The Fitness Maven

OK, let’s come out and say it – if you want to be healthy you have to part with junk food.

And don’t tell me about ‘healthy’ candy bars, ‘vitamin’ drinks, or ‘organic’ soda.

It’s all marketing and nonsense, so just accept it, OK?

If you want to be healthy, learn to like food that is actually nourishing your body, like whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and even some meats and dairy products. The more you exercise, the more you can eat, so if you like a big steak, be sure to pump iron and hit the treadmill.

As the great Michael Pollan said: ‘Eat food, mostly plants, not too much’. Everything else is just a distraction.

Aerobic exercise is exercise that works the cardiovascular system – your heart and lungs, which draw oxygen into the body and circulate it through the bloodstream.

Any exercise that makes you winded and out of breath is aerobic.

A good aerobic fitness program is critical to your overall fitness. The body’s level of aerobic fitness has a substantial impact on physical endurance in day to day activities such as walking, carrying heavy items, climbing stairs, and the like. Regular aerobic exercise also influences the body’s metabolic rate, inhibiting accumulation of fat. In sufficient quantity, it can also contribute to weight loss.

Aerobic activity also has a substantial impact on mood – it releases hormones that stimulate a positive state of mind.

To achieve maximal benefit, most exercise physicians recommend that you engage in moderate aerobic exercise for at least ½ hour, three times a week. But recent research findings dispute this widely held belief, and suggest that engaging in more strenuous aerobic activity for shorter periods may achieve similar results.

When selecting an aerobic activity, consider several factors. First, look for an activity that you can participate in regularly. Consistency is important to achieving the benefits of the exercise program. Ideally, make it part of your daily routine, like biking to school or running immediately when you return home from work.

Second, especially if you are older or have a history of joint pain, look for a low-impact exercise. Running on pavement, for instance, jolts the skeletal system with each step and can contribute to bone and joint pain. Smoother motions like cycling and swimming are far better in this regard.

If you choose to run, be sure you wear athletic footwear that provides adequate cushioning, and also do your best to run on gravel, cinder or grass rather than hard pavement. Most of all, choose an aerobic activity you enjoy – you’ll find it much easier to stick with it if it’s fun!

There are many forms of exercise, and each type has its advantages and disadvantages.

consider the following when choosing an exercise program.

1. Privacy – some people prefer to exercise in a gym or at home, whereas others prefer to exercise outdoors.

2. TIME – How much time do you really have and can commit.

3. Dedication – How dedicated are you in anything you put your mind to.

4. Lifestyle – Some people have a very structured exercise routine, whereas others simply incorporate exercise into their lifestyle. for example, by walking rather than driving, parking farther away from their destination, or walking up stairs rather than using an elevator.

5. Comfort Zone -  Exercise should also offer some degree of challenge; if not, then the benefits will be few.

We strain our achilles tendon when we run, jump, and bounce in sports. And an injury there can be career-ending, as any NFL or NBA fan knows all too well.

So what can we do to keep our tendons flexible and healthy? Before exercising, stand about 3 feet from a wall. reach one leg out behind you, keeping the foot flat on the floor, and placing your hands on the wall for balance. Lean your body forward and gently stretch the foot further back.

You will feel mild tension in your achilles tendon. Doing this for about one minute before playing ball will help ensure that your tendon is limber during play.

All of us try to get the most out of our workout. While we might have the best of intentions, this doesn’t mean that these intentions translate to action. Here are a number of suggestions to to improve your cardiovascular workout so that you can increase your glucose metabolism, lower your heart rate, blood pressure and cholesterol.

Do your cardio workout either on an empty stomach, ar 21/2 hours after a meal. This will ensure that your blood glucose levels are not so high that you are only burning carbs during your workout.

More isn’t always better when it comes to cardiovascular exercise. Limit your exercise to between 20 and 45 minutes. After 45 minutes the catabolic hormone cortisol will increase and you’ll risk losing muscle tissue.

Sometimes, you may find certain products can also enhance your workout. Companies like Mannatech, GNC, BioGenetix and many others have nutrition shakes, vitamins, supplements and more that can help to boost your metabolism, add energy for your workout, and enhance your exercise experience.

Certainly, there are more healthcare plans on the market today than we can possible evaluate in one post. Here, we plan to feature a few healthcare plans and to explain their main benefits. This will allow those who are searching for a new healthcare company to get a glimpse at a few choices and to evaluate their options.

Coventry Healthcare Inc – Coventry Healthcare Inc with CEO Alan Wise operates health palns under the names: Coventry Health Care, Coventry Health and Life, Carelink Health Plans, Group Health Plan, HealthAmerica, HealthAssurance, HealthCare USA, Southern Health and WellPath. They serve 14 states, primarily in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and Southeast regions and their health plans are located in small to mid-sized metropolitan areas.

Assurant Health – Assurant Health with CEO Don Hamm has been in business since 1892. They are a brand name for products that are underwritten and issues by Time Insurance Company, John Alden Life Insurance company and Union Security Insurance Company. They provide health insurance nationwide for individual coverage, small business, short term health insurance and student health insurance.

Cinergy Health, Inc. – Cinergy Health, Inc. with CEO Daniel Touizer is a nationwide provider of innovative and affordable health and life insurance solutions. They recognize the current financial climate in America and offer affordable and quality health coverage to deliver maximum value at a lower cost.

About a million American today have limited health insurance plans. These are a type of health insurance that gives limited coverage. They are a great answer for the unemployed or for the self-employed, since they are certainly a better option than having no insurance at all.

These policies charge far less than traditional insurance. They cap what the insurer has to pay towards medical care, however, so the insured may end up paying for hospital visits and emergency room care that they wouldn’t have to pay for with a traditional plan.

These polices have been gaining interest, as of late. They used to be an option mainly for self-employed people or for those who buy their own insurance. Today, however many employers with low-wage, part-time or contract workers are using them. McDonald’s, the Hair Cuttery, and Friendly’s restaurants all offer coverage of this sort.

Some mainstream insurers such as Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shields have gotten into these plans as well. UnitedHealth has such policed for university students; Healthmarkets has them for self-employed individuals through its MegaLife and Mid-West Life companies; Cinergy Health offers a number of plans for all ages.

There are many weight loss programs, each one unique and best suited to different types of people with a variety of needs. If you are in a hurry, let’s say you have a wedding coming up, or some other occasion, and there really isn’t time to lose weight slowly, you might want to consider a great program called Shapely Secrets. Strictly speaking, this is not a “weight-loss” program, but really a fitness program. This program helps you slim down and look your best in a mere 7 minutes each day. That is because of a revolutionary technique called Diametric Resistance. This fitness program is for anyone who doesn’t like counting calories and can’t spend much time exercising. Combined with the 7 secrets to being thin and shapely, Shapely Secrets will help those extra inches around your waist disappear.

Another interesting program is well suited to those that like to use their computers for everything, even for helping them to lose weight. Check out “Train with me Online” and see what this web site has to offer by way of variety and convenience so that you can lose weight as effortlessly as possible. Train with me Online has over 400 challenging video exercises and more than 100 workout routines, and is just like having a personal trainer, but easier.

If you are more interested in dieting than in exercise, consider trying Dr. Kushner’s Personality Type Diet.
Based on the popular book by Dr. Robert Kushner in partnership with his wife Nancy, this program bases its methodology on discovering the potential dieters character traits which cause us to have the eating habits we have, and why it’s so hard to change them. The dieter fills out a 70 question survey which reveals fears, feelings and attitudes in an effort to overcome the weak places that keep us from having a healthy relationship with food, exercise and coping.

Those were just three of the almost endless number of unique programs with which you can achieve your goals of recovering health and reaching your ideal weight.

It’s not surprising that most people gain a little bit of weight over the winter. There are certainly many factors that contribute to this weight gain, from the cold weather and lack of exercise, to the heavier foods and drinks, to the bulky coats and baggy clothes. We get comfortable in our baggy clothing, and forget about our weight loss goals and our desire to look good.

This doesn’t have to be the case, however. Here are a few quick tips to continue looking great, even when the snow if falling and you can’t get out for a walk.

1. The Mall – Go walking at the mall! Many malls actually have walking programs that encourage people to come inside and get moving. Set aside three days a week when you will do laps around the mall. If you feel funny doing this alone, then grab a friend and do it together.

2. Break up your exercise into ten minute routines. Maybe you don’t want to commit to exercising for an entire 45 minutes or 1 hour; most of us, however, would agree to 10 minutes. Purchase an exercise tape from Richard Simmons, Mitch Gaylord and others. Do 10 minutes in the morning, another 10 in the afternoon, and 10 at night. Certainly, you’ll need a DVD that breaks the exercise into small segments.

3. Get creative. Take the stairs up to your office instead of the elevator; park far away from the mall and walk there; walk down the hall every time you want to talk to a co-worker, rather than sending an email. Find other creative ways to get yourself moving throughout the day.

Remember, as well, that exercise needs to be accompanied by diet. Keep your diet in mind at all times, and try to eat as healthy as you can. Certainly, you want to keep your spirits up in the winter as well, and this is best done by thinking positively and focusing on your attributes. Keep your makeup refreshed, your Kymaro Body Shaper in place, and your clothes pressed – even when you have a bulky jacket on – and you’ll keep looking your best, through the snowy weather!

Most people find that their exercise routine goes out the door when they travel – for work or pleasure.  When you’re stuck in a hotel room or on a plane, it’s very difficult to get your exercise accomplished.  It doesn’t have to be an issue, however, with these simple tips.

1. Walk – You can find a way to walk almost anywhere.  If you’re stuck in a convention center or a large hotel in a snow storm, then walk the hallways in the hotel or walk up and down the stairs.  Get to a mall and walk there – or get out into the city if it’s a pretty day to enjoy your new location.

2. Bring Equipment – You can bring a few tools with you that will make the difference no matter where you are in the world.  With your Easy Curves and your Bender Ball, you’ll be able to work on your bustline and your abdominals from any city in the world.

3. Leg Lifts – You can always do some easy leg lifts in your hotel room.  Look online for suggested activities that you can do to strengthen and tone your legs and do these routines in the morning and in the evening, each day that you are traveling.