The world at large has experienced a new awakening to the benefits of green tea. Amongst the various health benefits that this wonderful drink of nature has is its ability to enhance the weight loss process.

Authentic green tea works to enhance the metabolism in the body. The various beneficial substances in green tea stimulate the process known as thermogenesis. This in turn helps to expend more energy as a result of which more calories are lost.

With a wave of scientific tests being conducted on the medicinal properties of green tea the world has now been assured that it is indeed a super drink with multiple benefits. From preventing the development of various cancers and blood clots to enhancing the process of weight loss green tea is being used for various purposes today.

Many people are not very amused by the taste of green tea when they first try it for weight loss. But then again green tea is not meant to be something you take for leisure. You need to take it as a medicine and according to the way that is best for your desired purpose.

The guidelines

The first and foremost don’t is not to add sugar. The addition of sugar greatly diminishes the effects of green tea hence making it useless for the person looking to lose weight at good speed. Furthermore green tea does not taste very good with sugar as it is.

What you can do is add natural sugar instead. You can get a packet of passion fruit and pour in a couple of tea spoons of passion fruit into your green tea. You can even make use of honey to sweeten green tea but nothing compares to the taste with passion fruit.

Another thing that you need to make sure is that you stir it very thoroughly. So much so that the sweetness completely embodies it self in the tea otherwise the tea is likely to retain its bitter taste to a certain extent.

Many people prefer to have iced green tea. You can cool down your green tea by adding some ice and enjoy the drink while it works wonders on your body.

Although one can manage the taste of green tea indeed some people fall in love with it, however if you cant bear the taste then you do have an alternative. This alternative comes in the shape of diet pills.

One thing that you need to exercise caution with is selecting the green tea. Due to the immense popularity of green tea in recent years you will find many shady companies trying to capitalize on the trend by selling tea that looks like green tea but it that isn’t quite the case.

Therefore you should always go for a brand that is trusted for producing good quality green tea with a minimum use of chemicals. Chinese companies are far more trustworthy than the local ones as they provide you with real green tea.

I’ve been taking muay thai kickboxing for about 3 months

now, twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays. It has been

an amazing experience. The thai kickboxing workouts are

intense, make no mistake about it. Even though I am in

a beginners class, the sweat pours like a hot summer rain!

We start each kickboxing workout by lining up in the gym

facing our Kru, or teacher. He bows to us, we bow to him,

and he welcomes us with a few words. We then start with

skipping rope.

As crazy as this may sound, I found jumping rope to be

incredibly challenging. I started with 25 extra pounds

around my waist, and perhaps my co-ordination was a little

off. The rope is covered in hard plastic, plus I’m barefoot

and the rope would smack my toes and it really stings!

I would watch the more experienced students jump rope and

see if I could keep up. Sometimes I could go 15-20 jumps

in a row before I would hit my toes or head with the rope.

But after a month I got the hang of it. We jump rope in

the thai kickboxing workouts until we start to sweat, maybe

4 to 6 minutes.

Then comes the tortuous part, the cardio conditioning.

Every kickboxing class has a different routine. Sometimes

we do burpees, sometimes hillclimbers, always lots of

squats, jumping squats, pushups and the like. For the old

timers it’s like a real intense session of calesthetics.

We generally train technique for 20 to 25 minutes. And

like the cardio, kickboxing technique training varies from

class to class. Sometimes you work your kicks onto the pads

that your partners hold. Sometimes its punching

combinations. We work routines like front kick, 3 punch

combo then right thai kick. It always is different. I

really enjoy the variety, it keeps the training from ever

getting stale.

But we always finish with pain…abdominal pain. You lie

on the floor on your back, and raise your legs up off the

ground until they are straight up in the air. Your partner

stands at your head, roughly with his or her feet near your

shoulders, facing your feet. Your partner pushes on your

feet, forcing your legs back down to the floor. You raise

your legs back straight up, the partner pushes them back

down…this goes on for 3 straight minutes. Your abs are

burning after 1, screaming after 2, and generally are

nearing failure before the session ends. Then you get to

switch and torture your partner!

I honestly thought I saw an abdominal muscle on my body

the other day in the mirror. It’s impossible, I still have

at least 10 pounds of blubber to lose, but I feel fantastic!

My energy levels are off the charts, I’m sleeping so much

better at night and I love it. I highly recommend

muay thai kickboxing workouts for anyone serious about

getting into top shape!

Health And Fitness:

Mostly people do not realize, the importance of good health. As someone said, Health is wealth. Better health is essential for daily tasks. When discussing about health, many people consider the condition of their bodies and forget about their minds. While, health is not only being free from physical aspects. It also means being healthy in mind too. An unhealthy mind brings about an unhealthy body. Good mental health helps you to benefit as much as possible from life and enjoy it. Good mental health offers you a feeling of well-being and the inner strength needed in times of bad position. Everyone knows how to care for their bodies. This is done almost every day by the great part of people. Exercise and eating the proper foods are the right ways of keeping the body healthy. A healthy mind requires a lot of work, in addition, a combination of the right foods and exercise.

The following factors which will greatly affect your health.

Exercise As Young Adults Lowers Heart Health Decades Later:

Young adults who exercise may have a lower risk of cardiovascular illness and higher survival chances decades later. Fitness has long been linked to a reduced risk of heart disease in older adults. The new study, in any case, that workout routines started years before cardiovascular problems are usually encountered may help keep them from creating in any case.

Lifting Weights Builds Mental Muscle That Gives You Health:

Older adults who have psychological disability or could be at risk towards the weight room. A study by researchers in Australia has found that dynamic quality preparing is useful in boosting brain power. The study tested 100 adults aged 55 and older who had been determined to have mellow psychological weakness. According to the Mayo Clinic, MCI affects memory, thinking and also judgment behind normal levels of age-related decline. The condition may build a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Dieting Success May Lead To Better Health:

Ability to self-manage a healthy body weight may depend on individual brain structure, say scientists in a recent study looking connections between executive control and reward areas in the brain.

Obesity and dieting:

Obesity and dieting are progressively basic in contemporary society, and many dieters struggle to lose excess weight. An examination paper in Cognitive Neuroscience reports that eating less may be easier for some people.

Chronic dieters:

Chronic dieters are known to indicate increase reactions to food in executive control and reward areas of the brain. Additionally having depleted cognitive control and higher tendency to over reward themselves with high- calorie foods in real-life conditions.

Eating healthy, after all, is not about losing your ability to enjoy your life. It’s a reason of gaining so many things that will affect you for the rest of your life: a longer life, the ability to enjoy foods that it does for you.

Is the sound of the phrase keeping fit enough to make you want to turn over in bed and wrap the sheets around yourself even tighter? Do you eat whatever food comes your way, and when you find none, eat whatever you can find at the nearest fast food joint? Are you too tired to even take out the trash when you get home from work?

You've been bitten by the lazy bug!

What's the lazy bug? Most would define the lazy bug by the symptoms (and others like these) outlined above. And why is the lazy bug dangerous? Well, because it makes you prone to:

1) Heart disease
2) Insomnia
3) Diminished mental freshness
4) Blood pressure
5) Obesity
6) Diabetes
7) Weak bones and muscles

… And the list can go on and on. Not to mention the strain these issues could have on your wallet and mind.

Do I have your attention yet? Well, this problem is very real, and very serious, but there is hope yet. If you want a quick way to help you get back on track and feel at your physical best ever, finding a rapid weight loss boot camp near you could be your best remedy for the lazy bug.

Why A Rapid Weight Loss Boot Camp?

Well, if you're like a majority of the population, you probably do not have the time to wait for results. You want results fast, and you're willing to challenge your body to get into optimum shape. Getting fit at a rapid weight loss boot camp is one activity where you invest completely in yourself, with results that more than just satisfy. The activities are fun, with certified rapid weight loss boot camp trainers guiding you every step of the way. They're also designed to challenge your body to get out of its comfort zone. That way, your body is in continual fat-burning mode. A rapid weight loss boot camp is a great way to stay fit because the activities are planned so that other participants are also your support group, and so you're also socializing while you're burning away the fat. A rapid weight loss boot camp trainer is also there to help out chose the best diet plan to keep your energy levels up and increase your body's metabolism.

Getting fit is the way to go, especially if you've been a slave to smoking and drinking habits. There's no better way kick a bad habit than replacing it with a good one. The prescribed rapid weight loss boot camp exercise and diet plan can help to rehabilitate your system and detox your body. A boot camp trainer will customize your fitness plan in line with your unique fitness goals, health history and current fitness level.

A challenging program like this must be approached with a positive mindset. While there are people in your life who have lost hope on losing weight, they may drag you down by telling you that it is impossible. Weight loss may be tough, but it's done every day. Many things come into play, your past lifestyle, genetics and so on, but all you can ask for is your dedication, commitment, and belief in yourself that you will walk away with results. Feel free to talk to your boot camp trainer about what your objectives are, and also whenever you feel less than enthusiastic about your results. You can and you will beat the lazy bug.

Does your metabolism slow down after pregnancy? Most women know that their body experience hormonal surges that affect the body’s processes, including nutrient delivery, storage of fat, and energy processing. Typically, the metabolism also increases which is why most pregnant women always feel hungry almost all of the time.

After giving birth, these hormones fall drastically and would continue to do so in 4 to 5 months after childbirth. Different women have various reactions to the decline of hormone. Some enter a state of depression or postnatal depression while some adapt to their hormonal changes easily. Mood swings are linked to the decline of thyroid hormones, which also regulate the body’s metabolism.

Reduced thyroid hormones affect how the body regulates energy from food. As it takes several months before the normal production of hormone returns, burning of calories while at rest will most probably slow down during this time. Symptoms of depression, onset by the decreased thyroid hormones, also have a huge effect on weight gain. Your body is also drained of stored nutrients after childbirth, which slows down the metabolism and prevents mothers from losing weight.

Losing weight after pregnancy

With hormonal changes, lost nutrients, and other physical changes that occur after pregnancy, it is not recommended to try to shed pounds immediately after pregnancy. At least not in the way to go on some extreme diet! The most important thing is to get sufficient nutrition and gain more healthy calories needed for breastfeeding. On a lighter note, breastfeeding can help you lose a little weight. You can start with light exercise and increase it as you go further. Take out the junk food out of your snacking and all these little steps will help you lose the weight. However, as mentioned above, women respond to changes differently so be observant of your body’s reaction to such changes.

If you do not want to gain more pounds, it is best to consult a dietician for a weight loss program after childbirth. Reduce intake of empty calories but do not cut off healthy calories as it would only slow down your metabolism more. As much as possible, increase your daily activity. Start by taking your baby for morning walks, dancing him carefully to music, or stroll him or her to the park. You may always be worried and ask does your metabolism slow down after pregnancy. Whether it does or not, the main concern is to keep you and your baby healthy before, during, and after childbirth.

Promoting health and preventing disease have a lot to do with one’s diet. The Food and Nutrition Information Center of the United States Department of Agriculture laid out seven dietary guidelines for people above the age of two years old regarding intelligent food choices that promote health and prevent disease.

These guidelines are:

1. Consume different varieties of food.

Deficiencies in vitamins and minerals can foster disease in your body. It is important that you consume different types of food so that your body can get a good spread of all the necessary vitamins and minerals.

2. Perform physical activity in proportion with the amount of food that you are taking in.

Balancing the food that you consume with corresponding physical activity to burn off the energy is extremely important in maintaining a healthy weight. You will gain weight if you consume more calories than what you burn off through your physical activities.

3. Include a lot of grain products, vegetables, and fruits in your diet.

Fiber, vitamins, and minerals are essential for your health and well-being. By eating a different variety of grain products, vegetables, and fruits you will be feeding your body the essential elements that it needs.

4. Eat foods that are low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.

Foods high in cholesterol and saturated fat are amongst the biggest killers in our society today. Eating foods that are low in fat content is important if you do not want to have a heart attack in your future. Do not avoid all kinds of fat. Your body does need some fat to function properly. Unsaturated fats are the best type to consume.

5. Only allow a moderate amount of sugars in your diet.

Sugars are high in calories and many of the foods that we eat already contain sugar. These can be sugars that occur naturally in fruits or that are added during the manufacturing process. Watching your sugar intake will help you avoid gaining unnecessary weight.

6. Only include a moderate amount of salt and sodium in your diet.

Scientific studies suggest that a high amount of salt and sodium intake could increase your blood pressure. When this occurs it could lead to serious and sometimes fatal health risks.

7. Consume alcoholic beverages in moderation, if you consume them at all.

There are almost no nutrients in alcoholic beverages and yet these drinks contain a lot of calories. Excess consumption of alcohol could lead to serious health problems in addition to the social and relationship problems that it also causes.

To many people the seven dietary guidelines will sound like common sense. If it were common sense, one wonders why such a large percentage of the population is obese.

Following these seven dietary guidelines will help you lead a more healthy and active life, give you more energy to perform your daily activities, and improve your general health and well-being.

The health industry is having a feast nowadays due to the increasing demand from people who wish to live longer while looking younger. Companies have produced pills and various exercise machines and introduced ab belts and ab machines just to help people to improve their lifestyles. People dive into gyms, eat healthier diets and try healthier foods just to reach their goal of feeling and looking younger. What they don’t know is that there are actually easy and home based exercises that can actually help with their dilemma.

With the demand for more results in each exercise, trainers and exercise experts have devised a wide range of variations from the basic movements. New exercising techniques have been performed and taught, from the regular pushup, came the dive bomber pushup and the Hindu pushup, which both benefits the whole body positively. For the lower body and the benefit of the hamstrings and the lungs, from the regular squat, comes the Hindu squat, also known as bethaks and have been done for many years by Indian wrestlers for their training.

Beneficial for the lungs, Hindu squats are also one of the most effective hamstring exercises as it adds tension to the hind thighs throughout the exercise.

To begin the Hindu squat, start with an upright position. Your feet must be shoulder width apart, with your arms stretched out in front of you. Inhale as you close your fists and slowly pull your arms back to your to forefront your underarms. Make sure to pull back strongly but slowly, tightening your grip as you reach your body.

With your back straight, slowly bend your knees and lower yourself down in a few counts, exhaling as you go along. Make sure to take each step slow as to magnify the benefits of the exercise. As you go down, forcefully drop your arms slowly, still clenched straight, if possibly behind your back and stretch your arms down as you reach the lowest possible position on your bended knees. When you reach your knees, slowly rise on your toes, and refrain from moving to quick and falling off your stance.

After a few counts, rise slowly, back still straight and swing your arms chest forward to parallel the floor as per first move. While rising, slowly lower your heels to the floor to give more balance to yourself when you stand fully at the last stance. Do several Hindu squats for full counts with your daily hamstring exercises.

In a way, it might be said that Constipation causes perceived weight gain. What that means is that you can carry as much as 30 lbs. of impacted feces, which, of course, shows on the scale and on your gut. But, it isn’t weight gain in the classic sense. In other words, it isn’t fat or muscle. It is feces, undigested food, mucous and other debris.

Theoretically, if you could have a 30-lb bowel movement, the excess weight would be gone, but that is unlikely.

The most important thing to learn is that the condition of being severely impacted is dangerous and unhealthy. Sometimes surgical intervention is required. It is best to handle constipation before it gets out of control.

If you have gone one week without a bowel movement, it isn’t too soon to address your condition. You are Constipated! At this early stage, it can be handled by a change in diet and some natural supplements.

Eat healthy foods. You will lose weight and eliminate constipation. Don’t worry about the amount of food you are eating. But, try to make consistently better choices for yourself. Even if you are stuck with friends at a fast food restaurant, order the salad.

For a while, eliminate wheat, sugar and dairy. That means no bread, cheese, or ice cream/milk for a while. These foods are very hard on your digestive system and cause constipation and weight gain. Instead, eat lots of salads and small amounts of chicken or fish. Use healthy dressings with no sugar added. No pasta, potatoes, white rice, or pizza-just for a little while. You can have a small amount of brown rice at dinner.

Take a tablespoon of psyllium in water or juice morning and evening before bed. Metamucil is a psyllium product. You can find other brands at your health food store. Make sure they are pure psyllium with no additives.

Drink your allotment of water. That would be at least eight glasses a day. Water is great for flushing toxins from the cells of your body. Additionally, it will help you stay hydrated and begin to loosen impacted feces.

Walking is a great way to get the system moving. Walk a mile five times a week. If you have some free weights, lift those while you watch TV. I use a small trampoline and 8-lb. weights. It’s an easy way to get in my daily exercise.

Take a supplement designed specifically to support the colon. It is a great constipation remedy. I have a free trial offer at the end of this article. These all-natural herbal supplements are perfect for constipation relief. They clean you out and sooth the entire digestive system.

It is said that if your intestines are healthy, your whole system is healthy!

Most biologists know this thingamajig by the name of Tamarindus indica, under Fabaceae. Most homemakers and elders know this miracle pod as the quick fix when one needs a good laxative, digestive, a solution for bile disorders; or in the kitchen, as a condiment or an emulsifying agent in syrups, decoctions, dips and chutneys of many varieties.

So why you should use tamarind after all?

Some researchers know tamarind as the latest advancement for therapies spanning across abdominal pain, diarrhea, dysentery, constipation, inflammation, asthma, gonorrhea, parasitic infections, fevers, etc.; as an effective antimicrobial, anti-venom, antioxidant, wound healing agent.

And most of us know this as a spice or condiment that simply transports our taste buds into a wonderland, a riot of flavours with a lingering after-taste.

Tamarind is basically a tree of a large size that has thick foliage, and heavy drooping branches that dish out curved fruit pods in generous numbers across all its branches. The pods are enclosed in hard outer shells, thus, protecting the delicious, powerful deep brown soft pulp inside, draped around dark brown seeds.

Wait, it has more in store.

It has been famous since historical times for its wide and impactful medicinal value. It is perceived to quickly alleviate stomach discomfort, problems with digestion, for fevers, sore throat, rheumatism, inflammation, or even sunstroke. People have been using it in various forms – some use it dried, some boil tamarind leaves and flowers to treat swollen joints, sprains, boils, hemorrhoids, and conjunctivitis and some make it into a concoction.

Its health repertoire comes from the presence of many elements inside. To start with, it is incredibly rich in tartaric acid that apart from endowing this pulp with a signature sour taste also works as a powerful antioxidant and protects the human body from harmful free radicals.

Tamarind fruit is brimming with essential volatile chemical compounds, minerals, vitamins and dietary fibre while its sticky pulp provides a ready torrent of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP), gums, hemicelluloses, mucilage, pectin, and tannins. Besides, helping with bowel movements, this dimension also empowers it to combat toxins in the food and guard the colon mucus membrane from cancer-inducing chemicals.

And some happy news for your stomach.

The fibre also binds to bile salts to control their re-absorption in the colon; to ensure LDL cholesterol levels are kept low in the body. There is an impressive amount of considerable thiamin, iron, magnesium and phosphorus as well as niacin, calcium, vitamin C, copper, and pyridoxine which add to the nutrition quotient of this delicious food. The variety of natural gums and pectins as well as non-starch polysaccharides, take its dietary fibre content a notch higher and helps bind with the bile to help flush waste through the colon.

The presence of phytochemicals limonene, geraniol, safrole, natural oils, cinnamic acid, methyl salicylate, pyrazine, and alkyl­thiazoles add to the flavor and healing powers of this pod. Vitamins, especially vitamin-A, folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin-C help as important antioxidants and for co-factor functions for enzyme metabolism in a major way.

Organic Tamarind is a good option to pick here because processed tamarind products not only have too many additives, but they also dilute the nutritional profile of this otherwise powerful health choice. In fact, it is used to clear the toxins laden on the surface of vegetables and fruits, simply by dipping them in tamarind water.

With an organic choice, you not only enjoy the good and authentic taste of tamarind but also absorb minerals like copper, potassium, calcium, iron, selenium, zinc and magnesium in their good form.

So, enjoy this yummy pod of power, health, and nutrition in a guilt-free way. There are not many food items that let your palate and body lick happiness together, but tamarind is an exception for sure.

We consistently hear that we need to eat this, eat that, and avoid those. The freewheeling nutrition advice coming at folks from all angles is confusing and creates some of the most consistent questions I get from clients—“What am I supposed to do?” I agree it can be challenging but what I try to do is encourage clients to dig deeper, delving into the pros and cons of why. In this post during National Nutrition Month I want to encourage you to choose the foods that aid you in putting your best fork forward! Make sure the foods on the plate come with a bonus, are nutrient dense packing the most nutrients into every bite.

Nutrient dense food are the foods that have a maximum amount of nutrients, but are relatively low in calories. As you know my mantra is to include a variety of foods in your diet. Some of my top recommendations from the spring season include asparagus, mango and strawberries.

It is peak season for asparagus. They are available in green, white and purple. The green and white asparagus are the same–the color difference is based on preventing exposure to sunlight by growing the spears underground. The purple is a different variety with a slightly higher sugar content. Asparagus is high in folate, one of the B-vitamins which aids in the production of new cells. Folate is important during pregnancy and adolescence. This vegetable is high in antioxidants; it is a good source of potassium, B-vitamins, vitamin C and K, high in fiber and is low in calories. The nutrient content is similar for the green and white vegetable. Purple asparagus however is slightly higher in vitamin C and protein, yet lower in fiber. Six stalks of cooked asparagus add up to approximately 1/2 cup and about 20 calories.

Mangos are growing in popularity and this oval shaped tropical fruit is a good source of soluble fiber, contains vitamin A, and C. It contains vitamin B6, vitamin E, a small amount of protein and is low in calories. One cup of mango contains about 100 calories. There are more than 150 mango varieties and for best eating, they should be purchased ripe. If you purchase ones that have not ripened, you may place them in a paper bag until they soften and are more fragrant.

Strawberries are one of the most popular fruits; though they are available throughout the year, spring is their peak season. They contain 160% of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C! In addition to Vitamin C, these berries contain potassium, folate, fiber and antioxidants and very few calories. Eight medium strawberries contain about 50 calories.

Add these three foods to your weekly menu to enjoy them at optimum flavor during the peak season. Individually they are good-imagine the bounty of nutrients in a bowl of assorted salad greens, crisp-tender asparagus, mango chunks and strawberry halves. This produce trio will boost your nutrient intake while helping you put your best fork forward with foods that are good to eat and good for you too!

Take Away: Add nutrient-dense foods in season to your menu. You’ll enjoy their rich flavors along with a bushel of nutrients.