Archive for the ‘diet’ Category
Thursday, November 26th, 2009 |
Michelle Obama’s arms have probably gotten more coverage than her husband’s policy decisions.
Apparently women have been asking their personal trainers how to get their arms like Mrs Obama’s pretty much like some wanted the Rachel, Victoria Beckham or even Farrah Fawcett haircut over the years.
According to Women’s Health it isn’t as easy as a hair cut though. And I can testify to that fact.
Michelle Obama has a full body workout – doing cardio, weight training and a whole host of other training to look as gorgeous as she does.
From her photos you can tell that she doesn’t have much body fat anywhere – much less her arms.
I found this workout for arms on Women’s Health – although it doesn’t only target arms.
Personally I do yoga exercise most days (around 6 days a week), weight training with 2kg dumb bells, walk most week days for 30 minutes as well as pilates (or other strength training about 3 times a week). Plus when I get the courage again, I will add road running to that list in the next few weeks.
Even though I don’t look anything like Mrs Obama, I absolutely love training and feel lifeless and drab when I don’t.
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 |
If you eat right and exercise at the intensity, frequency and duration proper for you, but still can’t get rid of a little paunch here and there, you’re probably just not drinking enough water.
Most people don’t drink enough water.
If you can’t seem to get that weight off, try drowning your sorrows in nature’s magical weight-loss mineral. It works, and here’s why:
- The metabolism of fat. If the kidneys are water-deprived, the liver has to do their work along with its own, lowering its total productivity.
- The problem is that, though many decide to increase their water intake, very few stick with it. During the first few days of drinking more water than your body is accustomed to. What is really happening is that your body is flushing itself of the water it has been storing throughout all those years of “survival mode”. As you continue to give your body all the water it could ask for, it gets rid of what it doesn’t need.
- One recent finding, as irresponsible as it may be, that caffeine increases the body’s fat-burning potential has many people loading up on coffee before going to the gym. Caffeine is in essence, a diuretic, and diuretics dehydrate. Caffeine may increase the heart rate, causing a few more calories to be burned, but this is at the expense of the muscles, which need water to function properly. Never mix caffeine and exercise. In fact, your best bet is to stay away from caffeine all together. It’s a big bully that pushes your friend water out of your system.
- Water is the best beauty treatment. You’ve heard this since high school, and it’s true. Water will do wonders for your looks! It flushes out impurities in your skin, leaving you with a clear, glowing complexion. It also makes your skin look younger. Skin that is becoming saggy, either due to aging or weight loss, plumps up very nicely when the skin cells are hydrated.
- In addition, it improves muscle tone. Iif your muscles are suffering from a drought, you won’t notice a pleasant difference in your appearance. Muscles that have all the water they need contract more easily, making your workout more effective, and you’ll look much nicer than if you had flabby muscles under sagging skin.
- “Eight glasses a day? Are you kidding?!” It’s really not that much. Eight 8-ounce glasses amount to about two quarts of water. This is okay for the average person, but if you’re overweight, you should drink another eight ounces for every 25 pounds of excess weight you carry. You should also up this if you live in a hot climate or exercise very intensely.
- This water consumption should be spread out throughout the day. It’s not healthy at all to drink too much water at one time. Don’t let yourself get thirsty. If you feel thirsty, you’re already becoming dehydrated. Drink when you’re not thirsty yet.
- Do you think water is yucky? Drinking other fluids will certainly help hydrate your body, but the extra calories, sugar, additives and whatever else aren’t what you need. Try a slice of lemon or lime in the glass, or if you really think you hate water, try a flavored water. Just make sure you read the labels. Remember that you’re going to be consuming a lot of this fluid. It’s probably a good idea to stop drinking water a good three hours before you go to bed. You know why.
- “How cold should it be?” This is debatable. Most experts lean toward cold water, because the stomach absorbs it more quickly. There is also some evidence that cold water might enhance fat burning.
On the other hand, warmer water is easier to drink in large quantities, and you might drink more of it without even realizing it. Do whatever suits you, here. Just drink it!
When you drink all the water you need, you will very quickly notice a decrease in your appetite, possibly even on the first day! If you’re serious about becoming leaner and healthier, drinking water is an absolute must. If you’re doing everything else right and still not seeing results, this might just be what’s missing.
Written by Maia Appleby.
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Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 |
During the few sunny days we’ve had this spring, I wore t-shirts and immediately noticed that I’d picked up some weight.
Even though I started eating more healthily at the start of September.
I even made my easy vegetable soup recipe for those times when I got too lazy to make a proper meal for lunch or supper.
Many eating plans and diets suggest snacking on fruit, nuts, certain health bars, yoghurt etc. inbetween meals.
What are those people trying to help us lose weight or help put more on?
What ever happened to eating 3 meals per day?
Since I’ve started snacking between meals, I’ve noticed that I’m actually putting more weight on.
Everything revolves around planning and eating meals.
It used to be so easy in the days when people were actually a lot less heavy than we are now.
We ate at breakfast, lunch and supper. And we had proper meals at each meal time.
No obsessions with food and watching the clock on the best time to start eating.
So I’m cutting out on snacking and only eating my three meals a day without obsessing over healthy snacks.
I try to get my vegetables and fruit and nuts in during meal times and for the rest and I eat sweet treats on occassion.
No more obsessing about healthy food for me.
Posted in Healthy living, diet | No Comments »
Friday, September 18th, 2009 |
The other day I was discussing clothing fashion and store sales with my friend when she said “they never have our size on sale!”
Innocent words you would think, but my thought was, “what size does she think I am???”
Even though I’ve always worn a size 32 until recently, I have been wading through the size 34s on the sales rack.
My friend says she wears a size 36!
She never works out though and I do nearly every day of the week! For heaven’s sake, I completed my first half marathon a few months ago.
Admittedly I have been tucking into the puddings after supper on cold winter nights. And we’ve had a few of those in good old Cape Town this past winter.
And we’re always looking for an excuse for a party at work.
And my family loves eating good food. Not to mention my friend baking and selling biscuits!
But I’ve never had to worry about my weight before. I never weigh myself, other than at medical check ups once in a blue moon.
So now I am thinking of starting my first.diet.ever. Although I will first try and cut out extra cups of tea and coffee and drink water instead.
And maybe only have dessert on Sundays.
I certainly exercise enough…but apparently exercise doesn’t do much for weightloss.
How could this happen????
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Friday, August 28th, 2009 |
Will men never learn?
Yesterday my colleague and I were standing at the tea trolley making our beverages when we ran out of full cream milk.
He suggested I rather use the fat free version as it was anyway better for me!
“What?!!!” I asked not very nicely.
“Are you saying I’m fat!!??”
Fortunately for him he finished making his tea and never said another word.
I of course couldn’t leave it at that.
What can I say? I was having a bad day!
I told everyone who would listen that he suggested I use low fat milk.
All my female colleagues who heard the story reacted in horror and asked him how he could make a suggestion like that to any woman.
He sheepishly apologised and said he didn’t mean it like that, but it changed nothing!
Now I’ve never been overweight a day in my life, but PMS does things to a woman. It makes the most balanced (or how we’d like to think of ourselves) person act out of character and it does make us feel fat.
But seriously, regardless of the situation, no man should ever suggest low fat anything to any woman.
Unlike an ex-boyfriend who (suspiciously) once asked whether I put on some weight around the stomach area.
“Don’t worry,” I said to him, “I’m not pregnant, if that’s what you’re thinking!”
They deserve what they get after that!
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