phone the other day, it helped me enormously!"

The following week he sent me this message:

"Your tip worked once again last night - went out (in the pitch black with my Light&Motion 'daylighter' light) and did some serious single-tracking and downhilling!!! I never thought I'd be doing that again - ever! Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was brilliant!!!!!!!"

It may be hard to believe that something this simple could be effective in removing anxiety and stress, but try it and see.

About the author:
Life should be simple - do you agree? Then take a look at Jane Thurnell-Read's web site (http://www.healthandgoodness.com) for more self-help tips and information. Here's a direct link to that section:

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Monday

Are You Fit?

by: Andrew Mills

Fitness refers to ability of the body to function with vigor and alertness. Nutrition refers to the nurturing of our body, in our ability to keep it healthy and functioning as it is supposed to do. Our ability to provide the body with all the necessary food, vitamins, and minerals so that we continue to thrive in our daily life processes. But do we know if we are really fit? How do we tell?
First, you might want to look at your exercise habits, if there are any. If there aren’t any exercise routines to examine, no fitness. Everyone, no matter what their age, benefits from exercise. It keeps our bodies conditioned, our mental sharpness working at top speed, and thanks to the physical aspect, we get a boost to our cardio health, extra calorie burn, and more oxygen to those cells!
Do you take in more calories than your body needs? Are you supplementing your vitamins and minerals to make sure you are getting your recommended daily allowances? If you’re not making the most basic of efforts to take care of your nutritional needs, you aren’t a fit individual. You may not look sick, you may not have any noticeable symptoms of ill-health, but you’re not the fit and toned individual you could be.
What about the stress levels in your life? Do work in an environment with high levels of stress? Is your personal life a source of comfort or does it add to your stress levels? Do you engage in some form of stress-relieving activity? Stress is the number on contributor to heart attacks and strokes, since they manage to speed up the affect of the real culprits. Stress is basically an out of control situation for most adults today. We manage to schedule every moment of our free time, and leave ourselves with no time for quiet reflection, or time to deal with life’s unexpected emergencies.
Fitness requires us to examine more than just our exercise routine. The mere definition of fitness refers to the body’s ability to meet physical stresses. That includes coping with our day to day life, getting from the beginning of the day to the end, without being worn completely out. In order to be truly fit, we find ways to rid ourselves of built up stress, the kind that begins to affect our muscles, muscle tone, and composition. Massages are the best cure for ridding our bodies of the stress buildup that can occur, even with exercise regimens and detract from our overall fitness.
Exercises that demand total body involvement are the best for maintaining and improving your level of fitness most effectively. Running, swimming, jogging, dancing, cycling, and very brisk walking are some of the more popular total body involvement exercises.
There are so many occasions to stop and question our efforts at maintaining optimal health, that we usually don’t even take the time to begin the examination. But it is beneficial to our overall health, the quality and quantity of our life, to make every effort to be fit, healthy, individuals. Read more health and fitness articles at http://www.dietpost.info http://www.fitnesspost.info http://www.takingsteroids.com http://anabolic.ca

About the author:
webmaster of and and many other websites for over 5 years.

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Sunday

12 Ways to be Healthier

by: Evan Brinton

Want to loose weight, sleep better and boost your immune system?

1 Have a lie down
Back pain can be avoided and the damage repaired with one easy exercise, which is lie down on the floor with your knees bent, hip width apart, feet on the floor. Do this daily for about five to fifteen minutes to release and lengthen your spine.

2 Note your nibbles
Crash diets don't work for long enough; instead maintain a food dairy to note your daily eating habits. With this you'll be conscious of what you eat, and make healthier choices.

3 10 deep breaths
Our breath power our lymphatic system, which removes waste from cells. By taking 10 deep breaths, three times a day, you'll clear more toxins and boost your thinking power by getting 20% more oxygen to your brain.

4 Put your fork down
Put your fork down between every mouthful of food, it makes you chew your food properly, preventing digestive problems, and also prevents you from over- eating.

5 Make a list
The most effective stress buster is to make a list. Your short term memory can only remember, on an average, seven things. So when you overload it , your stress level escalate. Making a list clears out all the stress from your brain you feel tension free. This saves you from headaches, depression and high blood pressure.

6 Massage your feet
Poor circulation could be robbing you of much needed sleep. Your temperature needs to drop slightly before you fall asleep, so your body dispels heat via your face, hands and feet. But many women have poor circulation, which constricts the blood vessels in their hands and feet and prevents them from dispelling heat. A hot bath before sleeping or a hand and foot massage will increase your circulation.

7 An organic apple a day
If you buy one organic item a day, make it an apple. Research found that pesticide residues in 71% of apples- the highest in fruits and vegetables.

8 Change your tea bag
When it comes to tea white is the new green. White tea comes from the same plant as green and black but is harvested earlier and undergoes less processing, which means it contains more cancer fighting anti- oxidants.

9 Eat dried apricots
The most common nutritional deficiency is iron. Tiredness, irritability and lack of concentration. Prevent it by having two helpings of lean red meat a week, or three dried apricots a day.

10 Stop skipping meals
Eating three meals a day is very important for a healthy body. It's the simplest way to balance blood sugar levels, which will keep your mood, energy and concentration balanced and strengthen your stress tolerance.

11 Keep it crunchy
Include some raw vegetables in every meal. Many of the vitamins and minerals are in vegetables are lost through cooking, so raw food is as good as it gets.

12 Focus on your feeling
Take two minutes to boost your resolve to do walk, jog or aerobics class. The instant gratification of that exercise high is far more motivating than the promise of thinner thighs two months down the line.

About the author:
Evan Brinton for Health-Care-Information.org provides basic information on various diseases, injuries, symptoms, herbal medicines, drugs, medical tests and more. You are free to publish the above article in your ezine or website, provided the credit is given to the author and a hyperlink (HTML clickable) is given to

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Saturday

10 Unusual Ways to Reduce Stress

by: Dr. Nancy Olthoff

You may think some of the ideas below are pretty far out and perhaps downright Weird...

But that's okay. These are ways Real people have used to cope with Stress.

Here's the thing...just read through these and choose one or two and see how they work for you. You know what they say. Different strokes for different folks. So just pick a couple to start with, and see how they help you.

They're not in any particular order. Simply read through the list. See what "jumps out" at you. Don't try to do too many at once. (You may stress yourself out even more.)

1. Hide a Toy in Your Pocket

What? How will that help you say?

It will remind you each time you stick your hand in your pocket, not to take life too seriously.

Remember how you felt when you were a child and life was carefree? Grab on to that feeling each time your fingers touch that toy.

2. Schedule Your Worry

If you have stress that comes from worrying, do this:

When you start to worry, tell yourself you're not going to worry about it now, that you've set a time to worry. Say, each day between 7 and 7:30 pm, you've scheduled as Worry Time.

When it's 7, then sit down. Better yet ---- Pace the floor! Then WORRY!

Really get into it! Worry BIG! Catastrophize!

Awfulize! (I don't think that's a word, but you get the picture.)

Worry like you've never worried before!

You'll feel really odd doing this, but go at it.

I know it sounds crazy, but trust me. I've recommended people do this and it helped them.

No kidding!

3. Do Something Silly :0)

Eat Twinkies for breakfast or something.

I know, Twinkies are junk food, but break your routine once in a while. It's good for you.

4. Curl Your Toes

Huh? Yes, tighten your toes for 15" as tightly as you can, then relax. Do this with all muscle groups up through your body. All the way up. Finish with wrinkling up your face. It works.

5. Grab Your Pillow and Beat the Heck out of the Bed

(If you've got a feather pillow, be sure to check for holes first!)

Beating on the bed is good for releasing stress that comes from anger.

I knew a lady who actually put a punching bag in her basement just for getting out her anger!

She swore by it.

6. Don't Answer the Phone/Door/Cell Phone/ Pager...

(Say, Does anybody out there still have a pager?)

Sometimes you don't feel like talking to anyone, right?

Give yourself a break and don't.

7. Nuts -- Eat Nuts!

Good for "anger stress" to crunch on something.

Go ahead. Take out all your aggression on the Nuts. They won't mind!

You could eat crunchy raw veggies, but the nuts are better.

8. Get good at Procrastinating

Egad! Heresy? Sometimes it's the very best thing you can do for yourself.

Ask yourself, "Will something Awful happen if I put this off til later, to cut myself some slack?"

If you answer No, then put it off, as long as possible.

9. Act Like a 2 Year Old

They're Real Good at saying No, aren't they?

You gotta take care of yourself.

If you don't, who will?

Say No more often to the demands others want to heap on you.

10. Act Like an 84 Year Old

Now wait a minute!

You just told me to act like a 2 year old.

Now you're saying act like an 84 year old?

What's up with that?

Well, here's it is.

When you're in stressful situation, ask yourself...

"How would my 84 year old future self handle this or say about this?"

See what wisdom surfaces from within you.

So there you have it, the 10 unusual stress tips.

I sincerely hope these ideas will be helpful to you.

To Your Health,

Dr. Nancy Olthoff

About the author:

Dr. Nancy Olthoff lives in Apache Junction, AZ, with her husband and 2 mini dachshunds. Mini dachshunds are great stress reducers! :0) For years she practiced as a psychologist. Now she is helping people reduce their stress in an entirely different way......

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Friday

5 Easy Weight Loss Tips That is Proven

If you are serious about losing weight you dont have to follow fad diets and their ridiculous weight loss tips becasuse i have tried them and the weight comes back again. But to be serious some really works.

Loosing weight permanently and effectively is rather a slow process and it depends on your metabolic rate and how much you need to lose.

Interestingly, i can make you familiar with some proven tried and true weight loss tips that will help in your weight loss process.

Easy weight loss Tip 1

Always use honey instead of the regular sugar you use and also carob powder for chocolate. They taste even better when you use them properly.

Easy weight loss Tip 2

Do your exercise at least half hour each day for five days out of the week.

Easy weight loss Tip 3

Eat more vegetables frequently. This can be more enjoyable if you know how to cook well or you have a good cook book.

Easy weight loss Tip 4

Don't eat snack while watching TV. You can eat while watching TV but eating snack at this time is out of it.

Easy weight loss Tip 5

Avoid unnecessary high calorie foods or cholestrol foods. Try eating something else. ok.

Finally, there is nothing stopping you from losing weight except yourself. Get off the idea that you can't do anything about your weight from your mind. You can do it.

For more advice, you can visit my blog for
Weight Loss Help and Information

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Thursday

9 Tips to Stop Food Cravings and Help You With Your Diet

by: Emily Clark

Most of us are "regular" people. We don't eat the perfect diet
all the time and have our struggles with food, same as everyone
else. But having an awareness of this fact and knowing a little
bit about our health and food nutrition can help when it comes to
making wise decisions.

Many people struggle with food "cravings." Studies tell us that
it's fairly common for food cravings to happen at certain times,
quite often at around bedtime. Your guard may be down, you may
have had an unusually hard day, and off you go on your
not-so-merry way to find that tasty treat. Fatigue and stress
often combine to take their toll on the best of intentions.

When food cravings are unconstrained, what starts out as a
bedtime snack quickly turns into a full blown feeding
frenzy...not something most of us fully understand or appreciate.
We head to kitchen and every other place where food can hide,
clearing a path as we go.

Most food cravings are not about satisfying a nutritional need or
imbalance. They seem to be more emotionally related, or God
forbid, are caused by plain old gluttony. Exactly why we
over-indulge is not completely understood, however our knowledge
about this subject continues to grow.

Listed below are some thoughts and ideas about food cravings:

- If the food isn't available, you can't eat it! Empty the cookie
jar and keep it that way! Keep healthy food choices on-hand.

- Recognize the feelings and emotions that lead-up to a food
craving. Do you have food cravings when you’re bored, lonely, or
stressed? If you can identify a trigger, you can deal with the
emotion that’s making you desire a certain food. Try to deal with
the triggers in the best way you can.

- Sometimes, even recognizing that a craving is about to happen
doesn't seem to help. Don't beat yourself-up. There is always
tomorrow. Call a friend, make good use of your support network
and share your feelings with someone.

- Get enough sleep. When you’re tired, you’re more likely to
crave things.

- Never give-up. When you "slip", press-in, bear-down, get a
grip, do whatever is necessary to re-gain control. Try to
practice restraint most of the time, but don't get legalistic and
un-balanced in your weight loss approach. Think moderation and
not abstinence at all times!

- Understand that self-control and discipline by themselves,
won't cut it! If you depend totally on yourself for control, you
will fail. Forming caring and supportive relationships is
required. If you do not currently have a support network, start
building one TODAY.

- Exercise. It increases feel-good endorphins that cut down on
your cravings. Try to get at least 30 minutes of physical
activity every day.

- Use moderation. Instead of stuffing yourself with every kind of
food hoping that your craving will go away, eat 100 to 200
calories of your "craved" food.

- Substitute with low-fat foods and complex carbs. If you’re
hungry for chocolate, eat non-fat chocolate yogurt. Try fig bars
or raisins for a sweet craving.

- Never skip a meal. Eat every three to five hours. Try six
smaller meals or regular meals with nutritious snacks.

- Understand that hunger craving are oftentimes stress related.
Practice other ways to treat chronic stress – a walk in the park,
spiritual connections, a cozy fireplace, baths...all these
stimulate neurochemicals that activate regions of the brain that
stimulate pleasure. Relaxation techniques may work by reducing
the psychological drives on stress output, which can be the root
causes of stress. Bottom line, substitute pleasurable experiences
for comfort foods.

- Beware of certain medications. They can stimulate appetite.
Drugs used for the treatment of depression and bipolar disorder
can be appetite stimulants. Other drugs, both prescription and
over the counter, may influence appetite as well. If you are on a
medication, and troubled by food cravings, discuss this with your
doctor or pharmacist. You may be able to find an alternative that
doesn't send your cravings out of control.

- Distract Yourself. What's that old expression...idle hands are
the devils workshop? Get busy. Do anything other than cave-in to
your desire for food, and keep doing it until the cravings
subside.

- One final thought, take a look inside your refrigerator and
kitchen cabinets and do some general "house cleaning." Throw-out
all that unhealthy stuff that is waiting to sabotage your diet,
and start shopping more wisely. A little forethought and careful
planning will go a long way for improving your chances of
success.

Eat wisely, be happy, and live long!

The information contained in this article is for educational purposes
only and is not intended to medically diagnose, treat or cure any
disease. Consult a health care practitioner before beginning any
health care program.

About the author:
Emily Clark is editor at Lifestyle Health News and Medical Health News
where you can find the most up-to-date advice and information on
many medical, health and lifestyle topics.

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Wednesday

6 Steps to Relieve Stress

by: Lambert Klein

We get over-stressed now and then. It's a natural response under certain conditions. We need to be concern when our stress is getting out of hand and interfering with our lifestyle. What problems can too much stress cause?

· High Blood Pressure · Colds and the Flu · Allergies · Diabetes · Damage Relationships · General Bad Health

The list goes on….

Getting over the stress is what we want to strive for. How can we go about this? Taking the natural approach is probably the best way to start. Here are a few ideas to begin with.

Exercise: It may be difficult to begin an exercise program but once you start it will become easier. Exercise helps to blow off steam and gets rid of excess stress. So you benefit by reducing your tension and obtaining a workout as well. Of course talk to your physician before beginning an exercise program.

Relax: Yes it is hard to relax when you are stressing. Try taking in a deep breath slowly. Now as you breathe out picture all the stress leaving you. You may find that doing relaxation techniques on a regular basic when you aren't stressed out to be beneficial.

Learn relaxation techniques such as: · Meditation · Yoga · EFT · Z-Point · Bio-Feedback · Listening to some soothing music. · Prayer · Asking for Assistance · Joining a Support Network

Look into what causes your stress: You may not know what is inducing you stress. Try to understand where the source is coming from if possible. Once you understand what is causing your stress you can try to modify these problem areas. If you can't, can you substantially reduce them? Maybe you can look at these stressors in a different way.

Have a Positive Attitude: Always look on the bright side of things. Don't think about what may go wrong. Take positive steps to improve yourself, your business and your spirit. Work on your ambitions. Find methods to enhance your routine activities. At the end of the day understand that you have done all you can to maintain a healthy lookout on life. Now you can relax and enjoy the remainder of the evening either by yourself or with family and friends.

Nutrition: A healthy diet with the proper nutrition is one key to balancing you physical, mental and emotional health. Frozen TV dinners or Big Macs are not good choices. You need to consume as much unprocessed food as possible. Try to eat as much organic products as possible to eliminate pesticides from your diet. Eat plenty of fresh vegetables, raw if possible, and some fruit. Drink plenty of clean water to keep those brain neurons communicating.

Get Enough Rest: Getting enough sleep at night is crucial to keeping stress at bay. Try to relax the best you can in the evening. Exercise early so that you aren't all wound up. If you watch a movie ensure it's not too violent are exciting. It may be better to watch a comedy, read something soothing or listen to soft pleasant music.

If your stress is so severe and you can't seem to find relief regardless of what you try then you may desire to request professional help.

So there you have six ideas that will help you reduce stress and enjoy life more. Don't delay. Start on these recommendations right away. Don't stop there. Keep looking for new ways to manage your stress and genuinely enjoy life once more.

About the author:
Lambert Klein is the owner of Think Healthy supplements and products. http://www.coral-cure.com

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Tuesday

5 Tips To Boost Your Spirits

by: Chris Green

If you’re feeling like everything is getting on top of you, or you’re finding it difficult to cope or function, or you’re feeling down in the dumps, then try these 5 easy-to-do tips to relieve tension and stress and boost your spirits:

1. Take a relaxing bath. Add music, candles and a glass of your favourite drink: beer, tea, hot chocolate, wine or even champagne. Close the door and forget about everything else for an hour or so. This helps to increase levels of calmness and the calmer we feel, the less likely we are to get stressed out or depressed.

2. Comedy night: get in your favourite nibbles: chips, tortillas, salsa, crackers, cheese, pizza, chocolate, cookies, ice cream etc. Crack open a bottle of wine or pour yourself a beer or two and spend a full evening watching your favourite funny films or comedians. Laughter raises our spirits and is a great antidote to the stresses and trials of modern living.

3. Get out of the firing line: Take off for some peace and quiet for a day or better still a weekend or a week. Take a journal, relax and gather your thoughts. When we’re under pressure or struggling to cope with a major situation or event in life, seeing solutions to our problems can be really difficult. Distance from problems can bring clarity and relieve tension. I love going to the coast when I feel like this and it always, without fail, helps me to calm down and find solutions. I don’t know why but there’s something really soothing about being near the ocean. Being near water, come to think of it.

4. Increase calmness and feel great by indulging in massage. Share a massage with your partner – create a relaxing atmosphere by softening the lights and have oils and towels to hand. Lavender oil is particularly relaxing. Or, treat yourself to a massage from a professional masseur or masseuse. For a really invigorating massage, visit a Turkish baths if you’re fortunate enough to have one nearby. Massage is very relaxing and increases intimacy between lovers. It’s one huge stress buster as well but be warned, it’s addictive! Not a bad thing to be addicted to though, and it will do you no end of good.

5. Spend a week without watching any television. Television can fill your mind with negativity, bombard you with image manipulation via commercials and give you a distorted view of reality by showing you everything that’s bad about the world. Famines, disasters, murders, violence, war – the list is endless – and news programmes and soap operas are full of such events. So give your mind a break from this assault on your senses. Abandon the television for a week and do something more rewarding instead: Read a book, listen to music, socialize, workout, go for a walk or try your hand at something new. If you need to hear the news, listen to a radio news bulletin once a day. But try and avoid them for one week, replace them with something more life enhancing and see how you feel.

The above ideas are very simple to implement but they are also very effective in helping to relieve stress and tension. Give them a try and watch your mood levels rise!

Until next time.

About the author:
Chris Green is the author of the new acclaimed book "Conquering Stress", the complete guide to beating stress, depression and anxiety, quickly, naturally and permanently. Click Here==>http://www.conqueringstress.com

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Monday

5 Simple Steps To Lower Cholesterol

by: Frank Mangano

You can lower cholesterol without drugs by following some basic steps that will not only change your cholesterol readings, but also improve your health today and in the future. So often we use a prescription drug and hope it will magically cure whatever ails us. The truth is prescription drugs for lowering cholesterol do work. The problem is both the short term and long-term side effects.

Even more dangerous than the side effects of prescription drugs to lower cholesterol is not getting cholesterol under control. Over time, high cholesterol can lead to numerous conditions of the heart and arteries, not the least of which are atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), stroke or heart attack.

Here are 5 steps you can take today to lower your cholesterol without prescription drugs.

Eat right. May sound simple, but diet has such a significant impact on lowering cholesterol that it should be the number one factor you look at in determining if your high cholesterol is hereditary or a matter of dietary choices. A low fat and low cholesterol diet is the first step toward lowering cholesterol.

Exercise. Improving cardiovascular health is a step toward reversing the effects of high cholesterol. Exercise itself doesn't directly lower cholesterol, but will strengthen the heart and entire circulatory system.

Quit smoking. If you smoke, the plaque build up in the arteries due to high cholesterol is accelerated. When plaque blocks the flow of blood to the heart, the muscle has to work harder to get oxygen. This can lead to a heart attack. If the arteries get completely blocked with plaque from high cholesterol then a stroke can occur.

Relax. Chronic stress can affect cholesterol levels. If you are constantly stressed and eating a low cholesterol diet, you may not seen any improvement in cholesterol readings until you learn to relieve stress.

Talk to your doctor. Not all doctors are quick to prescribe medications. In fact, the more enlightened doctors will help you form a diet and exercise plan that is suitable for your current overall health and abilities as a first step toward lowering cholesterol. It is always important to ask your doctor if your decision to follow a specific diet or exercise plan is right for you. In addition, do not stop taking medications before consulting with your doctor. You can lower your cholesterol with diet and exercise, and under the care of your doctor, see about removing drugs from the process.

About the author:
Frank Mangano
It does not take long to see significant improvements in your cholesterol. Lower cholesterol can be yours in just a matter of weeks. If you would like to understand more about cholesterol, the prescriptions most often used to treat it, and what you can do to lower cholesterol naturally and without prescription drugs, visit one of the Internet's leading resources on cholesterol:

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Friday

5 Reasons Why Paid Employment is Unhealthy

by: Gabriel Ama

For most people, the prospect of getting a job after graduation from College is usually appealing. Some even go ahead and acquire higher degrees so that they could land themselves better paying jobs than their contemporaries.

As good as these desires appear, the truth is, paid employment affects one’s health in a number of ways. Five of such ways are:

(1) Trading time for money: In paid employment, one trades or spends time working for money. The implication of this is that one has to wake up very early (usually between 5a.m. and 6a.m. at worst), work all day and close late. This is an addition to the stress of commuting through rush hour traffic.

Research has shown that people are stressed more when they wake up earlier than waking up later. We all know too well the very unhealthy effects of stress – it is known worldwide as a severe killer disease.

(2) Financial Stress: when you work for money, one of the biggest problems you face is how to plan and manage your finances. Now because financial literacy is not taught at school, majority of employees struggle with salaries they earn to pay bills, living paycheck to paycheck and they are always in a financial stress.

For those who are married, the responsibilities that come with being married could worsen the situation if not handled well. Finance has also been traced to be the biggest cause of divorce amongst married couples. A broken relationship with a loved one could leave one emotionally devastated most times.

(3) Heart Attacks: again, research has shown that most employees who suffer Heart Attacks had them on Monday mornings. When asked the cause, they simply responded that they were unhappy coming to work after the weekend. Obviously, their minds had been filled with worries associated with paid employment over a long period of time and the day of the Heart Attack is a peak effect of the previous stresses accumulated over time.

Unfortunately too, some people in paid employment also have to work weekends because their employers asked them to come and very few others come on weekends just to make ends meet. The effect of this all week work situation on one’s health is better imagined because medical findings have recommended a 40-hour maximum work week for humans, that is, not more than 8 hours a day for 5 days only.

(4) Office Politics: About 3% of the world’s working population earn 96% of the world’s income through their private businesses. On the other hand, the remaining 97% of the world’s working population are in paid employment struggling to earn just 4% of the income available to their group.

We are equally familiar with the high unemployment rate in the labour market the world over. As a result of this oversupply of labour in the paid employment market, many employees in trying to protect their jobs engage in back biting, mudslinging, bitter rancour all in a bid to impress their employers and destroy their colleagues, subordinates, and at times superiors too.

When you have an unresolved strained relationship with a person or persons, it could lead to illnesses in one’s body that can only be healed after reconciliation with those we quarrel with.

We may recall such occasions when we felt pain in our heart once we sight someone we had an unresolved quarrel with in the office. Unfortunately, this could go on and on, forcing illnesses on us that are more psychological than physical and leaving us wondering why we feel so sickly.

(5) Fear of Poverty and the Unknown: this is one of the major reasons people remain in paid employment for so, so long. Most people see paid employment as more secure than business and so they are more willing to remain in a job than risk being on their own.

However, if you happen to work in an organization that was once doing well and is now unstable to the extent of wanting to downsize, this fear of poverty and the unknown could become emotionally paralyzing.

A story is told of an employee of a bank who was retrenched along with other staff during a downsizing exercise. And guess what? The man committed suicide.

You would do well to begin to develop a financial and time plan to take you out of paid employment so that your health would not adversely affected. Beautiful enough, when you are your own boss doing your own business that requires less of your physical presence and attention, your health is better for it and ultimately, you will earn more income to take good care of yourself and your loved ones in the long run.

This is why your plan should be vision for a business that requires less of your attention as it expands with capable hands employed to run it. You should also apply yourself to learn the subtle skills required to seek, identify and employ capable hands to run your business.

It is achievable, if you would just apply yourself to it.

About the author:
****************************************
Copyright (c) Gabriel Ama.

Gabriel Ama uses the Plug-In Profit Site
to earn multiple streams of income from
the Internet. What about you?...

****************************************

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Thursday

4 Steps for You to Help Yourself During Chemotherapy

by: Dave Saunders

Chemotherapy is a word that causes dread in most who hear it. It is a time of stress as well as risk. If you, or someone you know, are facing chemotherapy, these four simple steps may help get through the process with better spirits and better results as well.

1. Tell your doctor if you get side effects from treatment

You can't expect the possibility of relief from side effects if you do not share them with your doctor. Be sure to communicate with your doctor. Some people keep a health journal during and after treatment to improve the information you have to present to your doctor if problems arise more gradually. Discuss what you might keep in a health journal that might improve the effectiveness of your treatment.

2. Ask your doctor before you take any other medicine

All drugs operate by manipulating some normal cell function. This includes the chemotherapy drugs as well. These manipulations may conflict with the intended effects of your chemotherapy treatment. Even herbals, or an over the counter pain reliever can lead to unintended consequences. Always inform your doctor before taking any other medications.

3. Take care of your health

There are many things you can do to support the natural ability of your body to restore, protect and defend itself from the effects of injury and disease. Seek to improve your diet, find ways to reduce other sources of stress in your life and be thankful for the hope and opportunity you have because of your treatment. These things can have a remarkable affect on your body and your feeling of good health.

4. Talk about your feelings

These are stressful times. Don't keep your feelings bottled up. People you know and love are probably feeling stress too. Help each other by being open about what you are going through. By being open with others, you can feel more in control of the stress and trepidation you're feeling, instead of those things being in control of you.

Self-help can never take the place of professional health care. Ask your doctor and nurse any questions you may have about chemotherapy. Also don't hesitate to tell them about any side effects you may have. They want and need to know.

About the author:
Dave Saunders is a professional lecturer, and certified nutritional educator. He enjoys creating interconnections through his writings and lectures to help others create context and see new discoveries and technologies in more a practical light. You can find out more about new discoveries in cancer research at

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Wednesday

4 Days to Better Health- Let me Show You How

by: Ryan Cote

It's possible to learn HOW to better your health in only 4 days and this article will show you how. Each day is a bite-sized nugget of healthy living information you can actually use.

Let's get started...

Day 1: Nutritional Supplements

In my opinion, they are very necessary and very beneficial- especially when combined with healthy eating habits. It's very difficult to get all the nutrients your body needs through food alone, but combining proper nutrition with nutritional supplements is very powerful.

That being said, the one supplement everyone should be taking is a good multi vitamin/mineral. Look at it as added insurance- eating well is crucial, but now that you're also taking a multi, you can rest assured you're getting the nutrients your body needs.

Day 2: Nutrition

Good nutrition is SO important. You are what you eat...remember that. Make a conscious effort to gradually improve your eating habits, eating more of the good foods (nuts, berries, peanut butter, olive oil, greens, chicken, whole grains, etc.) and less of the bad foods (fried food, saturated fat, fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, etc.). Reading the label of what you're eating will tell you a lot.

You may think you lack the needed will power, but you'll be amazed at what happens when you start to gradually improve your eating habits.

Day 3: Exercise

Exercise is the missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to better health. There are so many benefits of exercising, including stronger bones and improved libido- it's a no brainer to start doing it. Your goal should be to exercise 3-5 times a week with a combination of cardio exercises and strength training (but no more than 1 hour per workout session).

It's been measured that if you add 3 pounds of muscle to your body, this added muscle will burn as many calories as if you ran 1 mile. Muscle burns calories!

Day 4: Stress Management and Sleep

Stress management and getting good sleep each night round out your path to better health. Until you find a way to manage your stress, it will continue to do damage to your body. Two tips you might want to implement include prioritizing your day each morning and practicing deep breathing exercises (yes, you probably already knew this, but have you tried it?).

Getting enough sleep each night is equally important when you consider your body uses this time to repair itself. You should aim for 7-9 hours each night. Two tips you might want to implement include exercising and avoiding late night eating.

Now that you have the basics, expand on this information. Day 1 research more about Nutritional Supplements, Day 2 research more about Nutrition and so on. I guarantee after 4 days you'll feel more confident about reaching your goal towards better health.

About the author:
Ryan Cote is the creator of 4 Days to Better Health, a free health e-course that shows the average person how to live a healthy lifestyle. To receive all 4 days above in detail, please visit

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