10 Steps on Improving Your Metabolism

Get 10 tips on how you can increase your metabolism, naturally. You'll be surprised at how little things can affect your metabolism in a big way.

Are you sluggish and low on energy?

Do you feel like you work and work toward your weight loss goal and never seem to make any dramatic improvement?

You could be suffering from a slow metabolism. Even though you may have a slow metabolism, it does not have to destroy your weight loss efforts. You can dramatically improve your metabolism, and boost your energy levels without taking supplements.

Your metabolism simply refers to the conversion of food to usable energy by the body. It is the biological process, by which energy is extracted from food, and the net result is how fast or slowly the body burns those calories.

A few steps you can take to improve your metabolism naturally are:

Drink Water – Water is great to drink and you should be drinking a minimum of 8 to 10, glasses daily, of course, more is better. It will help increase your metabolism and flush out sodium, toxins, and fat. Drinking water before meals will fill your stomach so you feel full and prevent overeating. Avoid excess colas, coffee, teas, and sugary juices. Caffeine will dehydrate you, and the sugar will do more damage than good in the long-run.
  

 Eat Every Three Hours – Eat a small balanced meal every three hours, including snacks. Meals and snacks should be balanced, meaning they should contain a complete protein, carbohydrates, as well as natural fat. Failure to eat consistently can lead to a slower metabolism and fat storage. Also, skipping meals slows down your metabolism. To ignite fat loss you need to be consuming the right foods in a balanced manner throughout the day.

Don't Skip Breakfast – Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it gets your metabolism running in high gear. You wouldn't drive your car to work on an empty tank, and you shouldn't start your day without adequate nourishment. Your first meal sets your metabolism for the day and keeps it going, as long as you eat every three hours. If you get up early and eat a late breakfast, you miss out on several hours of burning calories.

Don't Fear Fat – Fat has developed a bad reputation. Many people think fat makes you fat. This is false. The type of fat and how much fat you eat impacts your body fat composition. Fat is needed by the body. Those who follow a very low-fat diet have a harder time ridding their body of fat. Choose natural healthy fats such as olive oil, avocados, various nuts, flax, and natural peanut butter to receive your necessary fats.

Omit Trans Fat – Trans fat is the bad fat, the cause of weight gain, low energy, depression, cancer, and heart disease. You will never get the body you desire by eating "healthy" fast food, frozen dinners, and other processed choices. If it's man-made, it's not the best choice, and will halt fat loss endeavors. Eat the foods Mother Nature has provided to meet your fat loss goals.

Be Active Daily – Stay active at least six days a week. Take the stairs when possible or park further out to get that little bit of extra movement to keep the heart and lungs working optimally. The more movement you get daily, the better you will feel overall.

Do Cardiovascular Exercise – Cardio exercise is necessary for heart and lung health. It also burns calories. Doing cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach can tap into fat stores, and keep your body burning calories at a high rate for about an hour after cardio is finished. If you fail to eat adequately daily, first morning cardio on an empty stomach can work against you. Doing morning cardio on very low calorie diet can burn muscle. Another good time to incorporate cardio is in the evening after your last meal. This allows you to burn calories so you are not sleeping on them. You do not have to implement a morning and evening session, choose one or the other or cycle between the two to prevent staleness and boredom.

HIIT It – Blend some High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) into your cardiovascular program from time to time to give your body and metabolism a good shock. The body is programmed for adaptation. Therefore, doing the same cardio format day in and day out can become stale really fast. Take one or two days a week and implement some HIIT to give the body an added shock.

 

HIIT is basically alternating low intensity and moderate to high intensity cardio training.  For example, a 20 minute HIIT session would look similar to this:

Minute 1 and 2 – Low Intensity (Walking) Minute 3 and 4 – High Intensity (Light jogging or running) Minute 5 and 6 – Low Intensity Minute 7 and 8 – High Intensity and so on…

 

Weight Train – Resistance training builds muscle, which is metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you acquire, the faster your metabolism will be.  Adding more lean muscle tissue to your body will put curves in the right places and allow you to eat more calories a day.

Listen to Your Body – Killing yourself with workouts is just as dangerous as not working out at all. Listen to your body and get proper rest. Don't train if you are ill, still sore from the previous workout, or just simply too tired. Training in such a state can cause more problems than it solves.

If any of the above fails to prove results in 4 to 6 weeks, there could be an underlying problem, such as a food allergy, sluggish thyroid, hormonal imbalance, toxins, parasites, etc. If so, I recommend searching for a natural healer in your area to determine the cause. and work from there. For the most part, proper diet, detoxifying, and herbs can correct any ailments.

Damian@FitnHealthy

Water And Exercise

The human body is made up of over 75% of water, and as we all know, we cannot live without water.  The fact is, we can only survive for a total of 3 days without water. Water has however, been replaced in most diets by soft drinks and other sugar sweetened refreshments. 

 

 Keep in mind that water is a healthier and necessary for leading yourself towards a better health and longevity.

Your own personal need for water can vary greatly due to exercise, weight, and temperature.  Research has proven that over 2/3 of adults don't get the water they need on a daily basis.  By drinking water on a regular basis you can replenish your body and keep it well hydrated and functioning as it should be.

A majority of us wait until we are thirsty before we drink water.  Keep in mind, this way isn't a
reliable gauge of the water needs for the body.  By the time you are thirsty you have already lost two
of more cups of the body's water supply.  Therefore, drinking water regularly is much better than simply waiting until you are thirsty.

It is very important that you don't substitute beverages with alcohol and caffeine for water.  The
reason behind this is that those types of beverages act as a diuretic and can cause you to lose more
weight through increased urination.  You may think and feel as if you are getting more water through
these beverages, although the fact is that you are letting it go almost as fast as you consume it.

Anytime you exercise, you need more water. Due to perspiration, your body will lose quite a bit of
water.  For each pound lost due to exercise, you need to drink 2 cups of water.  Even when you lay down to sleep, your body loses water.  By drinking a glass or more of water before you go to sleep, you can wake up with your body functioning as it should be.

 

 

It should become more obvious that when you are sick you'll need more water than any other tine.  When you get a cold or the flu, your body can become dehydrated quite quickly.  You can help to prevent this by drinking more water at times when you become sick.

There are several mixed opinions as to whether purified water will actually provide benefit.  This
is a subject you should explore yourself as you determine the best type of water for yourself. 

Always make it a habit to drink water on a daily basis.  You should keep a bottle of water with you
at all times and drink it throughout the day.  You should also teach yourself to drink water instead
of other beverages that don't replenish the nutrients your body needs.

Damian@FitnHealthy

Do You Fuel Yourself Adequately?

 

 

Thousands of runners recently attended The North Face 100 and 50km races in the Blue Mountains. Sometimes it is hard not to be amongst the racing. However, sitting on the other side of the fence whilst the action gallops past gives a wholesome insight into the nutrition & hydration strategies of athletes.

Three Classifications of AthletesIn the race, we observed three types of athletes:

1. The Blank Stare RunnerThe scenery of the Blue Mountains is stunning. Jagged tracks clutch to the side of overhanging cliffs. Damp forests hold tumbling waterfalls. However, the Blank Stare Runner will see little of this handsomeness. They also appear not to hear much until they stumble across your wildly clapping hands and goofy grin. They pull a tight smile and march onwards. From close up, they appear to have the ‘lights off’ - the I’m-on-a-mission facade with eyes glazed-over. From afar, there is an element of a plod, a trip, a stumble. One guesses behind it all is a negative mindset.

2. The Weary but Starry Eyed RunnerFifty or one-hundred kilometers is never going to feel easy. There will always be an association with pain and a little suffering. But no matter how physically fatigued, the Weary but Starry Eyed Runner can maintain a smile. Their eyes sparkle with the challenge and even from a distance they easily acknowledge your excited cheers. They mutter a thanks, give a gentle high-five and then scuffle off around the corner.

3. The Prancer and Dancer RunnerThis runner has the ability to make you forget about how much pain everyone else seems to be in. You find yourself pulling out your phone and googling entry dates for the next race. Before you see them, they have seen you. Their iPhone is out and they are happily snapping pictures to capture the memories. They are dancing across the rocks and prancing past the course marshals giving praise and a hearty, ‘thank you’. Their eyes are alight with anticipation. They might be fatigued but they are holding those negative thoughts at bay.

Which type of athlete are you?You may fall somewhere in the middle and may shift from one to another at different points of a race. However, I am sure that looking back at race photos or your race debrief will help you identify with some of the above analogies?

Athlete Classifications: Symptomatic of Your Nutrition & Hydration

• Race fueling is about fueling your brain not your body

Even for the slimmest athletes, the body has enough adipose tissue (fatty acids) stored to carry you a very, very long way. In endurance activities where the intensity is lower, a reasonably trained athlete should adequately utilize stored fatty acids for locomotive energy. However, there is one organ in the body that cannot use fatty acids for energy, and that is the brain.

The brain’s functional tissues is surrounded by the blood brain barrier. This is a physical block to protect the organ from harmful intruders and substances. When fatty acid is transported in the body, it is attached to a protein called albumin. This creates a molecule too large to pass through the barriers of the brain. Thus, the brain’s fuel source is glucose, the simplest molecular form of carbohydrate.

In races, we require the central nervous system and brain input to keep every other tissue of our body functioning. It drives our breathing, our heart, our working limb muscles. With an inadequate supply of glucose to the brain, this system starts to slow and will eventually grind to a complete halt.

• Feed your brain glucose

If the brain holds everything together, then we must ensure that it receives an adequate supply of energy in the form of glucose. It is true that we can utilize stored muscle and liver glycogen for conversion into glucose and energy, but these stores are dramatically limited. Therefore, a fueling strategy for endurance race day must included simple forms of glucose, the best of which is a maltodextrin (pure glucose) gel.

• Glucose absorption requires sodium

The absorption of glucose across cellular membranes requires a transporter protein that sits lodged in the cellular membranes. The functioning of this glucose transporter is often spared as the digestive tract starts to slow (the functioning of the digestive system will be overridden by the blood flow demands of the working muscles). That is, the body will prioritize the functioning of this glucose transporter over the digestion of fats, proteins and more complex carbohydrates, such as fructose.

• Sweating causes a loss of sodium

Sweating causes large losses of sodium, especially over prolonged periods of time such as during endurance races. The amount of sodium varies from person to person and day-to-day, but can be in the vicinity of 1500-2000mg per 1L of sweat. No other electrolyte loss comes anywhere near the losses of sodium. This is because most other electrolytes, such as magnesium, are found within body cells. That is, sodium is an extracellular molecule floating freely in the bloodstream so it incurs the largest electrolyte losses during exercise.

• Failing to replace sodium disrupts glucose absorption

If you fail to replace the sodium you are loosing, chances are you will not be absorbing the glucose you are trying to ingest. Without sodium present, the functioning of the transporter proteins slow. Therefore, the cellular membranes of the digestive tract, working muscles and mitochondria (power houses where energy is produced) become impermeable to glucose.

• Low sodium and glucose intake affect the brain and central nervous system

If you are trying to rehydrate during races on water alone, you will likely be disrupting the body’s ability to absorb nutrition. Further more, if you are using a sports drink or electrolyte with inadequate sodium to meet your losses, you may also be disrupting your nutrition intake. Begin to become aware of your sweat losses both in volume and in the salt crusting that can appear on your clothes if you are a heavier sodium sweater. This can be a great guide to judging your losses.

You Athlete Classification Explained

• The Blank Stare Runner

Your central nervous system is seriously affected. In essence, you have become similar to a diabetic with low blood glucose levels. Whatever you are drinking and eating is inadequate to supply sodium and glucose to the transporter pumps in your cellular membranes and thus, energy to your brain. Try to learn to listen to your central nervous system. Negative thought processes, clumsy feet, feeling cold, dizziness, vertigo, numb feet or hands, or even nausea can all be symptomatic of low glucose levels in the brain. If you observe someone like this or their eyes have a glazed-over appearance, feed them instant glucose along with a higher sodium concentration electrolyte. If they are nauseous, you can rinse their mouth with glucose as the oral mucosa has a direct glucose absorption pathway to the brain. If this helps, you can then start to slowly feed them glucose via gels, chemist jelly beans and glucose tablets.

• The Weary but Starry Eyed Runner

Your nutrition and training strategies are strong but likely the quantities need adjusting. Sparkling eyes and alertness suggest that the central nervous system is coping. The physical weariness can be a symptom of further training required, or it may also be that you need to increase the quantity of glucose and electrolyte replacement. You should also be paying close attention to changes in your central nervous system as the race progresses. If negative thoughts, anxiety, clumsiness or any of the other symptoms above settle in, make sure you increase your glucose and sodium intake. This is especially true if you start to experience cramping.

• The Prancer and Dancer Runner

You are nailing it! To run like this, your central nervous system must be functioning fully and you are alert enough to absorb your surroundings. Further to this, it appears that your training has prepared you optimally for the challenge you have embarked upon. However, keep an eye on climatic changes throughout the race as increases in temperature, humidity or wind will alter your evaporative sweat losses. Monitor your thoughts and alertness, with any small changes requiring a top-up of energy.

Source : FindyourFeet.com

Living a Healthy Life

We’re so busy racing through our day to day lives that we don’t take the time to look after ourselves. It’s really no wonder that so many of us are tired and run down. What are some simple things that we can do to improve our quality of life?

In the fast paced world that we live in it can be easy to neglect our health and wellness. We’re so busy racing through our day to day lives – family, friends, work, social engagements – that we don’t take the time to look after ourselves. It’s really no wonder that so many of us are tired and run down. What are some simple things that we can do to improve our quality of life?

Drink Drink Drink…

You’ve heard it a million times and you’ll probably hear it a million more – drink more water!

Think about it: The human body is 72% water. A 5% drop in fluids creates a 25-30% loss in energy. A 15% drop in fluids causes death! At this point in time 66% of us aren’t drinking enough water, so over half the population isn’t running on all six cylinders to begin with – before things like bad air, bad food and stress take their toll.

It’s not really a difficult thing to remedy. Just drink one glass of water every half hour or so – or 10-12 glasses of water per day – and you’ll notice a huge jump in your energy levels.

Living Food – Loving Life!

A little known fact is that heating food above 116°F destroys much of the nutrient content. Considering that we already aren’t eating enough veggies, that’s a fairly substantial problem. Nutritionists recommend five serves of fresh vegetables per day. How many of us are actually taking that advice?

A great way to get the nutrients found in fresh veggies without spending all day at stove or eating raw celery sticks is to juice your veggies. Make sure that you own a good juicer (some juicers expose vegetables to heat created by friction during juicing, which breaks down important enzymes), grab some fresh vegetables and drink your way to good health. It takes a fraction of the time (there’s no cooking involved, for one thing) and it’s convenient. You can take your juice to work and even give some to the littlies for school lunches!

Wheatgrass in particular is an excellent source of nutrition. It’s high in chlorophyll (sometimes described as ‘plant blood’ because it closely resembles human red blood cell molecules) and has over 100 elements that the body needs. Fresh grains are another excellent source for vitamins and minerals.

Energy In – Energy Out

Exercise is another dirty word for most of us. The thing is, exercise doesn’t have to be horribly time consuming or mind-numbingly boring. There are plenty of options.

Now you can add Yoga, Pilates, HIIT, Spin classes and a whole range of new workout options.

If you don’t really have the time or money for the gym, or prefer to spend your mornings/nights at home, then try an exercise bike or walker. I’d be lost without my SPIN – I set it up in front of the television and peddle away merrily during my favorite shows.

An excellent way to get back into a physical routine is to start slowly. Ridiculously slowly, it may seem. For the first couple of weeks, walk/ride for 5 minutes per day – exactly 5 minutes, no more, even if you think you could continue. When the 2 weeks are up, increase to 7 minutes, then 10 minutes, 12 minutes… continue to gradually increase your activity until you’re at a level that you’re comfortable with.

It may sound a little silly, but it works. In effect, you trick your body into producing more energy. You’re building your exercise time up so slowly that your body doesn’t really realise what’s happening. Follow this method and, before you know it, you’ll be comfortably exercising within your limits every day.

So, folks, that’s the basics. If you can rearrange your life a little to allow for better eating habits and a little exercise, and if you remember to just drink a glass of water every half hour or so, you’ll be well on the way to living a healthy life. On a final note, don’t forget to take some quiet time for yourself. Meditating is an excellent way to minimize stress. You don’t have to sit around for hours, just give yourself 5 minutes of quiet time every day – even in the shower, if that’s the only place where you can get time out – and have a little catch up with yourself.

And, last but by no means least, laugh! In fact, laugh like a loon – the louder the better! You’ll be amazed at how much such a simple thing can lift your spirits!

 

 Damian @FitnHealthy

Does Water Help You Lose Weight - Find Out How

Does the water help you lose weight?

Many of us have heard the popular theory that says you should drink water to lose weight, the belief that drinking water helps suppress your appetite. But can an extra one or two glasses of H2O really do that or even help you shed pounds? It sounds too good to be true.

First, let's have an idea of the role that water plays in our body. Water makes up close to 70% of our body, and our organs contain an even higher percentage of water. The liver, for example, is nearly 95% composed of water.

 

The experts have answered your question, Does water help you lose weight. Well, water doesn't directly affects weight loss, however, water consumption directly correlates with weight loss. As in: Water does not have any magical property that burns fat, but it definitely can help you with your weight-loss efforts.

Think of a well-tuned mechanism like a clock or a car engine. It cannot run effectively without lubrication, the same analogy can be applied to our human body, water is the ideal lubrication to keep it working properly. So, does drinking water help you lose weight? First, you should understand how water can be used to achieve good health and effective weight loss.

First off, staying hydrated could help you avoid overeating, A lot of people confuse thirst for hunger so they tend to eat rather than drink water. So having a glass of water before a midday snack is not a bad idea if you want to make sure your bites are caused by hunger not hydration.

Also, if your body doesn't get enough water, it sees this as a threat to its survival and holds on to what it has. It is called Water Retention that causes water weight gain and bloating, so by getting a steady external supply of water that water retention in your waist, face and ankles are released because there is no longer a reason for your body to store it.

Of course, drinking water also means you're not drinking anything else, such as sugary, caloric beverages or even potentially diet coke. Caffeine, commonly found in tea, coffee and coke act as diuretics which drives water out of the body and causes even more dehydration. The same goes for alcohol.

Does drinking water help you lose weight, still asking?

Do you remember earlier that your liver is nearly 95% water? The liver breaks down toxins and removes them from your system, it also stores fat-soluble vitamins. And most importantly to answer your question "Does drinking water help you lose weight", it has a huge role in carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism. The liver is responsible for breaking down fatty acids and transporting them to the blood to be metabolized.

So does drinking water help you lose weight? Water has numerous health benefits and is a great accessory for weight loss, Drinking enough water and staying properly hydrated is part of healthy weight-loss diet.

Source:My Hawwa / Ezine

The Importance of Fluid Replacement During Exercise...

Your body is so efficient at many processes, but needs water to do most of them. One of the greatest ways we lose fluid from our bodies is through sweat. Our bodies try to cool themselves by dissipating heat during exercise in warm or hot weather in the form of sweat. This causes changes in the amount of water and electrolytes a person has and can affect athletic performance and health.

To maintain optimal fluid balance, you need to replenish the fluid losses. The rate of fluid loss during exercise is affected by duration, intensity, temperature, wind, humidity and how much or types of clothing you are wearing. Between different sports the difference in losses can be significant, as well as the differences between people with varying fitness levels. Due to this fact, there are not specific guidelines for fluid replacement.

As your muscles become more active, metabolic heat is transferred from the muscles to the blood and then to the body's core. This causes physiological adjustments that transfer heat from the core to the skin to be released and cool the body. When the weather is colder, or less humid, the amount of sweat your body loses is small in comparison to when there is a higher heat stress. If sweat is not able to evaporate from the body and drips, your body is signaling that a higher sweat rate is needed to achieve the necessary evaporative cooling. Increased air motion (wind) can assist the evaporation and minimize the amount of sweat being dripped.

When you live in a higher temperature area your body acclimatizes to the weather and you are able to achieve higher and more sustained sweating. If the area is humid, causing wet skin, or if your body is dehydrated, your sweating rate is curbed. How much electrolyte loss occurs is dependent on the concentration of electrolytes in the sweat and how much fluid your body is expelling. If you are dehydrated, your body can cause the concentration of sodium and chloride loss to increase, but your body is not better able to reabsorb these electrolytes. As you acclimate to temperatures, your body is better able to reabsorb chloride and sodium, and generally reduces the sodium concentrations in sweat.

If you are an athlete training or heavily exercising, you may want to monitor your body's weight changes during exercise to calculate how much fluid you are losing. From there, you can determine how much fluid you need to replenish your body. Weigh yourself naked early in the morning and after urination to determine your baseline, and then after a specific time of exercise. Subtract your body weight after your workout from your pre-workout weight, and subtract any urinary loss. If you drank beverages during your workout, this also needs to be added in.

Physiologic stress increases when you are dehydrated. You measure physiologic stress by core temperature, heart rate and perceived exertion. The more water you lose, the more physiologic strain is experienced by your body. This impairs both mental and aerobic performance. Your aerobic performance decreases when you're dehydrated because of the increase in your cardiovascular strain, core temperature, need for glycogen, and changes in your metabolic functions. This affects your ability to concentrate, do skilled tasks or strategically plan. You become at risk of heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke, skeletal muscle cramps, or in some long endurance events, hyponatremia.

Fluid Replacement

Prior to exercise, hydrate so that you start physical activities with normal hydration and electrolyte levels. Normal hydration is achieved when there has been adequate time since last exercise session and enough beverages consumed. Consuming liquids hours before you start exercising ensures that your urine output and body functions have returned to normal.

During exercise, monitor how you feel. If you are exercising at a high intensity for long periods of time, monitor weight changes. Consuming drinks that contain electrolytes and carbohydrates can be beneficial for some activities, dependent on the intensity and duration. Sodium in these beverages works to stimulate your thirst, carbohydrates for energy and general electrolyte replenishment.

After exercise, make sure to replace fluid and electrolyte losses by consuming regular meals and beverages over the next 24 hours. If you plan to exercise again sooner than that and feel significantly dehydrated, more focus will be needed to achieve rehydration. Drink 1.5 liters of fluid for every kilogram lost or 24 ounces for each pound. This rate of 150% of sweat losses is required because of the additional urine output that will occur from increased intake.

Some people find it hard to drink enough water to meet their needs. Beverages that are flavored, cooled and containing sodium may enhance the voluntary intake. Another trick is to fill up liter bottles (like soda pop bottles) with your daily fluid needs every morning and put them in your refrigerator, so you can visually see how much you need to consume and easily track. Dehydration can have serious side effects, so always work hard to make sure you are consuming enough fluids. 

Source : Emily Delacy 

 

The Importance of a Rest Day

Rest days are an aspect of training which we maybe don't consider to be "training" - but ask any high performing athlete, and they'll tell you that Rest Days make the difference between hitting a new PB or picking up a new injury.

 REST

verb
verb: rest; 3rd person present: rests; past tense: rested; past participle: rested; gerund or present participle: resting

    cease work or movement in order to relax, sleep, or recover strength.
    "he needed to rest after the feverish activity"
    synonyms:    relax, take a rest, ease up/off, let up, slow down, pause, have/take a break, unbend, repose, laze, idle, loaf, do nothing, take time off, slack off, unwind, recharge one's batteries, be at leisure, take it easy, sit back, sit down, stand down, lounge, luxuriate, loll, slump, flop, put one's feet up, lie down, go to bed, have/take a nap, nap, catnap, doze, have/take a siesta, drowse, sleep;

noun
noun: rest; plural noun: rests; suffix: -rest; suffix: -rests

    an instance or period of resting.ri
    "you look as though you need a rest"

They say that big, multi-stage events (such as the Tour de France) are won in bed - how a team use their rest and recovery time is one of the leading factors in a winning team. How you spend your rest days can vary depending on which stage of your training you're in; if it's a rest day dring the taper before your marathon, odds are, you'll have too much nervous energy to just do nothing. Alternatively, if it's the day's rest in a multi-day event - your stategy will probably involve a lot more rest in that rest day.

Rest days are easier to plan for and to fit into a training plan when you're working towards an event, however if you train all year round, it can seem harder to find the time.

Why take a rest day?

• Prevent overtraining -  working out every day can lead to fatigue which can increase your risk of injury
  
• Prevent tedium - training with the same routine can lose its appeal if you do the same thing every day, rest days work as a mental break from your workout as well as a physical break
  
• Improve recovery - DOMS (delayed onset muscle soresness) can really affect your training, with appropriate rest days built into your routine, you can avoid training on already sore muscles
  
• Improve sleep - whilst you shouldn't spend your entire rest day asleep, taking a day to catch up on some Zzzz's can really help your training and productivity in the following days

We asked the Tribesports community & a selection of personal trainers how they like to spend their days - and from the results, we've pulled out 3 distinctive types of rest day-ers:

1. The life admin rest day: No exercise? Fine. I'll just do my chores instead.

"Rest day = laundry day. FACT."  

Source Jon B / Tribe Sports

Drink More Water and Start Losing That Extra Weight

Who hasn't heard the idea that drinking water can contribute to you diminishing your weight? Much more than usual! But is this affirmation true? The answer is yes! When you drink more water, you boost your metabolism, suppress that wild appetite, and clean your organism of waste. At the same time, you stop the body from retaining water and thus lose some extra pounds. How can you make sure you drink the right amount of water (8-10 glasses every day), maintaining yourself hydrated and losing weight? Here are a couple of great tips that will help you out!

Drink before eating

Water suppresses the appetite, so it is an excellent idea to drink it before you eat. As a result, you will feel full faster and eat less. Specialists say that drinking water before eating can reduce the calories intake with 75 calories/meal. Thus if you do this each meal daily for one year, you would cut the calories ingestion by 27,000. According to my math, you would be losing 8 pounds/year only by drinking water.

Drink water instead of calorie drinks

Forget all about sodas or juices, and drink water instead. Add a bit of lemon if you think this is too boring for you. You know for sure that a glass of water with a bit of lemon in it can really contribute to you losing weight and cut your food cravings. Don't believe it? Why don't you just start drinking water and convince yourself of the result?

Drink it cold

When you drink cold water, you boost your metabolism by forcing your body to work more in order to warm the water. This will also burn down calories and help you lose weight. Not to mention that cold water tastes better than normal temperature water.

Go to the gym

When you drink water, you prevent the muscles from cramping and you maintain your joints lubricated. This means that you can work out for a longer period of time. The key is to remain hydrated and those extra pounds will disappear quickly.

Get enough

The best trick when it comes to drinking water is to follow a rule called "8x8". Most nutritionists recommend it. You have to drink 8 glasses of 8 ounces with water daily. This will help you lose weight and keep your ideal figure. Keep in mind that you if exercise more, you will sweat more. This requires more water intake, or the same amount of water but completed with other type of drinks, like herbal teas.

What's the best way to know if you receive sufficient water? A good, but somehow weird rule, is to verify the toilet before going to the bathroom. When you are properly hydrated your urine gets light yellow and clear in color. If case your urine is dark, then you will know that you need to drink more water. Remember: drink water if you want to remain healthy and lose weight!

Source :  Karina Popa/ Ezine 

The Coconut Oil Craze

 

Registered dietitian nutritionists, we enjoy watching food trends emerge and then seeing how long they last. From locally grown to gluten free to kale, we get a kick out of seeing the supermarket aisles exploding with innovative foods. And unless you’ve been hiding under, well, a coconut shell, you’ve likely seen that coconut oil is getting a lot of attention these days. What’s this craze all about and is it worthy of real estate in your fridge or pantry?

You may have seen the internet buzzing with claims that coconut oil protects against cancer and Alzheimer’s, dissolves kidney stones and will help you to lose excess body fat. But does it really?

The Coconut Advantage

Coconut oils do have benefits. As girls who love the flavor of coconut and remember pleading with our mom to let us have a virgin piña colada, and trading our Halloween candy for Mounds bars, we have to admit we’re pretty happy about this!

First, coconut oil has a high percentage of medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs. And although this may not mean much to you, it’s actually pretty cool (yep, we’re science nerds). Most oils consist entirely of long-chain triglycerides, or LCTs, and MCTs and LCTs are metabolized in the body differently. MCTs are more likely to be burned as fuel and they slightly raise metabolic rate. So they’re less likely to be circulated through the body and deposited in fat tissues.

And for candy manufacturers, coconut oil is as dreamy as sitting beachside on a tropical island sipping piña coladas. It stays solid at room temperature and doesn’t spoil quickly thanks to its super-high percentage of saturated fat. And let’s face it, that tropical flavor is pretty delicious to most discerning taste buds.

The Facts: The American Heart Association and Nutrition Researchers are Leaving Coconut Under the Shade of the Palm Tree

While coconut oil has no cholesterol and some of its fatty acids are different than the saturated fat found in animal products, it still contains more saturated fat—the main dietary culprit for raising blood cholesterol and clogging arteries—than butter. Yes, numerous studies have shown that coconut oil can raise LDL (your body’s bad cholesterol) and, according to nutrition researchers at Tufts, it induces atherosclerosis (heart disease), too. We know—this breaks our hearts too. The American Heart Association recommends a maximum of 16 grams of saturated fat daily based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Include one-and-a-half tablespoons of coconut oil in your diet daily and you’ve already exceeded the recommendations. And a large percentage of coconut’s saturated fats aren’t the good MCT’s; roughly 40 percent of them are long chain, artery-clogging, saturated fats. Aw, man!

As for coconut oil and weight loss, there just isn’t research to support it.

So What Do You Do if You Really Like Coconut? While we (and especially our taste buds) remain hopeful that there will be more research to validate our affinity for coconut, at this time, we feel it would be unethical to recommend replacing any of your heart-healthy fats like olive oil for coconut oil, or to recommend adding it to your diet to assist with weight loss. Keep in mind, fat is fat, and coconut oil is still high in calories, which can quickly add up around your waist. However, consider using coconut oil as a condiment rather than your go-to oil or applying it liberally. Fortunately, just a little bit goes a long way in adding yummy flavor and texture.






Source: Tammy Lakatos Shames and Elysse (“Lyssie”) Lakatos, The Nutrition Twins®,

Healthy Hydration | The importance of Hydration

 Water Basics

Water is one of the most essential components of the human body. Water regulates the body’s temperature, cushions and protects vital organs, and aids the digestive system. Water not only composes 75 percent of all muscle tissue and about 10 percent of fatty tissue, it also acts within each cell to transport nutrients and dispel waste. And, because water composes more than half of the human body, it is impossible to sustain life for more than a week without it.

Water Loss

Necessary to the healthy function of all internal organs, water must be consumed to replace the amount lost each day during basic activities. In 2004 the Food and Nutrition Board released new dietary reference intakes for water. It is recommended that women consume 2.7 liters (91 oz) daily and men consume 3.7 liters (125 oz) through various beverages (80%) or in food (20%). Active individuals need even more, particularly if they’re exercising in hot weather. This is especially important during the 24 hours prior to vigorous exercise. You can meet your body’s water needs over the course of a day through a variety of fluids and foods including juices, soda, smoothies, tea, lemonade, soups, fruits and vegetables.

In one hour of exercise the body can lose more than a quart of water, depending on exercise intensity and air temperature. If there is not enough water for the body to cool itself through perspiration, the body enters a state of dehydration.

Dehydration

For regular exercisers maintaining a constant supply of water in the body is essential to performance. Dehydration leads to muscle fatigue and loss of coordination. Even small amounts of water loss may hinder athletic performance.

In a dehydrated state the body is unable to cool itself efficiently, leading to heat exhaustion and possibly heat stroke. Without an adequate supply of water the body will lack energy and muscles may develop cramps.

To prevent dehydration, exercisers must drink before, during and after the workout.

Fluid Balance and Replenishment

It is important to drink even before signs of thirst appear. Thirst is a signal that your body is already on the way to dehydration. It is important to drink more than thirst demands and to continue to drink throughout the day. One way to check your hydration level is to monitor your urine. It should be plentiful and pale yellow unless you are taking supplements, which will darken the color for several hours after consumption.

During exercise, water is the best fluid replenisher for most individuals, although sports drinks help replace lost electrolytes during highintensity exercise exceeding 45 to 60 minutes. Individuals who sweat profusely during exercise and whose sweat contains a high amount of sodium (you may notice salt stains/rings on your athletic wear) should choose sports drinks and ensure that their diet contains adequate sodium to prevent hyponatremia (water intoxication). Contrary to popular belief, scientific evidence suggests that moderate caffeine intake does NOT compromise exercise performance or hydration status. However, alcohol consumption can interfere with muscle recovery from exercise and negatively affect a variety of performance variables.

It is easy to prevent dehydration with a variety of refreshing beverages, so drink up!

Hydration Hints

• Drink 17-20 ounces of water two to three hours before the start of exercise.
• Drink 8 ounces of fluid 20 to 30 minutes prior to exercise or during warm-up.
• Drink 7-10 ounces of fluid every 10 to 20 minutes during exercise.
• Drink an additional 8 ounces of fluid within 30 minutes after exercising.
• Drink 16-24 ounces of fluid for every pound of body weight lost after exercise.
  
  Hint: Rehydration occurs faster in the presence of sodium, regardless of whether this is provided in a sports drink.

Source : ACE Fit Share /http://www.acefitness.org