Irrespective of whether you are a morning person or otherwise, the way you start your day can set the tone for the rest of your day. You wind up feeling good about yourself if you start your day off on a good note. Here are some sure shot ways to make sure that your day starts on the right note!
– Wake up with a smile. True, you may have a load of work or a pile of papers to read through in the day. But none of that is going to get any better if you frown your way through! Wake up in the morning with a positive affirmation that you are going to have a good day ahead of you, and that you will be happy!
– Indulge in some oil pulling! A simple technique from the leaves of Ayurvedic texts, oil pulling is just swishing oil about in your mouth for a few minutes before spitting it out. Oil rinses the bacteria in your mouth, and reinstates good health by curing you of headaches, migraines, diabetes, asthma and skin defects, while whitening your teeth, all the same!
– Exercise! Imagine waking up and stretching your body, twisting it and swinging your body into shape – that can wake you up and make you flexible for the whole day!
– Drink warm water with the juice of half a lemon squeezed into it, with a dollop of honey. The concoction helps flush your system off all the toxins, while keeping your body hydrated, and your skin, supple.
– Wake up to good music! Whether you’re a fan of Carnatic music or western classical music, or the lilting tunes of instrumental music, keep some good songs playing when you wake in the morning. This is a good way to help you improve your cognitive and mental capacity.
– Forget about the newspaper until your day has already begun! Yes, you read that right. With the media being heavily worried about the downside of the world and its activities, you don’t necessarily need to start your morning on a negative note – read the paper later in the day!
– Spend time with nature. Nothing is more refreshing than to watch nature unfold before your eyes. The fresh lushness of the morning greenery is a perfect way to start your day!
References:
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-18025/5-morning-rituals-happy-healthy-people-do-every-day.html

Staying fit is really all in your hands: for fitness is a lifestyle choice and not a burst of activity somewhere in between. It is for this reason that such things as crash diets and temporary starvation do not work to get you toned down in terms of weight. To make sure that you enjoy healthy and sustained living without compromising on the good things in life, here are a couple of fitness tips for you to swear by!

– Cut back on all things white: let go of white bread, refined flour, sugar and excess salt. White foods come with the heavy price of cholesterol and can impinge on the well-being of your heart.
– Eat whatever you want, but in moderate portions that are reasonable. Instead of starving, enjoy all that you like, but without binging.
– Workout regularly! Make sure to follow a fitness regimen that challenges your body and attacks fat through systemic muscle-building efforts.
– Sleep a minimum of 6 to 8 hours every night to ensure that your body and mind are in good health.
– Drink lots of water to ensure that you are not dehydrated, and make sure to give your body plenty of different kinds of fluids through the day if you live around hot climatic conditions.
– Snack wisely – stock up on nuts and celery sticks, and snack up on these bites rather than oily and fat filled snacks that might be impinging on your heart health!
– Make lifestyle changes. Walk about every day. Bend over, squat, stretch, reach and lift as and when you can. Take the stairs instead of using the lift, substitute a chair for a good gym ball that can keep you actively engaged.
– Spend some quality time pursuing a hobby or interest that makes you feel good about yourself, so that you can relieve yourself off the tensions of stress and demands of life.
– Find a friend to keep your efforts buoyed: sometimes, doing this with a companion can help motivate the two of you equally!
– Stay stress free by indulging in activities that allow you to stay fit mentally, and that will spill out onto the world around you, by making it all the more peaceful and calm for your well-being.
– Laugh, and be positive about life in general: remember, it takes fewer muscles to smile than it does to frown!

References:
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20513624_2,00.html

Top 5 tips to help you get started and headed down the road to a much healthier you!

1. Make a Plan

how many times have you begun a diet or fitness regimen with the proverbial “I’ll start on Monday”? As Monday rolls around, you are scampering around throwing five-year-old tennis shoes in a gym bag and scouring your freezer for that one “lean frozen dinner” you know is still in there from the last diet merry-go-round.To have true success in any diet plan, it does take a little time to pre-plan. Three simple things you will need to check off your list:

Work Out Gear:
A solid pair of tennis shoes, workout clothes, and a gym bag. By making sure your gear is as ready as you are will encourage you to go to your gym and help you be effective while there.

Get Some Grub:
The true weight loss battle begins and ends in the kitchen, so making sure you have quick and easy whole foods at your fingertips is crucial.

Set Up a Timeline:
Write down your schedule each day. We all know the importance of scheduling things like doctors and dentist appointments, so use this tactic for scheduling your workouts, grocery trips, and meal preparing. By putting it in ink, you will be way more likely to get it done than if it is just an afterthought or an “I’ll get to it before the day is over” idea.

2. Find a Friend :

Schedule daily or weekly workouts together. You’ve been dying to try Zumba, so take your buddy. It’s way less scary trying new things with a partner. Share recipes and meal planning ideas. Having someone to talk to about the daily journey is priceless and will bring an amazing amount of encouragement and longevity.

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Article Courtesy: http://www.pressroomvip.com/

Our bodies need five things to survive:

Rest, Movement, Water, Food and Oxygen

If we’re constantly feeling tired or fatigued, then chances are, our bodies are telling us they need one of these five things. Understanding this basic principal can transform the way we respond to low energy.

So what are some quick wins that can bring us vitality? Here are some hacks that work best for my clients, many of whom are busy women. But these tricks work for men, too!

1. Drink water soon after you wake up. Hydrating as soon as we wake up stimulates our digestion and provides much-needed water for our cells. Aim for about one liter immediately upon waking (add some lemon juice if you like) and notice the difference in energy throughout your day.

2. Take 10 full, deep breaths. Taking short 5-minute rests where we close our eyes and shut out the world can help us reduce stress. Plus, taking a few deep breaths gives the brain more oxygen and activates the relaxation response. Schedule two brief breaks during the day. Simply lie down or find a quiet place to sit, close the eyes and breathe deeply. Many of us choose to breathe from our chests in short, shallow breaths that, over time, decrease our overall functioning and can increase our stress levels.

3. Eat plants and protein. Managing blood sugar fluctuations through diet is the best way to minimize energy highs and lows. As busy people, we often find it hard to prepare nutritious meals, which makes it easy to reach for sugary or salty snacks (which are high GI and promote a blood sugar spike, followed by a crash). Eating clean protein and plants with every meal can drastically increase our energy levels and improve our micronutrient intake, leading to a healthier and more energized body in the long term.

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Article Courtesy : http://www.mindbodygreen.com

As the number of scientific studies pointing out the health risks from sitting for long periods, including early death, are published at a fast and furious pace, it’s more imperative than ever that we redefine how we conceive of our sedentary lives.

The science is redefining social and work norms including office design, meeting platforms and restaurant layouts.

New data this week now firmly associates sitting and heart disease, and we hope you’re standing up when you read this. The new data was presented in San Diego at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting. Heart CT scans and physical activity records of more than 2,000 adults living in Dallas were analyzed, and the researchers found that each hour of sitting per day was associated with a 14 percent increase in coronary artery calcification. Coronary calcification is a sign of damaged heart arteries and can increase the risk of a heart attack.

What was more shocking was the amount of heart artery damage from calcium was not associated with exercise or other risk factors. The researchers didn’t just depend on questionnaires about sitting time, but used accelerometers to actually track daily movement.

Other health conditions linked to time in the chair include:

Diabetes mellitus
High blood pressure
Obesity
Cancer
Dementia

Sitting has been found to result in changes in metabolism in as little as 30 minutes, including:

Higher levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol.
Lower levels of “good” HDL cholesterol
Higher blood sugar levels and reduced insulin sensitivity
Higher blood pressure
Lower mental alertness and positivity
Higher measures of inflammation

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Article Courtesy: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/

Staying healthy while traveling can seem like an oxymoron, especially you’re planning a beachy relaxing vacation, when the last thing you’ll have on your mind is exercising or vegetables.  And it shouldn’t have to be, traveling should be a time to enjoy yourself, and let go of the pressures of everyday life.  It’s important to let yourself indulge while on vacation, while still caring for your body and treating it right.

If you’re traveling to a foreign country where it’s especially hard to find healthy foods when you have no idea what the heck the label says, it’s important to be prepared, ready to try new things and let yourself experience a life different from the everyday. Whether you’re heading off for a tropical spring break, cross-country road trip, or a European adventure, here are some tips to keep your body and your mind healthy along the way.

1.Bring snacks

 

2. Pack Multi-Vitamins

3. Drink tons of water

4. Walk everywhere

Click here to find out more tips!

Article Courtesy: www.runsandroses.com

If you could go back in time to see how ancient cultures sat down, you’d notice that many sat upright on floors in the cross-legged position, kneeled, or sat with “tent knees” with their buttocks and feet on the ground, knees bent. These positions require a level of strength in the legs, glutes, and back, as well as balance and coordination. Only in relatively recent times have we employed the use of chairs and couches that have the unfortunate effect of putting the body in positions that lead to pelvic stagnation and reduced circulatory function.

The way we sit today is not ideal for our body’s natural mechanics, and it’s no wonder that we are increasingly finding ourselves diagnosed with “sitting diseases.” The connection between sitting in a seat for most of the day and developing serious maladies isn’t that difficult to make, in fact.

So let’s do a little experiment: Without worrying about how fast you’re moving, can you sit on the floor and then rise up to a standing position using as little support as possible? Turns out that if you can get yourself up from the floor using just one hand — or even better, without the help of any hand — then you’re not only in the higher percentile of musculoskeletal fitness, but you’re much more likely to live longer than those who can’t do this exercise. Put simply, the better you can do this task without relying on your hands for stability and support, the longer you’ll live.

When people ask for the “one piece of advice” that’s good for all three doshas, or body types, regardless of age or the season, refer to the legendary story of when Charaka, the father of Ayurveda, was asked the same question by a boy thousands of years ago. His response: “Wake up in the morning and go for a walk at sunrise.”

Today we know the power of such an activity on the body’s health and longevity. Although now we use high-tech words like “neuroplasticity” to describe how the brain positively responds to physical movement, the modern science has been known by ancient lore for a long, long time.

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Article Courtesy: http://www.mindbodygreen.com

Whether the concentration is focused on getting a six-pack, lean legs, or sculpted biceps, muscle tone is a common goal in the world of fitness. Since we know this takes time and a whole lot of dedication, we’re always on the lookout for exercises we can incorporate into our personal workout schedules that will target, strengthen, and ultimately chisel our stems and core. Take a look below and try it out at home.

Time Frame and Fitness Level

To really buckle down on your goal, make up a workout schedule for yourself so that you know you’re hitting the target areas. This is relative to your fitness level. Focusing on toning three times a week for eight weeks is a nice kick-off start. You will begin to see and feel new definition, tone, and strength throughout your body.

Don’t Discount Full-Body

Really, really love those cardio-centric, full-body bootcamp classes? You don’t have to give them up when you’re looking to tone. Full-body workouts, like vigorous cardio, are an essential part of the toning process. In order to achieve the best results, full-body workouts should be worked into your workout regime along with isolated toning workouts that target a specific zone.

Watch Your Diet

Diet is a definite factor in toning the body. Make sure you’re staying hydrated (so drink that water!) and maintain a healthy, nutritious meal plan.

Arms

Making muscles (with definition) on your resolutions list? To tone you want to choose a workout method that is safe, effective, and that focuses on form and technique. When you perform an exercise properly your muscles will react quicker and the results will be long lasting. Use light weights or resistance bands with longer repetitions for muscle tone.

Abs:

If you’re looking to give your abs some definition, pick classes that have a foundation in Pilates or dance or are core-focused. Balance and coordination require core focused movements, so you are forced to constantly engage your abdominal muscles.

Legs:

The legs are comprised of many different muscle groups, so it is important to make sure that you are doing the exercises that focus on the correct zones to achieve the effect you want. For example, to get long, lean, dancer-like legs it is important to focus on exercises that have eccentric and concentric muscles movements with a lower-body focus.

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Article Courtesy: http://beautyhigh.com/

Here are some favourite — and free! — wellness apps. We hope they can inspire you to get up and move also!

1. MyFitnessPal It lets you easily track food, water, exercise and weight. It also syncs with trackers like FitBit and Jawbone, lets you connect with friends to stay accountable and allows you to enter your own favorite recipes for nutrition data.

2. RunKeeper This app tracks everything: running, walking, cycling, hiking, etc. It syncs easily with MyFitnessPal and other devices like FitBit and Jawbone for easy tracking wherever you are.

3. Daily Workouts No muss, no fuss workouts in app form. It’s very basic, letting you choose the body part you want to work out out and for how long, then leads you with basic videos and moves almost anyone can do.

4. Charity Miles Doing good while getting fit is a winning combo in my book, and Charity Miles makes it so easy to do just that. Just pick the cause you want to support, hit start and away you go! Corporate sponsors then donate 25 cents per mile for walkers/runners and 10 cents per mile for bikers.

5. Waterlogged If you have trouble keeping up with your daily water intake, this app will help you reach your goal. It has great visuals and lets you set reminders to take a sip.

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Article Courtesy: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/

When it comes to weight loss diets, many people are looking for those ways to help them lose those pounds in a fast way. In fact, many products are promoted as fast ways to lose weight but they will never say anything about the results one will get once they are off those products.

It s important to realise that with a fast weight loss diet you will lose mainly water, a little bit of fat, and also muscle. But what is the most important here: you will lose your health as well, this making a fast diet a dangerous method to approach for weight loss goal. People looking for this methods will usually look for a quick fix, but things must not be approached in this manner.

There are also those fad diets where you have to focus only on a single food group, such as the carbs diet claiming to help losing many pounds over a short period of time. But again this diet fails to bring the good results when practiced for a longer period of time.

People are looking towards fast weight loss diets with a lot of consideration because they can bring them what they want: lose weight as quickly as possible. These people do not understand that these diets are only a temporary solution and not a permanent one. They let themselves tricked about the quick results without realizing that soon enough they will be back where they have been prior to approaching that diet.

For all these people, I only recommend to stop for a while and take a closer look at the consequences described above. It is no use to go for a fast weight loss diet that brings in temporary results. Instead go for the solution that keeps your body healthy by including a balanced diet (rich in nutrients) combined with exercising routine. Work out your body into losing weight gradually and healthy because this is the only way to achieve good and permanent results. Stop looking for fast methods that can only make your body weak, but rather go for solutions that improve your health and build muscles in the long run.

Weight Loss – Setting Your Goals

There are many reasons why people approach weight loss, but regardless of the reasons, you need to make sure that this process takes place in a healthy manner. It is pointless to set the goal of losing weight only for the sake of losing those extra pounds while your body system gets weaker and more vulnerable to diseases. For this reason, setting the goal for a healthy weight loss plan is the best way you can achieve the best results.

Another way to help you set the goals in an appropriate manner is to be realistic and sensible. The goals that are reasonable have better chances of success than the ones that are irrational. Now let’s see how you can set the goals into achieving a weight loss in a healthy manner.

• Consider setting a goal of losing weight in a gradual way. Keep in mind that your body has got used to this new weight for some time and since the weight gain didn’t occur overnight, then you shouldn’t expect it to be lost overnight, too. So, the best goal here is to lose around 2 pounds per week.
• Consider setting a goal into changing the food you used to eat. Fattening foods are a main factor into gaining weight, so your goal should be to eliminate these ones while including as well an exercising routine in your daily program.
• Another way to set pertinent weight loss goals is to avoid those products that claim to help you lose weight faster. As mentioned above, this is not your goal, not to mention that these products can come as well with their side effects. So, make a goal in avoiding these weight loss fast-result products.
• Set as a goal your need to combine healthy and balanced diets with physical exercises. When it comes to the latter ones, you should start with easy physical activities and gradually increase their level of difficulty. As to the balanced diet, you need to set goals into eating more veggies and fruits, lean meat, more whole grains, and low fat dairy products. In this way you will eliminate junk foods and your body system will be much healthier and away from the risks of getting sick.

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Article Courtesy: http://www.myhealthtips.in/