Are You Destined to Sit on the Couch?

If someone mentions exercise do you think, “I hate to exercise. There’s no way I’m doing that. Exercise is hard, it’s a drag, it takes too much time.” These types of beliefs may be keeping you from discovering a fun way to add to your weight loss plan.

I’m a prime example. When I was younger I didn’t like participating in sports. I felt I was clumsy, I couldn’t throw a ball to save my life, and I’d rather not try to catch one (might hurt myself). I never felt confident about my ability on the practice field and I didn’t have a competitive spirit. I didn’t really care if I won, which tended to anger my teammates. So, if anyone talked to me about exercise I’d say, “Thanks, but no thanks, I hate sports.” But something funny happened on the way to the locker room; I discovered weight lifting. Keep your eyes and ears open and you may discover some activity you love.

If you’re perfectly happy sitting on the couch, then just accept you’ll stay heavier because of it. It is perfectly fine to choose not to get up and move around, but if you do get up more often, you’ll find that it feels good to move. Our bodies were designed to bend and flex. Physical activity just feels good.

Change How You Think And You’ll Change How You Feel About Exercise

Lots of people say they hate to exercise, many because they relate exercise to grade school physical education class where they had to wear dorky shorts, hated how they looked, and weren’t as athletic as the other kids so they felt bad or were chose last for teams. (I wanted to be chosen last, I really hated sports). Maybe too, they just hated dressing down in front of all the other kids.

These early unpleasant experiences leave most of us dreading the mere thought of “exercise.” You may have noticed kids who did enjoy sports though. They were always a bit healthier, running, jumping, becoming out of breath and slapping each other on the back. They seemed to have something you didn’t. A certain vitality, zest for life? Wouldn’t you like some of that?

Exercise can be anything you do that isn’t just sitting or lying down. Walking upstairs or down is exercise, carrying grocery bags is exercise, and so is bending and stretching to wash clothes or load the dishwasher. It’s all a chance to move, and movement is exercise. All the chores around the house are exercise. Start to pay attention to how you move. Bend from the waist and squat down, using your leg muscles. Stand on tip-toe while you brush your teeth. Don’t grumble when you have to go get the mail; be happy! It’s exercise time.

If you like participating in sports maybe you can find some like minded neighbors and put together a few evenings a week basketball game? If you start something and are consistent, then exercise will help you lose weight even faster. So called weekend warriors are better than nothing, but try to add something mid-week as well. Walking is good, brisk walking is even better. It may be for you that simply getting up from your chair is exercise.

Getting Started with Exercise for Weight Loss

We all must start at our beginning point and work from there. If walking to the front door is your exercise, good. Start there. Get up and walk to the door and back again, every day working toward the day when you walk out the front door and to the street. Imagine, one day you’ll be walking around the block. It may not sound like much, but it isn’t a question of quantity but quality.

I once heard of someone who’d been in a terrible accident and she used rolls of pennies in her hand for weights. Now that is truly starting at the bottom but eventually she regained strength and today is healthy and happy. If you’re reluctant to exercise, it could be how you think of exercise. Change from thinking of it as jumping jacks and running laps to something fun like hiking in the woods or walking on the beach. A change in perspective could be all it takes to overcome your resistance to exercise.

Finally, an Exercise Even I Could Do!

My love weight lifting (body building) because it’s something I can do by myself (I don’t lift so heavy as to require a spotter), and I can see results quickly (usually in six weeks or less you will notice a real difference with weight lifting). I also ride a stationary bike because I can read while I ride and I LOVE reading. The idea is to find something you really like so you’ll continue to do it. If you joined the gym and you dread it, then it’s not likely you’ll continue that program for the long-term.

All Movement Counts as Exercise

What about gardening? I know a lot of people wouldn’t consider gardening strenuous enough but I beg to differ. What was it that kept most people in better condition 50 years ago? It was more walking to the corner store, standing at the fence gabbing with a neighbor, sweeping the floors, beating the rugs, mopping, washing tubs of laundry by hand, chopping firewood, hanging clothes outdoors (my mom used to do this). Chores kept us healthy. Today those of us who do our own chores have a lot of work savers like washing machines, clothes dryers and car washes. Even the grocery clerks don’t get the exercise of moving their fingers because now they simply swipe the food over the scanner.

Some people get a rowing machine or treadmill and put it in front of the TV and exercise while watching their favorite shows. If you’re going to watch TV no matter what, put equipment in front of it and go for it. Living rooms are perfect places to put some equipment. Most of us hardly use that room at all and generally it’s one of the largest in the house! Add to your exercise time until you’ve got around 30 minutes or more a day of actual movement and you’ll see the pounds slipping away.

Realize that all movement counts and you’ll start to feel better about regular household chores (maybe you will, at least give it a try). Do you have stairs? There’s a piece of workout equipment and it didn’t cost you a thing. You can walk up and down them, stand on the edge of one and raise and lift your heels (calf raises). Walk on tip toe sometimes. Every time you get up from a chair, use your leg muscles, maybe even sit down again and do it again. Stand against the wall and slowly lower yourself to a sitting position (or as low as is comfortable even if it’s only a quarter inch).

Your House is a Fully Equipped Gym

Your house is a fully equipped gym, so start to use it. Just because you don’t own fancy equipment or don’t belong to the gym doesn’t mean you can get regular exercise. Look around and be resourceful. Empty milk jugs filled with sand are heavy enough for most men to use as weights. Canned food can become a handy weight too. See what ideas you can find and have fun putting some exercise into your daily life.

~~ Kathryn Martyn, Master NLP Practitioner, EFT counselor, author of the free e-book: Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss, and owner of OneMoreBite-Weightloss.com

Get The Daily Bites: Inspirational Mini Lessons Using EFT and NLP for Ending the Struggle with Weight Loss.

A more detailed account of what garlic does for various organs in the human body:

If garlic had been created in the laboratory instead of by nature, it would probably be a high-priced prescription drug.

A Common Saying everyone knows..That’s just how good it really is…

Garlic is one of the oldest known medicinal plants, and it’s been credited with fighting heart disease, lowering blood pressure and helping to fight off colds.

In fact, garlic has been used medicinally for at least 3,000 years, but until relatively recently its benefits were considered little more than folklore. According to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Nov. 28, 1990;264:2614), the therapeutic roles of garlic have been described in more than 1,000 scientific studies.Cooking with garlic

Most of the modern research on garlic has concentrated on its ability to lower cholesterol and blood pressure as well as offering protection against strokes and heart disease.

The following is a more detailed account of what garlic does for various organs in the human body:

1. Protection of the liver from toxic substances: Garlic activates the cells of the liver and thereby protects the liver from toxic substances; it also rejuvenates a tired liver and promotes its normal functioning.

2. Improvement of blood circulation: When allicin is heated in the process of cooking the garlic, a substance called ?ajoene” is formed. This substance has a suppressive effect on thrombi and blood cholesterol, so it is effective for the treatment of atherosclerosis and thrombosis.

3. Regulation of stomach function: Allicin promotes the secretion of gastric juices by stimulating the mucous membranes of the stomach; furthermore, it combines with proteins which can reduce excessive activity of the stomach. In addition, allicin reglates the functioning of the stomach by activating the large intestine and thus cure both constipation and diarrhea.

4. Promotion of insulin secretion: Allicin combines with vitamin B1 (thiamine) to activate the function of the pancreas and thus promote insulin secretion. As a result, garlic is effective in the prevention or the cure of diabetes that is caused by a lack of insulin or by the defective functioning of the pancreas.

5. Normalization of blood circulation: Because it stimulates the brain nerves and controls the workings of the heart at a constant level, garlic stabilizes blood pressure. It is also capable of dissolving cholesterol and fatty substances inside blood vessels and therefore refreshing cells and the blood inside the body.

Today, there is worldwide scientific evidence to support the many health benefits that can be derived from the daily consumption of garlic.

* Extensive tests on humans have concluded that a regular intake of garlic can:

* Lower total cholesterol (but raise the good-type HDL cholesterol)

* Produce more “natural killer” cells in the blood that will tackle infections and tumours

* Lower blood pressure

* Reduce the risk of blood clots (that are responsible for most heart attacks and strokes)

* Destroy infection causing viruses and bacteria

Garlic is classified as both an herb and a vegetable. It can be found in products ranging from ice cream to dry rubs; the versatility of this herb is seemingly endless.

Tips for cooking with garlic:

1. Before cooking, remove the exterior skin of the clove. There are many ways to do this: strike the bulb with the broad side of a kitchen knife, use a rubber garlic rolling tube, soak the garlic in lukewarm water for 30 minutes or dip the cloves into boiling water for 30 seconds.

2. After skinning the garlic, select a cooking method that will result in the appropriate flavor. It can be sautéed to create a nutty, savory taste; poached to create a mild flavor; oven-roasted to bring out the nutty flavor with a caramelized quality; fried to create a crisp exterior; or grilled to create a soft, smoky flavor.

3. Garlic is very sensitive to heat and will burn easily, especially when sautéing. Expose the garlic to heat just until the oil sizzles and then remove it. When cooking garlic with onions, start the onions first. They will take longer to cook.

Benefits of Garlic: Cancer Prevention

Indeed, the first scientific report to study garlic and cancer was performed in the 1950s. Scientists injected allicin, an active ingredient from garlic, into mice suffering from cancer. Mice receiving the injection survived more than 6 months whereas those which did not receive the injection only survived 2 months.

Checkout Garlic Veg Supplements at http://www.ayurvediccure.com/garlic.htm

Yes, it is that time again when most of us decide to make some changes in life. These are normally related to our health. Stop smoking, start training, lose some body fat, start eating healthier and so forth. According to a study conducted by GNC, 55% promised to eat healthier, 50% resolved to exercise more, and 38% wanted to lose weight.

This is the probably the worst time to make changes in your life. For one, it is highly ineffective and from previous experience, there are very few of us who actually stick to them! Only 20% of us actually stick to our new promises we make to ourselves. Most new years resolutions are the same every year, and, tend to fade away come February.

Don’t let the statistics determine your success. Here we will offer you some inside tips to help you become that 20% and ensure you resolutions remain in tact and become achievements. Never again will you need to make these New Year resolutions.

Develop a Support System
Tell your friends and family about your gaols and how you will achieve them. Better still, set some mutual goals with your friends and work together. Ask them to follow up with you on your progress from time to time to ensure you are on top of things.

Make your Resolutions Attainable
Don’t try to conquer Rome in a day. All goals must be realistic and achievable. Give yourself the best chance possible at achieving them. Don’t plan to run a Marathon by March. Aim to participate in a 10km walk or a fun run for charity. There are plenty of small events in Bangkok that you can choose from.

Make a Plan
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Just as a business is only as successful as its business plan, your lifestyle works on the same principles. Write down specific dates to achieve your goals.

Break it Down
If your goal is to lose say 5kgs, the write out step by step, just how you will achieve this. If you have tried to achieve this before, also write down the obstacles you experienced that prevented you from achieving them. Then set out to minimise them. If work is one reason why you can get to the gym, then go for a walk at lunch time or speak with your superiors or HR department to introduce workplace health and fitness initiatives.

DON’T DIET!!!
We all know diets don’t work. Changing your eating habits does not constitute dieting. Eat sensibly. Eat 4-5 smaller meals pre day. Include plenty of vegetables, protein and minimise carbohydrates. Do not eliminate them,

Reward Yourself
Reward yourself with gifts, holidays and weekends away, a spa package, massage or go shopping. Refrain from using food as a reward. You can also set yourself financial rewards. Set aside a certain amount of money each day or week for getting to the gym x times or eating your five planned meals for the day.

Keep a Journal
Write down everything you eat and what time you eat it. Record your exercise duration and if possible your total energy expenditure (calories). When things aren’t going to plan, you can look through your journal and make adjustments accordingly.

Get professional Assistance
Employ the services of a professional. Find a personal trainer or fitness coach who can devise the most appropriate exercise and nutrition program that you enjoy and can stick with. They will help you stay on track and help you work through the tough times.

Make sure your New Years Resolutions for 2006 are not on your list for 2007!

Are You Destined to Sit on the Couch?

If someone mentions exercise do you think, “I hate to exercise. There’s no way I’m doing that. Exercise is hard, it’s a drag, it takes too much time.” These types of beliefs may be keeping you from discovering a fun way to add to your weight loss plan.

I’m a prime example. When I was younger I didn’t like participating in sports. I felt I was clumsy, I couldn’t throw a ball to save my life, and I’d rather not try to catch one (might hurt myself). I never felt confident about my ability on the practice field and I didn’t have a competitive spirit. I didn’t really care if I won, which tended to anger my teammates. So, if anyone talked to me about exercise I’d say, “Thanks, but no thanks, I hate sports.” But something funny happened on the way to the locker room; I discovered weight lifting. Keep your eyes and ears open and you may discover some activity you love.

If you’re perfectly happy sitting on the couch, then just accept you’ll stay heavier because of it. It is perfectly fine to choose not to get up and move around, but if you do get up more often, you’ll find that it feels good to move. Our bodies were designed to bend and flex. Physical activity just feels good.

Change How You Think And You’ll Change How You Feel About Exercise

Lots of people say they hate to exercise, many because they relate exercise to grade school physical education class where they had to wear dorky shorts, hated how they looked, and weren’t as athletic as the other kids so they felt bad or were chose last for teams. (I wanted to be chosen last, I really hated sports). Maybe too, they just hated dressing down in front of all the other kids.

These early unpleasant experiences leave most of us dreading the mere thought of “exercise.” You may have noticed kids who did enjoy sports though. They were always a bit healthier, running, jumping, becoming out of breath and slapping each other on the back. They seemed to have something you didn’t. A certain vitality, zest for life? Wouldn’t you like some of that?

Exercise can be anything you do that isn’t just sitting or lying down. Walking upstairs or down is exercise, carrying grocery bags is exercise, and so is bending and stretching to wash clothes or load the dishwasher. It’s all a chance to move, and movement is exercise. All the chores around the house are exercise. Start to pay attention to how you move. Bend from the waist and squat down, using your leg muscles. Stand on tip-toe while you brush your teeth. Don’t grumble when you have to go get the mail; be happy! It’s exercise time.

If you like participating in sports maybe you can find some like minded neighbors and put together a few evenings a week basketball game? If you start something and are consistent, then exercise will help you lose weight even faster. So called weekend warriors are better than nothing, but try to add something mid-week as well. Walking is good, brisk walking is even better. It may be for you that simply getting up from your chair is exercise.

Getting Started with Exercise for Weight Loss

We all must start at our beginning point and work from there. If walking to the front door is your exercise, good. Start there. Get up and walk to the door and back again, every day working toward the day when you walk out the front door and to the street. Imagine, one day you’ll be walking around the block. It may not sound like much, but it isn’t a question of quantity but quality.

I once heard of someone who’d been in a terrible accident and she used rolls of pennies in her hand for weights. Now that is truly starting at the bottom but eventually she regained strength and today is healthy and happy. If you’re reluctant to exercise, it could be how you think of exercise. Change from thinking of it as jumping jacks and running laps to something fun like hiking in the woods or walking on the beach. A change in perspective could be all it takes to overcome your resistance to exercise.

Finally, an Exercise Even I Could Do!

My love weight lifting (body building) because it’s something I can do by myself (I don’t lift so heavy as to require a spotter), and I can see results quickly (usually in six weeks or less you will notice a real difference with weight lifting). I also ride a stationary bike because I can read while I ride and I LOVE reading. The idea is to find something you really like so you’ll continue to do it. If you joined the gym and you dread it, then it’s not likely you’ll continue that program for the long-term.

All Movement Counts as Exercise

What about gardening? I know a lot of people wouldn’t consider gardening strenuous enough but I beg to differ. What was it that kept most people in better condition 50 years ago? It was more walking to the corner store, standing at the fence gabbing with a neighbor, sweeping the floors, beating the rugs, mopping, washing tubs of laundry by hand, chopping firewood, hanging clothes outdoors (my mom used to do this). Chores kept us healthy. Today those of us who do our own chores have a lot of work savers like washing machines, clothes dryers and car washes. Even the grocery clerks don’t get the exercise of moving their fingers because now they simply swipe the food over the scanner.

Some people get a rowing machine or treadmill and put it in front of the TV and exercise while watching their favorite shows. If you’re going to watch TV no matter what, put equipment in front of it and go for it. Living rooms are perfect places to put some equipment. Most of us hardly use that room at all and generally it’s one of the largest in the house! Add to your exercise time until you’ve got around 30 minutes or more a day of actual movement and you’ll see the pounds slipping away.

Realize that all movement counts and you’ll start to feel better about regular household chores (maybe you will, at least give it a try). Do you have stairs? There’s a piece of workout equipment and it didn’t cost you a thing. You can walk up and down them, stand on the edge of one and raise and lift your heels (calf raises). Walk on tip toe sometimes. Every time you get up from a chair, use your leg muscles, maybe even sit down again and do it again. Stand against the wall and slowly lower yourself to a sitting position (or as low as is comfortable even if it’s only a quarter inch).

Your House is a Fully Equipped Gym

Your house is a fully equipped gym, so start to use it. Just because you don’t own fancy equipment or don’t belong to the gym doesn’t mean you can get regular exercise. Look around and be resourceful. Empty milk jugs filled with sand are heavy enough for most men to use as weights. Canned food can become a handy weight too. See what ideas you can find and have fun putting some exercise into your daily life.

~~ Kathryn Martyn, Master NLP Practitioner, EFT counselor, author of the free e-book: Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss, and owner of OneMoreBite-Weightloss.com

Get The Daily Bites: Inspirational Mini Lessons Using EFT and NLP for Ending the Struggle with Weight Loss.

If you are unhealthy or overweight I suggest you look at your head. Chances are, there are negative, heavy old thoughts stuck right between your ears, and this is where your illness begins. Before starting yet another fad diet (What now? Cut out all proteins and eat only carbs?) or exercise regimes doomed to failure why not begin at the beginning. Here’s my promise to you: if you attend to your inside (your mind, your thoughts, and your spirit) the outside will take care of itself. One more time: take care of the inside and the outside will, automatically as a matter of course, become healthy and strong.

We’ve all heard how “stress” can increase the risk of heart attack, affect cholesterol, blood pressure, and lower the immune system. Recent studies have also confirmed that if you’re under stress, digestion is the last thing your body attends to. The body, when churning on anxiety, fear, anger, jealousy (or any other negative emotion) is busy pumping adrenaline through your system to maintain the “fight or flight” response that comes with threatening situations and feelings. It’s worried about getting blood pushed to all organs and extremities, and keeping your respiratory rate decent. Digestion of food becomes a low priority and so, no matter how healthily you eat, if you live on negative emotions, that food just isn’t going to be well processed. In many scenarios, folks suffer “gut reactions” to stress - chronic indigestion, acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome and other illnesses that just cause the belly to ache with misery.

Though exercise nearly always ameliorates stress and illness, many people resent doing it or claim never to have the time. If you start an exercise program ticked off at the very idea of exercise well, you’re just churning bad stuff around inside yourself. You may manage to get “fit” but you still won’t look healthy. We’ve all seen folks like that - lean, muscular, and miserable. They may be “fit” but there’s no light shining and the body just can’t sustain that charade for very long.

So here’s how I’d suggest you start a change in your lifestyle that will lead to health: focus on your own happiness. What makes your heart sing (and why aren’t you doing that?) What are the major causes of stress outside yourself, and what are your internal responses to those people or situations? You may not be able to control what goes on in your office or even your home but you can certainly have completely control over how you choose to see things and react or respond to them. Maybe you can’t quit the job you loathe but you are creative enough to find another way to look at it.

Sometimes, however, we become so used to unhappiness that we don’t want to change. We like our anger, gossiping, griping, and complaining. It fuels some kind of fire and it feels good, for the moment anyway. If you truly want to get healthy I have some really bad and scary news: you have to get happy first. You have to. So it’s one thing to identify the causes of stress in your life. It’s a whole other bag of potatoes to try to really change your perspective about them.

Before you sign up for a gym membership, or go to the doctor for more drugs, or decide the whole family is going vegetarian, do this one simple exercise: be aware of every negative thought in your head, just for one day, from the moment you wake up until you fall asleep. Ideally, you should write each one down. Your journal might look like this:

1. I slept lousy last night

2. It’s always so hot in this room because of you-know-who

3. My back is killing me. It never lets up.

4. These damn kids.

5. Look at that headline. What a world.

6. These car payments are too high

7. I hate this traffic!

Your eyes have been open less than an hour and the litany of misery is already long indeed. Can you imagine how many times a day you think rotten thoughts? Eventually, your insides rot your outsides. It’s that simple, and that easy to reverse. Once you are aware of how your mind is endlessly negative, just stop doing it. Breathe. Think. Is there another way to see this? What can I be grateful for? Does he/she act that way because of fear? I love my kids. This car sure has some character. I can simplify my life. And so on.

Then do this same exercise focusing on your self, instead of what makes you miserable externally. Dig real deeply here for all kinds of old, obsolete, and negative thinking. No matter how old you are, I guarantee you are carrying around some very dark perceptions from your childhood. Time to clean out the basement, folks, and find out why you’ve never allowed happiness to flood into you like a sunrise. Here’s what you might find in the category of Old Negative Destructive Beliefs:

1. The idea of being really happy is scary. Then what?

2. My mother/father was never happy.

3. I don’t deserve abundance, happiness, or joy.

4. Life is all about suffering.

5. It’s too late for me to get healthy.

6. Sickness is just the way it is.

7. No one ever gets really happy here anyway.

The list of negative ideas that lie just below the surface of our minds is endless. Therefore, on a daily basis you’re churning negativity not only about what’s happening outside yourself, but about what you deserve, fear, or want from the bottom of your own heart. In this scenario, getting and staying healthy is just impossible. The good news is that the opposite is also just as true: when you clean out the dark, oppressive, negative thinking on the inside, find a different perspective about what goes on around you - well, you’re not going to be getting sick. More than that, you’re going to start feeling better, wanting to be healthy. You’ll have the energy and desire to exercise and fill your body with good fuel. One thing leads to the other, folks. When you take good care of your spirit, the body will follow as a matter of course.

One word of caution: getting happy is hard work, because everything around you will fight that impulse. We are bred to believe in suffering, deprivation and lack. It’s really hard to start looking at our negative way of thinking, and changing that. Some new age authors would have you believe it only takes 40 days of writing down little affirmations. Actually, the process of divesting yourself of old baggage is a tough one, but it’s the only way to go. You need to have the perseverance and discipline of an Olympic athlete. You’ll have to turn off the TV, stop the shopping, drinking, sex, “do-gooding,” or whatever other habit you’ve developed to distract you from this work. But once undertaken, there’s no turning back, and the path leads to joy.

So tell your friends and family you’re embarking on the only exercise program that really works, works well and for good: fitness from the inside out. They might scoff, I’ll tell you, or make great fun of you (because misery loves company) but solider on because your happiness is all there really is. We are schooled in the wrong-headed notion that the pursuit of our own happiness is “selfish” when in fact it’s the most you can personally do to contribute to the overall welfare of the folks around you, your community, and the world. So, don’t be afraid to be “selfish.”
To change your body, change your mind. It’s that simple and that difficult. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. I’m in your corner, because we’re all in this together. And there’s nothing better than seeing the bright shining light of a truly happy person. Good luck