Healthy Life Style: March 2015

Thursday, March 12, 2015

healthy breakfast options :-) - Get your FREE ebook on 10 Simple Hacks To Naturally Burn Stubborn Belly Fat

not sure this qualifies as cross fit but it’s a good idea none the less

Crossfit at home - no excuses

18 Acne Hacks, Tips and Tricks To Get Rid Of and Cover Up Pimples

Let´s have an active life.... Excercise plan

Before you embark on your weight loss plan, get to know the three most influential hormones that are crucial to slimming down— and how to get them on your side.
Ghrelin
Produced in your stomach, ghrelin is your hunger hormone. If you skip a meal, your ghrelin levels rise and make you ravenous, making it nearly impossible for you to resist the next food item you see. For these reasons, skipping breakfast to shave some calories off the day is a big mistake if you’re on the weight loss train; ghrelin is high in the morning after you’ve fasted all night, so you really need to fuel yourself first thing to keep it in check.
And fueling with the right food is just as important as fueling, period: A study published in the journal Clinical Science showed that a high protein meal lowers ghrelin levels significantly more than meals high in fat and carbohydrates. So focus on a high-protein breakfast, such as casein and whey-free protein shakes, and veggie omelettes. And don’t stop at breakfast— aim to get at least 20 grams of protein at lunch and dinner to keep ghrelin low after each meal.
Leptin
Leptin is your helpful sidekick on the weight loss journey; you want no shortage of this hormone if your goal is to drop a pant size or two. It’s an appetite suppressor, telling you when to stop eating. But a little known fact about leptin is that this hormone’s effects in our bodies decrease with age. The older we get, the more likely we are to have leptin resistance, which is when our bodies don’t respond to leptin’s signals (so your brain doesn’t get the message to stop eating). To raise your levels of leptin and increase your sensitivity to this hormone, eat a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids and boost your intake of foods that contain Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), which has been shown to stimulate the production of leptin. Try wild salmon, mackerel, and sardines. Lack of sleep also lowers leptin and increases ghrelin, bringing on the urge to eat more, so be sure to get at least seven and a half hours of shuteye.
Cortisol
Stress and cortisol go hand in hand, and cortisol and belly fat go hand in hand. Anytime you’re faced with a stressful situation, your body pumps out cortisol to meet the challenge. Cortisol encourages your body to hold on to visceral fat— that spare tire around your waist— and it also drives you toward sweet and salty foods to quell the tension you feel (they release pleasure-inducing chemicals in the brain).
To counteract cortisol’s fat-storing effects, cut down on your coffee consumption and steer totally clear of it when you’re feeling stressed. Caffeine taps your adrenal glands to release cortisol, which can be helpful before an interview or big presentation since it sharpens your focus. But when you mix caffeine with stress, your cortisol levels jump higher and stay high for longer.
One study out of the University of Oklahoma showed that consuming 2 and a half to 3 cups of coffee while under mild stress caused cortisol to jump 25 percent— and remain high for 3 hours. Another cortisol-lowering tip: Make it a point to surround yourself with positive people who make you laugh! Simply anticipating a laugh has been shown to lower cortisol levels.
Once you understand how these three hormones work, you can make it easier for your body to drop excess weight, and suddenly your weight loss quest becomes less painful for you. Why starve if it’s just going to raise your ghrelin levels and make it harder to resist bad food choices? And why not find more time for that funny friend if she’s a secret weight loss weapon?
As you move forward with your healthier intentions this year, the most important thing is that you believe you deserve to look and feel better. You deserve that leaner body, a more nutritious diet, a healthier heart, better energy and the many other gifts that come from making and honoring that commitment to yourself. Only good will flow from there.

http://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/diet-fitness/advice/a2671/13-diet-tricks/

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Snacking is sometimes looked down upon when you’re trying to lose weight, but when done the right way, snacking can be good for you! It keeps your metabolism going and cravings at bay until the next meal. However, eating the wrong foods during snack time could significantly obstruct your goal to weight loss. Sugars, fats and carbs love to hide in foods disguised or packaged as “healthy.” Read on to discover what snacks you’re eating that you shouldn’t be!

Trail Mix
A serving of store-bought trail mix is a measly quarter-cup, a serving size that roughly no one will stick to. Plus, the processed milk chocolate isn’t doing you any favors, either. Instead, go for some fruit and nut bars like KIND bars, or you could make your own. The fruit and nut bars will ensure that you’re getting nutrients your body needs instead of empty calories that won’t even fill you up.

Pretzels
These classic snacks are high in sodium — almost 20 percent of your daily intake is in one serving of pretzels. Too much sodium leads to increased water retention, which can lead to bloating and puffiness, and too much sodium over time can lead to heart disease. Opt for some salted and shelled pistachios instead. They contain almost double the protein and three times the fiber of pretzels, which means they’ll keep you full much longer than pretzels will.

Diet Soda

Artificial sweeteners can make you feel full and keep cravings at bay, but they also have a negative effect on your metabolism. Eliminating diet soda (and caffeine) can be difficult at first, but in the end is completely worth it. Try drinking sparkling flavored water or detox waters instead.

Rice Cakes
Rice cakes are commonly perceived as healthy foods because they are low in calories and contain no fat, but they are also incredibly high on the glycemic index. Pure sugar has a rating of 100, and rice cakes have a rating of 82. Try air-popped popcorn (not microwaved) for a healthier alternative. Plus, you can use all kinds of healthy toppings for popcorn!

Bottled Smoothie
Bottled smoothies may seem like a good low-calorie choice, but upon closer inspection, there are usually two or three servings in one bottle. Making your own smoothies is the perfect way to ensure that you know exactly what is going into them and how much you should drink to stay on track.

Banana Chips

Banana chips also may seem like a good idea, because they are primarily bananas. Right? Wrong. They are usually fried, which means they are high in saturated fat. Instead, go for the obvious substitution here: a banana! At 121 calories, a large banana contains no saturated fat, but it does contain vitamins B and C and a healthy dosage of fiber! Or, if you’re really looking for a healthy chip option, try kale chips.

Chocolate Pudding Cups
A chocolate pudding cup doesn’t have terribly high calorie count, but why not just go for the real deal instead? Dark chocolate contains antioxidant-rich cocoa and contains less sugar, less carbs and more fiber than a cup of chocolate pudding. This is an excuse to insert chocolate into your diet — take it!

Cheez-Its
Cheese crackers like Cheez-Its are high in simple carbs, which spike your blood sugar and create cravings, the exact opposite you’re trying to accomplish by snacking. Stay away from quick fixes like cheese crackers.

Granola and Skim Milk
Even just a half cup of granola with one cup of skim milk has 360 calories! That’s because even though granola is advertised as healthy, most of it is just sugar and fat. If it’s 10 a.m. and you need a second breakfast before lunch, that’s perfectly fine. Substitute the granola cereal for one cup of instant oats for a more nutritional and satisfying meal.
100-calorie packs of cookies

Studies have shown that the 100-calorie packs of cookies like Oreos and Chips Ahoy actually cause more problems than they solve when it comes to weight loss. People tend to eat more of them because they are perceived as healthy, even though they are, in fact, still cookies. We know it’s not the same, but try to substitute those with roasted pumpkin seeds. A third of a cup contains only 94 calories, and they will fill you up much faster than cookies would.

Baby Carrots
Baby carrots are a popular dieting snack, but the fact of the matter is that they won’t keep you full very long. Try dipping them in a couple teaspoons of hummus or another source of protein to get you and your growling stomach through to the next meal.

Flavored Yogurts
All flavored yogurts are high in sugar from the artificial flavoring. Instead of a cup of strawberry yogurt, opt for plain Greek yogurt; it’s low in sugar and contains healthy proteins to fill you up.

21 Best Ways to Lose 10 Pounds in a Week:

Listed below are the best effective ways you should follow strictly in your everyday regime for a healthy weight.

Nutrition:

Nutrition is one of the most important parameters that should be kept in mind while following a weight loss regime. Having a balanced diet is important to ensure that you don’t feel nutrition deprived. If you want to lose ten pounds in a week, you need to take care of the following things in terms of nutrition.

1. Consume Fewer Calories Than You Burn:

Watching your calories is of prime importance when you are trying to lose weight. In fact, the secret to weight loss is to consume fewer calories than you burn. It should be kept in mind that one pound of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories. Thus, you need to burn 3500 calories more than you take in with food. But this does not mean that you go into starvation mode. All you need to do is shave off 500 calories in a day through dietary changes and exercise to avoid gaining 1 to 2 pounds each year. Instead of resorting to crash dieting, it is advisable to consume about 1200 to 1600 calories daily and keep a food journal to count your calorie consumption.

2. Burn 5000 Calories More Than You Take In

In order to lose 10 pounds in a week, you need to burn 5000 more calories than you take in per day. Agreed, that’s too much for an average person, but you have to push yourself to achieve this goal. Also, it should be kept in mind that an average person burns about 2000 calories while doing normal routine activities. This means that if you consume exactly 2000 calories through food every day, you will neither gain nor lose weight. To burn extra calories, you can make simple changes in your lifestyle like walking instead of driving, taking stairs instead of the lift and simply breathing.

3. Do Not Skip Breakfast:

Breakfast is, undoubtedly, one of the most important meals of the day and skipping it in an urge to cut calories is not at all a great option. In fact, several studies have shown that people who had breakfast regularly had comparatively lower BMIs than breakfast skippers. So, kick start your day a healthy and nutritious way by having a bowl of oatmeal or whole grain cereal topped with fruit or low fat dairy. You can also have scrambled eggs to fulfil your protein requirements, but avoid heavy and oily foods for breakfast.

4. Incorporate Lean Proteins In Your Diet:

Incorporating lean proteins in your meals and snacks will keep you from overeating by keeping you full for longer. You can try 98% lean beef, skinless chicken breast, eggs and certain fish like salmon. For vegetarians, soy products like edamame or tofu, low fat yogurt, peanut butter, nuts and beans are good sources of lean proteins. Besides, it is advisable to have frequent meals at an interval of 3 to 4 hours to maintain your blood sugar levels and avoid overindulgence.

5. Cut the Consumption of Simple Carbohydrates:

Simple carbs, also known as refined carbohydrates, get absorbed by our body quickly but provide zero nutrition. So it is advisable to stay away from simple carbs like cookies, candies, molasses, honey, cakes and other baked sweets, and packaged cereals.

6. Opt for Complex Carbs:

Replace the refined carbohydrates with complex carbohydrates as they are packed with fibre and other nutrients. Besides, they get digested by the body and released into the blood stream comparatively slower. So incorporate complex carbs like brown rice, whole-grain pasta, beans and legumes, vegetables like asparagus and fruits like apricots in your diet.

7. Avoid Fast Food:

Fast foods are synonymous of unhealthy foods. Besides being loaded with trans-fat, fast foods like fries, burgers and shakes contain a whopping amount of sugar and salt which can cause you to pile on the pounds. They are also nil in terms of nutrition. Hence, if you want to shed ten pounds effectively, it is advisable to avoid fast foods completely.

8. Eat Smaller Portions:

It will be, indeed, pleasing to know that reducing your portion size by 10% to 20% can also lead to weight loss. You can trim your portion size by using smaller bowls and plates or measuring cups to measure your portion sizes. Eating smaller frequent meals will not only keep you full, but also boost your metabolism, thus leading to weight loss.

9. Opt for Lighter Alternatives:

One of the ways to accelerate weight loss is to switch to lighter alternatives in food. In other words, you should use low fat versions of dairy products, mayonnaise, salad dressings, etc. You can use salsa or hummus as a dip, mustard as spread on sandwiches instead of butter, skim milk instead of cream in your coffee and roasted sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes. These simple substitutions can make quite a difference to your weight as well as health.

10. Avoid Late Night Snacking:

We can’t deny the fact that most of us indulge in mindless late night snacking while watching television or late night working. We don’t realize that we are loading our bodies with unnecessary calories by doing so. It is advisable to have your dinner before 9 at night. If you want to have dessert, you can have a bowl of light ice cream or frozen yogurt. After that, just brush your teeth so that you are less likely to eat or drink anything else.

11. Eat Low and Medium GI Foods:

Foods that have a high glycemic index should be avoided as they create a surge in the sugar levels. This would ultimately cause spikes in insulin levels and increase fat storage in the body. Low GI foods, on the contrary, cause small fluctuations and gradual rise in insulin and blood sugar levels. Besides keeping you fuller and providing your energy, they aid in weight loss and minimize the risk of diabetes.

Hydration:

Proper hydration is as important as proper nutrition for maintaining the ideal body weight. Hydration is an important aspect of health that most of us ignore. It not only keeps your body cool, but also helps to keep several diseases at bay.

12. Drink Plenty of Water:

Hydration is regarded as synonymous with water and drinking plenty of water is, undoubtedly, one of the best ways to keep oneself hydrated. Ensure to drink at least 8 glasses of water in a day. Besides being devoid of calories, water keeps you full such that you are less likely to overeat. To avoid hunger pangs in between meals, you can have a big glass of water. Apart from water, there are other ways of hydration. Unsweetened green tea, for instance, is a good option as it is rich in antioxidants and has zero calories.

13. Avoid Liquid Calories:

As stated earlier, to achieve the desirable weight loss, it is important to control the intake of calories and liquid calories are no exception. The processed fruit juices, energy drinks and aerated drinks might appear tempting, but they load your body with about a third of your entire calories for the day. Instead, you can quench your thirst with water, citrus juices or 100% percent fruit juices. Vegetable juices are also a nutritious option to satisfy your hunger in between meals. Alcohol calories should be particularly avoided as they add up quickly. So it is advisable to restrict the consumption of wine or cocktails to weekends in order to save calories.

Fitness:

If you are serious about losing 10 pounds in a week, you need to pay attention to your fitness. However, this does not mean you have to spend hours in rigorous workouts at the gym. But, it is important to incorporate regular physical activity in your regime so that you can effectively burn calories. Fitness is not just about exercise, it also includes walking, sports activity, dance, etc. Given below are a few ways to stay fit.

14.Compound Exercises:

Compound exercises involve working out multiple joints and are considered the best bodyweight exercises. For instance, the exercises performed below navel work out your quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteus, the three largest muscle groups in your body. They create minor afterburn tears in the muscle fibres, causing a large burn in calories post workout as a lot of energy is required to repair those tears. You can try compound exercises like bench press, squats, clean and press etc.

15.Cardio:

Cardio is basically an aerobic exercise that involves steady and repetitive movements using a person’s arms and legs to increase blood circulation and blood flow throughout the body. Covering a duration of 15-20 minutes, it helps maintain 60-80% of your maximum heart rate.

16.Medicine Ball Slam:

This is a simple and energetic workout that can really help in burning calories. With your feet wide apart, lift a medicine ball overhead. Now slam it down on the floor as hard as possible slightly squatting and using your abdominals. Then pick the ball up, stand up and repeat the process. Try to do as many reps as you can in 30 seconds.

17. Weight Training:

Weight training is another way to lose weight effectively. In fact, it is a misconception that weight training is meant for building bigger muscles and not losing weight. Weight training if done properly can speed up your fat burning process during workouts and even long after the workout is over. Training with weight is anaerobic in nature that burns carbohydrates. Unlike aerobic training, it helps build lean body mass. But it accelerates your metabolism, causing you to burn more fat. To effectively lose 10 pounds in a week, it is advisable to indulge in weight training routine involving compound exercises at a higher intensity level.

18. Walking:

Walking is also an important part of your fitness regime. This aerobic activity is equally effective in burning calories and can be done by almost everyone! Try using your legs instead of a vehicle, use stairs instead of an elevator or just go for a morning walk. If you find all these to be difficult, you can simply use the treadmill. All you need to do is grab an opportunity to burn extra calories. You can use a pedometer to keep track of the number of steps you take during the day to find out the exact number of calories burnt.

19.Dancing:

Dancing is an excellent way to work out all your body muscles and stay fit. Those who find their regular workout regimen boring and monotonous can try dancing to include the fun element in your routine. Today there are regular dance courses teaching basic jazz, salsa and hip hop. You can try out any one of these you are comfortable with. Zumba dance form is also gaining popularity these days. This form involves a combination of Latin and international music to provide you a fantastic workout.

20. Cross Training:

Cross training is another interesting way to work out your body muscles and burn extra calories. It comprises of different endurance, strength and aerobic exercises that work out different parts of your body and thus, keep you from getting bored.

Proper Sleep:

21. Quality of Sleep:

Research has proved that sleep deprivation can cause you to gain weight. This is simply due to the fact that the longer you are awake, the more you are likely to eat. In fact, it is a common scenario that people who are in late night working often have several cups of coffee to avoid feeling sleepy. The result is clear, they consume extra calories. The duration and quality of your sleep influence the production of certain hormones which are directly linked with your appetite. While sleeping, you lose weight through two processes, namely respiration when you exhale and transpiration through your skin, also called sweating. All these factors contribute to weight loss.

Now, do you believe it to be possible to lose 10 pounds in a week? Yes, it is when your diet, hydration, fitness and sleep routines are all proper. Do share your experiences with us if these ways had worked for you.