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Shape Up, The Right Way!

Okay so this isn’t the latest publicity slogan for dietary beverages like Slim Fast, diet supplements or other such calorie busters conveniently available in a bottle, pill, or butterfly shaped muscle contractor patch. Rather it’s about healthy, active regiments that help you obtain and keep up your ideal weight, and optimum stamina. Love handles, wobbly bulges, and all together heavy thumping frames are not only aesthetically unappealing but are also detrimental to health and wellbeing. So it’s time to pledge to shape up if you’ve been slacking, and stay on track if you haven’t; cause remember you were born far too fabulously gorgeous to be hiding behind Mr. cellulite.

Slouch Norms

The metropolis chimes with fast cars, clubs, fast food joints, cafes and all out hype. Yet in spite of the seeming ‘buzz’ the general norm presents an inevitable cycle of hanging about, in others words sitting, chatting, eating…..and <repeat>. Is it any wonder your chin is growing a twin? So while it’s easy to get lost in hours and hours of a collection of your favorite DVD’s or take in several espresso shots at random just to stay awake to kick back and lounge, the consequent lumpish ways need adjustment.

Convincing ad labels

Drop five bars on the scale in just five days….lose weight while you watch TV………5 minute work for toned abs in just seven days………………….The list goes on as internet pop-ups and infomercials tirelessly preach so called miracle products that claim to basically mold you to shape while you pretty much do nothing. But much like a magic wand these gimmicks offer up a “what if” bench mark, (a placebo at best) rather than actual results.

Headlines in Health courtesy:

The NEW YORK Times

RANDOM

Sugar & Spice

Prudence

Beautiful Hellhole

Dear Hana

Ms. Panache

Fashion Review

Music Bytes

Health Nut

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Raw Deal

Real results take time and effort, hence eat right, work out and do it all often in clock-work intervals. A little activity is called for, naughty ideas aside, make good on your vow to work out; take up a sport, swim, or simply walk motion and relaxation is all it take to optimize your energy level and zest. Whatever it is you choose to do, above all else it’s important to come up with a health scheme and commit to a set schedule for effective outcomes. And obviously must we say it again, don’t slouch! In fact avoid sitting more than two hours (max.) at a time, instead take short breaks to stretch and mobilize.

Sneaky Pound Packers

Cups of tea or coffee, everyday snacks and convenience food usually carry a considerable amount of sugar, oils and other ingredients that sneak up on calorie counts proportioned to your height, age, and one structure/frame. Products like egg yolk, cheese, cream, and salad dressings, otherwise known as invisible fats are often over looked since theses products are mostly found as an ingredient, hence aren’t obviously noticeable.

Maliciously Yummy Snacks

A slice of Tiramisu, or a serving of hot fudge on butter pecan Häagen-Dazs for instance are too tempting to steer clear of. So while most such snacks are fattening, it’s important to splurge in moderation. In other words follow the concept of eating what you want but just not as much as you may want.

Salt!

Though salt is just a natural ingredient used for taste, snacks like chips, salty crackers, pretzels and so on tend to be heavily doused in the natural element that does its’ fair share in adding bulge by means of water retention. Sodium can be found in just about everything we eat so to moderate its’ intake to a healthy level it helps to cut back on salty nibbles.

Types of diets

Keeping in mind that the main object of diets is to change or modify eating habits, the following is an over view of some common schemes.

6’o clock: This is no doubt the easiest diet under the sun. It follows a basic plan of balanced healthy eating without harsh restriction. The only rule here is to avoid eating all together after 6pm, as this is the ‘unwind and rest’ period when metabolic rates are low.

Akins Diet: this is a low-carb high-protein diet that claims to help shed pounds by simply minimizing carbohydrates to 15 to 60 grams a day. However it’s important to not over indulge in saturated fat found in meat products as this can increase risk of heart disease, the low carb can also lead to future ailments. So limit the diet to two weeks at a time.

Weight Reduction Diet: this is a rudimentary diet sketching a plan that involves cutting back calories by eating small meals, drinking plenty water, and good old regular exercise. The diet also avoids breads, sweets, dairy foods, and excess fats and oils.

South Beach Diet: this diet emphasizes normal portions of lean proteins such as fish and chicken; unlimited amounts of low-glycemic-index vegetables; ample amounts of healthy fats such as olive and canola oil, nuts and avocados; and small portions of "healthy carbohydrates" found in fruit and less-processed grains.

Juice Fast: this is a 1-5 day comprised entirely of organic, freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices, with no salt, sugar, or additives. Due to the low calorie, zero protein, fats, and complex carbohydrates elements of the diet the limited time span is crucial to follow.

* This article has been featured in other publications exclusively by permission of the author. For questions and inquiries please contact editor@stylinzine.com

Fibs, & Plain Lies All The Way Through….

Snacks spell out F-a-t-s-o: contrary to popular belief snacking or opting for several (as no more than five) short meals is healthier than one or two all out three course meals. First of all snacking keeps you from overeating or binging as you aren’t ever over hungry feeling as though you can eat a horse. And second one or two large meals a day means you’re slumping through large quantities of food in one seating and in one go, leading to an unbalance between food intake and energy exhausted. However be weary of the choice of snacks, rather than cookies and candy opt for fruits, salads, or lean sandwiches and remember, food high in water and fiber content stay your system longer so your appetite stays content without constant refills.

“Shun fast food”: this maybe a motto tough to follow, especially due to the onslaught of such joints around the city and it’s budding presence amidst social gathering. So as always it’s not really about deprivation as it is about making the right choice. So opt for grilled chicken rather than fried, moderate on condiments, hold the extra cheese, and choose fresh fruit juice over soda.

Carbohydrates — bad, bad, bad !! This is true but only for processed carbs high in sugar and white flour. Carbohydrate enriched beans, whole grains, fruits and vegetables provide a host of nutrients and fiber, are low in calories, and eve helps reduce the risk of several diseases especially because of its’ minerals and vitamin content. Carbohydrates are also used as fuel during fat burning exercises.

Smart Foods: the so called belief that certain food items like citrus increase metabolic rates and help burn off more calories. This is true only to a very small extent as rare food items like grapefruit may pack in fat-burning enzymes, the effective amount hardly accounts for easy weight loss. What does help is to build muscle, because this increases the number of calories burnt when at rest. So give the dumbbells a go, but be sure to limit the weights to two pounds each if you’re merely after muscle strength and tone and not sculpted bulge.

Vegan Diet: this is basically pure vegetarianism, and is made up of fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds and no eggs, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, butter, or other milk products. The diet encourages low cholesterol levels, promotes lower incidence of hypertension, obesity, and heart disease. The diet does however risk vitamin B12 deficiency followed by iron and calcium, hence it’s essential to supplement and carefully span the vegan menu.

Macrobiotic: this diet consists exclusively of cooked foods. Fruits are consumed minimally (less than 5%) and preferably cooked; the diet also avoids dairy and eggs. This is an almost vegan diet with room for a 5% intake of whitefish like halibut, or trout. It’s a moderate diet with room for balanced protein, vitamins, minerals and complex carbohydrates.

Sugar Busters: this is a low-carb, moderately high in fat and protein diet restricting several fruits and vegetables including carrots and bananas. The diet is also low in calcium content, hence is a time sensitive regiment to follow.

Futile Back Stabbing ‘diets’

Binge and Purge — Bulimia! Need we say more? Appetite is psychological reaction to food, hence when you eat your brain content but when your purge your body is deprived of essential nutrients, leading to countless deficiencies and consequent ailments.

Clear-liquid diet – this is a diet that includes only liquids containing primarily carbohydrates and water. It provides weight loss but it is nutritionally inadequate hence severely detrimental to health.

Crash Diets – these are fad diets that boost drastic cut backs on food in general for quick weight loss. The end result in fact just reduces water not fat tissue. Such yo-yo diets trick metabolic rates leading to quick weight loss as well as gain over a short periods. r

Babe-a-licious on a Healthy Platter

Ever wonder why the latest spring line always has to be showcased in size-0 and on models with lanky twelve year old bodies?

Media influences us in more ways then we realize. One such influence that seems to be loud and clear, (and getting louder) is looking flawless — the image of perfection and a redefined definition of all things beautiful. This is a definition that describes someone thin, and perhaps tall, but mostly thin (especially when it comes to the female population).

Let’s face it, we all love beautiful things and are drawn to unrealistic perfections. As we stubbornly clinch on to the airy notion of ‘looks matter’ the flawless image on the television screen or fashion catalogue embeds a desire within us to replicate what we see. Even though by now we all know that several ‘additional’ factors and many devoted hours of editing produce the final image presented to the public.

“I am too fat” vs. “I love food” is a battle rigorously fought, the former more often than not describes stick thin individuals who protest about putting on an ounce from last week’s chocolate chip cookie, can it possibly show? The later on the other hand quite confidently relishes in appeasing their appetite, and are not at all fazed by ‘Cover Girl’ intimidations. What's important is to find a sensible balance between the two, and encourage and incredibly cooperative metabolism.

It's an issue suffered by impressionable individuals daunted, as they idolize after perplexing role models, fictional standards and views towards physical beauty. It’s an obvious fact that a huge majority of the world’s population is overweight. With that mind the other side of the coin is seldom seen as a major problem. The other side being, eating disorders like bulimia, anorexia, and the treacherous ‘crush diet’. The end result of all these ‘unrealistic’ diets is skinny, bone-thin individuals with very precarious health conditions.

So while fashionable diet seekers may smile as they glance down at the weight scale, they eventually have little else to grin about. Bulimia for instance simply weakens a person’s immune system and ability to hold down food, as the whole process involves self induced gag. Anorexia is a cruel self deprivation from human fuel hence any form of energy source. Within the process the dieter deprives themselves from food hence all forms of nutrients and necessary vitamins. Similar to the crush diet the notion here is to basically go on strike against food and resort to eating a cracker a day. As we are molded by this preconceived idea of how we should look, people establish a very dual sided approach towards food, ensued by a love and hate relationship based on the understanding that you can’t do without and with it (that is too much of it) obsessions about love handles and double chins ensue. A drastic move towards the issue can either slow down a person’s metabolism (digestive strength) in the case of rib exposed trends; while obesity has it obvious faults including various heart related ailments.

The stories of weight loss battles and Weight Watcher success are endless. However though the problem of weight disorder is in two-folds, ‘Too skinny’ is rarely regarded as a noteworthy story. It’ll be a rare event if an internet advertisement banner were to read “I gained 10Ibs and I feel great”, just as unlikely is a well publicized ‘Weight Gainers’ program. Whether it’s eating too much or not eating enough, it’s fair to say that it’s a detrimental obsession either way you slice it.

There is a sizeable crowd loosing sleep over the mere though of ever being fat, and nightmares over waking up one day as an over blown plum. In fact a recent survey revealed that the popular choice (by 95 percent) was to be thin over living well beyond the golden years.

On the reverse side of stressing over weight loss, the irony lies in how differently we look at things. In some strange lands (at least as viewed by the cosmopolitan al a mode generation) like certain tribes in Africa, it’s actually ‘fashionable’ to bag around several extra inches around the waist, as it’s considered a symbol of wealth and true curvaceous feminine beauty. However most people outside this wonderfully free indigenous tribal society, (motivated by health concerns) have begun to wise up and are set on shedding extra kilos. But for some it might be essential to realize their ‘ideal’ body weight (basic body mass, bone density, and overall balance in body type and structure) and approach diets with a healthy balance between eating right and exercise. r

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	Say 'Bye bye' to flab, and slouchy ways...

FACTS:
Fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat, provide essential nutrients and are a good source of folic acid and antioxidants like vitamins A, C, E, B6, beta carotene, and selenium, all which have been known to reduce the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, and even serious birth defects.	Plant foods like grains, vegetables, and fruits are primary sources of fiber and are important for digestion. Fiber can also reduce the symptoms of chronic stomach problems, colon diseases, and even lower the risk heart disease and some cancers.
When you're on the run a great choice of meal on the go is a health shake or smoothie that packs in all the necessary nutrients to re-fuel your energy level.