The results are in. According to The National Weight
Control Registry found that 89% of people who lost 30 or
more pounds and kept it off for at least one year
accomplished their goals through a combination of diet and
exercise. In that study only 10% succeeded using diet
alone, and only 1% using exercise alone.

That is a startling statistic, and one that you just cannot
ignore if you want to lose fat, build muscle, tone up and
look great. OK so now you're thinking, "If I get on a
'meal plan' I will never eat another cookie again!" Not
true. A good meal plan teaches you how to fit foods you
like together for proper nutrition. It focuses on meal
timing, portion control, and healthy snacking to boost your
metabolism and burn fat fast!

When it comes to nutrition old rules are not necessarily
true and there are a lot of myths around telling you how to
eat. Here are my Top 10 Nutrition Tips for Fat Loss &
Fitness to help you get started:

1. ALWAYS eat breakfast. Breakfast literally means, "break
the fast." The time spent sleeping is the longest time you
go without eating. When you wake up whether you are hungry
or not, your body is. It's vitally important that you
refuel your energy system and provide the necessary
building blocks for supporting muscle tissue. Because I
tend to workout in the morning, I start my day with a
protein shake mixed with milk (<200 calories). Then after
my workout I have breakfast.

2. Eat every 3-4 hours. Eating frequent meals will help
keep your metabolism up and you're blood sugar in check.
It will help you avoid those energy highs and lows you
experience throughout the day. Make sure that these are
healthy meals containing balanced amounts of protein,
carbohydrates and fat.

3. Eat within 30 - 45 minutes following your workout.
During this time, the body starts repairing exercise damage
by replenishing muscle glycogen (sugar stored as energy in
the muscle), synthesizing muscle protein (building muscle)
and boosting the immune system. For my post-workout meal I
prefer a meal replacement shake with a carbohydrate to
protein ration of 3:1 or 4:1. This ratio has been shown
to maximize absorption and effectiveness.

4. Eat a lean protein with EVERY meal. Eating a lean
protein will help control insulin response, keep you stay
satiated, and provide building blocks for muscle repair and
growth. Remember, more muscle = faster metabolism. One
pound of muscle burns 40 - 60 calories per day. So, be
sure to eat your protein in every meal.

5. Get your fruits and veggies in! I know you've heard it
a million times, and for good reason. Fruits and
vegetables provide you with necessary vitamins and
antioxidants as well as other super-nutrients that have
been shown to be vital to daily function and health. And,
when they're fresh they taste so good!

6. Drink plenty of water. On average, an individual should
consume 96 ounces, not including pre, during and post
workout amounts (approx. 8 - 16 ounces each). Staying
hydrated will keep your energy level high and help you lose
weight - a dehydrated person has a 3% lower metabolism and
performs at a significantly decreased level. It also helps
you feel full so you will avoid overeating. Try drinking a
glass of water before every meal (helps prevent
overeating), and sip from a water bottle throughout the day.

7. Watch out for caf&#233; drinks. The average Venti sized
Frappuccino weighs in at 530 calories. This staggering
number equals 2.5 bagels or one third of the recommended
daily calories for an average woman. Watch out for soft
drinks as well. A 16 oz fountain drink can have 300+
calories. Beverages such as this containing high amounts
of sugar should be consumed rarely since the extra calories
they contain are readily stored as fat.

8. Keep alcohol consumption to a minimum. Calories add up
real quick with alcoholic drinks, especially mixed drinks -
that monster Margarita has over 1000 calories! Alcohol
also negatively impacts your metabolism and when drank in
excess will make your workouts the next day (or two)
suffer. One night of boozing up can wreak havoc on your
entire weight loss and fitness program.

9. Don't be fooled by "Fat Free." Fat free foods, when
eaten in excess, will still be stored as fat! Fat free
cookies and crackers are made up of a whole lot of SUGAR!
Yep, the secret is out! Sugar is just as fattening of a
substance as fat itself, when eaten in excess.

10. Don't forget the fiber! Eating fiber has many benefits
for your health. The consumption of soluble fiber has been
shown to protect you from developing heart disease by
reducing your cholesterol levels. The consumption of
insoluble fiber reduces your risk of developing
constipation, colitis, colon cancer, and hemorrhoids. The
ADA recommends a minimum of 20-35 g/day.

11. Bonus Tip: Back up your diet with a high quality
Multi-vitamin and EFA supplement. A multi-vitamin provides
keys vitamins and minerals that are tough to obtain even if
your diet is near picture perfect. I don't know about you,
but I like to cover my bases when it comes to my health.
Be sure to choose a multi-vitamin supplement that is made
from whole foods rather than synthetic materials, in
addition to being made specifically for your gender. An
essential fatty acid (EFA) supplement is critical to
providing key omega 3's to maximize overall health,
performance, and body composition. Studies show that krill
oil provides the most effective dosing of EFA's.

Well, there you have them; my Top 10 Nutrition Tips for Fat
Loss and Fitness. Master one at a time if you must. I
promise if you can master these you're fat loss and fitness
goals will become a reality.

Have Faith & Take Action!

Justin Yule

----------------------------------------------------
Justin Yule, B.S., CPT is a local Chaska, MN and Online
fitness boot camp instructor and personal trainer. He is
also the author of The Science of Getting Fit: 6 Proven
Steps to Achieve Your Weight Loss & Fitness Goals.
You can learn more at http://www.JustinYule.com .
To book him to speak at your local club, business, or
organization, please contact him by email at
jyule2@gmail.com or by phone at 952-956-2016.

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Copyright (c) 2009 Rebecca Frith

Finding it hard to quit smoking?

We all know that smoking is a bad habit that many
individuals just can't kick. As time goes by prices
continue to rise, taxes continue to get bigger, and users
are also paying for cigarettes with bad health.

Then of course you have issues with second hand smoke that
harms children, spouses, relatives, friends, and anyone
else around. Second hand smoke is extremely dangerous and
causes the same health problems to non-users as it does for
users. The most common issues are different forms of cancer
and heart disease.

Yes, we understand that it's hard to quit but it is
possible. One of the biggest reasons people continue to
smoke is because they believe there is no way they can
stop. Whether it's down to the stories of others, their
own unsuccessful attempts, or just no will power
whatsoever, then the results are going to be difficult to
achieve. When you get to this point, perhaps the best way
to stop smoking is by self hypnosis. Many people have
taken advantage of self hypnosis CDs. If you haven't heard
of them before, they definitely work. Basically, it's a
way for individuals who can't afford doctor visits, pricey
nicotine patches, and everything else it takes to stop
smoking.

The biggest benefit to self hypnosis CDs is the specific
and proper techniques that allow the body to overcome the
desire to smoke. Keep in mind this is not some sort of
gimmick CD; they're done by qualified professionals who
have studied the art of hypnotism for years. They'll
enable you to utilize these tools in your own home and
build a way to dig into your subconscious mind. The
process is somewhat long, but the end result leaves you
free of the craving for cigarettes. If you're in the
comfort of your own home it can make it easier to kick the
habit without temptation. This way you can believe in
yourself and not worry about everyone else around you who
may still be smoking.

However, we do recommend that you spend the time finding a
comfortable area to work on your self hypnosis. A nice
comfy chair is your best bet, especially in a secluded or
quiet room. Once you sit down, practice those deep
breathing techniques and listen to your recordings. It's
quick and easy, but the things you learn will take the mind
some getting used to, even if they are all good things.
For instance, the stress of everyday life is a great
contributor to smoking. Learning how to say no to your
cravings anytime you think you need a cigarette is the
biggest hill to climb. However, there are all kinds of
alternate coping mechanisms you will learn throughout each
of the self hypnosis sessions. If you do everything right,
it should only take a couple sessions for you to quit
smoking and start feeling better.

----------------------------------------------------
Rebecca Frith is a keen supporter of natural health
products. For online natural health products such as self
hypnosis CDs, natural cleaning products, essential oils,
Ganoderma mushroom and natural beauty products.Go to=>
http://www.naturespharmacy.com.au/health-shop/

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The health of the people in the United States was done in a
long term study to determine the chances of heart disease.
The U.S. Public Health Service could identify such high
risk groups before there were any symptoms at all.

Cigarette smoking males over age 35 who had high blood
pressure, high levels of certain blood fats and family
history of heart disease were among the highest at risk.
Add to this the person who is highly compulsive and has an
anxious personality with greater risk involved with higher
anxiety. These people can certainly use the benefits of
cardio interval training.

These threats to the heart can be divided into two
categories. These categories are controlled and
uncontrolled by an individual. The controlled category is
what is called "the triple threat" including high blood
pressure, smoking and high cholesterol in the blood.
Uncontrolled category includes age, sex and the heredity of
the person.

Smoking a pack of cigarettes every day puts you at risk at
twice that of a nonsmoker. Add in hypertension and a diet
high in fat with no exercise the risk of heart attack can
be up to five times more than normal.

So, if you want a healthy heart what will help in its
well-being and make it perform for a long time and do it
well?

Obviously the first thing is to quit smoking and then start
eating a healthy diet. The next thing you and your heart
need is a regular exercise routine you can follow every
week to give you a healthy body and the best way is to
start cardio interval training.

The heart is similar to the muscles in the arms and legs in
that it is a group of muscles which like your limb muscles
will strengthen and improve in overall health with regular
exercise.

Over the years there have been many studies done to find
the relationship between physical activity and
cardiovascular disease. One such survey compared bus
drivers to conductors and the findings were interesting to
say the least. A significantly higher rate of heart disease
went to the drivers who were mostly inactive compared to
the conductors who had to walk around and climb stairs to
the second level on a regular basis.

The results of these tests came from experiments done with
dogs. The dog's coronary arteries were narrowed like a
human would be with arteriosclerosis. It was found the dogs
that were exercised regularly had much better blood flow
than those that did not exercise.

Exercise stimulated development of new connections between
broken and normal blood vessels. Exercised dogs therefore
had better blood flown to tissues of the heart. The human
heart reacts in exactly the same way providing blood to the
damaged area.

The heart renews itself with collateral circulation by
making new blood vessels to be able to heal the heart. This
process can actually prevent a heart attack if this
develops long before the actual heart attack.

Now we know the facts and just have to answer the question
as to how to prevent any of these problems from happening.

There have been studies done and some show that moderate
exercise done a few times a week is better than doing
vigorous exercise twice as often.

We all know that regular exercise reduces heart risk. There
are also research findings showing that non-exercisers have
a 49% greater risk of heart attack than those who exercise
regularly. A third of that risk is just in the lifestyle we
lead, that being non-active.

This is where cardio interval training starts to take
effect the most. You will see nothing but positive results
in not only your cardiovascular system but in your overall
health and outlook on life in general. You will be
healthier, have more energy be able to function with a
better sense of well being.

This interval training done in a cycle of "repeated
segments" that is intense in nature is the best way to a
healthy heart. In this process you go from intense to a
slower time of recuperation and this can be done with high
intensity motion and moderate or slower motion.

Cardio interval training gives you the benefits that you
probably never expected like the threat of a heart attack
lessened if not eliminated altogether. Your heart will
function overall better and more efficiently, and you will
have increased metabolism thus burning more calories and
losing weight. Your lung capacity will have greatly
improved and your stress level will all but be eliminated. .

So as you can see a complete body workout including cardio
interval training along with a great healthy diet plan will
get you in shape, fit, and let you live a long and healthy
life.

----------------------------------------------------
You can get started on a program designed just for what is
discussed in this article. The author will help you on your
way to achieving all of your goals with a complete body
workout including cardio. Follow a simple step by step
routine for all your fitness goals. If you have a history
of heart problems in your family you need to take action to
make a positive change in your life. Get started now by
clicking here http://www.loseweightgetfitforcouples.com

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