What are Refined Carbs?

Understanding the difference between refined carbs and those other ones.

You're bombarded with information about carbohydrates. You may have even been frightened of them at one point - or maybe you are right now. However, not all carbs do the same thing. Actually, some carbs are good for you and necessary to keep your body going strong. Where do refined carbohydrates fall on the health scale? You're about to find out.

Not the Best

To get a refined carbohydrate, a food is taken that contains carbs. Then, everything else in the food is taken away, leaving only the refined carbohydrate, which is either a starch or a sugar.

When eaten, refined carbohydrates give your body a quick boost in glucose (a.k.a. sugar), which can be helpful right before you get started in some sort of athletic endeavor, such as a sprint or a soccer game. However, eating refined carbohydrates on a regular basis, regardless of what you're doing afterward, can leave you with a rather useless store of carbs.

See Them Now

To avoid eating too many refined carbohydrates, you should know what they look like and where they're most often found. Thankfully, they're rather easy to see, so you can sidestep them with ease. Most often, refined carbs are white on their own, but they can hide inside various foods without being recognized.
The following are a few common foods that contain refined carbohydrates:

• white bread
• white rice
• foods ending with the word “starch”
• foods that use puffy or shredded grains

What to Choose Instead

Since refined carbohydrates aren't doing your body much good, you ought to do your best to go for foods with the other kind of carbohydrates. Whether you call them good carbs or all-natural carbs doesn't matter. What matters is what comes with these carbohydrates that is stripped from their refined peers.

One of the items that gets stripped from carbohydrates during the refining process is fiber. Since fiber is helpful in your goal of good bowel health; avoiding diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and kidney stones; and obtaining and maintaining a healthy weight, you don't want to spend much time eating foods that have gone through a fiber-stealing process. Instead of going with fiber-stripped carbohydrates, choose foods that contain fiber-rich carbs. Good choices include fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains.

Your Need for Carbohydrates

Still not convinced that you need carbohydrates in your diet? Has the popular no-carb diet craze messed with your head so much that you continue to fear this necessary part of your daily regimen? Then there's something you should know.

While you don't want to fill up on refined carbohydrates (as you already know), you do want to eat plenty of good carbohydrates. In fact, otherwise healthy adults ought to use as much as 65 percent of their daily intake of calories to consume carbs. That means that every other bite you eat should contain healthy carbohydrates for optimal health. So what are you waiting for? Wave goodbye to those white, worn out refined carbohydrates, and open your arms and your mouth to health-boosting whole grains, fruits, and vegetables!

Why No-Carb Diet Works

If you've ever gotten into a diet that cuts you off from all carbohydrates, you probably lost some weight. If you're supposed to need carbs, why did you have such great weight loss success when you cut them from your diet? There are three reasons.

The first is that cutting carbohydrates from your diet often results in a loss of water weight, as not eating carbs may cause you to urinate more frequently and with greater volume.

The second is that any diet that forces you to avoid one sort of food altogether will result in eating fewer calories. While this is a good thing at first, it's healthier to trim calories from all the food groups instead of picking on carbohydrates only.

The third is that diets that trim carbohydrates do not trim protein or fat, which both cause you to feel full faster and longer, reducing your desire to eat.

Are You Fit of Fat?

What should you set your eyes on?

If you watch much television or read many fitness magazines, you may think that becoming ripped is the goal of anyone who works out. But should that really be the goal of your exercise routine?

Ever wondered how to view the division between fit and fat? You're not alone.

Understanding Overweight and Obesity

Ideally, every person will weigh the proper weight that allows him or her to function well during the day. Since being underweight or overweight can do significant damage to the body's organs, bones, and joints, obtaining and maintaining a healthy weight is paramount to overall good health.

However, as very few people in the developed world are underweight, the primary issue people face with regard to their weight is being overweight or even obese. In some parts of the world - the United States of America primarily - the number of people who weigh more than they ought has grown to such numbers that an epidemic has been declared.

When an individual's body mass index (BMI is a measure of body fat based on a comparison of your height and weight) is 25 or higher, the individual is deemed overweight. A BMI of 30 or higher indicates obesity. Falling into either category greatly increases an individual's risk for diabetes, heart disease, cancers, and countless other diseases.

What Makes You Fit

Thanks to a recent study published by the American College of Sports Medicine, the view of what it means to be fit may be changing. That's because the study found that while being thin is nice, it does not mean you're fit. Rather, being fit requires some effort.

During the study, three groups of overweight individuals were told to do three different things. Group one was told to keep doing what they were doing, group two was put on a diet, and the third group was put on a diet and given an exercise regimen to stick with throughout the duration of the six-month trial.

When the study was complete, the two groups of people that changed their habits lost weight. Researchers expected this, as did the general public. What is surprising many people, though, is that losing weight was found to not be enough to improve a person's overall fitness.

Only the group that dieted and exercised regularly improved the function of their internal organs and thereby enjoyed increased overall fitness. In other words, both groups who dieted dropped weight (approximately 10 percent of their overall body weight), but exercise was the deciding factor in whether an individual improved his or her blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and cardiovascular fitness.

Making the Difference

As the study showed, exercise makes the difference in being fit, fat, or naturally thin. So what does this mean for you? It means that sticking with your regular exercise routine - no matter how difficult it may be at times - isn't just a good idea for your good looks. It makes all the difference in your good health and well-being.

But how hard do you have to work out? It depends on your goal. The individuals in the study were put on exercise routines that burned off 500 calories for men and 400 for women each day. However, these were overweight individuals who could safely lose a substantial amount of weight. If you're already at a healthy weight and want to take your overall fitness to the next level, you may want to burn even more calories. Just remember to do it safely, eat plenty of healthy foods every day, and not overwork any specific muscle group during your routine.

Bigger than BMI

Want to get a handle on how fat or fit you are? You'll need to work with a health or exercise professional. Because while knowing your body mass index is helpful, it does not give a full picture of your overall health. Call me to set up an appointment. I will help you get on the FIT path. Call 937.902.9596

How Much Should I Drink?

A few answers to this seemingly evasive question.

Like most things in medicine, the amount of liquid you should drink seems to be constantly changing. So just how much do you need to drink on a daily basis for optimal health? You’re about to find out what the scientific world has determined about your drinking needs. So turn on the tap and get ready to find out how full you should fill your glass.

The Old Answer

Only a few years ago, the medical community had a nice, one-size-fits-all answer to the liquid question. According to the experts, adults needed about eight glasses of water each day. This equaled out to approximately 64 ounces of water. While this acted as a good goal for most adults, it was a goal that was rarely met due to people simply being too busy to remember to down their daily regimen of water.

Today, the old answer is no longer the only answer. Granted, it is still an accepted answer that helps many people remember to keep their lips to a glass of water, but researchers spent plenty of time studying just how much water a person needs and realized there may be other ways to go about liquid intake.

I never drink water. I’m afraid it will become habit-forming - W.C. Fields

The New Answer

Many folks have given up on drinking eight glasses a day. Instead, they’ve decided to go with another popular method for determining fluid intake: replacing the fluids lost during the course of a day. How much liquid to you shed on a daily basis? Between bathroom breaks, sweating, and sweating, you lose about 10 cups of water a day. Sweat more than the average person or been suffering with a bout of diarrhea? Then you’ll need to add some cups to the total.

To make sure your body has enough liquid, the replacement method requires you to drink the amount that you lose minus the 20 percent of your needed fluids you get through the foods you eat. And while water is typically the preferred liquid, you’ll want to count tea, sodas, and juice, which all contain water.

The Adjusted Answer

While science has deemed that you should drink a certain amount of water based on the amount of water that leaves your body on a daily basis, this equation may not provide a final answer to how much water you should drink. Because while this is a great way for otherwise health individuals to tally up their water needs, people with pre-existing conditions may have different liquid needs.

If you have diabetes, kidney diseases, or any other chronic condition that you must deal with on a daily basis, your water requirement may be more or less than you think. To find out exactly how much water you should sip on each day, you’ll have to head to your doctor. Of course he will tell you 8-8 ounce glasses unless there is a medical issue. 

A DIY Test

Want to figure out if you’re drinking enough water each day? Here are a few questions that will help you determine if you need to up your liquid intake or if you’re drinking just enough.

• Are you thirsty often?
• Is your urine usually dark yellow?
• Do you experience dry mouth often?
• Are you prone to headaches for no known cause?
• Do you feel lightheaded occasionally?
• Do you rarely urinate?
• Are you frequently constipated?

The Food We Eat, Migraines We Get

Understanding the link between what you put in your mouth and what you feel in your head.

If you've ever experienced a migraine headache, you have one more life goal than those who haven't. That goal? To never have a migraine again. However, to meet that goal, you have to be well aware of the triggers that set you on the painful path to a migraine.

Since some of the most common triggers are those things you put in your mouth, you may want to keep reading to find out what foods and drinks you should avoid to keep migraines from getting inside your head.

Regular Stuff

In your day-to-day routine, you probably come across a lot of potential migraine triggers. From peanut butter and sour cream to raspberries and pizza, nearly every food can be a trigger. Some, however, are more common than others. In most cases, a food-induced migraine begins to rear its ugly head within 20 or 30 minutes of consuming the food or drink.

To avoid migraines, consider avoiding the following foods and drinks that are known to cause migraine headaches:

• coffee, tea, cola, chocolate, and other foods and drinks that contain caffeine
• extremely cold foods, such as ice cream, particularly when you're hot due to weather or exercise
• alcoholic beverages, such as red wine, champagne, whiskey, and beer
• cheeses that have been aged to perfection and other foods containing tyramine (substance formed when foods age)
• foods that contain nitrates and various other additives, preservatives, or artificial sweeteners

Special Instances

In addition to specific food and drink, other diet-related issues can result in the mind-boggling pain of a migraine headache. Your body requires a healthy balance of vitamins and minerals to function properly, and your head comfort requires the same. Any time this balance is thrown off, you put yourself at risk for a headache.

One of the easiest headache-inducing dietary mistakes you can make is missing a meal. Life is busy, you're always on the go, and sitting down to eat isn't always possible. But when you opt out of mealtime, you're upping your risk of a migraine substantially. Another simple way to mess up your diet and your head is through dehydration. Unless you are regularly drinking from a tall glass of water, you're probably a little bit dehydrated. Decide to drink even less one day and your head could pay the price. A final cause of food-related migraines is fasting. Less common than the others, fasting from all sorts of food causes an immediate lack of everything your body needs to keep going strong.

A Hot Headache Problem

While some people suffer migraines after chomping into a spoonful of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, others have the opposite problem. They suffer migraine headaches when the temperature outside starts to climb. And there is actually research that backs their claims of high-temperature headaches.

According to one study, the risk of suffering a headache climbs seven and one-half percent for every increase of nine degrees Fahrenheit. What's this mean for you? Either live somewhere with a cool climate, stay inside during the hot days, or be prepared to suffer heat-induced headaches.

Causes You Didn't Consider

The list of migraine triggers can go on forever. But if you're suffering from migraines and still aren't sure why, you may want to consider these triggers.

Your Exercise. It may seem odd, but pushing yourself too hard in the gym can lead to stress-related headaches.

Your Hair. It may look great, but if you keep your hair pulled back tight or in braids all the time or wear an improperly fitting hat, the stress could result in a headache.

Your Perfume. More than likely, you know someone who claims to get headaches around strong scents. If you suffer migraines and are around strong scents regularly, it may be time to give up your favorite scents.

Your Habit. Smoking has long been known to bring on headaches of all shapes and sizes. Put out your risk for cigarette-induced migraines by kicking the habit.

Your In-Laws. Actually, anyone or anything that raises your stress level puts you at increased risk for a migraine.

Eat Your Age

What your age does to your need for calories and how you can help your body respond appropriately.

When you were a kid, you only ate when you were hungry. Everyone said you ate like a bird until you became a teenager. Then you couldn't eat enough. By the time you hit your 30s you stopped listening to your stomach and started listening to your eyes. But you were working out enough to keep off unwanted pounds. But now you're starting to see the effects of eating too many calories.

So how can you avoid age-related weight gain? By keeping these three age-appropriate tips in mind the next time you decide to grab your favorite fattening treat.

1. Age Changes Everything

You may feel like a teenager, but when you're out of your teens and into your 20s, 30s, 40s, and beyond, your body tells a different story. Whether you'll admit it or not, you realize that you can't move quite as quick in your 50s as you could in your 20s. Likewise, your body can't burn through calories like it could a few years ago. With that in mind, the need to curb your calorie intake as you age makes sense. Because if your body can't use all the calories you're eating, consuming excessive calories only leads to excessive weight.

Live your life and forget your age. - Norman Vincent Peale

2. Activity Takes More Effort

When you were a kid, getting out and about for a two-hour game of neighborhood football was no problem. Ever since you started working at an office, stuck behind a large oak desk, getting physical activity has become more and more difficult. Thanks to this increased difficulty of getting a work out, your body's metabolism has dropped dramatically since your skinny high school days. Ideally, you should get at least 30 to 60 minutes of exercise five days a week. Since this isn't always possible, you'll need to chop even more calories from your diet to make sure the calories you eat are being used rather than stored as fat.

3. You Have to Cut

Regardless of how much exercise you get, you'll probably need to reduce the amount of calories you consume as you age. A good guide to help you understand your calorie need is to start with 1,800 calories for women age 31 to 50 and 2,200 for men of the same age. If you're younger than 31, add another 200 calories. The over 50 crowd should subtract 200. With certain levels of activity, you can also add calories to your diet. However, since every person's caloric needs are different at every stage in life, you should consult with your physician before making any minor or major changes in your diet. To get a more precise idea of how many calories you should eat each day, a number of calorie calculators are available on the Internet. Using your age, height, weight, gender, and level of activity, these calculators help you have an idea of how many calories it will take for you to maintain a healthy weight. If you find the amount of calories you're eating isn't helping you meet your weight goals, modify your diet as needed.

Junk It Up

Along with all those healthy calories that you chow down on each day, you may be wondering how many of the delectable and not-so-healthy calories you can eat on a daily basis.

An easy way to keep your bad calorie consumption in check is to have no more than one-eighth of your calories come from foods that offer no nutritional value. This includes cookies and cakes, potato chips and bonbons, and those sugar-filled drinks that you can't live without in the morning and afternoon.

Know What to Do With Shoulder Injuries

Know them, catch them, treat them.

Though you may ignore your shoulder on good days, that all changes if you suffer a shoulder injury. Pain from a shoulder injury can be so severe that you become unable to do tasks you take for granted, such as driving a car, waving to your neighbor, and even hugging your loved ones. So how can you make sure shoulder injuries don't leave you down and out?

Know Them.

Very few shoulder injuries affect the bones. Most injure the ligaments, tendons, and muscles on and around the shoulders. While athletes are prone to experiencing shoulder injuries, people who perform repetitive motions that use the shoulder are at increased risk.

Though there are several different shoulder injuries that may affect you, they all fall into two categories: instability and impingement. An instability shoulder injury is the result of a shoulder joint being forced out of place or moving out of its natural position on its own. These injuries often cause dislocated shoulders and make it painful to even raise your arm. Impingement shoulder injuries, frequently brought on by repetitive reaching overhead, are caused by the shoulder muscles rubbing against the top of the shoulder blade.

Catch Them.

The secret to helping your shoulder overcome any injury is catching the problem fast. Otherwise, your problem will grow worse and more difficult to treat effectively. Three of the most common signs of a serious shoulder injury that requires medical evaluation are the following:

• feeling that your shoulder could pop or slide out of your shoulder socket with ease
• lack of strength to perform activities of daily living that require you to use your shoulder
• shoulder stiffness that makes it difficult or even impossible to rotate your arm as you normally would

If you suffer any of these symptoms, don't wait to find out if your shoulder will feel better in a few days. Rather, seek expert medical evaluation from your primary care physician or an orthopedic surgeon.

Treat Them.

When shoulder pain begins to affect you, your physician may recommend a series of exercises to strengthen your shoulder and prevent further injury. Common exercises include wall push-ups (stand in front of a wall with your hands on the wall and perform push-ups on the wall), tying elastic tubing to a doorknob and pulling on the tubing gently, and shoulder press-ups (sit upright in an armchair and push yourself off of the chair using your arms, keeping your feet on the ground).

In the event your pain doesn't subside with exercise, anti-inflammatory medication is frequently prescribed to reduce swelling and help your shoulder recover from injury. If your injury is severe, you may require corrective surgery. Thanks to innovations in orthopedic surgery, many shoulder surgeries are performed on an outpatient basis, allowing you to undergo surgery and recover in the comfort of your own home.

Shocking News

When chronic shoulder pain sets in, physicians have a number of tools at their disposal. One of them is shockwave therapy, which sends low or medium energy waves to the injured tissue. However, a recent study shows that it may be time to hang up the shockers when it comes to shoulder therapy.

During the study, 104 18- to 70-year-old men and women were broken into two groups. One group was given shockwave treatment every week for four to six weeks, and the other undertook 45 minutes of supervised exercise twice a week for as many as 12 weeks.

At the end of the study, nearly two times as many people in the exercise group had reduced pain and disability, and more exercisers were given the okay for getting back to work. As if to add insult to treatment-prolonged injury, more individuals in the shockwave therapy group had to continue undergoing treatment after 12 weeks than those in the exercise group.

Moral of the story? If your physician recommends a shocking treatment for shoulder pain, exercise your right to say no!

Is Your Diet Over The Edge?

How to recognize when your diet has gone too far.

Losing weight is no easy task. In fact, if you're going to lose weight, you have to be exceptionally dedicated, not allowing anything to get in your way. However, your desire to trim up can occasionally come at a price. Sometimes your dieting can become so extreme that your body becomes deprived of the basic vitamins and minerals necessary for functioning during daily life.

Want to keep a tight reign on your diet and make sure it's not going too far? Make sure you don't experience these signs and symptoms of a diet gone wrong.

Mood Swings

Even when you're not dieting, if you don't eat, you probably get a little agitated. It's normal, as not getting enough of the right foods will put anyone in a bad mood. In the event you're undergoing an intense diet that robs you of the stuff you need to keep going strong, you'll wind up with regular mood swings that can be rather severe.

Lack of Energy

As you probably know, your energy level is directly proportionate to the amount of energy-filled foods you consume. Stop eating fruits, vegetables, and protein-rich lean meats without substituting these foods for other items and your energy level will plummet.

Half and Half. An amazing 50 percent of all American women are on a diet at any given time.

Muscle Loss

At the same time your energy level drops, so will the amount of muscle in your body. While a low- or no-carbohydrate diet will probably result in some weight loss, it comes at a cost. In order to maintain muscle, your body needs a certain amount of carbs, and robbing your body of all carbohydrate intake prevents your body from being able to maintain muscle.

Urinary Tract or Kidney Infections

Crash diets come in all kinds of forms. While many of the consequences of a crash diet can be overcome fairly quickly, crash diets that are maintained for a long period of time can put stress on your kidneys. The end result could be multiple infections in the urinary tract or kidneys.

Constipation

Nearly every diet encourages you to eat less of something. Some simply reduce your overall intake, while others focus on a specific type of food. Unfortunately, if you cut out fiber or other elements that are essential to good digestive health, you'll wind up with constipation or other complications of an unbalanced diet.

Frequent Illness

Cut back severely on the foods you eat and your body won't have access to vitamins and minerals necessary to keep your immune system strong. When your immune system is compromised, you put yourself at a much greater risk for illnesses ranging from the common cold to the flu to pneumonia and beyond. But dietary deficiencies don't just result in physical ailments. They can also result in depression and other mental health issues.

If you experience any of these symptoms, consult a physician or dietitian immediately. Be open about your concerns and be willing to make changes necessary. Since your dangerous dieting may be tied to other issues, you may require more than simple dietary changes. But by using the same determination that helps you say "No" to unhealthy foods, you can beat other underlying issues.

Trust Your Friends

If you're dieting on your own, you may find yourself being questioned on a regular basis. "Come on, one little bite won't hurt." "Are you sure you don't want some?" Often, these questions are asked by family and friends who are impressed by your will power and are interested in testing it.

However, if your loved ones begin to express concern about your diet, you should pay attention. If their questions begin to call into question whether you're eating enough to maintain your good health or if they are constantly talking about how skinny you are, your diet may have gone overboard. Speak with your physician or a dietitian to get it back on track.

Obesity: Nature Vs. Nurture

Are there answers to the great obesity debate?

For a long time, there was no question regarding the cause of obesity. It was accepted that people who did not watch what they eat and never got physical exercise were putting themselves at great risk for becoming overweight or obese. And then medical science stepped in, evaluated the various cause of obesity, and found that some people may be genetically disposed to becoming overweight or obese.

So what is the real answer? Is obesity brought on by genetics or what the individual eats and how much exercise he or she gets?

Nature

Much ado has been made recently over the finding of what has been politically incorrectly named the "Fat Gene." Supposed to indicate an individual's likelihood to wind up obese, the fat gene is at once a major scientific breakthrough and the cause of heartbreak for everyone found to have inherited this seeming inescapable fate of obesity.

However, this new finding isn't the only known reason for an individual becoming obese. There are a handful of other conditions that normally lead to an individual gaining weight, often to the point of obesity. One of the most common is hypothyroidism. When the thyroid gland in your neck isn't working properly, your body doesn't make enough of a chemical that helps control the amount of energy it uses. As a result, you don't burn enough calories to maintain a healthy weight, making it easy to become overweight or obese.

Nurture

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity comes down to a simple formula: bringing more energy into your body than you're burning off over a long period of time. So when you eat more calories than you burn off during the course of a single day, you may not wind up gaining weight. But do this day after day, month after month, year after year, and you will be on the path to weight gain and potentially obesity. Work hard to burn more calories than you eat, and you should be able to maintain a healthy weight.

Regardless of any conditions that may make someone predisposed to weight gain, with enough work, many are able to maintain control of their weight. In fact, research has found that even individuals with the fat gene are given the upper hand against obesity if they're willing to spend 60 minutes a day exercising, and medication for hypothyroidism helps improve the condition and make exercise more effective.

Together at Last

Though nature and nurture put an individual at risk for becoming obese, the combination is a guaranteed recipe for obesity. So if you find yourself living with a condition that puts you at risk for obesity, the fastest way to gain weight is to ignore your condition, eat whatever you want (whenever you want), and never exercise.

Other Gaining Conditions

In addition to hypothyroidism and the "fat gene," the following conditions have also been linked to obesity:

• Brain tumor - specifically, a brain tumor in the part of the brain responsible for controlling your appetite or how much energy your body uses.
• Cushing's syndrome - this is the name for a condition that causes the body to make too any chemicals that are in control of your body's use of sugars and fats.
• Insulinoma - occurs when a pancreatic tumor causes the pancreas to create excessive amounts of insulin, a process that results in more sugar being turned to fat.
• Polycystic ovary syndrome - caused by the growth of cysts in the ovaries, this condition results in women not ovulating on schedule. Whereas the other conditions listed are clearly linked to obesity, researchers are unsure whether this comes first or whether it is caused by obesity.

Are You Thinking about a Life Coach?

Feel a bit confused by life? Want to get a handle on it all, but don't know where to get started? You may need a life coach.

A fairly recent phenomenon, life coaches gain applause in some circles and ridicule in others. If your life seems to be falling apart, the thought of a life coach may come with a mixture of appeal and embarrassment. After all - shouldn't you be able to get over this by yourself?

What can you expect from a life coach, and is it the best option? Or is it better to get your stuff together on your own? Keep reading to get a quick introduction to the services provided by a life coach and how you may benefit from having one on your side.

A life coach does for the rest of your life what a personal trainer does for your health and fitness. -Elaine McDonald

What Is a Life Coach?

Put simply, a life coach helps get you ready for the future. Whereas therapists work you through the errors of your past, a life coach is only concerned with the past as much as it helps him or her determine an appropriate path for your future. They're much more interested in the present and future.

Some life coaches have backgrounds in psychology, which helps them understand the best way to motivate you. Others are certified through organizations such as the International Coach Federation. Still others have lived full lives and feel they have the experience needed to set other people's life on track. Regardless of their training or experience, all life coaches try to get you where you want to be faster than you can get there on your own.

What Services Does a Life Coach Provide?

One of the first questions you're likely to encounter from a life coach is, "Where do you see yourself in one, five, or ten years?" From relationships to personal growth to career choices, life coaches offer guidance and assistance in making better decisions and ultimately leading a fuller, happier life. They do it by teaching specific stress-reducing techniques that meet your exact needs. They do it by holding you accountable. They do it by pushing you to take Gandhi's advice and be the change you want to see.

If the first change doesn't work, the life coach will quickly guide you to another technique. But not before a close inspection of the failed methodology. Doing this determines the cause of the failure and helps you avoid this same downfall with other techniques. The trial-and-error process is largely led by you, so you have ownership over your own improvement, while the life coach is simply an aide to your betterment.

Do you suffer from severe depression or another mental health issue? A life coach is not the route you should take. Though you may think a life coach could help pull you out of the pit of despair, you require a more medically based approach for appropriate care.

Who Needs a Life Coach?

Practically everyone is a candidate for using a life coach. However, if you feel like you keep making the same bad decisions, wish you could do something to bring about more permanent happiness, desire to feel more at peace with your life, or would like to pump up the passions in your life, you're more likely to gain the most benefit.

Of course, like any good coach, a life coach doesn't make the changes in your life for you. He or she simply makes suggestions on ways to improve. So if you're not going to follow through on a life coach's advice, you are not a good candidate for a life coach, regardless of how discontent you may be with your life. Also, hiring a life coach can be very expensive, so this is open only to those with a good bit of expendable income at their disposal.

Call me if you want a great referral for a Life Coach. This guy has always helped me.

Eat Less Feel Fuller

What can you do to slim down your ever-growing waistline?

Nothing drives people crazier than trying to lose weight. Television commercials, radio shows, and advertisements in the newspaper and your favorite magazine make it seem that losing weight is as easy as picking a fad diet out of the air. But if you've ever tried losing weight by eating only cabbage or swallowing everything you can in an hour, you probably realize that those diets only last for so long.

If you want to obtain and maintain a healthy weight, you're going to have to figure out how to eat less. Sound impossible? Prepare to do the impossible in three easy steps!

Step 1: Determine if You Need to Lose Weight

Believe it or not, you may not need to lose weight. Each year, countless Americans take on the world of dieting without consulting anyone or anything except a mirror. However, the mirror doesn't always tell the truth. And neither does the media, which insists that excessively skinny is the norm.

Before getting on a diet, ask your physician if you are at a healthy weight. If your weight isn't a problem but you don't feel confident with your body, you may need to change your exercise routine. Work with a personal trainer to formulate a regiment that will help you meet your personal goals - whether they involve weight loss, body toning, or both. If your health would benefit from losing weight, you should learn to eat less.

Step 2: Take Your Time at the Table

A common mistake made by many people is to eat everything on their plate. Doing this may indicate good manners, but it results in bad eating habits and a larger-than-desired belly. Fortunately, this problem is easily remedied. All you have to do is slow down.

Instead of shoving bite after bite of food into your mouth, take a deep breath and relax during mealtime. After each bite, set your fork down, chew, and swallow. Before taking another bite, say something to a family member or friend who is eating with you. By slowing down your eating process, you allow your brain time to figure out your stomach is full. Otherwise, you may end up eating for up to 15 minutes after your stomach is filled to capacity. Yes, that's why you occasionally feel uncomfortably stuffed beyond your limits.

Step 3: Force Yourself to Eat Less

If slowing down your eating isn't enough to help you eat less food, your best weapon is self-control. Determine how much food you are going to eat, put it on your plate, and don't go back for seconds. When first starting to reduce the amount you eat, cut back your eating by two or three bites. Keep reducing the amount you eat by a bite or two until you find a healthy amount that leaves you feeling content and not hurting due to excessive fullness.

Gradually, as you learn to eat less, your stomach will shrink and will have less room for food. As a result, you feel fuller faster and won't feel the need to eat the final bites of your meal just because it happens to be on your plate.

Staying Balanced

Often, people who are trying to lose weight cut something out of their diet. From carbohydrates to proteins to milk products, diets are available that promise great results if you’ll just give up one food product.

Before you go with the food flow, give thought to your body’s nutritional needs. Carbohydrates, fats, and practically everything else present in food is actually needed for your body to function properly. When you deprive your body of one or more of these essentials, your body is unable to perform at its peak. As a result, you feel weak and tired and have a hard time concentrating.

Instead of cutting a single nutrient out of your diet, reduce the total amount of food you eat on a daily basis, and include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet. Doing this will help you maintain a healthy weight and feel much better than any of the deprivation diets on the market.

Losing your Love Handles

Because as you know, they're not nearly as cute as their name implies

They sit naturally on your hips and turn your otherwise picture-perfect physique into something of a pear. So what can you do to kick those love handles to the curve? You may be surprised to learn that all it takes is a couple exercises you're probably already doing and a few others.

Crunches. They're nothing new to your exercise routine, and they shouldn't be forgotten when you're in the gym next. In addition to straight-forward crunches, twist to the left and the right to work out the entire abdominal area and to help your body ward off love handles that show up on both sides.

Standing Trunk Twists. As effective as the name is fun to say, standing trunk twists do what any good love-handle-battling exercise should do: firms up the love handles and gets you sweating. To perform this exercise, stand with your feet a foot or so apart and your knees relaxed and slightly bent. Next, twist your body's trunk to the left, while attempting to keep your hips and legs still. During your trunk twist, swing your right arm across the front of your body, as if you were punching someone. Immediately twist to the right, bringing your left arm across your body in a punching motion. Repeat up to 100 times.

Leg Flutters. You may feel awkward with this exercise, but the end results are worth it. To get started, lie flat on your stomach with your arms down by your side. Lift your head off the ground and look straight ahead. Finally, lift your feet and knees off the floor, kick (flutter) your legs back and forth for 20 seconds, stop, and repeat for another 20 seconds.

Love Language

As you suspect, love handles aren't always called love handles. In the medical and muscle community, they're known as the oblique muscles. So when you find yourself face to face with a personal trainer or physician, you'll know what that big word means!

Side Bends. One of the best exercises for targeting those troublesome love handles, side bends are relatively easy to perform. Standing straight, feet shoulder-width apart with a dumbbell in your left hand, bend to the left as far as possible. Once you hit the lowest part of your bend, raise back to the standing position. Repeat 15 or 20 times, switch the dumbbell to your right hand and bend to the right for 15 or 20 repetitions.

Knee Kicks. Want to get a little tougher while you kiss your sweet little love handles goodbye? Go find a punching bag and put both hands flat on the bag, with one hand approximately two feet above the other. Next, lift your back leg and knee the bag as hard as possible. Return to your starting position and repeat 20 times. Change your position and repeat with the other knee. By the time you're done, your love handles will be burning their way into nothingness, and your self-esteem will be shooting through the roof.

Now that you know what exercises will tone up your midsection, there's something else you should know. You can't get rid of your love handles just by doing crunches and knee kicks. Those exercises will help tone your muscles, but they won't force those little areas of fat known as love handles to disappear. To do that, you're going to have to burn more calories than you eat each day. The easiest way to do this is to get plenty of aerobic exercise and to eat low-calorie meals filled with fresh fruits and vegetables. With these steps, you'll be prepared to show off the hips and abdominals you've worked so hard to tighten up!

Going, Going, Grapefruit!

Gaining an appreciation for the wonderful, round grapefruit.

Even a sliver of grapefruit can make your eyes squint and your mouth pucker. But if you're sidestepping grapefruit because of its tartness, you're also sidestepping an array of health benefits.

Why should you start tossing a little grapefruit in your daily diet? It's as easy as APC.

Antioxidants

In the health world, few words get as much applause and attention as "antioxidants." And grapefruits are filled with the stuff. In addition to giving grapefruit its pretty pink and red color, the antioxidant lycopene is responsible for fighting runaway cells (free radicals) that have the potential to damage cells and cause cancer.

As grapefruit juice contains some of the highest levels of antioxidants (along with grape, apple, and cranberry juice), you can get your grapefruit-based antioxidants in liquid form. Regardless of whether you eat or sip on your antioxidants, getting plenty of grapefruit in your diet gives you an advantage over a number of cancers.

Having a hard time choking down that grapefruit? Drizzle a little honey on top. It'll cut the tart and leave you with a great big pile of health-boosting perks.

Pectin

A type of fiber found in grapefruit, pectin's main benefit isn't keeping you regular. It's keeping you out of the long reach of high cholesterol. A number of studies have found that the pectin found in any kind of grapefruit lowers bad cholesterol (low density lipoprotein cholesterol). If you eat red grapefruit, you'll also enjoy the benefit of reduced triglycerides - the chemical form fat takes on in foods and in your body.

Along with pectin's magical ability to lower cholesterol levels, it also helps reduce cholesterol's effects on the arteries. In other words, eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice can help your arteries avoid the narrowing that occurs when excess cholesterol and fats build up inside the artery walls, a process that leads to heart disease, the number one killer of men and women in America.

C

Everyone hails the high vitamin C content of oranges, but did you know that grapefruits also contain this essential vitamin? With enough vitamin C in your system, you can battle a number of conditions with confidence, from the common cold to cancer. Chowing down on a vitamin C-filled grapefruit can also reduce the severity of asthma, arthritis, and other diseases that are brought about by inflammation.

With so many wonderful reasons to grab a grapefruit, it only makes sense to add some pink and red to your diet.

Keep Away from Medicines

Though grapefruit juice has a number of health benefits, it isn't for everyone. If you take medication on a regular basis, you may need to avoid grapefruit juice as it can modify how much medicine gets in your bloodstream.

Normally, enzymes lining the small intestines destroy a certain portion of the medication you take, causing only a limited amount from making its way to your blood stream. However, grapefruit juice wields the power to prevent your intestinal lining from working appropriately. When grapefruit juice keeps these enzymes from doing their jobs, you wind up with an extremely large amount of medicine in your body, which can be dangerous.

Certain medications that treat high cholesterol, seizures, depression, high blood pressure, and abnormal heart rhythms are all likely candidates for this frightening effect. If you're taking any of these medications, talk with your physician before drinking grapefruit juice with, before, or after taking your medication.

If you're stuck on grapefruit juice, ask your physician if there is an alternative medication that can be taken safely with grapefruit juice.

The 300 Workout

Understanding the celebrity-hyped exercise program, the 300 Workout

In the epic movie 300, the film's stars are as chiseled as Mount Rushmore. Every abdominal, triceps, bicep, calf, and pectoral muscle was sculpted with the precision and perfection of Greek gods. And by popular demand, the secrets to their exceptionally shapely physiques were made known to the general public.

Dubbed the 300 Workout, the same routine that celebrity Spartans put themselves through is now available for your own pleasure…and pain. But before you plan to jump into the past to become the muscle-bound warrior you've always dreamed to be, there are some things you should know about this muscle-growing routine.

It's Exceptionally Intense

Hollywood makes everything bigger. From fight scenes to muscles to scandals, there is nothing done to scale in the world's center of entertainment. The 300 Workout is no exception. Instead of slowly helping actors enter into good health, self-taught fitness pro Mark Twight pushed actors to train harder than they ever imagined possible. And they did it in a private gym with no mirrors, no windows, and no place to sit down comfortably.

After a meager 12 weeks, everyone in the cast looked like cast-iron muscle. And then came the pinnacle of the 300 Workout: the 300 test. With the test, all of the actors had to perform 300 repetitions split among various exercises. Sound easy? All the reps had to be done in secession, without any break between the exercises. And the exercises are timed, so the goal is to bust through the repetitions as quickly as possible, without breaking your back via poor form.

A Lighter 300

A little intimidated by the 300 repetitions required of the 300 Workout? Who can blame you? However, you shouldn't let your intimidation keep you from giving it a shot in small doses. How? By chopping the repetitions in half.

Sure, you won't really be doing the 300 Workout (you'll have to rename it the 150 Workout), but those 150 repetitions you perform, when done without any break between, will be some of the most difficult 150 repetitions of your life.

You'll Be Sore

What makes up the 300 repetitions for the 300 test? Good question. When it comes time to test your 300 Workout, you'll be looking forward to the following exercises back to back to back to back:

• 25 pull-ups
• 50 deadlifts of 135 pounds
• 50 push-ups
• 50 box jumps on a 24-inch-high box
• 50 *floor wipers, using 135 pounds
• 50 *clean and press using 36 pounds
• 25 additional pull-ups

Now that you know what the 300 Workout requires, it's time to hit the gym. Because there's no way some Hollywood hotshot can work out harder and faster than you, is there?

* See "Introducing the Newbies"

Introducing the Newbies

As the 300 Workout is one of the newest routines out there, there may be a couple of exercises you're unfamiliar with. In the event you've never heard of the domestically named exercises, the floor wipers and the clean and press, here's how to do each.

Floor Wipers: Lie flat on your back on the floor, while holding a weighted barbell over face. Start with your entire body flat on the floor, your legs fully extended. Then bend at the waist to lift both of your feet together until your feet almost touch the left plate on the barbell. Return your feet to floor, and then raise them until they almost touch the right plate. This is one repetition.

Clean and Press: Start in a standing position, with a kettlebell on the ground. Bend over and grab the kettlebell with one hand, lift the kettlebell up to the middle of your chest, and then press the weight over your head. Finally, return the kettlebell to the ground and begin your next repetition.

Working Out With Fido

How you can have fun with man's best friend and get a workout in the process.

He loves you unconditionally, always has an open ear when you need to talk, and welcomes you with open paws when you need a hug. Now, you can have an even tighter bond with your dog, as you and your pooch get healthy together!

Here are five ways to turn your favorite four-legged friend into your new workout partner.

1. Walking

The most obvious way to exercise with your canine pal is to simply go for walks together. After all, it is recommended that all dogs go for walks every day, and doing so is a great way for you to get the 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise your doctor recommends. As if those perks weren't enough, the regularity of a daily walk helps develop a stronger relationship with your dog, helping your dog trust you and be more obedient.

2. Fetching

Many dogs love chasing after tennis balls, tree limbs, or whatever else you can find to throw. To get a workout that will benefit both of you, throw the object to be fetched and take off after it with your dog. You'll probably get beat most of the time, but the running back and forth and friendly competition will do you a world of good.

3. Swimming

It may be difficult to find a pool where your pool is welcome. So if you can't find a neighbor's pool where Fido is welcome to take a dip, head to a local lake, river, or ocean and get swimming! The movements work both you and your dog in ways that no other exercise does, leaving you exhausted and stronger. As you're in water during the exercise, you also get to stay cool in the process.

4. Dancing

A little bit less common than walking or swimming, dancing with your dog may seem a bit odd. All you have to do to dance with your dog is toss on your favorite CD or record and start moving. Allow your pooch to run around you as she wishes. Gradually, encourage your dog to sprint through your legs, jump after a certain move, and even stand on his or her back paws in a standing position on occasion. The constant motion will help both of you burn plenty of calories and will leave you in a pile on the floor, laughing and loving the kisses your new dance partner lavishes upon you.

5. Bicycling

Years ago, bicycling with man's best friend by your side was extremely dangerous. Fortunately, there are now contraptions that allow your pooch to be attached safely to your bicycle for a ride/run. With one of these devices, you won't fall over every time Fido decides to lunge after a squirrel or cat while running down the road. But you will be in great shape after a few months of riding alongside your exercise-loving doggie!

A Few Rules to Obey

Working out with your canine pal can be rewarding in many ways. To make sure your workout is safe as well as effective, you've got to take a few steps, as your dog's safety is in your hands.

• Unless you're exercising in your home or backyard, keep your pooch on a leash to prevent him from getting loose and running away or getting injured.
• While you may think you can push a dog as hard as you can go, you may be wrong. Understanding your dog's breed will help you cater your workout to be fitting for your dog's abilities.
• Never leave your dog alone in a public area, as it could lead to a variety of unwanted events.
• If your dog doesn't know how to sit, stay, heel, or perform other necessary obedience skills, don't take her in public, as it could result in a frustrating outing filled with pulling on the leash, pleading with your dog to obey.
• Be sure your dog is up to date on vaccinations and has the tags and identification necessary in the event he gets loose and runs off.

Foundations of Your Fatigue

Tired of feeling tired? You've got to get to the root of your problem.

When you work and play hard, you're going to get tired. It's only natural. However, if you feel out of energy and unmotivated on a daily basis, it may be more than a little bit of tiredness. You may be suffering from fatigue. Instead of ignoring the problem and learning to live with it, figure out what's causing this tiring condition so you can regain the energy you need to live life to the fullest!

Here are a few of the most common causes of fatigue.

Depression

Everything is hard to do when you're depressed - including getting up and going to work. Whether you're clinically depressed (depression that lasts two weeks or longer) or are just going through a brief rough spot, overcoming your depression is vital to recovering energy. As difficult as it may be, a great way to beat both depression and fatigue is to force yourself to get some fresh air and exercise.

Sleeplessness

In case you've not figured it out yet, your entire life depends on getting enough sleep. When sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea or insomnia set in, it is virtually impossible to get the quantity and quality of sleep you need for good health. The result is an initial tiredness that turns into lack of productivity or motivation, a.k.a. fatigue. Beat it by undergoing a sleep study to figure out what you can do to improve your sleep habits.

Anemia

If you feel yourself running low on energy, look under your eyelids. If they're almost white, your energy problem is likely due to anemia. Fortunately, overcoming mild iron-related anemia is relatively easy, as all you need is to get some iron in your body as soon as possible. Any leafy vegetable that is dark green will do. You can also grab some iron with almost any meat you can get your iron-hungry hands on.

Thyroid

Along with a variety of other problematic and dangerous complications, fatigue is yet another common side effect of thyroid problems. Whether you've got hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, your body's response is to grow weary. As thyroid conditions will stick with you for life, you'll need to work hand in hand with your physician to keep the condition under control and keep your fatigue at a minimum.

Pain

As if the constant throbbing in your back weren't troublesome enough, it may also be at the root of your fatigue. In fact, any long-term pain can result in fatigue. To beat pain-induced fatigue, you need to receive appropriate treatment, which may include oral or intravenous medications, physical therapy, surgery, acupuncture, or lifestyle modifications.

Use

They may make you feel better at the time, but alcohol and illegal drugs can both contribute to fatigue, especially if you do either with excess. Though both of these causes of fatigue are voluntary, they can be difficult to kick on your own. In the event you don't feel able to say goodbye to drinking or drugs on your own, seek professional help. It will help you overcome fatigue and protect your overall good health for years to come.

Stranger Causes

Though fatigue is usually the result of a common problem such as anemia or depression, it can also be the result of a variety of other serious conditions, including the following:

• arthritis
• diabetes
• infections
• kidney or liver disease
• lupus

If you can't figure out what's causing your fatigue and fear it may be one of these conditions, talk with your physician as soon as possible.

Treating these conditions properly is essential not only for overcoming fatigue, but for having the quality of life you desire.

Incorporating Kids into Your Exercise Routine

...without going out of your mind.

If you've got young kids, you may find it challenging to set an exercise routine and stick to it. You can't leave the house without them and if you don't have a sitter to watch your kids or you try exercising at home, then they run underfoot, begging for your attention.

If this sounds like you, you need some ideas on how to incorporate your kids into your daily exercises - rain or shine. After all, what better way is there to spend time with your children than teaching them the importance of good health?

On the Outside

When the weather permits, there are great ways to exercise with your kids outdoors. The most convenient might be to take a walk or run outside. For parents with toddlers, grab the stroller and head around the block a few times. Some strollers are made for running and kids love to feel the breeze and see the scenery fly by. If you have an infant, they usually love to be outdoors snuggling close in a baby carrier, while you go walking or hiking on a nearby trail.

Another great outdoor activity to do together is bike riding. This is something you can do with young or old kids. With young children, a wonderful piece of equipment for any family is a bike trailer. You can ride your bike at any speed and your children sit in the trailer enjoying the breeze. If your kids are old enough, you can each ride your own bike, developing your child's confidence and well-being at the same time.

Some of the best exercise is child's play!

During the hot summer months, if you have access to a swimming pool, take advantage! Water gives you a great chance for exercise also. Swimming is one of the best exercises for all shapes and sizes. If you don't like to swim around, just chasing your kids around the water or walking in shallow water are better than nothing.

If you have older kids, take a trip to the neighborhood park for a game ofbasketball or tennis. Or get a group of kids and parents together and play a round or two of soccer or football. Besides being great exercise opportunities for everyone, these create great memories and bonding experiences for everyone involved.

Keep It In

When the weather is cold or rainy, you shouldn't count exercise out. Instead, either get to the gym for some complimentary babysitting while you get your own workout time or try the following at home:

• Dancing. One thing both kids and parents enjoy together is dancing. Turn up your favorite dance tunes and get moving! Enjoy yourself and let loose, and don't worry about looking silly, because no one is watching! If you can't really dance, then just do some repetitive aerobic moves in sync to the music.
• Lifting. If you have toddlers, a great strength-building exercise is lifting. Lift your child up in the air as many times as you can. They love it and your body says "Thank you" with each lift. Then get on your back on the floor and place your child on your legs and lift your legs as high as you can. Repeat these moves a few times and you'll start to feel the burn.
• Watching. These days you can buy workout videos for you and your kids to do together. What kid doesn't like watching a movie? Now you can get them off the sofa and start moving to the workout together.
• Playing. An entertaining new workout for all ages is using the wii video games to get moving. With the wii system, you can play all kinds of sports, from tennis to baseball to bowling, in the comfort of your living room.

With these indoor and outdoor exercise ideas, your kids are no longer a good excuse to not work out. Now that your excuses are gone, how will you get fit?

The effects of drinking alcohol on the waist-line.

Enough information on alcohol-related weight gain to get you intoxicated.

Whether you're a social drinker or enjoy sipping on an occasional beer in the peace and quiet of your home, you will agree that alcohol makes life better. Unfortunately, as you may have realized, too much alcohol can lead to a little pudge in your middle - and anywhere else you tend to gain weight.

Why does it do this, and what can you do to avoid it? Read on to find out.

Alcohol's Effect

While alcohol is busy doing fun things with your head, it is doing some rather different things with the rest of your body. Instead of falling in line behind all your other calories, waiting patiently to get burned off, alcohol-based calories skip line and become the first to get removed from your system. Though it is nice to be able to get rid of alcohol's calories right off the bat, it causes all those other calories you just ate at the bar to sit still and turn into fat.

On top of that, with every sip of alcohol, you tend to feel better. At the same time, you tend to slow down. Drink enough and you're so worn out that all you can do is pass out until the following morning. What's wrong with calling it a night after downing a handful of alcoholic beverages? You give all those calories a chance to do nothing but sit still and add to your waistline. Think getting that beer or wine buzz is still worth it? Then you'll need to pay particular attention to what's coming next.

Bye-Bye, Beer Belly

For many, alcohol is a part of life. It doesn't interfere, cause the person to lose control, or result in poor decisions that will be greatly regretted later. But it still adds to the amount of calories consumed. With that in mind, it is important to have a good game plan to turn the keg that has developed in your abdomen into a six-pack.

Ready to fight for your healthy shape? You'll need to do the hard thing. You'll have to learn to drink less alcohol. A great way to do this is to go into any potential drinking situation planning to have no more than one drink. It sounds difficult, but it can be done. Simply order a glass of water to go with your alcohol and drink your alcohol slowly and surely.

In addition, you can trim your wine-induced love handles the old fashioned way. Get to the gym and work up a good sweat. When you're there, remember that you can do all the exercises you want to try and hone in on your trouble spots, but they won't do any good until you're getting full-body cardio. Also, once you get home, you aren't off the hook. If you're serious about warding off alcohol-related pounds, be sure to maintain a well-balanced diet all of the time, swapping out high-fat foods for low-fat options and eating plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Fattest Drinks

Like most foods and drinks, alcoholic beverages are not created equal. Some are a tad bit tastier, and others are a good deal fattier. Which drinks should you be particularly wary of? Check out the list below to learn what drinks are the most calorie-laden.

• Budweiser (12 ounces), 145 calories
• Gin and Tonic (9.5 ounces total, 1.5 ounces of Gin), 200 calories
• Long Island Iced Tea (9.5 ounces total, 1.5 ounces of alcohol), as many as 550 calories
• Margarita (9.5 ounces total, 1.5 ounces of alcohol), as many as 500 calories
• Ruby Port (8 ounces), 185 calories
• Sam Adams Boston Lager (12 ounces), 160 calories
• White Chardonnay (8 ounces), 90 calories